They Keep Going Even When There's No Gas

Here in the US, one normally expects to see a bicycle-mounted police officer in a park, on a college campus or in some other place where there are narrow alleys or paths, like large housing complexes.

It seems, however, that cities and towns are figuring out that such patrols can be very useful in downtown areas.  If you have cycled in such places, as I so often have, you know that you can often reach a given destination before a car or bus, especially when traffic is heavy.

That is basically the reason why there are still bike messengers, even when offices have scanners and e-mail systems.  Some things require that actual people physically sign for them, or have to be delivered by hand for other reasons.  When I was a messenger, I routinely made trips from Midtown to the Wall Street area in five to ten minutes that would have taken twenty minutes to half an hour in a motorized vehicle.

But I digress.  Now ever-smaller cities and towns are seeing the usefulness of bicycle patrols.

One such municipality is Wimberley, in the south-central part of Texas, between Austin and San Antonio. With less than 3000 residents, it doesn't have its own police station, so it depends mainly on deputies from the Hays County Constable and the county sheriff's department to respond to emergencies.

As often as not, those emergencies are the cause of traffic congestion in the downtown area.  Emergency trucks have an especially difficult time getting to the scene of an accident, explosion or some other emergency quickly.  In situations like those, saving seconds can mean saving a life.  And, as Constable Ray Helm explains, "those guys on their bikes can get there within 20 seconds" when it might take minutes for a first responders' vehicle. Also, "they can access different parts of the city trucks can't," he notes.

Also, those quick arrivals make it more likely for officers to de-escalate tense situations, like the ones that unfolded this weekend when gas stations ran out of fuel. Tempers flared, and the officers on bicycles avoided traffic tie-ups and were thus might have arrived just in time to prevent a fracas.

In sending constable's deputies on bicycles, the department was also able to use less of its own gasoline--which, of course saves money.  I am sure that would sway a few folks who might not be moved by the other benefits--such as improved community relations (Officers and the public deal with each other face-to-face rather than through a metal encasement.) that accrue from getting officers out of their cars and onto bikes.

To Find A Bike, Go Where The Donuts Are

Years ago, a fellow but very-senior faculty member was observing and evaluating one of my classes.  She wrote favorably of me, though she commented on my seeming lack of confidence.  "Remember, you are doing God's work," she told me.

I was taken aback because I hadn't taken her for a religious person.  For that matter, I was somewhat surprised--for reasons I can't recall--that she would even invoke a deity.  Perhaps I had assumed, wrongly, that she would share most other humanities faculty members'--and my--non-religiosity.

(I sometimes joke that the Carmelite nuns of my school tried to beat the devil out of me but exorcised me of my faith instead.)

Anyway, I think it's fair to ask this:  If there is indeed a god, what would that god's work be?

Of course, being a cyclist and bike blogger, I'd like to think that it somehow involves bicycles and bicycling.  Benjamin Franklin once quipped that beer is a sign that God loves us and wants us to be happy.  I would say the same about bicycles.

And, if God's work does involve bicycles, could a bakery be a theatre, staging area or workshop?

Larry Batten is the coordinator of Chain Reaction Ministries.  The program, based in The First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Oklahoma City, provides bikes for people who need basic transportation to get to their jobs.  Not surprisingly, most of the recipients have recently started their jobs or work for low wages.  Among their ranks, also not surprisingly, are some recovering addicts and new or recent parolees.

Chain Reaction Ministries coordinator Larry Batten

The point of the program, according to Batten, is to help such people get back on track with their lives.  That is the reason why, he says, the bikes aren't given to just anybody. "We are providing a hand up, not a handout," he explains.  Thus, the program requires takes  would-be recipients who are referred by various agencies, and requires those would-be recipients to present some sort of proof of employment.

The program has grown much faster than he or anyone else imagined.  So, they are almost always in need of bikes and parts. Sometimes bikes are stripped for parts, while the more expensive ones are traded at nearby Al's Bicycles for tires, tubes, chains and other parts that are needed continuously.  "Al's been amazing to us," Batten says.

