Tell me why you don't like Mondays?

I had an amazing commute this morning - so quick, so easy, so light. All that despite the heat of over 31C (88F) that we are suppose to get later today. Yes, it was getting hot, but the morning breeze kept me cool and I could tell that the car traffic was much lighter (Could this be because of today's Boston Marathon?).

I knew that somehow my ride was faster than normal since in places where I usually crawl in the 2nd gear of my Nexus hub, today I was in the 3rd. Now I keep wondering how was that possible. Could this be the warm weather and the feel of summer that gave me an energy boost? Or was it just the reverse case of Mondays. Usually, people hate Mondays since it means that the weekend is over and it's time to go back to work. For me, it's quite different. Since I rarely find time to ride my bike on weekends, Monday morning is the time I can hop on a bike with freshly charged "batteries" - my restored energy reserves. I probably wouldn't feel that way if I had to sit in the morning traffic. One more positive thing about cycling, I guess.

Honest e-cards

Ever heard of someecards.com? Well, this one seems to be perfectly appropriate:

 

But since you may noticed that I usually try to balance my opinion, I don't want motorists to think that I don't share their pain at the pump:

Roadworks

Unpleasant surprise was waiting for me yesterday on my way back from work. Apparently, there is some work going on now on the Minuteman Bikeway in Lexington. Part of the trail is closed for bike traffic, which essentially forces bikers to ride on always-busy Massachusetts Ave instead. Since I didn't feel like merging with car traffic again, I have to admit I decided to further "investigate" this problem and ignore the warning. I wasn't alone. Most bikers didn't seem to care and were riding this way as usual (as you can tell from the picture below):

It turned out that two spots on the trial had a new asphalt in place and it looked like perhaps some pipes running across the path were replaced. Fortunately, the part of the Bikeway in Arlington was free of any obstacles and I could get home quickly.

Rule #7 - You will have your bike inspected

Bike service (What is he doing, BTW?) (Source: Shutterstock)

I know you would like to be entertained so here is something that may make you laugh. I already wrote about the most absurd, in my opinion, ideas for cycling laws. They were:
1. Cyclists should pay a "road tax"
2. Mandatory insurance
3. Bicycle license plates
4. Mandatory helmets
5. Move all bikes off the streets
6. Signal all pothole-evasive maneuvers

Today, I would like to add #7 to this list. This invention came recently from the country of my origin. Maciej Mroczek, one of Polish MPs, suggested a law (read in Polish) that would require all bicycles to undergo an annual technical inspection. His reasoning is that since all road vehicles are required to obey this law, bicycles should not be excluded.

I am not sure if he thought about the consequences, should such law become real. Bicycle inspections would require a national bicycle registration system and this is not going to be cheap. In fact, given the price of an average bicycle, registration fees would have to be low and it is unlikely that all cyclists would even bother to register their bicycles (Unless it is strictly enforced, which again, generates more costs). Any income from such fees would be negligible compared to the cost of the system. This absurd law would not make anyone happy except, maybe, bike store owners as they would get more business.

Yepp, this is how we ride

As, I promised earlier, this is the year I am going to put Dr J on a bike. But since he is only about a year old and he obviously can't ride by himself, I had to find him a bike seat.

There were two bike seats that immediately caught my attention, both of them from the same manufacturer - Yepp Mini and Yepp Maxi. The front-mounted Mini seemed like a better choice for a 1-year old over the rear-mounted Maxi. Here is why:

+ Better weight distribution. Rear wheel is not loaded that much and the rear rack is free for groceries (or a diaper bag).
+ Front-mounted seats allow my child to see more, not just my back.

+ I have more control over what my son does.
+ I can better protect my son by embracing him with my arms.
+ I can have a normal conversation with him during the ride.
+ He can't suddenly grab the handlebars and throw my balance off. This applies to Yepp, since it is mounted on the stem. Other front-mounted seats, such as WeeRide Kangaroo, are installed on a crossbar above the top tube, not the stem. This means that the seat does not rotate with the front wheel but it also means that child can grab the handlebars.

There are several drawbacks with front-mounted systems and Yepp Mini:

- Lower weight limit. Yepp Mini maximum load is 15kg (33lbs). Heavier babies have to travel in a rear-mounted seat.
- Can obstruct pedaling. A frequent problem with many front-mounted seats is that they require pedaling with legs spread out more to avoid hitting the seat with rider's knees. This could be really uncomfortable. Fortunately, it is not as bad as I thought it would be due to Mini's narrower profile.
- Yepp was designed in Holland and works well with Dutch bikes. This means it can be installed on quill stems but not on threadless type stems. Not an issue with my Schwinn but if you happen to own a mountain bike you are out of luck.
- As child grows, it may start obscuring your view and make riding uncomfortable.
- Riding uphill is difficult since it is not possible to stand on pedals.
- Requires a straight sitting position. Again, not a problem for me since this is how I sit on my Coffee but for more sporty bikes front-mounted seats may not be suitable at all.

In general, it looks like the front-mounted seats provide more fun and comfort for the child, while rear-mounted ones give it more to the parent.

Couple of days ago we took a few mile long ride to Wilson Farm in Lexington. Dr J loved the ride and apparently the only thing other that the views that was distracting him, was the brass bell on my handlebars. Yepp Mini proved to be a good product and we were both happy with it. 

