Conkey Cruisers Determined To Keep Going In Ra-Cha-Cha

I haven't been to Rochester in a while.  Not so long ago, photography (specifically Kodak) was to New York State's third-largest city as the auto industry was to Detroit or bicycle business to Birmingham and St. Etienne.  At one time, banks in Rochester would grant mortgages and loans to people who simply presented a Kodak employee ID.

Kodak, which didn't keep up in the shift from film to digital photography, filed for bankruptcy three and a half years ago.  But the city's decline had begun before that, when other companies and whole industries left.  Now one out of every four residents of "Ra-Cha-Cha", and two out of every five of its young people, live in poverty as it's defined by the US Government.

In such a place, there are people who are desperate enough to steal anything that might be of any monetary value or use.  A bicycle has both. So, a would-be thief who broke into a storage facility where 150 are kept would probably think he'd hit paydirt.

Some of the Conkey Cruisers

That is what happened last week.  The bikes belonged to The Conkey Cruisers.  Theresa Bowick, a registered nurse, started the organization three years ago to help city residents of all ages stay fit.  (Like other cities in which much of the population is poor, obesity, diabetes and other health problems are rampant.)  But her focus became the children--who, she says, "are children I love."  

Theresa Bowick

 She is, therefore, determined to keep the program going.  The Rochester Police Department says it has recovered 25 to 30 of the bicycles, all in pieces.  To Bowick, though, all is not lost: "[O]ur safety coordinator and our program educator decided they are going to use those pieces to teach our participants to put bicycles together."

Donations have come in from the immediate area and beyond.  Still, Bowick says, her program can use donations of bikes, parts, money or moral support.

Bringing Bikes To Kids In The Great North

Nunavut is a region of Canada about three times the size of Texas, or about the same size as all of Western Europe.  Yet my neighborhood--Astoria, Queens, New York--has about three times as many people.

I have never been to Nunavut.  Somehow I imagine there aren't many bike shops there and that delivery even from Performance or Wiggle is slow.  Then again, from what I've read, I don't imagine very many natives of Nunavut--most of whom are Inuit, and many of whom don't speak either English or French, the two official languages of Canada--have the means of accessing bicycle retailers' websites or the money to buy a bike.

Alison Harper noticed as much. She and her husband moved to Kugluktuk, a town about 600 kilometres north of Yellowknife, the largest community in the Northwest Territories.  The kids who came into the community center in which she volunteered were fascinated by her fat-tired bike.  She decided to organize a ride with those young people, only to find that one of the boys didn't have a bike.

Alison Harper and children of Kuglutuk on their bikes. From CTV News.

She then started the Polar Bike Project to bring bikes to kids in the Great North.  She contacted a friend who owns a bike shop in Calgary, who agreed to donate bikes.  Getting them to Kugluktuk was another story.  Fortunately, Buffalo Airways in Yellowknife offered to ship them for free.

The first ten bikes arrived last month and 42 are due in the next shipment.  She hopes to bring a bike to every child in the town. So she's looking for more sources of bikes, locks helmets and monetary donations for her project.



 

Family Portrait Day

Today is Family Day.  So you’re gonna see lots and lotsa pikshas.

In the previous sentence, my roots were showing.  I’m going to my hairdresser on Thursday.

Anyway…Now I’m going to show you some portraits of family members.  It’s a particular but close branch:  The Mercians.

Yes, I’m going to show you my bikes, after their winter makeovers and some riding.

First I’ll start with Arielle, the first Mercian to come into my life:

You’ve seen some photos of her already. But I wanted to show her after 500 miles, post-facelift (and overhaul):

I’m liking it more and more with the honey leather.  I think the bags have something to do with it:  The color of the canvas (“Nantucket Red”, which is really more like salmon pink) works with both the green and purple of the “flip flop” finish and the honey saddle, bar wrap and toe straps. What do you think?

As you know from a few previous posts, Tosca, my fixie (and the second Mercian I acquired) got a similar treatment.

I’m happy with the way the colors play off each other.  However, I wasn’t able to find a double track toe strap to go with the other leather accessories.  Then again, I guess the mismatch isn’t as noticeable as if, say, I wrapped the bar in a darker color.

The third Mercian to come my way is, I realize, one I haven’t written as much about lately.  Helene is a 2010 Miss Mercian with similar geometry (but with slightly more tire and fender clearance) to Arielle, which is a custom Mercian Audax.  

The rear bag is a bit larger than the one I use on Arielle and Tosca.  As you can probably tell, it was also made by Ely Rodriguez of Ruth Works SF. So is the handlebar bag, doubles as a clutch or shoulder bag when removed from the bike.

Finally, here is the last Mercian I bought. Ironically, it’s the oldest:  Vera, my “other” Miss Mercian.  It was made in 1994 and I purchased it in 2011:

Somehow the boxy randonneur front bag and larger saddle bag make the most sense—and look best—on this bike, although I could use them on my other bike.  Perhaps it’s because Vera has a longer wheelbase and is therefore the most stable with a load on it.  I wonder what it would be like on a longer tour.

She seems really happy to have those bags, and the Brooks B17 special.  So am I.  In fact, I’m happy with all of these bikes:  As similar as they might seem to someone who doesn’t know bikes or Mercians, each has its own character and personality.  Still, they all make me happy when I ride

Now, here’s the rest of my family:

 
La-Z-Boy, a.k.a. Max

 and La-Z-Girl, a.k.a. Marlee!