Upgrades and Revolution Part 2: The Drag

This is a bit later than previously anticipated - I apologize, I got swamped. Now, to business. People for Bikes recently declared the 10 best protected bike lanes in the U.S. Check out number 3! BAM! That's us! Reading that article is honestly what prompted me to go photograph the new infrastructure so without further ado, the rest of my ride.

After I pulled off the Red Line Trail around Airport, I dipped into the neighborhood, connected up with Guadalupe and headed south. Right off the bat I saw something I'd never seen before. A bike shop!

This is Monkey Wrench Bicycles, the smallest, localest shop I have ever been in, hands down. A very helpful one, at that! About a week back, my bike had gotten knocked over and the front fender had literally bent back on itself. The fine folks at Monkey Wrench bent it back with a pair of pliers and sent me on my way, free of charge. The fender has a bit of character to it now, but it's back in business. They had KHS in stock but after inquiring, can order whatever you might need.

Guadalupe has at least SOME form of bike accomodation all the way down. As it gets busier and more dangerous, the accomodations change to account for the level of travel.

Just north of Rio Grande 

That said, there's one area that the infrastructure gets a bit....dodgy. It goes from the striped bike lane, goes green over the transition to Rio Grande, then becomes a lane with cars and buses. It does include Sharrows, but in the land of student drivers I trust those about as far as I can throw them. 

Sharrows

Because, for all you who are unfamiliar with Austin and her fair traffic patterns....it is DENSE. I would (without any factual knowledge of whether or not this is true) hazard to call it the most densely populated city in Texas. However, the infrastructure available has not caught up with the population. Consequently, our traffic is absolutely heinous and the further you go towards downtown, the dodgier it gets. Sharrows are....laughably insufficient for safety down that way.

While this doesn't really tell you the scale of things, this is a small taste of what you're dealing with.

But then at 24th St, something absolutely magical happens

That right there friends, is a legit separated cycle track. Call it Amsterdam-style, a separated bike lane, a cycle track - who cares. It's a place to go down the road and you're physically separated from motor vehicle traffic by a line of parked cars. The bus stop is set on the traffic side of things, so you don't even have to share that. It's amazing. It's everything I hoped it could be and more. I'll just put up the photos and let you join me on my cruise through the Drag towards downtown.

Visiting an old friend

One little bonus issomething I've heard called the "Copenhagen left," though whether it comes from Copenhagen, I'm not sure. Basically, if you're approaching an intersection and need to make a left, you proceed through the green and stop in this box. Then, when the direction you need to go receives the right of way, you proceed in that direction. It sets up the intersection so a bike can successfully and efficiently make a left without changing into the motor vehicle lefthand turn lane. Neat, right?

I swung north, and visited another central Austin friend:

Then stumbled across a lovely surprise! Another fancy bike lane, this one on Rio Grande!

This one, while not as elaborate, is still incredibly helpful for getting downtown a bit further west between Guadalupe and Rio Grande and when combined with the very southern end of the Shoal Creek Trail, makes it easy as pie to access Cesar Chavez, The Lance Armstrong Bikeway, 4th St eastward - basically all of downtown.

After this, I lost the light. So I hit the pub with a friend, shared a few beers, then eased on homeward for the day. For the record, I took Woodrow. It does also have a bike lane.

Upgrades and Revolution Part 1: The Airport Bike Lane

A post in 2 parts. Some time ago (to the wailing and gnashing of teeth in the comments section of the local paper) the city of Austin had some of our urban planners make the trip to Amsterdam. There was some meeting of minds, and here in our fair city upon their return, something remarkable is happening. They're putting in dutch-style separated bike lanes in some parts of the city that could DESPERATELY use the help.

Now for folks here who AREN'T from Austin, we are the 3rd-most congested city in the United States. We're also one of the smallest cities on the list of "most congested," which is it's own kind of special. If I leave my job in North Austin at rush hour, getting to my sister's house 19 miles across town is a 45 minute trip sitting in traffic, MINIMUM. Congestion relief is honestly one of the biggest challenges facing this city as our population continues to explode. 

See the other issue here is Austin has taken a very different course than most cities in Texas when the inevitable population explosion came. When it happened in north Dallas, the result was immense sprawl. Austin, however, is building up, not out. We're fitting so many more people into the same space and the result is Doctor Who-esque gridlock. 

