Whole Foods Bike Rack Fail

I  posted a couple of weeks ago about the overflowing bike racks at Whole Foods (and everywhere around Cambridge).
I stopped by after my training on Sunday, and the good news is that after a year of requests,  there was another rack installed!

The bad news is that it's a crummy wheelbender type that's totally useless for most riders.  The mixed news was that people were so desperate for bike parking that they were locking just their front wheels- risking not only theft but a taco'ed wheel if the bike fell over.

Note that the rack is too close to existing racks- There's no way to get into the empty spots in the middle, even if you could manage to lock your bike there.  The person who ordered and  installed this rack had no idea how to actually park a bike.

Minerva and another bike locked to a pole because we couldn't fit in any other spots.   I could easily carry $100 of groceries in those big panniers.

Newsflash for Whole Foods:  Biking for urban transportation is a real trend, not just greenwashing!
People who bike to the store (your customers) on a regular basis tend to have bikes with fenders and racks and baskets for carrying all the groceries that they want to buy at your store.

This bike is set up to carry a serious load of groceries.  The owner was complaining to me while she locked up about how lame the new parking is.

  The racks you put in need to accommodate those kinds of bicycles if you want these kinds of people to come to your store.   If it's not enough to you that I am arriving in an environmentally friendly way, consider that I have $50 a week that I'm not spending on gas, that instead I could  spend on grass fed beef, locally grown kale and compostable trash bags.  You claim to have a larger mission of sustainability, yet you provide plenty of car parking, while providing substandard facilities for truly sustainable transportation.  Transportation cyclists are your target audience.  By shortchanging us, you risk losing us as customers, and make your mission seem hollow.



I've written to Whole Foods asking if they have a national bike rack policy.  If they respond, I'll be happy to let you know what they say.

In Training

All weekend I've been in a training session run by the Alliance for Biking and Walking aimed at learning how to be a better advocate.   Since I've kind of fallen into advocacy work as a volunteer and in essentially a reactive role, it's interesting to step back think formally about the steps involved in successful advocacy, and learning to balance strategy with tactical operations.

It was a weekend full of stimulating conversations about the ways our cities could better serve people, with a group of very smart, very thoughtful, very informed people who are as passionate about making the city a better place for people not in cars as I am.  In some ways the issue we chose  to take through the process of the workshop was poorly suited for the structure of the event- too big and too complicated to parse using arbitrary guidelines.  The struggle brought home for me that concrete ideas and actions are so much easier for me to get my head around than abstract strategy issues.

By turns I was exhilarated by the possibilities for positive change, terrified by the potential for lost opportunities, and overwhelmed by what seems like a insurmountable list of challenges that advocates face, each one seeming like a monumental struggle.

Mostly though, I'm intellectually exhausted.  Two and a half days of non-stop focus and incredible conversations with bright, dedicated people who are totally on your wavelength is exciting, but left me feeling drained,-like I have no words left.  The training was not only a chance to meet advocates from different organizations, but for the large group from Livable Streets to really get to know each other better.  I have often been thankful that it's such a congenial group of people, and it was great to spend so much time bouncing ideas off each other and engaging in intellectual debate.

I think tonight (and perhaps for a couple of days) the agenda is to decompress with something fun to read and a glass of wine.   I've been reading Wrestling with Moses  about Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses, but I think that's too intense after this weekend's laser focus.  Swamplandia is in my pile, and sounds like a welcome diversion. I'm going to  let some of the issues from the weekend digest, and hope that in the coming days they'll become fully incorporated in the way I think about advocacy issues.

Rawwrrr!

Even though I was late on my way to a lecture, I had to pull over and walk back half a block to study this fabulous leopard  print bike:

From just a few feet away it looks like it's been obsessively hand painted,but it's actually a 70's ish Fuji,  which has been meticulously wrapped in leopard print tape. The "regular irregularity"

of the spots and the gloss of the tape make it look very professional, like it had been painted and then clear coated.

I do hope that that's not the entire lighting system...

Very nice wrapping of a tricky intersection- very clean looking

They missed a spot- presumably they didn't want to pull the crankset to get those last couple of inches of chainstay

I'm not so big on the gold duct tape "handlebar tape"   It smacks of last minute Halloween costume-  although the gold itself is a nice choice, aesthetically.   Maybe it's just me, but this would be drool worthy with VO leather bar tape and a carradice olive with leather piping bag.

