Stop, Collaborate and Listen.

 With a second heavy snowfall in two weeks set to arrive this weekend I have seen social media posts asking about the conditions of roads, trails, and bike lanes through the region by people who commute by bike, Those conditions are best summed by a true wordsmith; a poet who did not know it, someone who rocked a mic like a vandal. "Ice, ice, baby".

Area trails get very little maintenance, bike lanes get blocked by snow plowed off the roads, and streets develop black ice. A recipe for broken bones. I know what it is like to wait in the cold for a bus that is running late or an unheated subway station. As someone who has broken several bones over the years and has multiple bolts, rods, and a staples the only thing I have to say is, don't do it. Depending on what you do for a living you may end up sitting at home for weeks or months waiting to heal with limited income and medical bills. 

if at all possible just wait until the streets are clear and the snow immediately near them has melted. Give it a week or two and the weather will have made riding safer and saner.

Word to your mother

A Fox in the Henhouse

 For those of you who may not be familiar with recent events in Philadelphia. Following the death of Dr. Barbara Friedes who wass riding in in the bike lane along the 1800 block of Spruce St. at the hands of a drunk driver. The Philly Bike Action stepped up their bike lane parties, which they used as a way to keep cars from parking in the bike lane on Sunday's. Which has been going on since 2009. This has led to the elimination of this "privilege" by recent passing of a no stopping law by the City of Philadelphia. Which has led to pushback from individuals and Philadelphia RCO's in the forms of complaints about being excluded from the redesign to lawsuits.

But the most egregious and astounding example about how this is being addressed is coming from within the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, in the form of BCGP Board Member Jeff Braff. He is part of the Spruce & Pine St. Task Force, independent of the BCGP and the City of Philadelphia. Whose stated goal is to create an "alternative" and "independent design". In order to protect their privilege to park in bike lanes. While Mr. Braff has made it clear that he is doing this independently of the BCGP, that does not mean that his being a member of the BCGP board is a being ignored 

Board members on non for-profits are often recruited for their stature within a community and their ability to bring large donations from individuals. These same board members also use this as way to polish their resumes while providing little if any results. The BCGP has only one choice to deal with this. Mr. Braff needs to be removed from the board immediately and his actions on the task force need to be disavowed by the BCGP. Otherwise any credibility that the BCGP has regarding its advocacy work is nothing more than a Potemkin Village.

Or to put as simply as possible, the phone call is coming from inside the house.

Why is infrastructure so difficult to create in Philadelphia?

 With the recent and preventable death of a cyclist one has to ask,. Why is it so difficult to get the type of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure in Philadelphia that so many other American cities have. Well, seek and you shall find. This video on why it so hard to create effective infrastructure and who is working to change that can be seen here.

Start at

Philly Open Streets vs Philly Free Streets

The transition from the Open Streets movement to the Philly Bike Ride has left some Philadelphians yearning for the inclusive and free spirit of the original events. The Philly Bike Ride, with its high ticket prices and limited availability, certainly doesn't capture the same community-oriented ethos. Fortunately, there is an alternative in the form of the Broad St/PBC ride organized by Alexandria Schneider.

Alexandria Schneider has a strong track record of organizing large and inclusive bike rides in Philadelphia, including notable events like The Pope Ride, Ride DNC, and Cycle en Couleur. Her new event, the Broad St/PBC ride, promises to bring back the spirit of community and inclusivity that many people appreciated in the Open Streets movement.

Here are the key details for those interested in participating in the Broad St/PBC ride:

• Event Name: Broad St/PBC Ride

• Organizer: Alexandria Schneider

• Event Page: Broad St/PBC Ride on Facebook

This event seems to be a great alternative for those who miss the openness and accessibility of the Open Streets movement. It's a chance to participate in a community-driven, inclusive bike ride without the financial barriers imposed by the Philly Bike Ride. If you enjoy biking and want to be part of a welcoming and energetic community, this could be the perfect event for you.

Your Bicycle has been stolen, now what do I do?

 All too often you will see posts on social media from people who have had their bicycles stolen asking people to watch out for it. There are some steps you should take before and in the event of, after.

First take a picture of the bike and one with you in the background and the bike in the foreground. Store them in more than one place; your laptop, the cloud, and your phone. Next locate the frame number on your bike. If you turn the bicycle over and look in the spot where the pedals run through the frame (bottom bracket) you will see a serial number. Take a picture of it and add it to the pictures of the bicycle. This is proof that you own the bike. 

Now fast forward to the future, your bike has been stolen,  you go to the police, and they ask you what your bicycle looks like. Unfortunately your answer is “I don’t know, but it is the best bicycle in the world”. Fortunately you have pictures of the bike so you can provide them with them as part of the report. 

Now for the serial number. The serial number is a unique identifier, so if the police recover your bike they will know who it actually belongs to. 

The next steps you take are very important. First e-mail a copy of the report to every bike shop in town and the suburbs with a picture of the bike. While the thief may not bring the bike into a shop, whoever they sold it to may. As long as the shop has a copy of the police report, including the serial number, they will hold the bike as stolen property.

Another step is to register your bicycle with Bike Index, www.bikeindex.org, this is an on-line bicycle registry that anyone, including bike shops, can access to see if a bicycle has been stolen. One other option is to check Facebook and see if there is a “stolen bikes” page. These pages have crowdsourced bicycle recovery with thousands of members watching for it on the streets, Craigslist, and other online sales sites. In Philadelphia that page is https://www.facebook.com/groups/120319078000282. 

Never post your serial number online, except for Bike Index and the police report you send to the bike shops. Bike thieves know about the social media pages and will watch them to see if their bike has been identified as stolen.

While I hope your bicycle is never stolen, I hope that this will leave you better prepared in the event that it does.