Leo H.

I thought it was pretty fast of them to weld the crossbars on the grate.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

sknhgy 

I work in a rural high school where on occasion one kid rides his bike to school. I asked the principal if we could offer an extra 10 minutes for lunch to any student who rides in on National Bike to Work (school) day - 5-21-10. She said yes. On NBTWD we had 4 kids and me ride to school. I would do it more often but I live 40 miles away. On NBTWD I rode in from a park 7miles away. I think I'll start doing that regularly.

Standalone 

I got posters for NBTWD up around the urban high school where I teach last week. I'm a 4-5 day/week bike commuter.

hotbike

Today, well, yesterday actually, I loaded a yellow bike (the Type 10) with pea gravel, and rode it to a nature preserve (where there are trails), and put pea gravel on the muddy sections of trail. Pea Gravel is basically pebbles between a quarter inch and a half inch (mesh screening). The preserve is Shu Swamp Preserve, in Mill Neck , Long Island, and the trails are only a few inches above water level.

I carried the pea gravel in coffee cans inside my panniers. (I don't want to soil my panniers with grit). Eight cans of gravel were dumped yesterday, and four previous (on Friday).

The mud was really sucky, literally. I think there is quicksand in that park if you step off the trail in the wrong spot.

Chris516

I finally got my bike back from the bike shop, after my Easter Sunday accident. I start physical therapy tomorrow.

Leo H.

I'm going through the list of folks who signed up to participate in Bike to Work Week for our health system. There were over twice as many as signed up last year and 5 new commuters. Several folks said they knew of a rider or two in their office or department who also rode, but didn't sign up.

39 counted out of a system total of 4400 employees is a long way to go. It is twice as many as last year, so next year I continue to offer prizes and contact the ones who ride this year attempting to encourage the signers to get one other signer next May.

Not bad, considering.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

Leo H.

Called a reporter to discuss her article in our local paper about bicycling for exercise and other good reasons. We talked about whether she'd heard of recumbent bicycles and if that was why she didn't mention them as a bicycling option.

It was a good talk and I offered to let her ride mine when she wants to try one, also plugged the IHPVA Human Powered Speed Challenge in Battle Mountain, NV in September as a bicycling story and I sent her a link to the history of recumbent bicycles and why they aren't more widely seen today.

Will keep her in mind next Bicycle Month to encourage her to do a piece on recumbents specifically.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

K'Tesh

For some reason, some branches along a small stretch of NW Cornelius Pass Rd, Hillsboro Oregon (NW West Union Rd to NW Jacobson Rd) suddenly fell off around the base of their respective sources.


(don't worry, I'm sure that landscaping will pick them up soon)

A similar problem occurred on SW Hocken Ave, in Beaverton today too.



I wonder what was causing that... Hmmm

See Something? DO SOMETHING!!!
K'Tesh

Leo H.

I dunno. I don't have a problem with what you're doing, but were I to do it, I would not post images on the 'net about it. Some things are better left under that bushel we keep our light shining in.

I picked winners for my personal raffle for Bike to Work Day and sent a note to the company newsletter and notified the recipients. All were pleasantly surprised. I did get a bike tuneup donated from a local shop, but from that shop, for the new commuters' prizes I myself bought 3 seatbags, 3 multitools, 3 patchkits and a certificate for a new inner tube and gave them away to 3 riders.

I figure if the new folks are tempted with free swag, they'll be more likely to continue as well as talking about the bicycle bounty to their coworkers, possibly getting one of THOSE unriders riding some day.

Also I had a brief constructive conversation from a State roads worker about my request to have a deep and wide seam filled where it intersects a section of the bike path I now take to work. It's so deep, I usually ride over a couple of feet from the marked bike lane (into marked off no man's land) to roll over a section not quite as deep.
And THAT's as I'm taking off from the stop light, if I'm running down the roadway with a green light, I still have to slow way down to keep my rim from getting pronged. He was asking me what I was talking about in the road and the bike lane as he was at the offending intersection and I quickly got him to see, as he was standing at the bike lane at the time, how the seam between the two roadbeds is problematic for a bicyclist.

He said he see what he can do about filling the seam in and I thanked him for his time and attention.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

hotbike

You did the fire department a favor too. In the second set of pictures, we can now see the hydrant. Which is good, because when the fire department is looking for one of those, it has to be found in a hurry.

K'Tesh

As I was riding with a friend last night after the Pedalpalooza/Shift Get Together, we found the bike lane (on NE Interstate Ave in the busy Rose Quarter) mostly blocked by low branches.


