Tandem Role Reversals?

As I have mentioned in other posts, I've ridden tandems only a couple of times in my life.  It's something I would do again if the opportunity presented itself.  Of course, for such an opportunity to present itself, I'd need a tandem partner--and, of course, a tandem bicycle.  About the latter:  Not many of us who live in NYC apartments own them.

Anyway, my experience as a transgender woman has led me to notice some of the male biases in cycling I hadn't noticed when I was still riding and living as male.  

While I was of average height for a male, I am taller than most women.  That means it's still relatively easy for me to get a diamond frame that fits well (though I've still opted for custom bikes, for various reasons) and if I look and wait, I can get a women's or mixte frame that suits me.  On the other hand, it's more difficult for me to buy cycle clothing, as some of my body proportions have changed, in part from my gender transition as well as aging.  So, while it used to be easy for me to buy clothing--all I had to know was my waist and chest (or shirt) size--now clothes that are the "right" size might be too loose or tight in the hips, bust or other areas--or sleeves, pants, tights and shorts (!) might be too short. 

All of that, I believe, is a result of not considering the full range of measurements possible for a woman.  There seems to be an assumption that female cyclists will be young and built like fashion models.  Also, I have too often seen a built-in inferiority complex when it comes to stuff made for women:  It's, as often as not, just less-well-designed or lower-quality versions of stuff made for men.

Oh, there's another bias I've noticed:

The vast majority of high-quality tandems I've seen have "diamond" or "men's" frames in both the front and rear.  In a lot of ways, that makes sense because tandems have such long wheelbases and "diamond" frames are usually stiffer and more stable, than dropped top-tube frames with otherwise similar design and materials.

That itself isn't quite as much a reflection of bias as this:

Just about every tandem I've seen that combines men's and women's designs has the men's or "diamond" frame on the front and the dropped top tube on the rear.  The assumption is that the man will be the "captain" and  the woman will be the "stoker."  I guess it's still that way for most couples who ride tandems, but over the years, I've encountered a slowly but steadily increasing number of couples in which the woman is the stronger or more dedicated rider.  

For such couples, a tandem might look more like this:

unless, of course--to use a somewhat dated metaphor--the woman "wears the pants" in the couple.

Whatever their riding roles and styles, they will surely turn heads if they ride this:

He's Not Running For Office: He's Pedaling For The Vote

Why do political candidates "run" for office?

That's a question David John Wilson might ask.

He is one of 16 candidates on the ballot for the mayoralty of Minneapolis, the city that gave us Prince and launched the career of Hubert Humphrey. It's perhaps no surprise that in such a city a candidate--namely Wilson--could run on a "Rainbows Butterflies Unicorns" ticket.

Also not surprising--especially considering that Minneapolis is perennially rated as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the US, and even the world--is that Wilson is conducting his campaign from, if not the seat of his pants, then the saddle of his bicycle.

Most days during his campaign, he has dressed like a unicorn, complete with horns--and American flags.  He calls this persona, if you will, "Votey McVoteface."  He has alternate costumes as well, including one of George Washington.  But, not surprisingly, it's Votey that gets him the most attention.

Creating Votey, and coming up with his platform, was a way of appropriating a term of derision, in much the way young blacks call each other the "n" word or gay man refer to each other, and sometimes themselves, as "faggots".  (Proponents of "queer studies" claim that they are appropriating the "q" word in a similar way.) Wilson says he's often heard the phrase "rainbows, unicorns and butterflies" used to mock people who express ideas and points of view that are progressive, or merely different.

At the start of the campaign, he pledged to ride 1000 miles around the city as Votey.  He admits that he has no chance of winning the election. The purpose of his campaign, he explains, is to "make a difference" by helping to increase voter turnout and getting young people interested in politics:  things he couldn't do in years past, when he worked at the polls.

"I would like to dream that I could be mayor but that's not really what this is about," he says.  "This is about getting out the vote, this is about embracing the city that I love."

In other words, it's not about the destination; it's about the journey:  the way of a cyclist.

When Using "Bicycle Infrastructure", Be Sure To Take "Proper Precautions"!

Sometimes the bicycle infrastructure we get is worse than no bicycle infrastructure.  Three lawsuits that have been filed, and another that was recently settled, in San Diego bear this out.

Eight months ago, Clifford Brown won a $4.85 million for injuries he sustained in a crash on a tree-damaged sidewalk.  City officials had been notified about the damage five months before the September 2014 crash, which left Brown with several lost teeth, torn spinal cord ligaments and brain damage that has rendered him incapable of functioning independently.  

