Philly Bike Party

In  “Where is Philadelphia's Bike Culture?”, I asked what kind of alternative was there to bicycle clubs and century rides. Where were the rides that were fun and social? There are some annual events that meet these criteria and have become part of Philadelphia's bike culture. Including The Bilenky Cyclocross, The Philly Tweed Ride, and Cranksgiving Philadelphia.

Now there is a new addition, a group planning monthly social rides, The Philly Bike Party (Facebook Page). Modeled after the San Jose Bike Party in California. These rides involve cyclists meeting at a predetermined location, following a route and making stops along the way to socialize, and enjoy music provided by audio systems transported by bicycle. Often with a theme to encourage participants to dress up.

The Philly Bike Party has been holding social rides since November 2011 and with warmer weather rapidly approaching I believe that the size of the rides will grow. I hope that the creativity and organization of the San Jose Bike Party will inspire these newcomers to create unique and exciting rides.

Stopping in the name of brotherly love

Whether I am walking, driving, or bicycling in Philadelphia it never ceases to amaze me how a minority of cyclists think that red lights and stop signs don't apply to them. Or worse yet how they believe that they will be the only one who will get hurt in the event a car hits them. Well its time that all of you learned that you are WRONG!

What these cyclists don't understand that when you run a red light and cross directly in front of a car you may force that driver to slam on their brakes, which may cause the drivers behind them to rear end that car. This point was made abundantly clear in Portland, Oregon on December 6, 2011 when a bicyclist ran a red light in front of a city public bus (Trimet), causing the driver to slam on the brakes and throwing passengers around the bus. You can see the video of what happened to the passengers by watching this video.

Unfortunately this was not the end of it, while one would have assumed that the passengers might have suffered some bumps and bruises, maybe a broken bone. For one passenger, William Coston this did not end well. When this article was published Mr. Coston had spent two weeks in intensive care, first in a trauma unit and then in a cardiac care unit. It was not known if he had insurance and Trimet's insurance did not cover his medical care since there was no negligence on their part. Given that the cost of intensive care starts at $100,000 a day, not including any surgery and tests may need to be done done. Mr. Coston may be facing a lifetime of debt because of the arrogance of cyclist.

Ladies and Gentlemen the next time you decide to run a red light, day or night, you may be putting other people at risk and you won't know until it happens. When you are riding your bicycle for pleasure or transportation you are not in the Tour de France. There is no yellow jersey if you get to your destination a little faster than the last time. Save that for your next Cat 6 race.

Philadelphia Bicycle Lanes 2012

When is a bike lane a not a bike lane........wait for it......when it's in Philadelphia.

In past columns I've addressed the problem that cyclists face in Philadelphia. Bicycle lanes are treated as parking spaces, loading zones, and lanes of travel for cars. This problem is not unique to Philadelphia, but so far most of the attempts to address this problem are nothing more than venting. That does nothing to shame or change the behavior of drivers. These include My Bike Lane, new addition BKME, and a website run by a tattoo shop whose storefront faces a bike lane. While all this allows cyclists to vent it does nothing to change the driver’s behavior.

One of the most egregious and ongoing problems is the parking permits that are issued by the Beth Zion-Beth Israel Synagogue at 300 South 18th Street  and the Tenth Presbyterian Church at 1701 Delancey Street . These permits make it appear that people attending services can legally park in the bicycle lanes, when in reality they can't. So how did this happen?

This is courtesy of Charles Carmalt, Pedestrian & Bicycle Coordinator, Office of Transportation & Utilities of the City of Philadelphia. Who in a letter (Scroll down to see it) to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia stated; During that period, my personal observations and my discussions with representatives of churches and synagogues made me realize that the issue was more complex than just allowing people to park for an hour or two on Sunday mornings. Services on religious holidays can create unexpected parking during the week.  Several Center City religious institutions generate a substantial amount of revenue from weddings, which are usually held on Saturday afternoons at churches and on Sunday afternoons at synagogues.  As a result, parking , including parking of limousines, will frequently occur in the afternoon.

