Items tagged with 'cycling'

Bike share grew in both use and reach this year -- here's what CDTA's thinking about for next year

bike share bikes and rack Corning Riverfront Park

The bike share rack in Corning Riverfront Park in Albany was the most active hub in the system this past season.

The bike share run by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- wrapped up its second season last week, and the transit org reported this week that people took 23,535 trips on the bikes between April and the end of November. That's more than double the total of last year's season.

CDTA pushed to expand the program this year, doubling the number of bikes to more than 300, and increasing the number of rack locations from 40 to more than 70 across larger service areas in Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs. It also managed to get more than 4,000 new members for the system, bringing the total to almost 6,600.

And here's what CDTA's thinking about for next year...

(Also: The most popular hub locations and a few other numbers.)

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Albany is set to build the link between Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail and the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail -- here's the plan

South End Connector 787 Church Street rendering

What part of the trail underneath 787 could look like.

The city of Albany is planning to start construction next year on the much-anticipated link between the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail and the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail.

The South End Connector is a key piece of the region's growing network of alternative transportation paths. When finished, it will offer a protected path for cyclists and pedestrians along the two miles from the rail trail's South End trailhead and the Mohawk-Hudson trail on the Hudson River. And it holds the potential to offer people within the South End a safer way to the riverfront.

The South End Connector has been in public planning for more two years, and the idea for the trail stretches back even farther. The city unveiled the construction plan and a new timeline last week at a public meeting.

Here's a look at what's in the works...

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Here are some of the options for remaking upper Washington Ave in Albany

Washington Ave corridor study bike lane option

One of the options would re-stripe the road to include bike lanes.

The part of Washington Ave by UAlbany and the Harriman State Office Campus is a weird stretch. It's really wide. All sorts of ramps slip on and off it. There's been a lot of development, but it's hard to get from one thing to another. Pedestrians dart across it. And the speed limit probably feels frustratingly slow for drivers.

So: Are there ways to fix some of these issues, making the street work better and feel better for all sorts of people -- pedestrians, cyclists, drivers?

For the past six months the Washington Avenue-Patroon Creek Corridor Study -- a collaboration between the Capital District Transportation Committee, city of Albany, University at Albany, and engineering consultants -- has been looking into that question.

And Thursday evening during a crowded public meeting at UAlbany the engineers showed off a trio of possible designs for making over the road...

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Making it someone's job (literally) to push Albany toward streets that are safer and friendlier for all sorts of people

Madison Ave road diet at South Lake

Update: Kathy Sheehan tells Amanda Fries the city won't be adding the position, but will be assigning one of its current engineers to oversee complete streets and ADA compliance. [TU]
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Should the city of Albany have a staff member whose full-time job is to keep the city on track towards its goal of creating streets that are safer and friendly to pedestrians, cyclists, and people with disabilities?

A group called Capital Region Complete Streets is pushing for the city to create such a position -- a complete streets coordinator -- and it would like to see the job included in the budget the city's working to finalize. The group has posted a doc outlining its argument (also embedded below). A clip:

It is evident that the City of Albany is making some progress with ADA Compliance, Complete Streets, and combating climate change, but the progress is slow. A Complete Streets Coordinator will help move things forward more efficiently, leading to a more inclusive, safe, walkable, and inviting city. One indicator that this position would be useful is that the city has had a Bicycle Master Plan in place since 2009, nearly a decade, yet has not come close to establishing a connected bicycle network. In fact, since 2009, the city has only managed to construct 4 mostly unconnected bike lanes (Clinton Ave, Northern Blvd, Madison Ave and Ten Broeck) that amount to about 2.8 miles.
A leading 21st century city is a safe and inviting place to live and work. Walkable streets, and navigable bike and transit networks are hallmark quality-of-life essentials for today's families, students, businesses and innovators. A Complete Streets Coordinator will allow Albany to be more responsive to the needs of its residents, while increasing its competitiveness with surrounding communities.

The city already has an ordinance requiring it to work toward "complete" streets, and a few years ago it put together what's essentially a recipe book for laying out streets with pedestrians and bikes in mind.

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The city of Albany is planning to start building that connector between the rail trail and the riverfront next year -- and there's a chance next month to see the plans

Albany waterfront connector route plan under 787 rendering

One of the renderings from 2017 of what the section under 787 might look like.

The city of Albany will show off the concept plans for the South End Connector Trail at a public meeting November 13 at the Howe Branch of the Albany Public Library.

The South End Connector is planned to be a roughly two-mile path to connect the end of the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail in the South End with the Mohawk Hudson Bike Hike Trail along the riverfront. The public planning process for the project started more than two years ago, and the city and its consultants unveiled a plan in May 2017.

It's an important project because of the connection it will form between the two popular bike trails and the progress toward building a larger regional trail network. And it also potentially will open a safer way for people in the South End to get to the riverfront.

There are a two bits of news in the city's meeting announcement:
+ The city says it's anticipating that construction of the project's multi-use pathwill start in the summer of 2019.
+ A second phase -- that "include enhancements such as additional lighting and public art to the section of the route that goes under I-787" -- is scheduled for 2020. The city is calling that segment the "South End Connector Underline."

The public meeting is Tuesday, November 13 at at the Howe Branch of the APL (105 Schuyler Street). There's an open house from 7-7:30 pm and a project presentation from 7:30-8:30 pm.

Earlier
+ The plan to connect two major bike paths at the Albany waterfront (2017 May)
+ Plotting a path for the Albany waterfront bike trail connector (2016 June)
+ Mapping out the future for an alternative transportation network in the Capital District (2018 September)
+ Elsewhere: "Miami's Underline underscores potential of park projects" [Curbed]

A little push up the hill

By Greg

Wrapped into my update this past week about what it's been like to use a bike as one of my primary ways of getting around town was a lament/complaint/whining about pedaling up the rather large hill in downtown Albany.

Because of that -- and because it's Friday afternoon -- here's a video of the CycloCable, sort of a ski lift for bikes, in Trondheim, Norway. (See also this CityLab article about it a few years ago.)

The odds of something like this being built in downtown Albany are essentially zero, and probably for some good reasons. But part of me kind of wants to see it proposed just to watch the reaction to the idea.

I mean, it's no gondola...

A year later I'm still using a bike to get around town -- here are a few thoughts about how that's worked out

bike shadow on sidewalk

By Greg

About this time last year I shared how I ended up becoming a person who uses a bike as one of my primary ways of of getting around town.

A year later I am still that person. (Even the Times Union says I'm a cyclist.)

And here are a few thoughts about how that's worked out...

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Mapping out the future for an alternative transportation network in the Capital District

Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail Albany bridge 2017-July

The Capital Region already has a handful of popular biking and walking trails, but if you zoom out a little bit and look at the whole picture you can the see the outline of something a lot bigger.

That something is what Jennifer Ceponis, a senior transportation planner for the Capital District Transportation Committee, describes as an alternative transportation network: "Much like we have a highway system for cars -- with supporting roads and arterials that feed into that -- we want people to be thinking that the region can have a similar system but for bicycling, walking, and other recreational activities."

Toward that goal, the planning org has put together the Capital District Trails Plan, a map toward a future in which you might be able to ride a bike from, say, Voorheesville to Saratoga Springs and beyond on a network of paths.

Here are a few highlights.

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The Albany Police Department has e-bikes -- they're still not exactly legal for the rest of us


Noted: The Albany Police Department has e-bikes, as that tweet above pointed out this week.

"Pedal-assist" e-bikes are the same sort of bikes that advocates had been trying to get formally legalized in New York State during the past session of the legislature. The push didn't make it over the finish line.

E-bikes are increasingly popular around the country because the little electric motor -- which kicks in when you pedal -- makes it easier to go up hills and maintain speed. So they can be helpful for people who commute by bike, have gotten a little older, and or have a physical limitation that might otherwise keep them from biking. (Also: They're really fun. Riding one feels a bit magical.)

You can buy the bikes in shops here. But they're still not technically legal because of state law. (New York City has pursued its own rules.) That not only puts them in a gray area for regular bike riders, it also means bike share systems won't hop on board with them here, even though the major bike share companies are heading in that direction other places.

Earlier
+ E-bikes stretch the idea of what a bike can be in interesting ways, but they're stuck in a gray area here in New York
+ Another push to get e-bikes up the hill to legalization in New York State

Crossing the Black Bridge

Black Bridge Cohoes Green Island

We finally got a chance to check out the new paved path in Green Island that leads up to the southern end of the Black Bridge. And short story short: it's nice.

The Black Bridge is worth checking out sometime if you haven't already. There's a small parking lot at the end of Cannon Street on the Green Island side, and it's a short pedal from downtown Troy via the Green Island Bridge.

The bridge connects Green Island and Van Schaick Island in Cohoes across one of the Mohawk River's curling paths into the Hudson River. And it's part of a multi-use path that connects Green Island, Van Schaick Island, Peebles Island, and Waterford. The roughly two-mile corridor -- the Delaware Ave path in Cohoes -- is a nice walk or pedal as you pass by the fairways of the Van Schaick Island Country Club, the Van Schaick Mansion, a bunch of new residential developments in Cohoes, the old Matton Shipyard, cross the bridge onto the northern end of Peebles Island, and then cross another bridge over to Waterford with a view of the locks.

The setting is beautiful -- and a little bit wild. Late Sunday afternoon we glided past a deer and saw a bald eagle from the Black Bridge.

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Unicorn bikes for the bike share, a few ridership numbers for this season so far

CDTA unicorn bike design

Updated

CDTA announced Wednesday that it will start rolling out "unicorn" bikes as part of the CDPHP Cycle bike share.

The bikes have color schemes different from the typical green and purple of the bike share bikes. The image above is of the design for the CDTA-themed unicorn. There will be six designs in total.

The unicorns bikes are mostly for fun. But trip taken on one this summer, CDTA says it will be making a contribution the philanthropic arm of CDPHP. The Rose & Kiernan insurance agency is also kicking in some money, too.

When we first heard about these unicorn bikes a few weeks back, we expressed our extreme disappointment to CDTA officials that they wouldn't literally be unicorn-themed bikes, with a horn or rainbows or whatever. But there's always hope for the future.

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A few more bits about the present and future of the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail

Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail 2018-07-11 rail trail sign

The second segment of Albany County's Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail is now paved -- as noted earlier this week -- meaning there's now 9 miles of (almost) continuous pavement from the South End in Albany all the way out to Voorheesville.

We got a chance this week to talk with Albany County exec Dan McCoy about the present and future of the popular trail.

"I go around doing my state of the county every year, people are like rooting us on -- when's it going to be done, when's it going to be done, when are you going to fix the problem with it," McCoy said in reference to the remarkable popularity of the rail trail. "And these are good issues to have."

Here are a few bits about paving, the depot building in Slingerlands, new amenities, bathrooms, bike share, and what's still ahead...

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The second section of the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail is now paved

Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail Vly Creek bridge 2018-07-07

Check it out: The second segment of the Albany County's Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail -- from Slingerlands to Voorheesville -- is now paved.

We took a spin on the 4-mile segment this Saturday. The newly-paved section starts just west of the Slingerlands parking lot, crosses the Font Grove roads, slices through many shady sections alongside fields with views of the Helderbergs through the trees, passes the Hilton Barn in New Scotland, spans State Farm Road, traverses the Vly Creek, and ends at Grove Street in Voorheesville. The pavement is luxuriously smooth.

That makes (almost) nine miles of continues paved trail from South Pearl Street in the city of Albany out through Bethlehem, New Scotland, and Voorheesville.

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The Madison Ave traffic calming project is finished -- so what's next?

Madison Ave road diet at Lake

The new section of the Madison Ave traffic calming project in Albany -- the "road diet" -- has been in place for more than a week. But now it's press conference-official after an event this past Friday.

"Investments like these help to spur economic development and we need to be focused on growing our tax base, growing businesses, making sure that our neighborhoods are neighborhoods of choice for people so that we can continue to attract them to the City of Albany," said mayor Kathy Sheehan after the event at Madison and South Lake. "So this was about taking that opportunity of looking at the fact that we were going to repave this road and building an infrastructure that helps to make everybody safer."

And people have had a lot to say about this project. During the planning process, during the first phase, and now that it's finished.

So here are a few more things -- about new amenities that aren't bike lanes, about the city figuring out how to implement these sorts of ideas faster, and what might be next.

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Cruising along the second phase of the Madison Ave Road Diet

Madison_Ave_road_diet_phase2_2018-06-25__1.jpg

We got a chance to bike along the new section of the Madison Ave traffic calming project late Monday afternoon. New pavement + freshly-striped bike lanes = a nice ride, even alongside plenty of vehicle traffic.