His search for bikes sometimes goes far and wide.  One thing he  learned, however, is to go where the bikes are--or, more precisely, where the bikes might be.  Hence program volunteer Tom Russell's trip to Brown's Bakery.  It seems that Brown's doughnuts have quite a reputation, which is the reason why the bakery is a magnet for cyclists.  Indeed, as far back as the 1970's it served as the destination for  the Oklahoma Bicycle Society's Donut ride, a meandering ride through historic neighborhoods in Oklahoma City.

Batten says that the church has a repair shop equipped with tools donated by the local rotary club.  Two mechanics work there.  They are not mere "wrenches", though:  They empathize with their clients because they were once homeless themselves.

There are other "happy endings," evidenced by the many "thank-you" letters Batten receives.  Some of the recipients continue to ride after they get their lives together.  Others, though, buy cars--and give their bikes back to Chain Reaction Ministries.

If you want to donate, or simply want more information, you can call Chain Reaction Ministries at  (405) 525-6551 or Batten himself at (405) 479-3809.

Keep Your Eyes On The Road!

Whenever I'm about to take attendance, or read something to my students, I have to pull my reading glasses out of my purse or bookbag.  Sometimes I wave my spectacles in the air and warn my students, "This is what you have to look forward to when you get old!"

Fortunately, I don't yet need glasses for anything besides reading or other close-up work.  When I ride, the only eyewear I need is the kind that protects my eyes from the sun and wind.

Others are not so fortunate:

Bike Shares: The "Monster Revealing Mirror"?

I've head and read more than a few anti-bicycle (or, more precisely, anti-cyclist) rants.  Almost invariably, they say we are scofflaws who run red lights, thumb our noses at everyone in sight and run over puppies, kittens and people's grandmothers.

I'll admit that in my younger years, I was bolder and perhaps more reckless than I am now.  But I have never run over anyone's grandmother, or a puppy or kitten.  In fact, I've actually rescued a couple of little furry ones and stopped to help senior citizens with one thing and another.

And I'll also admit that however inaccurate the rants may be, I don't recall anyone--at least, not in this country or this time--blaming us moral decay.  I've been fingered as one of the agents in the breakedown of civil society and Christian values, and as a potential bad influence on young people--but not because I'm a cyclist.  Of course, I might not be the best example one can find for his or her children, but not for the reasons the blamers usually cite.

Anyway, I at least feel fortunate in that most of the time, I can cycle in relative peace, alone or with whomever I choose.  And I can make a case against the haters of cyclists by being law-abiding and well-behaved (mostly).  And I've listened to more than a few rants that ended with the ranter turning to me and catching him or her self:  "I didn't mean you.  It's those others--you know who I mean."

Now, you might think--correctly--that the ranters haven't been on bikes since they were kids, or at all, and they still can't wrap their heads around the idea that someone who's old enough to drive would continue to cycle by choice.  But cyclists--and bicycles--are getting the blame for "moral breakdown" and all manner of bad behavior in one of the first countries that comes to mind when one thinks about everyday adult cyclists.

I am talking about China.  There, bicycles--actually, a specific kind of bike and rider--are seen as the worm in the apple of their country's order.  

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, Chinese bike-share companies have pioneered systems that don't require ports and, instead, depend upon telephone apps and codes.  Borrowers can, therefore, leave their bikes anywhere when they are finished, and anyone who has the share company's app can find it, or any other available bike, wherever it may be.

Well, people are complaining that bikes are left literally anywhere, including in the middle of busy intersections, where they block traffic.  They've also been left on people's doorsteps or in their yards, and in any place where grandmothers can trip over them.

But some Chinese people aren't upset only because users of bike share programs are being inconsiderate of others.  Turns out, those share programs are taking business away from taxi and rickshaw drivers.  They, like those whose properties are blighted or paths are blocked by piles of abandoned bikes, are angry. It's believed that they are behind much of the vandalism and outright destruction of bikes, which includes setting them on fire or tossing them into dumps and rivers.  And bike vandalism isn't limited to the "strip and dump" variety:  individual parts are hacked and shredded, and the pieces are conspicuously displayed. 

