Chicago Bike Blog

Dream of independent travel

You probably often walk into your local bike shop for quite prosaic reasons. Maybe you need a tube, or you need the drivetrain cleaned, or help removing the frozen seatpost, or pedal, or bottom bracket. And we help you out with that, because that's what we are here for. But if our job description read "removing stuck parts from bikes", life wouldn't be very exciting for us, and chances are, you'd receive mediocre service.

Rapid Transit Cycleshop is often described as the "urban" or "commuter" shop. I'm not sure that this does justice to what we actually do. What we did set out to do is to enable cyclists in Chicago to use their bicycles in ways that they envisioned, without judgment or intimidation. We wanted to participate in their vision. We have also always felt that transportation was a viable and appropriate use for the bicycle. And it simply happened that in a dense urban area like Wicker Park, there were quite a few people whose vision of the bicycle included transportation.When we opened the shop in 1994, we felt that much of the bike industry at the time, including bike companies and bike shops, were unresponsive to urban cyclists' needs, so we eagerly stepped in to fill the niche.

Perhaps the urban image that has grown up around us also has to do with our name. We deliberately called ourselves Rapid Transit, because we felt that bicycles were at least as sensible and efficient at public transit. For many years, we also used the tagline "We're Chicago's Transportation Alternative". Although this further played on the idea of comparing ourselves to the urban transit system (playing on the abbreviation of Chicago Transit Authority), what it meant to us, is that we offered folks who wanted to cycle real alternatives.

A bike, of course, is an alternative to a car, or train, or bus, or traveling on foot. However, we also felt that there were very few alternatives for the cycling public among the offerings of local bike shops. We wanted to change that. We were not after defining what a cyclist should be. We wanted to open up the possibilities of what he or she could be.

For example in 1994, with one Vision R40 in stock, we became Chicago's first recumbent bicycle dealer. Every year since then we have expanded or fine-tuned our recumbent offerings, and currently stock several brands and configurations of both recumbent bicycles and adult trikes. These are not traditionally considered "urban" bikes, yet a number of our customers use them extensively on the streets of Chicago.

For several years, we tried unsuccessfully to incorporate folding bikes into the mix. There simply were no US manufacturers or distributors who were set up to sell folders through a dealer network. Fortunately, several years ago that changed, and we now offer a selection of models from several different manufacturers, that give cyclists travel options simply not available with a standard bike.

Over the past fifteen years, we have seen many trends in bikes come and go. No one type of bike can fill the needs of a huge and diverse cycling population: not hybrid, not recumbent, not folding, not fixie, not road, not mountain, not Chinese, not even Dutch. Thus, we offer many different bikes, because there are many different kinds of cyclists.

Recently, we had a chance to revisit our old tagline, and really think about what it means. What does it mean to be Chicago's Transportation Alternative? It's not just who we are and what we offer. In fact, that's only a small part of it. What really matters is what you want, and how we can help that come about. Why do you want to bike? What are your dreams?

We noticed that many people coming in to look for a bike, to repair a bike, to get back on a bike, to find a different, more appropriate type of bike, were looking, in some measure, for freedom, autonomy, intependence. Freedom from traffic, from stress, from the city, from the car, from gas, from illness or injury, from convention, from routine. They expressed a desire to escape, in bigger or smaller ways, from something that was limiting or holding them back.

And our job, the way we see it, is to help them realize their dreams of independent travel.