The second phase of the "road diet" stretches from Partridge to Lark. It's part of an overall effort to reconfiguration the Madison Ave corridor from Allen to Lark to increase road safety and amenities for cyclists and pedestrians.

The new layout replaced a four-lane configuration (two vehicle lanes in each direction) with a three-lane layout (one vehicle lane in each direction, with a turn lane in the middle) and bike lanes on each side. Phase two also includes new traffic and pedestrians signals. Those signals are one of the keys to project -- traffic modeling indicated that signal coordination should be able to keep vehicle traffic travel times along the corridor at levels close to the old layout.

The new section isn't quite finished. Some of the striping -- including the zones for buses -- isn't down yet. But the city said Monday that the phase will be completed soon -- probably within the next week or so.

We'll circle back around to the project when it's officially complete (Update: And here's that post.), but just on first look it's remarkable how much different the corridor feels with the new configuration.

Here are a few more pics if you'd like to gawk...

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There's a free safe cycling / bike share class coming up in Albany

bike share bikes and rack Corning Riverfront Park 2018-June

A bike share hub at Corning Riverfront Park.

The CDPHP Cycle bike share and the New York Bicycling Coalition are offering a free safe cycling class at the Albany Jewish Community Center on June 23. You can register online -- sign-ups close June 21. (Updated. The old deadline had been a typo in the materials.)

Class blurbage:

Refresh your bike skills and get ready to Cycle! The New York Bicycling Coalition will be leading cycling classes to get you ready to ride safely. You'll learn the rules of the road, safety maneuvers, and become acquainted with the CDPHP Cycle! bike-sharing system. All participants will receive a free helmet and a free monthly membership to CDPHP Cycle! This program is brought to you by Capital Coexist.

(Capital Coexist is a local bike and pedestrian safety campaign from the Capital District Transportation Committee.)

It sounds like this class could be good if you're maybe a little uncertain about being on a bike around town and/or you're maybe a little hesitant about how the bike share works.

The class is Saturday, June 23 from 10 am-2 pm at the Sydney Albert Albany JCC (340 Whitehall Road).

Earlier: How I ended up riding a bike as one of my primary ways of getting around town -- and how that's gone

CDPHP advertises on AOA.

An old Northeast city, historic sites, a protected bike track

Farther afield, but interesting in light of conversations here...

Check out this short Streetfilms video about the new Connect Historic Boston Bike Trail -- a protected bike lane that winds its way between historic sites in Boston. (As you might have guessed from the name.)

Boston is not Albany or Troy or Schenectady, obviously. But like the cities here, it is old and (even more) dense and in the Northeast. So apparently it's finding ways to overcome the sorts of issues and complaints that often accompany proposals for this sort of bike infrastructure here -- like the effect on car traffic and parking and snow removal. And there's research that indicates this sort of robust bike infrastructure is both safer and encourages more people to ride.

Anyway, here's a ride-along video of the Boston trail from last month.

By the way: The under-construction South Troy Riverfront Bikeway is in line to get a two-way cycle track like this, which would be the first for this area.

Earlier
+ Albany's sister city bike paradise
+ Another push to get e-bikes up the hill to legalization in New York State

Another push to get e-bikes up the hill to legalization in New York State

Jump Bike e-bike demo Albany

One of Jump's bike share e-bikes.

E-bikes hold the potential to stretch the use of bikes in all sorts of interesting ways, but they're not currently legal in New York State.

There's a push to change that, and advocates are pedaling hard to make it up the hill before the state legislature ends its current session later this month.

On Wednesday reps from the company behind the bike share operated by CDTA were in town to argue the case for e-bikes along with a handful of state and local leaders. The pitch: e-bikes can be a new way for people to commute, they'll open tourism opportunities, and they'll expand the pool of people who ride bikes.

So here are a few bits about how e-bikes might work with bike share in the Capital Region, and a check-in on where things are at in the state legislature...

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The Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail is set to get a new paved section this summer, and a few more bits about its future

Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail approaching bridge

Albany County's Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail is already one of the most popular bike/hike trails in the region, even though it's just a few years old.

And this summer is shaping up to be a big season for the path as the county prepares to pave the segment from Slingerlands to Voorheesville, adding another four miles of asphalt path.

Here are a few things about the future of the trail -- both in the short term and farther out...

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How to get to the indoor bike parking at the Empire State Plaza

Empire State Plaza indoor bike parking racks and concourse

Pretty much the best parking spot at the ESP.

By the way: There is indoor bike parking at the Empire State Plaza -- on the concourse level, even.

The bike racks are just outside the door to the bus turnaround area in the middle of the concourse, right across from the food court.

Maybe you've seen these racks and wondered how one ever get their bike there, because it's not exactly apparent. (Or you're googling this now.)

Well, wonder no longer.

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E-bikes stretch the idea of what a bike can be in interesting ways, but they're stuck in a gray area here in New York

E-bikes_bike_with_Capitol_background

Bikes can be a good way to get around. They don't take up a lot of space on roads. They're environmentally friendly. They're fun.

There are also some drawbacks that prevent people from embracing bikes as an everyday transportation option: the relatively slow speed of travel, the sweat, just the general physical exertion of riding.

E-bikes -- which give riders a little help thanks to an electric drive -- can address a lot of these issues. Riding one feels a little bit like magic. And their popularity is on a big upswing.

But there's a snag: New York State doesn't have clear rules for e-bikes.

And that casts some doubt on their future here.

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Here are the new bike share service area maps and hub locations

bike share rack Washington Park 2018-04-18

Washington Park is one of the bike hub location holdovers from last year, but this year it has double the number of spaces.

The new season for the bike share operated by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- started in mid-April. And the for the second season, the transit org promised more bikes, more hubs, and a wider service area.

The details for that expansion are now out. CDTA has released maps for this season's hubs -- some already place, some still to come -- as well increased geographic boundaries for the system. The transit org says this season will include 350 bikes (versus 160 last year) and 80 hubs.

The expanded system areas in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, and Troy are notable for a few reasons. 1) The relatively compact boundaries for the first season were a frequent complaint. 2) The new boundaries cover much of their respective cities, including more neighborhoods beyond the downtown cores. 3) The "out-of-system" fee for dropping a bike outside the boundary is $100.

See below for maps of the planned rack locations. The bike share's website has the racks that are currently in place (along with counts of how many bikes are available at each location). There's also a mobile app with this info.

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The new season of the CDPHP Cycle bike share has started up

bike share rack Washington Park 2018-04-18

The hub in Washington Park is one of the locations that's gotten an expanded 10-bike rack this year.

Check it out: The new season for the bike share operated by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- started Wednesday. Bikes are back out on the racks and they're available to use.

This is the second season for the bike share, and the first full season. (Last year's season started in late July.) This time around includes double the number of bikes (320 vs. 160) and more than 20 additional rack locations. You can see where bikes are available -- and reserve one -- via the bike share's online map or mobile app.

And that early-bird pricing for a full-season membership is still available through April 19. The $65 membership (it's usually $85) includes an hour of bike use per day.

The base price for using a bike without a seasonal pass is $5 per hour (prorated to the minute), with an "out of hub" fee of $2 and a "brought to hub" bonus of $1. (The bikes don't have to returned to a hub. The electronic tech for renting the bikes is on the bikes themselves, and they're equipped with GPS.)

CDTA exceeded its membership goal for last season, ultimately signing up 2,467 people, logging 11,481 trips that averaged 2.34 miles per trip. One of the goals for this season, with the additional bikes and racks, is to expand the service area further into neighborhoods beyond the downtowns of Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs.

Earlier: What's next for the CDPHP Cycle bike share

CDPHP advertises on AOA.

There's a discount on CDPHP Cycle bike share memberships right now

CDTA bike share rack at Madison and Western

The next season of the bike share operated by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- is lined up to start later this spring. And the service is offering early bird pricing.

A season membership is currently $65 through April 19. After that the price increases $20. The membership includes 60 minutes of free bike use per day, so if you think you'll be using the bikes often, this could save you a few bucks.*

The base price for using a bike without a seasonal pass is $5 per hour (prorated to the minute), with an "out of hub" fee of $2 and a "brought to hub" bonus of $1. (The bikes don't have to returned to a hub. The electronic tech for the renting the bikes is on the bikes themselves, and they're equipped with GPS.)

In addition to the season pass, there's a $15 monthly membership that includes 60 minutes of time each day. And there are also student rates, which are half the typical price at each level.

By the way: The "out of system area" fee this season will be $100. (It was $25 in 2017.)

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Capital District Trails Plan

Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail bridge 2017-summer

The Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail

One multi-use trail for walking and biking is good. Two is better. But a network of interconnected trails is best.

Toward that goal, the Capital District Transportation Committee is working to develop a Capital District Trails Plan, and it's looking for public input:

The Capital District Trails Plan is a strategy to link together the various multi-use trails in Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties into a single connected network of trails for everyone in the region to enjoy. This planning effort will identify existing trail locations throughout the region and work with local communities to envision potential new trail routes which will infill missing segments, connecting to each other and to key points of interest. This plan, sponsored by The Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC), will involve the input from residents, community leaders and stakeholders through different public meetings, workshops and surveys as they are scheduled throughout the coming year. The goal is to develop a vision for a connected, regional network of multi-use trails that is accessible to all Capital Region residents.

Here are a few ways to offer input, whether it's a public meetings*, a survey, or a crowd-sourced map (check out the "trail concept" for a loop through Albany off the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail).

Paths such as the Mohawk Hudson Bike-Hike Trail and Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail are already popular. And there are some interesting projects like the Albany Waterfront Connector and the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail in the works. From our perspective, one of the challenges/opportunities now is figuring out ways to connect local neighborhood routes to these paths so they can be more useful as transportation corridors and just offer more general access.

* Maybe these meetings could have been scheduled at times that would have made it easier for people to attend. Update: We hear these meetings are primarily for trail groups, planners, and public officials.

Earlier: High traffic spots on the area's walk/bike trails

Tour of the Battenkill 2018

tour of the battenkill 2018 promo

The annual Tour of the Battenkill cycling event returns to Washington County April 28. "It's a back-road journey through open farmland, narrow canopies of trees, and a covered bridge -- the kind of naturally car-free, rural roads you wish you could ride everyday."

This year's ride includes two options: a 75-mile gran fondo and a new 40-mile medio fondo. Blurbage for that abbreviated ride:

Like the Gran Fondo, the Medio Fondo course offers a challenging yet scenic ride through the rolling hills of upstate New York, but with 2,500 feet of elevation change instead of 4,800, less sections on dirt roads (but including the infamous Meeting House Road and the epic Stage Road), and nearly half the distance. It's the perfect race for those who want a less rigorous ride through the pastoral beauty of Battenkill Valley.

Awards will be given to top finishers of both the gran and medio fondo. The rides also includes course marshals, service vehicles, pickup for cyclists not able to complete the course, and a post-ride party.

Registration is currently $99 for the gran fondo, $79 for the medio fondo. Those price increase in March and April.

photo: Tour of the Battenkill Facebook

Two local fat bike events coming up

saratoga fat bike rally

A previous Saratoga Fat Bike Rally. / photo via Saratoga Fat Bike Rally Facebook

A quick follow-up / highlight of sorts to Jen's post on Friday about fat biking, because winter is better when you get outside and have fun... two local events coming up:

February 10: Saratoga Fat Bike Rally
The Saratoga Fat Bike Rally returns to Saratoga Spa State Park near the warming hut. It includes a handful of rides and events throughout the day. It's free to register, though there is a small registration fee for a few of the races.

Grey Ghost Bicycles will be there with fat bikes available for rental -- call ahead to reserve: 518-223-0148

The fat bike rally was started a few years back by a group of fat bike riders.

February 17: Farmer's Fatty at Indian Ladder Farms Cidery and Brewery
Indian Ladder Farms Cidery and Brewery in Altamont is hosting a day of fat biking on a course that includes both single track and double track. "The course will be groomed if the snow is deep enough. No snow, no issue, event will happen on dirt. Ride as little or as much as you want! ... There will be a 60 minute short course event for the fatties who want to test their fitness against others."

Registration is $30. That includes lunch and one complimentary beer.

Steiner Sports will be there with mechanical support and demo bikes.

It's fat biking season

fat bike in sun

By Jen Masa

I think I may have gotten a few strange looks in my apartment complex a few weeks ago while strapping my bike onto my car rack. In the middle of winter. After a few inches of snow had fallen.

But to me, this is the perfect time to ride my fat bike!