Mr. Carmalt has opened a Pandora's box with this decision. By this logic any number of businesses, especially restaurants, could claim that they to need to use bicycle lanes for their customers because of the revenue they generate. No business or institution should be able to use bicycle lanes free of charge, when the parking is for revenue generation. Philadelphia is full of private and publicly operated parking lots that can accommodate these needs. Sharing the roads does not mean taking advantage of a loophole to fatten ones wallet.

So what steps are being taken to resolve this?

Recently a Facebook page has been created, The Philadelphia Bicycle Advocates, and plans to take on this issue with Mayor Nutter on Monday, January 23, 2012.

What would I do?

Any kind of counter protest will make cyclist appear as unreasonable towards religious institutions that only need a little extra parking one day a week. The religious institutions will parade elderly members who will need access to convenient parking.

The only viable solution will be to get some concessions from the Mayor’s office. Like extending the closure of River Dr. on Sunday mornings from 6am to 12:00pm to the full day for the entire length. As well as stepped  upped enforcement and ticketing of those people who park in the bicycle lanes the rest of the week.

Montgomery County closes parks and trails??

Recently Montgomery County has announced that it may have to take drastic measures to close its budget. By closing all of the parks and trails this will include maintenance and law enforcement needed to keep these facilities operational. At a meeting on December 7 over 50 people spoke in opposition of this measure and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia expressed the views of 1500 people who sent e-mails to the Montgomery County Commissioners.

The implications of this are very serious, park employees will lose their jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial grants will be at risk. If this does happen the parks and trails will be subject to vandalism, crime, litter, and overgrown with vegetation. These spaces are used by hundreds of thousands people every year and generate millions of dollars for businesses along the trail.

So what would I do?

While I do not have a solution for the budgetary issues that Montgomery County faces, I do have a challenge for the 1500 people who sent e-mails through BCGP, the over 50 people who spoke at the meeting, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and all of the bicycling clubs through out the region. It's time for their actions to speak louder than their words.

I challenge bicycle clubs and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia to commit one day of service to provide needed maintenance along the Schuylkill River Trail, Perkiomen Trail or one of the parks in Montgomery County in the Spring of 2012. Since these places are important and bicycle clubs have benefited them, then it is time to give back. You can find more information about volunteer opportunities by using this LINK.

Parks departments have a list of things they would like to do that go beyond what can be normally handled by the park employees. Over the years I have volunteered with various groups to help clear brush, clean out illegal dump sites, and remove litter from heavily used locations.

So which groups are going to step up and commit to a date this spring?  Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, Suburban Cyclists Unlimited, Quaker City Wheelmen, and Sturdy Girls Cycling. Five days of service would accomplish lot.

Post Cranksgiving Interview

After holding the first Cranksgiving in Philadelphia, Gary and CJ took the time to answer some questions about how and why they created this event, what they have learned and plans for the 2012 Cranksgiving. 

1) What was your inspiration for creating a Cranksgiving Ride in Philadelphia?

Gary: Our introduction to Cranksgiving was in York, PA in 2007 while CJ was attending Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. Since both of us have an interest in cycling, he told me about the race, and so we went out and did it! It turns out this race was the first one being run in York. It was actually started by Tone, a former messenger from New York City who had moved to York and brought the tradition, running in New York City since 1999, with him! After having so much fun doing the race out in York for the past 4 years, and with CJ no longer going to school in Lancaster, we decided to bring the race to a common ground, Philadelphia. Unfortunately, hunger is a problem in many major metropolitan areas around the world, with Philly being one of them. The city is very lucky to have a great advocacy group like Philabundance, which made us proud to be able to support them with Cranksgiving!