Biking for wimps

My morning began with a slap in the face.
In my previous post, I had imprudently revealed myself as eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring, and being tired of the trudge of winter. A reader took advantage of this weak moment, and accused me of having a "delicate constitution".
Humph.
I jumped up from the computer and took a few indignant paces across the living room. I must defend myself. I must protest and set the record straight. After all, not only do I have years of all weather commuting under my belt, I also have a proven track record of turning other people into...
But then the coffee kicked in and my brain started working again.
Where is it written that cycling is something that can only be practiced by people with strong constitutions?
Like it or not, the majority of people in this country still view cycling as a fair-weather activity whose purpose is primarily recreation, rather than transportation. There are many reasons for this, chief among them perhaps the long tradition of cheap, accessible and abundant fossil fuels, resulting in extravagant urban sprawl. Because of deeply ingrained habits and social conditioning, changing people's views to accept the bicycle as a viable form of transportation has been a bit of an uphill battle.
This battle has been fought on several different fronts, through advocacy, street happenings such as Critical Mass, even fashion. It has also been fought day in and day out in forward thinking urban bike shops, such as my own Rapid Transit in Chicago.
For the past fifteen years, we have been engaged in the battle for the hearts and minds of cyclists young and old, would-be and practicing, new and experienced, timid and die-hard, fair-weather and all-weather. And we have come to the conclusion that you can't win that battle with shock and awe. Chances are you will not entice a new cyclist by painting visions of snot icicles, foggy goggles, blue fingertips and admonitions about the importance of layers. You will not smooth the way for him by describing the joys of your 40-mile daily commute. I do not mean to deny that there is a contingent of folks who do find this appealing and fun. But if the point is to create more cyclists, than this is not a winning strategy.
The truth is that few people are warriors, and even fewer are warriors every day.
Most of us (including myself, my earlier indignation notwithstanding) are wimps. Different things is our lives make us wimps: habits, children, distance, weather, aches and pains, fear, sometimes age, sometimes youth, winter colds, whims, moods, barometric pressure, stress. And frankly, while the heroic feats of others may sometimes inspire us, they probably won't motivate us on a daily basis. If the bar is set too high, we won't even make an attempt to reach it.
So I make allowances. Bike a little. Bike when the weather is nice. Bike when you feel like it. I would rather have a million wimps rejoicing in biking one mile, than feeling guilty about not biking at all.

Related posts:
Biking goals
Some of us are wimps. Others - ninja warriors.
Bike if you want to
How to get more people on bikes
50 ways to leave your car
Riding motivation

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Art credit:

Staff Bikes: Elise R. (aka "Miss July")

Not what you thought bike shop employees look like?

We didn't either. Especially since we see Elise every day hunched over the receiving desk, or waving mislabeled warranty parts in front of our noses. But here she is, gracing the July page of the TyK Pinup Calendar* featuring Chicago's women cyclists in their Technicolor brightest.

But I bet you really want to know about Elise's bike.

Elise's bike, the "Rossome", is a veritable scrapbook of Rapid Transit employees, past and present. Elise built it herself from scratch with the help of (mechanic) Kevin H. when she first got the job at the shop. The frame is a Ross Signature, which she got from Working Bikes. Ross is a department store brand, with the exception of their Signature line that ran one color per year from the late 70's through the 80's. Elise's believes her bike, which is maroon, dates from '84.

At first she built it up cheap with some old mountain cranks from our (salesman) Brent O., Surly wheels  and a saddle contributed by (colleague) Deb. But she has since replaced a lot of the parts with top quality ones. Cotton tape, Japanese brass Crane bell, vintage matching maroon fender w/ racing stripes, Brooks B17 women's saddle in honey, vintage 70's Japanese reflector with custom fabricated mounting bracket that (mechanic) Jimbo made for her, Sugino cranks, MKS track pedals & Shaggy top tube protector. The wheels were hand-built for her by (mechanic) Chris S. with Suzy hubs on super tough DT Swiss RR 1.1 rims, that have never needed to be trued in the 3 years she's ridden them everyday.

"I love my bike!!" says Elise.

How could she not?
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* The TyK (Thought you Knew) Pinup Calendar is scheduled for release in time for Valentine's Day, with a limited print run to be sold at the 2009 Bike Winter Art Show. In classic 1950s pinup style, emphasizing the art of the tease and the allure of suggestion, each month features one lady with her bike, rendered into a world of Technicolor fantasy. Accompanying each pinup image are a series of black and white photos of that same woman as the world sees her every day. Proceeds from all sales of the TyK Pinup Calendars go to The Chicago Women's Health Center.

Rats!

We abandoned the ship. Not exactly a sinking ship, but one frozen under layers of snow, ice and poor economic forecasts.

We went to Florida.

Yep, intrepid winter bikers. We cheated. While you trudged through the poorly plowed and pothole-ridden streets of Chicago, vying for shoulder space with aggressive and oblivious drivers, we wallowed in Florida sunshine, pedaling for many miles on impeccably groomed off-street trails, and were greeted kindly and given the right of way by smiling, unhurried drivers, wherever the trails happened to intersect a roadway.

On a very, very cold December day, I believe the radio said it was -6 degrees, Chris packed up our van. I was going to do it myself, since I generally don't approve of the way he packs the car any more than I approve of the way he loads the dishwasher (OK, fair enough, that's another story), but I was unwilling to brave the elements that day, and he was. Here he is: Gore-Tex, goggles, layers, nary an inch of skin showing, thick clouds of steam emitting from his mouth. Let him pack!

We drove for many miles through spectacularly beautiful midwestern countryside, shrink-wrapped in ice after a recent storm, which gradually gave way to dry, barren woods of southern Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee, and started to green up someplace south of Atlanta. We stripped off our layers, and on the second day of our trip, we enjoyed a cold lunch at a rest area wearing short-sleeved t-shirts.

We had two recumbent bikes strapped on the roof of the van. We find that we feel less guilty about taking these vacations when we can justify them as a way of doing some important research for the shop. In this case, the research involved exploring the handling characteristics of different recumbent bikes, comparing levels of rider fatigue on upright vs. recumbent bikes, evaluating the relative merits of on and off-street biking facilities, and assessing the impact of dedicated biking facilities on local economic growth.

I will endeavor to bring you the results of our rigorous research in the next few days, as soon as I recover from being back in the snow-shrouded Chicago.

Rats!

Is this man a cyclist?

It's a cold morning. The plants in front of my house, and the cars on the block are covered with frost.

I run a quick errand to a local Target (by car, if I may add). As I stand in line to pay for my purchases, the man in front of me is having a conversation with the clerk:

"It's cold, biking on a day like this." he says.

"Oh, sure is. But it's good exercise. But I don't ride, not even in the summer, even though I have a bike." she replies.

"I ride all the time. All winter, too. Every day." he says, pulling on his gloves, and collecting his bags.

"It sure is good exercise!"

The man walks out, and I pray she rings up my stuff fast, so I can get a glimpse of him riding away on his bike. I do. There he is, just as I saw him. Basic bike, bulky hooded parka, thick gloves, leather oxfords. No helmet, no gear, the Target bags just dangle from the handlebars.

Is he a cyclist? Or what?

Rapid Transit Winter Biking Guide

"Will people still ride their bikes this winter?" I wondered.

I was driving back from Florida, and was filling up my rental car somewhere around Mt. Vernon, Illinois, where the marquee advertised gas at $1.99 per gallon. While it is unlikely that we will see gas prices like these in Chicago, it is undeniable, that, at least for the moment, they are going down. Before I returned my rental, I filled it up at $2.67, and later that afternoon, the same gas station posted a price of $2.58.
In case you haven't figured it out, high gas prices are great for the urban bicycle shop, like Rapid Transit. When they start falling, especially at the same time as mercury does, we worry.
A little.
Bicycle retailing is an emotional business. Two months ago, a line at our counter was several layers thick. Today, hours may go by before anyone enters the store. Is it the weather, or the price of gas?
More rationally speaking, we know from experience, that many people will continue to use their bikes without regard for the price of gas, and despite the weather.
Unlike fluctuating gas prices, winter weather cannot be disregarded by the winter cyclist in these latitudes. For you, brave souls, I have compiled what I hope is some useful winter cycling advice in one convenient spot: right here.

• Why ride in winter in the first place? 10 great reasons, courtesy of RocBike.
• Think it's cold here? Here's a kick you in the butt for you.
• Some winter riding essentials.
• What would your mother say? Advice on keeping warm. And some more.
• A story about winter riding hazards, and some other things (like tires).
• Tips on how to keep your bike in good shape this winter.
• If you're gonna ride your bike in Chicago this winter, you'll need service. This is it.

(Photo from Dingbat)

What stops you from riding?