(I am reminded of those hate crimes in which the victim is shot, slashed and burned.)

The Chinese response to the bike share menace, if you will, might reveal something about the difference between their culture--or, perhaps the way people see their roles and responsibilities in it--and what we see in the West.  When I hear an anti-bike or anti-cyclist rant here, it always goes in one direction:  against bikes and cyclists.  It is not in any way self-reflective, or even self-referential:  It begins and ends with blame of the bikes or cyclists.

On the other hand, some in China have described bike-share programs as the "monster-revealing mirror."  They believe bikes that are vandalized or block intersections expose the true nature of Chinese people.  Then again, no one seems to be saying that the phenomena I've described are indicators of anything new:  Nearly a century ago, writer Lu Xun assailed Chinese culture as boastful, cruel, selfish and servile.

Well...at least nobody in this country says such things about cyclists.  At least, not in the anti-bike rants I've heard.

Bicycle Bingo In The Land Of The Potato Chip

I am going to make a confession.  If you've been reading this blog for a while, you're used to such things.

Anyway, here goes:  I have played bingo.

Mind you, it's been at least 30 years since I last daubed an ink bottle to a bingo sheet:  If I recall correctly, I was with my mother and grandmother, and possibly one or two of their friends.  Grandma died in 1981, and I don't think I've set foot in a bingo hall since then.

But her death isn't the reason I stopped playing:  I simply thought, even with the good company I had, it was boring. I simply could not understand what sort of thrill people got in waiting for numbers to be called.

Then again, I was in my early 20's.  Perhaps I'd like it better now.  I probably am somewhere near, or not too much below, the median age of the average player. Also, I now realize that even though I was the sort of young person I was, my mother, grandmother and their friends enjoyed my company--and I liked theirs.  Perhaps that is the real reason why people go to smoke-filled halls (at least they were in those days) and eat bad food, all for the chance to hit a "jackpot" that might equal a day's pay:  the camaraderie.

Such thoughts cause me to ponder this question:  How many bingo players are cyclists--or vice-versa?

And this related question:  Is it actually possible to combine bingo and cycling?

It seems that some folks in Saratoga Springs, NY have answered the second question in the affirmative.

Saratoga Springs.  From SCiraulo Photography

The "Spa City", like other places noted for mineral springs, thrived when doctors told patients to "take the waters" as a cure for everything from arthritis to zinc deficiency.  This "prescription" became less common with developments in modern medicine that happened and, later, air travel and interstate highway systems made it possible for the sorts of people who vacationed in places like nearby Sharon Springs and Ballston Spa to head for more exotic locales further away.  

Although Saratoga Springs experienced a decline during the 1950's--when the city and state cracked down on illegal gambling--it never entirely lost its draw because of its race track (one of the few horse racing venues in the US that is still thriving) and its vibrant arts scene.  The Yaddo artists' retreat is there.  So is Skidmore College, long a fount of creativity, and the National Dance Museum, the only museum in the US (and one of the few in the world) devoted entirely to the art of dance.

So, perhaps, it's no surprise that "Spa City" came up with "Bike Bingo".  To participate, a cyclist buys a $2 card available at several locations throughout the city. The rules are simple:

• Bike to a location listed on the card and request a stamp.
• Get five in a row for “BINGO” and pedal to one of the prize locations to receive a prize.
• Get another “BINGO” to receive another prize.
• Fill the card to get more prizes.

The "game" will continue until 22 October.  Its organizers hope to reduce motor traffic downtown by encouraging people to explore it by bike.

If you pedal long enough, you'll work up an appetite.  You can sate it in one of the town's many restaurants and cafes--or with some potato chips:  legend has it that they were invented "Spa Town" .  Of course, you will wash them down with water from the Springs!