CJ: I remember a lot of posts on various bike blogs around Thanksgiving about this bike race, "Cranksgiving". I found the national site (www.cranksgiving.org), and found out that York was having one! Since I went to school only about a half hour away, it seemed like a no-brainer to participate. I called up Gary, since we had gotten into cycling together, and he made the drive down. We had a lot of fun, and met the organizer, Tone, an ex-NYC messenger that had started the whole Cranksgiving tradition in New York in 1999. Turns out he had moved to York, PA earlier that year to settle down, but couldn't resist bringing Cranksgiving with him. That was back in 2007. Since then, every year, we had made the drive over to York to participate. And every year, Gary says, "We should really start one in Philly next year!" I bugged him about it a lot this year, because honestly, I didn't want to make the 2 hour drive to York. What better way to get around that than to have our own ride? No, but really....We definitely wanted to spread the Cranksgiving spirit. Tone had provided us with a lot of pointers and suggestions from his 10+ years of organizing Cranksgivings, so it actually seemed like a very do-able thing. I encourage anyone who is thinking about starting one in their own city to DO IT!

2) How many people participated?

Gary: In our first year, we had about 15 people who participated. Next year (2012) we are hoping to more than double that!

3) How many pounds of food were donated?

Gary: We collected 167lbs of food. The manifest specified six different food items to be collected, and the winner of the "Most Charitable" prize brought in 10 extra items!

4) With the temperatures in the 60's it was like spring. What is your secret for having such good weather the day of the ride?

Gary: As far as weather, we could not have been more lucky. In years past in York, PA, temperatures had been in the low 30's, which was brutal! Hopefully next year mother nature is just as friendly to us as this year.

5) Was there anything that stood out during the ride?

Gary: The nicest thing about the day, other than the fact that we collected close to 200lbs of food, was how nice the weather was. Also, the Philadelphia Marathon was the same day and snaked around Center City, and we got lucky with the timing of that event and how it coincided with the start of ours. Fortunately, the amount of interference between the two was minimal. Although, some of our riders ended up not being able use certain routes because they were still blocked off. All part of the challenge!

6) What was the most challenging thing you had to do to plan this ride?

Gary: As with any event like this, the most challenging thing was promotion. Unfortunately, we got a bit of a late start getting things together, so that made getting the word out tough. Most of the other planning, such as arranging the stores and items to be purchased, as well as arranging sponsors and collecting the prizes, went fairly smoothly.

7) If you could change something for the 2012 Cranksgiving what would it be?

Gary: A couple of things really. First... start planning earlier! We definitely could have gotten the word out to more people, as well as collected more/better prizes for the participants. We also have been thinking about a few tweaks in the way we'll be running the race. Finally, after doing the race for the first year, we learned a lot about a number of logistical issues that come with running an event, and we definitely have a lot we can apply to next years event.

CJ: Promotion, promotion, promotion. I want everyone to know about it! Get organized earlier, make up all the materials sooner, contact more sponsors, and just make sure that more people come out.

8) What kind of assistance do you need for 2012 and how can people contact you to help?

Gary: Tell your friends! Obviously we have the internet at our disposal for promoting the event via Facebook, message boards, etc... but the best way to get the word out there is just to tell your friends! This race is great because it's very laid back, the format of the race is a lot of fun, it's a great way to get involved with your community, and it supports an awesome cause. All that being said, we look forward to seeing you out there next year!

CJ: Just participate! And tell everyone! Post it on your Facebook, your cycling blog, your Myspace (hah), anything. Really, the great thing about Cranksgiving is that there is minimal preparation compared to other races and rides. The only other thing that we could use help with is sponsorship. It's always nice to have stuff to give out to riders. Of course, prizes take a backseat to the real purpose of this ride, which is to benefit a charity and help those less fortunate. Doing a good deed should be an award in itself! But anyways, if anyone needs to get a hold of us, we can be reached at: philly@cranksgiving.net. Soon we'll have an updated website with results and photos and everything, as well as post info for next year as it gets closer, but until then, send us an email and we'll definitely get back to you!