With huge, knobby tires that are typically four inches wide, fat bikes have been gaining popularity for their versatility. You can ride them like mountain bikes, conquering many obstacles -- even if it's snowy.

Whether you are a mountain biker looking to ride through the winter or an outdoor enthusiast wanting to try something new, consider fat biking! You won't be able to wipe the smile off your face.

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Bike share is expanding for 2018, and CDTA's looking for suggestions about new rack locations

CDTA bike share station suggest map 2018-Jan

A screengrab of the bike rack suggestion map.

The bike share operated by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- is set to return for its second season this spring. And it will do so with 160 more bikes and more than 20 new rack locations.

So that means CDTA needs to make decisions about where to deploy the new bike stations. And it's again looking for public input: If you head over to the CDPHP Cycle site there's a map on which you can suggest a rack location and/or vote for one that's already suggested.

As in the lead up to the launch of the program last year, CDTA says it will be adding the public voting to a decision making mix that also includes population, city layouts, and existing bike infrastructure.

The first season of CDPHP Cycle, which ran from late July through November, included 160 bikes and 40 rack locations. The program signed up 2,467 members (the goal was 2,000) and logged 11,481 trips, averaging 2.34 miles per trip.

The initial group of rack locations was clustered fairly tightly in the downtowns of Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, and Troy in an attempt get people noticing the bikes and using the system. Lauren Bailey, who oversees the program as CDTA's mobility manager, has said one of the goals for the 2018 season is to expand the system farther into neighborhoods.

CDTA says the start of the 2018 bike share season is weather dependent, but it's aiming for late spring.

Earlier: What's next for the CDPHP Cycle bike share

CDTA and CDPHP advertise on AOA.

What's next for the CDPHP Cycle bike share

cdta bike share downtown Troy 2017-November

Today (Thursday) is the last day of the season for CDPHP Cycle, the new bike share run by CDTA.

A few of the first-year stats released by the transit org for the system, which included 40 stations and 160 bikes:

+ The bike share signed up 2,467 members

+ The system logged 11,481 trips

+ Those trips covered 26,877 miles (2.34 miles per trip on average)

Here's more about the bike share's first season and what's in the works for next year...

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Looking ahead on the future of the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail

Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail 2017-July

Though a portion of it has only been paved for a few years, the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail is already one of the area's most popular hike/bike paths. And 2018 is shaping up to be another big year -- the trail is set for more miles of pavement and a trailhead makeover.

Here are a few things about what's ahead...

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Mapping out a future for bikes in Troy

Troy Bikeway network draft cropped

What's the route to follow to make Troy more bike and pedestrian friendly?

That's the question at the heart of the current push to create the Troy Bike Connections Plan. The backers of the project -- which include the city of Troy, the Capital District Transportation Committee, and Parks & Trails New York -- released a draft of the plan at a public meeting Wednesday evening.

And the materials are now online, if you'd like to have a look.

"There are a lot of streets in Troy that can be transformed with not a ton of engineering to become more bike friendly," said CDTC's Jennifer Ceponis Thursday, emphasizing the plan is a way of mapping out a direction for future projects as money and opportunity present themselves. "This is going to be incremental, for sure."

A few things about the proposed plan...

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Talking about the future of biking in Troy, and the next segment of the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail

Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail bridge 2017-summer

The Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail.

Two bike-related events coming up that might interest you...

November 8: Troy Bicycle Connections Plan
There's a public meeting to present the draft plan for the Troy Trail Connections Plan Wednesday, November 8. About the plan: "The study will create a plan for bicycle facilities that connect major destinations and neighborhoods in the City of Troy to the Uncle Sam Bikeway and the planned South Troy Riverfront Bikeway."

The meeting is at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity (30 3rd Street). There's an open house at 6 pm, and the presentation starts at 6:30 pm.

November 13: Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail
Albany County has a public meeting set for Monday, November 13 in Delmar to "gather input on the design of the Slingerlands Trail Head and planned paving project in 2018. After a brief overview, the county will distribute a sketch of the design along with markers for the public sketch out their thoughts." The meeting's at 6 pm at the American Legion post (16 W Poplar Drive).

The county is planning to pave the rail trail the portion of the rail trail that stretches from Slingerlands to Voorheesville. That would add about another 4 miles of path, bringing the total length from South Pearl Street in Albany to Voorheesville to about 9 miles. Here's a Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy map that gives a quick look at the paved/unpaved portions.

How I ended up riding a bike as one of my primary ways of getting around town -- and how that's gone

cyclist silhouette

By Greg

So here's something I've been hearing lately: "You rode your bike here!?"

Because I did.

This past summer I made an effort to become a bike person. That is, not just a person who rides a bike for fun, but a person who uses a bike for transportation around town. (Though, really, it's still fun even if you use it that way.)

Here are a few thoughts on how that's gone...

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CDTA: Bike share is ahead of its membership goal

CDTA bike share bikes Madison Ave

CDTA says it's ahead of its goal for the number of people signing up to use the new bike share -- the transit org says CDPHP Cycle has 2,028 members so far. The goal for the entire 2017 season was 2,000 members.

That was one of the numbers CDTA released Thursday in an update about the bike share. It reported that people have taken 7,615 bike rides using the system. Here's a breakdown of rides by city (rides per hub in each city):

+ Albany: 5,274 (264)
+ Saratoga Springs: 1,121 (280)
+ Troy: 764 (109)
+ Schenectady: 456 (65)

That Albany's had the most number of rides isn't surprising -- it also has way more hubs (20) than other city (7 for both Schenectady and Troy, 4 for Saratoga Springs). But its rides-per-hub number is still relatively high compared to Troy and Schenectady.

CDTA has said it would be using this first season to gather data about what's working -- and not working -- as it plans for expanding the system next year. It's looking like a key question will be why ridership is Troy and Schenectady is so far behind the other two cities.

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Bikes and cars, sharing the road

Because safety, and also because people often end debating this kind of stuff: The New York Bicycling Coalition has produced a video about the rules for cars -- and bikes! -- when using the road together.

The video is embedded above. It starts out with the section for cars, focusing on how bikes can use travel lanes and how to safely pass them. Then it flips to rules for bikes, focusing on practices such as signaling and (not) riding on the sidewalk. (Each segment is embedded individually below, if you'd like to watch them that way.)

The video was created in conjunction with the Albany Police Department using a grant from the state. You'll recognize a bunch of locations from around Albany.

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The Albany-Hudson Electric Trail

Albany Hudson Electric Trail Kinderhook segment

One of the photos from the project presentation showing a portion of the proposed route in Kinderhook.

The proposed plan for the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail -- which aims to connect Rensselaer and (almost) Hudson via a (mostly) shared-used bike path -- is out. And there's a public meeting about it Tuesday evening in East Greenbush.

Here are a few details...

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Checking out the new CDPHP Cycle bike share

CDTA bike share Washington Park

The new bike share backed by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- launched Thursday. You can now sign up for an account and check out a bike from one of the stations in the Capital Region's four core cities.

Here are details about how it works, and a few thoughts after trying it out.

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New York State Bike Summit

New York State Bike Summit logo 2017

The first New York State Bike Summit will be at the Hearst Media Center* September 15. Blurbage:

This Summit will provide a forum for advocates, industry, policy makers, government officials at all levels, planners and engineers, allied environmental and other non-profit organizations as well as concerned individuals to meet, network, strategize and prepare for the transformation of New York into a leading state for safe and shared bicycling, pedestrian and active transportation.
Biking is on the rise in NYS. The challenges facing the bike movement have shifted from explaining why biking is important to how we can move toward more complete, shared and connected roads and trails throughout New York State. This cultural shift has primed the state for a "big tent" event - bringing together advocates, planners, engineers, public officials, legislators, business interests, concerned citizens, environmental and conservation interests, and law enforcement.

The attendance fee is $110. It's an all-day event -- here's the schedule of talks, panels, and whatnot. It looks like there will be a bunch of interesting bike-related topics up for discussion, many that often pop up here. It's organized by the New York Bicycling Coalition.

* It's the new venue Hearst built to host events at the Times Union building on Albany Shaker Rd near the north end of Wolf Rd.

Albany's sister city bike paradise

1. Nijmegen is Albany's sister city in the Netherlands.

2. And, as illustrated by the Streetfilms video above, it's also some sort of bike paradise.

Yep, the United States is not Europe, and Albany is not a mid-size Dutch city. But there are a lot of interesting bits in that video, among them the history of Nijmegen's shift toward bikes over the last handful of decades, and the idea that making a city bike and pedestrian friendly also makes it more attractive to young families and seniors.

[via]

Here's how much it will cost to use one of the upcoming bike share bikes

CDTA bike share CDPHP Cycle

What the bikes will look like. / photo via CDTA

The upcoming bike share from CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- has now posted pricing info.

The base pricing for using the bikes will be $5 per hour (prorated to the minute). There's also an "out of hub" fee of $2 and a "brought to hub" bonus of $1. In other words, checking out a bike will incur a $2 fee (before any time is used) and you get a buck back if you return the bike to one of the bike share hubs. (The bikes don't have to returned to a hub. The electronic tech for the renting the bikes is on the bikes themselves, and they're equipped with GPS.)

The bike share is starting off in zones that include the cores of Albany, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, and Troy. There's a charge of $25 for leaving a bike outside the zones.

As mentioned, that's the base rate. There are also membership plans that, like buying in volume, will make using the bikes cheaper on a per-minute basis:

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High traffic spots on the area's walk/bike trails

CDTC trail usage 2016 map

Here's a larger version. / map: CDTC

That map above depicts estimated usage at various points for the area's walk/bike trails based on survey and tracking done last year for the Capital District Transportation Committee. The full report is online if you'd like more detail and/or see how the numbers were gathered.

A few bits:

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Here are the station locations for the bike share starting later this summer

cdta bike share locations 2017 Albany cropped

A clip from the map of Albany stations.

The new bike share that CDTA is launching later this summer -- CDPHP Cycle -- is now one step closer to starting up: The transit org has announced the locations of the stations for the bike share.

So let's have a look...

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Capital City Shuttle

Capital City Shuttle bus

CDTA is staring up a free shuttle service this week that will run from the Warehouse District through downtown Albany to Lark Street. The "Capital City Shuttle" starts this Thursday, June 8 and will run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights through Labor Day.

"People come here without a car. People live here, who don't have a car. People work here who don't have a car. And they need a menu of options," said CDTA executive director Carm Basile while introducing the program Tuesday. "This is just another notch on our menu of options."

Here are a few more bits about the shuttle service, along with updates about the planned regionalization of taxi service and the upcoming bike share...

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The plan to connect two major bike paths at the Albany waterfront

Albany waterfront connector route plan under 787 rendering

Part of the plan includes a new multi-use path that runs through the space under 787.

Two major bike paths -- the Mohawk-Hudson Hike-Bike Trail and the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail -- run into Albany's South End. But they don't connect. They're separated by roughly two miles filled with interstate off-ramps, truck traffic, and trains.

For the past year the city of Albany and consultants have been working on way to connecting these bikeways. And now there's a plan.

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Albany Waterfront Connector Trail meeting

Albany waterfront connector meeting section3 cropped

From the public meeting last summer.

How best to connect the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail and Mohawk-Hudson Hike-Bike Trail along Albany's riverfront?

That's a question the city of Albany and consultants from Alta Planning + Design and have been working over the past year. And next week it looks like they're ready to present the results of that work. There's a public presentation set for Tuesday, May 23 at 5:30 pm at the Albany Public Library's Howe Branch (105 Schuyler Street).

As explained at a meeting last summer, the city and Alta were working to narrow down a range of possible routes for bridging the roughly two-mile gap between the major bike paths through the South End using some combination of bike lanes, multi-use paths, and city streets.

Each of the options discussed last year had its tradeoffs -- for level of bike amenities, ease of construction, and cost. And there's also the important consideration of a how the connector trail could potentially most benefit the surrounding neighborhood.

This project is important not just because it aims to connect two of the area's most prominent bike paths, but also because it moves the city/area more toward having a network of bike paths. As we wrote last year: A bike path is fine. Two bike paths is better. But a system of bike paths, connecting within the city of Albany and to its surrounding areas, holds the most potential in helping foster a culture here in which a broad range of people, in a range of places, feel comfortable choosing cycling as a transportation option.