In San Diego, as in other cities, cyclists sometimes use sidewalks because they feel safer on them then on streets that are designed for vehicular traffic and thus have no shoulders, or even passing or parking lanes.  Cyclists might also feel safer on sidewalks than on some bike lanes, especially one like the Balboa Avenue path where a man who has filed one of the pending lawsuits crashed head-on into another cyclist.  

That man, Douglas Eggers, suffered injuries similar to Brown's.  His suit alleges that the accident resulted because the lane, which runs along the north side of Balboa, is built only for eastbound traffic.  According to the suit, the city should have built that lane wider, with a divider in the middle, to accommodate bicycle traffic going both ways, or a separate westbound bike lane on the south side of Balboa, one of the city's busiest thoroughfares.  

Michael Cizaukas, who filed one of the other lawsuits, was launched into a move most BMXers would admire when he was thrust into the air from a section of a bike lane buckled by a tree.  Not being a BMXer, though, he was thrown from his bike and, as a result, suffered fractured bones, a separated shoulder, muscle tears, hearing loss and a concussion in the May 2016 incident.

Warning: Shock Hazard!

Unfortunately, I've heard of crashes like the ones Brown, Eggers and Cizaukas endured.  But the third lawsuit filed I'm going to mention involves something I never before would have envisioned:  injuries sustained at a bicycle parking rack.  Oh, but it gets even better: Jasper Polintan says he's suffered damage to his upper extremities and other injuries that have reduced his earning capacity when--get this--he was electrocuted while locking his bike to a city rack.

His suit alleges that the city didn't properly install, maintain or provide adequate safeguards for that rack. In preliminary responses to Polintan's, Cizaukas' and Eggers' cases, however, attorneys for the city say that officials were unaware of the problems and the injured cyclists didn't take "proper precautions."

Sometimes, it seems, "proper precautions" involve simply avoiding bike lanes and much else of what's offered up as "bicycle infrastructure" in too many places.

If The "Beer Bikes" Had Been Like This...

The other day, I wrote about the "beer bikes" that have just been banned in Amsterdam.  They were essentially pedal-powered rolling bars that could accomodate a dozen or so revelers.  City residents got tired of having to contend with drunks weaving in and out of bicycle, pedestrian and motorized traffic on the narrow streets in the city's center.

Maybe there wouldn't have been a problem if the "beer bikes" were like this:

Signs Of Other Times

The other day, I managed to sneak out for a mid-afternoon ride between classes and conferences with students.  It wasn't a long ride, and it didn't take me far from the college where I teach.  But it did, as rides often do, reveal some interesting and unexpected sights.

In both the "interesting" and "unexpected" categories was this:

One almost never sees a sign like that anymore in the New York Metro area.  For that matter, one rarely sees the kind of store that's attached to it, at least in this area.  

It's at the intersection of East Tremont and Park Avenues in the Bronx.  Yes, the Park Avenue you've all heard of--the one of Zsa Zsa Gabor--extends into the Bronx, hard by the Metro North (formerly New York Central) railroad tracks!

You wouldn't expect to find a store like this on Zsa Zsa's Park. But in this part of the Bronx reside folks not unlike some of my relatives, including two blue-collar uncles of mine who lived in Brooklyn and  went up to the Catskills and sometimes even the Adirondacks to hunt around this time every year.  Their ethnic origins may be different, but their lives and desires are, I believe, similar:  They need to live in an urban area and to get out of it every now and again.  

That is why, even though I've never had any desire to hunt, and have fished only a couple of times, I understand those who love those sports.  Of course, there are very practical reasons to allow hunting:  Deer and other animals that are pursued by hunters no longer have natural predators, so hunters help to keep their population in check. If they didn't, even more animals would starve and freeze to death during the winter.  Also, although I'm not too keen on guns (and support restrictions on access to them) I am not afraid of hunters and other sportsmen, such as competitive shooters, who use them. 

Anyway, the proprietor of the store caught a glimpse of me photographing his signs.  I think he knew that I don't hunt or fish and, barring the collapse of civilization, probably never will.  Still, he was polite and was pleased when I complimented his signs.  "You just don't see these anymore," I said.  He nodded.

The sales clerk gave me their business card.  I told them I'll be back:  I did see a jacket I really like.  And they have hiking boots as well as equipment for all sorts of other sports--but not cycling!