Go to the new Odds and ends site.

No, this driver pointed to the right. To me, he was suggesting that I move to the right. This would mean at least two things:

1. He wanted me to move towards the curb so that he could turn right on red, illegally turning right in front of a bicyclist.
2. He wanted me to move towards the curb, and when the light turned green, he would turn right in front of me (known as the right hook).

Neither scenario is legal or appropriate so I ignored his suggestion. Thankfully, neither his head nor his car exploded in anger and he was able to make a right turn, although 3.2 seconds later than he desired.

Here’s a sample of what people are saying about my bright blue Yuba Mundo:

• Where did you get that?
• What is it for?
• What are those handlebars for?
• Does it have extra pedals?
• Can someone ride on the back?

• You da man! (This was mostly in regards to me having a 400 watt sound system on the rear rack)
• I like your bike!
• That’s a cool bike!

Last week I was riding home at midnight through several “bar dense” neighborhoods. Someone in the backseat of a car stuck their head out the window in such a way as to not seem like they were not staring at me or the Yuba Mundo. I noticed and waved. It’s hard to ignore a wave and they waved back!

So what should you do to keep your bike yours?

As soon as you get your bike, do these things (and in this order):

1. Buy a lock and learn how to lock it. Learn from the Chicago Bicycle Program’s webpage or ask the bike shop staff to show you. Even if you don’t think you will need to lock it, YOU WILL at some point need to lock your bike to something (even if it’s inside your garage or on the balcony).
2. Take a photo of you AND the bike (freestanding and not locked). This does two things: associates you as the owner of the bike, and reminds you what your bike looks like so you can describe it to others.
3. Record the serial number. Save it to your computer, your Evernote, and your fireproof safe. This is another way to associate you as the owner of the bike and is unique to the bikes from that manufacturer.
4. Register your bicycle with the bike shop (if they offer it) AND the local police department.

I will be Chicago’s first Mundo owner, and perhaps the first owner of a Mundo with an internal gear hub.

For example,

.listItem {
height:11em;
page-break-inside: avoid;
display:block;
}

Adding display:block fixed my page break issue and now the printer no longer cuts the list item.

Drive Less. Ride More.
Bike.

Lake Street Metra trains
Originally uploaded by Steven Vance

Taken from Lake Street on the west side of the Chicago River South Branch. Three Metra trains go in and out of the north platforms at Union Station (after traveling three blocks under streets and buildings).
Photos are here, here, and here.

The video has been sped up by 44% to fit within Flickr’s 90 second time limit and to be less boring.

On a snowy day. The snow was coming down slow and wet. I was riding my bicycle west on Lake Street out of the loop on a Friday afternoon at about 4:45 (rush hour!). I’ve always wanted to capture the trains at this interlocking but I don’t like going out of my way.

Well, this was on my way! I hope off the bike and sat my little point and shoot camera on the ledge here. In less than 10 minutes, at least five trains passed by. At one point, there were three trains crossing Canal Street.

Check out my gallery, Trains in Snow. A gallery is a set of other people’s photos.

Judging by how many bikes were parked outside, how many people were walking around the shopping area, and how many people were watching the presentations in another room, the first Bike Winter Swap Meet and Urban Bicycle Expo will be successful (it hasn’t ended as I write this).

My question is, though: How should we measure success? We think we have the ability to see a situation, concept, or event and say, "That’s successful." But the word means a goal has been accomplished. So what’s the goal here?

When I put together the June 2009 meeting for the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council (photos), I set an attendance threshold as a goal (my goal was 100 attendees, if I remember my final report, about 40 non-staff Chicagoans showed up).

I don’t remember the other two goals (the final report is at my office computer), but I think one had to do with receiving feedback from the attendees indicating they learned something at the meeting (I received about 26 surveys).

Howard, an organizer, said on ChiFG, "Visitor turnout exceeded our expectations– the name tags were actually what we used to get a visitor count (and to encourage entry donations)– we had well over 300 visitors and when you count the vendors, presenters, and volunteers we had around 450 people in attendance; at times you could barely get through the crowd in the swap areas; from about noon on the presentation room was packed."