Author Archives: Christopher

After watching this video I am honestly inspired by it. I always wrote off BMX as some kind of sport for children that grown men could not outgrow. I thought, “Why would someone choose to ride a bike that is too small for them so that they either have to stand the entire time or kill their knees.” Granted I like fixing BMXs because they are mechanically interesting, but that’s as far as it went.

Now my eyes are open. I see now that it is not about jumping, flipping, and falling from great heights on the same jumps, flips, and falls. It’s about freedom. It is a freedom that only they can grasp. Traditional cyclists are held down by roads and paths. BMXers have a different view of the world entirely. Why not use that rock to vault yourself on to that wall? To a BMX rider that makes perfect sense. To us that’s lunacy.

If you ride BMX I would be really interested in hearing your opinion on the topic. Can you say guest post?

Before I forget, thanks Lorenz for introducing me to this video.

Written by Chris Belsole

I think I talked about this before, although I can’t find the post because they are not very well organized, but did you know you can get 20 bucks a month to subsidize your bike commuter addiction habit. You think that’s good? Check this out from Commute by Bike:

“… the Commuter Relief Act would raise the amount that bicycle commuters can receive per month to $40, and it would allow cyclists to receive this amount in combination with public transportation benefits. If the transit cap is $200, an employee who uses both a bicycle and public transportation could receive $40 for cycling and the remaining $160 for subway or bus fare (or maybe one day, high speed rail).”

That’s 40 bucks a month. That’s a new chain, half a crank, tow thirds a cassette, handle bar grips, a multi-too, part of a helmet, and the list goes on and on. Hopefully this bill passes and we can start getting paid. What would you use the money for?

Written by Chris Belsole

Last week a few of us road up to Schenectady to attend a presentation on bicycle advocacy and infrastructure in Portland, Oregon given by the former Bicycle Program Manager Mia Birk. Her talk was inspiring. She talked about advocacy. She talked about infrastructure. She talked about people. All this really hit home for us as it seemed like she was saying, “This is what you need to do. Now do it!”

There are many things you need to build a bikable city. These being money, political support, volunteers, etc., but as she pointed out, and as we have seen from San Francisco, the majority of people won’t start riding until the infrastructure is in place. The segment of people that want to ride on the road is much smaller than those that would ride in a bike lane. That is why they are so important. It’s not because they prevent crashes. It’s because they give people some comfort when using them and encourage them to get out on a bike. We have seen time and time again that when more bicyclists are on the road accidents rates decrease.

For more info on Mia Birk visit her website. Also if you feel the same passion for bicycles that we do why not come to one of our public meetings and help make Albany a bikable city.

Written by Chris Belsole