Livable Streets Party Tonight

Just a heads up,   Livable Streets is having its annual Spring Meet and Greet tonight, April 26, 6-m to 8pm 100 Sidney Street, Cambridge.   Free for members, or become a member at the door for $35.
Beer wine and munchies, mingling on the patio (weather permitting) and a chance to celebrate, if nothing else the BU bike lanes, for which Livable Streets spearheaded the campaign, as well as hear about current campaigns for a more livable city.

Special guest this year will be Nicole Freedman, former city of Boston Bike Czar,  so come by and thank her for her years of service and incredible accomplishments!  Also meet all kinds of people interested in making the streets more walkable, bikeable and transit friendly.

A Study in Pink*

I couldn't help noticing that this bike parked in a Somerville front yard exactly matched the azalea behind it.

I was tempted to go into the front yard to take photos without the chainlink fence in the way, but thought that might be a bit too bike obsessive and weird :)

I like the contrast of the black rims, spokes and fenders.

A perfect match with the shocking pink of azaleas, and an object lesson on how not to lock a bike you want to keep.

* and if you haven't watched Season 1 of Sherlock, you need to hurry and get caught up- season 2 is coming the first week of May.  I'm not a big TV person, but I thought it was a great fresh take on the somewhat crusty old story.  Benedict Cumberbach is fantastic, but he makes me very glad not to be named Benedict OR Cumberbach.

Rush Hour Race

Livable Streets Alliance, and the Somerville and Cambridge Bicycle Committees are sponsoring a commute challenge where three commuters- one in a car, one on a bike and one using the T race from Redbones in Davis sq to Genzyme in Kendall.   It's a "door to door"  race, so walking to your parking or to the train, and finding a parking spot at the other end are included in your overall time.
My money is on the bike, but at least the person on the T can read while they wait or ride :)

They've been doing this in NYC for many years, and the cyclist won for at least 10 years in a row. I know that the Scientist and I used to be neck and neck on our commute, but I know I'm a lot slower now that I don't filter.   If you can find a route that's all bike lanes, I suspect that the bike might well win though, especially since the parking time is negligible.   Who do you think will win? Do you think it's a fair "fight"?

UPDATE:   I hear a rumor that Josh from Bike Safe Boston has agreed to be the biker-  will he ride the Paper Bike?

April Ladies who Bike Brunch

I had a great time at Saturday's Ladies who Bike Brunch.   We went to Area 4 again, as it worked out so well last time.   We sat at the big communal table, and I think there were 12 people, although I think I lost count at some point as people trickled in :)  Was having too much fun chatting.

It was great to see some familiar faces and some new ones,  and as usual, the food was great.   I went straight to "lunch" instead of "brunch",  with one of their wood fired pies- YUM, and shared a basket of baked goodies with my neighbors.   

We milled around a bit afterwards, enjoying the wonderful warm weather,  and admiring Megan's bike- with "new"old chainguard.  Hers was the only bike parked close to the entrance- everyone else was either parked out at meters, or at the bike rack around the back of the building, so I didn't get photos of people on their bikes before everyone dispersed :(

Next month we're going to try a Sunday instead of a Saturday,  so we'll be meeting on the 20th of May,  location TBD.  I'm thinking we should try somewhere on the Boston side of the river for the ladies coming from that direction, but I don't know as many brunch places "over there".  Any suggestions for a place that can handle a group and not freak out if we linger for more than an hour?   A picnic would be great, but I'd like to have a backup if it's not great weather.  We might also do an earlier time (9?10?)  to stay out of the busiest brunch rush.  Would love to hear suggestions!

Also, for a future meeting, would people would be interested in any sort of bike maintenance clinic?   I dropped by Hub Bikes after the brunch, and Emily was more than willing to do a short demo- I just couldn't say exactly what kind of demo people would like.   I thought at the next meeting we could chat about it.  It might also be nice to connect people to Hub bikes, as one of the constant complaints at these brunches and with women bikers in general is issues with male-centric bike shops.   While Boston has lots of options, and I've learned pretty quickly to vote with my feet if I'm not happy my treatment as a woman at a shop,  I think it would be great to connect our group with Emily's shop.