The Red Line Trail is a proposed project for a trail that will parallel our metro-rail system from Leander to downtown Austin - if it's successfully completed the first thing I'd like to do is ride the full length of it. For the moment the first bit has gone in between the Crestview and Highland stations.

First thought: WHY CAN'T WE HAVE ONE OF THESE DOWN LAMAR?! Seriously. Here I am at Airport and Guadalupe:

And here's the Red Line Trail:

Facing southeast towards Highland Mall

Facing northwest - the greenish building is the Crestview station. There's a good pub in there, too.

Now, notice that there was actually a "traditional" bike lane along Airport and it's still for all intents and purposes there and available for usage. But I cannot imagine myself taking that option when something so obviously superior is obviously available.

This is technically not a bike lane, it's a multi-use trail for either pedestrians or cyclists. The location is brilliant, as Airport is a road that can be notoriously hair-raising to bike along. But it also has a lot of businesses and so on down it that I simply do occasionally want to bike to. Additionally, the Highland Mall is in the process of being converted into classroom space by Austin Community College, so adding transportation corridors into it now before it becomes an issue shows excellent foresight.

As you carry on southward, the bike lane along the actual road ends, leaving just the Red Line Trail.

All too soon though, the trail ends at Airport & Denson:

The neighborhoods surrounding this area provide excellent access - I approached it from the north coming down Guadalupe. From the west it could be accessed pretty easily from Justin, from the south via Guadalupe. To continue this ride I made the right at Denson, hooked back up with Guadalupe, and took that southwards, easy striking distance to Hyde Park, the Triangle, UT-Campus, and from there into Downtown. 

Overall I love this bit of infrastructure. It provides an entirely new and viable way for me to move in the city without worrying about traffic. It's brilliant, and I can't wait to see it when it's done.

Coming and Going in the Dark

I work a pretty long day - a 4x10 schedule. Since winter is here, that means I am biking in the dark a LOT and it's starting to get to me a bit.

This is the very end of my morning commute as the sun starts to peek over the horizon. This is as light as I get.

Heading home. In the damn dark.

I miss having the sun on my face. To add to this, at some point someone or something bashed into my tail light, cracking the face of it and the light is now all flickery. I highly doubt this is a valid warranty claim since the light didn't break itself - it's quite likely someone just bashed into it while it was chained up somewhere, which is what caused the damage. 

Now, I know somewhere in Sweden there's a person giggling at me and yelling "AMATEUR!"at their monitor. I've gotta give props to people from the far ends of the world - you are way tougher than me in the face of the dark. So for the moment I'll just keep biking in the dark, figure out how to fix my tail light, and try to think of the wonderful spring sunrises to come.

The Girlie Post: Makeup & the Bike

Guys (unless you wear makeup), turn back now. There's nothing here for you.

Ladies, let's talk about makeup. Because let's face it, whether you came by car, plane, bike, or train, usually you want to look put together and a very valid concern of many women involved in cycling is that they'll look sweaty and disheveled when what they need to look is put together. Many of my male cycling peers are baffled at the fact I regularly cycle in dresses, etc, but the real miracle of my appearance is that I can (usually) keep my hair and makeup together, even when the weather is working against me. It's something I've been working on for a while, so let's talk. I'm going to say up front that I am no expert, but these are the tricks I've learned through experimentation and a lot of time on the internet.

This is what I look like on a 90 F evening with 50% humidity immediately after getting off my bike, 14 miles later. This is a pretty "normal" makeup look for me, the kind I'll wear to work all day, then bike in.

Mid-September in Texas is still summer

I'm a little shiny (because holy fuck, humidity), but nothing that can't be cured by patting myself off in a bathroom with some paper towels to absorb the sweat. For something a bit (a lot) more elaborate:

Sugar skull!

This was Halloween, and I biked something like 15 miles in this makeup. And I got it to stick and not run everywhere. Here's how I pull this off.

Basically, if you're planning to bike in makeup, you need to put it on the same way you would if you were going out to a club. Here's the order of products, from start to finish.

Cleanser -> Exfoliate -> Moisturizer -> Sunscreen -> Primers (eye and whole face) -> Makeup -> Setting powder or spray.

Just to be clear, I've only started using the setting sprays/powders recently, and those products are not fucking around. I probably wouldn't trust them to let me jump in a lake or in the pouring rain, but for regular usage they make your face stay where you damn well put it that morning. So, the point of all these products? Let's review.