BikeFest 7

troy bike rescue bikes

The annual BikeFest in Troy returns to The Sanctuary For Independent Media this Saturday, May 13. It's a fundraiser for the Troy Bike Rescue:

This celebration marks 17 years in existence of the volunteer-run, non-profit organization. TBR volunteers run weekly shop sessions where community members learn bike repair, bicycle safety, and fix bicycles to be available for adoption to the general public.
Bike rodeo for kids & Troy Samba!
Troy Bike Rescue volunteers have gotten really good at building fun obstacle courses at Freedom Square for kids to test their bike riding skills. The fun begins at 3pm. Troy Bike Rescue will have a few bikes on hand for kids to borrow, but participants are encouraged to bring their own. The fun at Freedom Square will conclude with everyone's favorite Brazilian Samba ensemble, Troy Samba! at 4:30pm. Participants are advised to bring water, snacks and sunblock if needed.
Dinner, Raffle, Cake Auction & Live Music by Raggliacci
A delicious burrito buffet will be prepared by TBR volunteers under the guidance of local food writer and educator Amy Halloran. Beer will be provided by the one and only Rare Form Brewery. There will be raffle prizes from local businesses, and music by Troy's very own Ragliacci. The night will be rounded off with an auction of cakes contributed by local bakers and bikers.

Events start at 3 pm with the kids bike rodeo in Freedom Square. Doors for events at the Sanctuary for Independent Media open at 5 pm. Tickets are a on a sliding scale -- with a $20 suggested donation.

photo via Troy Bike Rescue Facebook

Capital Region Bike to Work Challenge 2017

Madison Ave bike lane

The annual Capital Region Bike to Work Challenge returns May 19, which aims to promote cycling a mode of commuting. And, as the name implies, it's also a competition, organized by the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) and Bikeatoga:

In each county, the winning team for each of four categories will win a trophy, relinquished by last year's winners and originally contributed by Bikeatoga, Albany Bicycle Coalition, and Troy Bike Rescue, and made out of used bicycle parts. The four categories are
+ Organization with the largest number of riders,
+ Small organization with the highest percent participation (20 or fewer employees),
+ Large organization with the highest percent participation (over 20 employees), and
+ Person who rode the farthest.
The Municipal Challenge is on again this year, for the highest percent participation for any municipality in the region in which the mayor or supervisor rides to work.

As we've mentioned before, biking -- like walking or taking the bus -- to work might seem to be impractical or a big hassle if you don't do it often. But once you start it quickly becomes normal and something you might even look forward to.

Also: It might help you live longer. [BBC]

Peeking at the bike share station suggestions

bike share suggestion map 2017-04-13

Another quick follow-up on CDTA's upcoming bike share. The online suggestion and voting for bike share stations continues to run through April 30 -- and the results are being mapped.

That's a clip of the map above. The top suggestions in Albany so far are pretty much you'd expect: Washington Park, the ESP, Lark Street, the pedestrian bridge to Corning Riverfront Park, and so on. (One location that doesn't have many votes, yet, but seems like it could be a good idea: Swinburne Park near Clinton Ave, which has a bike lane.)

It looks like the other three cities -- Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs -- could use a few more suggestions and votes for stations.

There are two more upcoming public info/suggestion events for the bike share:

April 25: Saratoga Springs Recreation Center on Vanderbilt Street - 6-7:30 pm

April 26: Albany Public Library, Washington Ave Branch - 6-7:30 pm
____

Earlier: A few more details about the upcoming CDTA bike share

CDTA and CDPHP advertise on AOA.

The Madison Ave Road Diet moves to phase two

Madison Ave Road Diet phase 2 Lark diagram

The second phase of the Madison Ave Road Diet -- one of the area's most interesting transportation projects -- is set to start this summer, and officials say they hope the bulk of the work will be finished this year.

That timeline was one of the details discussed a during a public meeting about the project Thursday evening at Saint Rose in which the city and project engineers continued to express optimism about the traffic calming plan in the face of skeptical comments and questions from the crowd.

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Suggestion site now open for CDTA bike share stations, public info sessions coming up

CDTA bike share CDPHP Cycle

A model of the bike share bikes. / image via CDTA

Quick follow-up to that recent post about the bike share CDTA's planning to launch later this year...

The online site to collect suggestions from the public about where the the CDPHP Cycle 20 bike stations should be located is now up and running. Blurbage:

Tell us where you want to pick up CDPHP Cycle! bikes. Use our map or download the Social Cyclist app to vote for our suggested rack locations. You can also comment on why you think it's a good spot for a CDPHP Cycle! rack. Be sure to navigate the map of your city to find suggested locations.
Decisions on rack locations will be guided with your feedback, along with the following criteria: available space, pedestrian traffic, population density, bike infrastructure, and transit options. You can also vote by downloading the free Social Cyclist mobile app, emailing cdphpcycle@CDTA.org, or calling (518) 437-6844.
Voting ends Sunday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m.

Via the suggestion site's map, there's also a peek at the initial coverage zones for the bike share in the cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy.

As CDTA mobility manager Bailey said in March, the overall goal of the bike share program initially will be to extend people's transportation options from nodes in the CDTA network (example: The upcoming Uncle Sam Transit Center), and to cover short-distance trips within downtowns. The second phase of the program will focus on reaching out farther into neighborhoods with additional bikes.

Public events (updated)

There are also a series of upcoming public info sessions, where you'll be able to ask questions, offer suggestions, and see one of the bikes that will be used in the system...

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A few more details about the upcoming CDTA bike share

CDTA bike share CDPHP Cycle

What the bike share bikes will look like. / image via CDTA

CDTA announced Monday that is now has a name and sponsor for its upcoming bike share program: CDPHP Cycle! (with the exclamation mark). The system is set to launch this summer.

Planning for this two-year bike share pilot has been in the works since last year, and there are now a few more details about how it's taking shape...

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Saratoga Fat Bike Rally 2017

saratoga fat bike rally

The annual Saratoga Fat Bike Rally is this Saturday, February 11 in Saratoga Spa State Park. The schedule includes races, group rides, and other activities.

Fat bikes are kind of like mountain bikes with oversized, squishy tires that all for riding in snow and mud. Rally blurbage:

The Saratoga Fat Bike Rally sprang out the minds of three individuals one night in February, 2014 while riding around the Saratoga State Park. Three hours and maybe a couple of Craft Brews later, we had a mission. Jim Adams, Shawne Camp, and Tony Ferradino set out to tell the world about Fat Bikes and to share our passion with other Fat Bikers. Our original ideas were very grand and involved complicated event planning and strategic alliances with every bike manufacturer known. In the end we decided we just wanted to ride our Fat Bikes with other enthusiasts.

The events start at 8:30 am at the warming hut in the park ("Look for our tent village.").

Also going on that day is the annual pond hockey tournament. Registration for that is already closed, but it might be fun to head over to watch for a few minutes.

photo via Saratoga Fat Bike Rally Facebook

CDTA's new fare smart cards are now available

CDTA Navigator card in hand

This Navigator card belongs to Albany Public Library executive director Scott Jarzombek. He was at today's public roll out of the new system because APL employees -- including himself -- were using the cards during a pilot test over the past year. (APL has a universal access agreement with CDTA for employees to ride the bus.)

CDTA opened its new Navigator fare card to the general public Thursday. The new system includes a bunch of potential benefits for riders as well as the transit org -- and it opens some interesting possibilities for transportation in the Capital Region that extend beyond the bus (hello, taxis).

"It makes everything quicker, everything more convenient," CDTA CEO Carm Basile said Thursday. "But most importantly, the customer manages their own account. They do what they want to do when they want to do it and how they want do it."

Here's a quick overview, along with a few bits about the upcoming bike share and a common taxi system for the Capital Region.

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The Empire State Trail

Empire State Trail map slide

An overview map shared by the Cuomo admin Tuesday.

One of the many proposals to floated during Andrew Cuomo's ongoing State of the State tour this week is a plan to build the Empire State Trail -- a 750-mile multi-use path that would stretch from NYC to the Adirondacks and from Albany to Buffalo.

The Cuomo admin says it'd be the longest state multi-use path in the country.

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CDTA: Bike share planned for next summer

Capital Region bike share demo project bikes

Some of the bikes used during the 2014 Capital Region bike share demonstration project.

CDTA is planning to start its new bike share pilot next summer, the transit org said Wednesday.

It was one of the details the accompanied the announcement that CDTA has selected the company Social Bicycles as the operator of the two-year pilot program. The company runs bike shares in a bunch of cities around the country.

Bike share press release blurbage:

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Bike Albany Map

bike albany map finished screengrab

A screengrab.

That interactive map of bike-friendly routes through the city of Albany that the Albany Bicycle Coaltion has been working on is now online -- go have a look. The map/app will be formally introduced at an event at the Downtube Friday.

From a description of the project:

Objective: an online, interactive Albany bike map with bicycle-friendly routes.
Primary considerations: safety and comfort. We especially want to encourage novice riders, visitors, and new residents, by showing that you can cycle throughout Albany on mainly bike-friendly streets. The map concentrates on secondary roads, side streets, and bike-pedestrian paths. Major arteries are used only where necessary to make connections. Traffic density is indicated by color coding. Traffic advisories, where needed, are indicated by "caution" triangles.

The map includes preferred routes, bike shop locations, and there's even functions for mapping out a bike-friendly route between two places and measuring distances. It's also set up to work on mobile devices.

ABC has been working on this project with Parks & Trails New York and Mohawk Valley GIS, it was funded in party through state grant money (coordinated by local state Assembly member Pat Fahy) and local donations.

Ramping up

downtown Albany Broadway pedestrian bridge bike ramps

New-to-us pedestrian and bike infrastructure, a continuing (?) series: Jodi pointed out to us on Twitter this week that there are now bike ramps along the stairs leading to the pedestrian bridge that connects Corning Riverfront Park/Jennings Landing and downtown Albany. That's her pic above.

We hadn't seen ramps like this before. And while it might not be a big thing, it is another way of 1) making things a little easier for cyclists and 2) communicating that, yes, there's a place for bikes here.

Which reminds us... we have to get over Corning Riverfront Park and check out how the pedestrian and bike upgrades project is coming along. We've spotted the (very, very) green bike lane in a few spots lately.

(Thanks, Jodi!)

Earlier on AOA:
+ (blink) pedestrian crossing (blink)
+ Adapting to the Madison Ave Road Diet
+ Connecting Albany's riverfront park

Bike-friendly Albany map nearing finish line

bike albany map test 2016-September

The Albany Bicycle Coalition's effort to create an interactive map of bike-friendly routes through the city of Albany is almost to the finish line. ABC has posted a preview of the map, and it's working on the interactive version.

The org says it's still looking to raise $1,500 to complete the project. Details on how to contribute are at that link above. A fully-functional test version is expected to be ready this month.

About the project:

Objective: an online, interactive Albany bike map with bicycle-friendly routes.
Primary considerations: safety and comfort . We especially want to encourage novice riders, visitors, and new residents, by showing that you can cycle throughout Albany on mainly bike-friendly streets. The map concentrates on secondary roads, side streets, and bike-pedestrian paths. Major arteries are used only where necessary to make connections. Traffic density is indicated by color coding. Traffic advisories, where needed, are indicated by "caution" triangles.
We have made many revisions the past few months, based on your input. We incorporated valuable advice from many people, and have made significant changes to many of the routes.

(As mentioned this past spring.)

Schenectady bike lane demonstration

schenectady bike plan Craig Street demo

The city of Schenectady's ongoing work toward a master plan for bike infrastructure includes a demonstration project that starts today (Wednesday) and runs through the weekend on Craig Street in Hamilton Hill that's focused on bike lanes, shared lanes, and street calming. Blurbage:

As part of the Schenectady Bike Infrastructure Master Plan, riders and residents are invited to participate in this community demonstration project showcasing street-level bicycle improvements designed to increase safety and connectivity. The temporary installation through funding from CDTC, is designed to explore bicycle-related Complete Streets options for improving Craig Street as a City, Neighborhood and Schools connection.

Here's a map and other backgroun about the project.

The demo includes a bike fest Wednesday afternoon from 2-6 pm with bike-themed activities and prizes. And the Electric City Bike Rescue will be there helping with repairs and maintenance.

This is the second demostration project as part of the bike master plan process. Earlier this year there was a demo of a contra-flow bike lane on Washington Ave.

Madison Ave Road Diet, now lined up

Madison Ave east of Main

As mentioned, the city of Albany has started re-striping Madison Ave has part of the road diet in the works for the corridor between Allen Street and, eventually, Lark Street. So we took a a few minutes Tuesday to stop by the western-most section to see how it's looking.

That's a pic above, and there are more after the jump if you're curious.

The Madison Ave Road Diet is changing the street from two travel lanes in each direction to one travel lane each way with a center turn lane and bike lanes running along both sides.