The bicycles visible on the RT side image were not moved, but now you can see them

It took only a couple of minutes to clear it.

And thanks for your concerns Leo H. It's true, I've caught some flack in the past. By having the photos, I can show why I did the pruning. Perhaps they'll inspire someone else to help clear the way too (even if they don't take pics). I'm certain that if I was ever arrested for vandalism or something else related, the worst I'd face is probably community service (pruning trees for the city/county).

@hotbike, good catch!

See Something? DO SOMETHING!!!
K'Tesh

Leo H.

/First off, I had 2 instances today where a vehicle halted at an intersection and waited for me to clear when they were just being extra conscientious, as they were both plenty far enough away from me that they could have completed their turns as soon as they'd seen me and I wouldn't have given them a moment's thought that they were cutting in front of me. I waved to both motorists to acknowledge their noticing me.

Another thing, K'tesh, not a criticism everywhere's different, but another point to consider when noticing the greenswork you're doing. If you get in the habit of contacting the local municipality about this, you give them the chance to something nice for you(cyclists), as well as keeping them gainfully employed. Win/win.

Now I can imagine that in the land where moss grows on the north side of residents, calling on every branch needing trimming is not practical, but do remember from time to time, to keep your public workers working.

Speaking of, I rode home near the street I conversed about the huge crack in the road surface yesterday and there's a huge sign warning of impending road construction in that area soon. Wow, I knew I could express myself to others, but I didn't dream that my requests would instigate such prompt response!

Likely this was planned for something else...now let's watch and see if they patch my bike lanes at some point in the roadwork impending.

LeoH.
Sun Valley, NV

Standalone 

I'd rather be doing something positive, but yesterday filed a complaint against an officer in an unmarked car who pulled around me on the right and turned left in front of me as I was making a clearly signalled turn from the left lane. He was mighty rude to me at the next intersection, before ID'ing himself as an officer.

Did my first CM ride later that night in a neighboring city. Missed most of the ride due to helping a fellow cyclist try to repair a flat.

Leo H.

Stopped for a 40ish woman pushing a girl's pink Stingray style bike and a flat rear tire. I tried to get her to go to a nearby hardware store to ask if they could pump up her rear tire and see it it'd hold air, but she balked at that. (She was nice enough, but a 'character', so...) I remembered I had a new Topeak pump, so I gave it a shot and pumped up her rear tire. I didn't have a wrench to remove the rear bolts on her tire or I'd have pulled the tire, found the leak and patched the tire. She was happy with my reinflating her tire and she rode off to try to get home before her tire went flat again.
Later in the day I asked a guy pushing his bike if he needed help, but he smiled and said, no but thanks anyway.
I almost stopped to remove a large chunk of drywall getting pummeled in the roadway, but I was rolling along too fast to want to stop.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

hotbike

Went back today with more gravel. I did NOT heed my own advice, I stepped off the trail to let hikers go by, and i sunk up to my knees in oozing black mud.

Lost a waterbottle and my dignity.

Leo H.

Lots of road reporting...
I reported a fluorescent painted Explorer some cutesy poo left parked in the middle of the bike I use yesterday. A very Burning Man looking paint job. No tags, so someone is dumping it for whatever reason.

Roadwork and hopefully expansion of a section of road I travel on with a really narrow section, maybe I'll get at least a safety lane's width of cushion instead of the gutter or the tire track? Maybe too, the response to my complaint about a wide gap in the road across the bike lane I use at one intersection will be filled in while they're doing this other roadwork. It is adjacent to where they're chipsealing and restriping, so...may-be.

Reported a shattered chair in another bike lane I rode in today.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

K'Tesh

Tuesday I reported a problem with the MAX (local lightrail train) tracks, again. The concrete rail panels have broken, and leave a several inch step in the middle of the bike lane on a street near my apartment.

While I was pruning that same street, yesterday, I spotted TriMet's service crew checking out the panel. So, I got to show them first hand the problem.

The first time I reported the problem, I noticed that the crew had laid asphalt and "feathered" the problems in the auto lane, but not the bike lane. I spotted a safety crew, and pointed this out to them, but foul weather set in, and only now has things improved (yeah right... improved (record rain yesterday)) to try again.

I was told by the crew yesterday they have replacement panels on order (the problem is more than just the bike lane), but they'd send out a crew to feather the bike lane soon.

(Photos pending upload)

Leo H.