The first four steps are all about protecting your skin and setting your self up for success. Clean your skin, get rid of all the nastiness on it, moisturize it, and protect it from the sun. The sunscreen is a really, really critical step for those of us who spend a lot of time in the sun - if you're on a bike, THAT MEANS YOU.

Primer is what makes the stuff stay in place. It's sort of like applying gesso to a canvas before beginning a painting - it fills in some spaces and smoothes everything out so your makeup has something to adhere to. There are a lot of fancy products available to do this but if I'm completely honest I use an anti-chafing gel (seriously, check the ingredients, it's the same stuff).  I use a separate primer on my eye makeup, which in the case of the Halloween makeup above, meant I used it all the way round.

Once you've got all these base layers down, you're 90% of the way to having bike-proof makeup. Do your face up like you usually would. Once that's done, setting it will take you the rest of the way. There are a LOT of products on the market for this, both powder and spray-based. The sprays are essentially formulated to be like hairspray for your face.

After getting all this on your face and set DON'T TOUCH IT. Let me repeat that. STOP TOUCHING YOUR DAMN FACE. I know, you're a stone-cold fox. But your makeup will look JACKED UP if you sweat in it, then touch it - this is a big cause of smears. It's the whole reason you put an anti-friction product between your skin and your makeup. So once it's on, leave it alone.

Waterproof products help a lot, especially in the eye area. But I don't use them as often as you'd think one would because they are a HUGE pain in the butt to remove and by priming and setting everything they're not really necessary in dryer weather (even if it's pretty hot out - I've biked to dates in 95 F weather and looked fine with regular products).

Last thing - once you're done for the day, take the makeup off, girl. DO NOT pass out with it on if you can't absolutely avoid it. The combination of sweat, makeup, and whatever was in the breeze smacking you in the face (dirt, pollens, and pollution) really doesn't need to spend a night getting ground into your pores. I use olive or coconut oil to remove my makeup and I'm pretty fanatical about it because I have learned the hard way that biking in a face full of makeup then sleeping in it will wreck shop on your face.

So there it is - this is how I bike to the bar and still get my cute girl on despite the fact I rightfully should be a sweaty wreck all the time. I'd absolutely LOVE to see some pictures and hear some tips and tricks from my fellow makeup wearing cyclists too, so feel free to comment or message me!

What I Wore To Bike To Work Today, Pt 2

I forgot to take a picture yesterday, but I remembered today! Yesterday was both warmer than anticipated and insanely humid (the daytime high was in the 80s), so I wore a pretty comfy dress. Today was less humid and a bit cooler, so it's back to jeans and just whatever top was clean:

Goofy face.

Getting my caffeine on

Once again, notice that I do not dress any differently than I normally would. These jeans just went through the washing machine and were a little stiff this morning for biking but are otherwise quite comfy up to moderate distances (20 miles seems to be the comfy-in-jeans daily maximum for me). I brought a hoodie in case I got chilly, but it was a beautiful day for a ride other than the rudeness of the cars around me. Yay biking in ALL your clothes!

Adorably disgruntled.

The cutest, most disgruntled brunch passenger in the world.

A new series! This is what I wore to bike to work today.

One of the points endlessly hammered upon by people attempting to encourage others to bike is that you genuinely don't need too much specialized equipment to do so. A bike, some lights, and a lock, and go. But I rarely see folks putting their money where their mouth is on that point. So, without further ado, this is me right after walking into my office today (admittedly, at my office we don't have a dress code).

Today's weather: 61 F (16 C) and intermittent rain. I have a rain jacket bundled up in the bottom of my bag in case I need it. 

As far as "What I'm wearing" goes, it's a sweater from H&M, Levis, the shoes are Clarks, and the socks are from the pack of 5 that they have at CostCo. Because I'm high fashion. Here's my bike exactly as it appears when I commute in:

Unless I'm worried about theft, I never really remove the lights or anything, and my locks live attached to the back rack. I add air to the tires when I remember, and clean it when I look at it and go "HOLY CRAP my bike is filthy." So it's pretty "grab and go." Every day I bike in, I'm going to try to remember to take a picture of what I wore that day because the point here is that you don't have to be even a little bit "Extreeeeme" to bike to work. Happy Monday, y'all!