Chicago Bike Blog

Unsafe passage

We are lucky to have a beautiful and convenient bike route winding through the quiet streets of Sauganash & Edgebrook, with easy access to miles and miles of riding along the North Branch Trail. Many local residents take advantage of this route for fitness, commuting and leisure rides with family. Cyclists from all over the city use it to get from the city center to the more bucolic suburban trails; or to get from outlying areas to work or school in the city. Additionally, several city-wide events are routed along this path.

There is one unfortunate snag in this otherwise pleasant route. If you happen to be cycling during the morning or evening rush hour (as many commuting cyclists do), or mid-day Saturday (as many others do), you are likely have to take a lengthy stop at the corner of Leader and Caldwell. 

Caldwell is a MAJOR thoroughfare, with heavy traffic, fed by an exit ramp off the Edens expressway. There is no stop sign, light, or even words of caution for drivers proceeding in either direction on Caldwell. Furthermore, cars coming Westbound on Caldwell travel over the bridge above the I94, and do not become visible to cyclists waiting at the intersection until the last minute.

Two blocks west of this intersection, there is a stop light (visible in the picture below), at the entrance to the golf course. This would be a logical place for the cyclists to cross, except there is no way to get there. The smaller streets south of Caldwell do not offer an alternative, as they all end at the fenced golf course, and don't continue to the light. Proceeding on the sidewalk along the south edge of Caldwell is also impractical, as the sidewalk ends half-way down the next block, and riders would have to continue along people's front lawns.

There are a few possible solutions to this problem, and with enough incentive & pressure from the community and the cycling public, something could surely be done. Probably the most expensive solution would be to install button-activated crossing lights at Leader and Caldwell. I am not holding my breath. A stop sign would be another alternative, but might not be ideal given the volume of traffic on Caldwell.
It seems to me that some effort should be made to utilize the existing stop lights at Caldwell and Lenox. One option would be do coordinate with the homeowners on the south side of Caldwell and create a continuous sidewalk with a narrow bike lane alongside of it for the two-block stretch. The other solution (and this would be my favorite) would be to create a bike route spur along the outer edge of the golf course, that would allow cyclists safe and pleasant passage to the existing stop light. The only danger there might be dodging flying golf balls. I'll take a golf ball over a Mack truck any day...

Dearly Departed

OK, this post has nothing whatsoever to do with biking. You could say it is seasonal in nature. Since Halloween this year falls midweek, many of us will celebrate it today. I am going to resurrect (pun intended) a nifty little post I ran on another blog last spring, because I think it is fitting. I really should have waited until All Saints Day, but I don't think it would get as much traction then. So, here we go:

What's this?

(For the record, this photo was taken through a hole in the fence located just east of the defunct train track at Bryn Mawr and Kostner. The Sauganash Woods residential development is visible in the background.)

It all started when Chris and Peter discovered a granite headstone on a disused train track that runs behind our house. Chris dutifully notified the authorities at the local cemetery, who took keen interest in the abandoned stone, and vowed to return it to its rightful owner, ehm... resting place.

For as long as we have lived in this neighborhood, there have been rumors that when the cemetery sold the land that would later become the Sauganash Woods development, graves were displaced to make room for the homes.

Seems that there is a little more substance to these rumors than I thought. While on a family walk earlier this year, we spotted something weird. Don't be shy. Follow me, as we go exploring. Enter here:

The picture becomes clearer and more puzzling at the same time.