The goal behind changing the road design is to "calm" traffic -- getting cars to move slower and making the corridor more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists -- with an eye toward making the street safer. A representative of Creighton Manning, the firm that's overseeing the road diet project, said at a public meeting earlier this year they're projecting a 25 percent decrease in accidents because of the redesign.

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Tour de Habitat 2016

tour de habitat bike wheel logo 2016The Tour de Habitat cycling event returns September 17 in Albany. It's a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity Capital District.

The tour offers four different routes in lengths of 10 miles, 25 miles, 50 miles, and 100 miles. The routes will be supported with rest stops and aid stations All routes start and end at Druthers on Broadway in north Albany, and there's a free after-party there as well.

Early registration fees start at $25 for the 10-mile ride and increase from there. (They jump to $100 and up after September 2.) Of course, this is a fundraiser, riders are encouraged to raise money from supporters for the entry fee (and more).

Habitat says last year's event raised $11,000 for the org.

Schenectady bike infrastructure plan survey

schenectady bike plan crash map

The website for the project includes includes a handful of maps that you might find interesting. The example above plots bike and pedestrian crashes around the city between 2010 and 2015. / map: City of Schenectady / CDTC / Alta / LAndArt Studio

The city of Schenectady is working toward a bike infrastructure plan and is looking for input via an online survey. Blurbage:

This plan is being developed to address the needs of all user types ranging from novice neighborhood and trail bicyclists to expert road bicyclists. Please take 5-10 minutes to fill out this questionnaire. Your response will help to build a better understanding of area needs and priorities. Even if you do not bicycle regularly, your feedback will be helpful.

The survey is pretty much what you'd expect: questions about why people bike, what would encourage them to bike more often, and priorities for making bike infrastructure upgrades.

The city is working with the Capital District Transportation Committee and Alta Planning + Design on the bike plan. (Alta is a go-to consultancy for bike projects -- it's also working with the city of Albany on the waterfront bike trail connector.)

Traffic Skills 101 for cyclists

bike pedal mediumBikeatoga is sponsoring a "Traffic Skills 101" course for cyclists this summer at the Saratoga Springs Regional YMCA. Class blurbage

Traffic Skills 101 is designed to develop individual's knowledge and expertise in the craft and science of bicycling-- the ability to use a bicycle with confidence and competence for pleasure, utility and sport under various highway, climate, terrain, and traffic conditions. This course combines classroom discussion and parking lot activities with on-road practice of the principles of vehicular bicycling. The instructor for this course is certified by the League of American Bicyclists and has years of experience and training.

The class is July 20, July 27, and August 10 from 6-9 pm. It's $25 per person, and each person needs a bike, helmet, and lock. Pre-registration is required: Claire Nolan at 518-209-6477 or cbnolou@gmail.com.

Also this summer, there will be a class for people would like become instructors certified by the League of American Bicyclists. It's at UAlbany this August 19-21. It's $300.

Rensselaerville Ride: From Hill to Hollow

rensselaerville ride 2016 logoThe Carey Institute in Rensselaerville has an event coming up the weekend of September 16-18 that could be fun if you're into cycling (and beer). Blurbage for Rensselaerville Ride: From Hill to Hollow (link added):

It's a family friendly weekend with challenging routes for all ages and abilities, with rides ranging from a 3.3-mile time trial to a 64-mile ride through the Helderberg Hilltowns. Fall foliage will be at its peak so it's sure to be a beautiful weekend. Come early for the Pond Hill Challenge and stay late for live music, good food and craft beer. The Carey Institute has a brewery on its estate and plenty of New York State craft beer.

There's a schedule of events at that link. Entry fees for the rides range from free up to $80 -- the fees will increase at the start of September. (We also hear there are some early bird deals on lodging and meal packages if you're looking to stay there for the weekend.)

Rensselaerville is a beautiful spot in southwestern Albany County. While you're in that area, it's also worth stop at the Huyck Preserve, which has a series of hiking trails and some good waterfalls.

A cookbook for designing Albany streets

draft bike transit intersection example

An example intersection from the manual that highlights bike and transit amenities. (The example doesn't reference a specific intersection.) Here's a larger version.

The city of Albany's ongoing process to plan for a more walkable and bike-friendly future took another step forward this week with the public presentation of a draft of the city's "complete streets" manual.

And if that sounds a little wonky... well, it is. But think of it this way: The manual is like a cookbook for city streets, with recipes (so to speak) about how to incorporate elements such as bike lanes. And it's online for public review -- the city will be accepting comments July 27.

Here's a little bit more about the idea, and a few things that caught our eye while looking over the manual...

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Windham mountain bike park open for the season

Windham Bike Park Trail Map 2016 clip

A clip from the trail map.

Windham Mountain Resort's Bike Park recently opened for the season. We get the impression is works kind of skiing -- there are trails, equipment rentals, even a lift. And there's a beginner's area, too. Blurbage:

A Skills Park (designation: Green Circle [Beginner]) where new mountain bikers will be born. This is a beginner area to learn the basics - braking, weight distribution, how to stand on pedals, controlling the bike over obstacles, including rollers, roots, and berms. This area will be simple with small features, including eight berms, a mini rock garden, mini drops and skinnies that will allow riders to really experience their bike for the first time in a controlled MTB setting. First-timers welcome!

The park is open weekends until July 1, and then it's open Monday-Sunday through September 5, before switching back to weekends through October 10.

Regular lift tickets are $36 for adults. And bike rentals are $75. Protective gear is also available for rental (helmets are required).

Mountain Bike Festival at Grafton Lakes State Park
Speaking of mountain biking... The Saratoga Mountain Bike Association is hosting a mountain bike festival at Grafton Lakes State Park this Saturday, June 11 from 9 am-4 pm. The lineup includes bike demos, trail rides, kids activities, and vendors.

Individual registration is $10 / family registration is $20. Festival proceeds will go to support mountain biking trails around the Capital District.

Plotting a path for the Albany waterfront bike trail connector

Albany waterfront connector meeting section3 cropped

A paved section of the Albany County's Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail recently (officially) opened from Slingerlands to Albany's South End neighborhood. That end point on South Pearl is just about two miles from where the Mohawk-Hudson Hike-Bike Trail picks up along the Albany riverfront.

And that proximity, of course, prompts the idea: Hey, maybe these should be connected in some meaningful way, right?

The question of how that make connection happen is at the center of the Albany Waterfront Connector project. And Thursday night there was a public meeting laying out some of the possible options.

Here's a quick look.

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Talking about making a connection at Albany's waterfront

albany waterfront connector meeting posterThe project aiming to connect the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail and the Mohawk-Hudson Hike-Bike Trail in Albany's South End has a public meeting lined up for June 2. The purpose of the event will be to gather comments from the community about the creation of the trail connector.

There's been a lot of work going on recently with both of these bike/hike trails. The paved segment of Albany County's Helderberg Hudson trail between Delmar and the South End will officially open this month (it's been unofficially open for a while). And the city of Albany has a $5 million project under construction to upgrade pedestrian and bike amenities along the Mohawk-Hudson trail along the Hudson riverfront.

So this connector project is about figuring out the best to link these two trails. As Kate Lawrence, a senior planner and sustainability coordinator for the city of Albany, told us recently: "With [the waterfront connector] study what will be important is to get feedback from people in what they want to prioritize for that multi-use path because there will be a few options available." Among those options will be deciding the route of the connecting path, whether it bypasses or goes through the neighborhood, and how it negotiates I-787.

The public workshop is Thursday, June 2 from 5-7 pm at the Howe Branch of the Albany Public Library (105 Schuyler Street). There will be a project open house from 5-5:30 pm, a presentation from 5:30-6:30 pm, and the open house will continue from 6-7 pm.

(Thanks, L!)

Bike repair -- at the library

APL bike repair station

We were walking by the Albany Public Library's Bach Branch and had a chance to check out one of the library system's new bike repair stations, which were unveiled last week. Blurbage:

The stations, manufactured by DERO, contain all the tools riders need to perform basic bike repairs and maintenance, including changing a flat tire, adjusting brakes, and fine tuning gears. Each station includes the following tools: Philips and flat head screwdrivers, various Allen wrenches, a headset wrench, a pedal wrench, several sizes of box wrenches, tire levers, and an air pump. The tools and air pump are securely attached to the stands using stainless steel cables, but are still easy to access for those using the stations. The stands have hanger arms that allow users to spin the pedals and wheels while making adjustments.

There are a few pics after the jump.

The free-to-use stations are at three branches: Bach at 455 New Scotland Ave, the Delaware branch at 331 Delaware Ave, and the Arbor Hill/West Hill branch at 148 Henry Johnson Blvd.

Funding for the stations came from the Capital District Transportation Committee's Capital Coexist program.

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Mapping out bike routes through Albany

albany bicycle coaltion bike routes draft map 2016-May

Here's the link the full-size map.

Check it out: The Albany Bicycle Coalition is putting together of map of bike-friendly streets in the city of Albany. And it's looking for help. Blurbage:

Objective: an online map of bicycle-friendly streets in the City of Albany.
Primary considerations: safety and comfort. We hope to encourage novice and first-time riders, by showing that you can cycle throughout Albany yet avoid most busy streets. The map concentrates on secondary roads, side streets, and multi-use paths. Major arteries are used only where necessary to make connections. Traffic density is indicated by color coding.
This is a work in progress, and we value your input!
We encourage you to download and print any of the DRAFT files below, and ride as many routes as you want. Your feedback will ensure that the final map is a valuable tool for the Capital Region cycling community. Please email us:
Comments & suggestions about maps - ghscom1@gmail.com
General questions & comments about this project - lorenzworden@gmail.com

The org is also breaking individual maps out in to their own maps. (The maps are at that link above.) Example: Center Square to the Hannaford on Central Ave.

ABC says it's working with Parks and Trails New York to develop an online interactive version of the map.

Capital Region Bike to Work Challenge 2016

share the road bicycle sign

The annual Bike to Work Day is May 20 -- which means you still have some time to organize your team for the Capital Region Bike to Work Challenge.

What is this challenge? Blurbage:

Trophies will be awarded in each county for the following categories. Winners will "own" the trophies until Bike to Work Day 2017.
+ Organization with the largest number of riders
+ Small organization with the highest percent participation (20 or fewer employees)
+ Organization over 20 employees with the highest percent participation
+ Person who rode the farthest.

The challenge is organized by the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC), Capital Moves, and Bikeatoga. There's sign-up info at that link above.

Competition aside, this sort of event can be a good prompt to try cycling to work. For some people it's just not going to work because of distance or whatever. That said, we suspect it's a bit like riding the bus: If you don't do it often, it might seem impractical or a big hassle. But you might be surprised by how well it works out. You just have to give it a fair shot.

How many people bike to work?
Bike commuting in the Capital Region core ranges from .4 percent of adult commuters in Albany County to .1 percent in the other counties, according to the most recent Census Bureau estimates (2010-2014). That adds up to... not a lot of people -- something just under 1,000 people.

The percentages are bit higher for some of the places within the Capital Region, such as the cities of Albany and Saratoga Springs.

Here's a national list of the cities (population 100k+) with the highest percentage of bike commuters -- it includes cold-weather spots such as Cambridge (Massachusetts), Madison (Wisconsin), Ann Arbor, and Minneapolis. All of those places have rates about 4 percent. (It'd be interesting to learn more about the bike infrastructure in those places.)

The Downtube's storefront is set to re-open

Downtube storefront 2016 March

Check it out: The Downtube storefront on Madison Ave in Albany is set to reopen this week.

The bike shop's building was damaged in a second-floor fire a year ago, and its first-floor retail space suffered extensive smoke and water damage. It's now been restored and renovated. There are a few pics after the jump.

The Downtube's Adam Hahn said they had been doing bike repairs out of the shop's garage last spring and summer and into the early winter. The shop has been closed the last few months for the renovations.

"We're here and ready to sell bikes, fix bikes," Hahn said to us this week during our quick peek at the space.

Hahn says The Downtube is aiming to be open this Thursday and Friday, and definitely this Saturday. (The shop had a soft open day this past weekend, too.) Hours going forward: Tuesday-Friday 11 am-6 pm, Saturdays 10 am-5 pm.

The Downtube has been operating since 1972, and at this location since 1980.

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Here's the plan for the Madison Ave Road Diet

madison ave at main traffic at night

Standing at Madison and Main ahead of Wednesday night's meeting.

The city of Albany has made a choice of which direction to go on the much-discussed Madison Avenue Road Diet, a plan to calm traffic along the busy corridor in an effort to make it safer -- and, at the same time, friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists.

The long-developing project has recently been getting more attention because of a push for the inclusion protected bike lanes in the road re-design. A coalition supporting the idea has argued the lanes are both safer for cyclists and feel safer, which would lead to more people cycling.

