Latest Happenings
I have been painfully absent from this website lately for which I sincerely apologize, to both my readers and myself. I have not stopped bicycling yet. It has been challenging though. Braving the cold on a bicycle is a little daunting for someone who has never lived in a city as cold as Jacksonville.
There have been days when I have almost given up on the day’s ride while walking Laya in the morning. The 25F to 35F temperatures would tempt me to call a friend to pick me up on his/her way to work. Some days I managed to man up and ride out. Some days, I have given in to a friendly neighbor who offered me a ride in the morning. Somedays it rained while the temperature was in the high fourties adding to newer challenges. I bought a rain jacket from REI that breaks wind upto 60 mph to combat the rainy and cold mornings.
Yesterday, I attended the kid’s bicycle safety workshop hosted by Zombie bikes at the Jacksonville library. A burrito from Burrito Gallery later, Matt and I were off exploring the historic parts of Jacksonville. We went though Springfield, visited his friend who owns the Klutho house and headed over to the S-line bike trail to see what it was about. Then we rode towards Riverside through neighborhoods that had some very eclectic and rustic buildings. After hopping into Jax E Bikes, a quick chat with Dylan and a quick test ride on the top of the line E bike later we headed off to Memorial park. I have not hated Jacksonville’s sprawl this much till I watched the after glow of a post sunset evening on a clear florida sky across the river from San Marco. People stuck in concrete cul-de-sacs do not know what they are missing on a daily basis. After a quick ride through riverwalk, we got back to Matt’s truck.
All this on the new Hercules bike was a lot of fun. The total distance was around 10 miles. The roads included some bike lanes but mostly there were no spearate bike lanes or segragated paths. The S-line greenway was the only segregated bike path. I actually felt pretty safe on the roads without bike lanes. Those older neighborhoods are built on a more human scale unlike the suburban mess that I call home.
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February 3rd, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Don’t convince yourself that Jacksonville is a “cold city.” It is in no way too cold to commute in. I just returned from Anchorage, Alaska where I spotted bicycle commuters riding on icy, snow-covered roads in temperatures of -10 degrees. In addition to the cold, these commutes are done in the dark since the sun comes up at 10:30 am and goes down around 3:30-4:00 pm.
I believe that the most dangerous part of a winter in Alaska commute is being forced to ride in the traffic lanes. The shoulders are not available since the snow is piled up on the shoulders. The riding surface is mainly packed snow and ice. The bicycle commuters have studded bicycle tires and their traction is fine in most cases. However, the motor vehicles don’t stop so quickly on snow and ice so I can see that bicycle commuters in these conditions are in a risky situation.
None of the commuters that I spoke with complained about the cold. They live with it and dress for it. Yes, they are waiting for the long summer days with cool temperatures and 20-22 hours of sunlight. But they aren’t going to let “cold” keep them off their bicycles.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
thanks for the insight…i have been getting used to the cold lately though.