i walk the line

I dropped off my bike at the LBS on my to work the other night. Come the end
of shift I decided to walk home. The ~15 minute bike commute isn't too much
to walk and the weather at 6 am was a pleasantly cool mid-September
morning.. It gave for a different perspective walking the same route I
usually bike.

Things I noticed in random musings:

Wind matters. Although lately I've almost reach the point of upgrading my
clothing from shorts and t's to something more substantial, when walking the
lesser dress is quite sufficient given morning temps in the single digits C.

I saw more bikes [including the no-light-wrong-way rider of York Rd I have
seen previously]. I guessing when I'm on the bike we're all moving at the
same speed and are thus less likely to pass each other.

People are more likely to say hello in passing on foot than on bike. Makes
sense I guess - a slower closure rate.

Where the trail crosses the street I found myself automatically gauging the
gaps in traffic based on my bike speed - not my foot speed.

Nothing profound - just things that make Arsenio go 'Hmmmmmm'.

--
'Just because you're wearing a tie
Doesn't mean you're bloody important'
-chumbawamba

"loki" wrote in message
...
I dropped off my bike at the LBS on my to work the other night. Come the
end
of shift I decided to walk home. The ~15 minute bike commute isn't too
much
to walk and the weather at 6 am was a pleasantly cool mid-September
morning.. It gave for a different perspective walking the same route I
usually bike.

I did something similar, about 8 months ago -- I didn't ride the bike to
work but took the bus. I got off the bus at the freeway stop just before
downtown and walked to work from there, just so I could have a little
exercise. The walk duplicated about the same length as your walk back from
the LBS.

One of the things that really struck me was how I was oblivious to the
decorations that they put on the posts when you enter Chinatown. I guess
they are up higher than my eye level on the bike, and I have enough things
to look out for when on the bike.

You mention that more people greeted you on foot. I certainly got greeted
more by panhandlers while on foot, but this a function of the neighborhood I
was walking through. I also spotted even more debris by the side of the
road -- usually all I am focused on is avoiding that which is directly in my
direction of travel.

Something else I recognized was how much more willing I was to stop while on
foot. I walked by a bakery in Chinatown, and was much more willing to stop
and see what they had, for example. I wonder how much better/more secure
bicycle parking would make a difference in how likely people are to stop on
their bicycles. I also wonder how different it is for cars willing to stop
vs bicycles vs pedestrians, and if these sorts of things should go into the
consideration of the design of urban shopping districts.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Sat, 25 Sep 2004 14:57:42 GMT,
. net,
"Claire Petersky" wrote, in part:

Something else I recognized was how much more willing I was to stop while on
foot. I walked by a bakery in Chinatown, and was much more willing to stop
and see what they had, for example. I wonder how much better/more secure
bicycle parking would make a difference in how likely people are to stop on
their bicycles. I also wonder how different it is for cars willing to stop
vs bicycles vs pedestrians, and if these sorts of things should go into the
consideration of the design of urban shopping districts.

We've seen the popularity of "drive-through" restaurants and services
in areas where the pedestrian traffic couldn't support a business.
Having sufficient volume of cars to sustain a "drive-through"
operation precludes having an adequate pedestrian customer base. The
scale and geometry is wrong for humans. These areas are places to be
merely passed through. Nobody lives there. Civility diminishes in an
inverse proportion to the amount of asphalt paving.

I think if we look at the areas of a city that have lively pedestrian
streets we'll see a whole different scale. The most popular areas are
generally those established before the suburban sprawl phenomenon
gutted the cities. They have narrower streets, fewer and slower moving
motor vehicles. They're usually well served by public transit and are
central to large population bases. Parking should be situated at the
edges of these areas to protect the qualities which make them good
places for people to walk.

I think Jane Jacobs and Christopher Alexander have long ago done the
research and identified the elements required for the successful
pedestrian shopping districts that are essential for creating livable
cities. Neither of them are huge fans of the impact car-culture has
had on civilisation.

Sidewalks in Vancouver's Chinatown are packed full of people and
wares. There aren't many convenient or designated bicycle parking
facilities in that neighbourhood. Parking meters and phoney poles are
about all there is handy for locking a bike. But, I don't think that
discourages anyone from riding there to do their shopping.
--
zk

"Claire Petersky" wrote in message link.net...