I saw the Explorer was blocking the bike lane again today, so I just called the non emergency p.d. number and reported the car. The dispatcher was surprised to hear it'd been there since Tues. p.m.

When I rode home, there was a cruiser parked with his lights on checking out the car. I stopped to let him know I'd called and that I first noticed 2 days earlier. I also mentioned that I was more concerned with it sitting there and becoming a vandalism target than I was that it blocked the bike lane. (to show I am 'more concerned' about others than just my own interest<g>) He said they were going to get it moved asap. They didn't show a current owner he said, so who knows who was being pranked by it. The paint job was enveloping and very artistically done, not just blobs of paint, it was a 'design'. Of course the design included tires, rims and bumpers, but they did not paint over any of the windows or mess with the interior as best as I could see.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

Leo H.

So ran errands today and rode a good long way. I followed a guy and his 2 boys, 7 and 8ish and while we were waiting for the light, I gave him a couple of bikenevada.org's pocket guide to rules and rules of the road for bicycles in Nevada. He sounded pleased, and I told him I appreciated watching him set the boys up to walk their bikes across the busy intersection at a crosswalk.

The other thing I got a kick out of, was watching the change on the security guard's face when I dropped off a rear view mirror parking sticker for this one company on the other side of town. He was all serious security guard until I told him I had someone's parking badge and that I'd found it in the gutter a good 8 to 10 miles in the opposite direction. He started wondering why the sticker was where I found it.

I also plan to call a local city department after noticing 2 antifreeze containers and a windshield fluid container I found tucked in some traffic island shrubbery filled with fluid. The fluid looked like water, but no idea why they were where they were.

Picked up my smushed water bottle that finally bounced out of its bottle cage. I knew I should have wrapped some old inner tube or rubber bands around it to keep it more contained. It rolled right into traffic and splat. It's hot today so I have 2 others, but it's not fun listening to the bottles dance on the asphalt as you roll along.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

Leo H.

I'd forgotten. While stopped at a light this weekend, waiting, a wegie rider rolled past me at the cleared intersection commenting, "...I don't think you can trigger a light"
The light just then changed and when we caught up at the next intersection and I was rolling in to the left turn lane I told him, " Watch for the camera overhead and place yourself in the middle of the lane, you'll set them off and if you don't, call whoever's jurisdiction it is and tell them that you aren't setting off that traffic light and they'll fix it."
He seemed genuinely surprised to learn about the camera triggers and said thanks as he rode away.
I keep meaning to bug the local bike issues transportation group to do some sort of PSA educating both motorists and cyclists that they can and should set off traffic light signals if they stop in the correct spot.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

SunnyFlorida

A recent storm left debris on the bike lane I was traveling on. I wasn't in any hurry so I stopped to clear the debris from the lane. I did this three times.

K'Tesh

I went by there on Saturday, and found that the job had been done. However the pics didn't turn out (and they were boring anyway).

See Something? SAY SOMETHING!!!
K'Tesh

Leo H.

On the way home today, as I left the grocery store, I noticed smoke and rode over to see what was on fire. There was a flattened cardboard box on fire in the parking lot. I took my extra water bottle and sprayed it on the box and put out the fire.

I stopped to talk to a Mexican riding home from another store with his 2 daughters also on their bikes. They were riding somewhat against traffic, but slowly. I caught up with them and, though he didn't speak English too well, I gave him a copy of the info booklet the State of Nevada puts on about bicycle/pedestrian safety and told his daughters what it was. It was a very friendly exchange, all in all.

I also came home and reported a traffic signal light hood coming loose on a light near my work, some glass in the new bike lane I can travel in to work and home and the other day, a couple of lights that I don't trigger on my bike.

I also have volunteered to help with the handcycle racers at next week's Tour de Nez, here in Reno, NV. My parents are coming in to town and I told them they're going to come on down and help too. I have made my hospital marketing department aware of the opportunity for sponsorship for the race featuring our physical rehabilitation hospital.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV

K'Tesh

Thanks Leo!

For all you do. It's great what you've been doing for cyclists in your area!

All the Best!
K'Tesh

Leo H.

Thank you, K'Tesh. If you didn't start and keep this thread moving along, I'd be doing what I'm doing by myself. Which is fine, but MAYbe, if someone else reads this thread, a-hem the only ADVOCACY thread IN A&S, they might talk about what they're doing or get an idea of what they can do in their community, which is how things get better all 'round the country.
Kind of that 'lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness' vibe.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV