Lawn

One of my favourite things about cycling is how it clears the head. A cycle ride isn’t always a journey through space, but also of time. Today the prevailing scent in town has been of cut grass; the prevailing sound of lawnmowers. No dandelion is safe from their toothy rotaries. Cycling through Corning in the warm air of the gloaming (the heat of the day is later here) I came across other scents – a flowering hedge I recall from my childhood in Melbourne, air heavy with laundry soap – that seem to announce the onset of spring proper. Everything is a lot greener now than it was in December, though many trees aren’t fully convinced and are yet to declare their foliage.

I often wonder why grass is so prevalent in cities. When did we decide it was preferable to permaculture? There’s something very urban about freshly mown lawn – a lazy and convincing way to show nature who’s boss. Grass cuttings remind me of primary school, after the oval was mown. We’d build grassy fortresses that the wind turned to sprindrift, and would all go home itchy.

The Pedestrian Bridge

Hi Coco,

After a number of arduous rides, today I remembered to pump up my tyres before going cycling, and what a difference it made! I planned to just go to Wegman’s to pick up an eggplant, but once there I didn’t feel like going straight home, so I went on a detour via Corning’s lovely pedestrian bridge, where I was delighted to discover some more bicycle parking – complete with parked bikes! (I also met a fellow cyclist as I was leaving the supermarket, who had a rather nice fixie. He said “nice day for a ride!” and we had a chat about the fantastic lack of winter.)

The bridge is crumbling a tad, but I like that it’s still available to pedestrians and cyclists.

It also affords nice views across to the other bridge, which I call “The Green Bridge”, which unfortunately doesn’t look very green in this photo:

I also took advantage of this capacious footpath outside the Corning Museum of Glass, which I guess I’m allowed to cycle on? I haven’t figured out the rules with cycling on the pavement yet, but it appears to be acceptable – as it should be! I’ve only found one sign restricting it, which is on a very thin pavement near a retirement home, which seems reasonable.

As much as I enjoy the quiet streets, I also like to cycle on the main road because I like to give cycling some visibility. I’m yet to experience any sort of road rage – cars merely slow down and give me space. It’s lovely! And when I was stopped at an intersection today, a man with a long triangular beard smiled at me.

Another Errand

Hi Coco,

Corning has a second Post Office. It’s not pretty like the main one, but it has BICYCLE PARKING. And not just any bicycle parking:

HARDCORE bicycle parking! Look, it’s bolted into the ground and everything. On the way home from posting a parcel to my sister, a nice old man said hello to me. That never happens if you’re in a car, unless someone wants to road rage at you.

I didn’t take a photo of my outfit today because I’ve been wearing pretty much the same thing every time I cycle. This coat is brilliant! I bought in in Chester just before we left the UK, which I thought was appropriate as Chester is famous for it’s ‘black and white’ architecture. And my Topshop gloves from the Tweed Run are still going strong. When will they bring out a range of bicycle gloves? I wish someone would!

When I got home I realised I’d forgotten to bring the other half of my postal errand: the Netflix envelope. I was obviously more excited about the journey than the destination.

“Winter” Cycling in Corning

Hi Coco,

The shipping container arrived last week and I’m back on the bike! The only casualty of the move was the cheap retro light I purchased back in London, which fell off on my first Corning cycle ride. Great. I’ll have to get a better bracket sorted when the local bike shop opens again in March.

To my surprise, winter in Corning has (so far) been remarkably mild. There has been no snow for over a week, and temperatures well above zero, so I have been cycling a few times now on short errands around town. It’s still ear freeze weather, but all in all it’s perfect for short trips. I’m trying to be less shy about posting cycling outfits, so here is my latest attempt at looking visible and staying warm. So far drivers have been very considerate – giving me a wide berth and slowing down, though some have been shy to overtake me. Yesterday three trucks waited for me to do a left turn! How kind. I hope they weren’t spluttering “stupid cyclist” under their breath or something.

Cycling parking in Corning is a bit lacking, but so far I’ve managed to lock my bike to a bin (outside the coffee shop) and a handrail (outside the post office). The local supermarket, Wegman’s, has a parking lot the size of a football field, which contrasts strongly with the pair of bike stands that aren’t attached to the ground in any way, but at least they make bike stealing all the more inconvenient. I’m thinking about getting a lighter lock and some sort of chain, because lugging my Kryptonite around is probably a bit overkill.

Happily, I’m not the only cyclist in Corning – every time I go outside I see someone on a bike. It’s very heartening. There is also a mountain bike leaning on a tree outside my flat, which has yet to be stolen, which I take as a good sign.

Parking at the flat. Those stairs are deceptively steep!

Sunlight much? That's our car in the background, which we are forced to own due to total lack of public transport.

A perfect day for cycling, no? That white tower is a Corning landmark called the Tube Draw Tower, built in 1912. It was used to make thermometers! The picture on the side is a glassblower.

Creative parking at the Post Office

Corning's Post Office. It's fantastic inside! I almost want to rent a post office box just to hang out there more often.

Boris Biking

Dear Coco,

I am writing to you from my new home, Corning NY, where I am resident in a local hotel for another week. It is cold, but not so cold that the recent rain has turned to ice, and it hasn’t snowed for over a week. I’m sure this is a temporary respite, as winter has only just started according to the recent solstice. Corning is a small city on the Chemung River in upstate New York, and with the calm traffic and wide roads, it will be an excellent place to cycle I’m sure – the only thing it appears to be lacking so far is proper bicycle parking. There are no proper cycle lanes on roads, but at least there’s space.

However, that is a blog post I am yet to write, as Blackie is currently on route to America on a ship. Here she is being packed by the world’s most efficient relocation packers (I only arrived in time to see her being sealed up!) The packing man took off one of the pedals and broke a spanner in the process, so I have some bicycle surgery to attend to when she arrives.

On our last day in London, we rented some Boris Bikes and cycled through Hyde Park ostensibly to see the Christmas markets, but mainly to fill in time. It was Boxing Day, and we were living in a hotel in Bayswater. The tube drivers were mostly on strike. We didn’t want to go far, especially with the sales on, so Boris Biking was the perfect last day activity.

The system isn’t as user-friendly as I expected as it takes a few different stages for a first-time user to actually release a bike. The docks have buttons numbered 1, 2, 3, and the idea is to pay the 24-hour rental fee (a very reasonable £2 for two bikes) and then get a four-digit code to release the bikes (for example, “1223″) which is good for 10 minutes before you have to get a new code. This is a nice idea, except that the buttons have been so badly vandalised on each and every dock that you have to use a coin to press the digits in (of course, if you have paid the annual subscription fee and got yourself a release key, you don’t have this problem).

There were many people cycling around the park on Boris Bikes on this particular day, so obviously many people found releasing the bikes less difficult than I did. The bikes are quite large and even as an average sized person I wasn’t completely comfortable, but perhaps I’m just used to the Pashley posture. The bikes are still very sturdy and surprisingly light to ride despite their weight. It was an excellent way to spend our last day in London.

I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to cycling again with all this driving I am forced to do. America’s love affair with the car is very much alive and well!

Love Tillie

Vows

Dear Coco,

I know I have been a very remiss blogger of late. I’m sorry. I’m still here! We are both busy with Life Upheaval™, which I’m sure our readers (if they are still out there – hello readers!) will hear much more of in the coming months (stay with us, dudes). In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a lovely column in the New York Times called “Vows”, of which I have become a huge fan. Vows chronicles the stories of couples who have recently married. It includes a really wide range of people and experiences, and it is very addictive. This week, I got a tad misty-eyed reading about a Firefighter/cyclist who barely survived a terrible collision with a bus on the mean streets of New York, and managing to beat many a dark moment through some gentle encouragement* from others, met his lovely wife.

*I must say I love the role encouragement plays in this story. I saw Tony Benn speak at a conference a couple of years ago, and he said that one of the most important things you can do in life is encourage people. As someone on the receiving end of much encouragement, I can vouch for its transformative power.

Love Tillie

Idiots with elbows

Dear Tillie,

as I’m due to give birth tomorrow I haven’t been on my bike recently but I have had my spies keeping an eye out for interesting bike news. This little gem was sent to me by my sister who noticed the following sign posted on every telegraph pole down Victoria Road in Balmain/Rozelle.

 

As you can see in the images this is a shared path that even goes so far as to have a painted divider down the middle of the path to encourage people to keep to the left. Apparently despite these extreme efforts some pedestrians don’t like to share and one cyclist is fighting back!

If anyone knows the full story please tell us in the comments!

Love Coco xx

The Fall of Bike Share

Dear Tillie,

this little clip speaks for itself. Enjoy!

Love Coco xx

The Holstee Manifesto: Lifecycle Video

Dear Tillie,

it’s only 25 days until I’m due to give birth to the wriggling baby in this huge belly of mine. As a result I’ve been spending a lot of time with my feet up in front of the fan rather than out and about on my bike. That’s not to say I haven’t been thinking about riding, in fact many people have been asking me if I’m going to take the baby on the bike (of course!) and I’ve been perusing online bike stores, blogs and videos to get my cycling fix. That’s how I came across this little video. I like the idea- life is simple. That’s what makes cycling so beautiful, you push the pedals and away you go. It’s the simple pleasures in life that really are the best and if we slow down and really appreciate the little things we can be so much happier than when we fill our lives with unnecessary junk. Anyway enough from me. I should just let the video speak for itself!

Love Coco xx

Ride To Work Day Sydney

Dear Tillie,

today was Ride To Work Day and to celebrate the City of Sydney Council put on a free breakfast for folks who commute to the city by bike. I rolled up on my retro Electra and locked up with the hundreds of other bikes.

My Electra kinda stands out from the sporty pack

I was surprised by the huge turnout. I guess when cyclists whizz by one by one you don’t really get a sense of just how many there are. Unlike cars which sit still in traffic jams, allowing you to count them as you ride by. Unfortunately it was a lycra heavy event, which in itself is ok, but I was made to feel a bit uncomfortable and was asked (felt like interrogated) if I had in fact ridden when I was lined up for my free hot chocolate. It put a bit of a dampener on the event for me. The lovely Sarah Wilson got up on stage at one point and pointed out that yes, she had ridden here despite being gorgeously kitted out and sans lycra. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

The breakfast included coffee, pastries, bananas(!), and juice. There were also physiotherapists available to check your posture on your bike, and bike mechanics offering free tune ups. I loved the band! What a great start to the morning!

The rest of the day was also beautiful. I couldn’t help but share this gorgeous plant I snapped a photo of at lunch. Spring is well and truly here!

Love Coco xx