I did something similar, about 8 months ago -- I didn't ride the bike to
work but took the bus.

A couple of weeks ago my wife picked me up from work and both of my
bikes ended up at the office. The next work day, I went to the bus
stop but I missed the bus. Instead of waiting a half hour for the next
bus, I walked the six miles to work.

As others note, the observations one makes while walking are different
from driving and even from cycling.

RFM

"Claire Petersky" wrote in message
ink.net...
[...]
Something else I recognized was how much more willing I was to stop while
on
foot. I walked by a bakery in Chinatown, and was much more willing to stop
and see what they had, for example. I wonder how much better/more secure
bicycle parking would make a difference in how likely people are to stop
on
their bicycles.

For me it's convenience. I wouldn't have a problem locking up - even a
kryptonite - it's just the minor hassle of doing so that might make me
not stop. That and I often like to go sans lock if I don't plan on needing
it. It would reduce the spontaneous stops, I guess.

--
'Oh lord!
Won't you buy me, a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches as sung by:
I must make amends.' -janis joplin

"Zoot Katz" wrote in message
...
[...]
We've seen the popularity of "drive-through" restaurants and services
in areas where the pedestrian traffic couldn't support a business.
Having sufficient volume of cars to sustain a "drive-through"
operation precludes having an adequate pedestrian customer base. The
scale and geometry is wrong for humans. These areas are places to be
merely passed through. Nobody lives there. Civility diminishes in an
inverse proportion to the amount of asphalt paving.

Although I love their product dearly; Tim Horton's has at least two stores
in town that totally bugger up traffic. The one I am most familiar with is
close to my work place. It's one property short of the intersection and the
drive through makes the entire area congested mess during the morning and
afternoon rush hours.

--
'Do as you damn well please
Or you could end up
being a pot-bellied boring hairless fart'
- billy connelly

"dreaded" wrote in message
...
"Claire Petersky" wrote in message

Claire, do you work downtown seattle?

Yup.

Have your used that new place where
they watch your bike?

The Bikestation? Well. I was there this morning, because my shifter cable
broke, and they're open supposedly at 7:00 AM. It was 7:50 AM and the place
was locked up tighter than a drum. I'd hate to rely on it if it's that
unreliable. Flipside, the one other time I was in there, because I had
forgotten my pump, the tech replaced my tube in 30 seconds -- all I wanted
was access to his floor pump, but he did the whole operation for me in
nothing flat.

i have a new class downtown and want to bike there but
don't know where's the safest place to keep it.

Where and when's your class? Email me.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

"Claire Petersky" wrote in message
news [...]
Flipside, the one other time I was in there, because I had
forgotten my pump, the tech replaced my tube in 30 seconds -- all I wanted
was access to his floor pump, but he did the whole operation for me in
nothing flat.
^^^

So to speak.


--
'They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast'
-eagles

Claire Petersky wrote:

Something else I recognized was how much more willing I was to stop while on
foot. I walked by a bakery in Chinatown, and was much more willing to stop
and see what they had, for example.

Which one? Yum yum, My Favorite Cake House, The one near Eighth & King
(Sweet & Fresh - I think), A Piece of Cake, Mon Hei, Cake House? My
Favorite Cake House is definitely my favorite, their Mango tarts are
fantastic (assuming you get them earlier in the day). What? Stop
looking at me like that. No, I don't spend a lot of time perusing
Chinese bakeries. You can't prove anything!

I wonder how much better/more secure
bicycle parking would make a difference in how likely people are to stop on
their bicycles. I also wonder how different it is for cars willing to stop
vs bicycles vs pedestrians, and if these sorts of things should go into the
consideration of the design of urban shopping districts.

Eh, there are few enough other cyclists usually that there are plenty of
poles or postal boxes to lock up to. Bike parking would be nice though.
It is definitely easier to cycle down and pick up take-out than to drive.
Parking in the ID is, of course, sparse and hotly contested. Plus my
favorite takeout (Hing Loon) [1] is right next to my favorite bakery. [2]

[1] They do a great Szechuan eggplant, and my daughter loves their green
onion pancakes.
[2] Which is also conviently just down the block from my favorite soup
noodle place. Canton Wonton is a great hole in the wall.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
Thus spake the master programmer:
"When you have learned to snatch the error code from
the trap frame, it will be time for you to leave."
-- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"