Shek's Footprint

Rental Car Pick Up: I have had to pick up a rental car in the morning from Avis a mile down the street from my apartment. I did not want to leave my bike at the parking lot of a strip mall all day. So, I had to ask for rides from friendly neighbors whose good deeds were well compensated by dinners. Now, I can ride the folding bike to the car rental and put it in the trunk.

Suburbia Bar Hopping: Bar hopping in suburbia usually spans over 5 to 10 miles and ends in a friend’s apartment or house far away from bar infested neighborhoods. With the folding bike, I can meet my friends at a bar and car pool with them to the next.

Multi-modal transportation: If I ever muster up the patience and an unreasonable desire to plan a trip via the infrequent and insufficient JTA bus service, I can fold up the bike and take it with me. I am no longer limited to two bike racks on a bus. Moreover, planning a route on the JTA website is best done leaving the ‘Bicycle’ button under ‘Special Accomodations’ unselected. JTA does claim that all their buses are equipped with bike racks.

Most multi modal trips in Jacksonville FL are efficient when accomplished completely on a single mode: motor vehicles or bicycle.

Multi Modal – Dinner Plans: To meet a friend for dinner at 8 PM at a favorite Thai restaurant on University Blvd, the bike ride is 6.5 miles away which takes 30 to 45 mins. To accomplish a multi-modal transit, JTA suggests I board S1 at 6:53 PM (next bus at 8:03 PM!!!), get off FCCJ station at 7:40 PM, Board P4 at 7:46 PM (next bus at 8:20 PM!!!), arrive at my destination 63 minutes after starting my trip at 7:56 PM. JTA denys me any transportation back once I have finished off the Penang curry followed by homemade coconut ice-cream by 9 PM and am ready to head to my comfy bed to peacefully digest the delicious meal.

Multi Modal – Visiting the Art Walk: Lets look at longer trips. Tomorrow, the first Wednesday of the month is the Downtown art walk. I like visiting the art walk to see the vibrant local art scene and plan my next purchase. I also like meeting my friends and making new acquaintances as the art walk nurtures an atmosphere unlike any suburban bar and club. It usually starts at 6 pm and ends by 10 pm.

I want to leave work at 5 pm, ride my bike home, walk my dog and feed her, then take the bus to downtown by 6 pm and want to make the last JTA bus back home. The JTA trip planner suggests I ride my bike to the corner of Baymeadows and Southside, board B7 at 6:23 pm and arrive in Downtown by 7:18 pm. Having spent a couple of hours, when I try to leave at 9 pm, JTA denys any service at that late hour.

The bike ride to Downtown is 12 miles long and easily accomplished in an hour. Longer rides like this can be gradually worked up to. The return journey can be made on the bicycle I brought along. Such inconvineances however strip off enthusiasm from beginners wanting to reduce their dependency on cars.

On a personal note, the only bike I own worthy of a 12 mile trip is an xtracycle and wont fit on a bus rack!

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Matt about a folding bike for $20. I was busy battling the sweat while walking Laya in the hot evening weather and dismissed the email prematurely. Matt was persuasive and $20 was a cheap price. Three hours later, I was unloading an all american, made in Allentown PA, chrome moly framed B. C. America folding bike from Matt’s truck.

I took it for a short test ride to the old Baymeadows Golf Club a few days back. The bike came with a three speed internal hub gear with coaster brake. For the most part, I rode the bike in the tallest gear. The short crank length combined with the short seat height at full seat post extension made it a little cumbersome to pedal at slight inclines. My legs were not fully extended at the bottom position of the crank. I may need to find a taller seat post. The 20 inch wheels pleasantly cushioned on most cracks and portholes on the dilapidated golf cart pathway.

The goose-neck handlebar is supposed to flip down. The previous owner has it screwed on too tight for me to loosen it by hand. The grips are made of cheap foam and are coming apart. I have considered changing the handlebar but it will be a future project. As is, the bicycle fits nicely inside the trunk of a taxi cab.