However, then I started to think that Mini may not be the best choice in the long run. I realized that we will probably use it only this year as the next spring Dr J may be just too tall and heavy to ride in it. This made me replace it with the Maxi.

Maxi is a classic rear-mounted seat. With the weight limit of 22kg (48lbs) it allows transporting children up to 6 years old. This means it will last us longer. I really like how it mounts on the bike. Unlike many similar seats, it doesn't use the rear rack, but a clever frame-mounted bracket. The bracket attaches to the seat tube and gets positioned above the rear rack. When the seat is removed, the bracket stays so much forward that I can still easily use the rack. Installing the seat takes only a few seconds. Simply slide it into the bracket all way in. Removing it is equally easy but (just like in the Mini) requires pushing two separate buttons (a security feature). Both Mini and Maxi come with a key lock to prevent theft.

Yesterday, we decided to test the new seat and we took a family ride to Alewife. Our fridge was quite empty as usual, so our destination was the Whole Foods Market. Again, the seat worked well and as I expected, it is much more comfortable for the parent than the Mini. I didn't even feel that I had my son riding with me. And I could pedal normally without my knees hitting the seat in front of me. Everything went well... up to the last couple of hundred meters/feet from the house. Dr J got tired of all his morning activities and fell asleep. And then I realized the major flaw of most (all?) rear-mounted seats. Kids can't nap in them since they sit too upright and their heads have no support. I guess I would have to find (build?) a napping pad mounted to the seatpost - something similar to those at front-mounted seats. But yesterday I had no choice - I ended up carrying my son in one hand and pushing the heavy-loaded bike in the other.

The only last wish I would have is if I could get the Maxi in orange. But since I got a 20% discount on a black one, I can't complain.

War of the worlds - can bikers and drivers coexist peacefully?

Since I don't live in Holland nor Denmark and I can't enjoy riding on bike lanes on my way to work, I have to share the road with many town residents every day. Yes, some of them get a bit too close to my bike but in general, I never had any problems with vehicular cycling. Maybe this is because I don't ride on our main street - Massachusetts Ave. Apparently, this is the place of most bicycle-related crashes in Arlington. This is how it looks like:

12 hotsposts for bike crashes in Arlington (Source: Jim Haddadin @ WickedLocalArlington)

There are several reasons for these crashes but most of them can be narrowed down to either the cyclists or drivers not obeying the law. I don't want to get into the whole discussion on who's wrong and who's right, but there should be a way to satisfy both sides of the equation at the same time. Ideally, we would want these two groups coexist peacefully and do their thing without interrupting each other. This could be done one way - by designating some space on Mass Ave for bike lanes. These lanes would keep both types of vehicles separated and would increase safety. Unfortunately, it looks like most of Arlington residents don't like this idea:

Add bike lanes on Mass Ave? Not a popular idea... (Source: WickedLocal.com)

I am not surprised by these results since in order to make space for bike lanes, the Mass Ave Corridor Project plans to reduce the number of traffic lanes from 4 to 2-3. And this is a big no-no for most of the residents of this town. I thought about it recently and figured out that if a single traffic lane is about 11' wide and a parking space is about 7' wide, we should be able to fit 4 traffic lanes, parking spaces on both sides, and two 3'-wide bike lanes with 2'-wide door zones on both sides of the street. Sure, this will make the parking space a bit tight, and bike lanes are not going to be like those luxurious Dutch bike highways, but if we never compromise on something, we will get nowhere.

Most drivers will still disagree. I realize that they will prefer the status quo when they "share" the road with cyclists. Unfortunately, that "sharing" often means getting too close to passed bicycles and forcing them off the road. Bike lanes would make it safer for everyone. Safer for cyclists to ride on Mass Ave and easier for drivers to drive as they will not be slowed down anymore by bicycles in front of them. And there is a chance that more people will realize that riding a bike is safe and will leave their cars at home. This will further the reduce road congestion making driving to work faster and less stressful.

Can we coexist peacefully?

Old news, good news

This news is a bit old (March 12th) but since it is directly related to what I was writing about several weeks ago, it is worth mentioning.

We can read on Wicked Local Arlington:

Improvements will be made to an intersection in the center of town that has been called congested and unsafe. Funded by the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the town will install bike lanes on both sides of Mass. Ave.; remove parking in front of Cambridge Savings Bank to allow room for bike lanes and add parking on Mystic Street to make up for it; extend the bike path along Uncle Sam Park; elongate the left turn lane on Mystic Street onto Mass. Ave; extend curbs to shorten crossing distance for pedestrians and adjust traffic signal timing to give them more time.

Option 5 (Source: Arlington Center Safe Travel Project)

Excellent. This means that the Option 5 was chosen, which was the one I sort of hoped for. I wrote "sort of" since my preference was more toward option 3B. This is only because it opens a new possibility of building bike lanes on both sides of Mass Ave.

Option 3B (Source: Arlington Center Safe Travel Project)

Even though the more "conservative" option won, I am still pleased that the Town of Arlington decided to finally tie both loose ends of the Minuteman Bikeway together. Hopefully this will make the main intersection in town safer for all of us.