Consultants for the project explained the reasons for the selected choice at a public meeting Wednesday evening at Saint Rose. So, without further ado, here's the selected plan.

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Meeting to talk about two alternatives for the Madison Ave Road Diet

Madison Ave at St Rose 2015-07-29

The city of Albany has a public meeting set for March 9 at Saint Rose to discuss options for the Madison Ave Road Diet. As you know, that's the project to reduce the number of traffic lanes along the corridor and, perhaps, add some sort of bike lane.

Blurbage from the meeting flyer:

The City of Albany is progressing a Locally Administered Federal Aid project to design and construct a road diet along Madison Avenue from South Allen Street to Lark Street. The project will reduce the number of travel lanes, while improving bicycle accommodations and completing all work between the existing curbs. The purpose of the meeting is to review concepts and trade-offs for two feasible alternatives and to obtain public input on the preferred Complete Streets solution.

Update March 7: From a new press release from the city Monday: "The meeting will present the preferred Complete Streets alternative, including the selected bicycle infrastructure."

The path to this point hasn't been a straight line. After the city presented five options for the road diet last summer, it scheduled a public meeting last November to present proposed plan -- and then the meeting was cancelled.

One of the most vocal groups leading up to road diet decision was a coalition pushing for protected bike lanes along the corridor -- these would lanes that are separated in some way from car traffic, either by some sort of barrier or parked cars. The argument for these lanes is that they are not only safer for cyclists, but they also feel safer, encouraging more people to bicycle. The argument against is that they could cut into the number of parking spaces available and would be more costly to maintain.

It appeared at the time, based both on the earlier public presentation and unofficial word circulating, that the city was probably leaning toward "regular" bike lanes rather than protected bike lanes. But then the meeting was cancelled and the city said the road diet was getting further review.

So... it'll be interesting to see which options are presented at this meeting -- and the arguments made for and against those options.

The public meeting is Wednesday, March 6 9 at 6:30 pm in the Lally School building (1009 Madison Avenue) at Saint Rose.

Earlier on AOA: A new pitch for protected bike lanes in Albany

A new pitch for protected bike lanes in Albany

madison ave road diet protected bike option

A possible future for Madison Ave?

Back in November the city of Albany was set to present the much-awaited plan for the Madison Ave Road Diet. And then, just a few days before the public meeting to announce plan, the city canceled the announcement and there's been no public word since then about what's up.

There are a bunch of interesting ideas wrapped up in the road diet, among them that the city can reduce the number of travel lanes to slow speeding vehicles while at the same time maintaining overall volume and flow of the corridor. But the idea that's gotten the most attention is the possible inclusion of protected bike lanes -- both from advocates who say the lanes would be a big step forward in the city's effort to become friendlier to cyclists, and from skeptics who worry about the cost of maintaining the lanes and their effects on the number of parking spaces.

It's hard to say what exactly is holding things up. A spokesman for mayor Kathy Sheehan told us this week that the city is still gathering info from its consultants on the project and there weren't any new developments. But there's a sense among cycling advocates that the bike lanes are probably a sticking point.

So now those advocates have a new pitch that is, essentially, the city should do an experiment.

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Arguing the case for protected bike lanes

madison ave road diet option D cropped

One of the coalition's two preferred options for the road diet.

At some point in the near future the city of Albany will be releasing its plan for the Madison Ave Road Diet, an effort to reshape the traffic flow a long a large portion of the Madison Ave corridor.

Bike lanes are expected to be part of the plan, and exactly what sort of bike lane has become a hot topic -- "regular" bike lanes separated from car traffic by a stripe on the road, or "protected" bike lanes that are separated by some sort of barrier (such as parked cars or vertial pylons).

Listening between the lines this past summer when the city and its consultants presented the options for the road diet, it sounded like the city might be leaning toward regular bike lanes because of concerns about the impact on the number of parking spaces and the costs associated with clearing snow. And ahead of a meeting that had been scheduled for last week (and was then canceled) to release the plan, word was circulating that the city would be heading in that direction.

Perhaps in an attempt to make a pre-emptive case, a group called the Albany Protected Bicycle Lane Coaltion released a report today that attempts to head off some of the arguments against protected lanes.

So, let's have a quick look.

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City of Albany to present Madison Ave Road Diet recommendations

Madison Ave at St Rose

Update: The meeting has been cancelled, according to the Albany Police Department (traffic engineering is part of the APD), and will be rescheduled. [APD FB]
____

The city of Albany has a public meeting lined up for Monday, November 9 to present the recommendations for the Madison Ave Road Diet. The meeting is at the College of Saint Rose's Lally School Building (1009 Madison Ave) from 6-7 pm.

The Madison Ave Road Diet is a project to reconfigure the lanes on the busy thoroughfare with the aim of calming traffic and making the street more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists. That could involve reducing the number of traffic lanes from the current two in each direction, to one in each direction with a turn lane.

The part of the project that's gotten the most attention lately is the possibility of the addition of protected bike lanes to the corridor.

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Troy preRAMBLE

collar city preramble 2013 by Jonathan Flanders

A scene from a previous year's preRAMBLE. / photo: Jonathan Flanders

The Troy preRAMBLE -- and alternative transportation festival -- is lined up for this Saturday, September 26. What is it?

The preRAMBLE (to the Collar City Ramble) is an alternate transportation festival exploring Troy by alternate means. Tour Troy by foot, bike, boat or whatever - discover places you've never seen. The event includes group tours as well as self-guided tours for biking and walking. There will also be kayak rides, bike safety classes and giveaways. Many local venues will be open for our event. The day-long festival concludes with a tour to Freedom Square, 101st St and 6th Ave, for a free concert with community food. All events are free.

There's a schedule at that link above.

The preRAMBLE is organized by a coalition of groups that are looking toward the creation of the Collar City Ramble, a non-motorized transportation path that would string together various sites throughout Troy.

When bikes weren't just something on the side

1900 New York State bike map Albany area crop

A 1900 map of "side paths" -- bike paths -- around the greater Albany area.

That recent post about the "great popularity of cycling" in Saratoga Springs around the early 1900s and the all the discussion of late about building protected bike lanes in Albany got us looking into the history of bike paths. And, as so often is the case, the past seems like a completely different place.

For example: There was once a law in New York State that allowed a group of just 50 bicyclists to petition for the formation of a commission that would be tasked with building bike lanes.

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"The citizens of Saratoga, recognizing the great popularity of cycling..."

Saratoga Illustrated floral parade pulling bicycle

This photo was part of a section not about cycling, but about the Saratoag floral parades. "No single event at Saratoga can perhaps compete with the grand floral parade given annually in September."

While flipping through the 1900 Saratoga Illustrated guide book for background on that ostrich farm, this photo caught our eye because it's just sort of goofy.

But we thought this nearby passage about bicycling in turn-of-the-century Saratoga Springs was interesting -- both because of the glimpse it provides of cycling before the advent of the mass car culture (production of the Model T would start in 1908):

The citizens of Saratoga, recognizing the great popularity of cycling, and the demands of so many visitors to Saratoga for proper facilities for this healthful and delightful exercise, have prepared several cycle paths especially set apart for the use of bicyclers. At considerable expense several delightful paths have been laid out, running from Saratoga Springs to various points in its vicinity. Recently a cycle path has been constructed along the side of the carriage road from Saratoga Springs to the several geyser springs. Another has been constructed along the south side of Union Avenue from Saratoga Springs to Saratoga Lake, making a route of eight miles for the round trip. Another very important path is from the village of Saratoga Springs to Glens Falls and return, making a round trip of forty miles.

After the jump is a set of cycle routes listed in the guide book -- it indicates there were cycle paths between Albany and Saratoga.

There's another photo/illustration in the book that depicts two very large rows of bicycles on Broadway (the image quality isn't great -- it's on pdf p. 29). And the descriptions of the some the hotels mention they provided bicycle storage rooms for guests.

Anyway, the guide book -- which is available as a pdf from archive.org -- is full of illustrations and descriptions as Saratoga Springs appeared around that time, including many of the grand hotels and other tourist attractions.

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Tour de Habitat returning

tour de habitat logo

The Tour de Habitat is making a comeback this year after a few years off. The cycling event -- a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity Capital District -- is set for September 26 in Albany.

The tour offers four different routes in lengths of 10 miles, 25 miles, 50 miles, and 100 miles. The last three make their way through both Albany and Rensselaer counties. All routes start and end at Druthers Brewing on Broadway in north Albany. The routes will be supported with rest stops and aid stations.

All rider receive a Tour de Habitat t-shirt and ticket to the post-ride party at Druthers, which includes free food and beer.

Entry fees start at $25 and increase as the route length increase. And because this is a fundraiser, riders are also encouraged to raise donations from supporters.

Options for the Madison Ave Road Diet

Madison Ave at St Rose 2015-07-29

Could it stand to lose a lane or two?

Can Madison Avenue in Albany's Pine Hills neighborhood be a better version of itself, one that both moves cars along but also provides a safer, more comfortable experience for cyclists and pedestrians?

That's the question at the heart of the proposed Madison Ave Road Diet, one of the region's most interesting transportation projects -- and a high-priority focus for cycling advocates pushing for protected bike lanes. Wednesday night at the College of Saint Rose city officials and consultants unveiled the menu of proposed options for reconfiguring the thoroughfare.

"It's most important that we get it right," Albany mayor Kathy Sheehan told the crowd Wednesday in emphasizing the importance of public feedback on the project. "We're really going to have one opportunity and then this will become the model for what we do in other parts of the city."

Here's the menu of options, along with a few thoughts...

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Three thoughts about the push for protected bike lanes in Albany

protected bike lane rally

The rally in Albany this week for protected bike lanes.

This Wednesday is a big day for one of the most interesting transportation projects in the Capital Region because the city of Albany will be publicly presenting options for the Madison Ave Road Diet. The range of options will be on display, and public comments collected, at the College of Saint Rose Wednesday at 6 pm.

The project is aiming to make the popular thoroughfare through Albany's Pine Hills neighborhood safer by reducing the number of lanes in an effort to "calm" traffic. It's a notable example of how the thinking about the way people get around is evolving from a perspective that places a high, almost sole, priority on cars, to an approach that intends to be more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists.

The Madison Ave Road Diet is also potentially important because it could end up including the first protected bike lane in the city of Albany -- that is, a lane designated for bikes that's protected from car traffic by some sort of barrier. Cycling advocates have been pushing for such an amenity, and see it as a significant step towards more bikeable city.

Here are three thoughts about the push for protected bike lanes.

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Events for Bike Month 2015

bike pedal mediumMay is almost here, and that means Bike Month events. Here are a few...

Albany Bike Expo 2015
The Albany Bike Expo will be back at the Washington Park Lake House May 3 from 10 am-4 pm. The event is organized by the Albany Bicycle Coalition. Admission is free.

The event includes tables from bike shops, bike clubs, and advocacy orgs, along with some food vendors and music. Past years have also included a sidewalk sale of bike equipment.

Troy Bike Rescue BikeFest
The 5th annual Troy Bike Rescue BikeFest is May 30 from 5-8 pm at the Sanctuary for Independent Media.

The day includes a family fun ride, bike info, music, burritos, and cake. Tickets start at $10 and are available online.

Streetfilms Mini-Festival at The Madison

A "mini-festival" of films from the influential Streetfilms project -- which is focused on urban planning, cycling, and transit -- is queued up for the Madison Theater in Albany on April 13. Event blurbage:

These short films show how smart transportation design and policy can result in better places to live, work and play. The event will include a Q and A with Streetfilms' own Clarence Eckerson following the screening. Mr. Eckerson, a UAlbany alum, is often called, "the hardest working man in transportation show biz" for his dedication to making difficult, wonky concepts more accessible and entertaining to the general public. He's been documenting transportation advocacy for 15 years and has produced over 600 Streetfilms.

The short video embedded above -- Gronigen: The World's Cycling City -- is an example of the sort of film Streetfilms produces.

The Streetfilms Mini-Festival is being organized by the Albany Protected Bike Lane Coalition, which (as the name would imply) is working to get protected bike lanes built in the city. We hear that about eight short films will be screened, with a total runtime of about 45 minutes.

The screening at the Madison on Monday, April 13 is at 7 pm. (Information tables will be set up at 6:15 pm.) Admission is free.

South End Bikeway Link

south end bikeway proposal diagram clip

Here's an interesting idea: The South End Bikeway Link -- a proposal to connect Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail with the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail and Albany waterfront.