This brings me to the topic of intended usage of the folding bicycle which will be the next post.

I have been working on a few things to enhance my bicycle commutes.

The first is a traffic light improvement. I wait on an average of two cycles at the eastbound intersection of A. C. Skinner Pkwy and Southside Blvd for the light to change to green. Unless a motor vehicle, usually a car or truck, pulls up in the lane next to me, the light refuses to cycle. This involves waiting under the blistering noon heat for over 7 minutes for the light to change.

I called The City of Jacksonville with this maintenance issue Monday before 11 am. The number is 904 255 8970. It has been two days and I have not noticed any changes. I will wait till next Monday to follow up on the maintenance issue.

The second thing that I have mostly delegated away is to get a sign that says ‘Bicycles Take Full Lane’ (see image below courtesy Cyclelicious).

I want to see these installed on narrow (less than 14 feet wide) two lane roads like the service road that I live on and Touchton Rd which seems to harbour even more insolent motorists than I imagined. Per section 316.2065(5) exception 3, bicycles are not required to be ‘as close to the right as practicable’. In such narrow roads, it is unsafe to continue along the right hand edge.

Thirdly, I have acquired a riding buddy for 80% of my ride home from work. Jose works in the office building next to mine and commutes around 7 miles one way. We ride two abreast on the and make a strong statement of bicyclists position and status on the road.

Since the week of excruciating encounters of the motorist kind, I have taken a step back to evaluate my position. I traveled all of last week and effectively stayed off the bicycle since the evening of 12 June till this morning when I rode to work. I pumped through a small hill outside my apartment breathing in a high humidity sauna aired morning glow. The effort required was more than usual. I was undecided if my breathless lungs were signaling me to ride more often or confirming a well deserved hiatus from bicycling.

I occupied my week long business trip to ponder over my position on bicycle advocacy. Lately, I have felt like a martyr when advocating for bicycles, I hadn’t seen any difference made both in the minds of bicyclists and motorists. I have strongly considered moving out of this bicycle hating neighborhood and moving to the urban core where bicycles are more readily accepted. My views about pushing pedals in this part of town have been more and more pessimistic.

I have been commuting on my bicycle for a year. Over this year, I have evolved as a bicyclist, in both range of trips and attitude. During my beginning months, I had a lot more gumption that masked a significant volume of incoming motorist harassment. The gumption to ride is still alive, proven by the fact that I am not tempted to buy a motor vehicle to alleviate the pain. The masking powers of gumption has dwindled. There are stretches of road in which I feel nervous when controlling the lane. To some extent, rage has taken over and I have been known to flip a bird when honked at, yelled at, spat at and lit cigarettes thrown at. The reaction portraying a higher quality would be to ignore but is easier said than done. A bird-flip has more instantaneous fulfillment. I am working on a non-reactionary attitude.

The uncomfortable encounter with a police officer left a foul taste in my mouth about the protectors and upholders of law that I pay taxes to protect and uphold. Unfortunately, some police uniforms come with a cape and an external underwear. They are the unnecessary evils similar to belligerent motorists, except they are armed with mace, tasers and citation tickets.

Bikejax has successfully managed to influence people to ride their bikes, which in return makes more motorists aware. Starting off with the volunteer support at the Jazz Festival, we have uncovered a few people that deserve a mention. My goal would be to bring more people under the spot light for commuting in this part of town. In the form of commuter profiles on Bikejax, we will introduce Rebekah Wallis, Jose Falqez, Jonathan, Matt Bishop and Matt Martin. They have an infectious gumption which inspires me. I also noticed an older gentleman riding his bike on the dreaded service road; not on the sidewalk but the actual road! Kudos to you sir.

As I type the last paragraph and get ready to bike home for lunch, I can not ignore the tiny knot in my stomach from nervousness and anxiety. Some scars heal with time and patience used to be a strong virtue. The days do look brighter after the brief hiatus.