Volae Recumbents: Pursuit of Perfection

In trying to relate my experiences riding the Voleae Club, I am a little torn. I don't want to ruin a glorious riding experience with descriptions of tedious technical details. Yet, it is those details that make the bike ride the way it does. The rider experience is effortless, because of the engineering behind the design of the bike. On casual observation, the Volae looks like other high wheel racers on the market. But, the fact that Rolf Garthus and his design team have sweated out the details with great focus and discipline, means that riding a Volae is what riding a recumbent is supposed to be.
When Rolf graciously invited me to test ride the Volae on over 25 miles of rolling Wisconsin back roads for a weekend, I can honestly say that I could just kick back and enjoy the zen of the ride. The bike was free from nagging shortcomings, so my senses where completely open to the changing fall colors and bright sun of a perfect October day.
I have owned and ridden dual 650 wheel recumbents extensively over the last several years. Yet, I knew within the first few seconds of riding that this bike was the best within its category.  The longer I rode it, the more convinced I became.  As a recumbent dealer and as a rider, I know how important it is to dial in the bike to the rider's physique and riding style. On the Volae, he thoughtful arrangement of the seat and handle bars allows quick and easy on-the-go alterations.  Rolf performed some preliminary set-up before our ride, and was on hand to suggest minor adjustments during the first few minutes of the ride in response to my comments. So within the first fifteen minutes or so, I had a bike that was perfectly tuned to the way I ride, and I had complete confidence that the adjustments would stay that way.
I was pleased to see how easy it was to remove, adjust or switch out the seat, and yet I had no fear that the seat would wiggle, detach, or slide back while climbing a hill or accelerating. The geometry of the bike allows the best use of core muscles for surprisingly powerful climbing, optimal weight distribution, and steering.  I could climb hills and descend with confidence. The bike was stable yet responsive at both slow and high speeds.  Last, but not least, the Volaes look great standing still, and even better when gliding by.
In the end, I'm torn again. I have to make the usual disclaimer, that not every bike is right for every person. But the pursuit of excellence is evident throughout the Volae line, and will be appreciated by many a recumbent enthusiast. --Chris.

Flipping for bikes

Check out these photos on Chicagoist.com.
Years ago (about 13 or 14), we were at the Interbike show, which back then was held in Anaheim, and we saw some kids outside the convention hall trying to steal the spotlight. One of the kids was riding something very much like this.
Is there a connection?
Does anyone know?
BTW, I love the fact that in the photos Travis D. is wearing a ONE MORE BIKE tshirt.

Volae Recumbents

This weekend, Chris and I took a field trip to check out Volae Recumbents, and their birth place, the Hostel Shoppe in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

The Hostel Shoppe, run by Rolf and Barb Garthus, is an incredible independent retailer, which has been in operation since 1974. They have been one of the major recumbent dealers in this country for close to 18 years, and their experiences with the various types of recumbents, and even more types of recumbent riders, have led to the development of their own Volae recumbents line.
When Chris visited the Volae booth at the Interbike expo earlier this fall, Rolf invited him for a visit to Stevens Point, to learn about and experience first-hand his line of recumbents. No other recumbent manufacturer has ever offered to give us this type of training in preparation for selling their products. But Rolf is meticulous. He takes the design of his bikes, the training and the fitting of riders to bikes very seriously, and he understands that without such hands-on preparation, bikes that he has taken years to perfect could be completely misrepresented to potential customers.
We at Rapid Transit have quite a few years of experience of fitting people on recumbents. In our consultation with Rolf, it was interesting to have several of our experiences confirmed:

• There is not such thing as THE BEST recumbent. Don't ask us, or anyone for one. Even though Rolf makes his own line of recumbents, he is the first to admit that there are riders for whom they would not be appropriate. There is the best recumbent out there FOR YOU. And in order to find it, you need to work with an experienced retailer, who will allow you to try some different bikes, anticipate potential pitfalls, listen to your concerns, and know how to address them.
• Often the expectation of what will work for a particular customer turns out to be wrong. The retailer needs to be prepared to offer a variety of solutions based on the customer's reactions, not on assumptions.
• For able-bodied riders, difficulties with riding a recumbent have at least as much, if not more, to do with psychology than with the rider's physical ability.
• One of the best ways to learn to ride a recumbent is to scoot on it with your feet bouncing along the ground. Rolf calls is the hobby-horse, we call it the duck waddle.
• While a recumbent may not help you outride stronger cyclists on upright bikes, because if its aerodynamic advantage, it may allow you to ride with them, and it will certainly allow you to outride yourself on an upright bike.
• Whatever advantage you lose on climbs, you gain on descents.