A coalition of local bike, rail trail, and neighborhood group is supporting the idea. And there's a public meeting this evening (Wednesday) at the Albany Public Library main branch at 6 pm to share info and rally support.

Press release blurbage:

The proposed bike link would extend the existing Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail further south and tie into the new Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail. This much-anticipated "Rails to Trails" route will stretch 9.3 scenic miles to the Village of Voorheesville from the South End. The link will be wildly popular with bicyclists, runners, and walkers when the final Bethlehem-South Albany segment opens in late October 2015.

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A bit more about protected bike lanes in Albany

madison ave protected bike lane schematic

A few bits of follow up on last week's post about the Capital Region bikeshare:

Protected bike lanes
We mentioned that one of the ideas to make parts of the Capital Region more bike friendly are protected bike lanes -- generally speaking, these are bike lanes that are separated from car traffic by some sort of barrier. These sorts of lanes are said to be safer for cyclists, and they may help more casual cyclists feel better about using a bike for transportation.

As it happens, there's a group organizing to support the creation of protected bike lanes in Albany, specifically as part of the redesigned Madison Ave (the "road diet"). The group's FB page is posting information about protected bike lanes and other bike-friendly ideas.

Also, a proposed Madison Ave redesign that incorporates protected lanes floated our way. The design is above -- here's a large-format version. It was created by Lorenz Worden of the Albany Bicycle Coalition. And it provides an easy-to-understand layout of how redesigned Madison Ave could maybe work.

We gotta admit we're not totally sold yet that protected lanes will prompt a significant number of people to start cycling more often. But the idea looks promising and it's worth a shot. Madison Ave seems like as good a place as any to try it.

Bikeshare recap
Over at the TU, Tim O'Brien has some numbers from the Capital Region bikeshare now that the pilot has ended: there were more than 250 participants, who averaged 2.8 rides during the trial period.

Taking the Capital Region Bikeshare for a spin

capital region bike share bikes

The Capital Region Bikeshare pilot is finishing up this week in Albany after week-long stints in Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs. The test run finishes up this Saturday, August 16.

We were curious about the program, so on Thursday we registered and took one of the bikes for a spin. Here are a few thoughts about the program, and about cycling in Albany generally...

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Capital City Brewcycle

brewcycle outside the ruck in troy

The Brewcycle stopped outside The Ruck in Troy.

By Lauren Hittinger

The Capital City Brewcycle, which started operating in Troy this summer, puts a different spin on the pub crawl -- or, to be more accurate, you put the different spin on the pub crawl. Because the trolley-like Brewcycle is powered by the pedaling of 12 of its passengers.

I got a chance to give it a try this past weekend.

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Bike sharing pilot program this summer

citi bike rack manhattan 2013

A Citi Bike rack in Manhattan.

A test run of a bike sharing program is planned for Albany, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, and Troy later this summer. From the Capital Moves project:

There will be 25 bicycles available for use between 10am and 8pm at one or more locations in each City. Locations are planned to include Jay Street at State Street in Schenectady, Riverfront Park in Troy, Broadway at Division Street in Saratoga Springs, and Washington Park in Albany. Once registered, participants will receive an ID number allowing them to use the bikes for the rest of the month. There will be no cost to participants, although a credit card will need to be on file as security for the bikes. In addition, participants will need to sign a waiver and provide positive identification.

Over the Gazette, Justin Mason has an article that includes a bunch of details about the program. [Daily Gazette]

The program will run from July 10-August 15. Dates for each city are after the jump.

It'll be interesting to see how this pilot goes. Bike sharing is one of those things that sounds like it could useful/fun, but the details also seem hard. One of the most famous bike share programs is the Citi Bike system in New York City, which turned out to be very popular during its first year -- and also faced significant financial problems. And the system is apparently still trying to shake out some of its operational problems. [NYT] [NYDN]

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Upcoming bicycle events

bike pedal mediumA couple of bicycle events coming up this month (it's now May, you know):

Albany Bike Expo 2014
The Albany Bike Expo will be at the Washington Park Lake House this Sunday, May 4 from 10 am-4 pm. The event is organized by the Albany Bicycle Coalition.

Lined up for the event: tables from bike shops, bike clubs, and advocacy orgs; along with some food vendors and music. Also: a sidewalk sale of bikes and bike equipment.

Admission is free.

BikeFest
Later this month: The Troy Bike Rescue has its annual BikeFest lined up for May 31. Blurbage:

Join the TBR cast of volunteers for a kids bike rodeo, raffle prizes, delicious burrito dinner with live acoustic music, and a covetous cake auction. All to be followed by bicycle cinema, including the capital region premiere of the new film Riding Bikes with the Dutch.

Events start at 3 pm May 31 at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy. Admission is free.

Albany Tweed Ride 2014

from Albany Tweed Ride 2013The Albany Tweed Ride is returning this year on April 27. Blurbage:

Time for our third Tweed Ride! Sunday, April 27th. Don't have any tweed? Don't worry: just dress in your Sunday best & leave the spandex & dayglo at home.
Meet at The Cheese Traveler at 540 Delaware Ave at 10am. They will have breakfast specials.
We'll depart around 10:30am.
We'll have marshals* to help us through intersections & keep us together. This is a casual ride, it is not fast or competitive. No one will be left behind. There will be a group photo in Washington Park.
We'll end at Olde English Pub & Pantry for brunch! Riders will get 10% off their orders.

Previous Tweed Rides have looked like a lot of (very civilized) fun, full of friendly people. If you're looking forward to getting back on your bike this spring, and meet some other bike-friendly people, this could be a good opportunity.

Earlier on AOA: Photos from Albany Tweed Ride 2013

Bikes on the sidewalk?

share the road bicycle sign

It's a lovely idea.

Alison emails:

Can we talk about something? Bicycle riding on the sidewalks seems to be on the rise. I'm a believer that the sidewalk is for pedestrians, and that the bicycles go in the street (exceptions if you're under 15). I noticed that in west coast cities bicycling on the sidewalk was ubiquitous, but appreciated that our east coast corner of the country did a better job of keeping the wheeled traffic on the proper side of the walkway.
But there's a shift happening, and I don't like it. We can reverse this. And safety-wise, I know we're not a city replete with designated bike lanes, however, oddly enough, accidents decrease when there are no bike lanes in the streets. Because when you're right there next to the cars, the cars are more cautious. You don't have a siphoned off safe space...you know it, and the cars know it. It's human behavior at it's oddest (this isn't praise for our lack of lanes, just truth). So my question is this: adults on bikes on city sidewalks: friend or foe?

As avowed pedestrians, we generally frown on cycles on the sidewalk because we don't like dodging bikes, especially when they approach from behind without warning. And in many places -- such as the city of Albany -- it's against the law (if you're not under 10 years of age) to ride a bike on the sidewalk.*

That said, having seen some less than accommodating behavior by motorists with regard to bicycles on streets around town, well, we can't exactly blame someone for taking refuge on the sidewalk in some stretches. And while we've heard the claims (and counter claims) about how bikes and cars flowing together is a good thing -- as Alison states above -- we're skeptical. Maybe it works OK if you're a confident, in-shape cyclist. But you shouldn't have to be Hardcore Bike Guy to tool around town on a bike.

This specific topic -- and Alison's question -- get at the broader issue that legislation like Albany's recently-passed "Complete Streets" ordinance is intended to address going forward: that streets should be designed to safely accommodate cars, bikes, transit, and pedestrians.

One arrangement that we've thought could be good for the Capital Region: bike lanes like those in Copenhagen -- where it's traffic | parked cars| bike lane | curb. Of course, you need a wide street for that arrangement. But, as an example: one of the options in the "road diet" proposed for Madison Ave in Albany includes lanes for traffic, bikes, and parked cars (in that order). So maybe there's a way to make it work.

* Other parts of city code related to bikes: all bikes are required to have a bell, and there's an 8 mph speed limit.

Where to get a bike fixed?

bike pedal mediumSuper Girl asks via Twitter:

just searched @alloveralbany for recommendations on bike repair shops in the area, but got no results. please help! have no clue where 2 go!

We checked, too, and it doesn't look like we've had this question before.

So, where should Super Girl go to get her bike fixed?

Earlier on AOA:
+ Summer school: Buying a bicycle
+ 2010: Ask AOA: Where to buy a bike

Albany Tweed Ride 2013 photos

Albany Tweed Ride 2013

Cheerio.

We stopped by Washington Park on Sunday for the second Albany Tweed Ride. It's pretty much what it sounds like -- people dressed in civilized attire, pedaling their way around town. This year the ride started at All Good Bakers on Delaware Ave, headed over to the Hudson River Coffee House on Quail, then into Washington Park for a stop, and then on to the Olde English for lunch.

It was a beautiful day, and there were lots of smiles. Here's a handful of pics from ride's stop in Washington Park...

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Tweed Ride returns

tweed ride 2012

From last year's Tweed Ride.

Righto, ladies and gentlemen! The Albany Tweed Ride is returning April 28 for a most civilized ride through Albany.

Tweed ride? Cyclists don their best tweed and wool skirts, caps, argyle socks, and other stylish riding togs and pedaled through the town. Here are a smattering of photos from last year.

The refined cycling starts at All Good Bakers on Delaware Ave at 9:30 am on the 28th. Along the way, the group will stop for coffee, tea, and socializing. Then it will be off for a bit more cycling before lunch at the Olde English.

Cycling in style

Over at the blog for the Schenectady County Historical Society's Grems-Doolittle Library blog there's a very interesting post about cycling in Schenectady around the beginning of the 20th century.

Bicycle garages at GE! A bike toll road along Route 5 between Albany and Schenectady! Early 1900s hipsters! It's kind of amazing how robust the cycling culture was then.

The post includes the above photo, from the Larry Hart Collection. From its description:

Two women stop during a bicycle ride around the Schenectady area, ca. 1900. Women's participation in the bicycle craze during the 1890s led to the decline of corsets, inspired "common-sense" dress, and allowed greater mobility for women. Women also joined men as members of cycling clubs formed during this period. Many suffragists and women's rights advocates saw the bicycle as a mechanism for women's freedom; in 1896, Susan B. Anthony told New York World reporter Nellie Bly, "I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate woman than any one thing in the world. I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of self reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood."

As we've said before, the library's blog is totally worth a look. Lots of good stuff there.

[via Carl]

Bike rental in Albany, Schenectady

bike pedal mediumThis topic has come up a few times, so... you might be interested to hear that Plaine and Son in Schenectady and Broadway Bicycle in Albany are now offering bike rentals. From a recent email newsletter:

Plaine and Son and Broadway Bicycle Co. has teamed up with Specialized to bring bicycle rental to the Capital Region. You can choose from a selection of Specialized Road and Fitness bikes.
Rates:
Road bikes - $20 for up to 4 hours, $40 for the whole day, $30 for each additional day, or $150 for a whole week.
Fitness bikes - $20 for up to 4 hours, $30 day, $20 for each additional day

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Sharing cars, sharing bikes

philly car share car

A car share car in Philadelphia. / photo: Flickr user glokbell (cc)

Capital CarShare, the group planning a non-for-profit car sharing org for the Capital Region, has put together a very detailed plan for the service. It includes explanations of how the service would work, neighborhoods where it would set, and projected finances.

The report is at the link above. It's also embedded after the jump.

The proposed service would include three membership levels (with discounts for yearly memberships):
+ Basic - $0/month, $9/hour, $0.25/mile
+ Silver - $10/month, $7/hour, $0.25/mile
+ Gold - $30/month, $5/hour, $0.25/mile

The plan also ranks areas in the order of expected roll out of the service over three years:

1. Downtown Albany, Center Square, and University Heights
2. Albany's Park South and Pine Hills neighborhoods
3. Arbor Hill, South End, and Delaware Avenue neighborhoods

There are a lot more details in the reports and it's worth taking a look if you're interested.

Earlier on AOA: Lauren Alpert talked about the car sharing plan on Soapbox back in June.

[via TSTC / thanks, Matthew]

Bike sharing
The city of Albany, Capital District Transportation Committee, bike-planning-famous consultancy Alta Planning and Design are (emphasis added) "conducting a study on what bike route signage is needed in the City of Albany and how bike sharing might be implemented here." There's a public meeting about the study next Monday (September 24) at The Linda at 6 pm. The blurbage says they'll also be looking for public input at the meeting. (Poster embedded after the jump.)

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Bike garage

amc bike shelter 1

And it looks like people use it.

We recently happened upon this "bike shelter" tucked into a parking garage near Albany Medical Center. The storage area is protected from the elements and has a locked door with swipe-card access.

We know there are a few office buildings around the area that have bike rooms, but we'd never seen a bike parking garage this big before. It seems like a nice amenity for people who work there.