I know there are those among us who ride their bikes no matter what. The rest of us have doubts. At least once in a while. What are your stumbling blocks to cycling?And, if you are able to overcome them, how do you do it?

For me personally, the biggest block to riding is my kids. And my kids are easy. They're not babies, and they actually enjoy biking. And we have great vehicles for family biking. I bike with them locally in our own neighborhood: to their various activities, friends' homes, library and ice cream shop.  But I am absolutely paranoid about biking with them on larger streets, such as Elston or Milwaukee. So, when going on a longer trip around Chicago with them, I often choose the perceived safety of the automobile.

Traffic safety, when I bike alone, is also a concern, but it never stops me from riding. I have many years of urban riding experience, and I choose my route and biking strategy based on my skills and energy level. But it is something we all have to think about when we roll our bike onto a city street. Are you ever so concerned about safety that you choose not to ride?

Unlike those of us who work in the bike industry, most folks can't show up for work wearing cycling gear. How do you reconcile having to adhere to a strict dress code and grooming standards with a strenuous commute? Does that stop you, or do you find a way around it?

I am fortunate that my neighborhood has a designated bike route running through it, and is close to convenient diagonal thoroughfares. Although those are not the most pleasant streets to bike on, they are fast and efficient routes. The areas I generally have to travel through don't cause me to be concerned for my personal security. Is your location and/or route an obstacle to cycling?

Although I can easily manage the distance from my house to the store, it is definitely more than what I would consider a "hop". I'm not sure if I would call this obstacle "distance" or "laziness", but it does sometimes stop me from riding. (I know for sure I wouldn't call it "time savings", because whenever I've opted to go by car, I usually end up stuck in traffic.) Do you consider your bike commute impractical because of the distance you have to travel? Or, like me, are you sometimes just lazy? How do you give yourself a kick?

Looking out the window this early morning, I know the violent rain would stop me. Does it ever stop you?
How about your fitness level?
Your cycling equipment?
Always running late?
Or are you unstoppable?

I fought the trend and the trend won

It is perhaps always a little dispiriting when you find that an idea or concept you've quietly nurtured and fostered with devotion suddenly becomes the center of a trend. It's hard not to feel a little bit envious of its success. After all, weren't you one of the reasons that the idea became so popular? And, don't you feel that the new people coming into the conversation somehow don't have as much right to speak on the topic as you do? Since they haven't gone to the school of hard knocks, like you have?

I was on the verge of saying, with my friend Kim, "I am so over you, bike commuting!" I stood by you when you were the ugly stepchild of the bike industry. I insisted that you were practical, viable, and good for our health. I maintained that you offered a way to take the road less traveled, that did not include a large financial commitment to a chunk of steel and its insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. It was an important job, and you did it well.

But lately, my sometime friend, you have become too big for your cycling knickers. No doubt, this has a lot to do with how popular you've become. Everyone wants to hang out with you. But will they still remember you when the trend passes? And then, will you turn to fall back on your old friends?
Wait a minute.

When the trend passes? Who says it's going to pass?  Wasn't this what we, the quiet, relentless advocates of utilitarian cycling were hoping for? Now that cycling is enjoying the limelight, driving clothing design, appearing on bus-stands and billboards, and becoming part of our everyday vocabulary, there is a good chance that the "trend" will actually stick. That it will evolve seamlessly from a trend into an integral part of our culture.

Why, then, the pang of regret? If I'm honest with myself, I will admit that I fear being displaced by the new, exciting stuff, and maybe not be able to keep up. It is easier to say bah, humbug! to something new and unfamiliar, that to go out there and get to know it. It is an inevitable fact of life that new ideas flow over the old, and eventually displace them. But the important thing to keep in mind, I've realized, is that we are not talking about displacement of fundamental values. We're only talking about a radical makeover of their outward manifestations.

