Learning Their ABCDEs

 Those of us who attended school in countries that use the Roman alphabet (or variations of it) began our education by “learning our ABC’s.”

Well, some young people in central Kansas are continuing their education by learning the ABCDE’s.

Oh, and their lessons will come on Sunday. But they won’t be part of “Sunday School” because, for one thing, they have nothing to do with religion and, for another, they’re being conducted at the Barton County Fairgrounds.

The bike repair workshops will run from 1 to 3 pm and are open to anyone in grades 4 to 12.

Hosting this event are the Golden Belt Badgers. If that sounds like a really cool name for a school mountain bike team, well, that’s exactly what it is.  The Badgers are sanctioned by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.

Even if none of the kids go on to become professional mechanics or racers—or employed in any way by the cycling industry—I can’t help but to think that learning the ABCDEs will make them more confident riders. I know it had that effect on me.

By the way, the ABCDEs are:

Air (tires & pressure)

Brakes

Chain

Derailleur 

Everything else.

Tell Us More

 When I wrote for a newspaper, I occasionally covered what my editor called “cops and robbers” stories.

One such tale involved someone who thought he could avail himself to some, shall we say, after-hours discounts.  As in “take one, get one free.”

Absent a store security video (not so unusual in those days), the investigating officers had to rely on eyewitnesses accounts—which, as any criminologist will tell you today, aren’t very reliable.  One such account described the suspect as a “White, possibly light-skinned Black or Hispanic” of “about average” height and build, wearing “jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers.

I looked at one of the officers. He started to laugh. So did I. “How many dudes fit that description?” I wondered.

“Exactly!” he replied.

I though about that when I saw this announcement in the Skagit Valley (WA) Herald:

A Schwinn bicycle with a rear rack? I’ve had a couple of those. But other than bearing the same brand and a rear rack, they had almost nothing else in common. 

Bicycles have been made and sold with the Schwinn name for 130 years, and have included everything from Krates to Heavi Dutis and Phantoms to Paramounts. Oh, and they’ve been made in a vast range of sizes and a wide spectrum of colors.

So, tell us more about that bike you found!

A Record—For Whom?

 According to the latest statistics from New York City’s Development of Transportation, the number of cyclists in my hometown set a record for the fourth straight year.

Some may criticize their methodology:  They counted only the cyclists using the East River crossings, which connect Manhattan with Brooklyn and Queens.  While I wonder what, exactly, can be extrapolated from it, I also understand that those crossings are among the few places where à accurate counts can be made consistently.

Photo by Frank Franklin for the NY Daily News

From my observations, however, such a methodology skews the findings and conclusions drawn.  Cyclists using those East River crossings tend to be commuters—usually, going to Manhattan—and younger than other cyclists.  I think the DOT’s way of counting also misses riders who commute within their own borough or, say, from Queens to Brooklyn, and misses the Bronx entirely.

One interesting finding that squares with my observations is that even after the new bike lane opened on the Brooklyn Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge is still the preferred East River crossing. It’s easy to see why.  For one thing, many of the young commuting cyclists I’ve mentioned live and/or work in the neighborhoods on either side of the bridge.  Also, at least in my experience, it offers easier access than the other bridges, and the Manhattan entrance is at the end of a protected bike lane along Delancey Street. 

Oh, and if you’re a tourist (or simply not a commuter or regular NYC cyclist), I’ll let you in on a secret:  the Williamsburg offers the best views—including those of the Brooklyn Bridge!