However awkward it may feel to find yourself in the saddle of a recumbent for the first time, there are few things as exhilarating and graceful as soaring down a rolling country road on one of these bikes.

In the next day or two, we'll bring you Chris's account of riding the Volae for the first time.

Should you lock your rear wheel?

There is a widely held belief among bike riders in Chicago, that rear wheels are more difficult to steal than front wheels. Consequently, many riders throw a u-lock through the frame and the front wheel, and leave the back wheel unsecured. The truth is that the rear wheel as easy to steal as the front:

As a bicycle shop, we find that we replace as many, if not more rear wheels than front wheels due to theft. The rear wheel on most bicycles is substantially more expensive to replace, because you will not only have to replace the wheel, tire, tube and rim strip, but also the gear cassette attached to the rear hub. Replacing the cassette sometimes may require additional labor charges for adjusting the gears and in some cases, may require replacing the chain, because a worn chain may not work with a new cassette. Depending on the quality of the parts, you may spend $50-$200 more replacing the rear wheel that you would replacing the front wheel.

The solution? Lock the frame, and secure BOTH wheels when you leave the bike unattended. Click here for details.

Envision change

Today is Blog Action Day.

Bloggers everywhere are writing about issues related to the environment. Since this entire blog is dedicated to the bicycle, arguably the most environmentally friendly vehicle ever invented, I thought I would simply take this opportunity to congratulate Al Gore on his Nobel Peace Prize.

Way to go Al!

Read whatever subliminal messages you want into this picture. All I'm trying to do is to get Mr. Gore to ride more.

Coupon

 

Please click on the coupon to enlarge, print and come in to redeem. (Any of our current coupons may be used together, however, they may not be combined with additional discounts, such as CBF.)

Please click on the coupon to enlarge, print and come in to redeem. (Any of our current coupons may be used together, however, they may not be combined with additional discounts, such as CBF.)

Update to Cargo Trailers

There may yet be a trailer out there for me!

After posting my previous article, I visited the website of one of our vendors who imports interesting products from other parts of the world. Although he didn't have the trailer at this year's Interbike, I remembered that he had an interesting trailer a couple of years ago, but there may have been some problem with getting it to market here.
Well, it turns out that it is available. It comes from the company called Carry Freedom in the UK. The model that is being distributed here is, appropriately, the City.
The price tag on this trailer is a bit high, at $400. Before I commit to it, I want to try it out and see if it's something I can wholeheartedly recommend. They will be sending me a slightly used model to try out for myself. If it's the cat's meow, it might just be worth the money.

Cargo Trailers

I was really hoping someone would have an innovative trailer at Interbike this year.
People are definitely thinking about carrying stuff on bikes, and we saw quite a few new bike designs with an extended rear triangle (or an Xtracycle attachment), to accommodate a supersize rack for hauling big loads.

This trend is very encouraging, because it shows that the bicycle industry has recognized that people use bikes for all sorts of practical applications.
My problem with bicycle trailers, racks and other attachments currently available on the market, is that they don't allow you to shop at more than one place. There is simply no way to secure your stuff should you happen to want to stop at a few places. This may be OK if you live in the type of community where people routinely leave their doors unlocked, but not here in Chicago.
So I am envisioning a trailer you can unhook, and easily wheel with you into the store. Sort of a euro shopping cart. I know it's been done. European vendors have shown trailers like this at past bike expos, and they are available overseas. But I have not found anyone distributing such products in the US.
Here is the closest thing we found:

Dahon, the folding bike manufacturer, is marketing a trailer, called the Kitchen Sink, that can be unhooked from the bike and wheeled around. They recommend it for open-air market shopping (a great idea in and of itself), but it seems too large to bring into a store. It is a nice trailer, compatible with most bikes, and we will probably be carrying it when it becomes available.
But, my search for the trailer/shopping cart continues. I will keep you updated.