This realization came to me as I attended the industry bike fashion show at Interbike Expo last night. As the music pounded under my feet, cameras flashed all around, and models swooshed down the runway in an assortment of whimsical fashions and atop bicycles of every conceivable ilk, I realized that I must rejoice in the bike culture whose seeds have been sown and are now sprouting abundantly all around me. That I must throw aside my ideas of bike commuting being something that goes against the grain of society, and realize that society now has to go with the flow of the growing cycling culture. That I must make sure that my store, and I myself, reconcile the idea of bike commuting as serious business with all that is fun, offbeat, fresh, creative and inventive about it.
When I return to Chicago, I plan to get a helmet in a color I've never tried before. And bright, obnoxious panniers for my groceries. And pull on a flouncy dress for my cycling trips. And decorate my bike with daisies.
No, bike commuting, I'm not over you. I'm into you more than ever.

Interbike: who are we, and where are we going?

So, I didn't think Las Vegas had any real wildlife, but today, I was proven wrong:

This guy was hanging out in the driveway of our hotel. We admired and photographed him/her (they're hermaphrodites, you know), moved him/her gingerly onto a scant patch of greenery, before proceeding to our real destination, the annual bicycle trade show extravanganza, the Interbike Expo.

The schizophrenia of this industry was immediately apparent as I entered the giant, product-filled hall. Let me begin with the idea that holding tradeshow for the health-conscious, environmentally-minded, green and sustainable industry that bicycling is, in a town like Las Vegas, is in itself preposterous. Every year, dealers and vendors alike plead for holding the convention in a bicycle-friendly city, and perhaps one with some beauty and nature surrounding it, such as Denver, Portland, perhaps Minneapolis, and every year the convention organizers force us to visit the city of sin.

Here are a few more examples of and industry in search of personality. These two sights were literally across the walkway from each other:

A wholesome idea. No?

I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Of course this year, just like last, everyone is on the bike commuting bandwagon. Including Louis Garneau, not necessarily a company known for its consistent commitment to utilitarian cycling.

So they threw some "commuter friendly" fashions into their clothing line...

...added a commuter bag...

... and, voila, you have a commuter line!

Never mind that the real urban commuters, who actually ride their bikes on real streets, in real traffic, and in real weather, would have to be nuts to spend, what, 85 bucks on the little plaid skort just to define their ordinary daily activity as "commuting". And that those bag handles would make the bags really easy to swipe if someone happened to really like them while you were waiting at the stoplight.

Not to pick on this particular company. I'm sure they do some stuff really well. And they are certainly not the only ones who seek to define bike commuting as some sort of a trend or fashion. Look at this smiling, happy person. Do you actually know any bike commuters who look like this?!

Nah, they're much more gritty than that. Their clothes are not always so clean from being on the road so much. That's why they don't indulge in frivolus bike fashions, except serious weather gear. But that doesn't mean they want junk. They want thoughtfully designed stuff that's made for the way bike commuting actually works and feels. Like this:

A real beauty from Civia cycles. Three or nine-speed versions are available. Beautiful, spare frame, full racks, bamboo accessories add a touch of style. Hey, I'm not saying it has to be dowdy. In fact, style is a big part of bike commuting. But style that derives from real functionality is different than a mere trend.

Like these bags from Detours, made from juice cartons recycled by a women-owned coop in the Philipines. They work well, look good, and support a good cause.

(Stay tuned for more on bags, I'll do a separate post.)

The bike industry seems to be torn on what to make of the growing popularity of bike commuting. Everyone seems to want to capitalize on it, only they are not sure how to do it. Bike commuters have an image problem, which they themselves inadvertently helped to create. They are not perceived by the bike industry as real cyclists. Read: they are not perceived by the bike industry as having money to spend. What happens as a result is that products made for commuters are often cheap and flimsy, and offer a certain urban "look" rather than true utility.

Where much of the industry is missing the boat is the fact that urban commuters are willing to spend money where it counts. Like the example I mentioned earlier: foul weather clothing. Other examples are lights and bags. And, of course, the bikes themselves. Bikes that hold up through the rigors of daily use.

A few bike and accessory companies, usually ones where the owners and/or employees actually use their own bicycles for transport and utility, understand this, and they tend to make ther truly useful products for the bicycle commuter that are engineered with specific functions in mind. Those products are not cheap, but they tend to also not be disposable.

I am here in Vegas to find these products. The products from companies that understand that bike commuting is not a trend.