A few more pics post jump if you're curious.

Update: From Albany Med's Facebook page:

We're happy to provide this service for our employees and do the same for families and visitors. Simply ask any of our security personnel about our visitor bike rack and they will be more than happy to assist you secure your bike for the duration of your visit.

By the way: Apparently the new thing in bike parking is the "bike corral" -- cities such as San Francisco and Pittsburgh are turning car parking spaces into specifically-designated bike parking with racks. [Good]

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Buying a bicycle: Carl Johnson

Carl Johnson bike 2.jpg

Carl in Troy

By Carl Johnson

AOA is taking a little R & R this week. While we're enjoying a little summer, we've rounded up a few experts to share their tips for making summer fun simpler. Enjoy!

In most people's minds, summer is the time for biking.

But maybe you haven't ridden for years, and you find all the new bicycle styles and technology more than a bit daunting. Don't let that keep you from getting back on a bike and enjoying the absolutely amazing riding that the Capital District offers.

Here are some tips on how to buy a new bike.

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"The Maple Avenue Mind-Set"

bicycling magazine why johnny cant rideThe bizarre drama over whether a kid should be able to ride his bike to Maple Ave Middle School in Saratoga is rehashed in a recent issue of Bicycling magazine. The long article by David Darlington -- "Why Johnny Can't Ride" -- details the many turns in the story, but also argues it's part of a broader context involving health, urban planning, and helicopter parenting:

Schoolwise, this might be referred to as the Maple Avenue Mind-Set: passive acceptance of a status quo that promotes not only pollution and disease but also the lesson that children (who grow up to be citizens--and parents) are helpless. Amid this grand civic failure, the chief cause for encouragement comes from individuals who refuse to give in: the Marinos, Olsons, Skenazys, and Robinsons who prioritize fresh air and exploration and exercise, the powers-that-be be damned.

In a twist we wouldn't have guessed, the Shen school district and its superintendent -- Oliver Robinson -- are held up as an example of a more bike-friendly district.

(Thanks, Jess)

photo: Nathaniel Welch / Bicycling

Pictures of The Tweed Ride

Pip, pip, cheerio

The weather was unfortunate, but oddly appropriate.

After a week of summer-like temperatures, Albany put on its cold, wet, gray English countryside look just in time for Sunday's Tweed Ride.

A couple of dozen cyclists donned their best tweed and wool knickers, skirts, caps, argyle socks, and other stylish riding togs and pedaled from the Ultraviolet Cafe on Delaware Ave, through Washington Park and down the hill to The Olde English Pub in Albany's first Tweed Ride, organized by Ethan Georgi.

After the jump, some of our photos from the morning, and a few from Dave Mercier, who followed the cyclists through the park and down to the pub.

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The Tweed Ride is this Sunday

albany tweed ride flyerThe first Albany Tweed Ride is this Sunday. It starts with tea at Ultraviolet Cafe on Delaware Ave at 10 am and ends at The Olde English downtown for lunch.

So, what is a tweed ride? Basically, people dress up and ride bikes -- the more classic and vintage the better -- in a most civilized manner. The ride is organized by Ethan Georgi. As he writes: "Don't own any tweed? Don't know what 'plus four suits' are? No worries. Just leave the spandex and chartreuse at home, and dress nicely."

Earlier on AOA: Local holiday wish list: Ethan Georgi

Tour of the Battenkill 2012

battenkill 2010 peloton

The peloton in 2010's pro race.

The annual Tour of the Battenkill cycling event is coming up April 13-15 in Washington County. Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond will be there for the weekend -- he'll be at Battenkill Books in Cambridge on Friday signing a book about cycling jerseys. He'll also be in riding a non-competitive "bike marathon" that's open to recreational riders on Sunday (you have to register online).

This year's pro/am race starts Saturday morning in Cambridge at 8:30 am -- the last racers are expected to finish around 6:30 pm.

The pro race -- with more than 150 pro cyclists, riding for 29 teams -- is Sunday. It starts at noon in Cambridge. The riders expected to pass through Cambridge again around 2 pm on the first lap of the 124 mile race, and finish around 4:30.

Here are the race maps, and the full schedule. A press release with more info is also embedded after the jump.

photo: A Mengel

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Like sitting on the handle bars

Check it out: Rob Gierthy emailed us with a video he created of commute home via bike:

I have a small video camera attached to my bike that I record my commutes with. This past Monday was such a surprisingly nice day that I thought I would share it and uploaded the video to YouTube. It documents a slow ride up the sidewalk on Madison (I know I shouldn't be on the sidewalk, but the traffic is so congested there that it seemed safer), down and across Swan to Hudson, and then through Washington Park. It might not be that exciting but for me it is a celebration of the arrival of spring.

There's a surprising zen quality about watching the video. And the images (cinematography? biketography?) are beautiful in spots -- the wide angle lens makes the sky look huge.

A little more from Rob about his commute

I've been commuting by bicycle the two miles to my job at the Empire State Plaza for almost a year now. My initial plan was to keep going until it got too cold and then stop, but a combination of a mild winter and my stubbornness kept that from happening. Covered in wool from head to toe during those cold months I forgot how enjoyable biking actually is. Now that it is suddenly warm enough that I can bike in shorts and sandals it is a revelation. No longer is it a mental and physical struggle to fight the wind and cold. Instead it is fun and liberating. The warm breeze feels great and actually seeing people out reminds me that I don't live in a barren lifeless wasteland.

Here are more of Rob's commutes. A snow-filled commute video is embedded after the jump -- it's speeded up, so it feels a bit like a skeleton run.

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Capital Region bike paths

colonie bike path

The Colonie section of the Hudson-Mohawk bike trail

By Danielle Furfaro

The Capital Region might not be the best place in the country for bicycle commuting, even though plenty of brave souls do bike to work via our car-dominated streets daily. But when it comes to biking recreationally through natural, scenic landscapes, our area is hard to beat.

When I was a teenager growing up in Latham, I'd regularly leave the house in the morning and head to the bike path along the Mohawk River, then ride to Rotterdam and then all the way to Rensselaer and return home in the evening. There's nothing like the feeling of taking off aimlessly on a bike for a couple of hours, or even for an entire day. If you have a properly functioning bicycle, proper clothing and plenty of time, adventures will practically make themselves.

Here are a handful of bike trails around the Capital Region...

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Tour de Habitat 2011

tour de habitat 2010Here's something to look ahead to: the 2011 Tour de Habitat.

The annual cycling ride is a fundraiser for Capital District Habitat for Humanity. It gives riders the option of traveling a 100, 50, 25 or 10 mile route. The ride is September 18.

The entry fee is $100 -- and the hope is that riders will get sponsors to help cover the fee (and then some). The fee includes a fully-supported route, t-shirt, and -- because Evans Ale is a sponsor -- a pre- and post-race meal at the Pump Station, as well as two post-race pints of beer.

We saw today that Jen is interested in riding this year, so we decided to sponsor her. AOA is matching $50 of the money she's able to raise toward the entry fee -- so head on over and hit her a few bucks.

Where to rent a bike?

bike pedal mediumMaya emails:

I wanted to know where I can rent bikes in the capital district region. I live in a small apartment with no balcony. Although I want to buy a bike, there is no space to keep it in my house.

Got a suggestion for Maya -- either for where to rent, or maybe how she might find space to store a bike? Please share!

Earlier on AOA: Where to buy a bike?

Troy Bike Rescue on the move

Troy Bike Rescue

TBR's soon-to-be-former space.

The Troy Bike Rescue will soon have a new home. From the info we got today:

Over the next two weeks, Troy Bike Rescue will be closing down their normal operations of twice-weekly bike maintenance clinics in preparation for a move to a new home. On May 21, they will be loading up a caravans of cargo bikes, trailers, and other vehicles to transport the bulk of their downtown shop to a new home in North Troy. The move to a larger and dedicated space will allow them to grow their mission, expand open shop hours, and create youth-specific programming in the North Troy neighborhood.

TBR is also having a fundraising party on May 28 to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The full release is after the jump.

Before TBR heads uptown, it has a concert coming up at the soon-to-be-former space at 51 3rd Street this coming Monday (May 16): one-man band Jason Webley playing "a suave style of gypsy/folk music" -- plus Ashley Pond, and The Nightmare River Band.

What's the Troy Bike Rescue? From its about page: "Troy Bike Rescue is a collective of cycling enthusiasts committed to removing bikes from the waste stream and getting them back on the streets."

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Bike to China

daniel-i-patterson.jpg

"I'm more comfortable on two wheels than on my own two feet."

UAlbany student Dan Patterson is an avid cyclist who's biked across South Africa, England, Scotland, France, Spain and much of the U.S.

His next trip: Central Asia. After graduation, he and another recent UAlbany grad -- Marta Grzegorek will spend six months biking from Istanbul to Shanghi, that's about 5,000 miles.

But this time, cycling just didn't seem to be enough.

So Dan and Marta will be stopping in towns along the way in an attempt to help people solve social and environmental problems.

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Tour de Troy photos

tour de troy 1

Nine corners. Two wheels.

The photo above is from Neil Grabowsky's photoset of racers in last weekend's "Tour de Troy" events, coordinated by the city of Troy and the RPI Cycling Club. The Times Union called it "one of the largest collegiate bike races in the country."

You can see more photos by Neil, of Through the Lens Studios, after the jump.

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State bike registration law proposed

neon bikesMichael DenDekker, a state Assemblyman from Queens, has introduced legislation that would require registration and license plates for personal bicycles (he's also introduced a separate bill for commercial bicycles that would require insurance coverage).

Registration would cost $25 for the first year, and $5 each year after.

Gothamist talked with DenDekker about the bills yesterday. From the interview:

I had various constituents contact me concerning bicyclists in the Woodside/Jackson Heights area that don't obey the traffic rules, that are driving down streets the wrong way, driving on sidewalks and actually being very reckless. And their concern is that when they do this there is no way to report them because there is no way to identify the bicyclists, per se, so that has been the reason for it. It's just natural now that we're investing so many resources into making this the new mode of transportation, which I'm all for, we're just going to need to regulate and register the bicycles so we know who everybody is who is sharing the road with us.

(Don't miss his thoughts on cameras for bike lanes.)

Under the "justification" section of DenDekker's bill, the Assemblyman argues that bike usage on streets has risen steeply (citing stats from two decades ago), and "... it is essential that the state of New York be able to identify the bicycle riders. The issuance of license plates will ensure personal protection for cases such as bicycle theft or bicycle accidents, to name a few."

A few municipalities around the country have tried mandatory bike registration laws -- with what appears to be limited success. Long Beach, California recently dropped its longstanding law, in part because of criticism after a bunch of cyclists were ticketed last fall during a critical mass ride.

Snarked Jim Tedisco today on his blog:

In the annals of bad bills, here's a real winner: a new bill from Assemblyman Michael DenDekker requiring license plates for bicycles. Really?!!!? Are 10 year-olds now going to have to stand in line at the DMV to get a license plate for their bike? If you have training wheels on your bike do you have to have a learner's permit? What's next: targeting big wheels, tricycles and skate boards?

DenDekker's bills have been referred to committee. We're guessing they'll be parked there for some time, perhaps permanently.

[via Gothamist]

The "camel" bike

Check out this awesomely absurd bike built by people at the Troy Bike Rescue:

Weld one bike on top of another? Sure, why not.

By the way: The TBR was the early entry winner in the ChangeMakers Strong Communities competition (and got $500). It's now up for a $10,000 prize.

Earlier on AOA:
+ Ask AOA: Where to buy a bike?
+ The guy on the big pink bike
+ The Troy Bike Rescue

Tour de Habitat 2010

tour de habitat 2010The annual Tour de Habitat bike ride is coming up September 26. From the brochure:

The Tour de Habitat gives riders a choice of pedaling a 100, 50, 25 or family-friendly 10 mile route to benefit Capital District Habitat for Humanity. All rides start and finish at the Albany Pump Station, with a post-ride reception featuring food and beer.

The entry fee is $100, for which the org is hoping people will get sponsors. The fee includes "riding a fully supported route, pre- and post-ride meals at the Albany Pump Station, two pints of any Evans beer after the ride and a souvenir t-shirt."

Earlier on AOA: Scoring your very own urinal at Habitat ReStore

Can cars and bikes coexist in the Capital Region?

capital coexist tom benware

Tom Benware

By Kalyn Belsha

Tom Benware might have passed you in traffic. On his bike. Which was on the side of a bus.

Tom appears on a CDTA bus as a part of a new initiative launched in April encouraging Capital Region motorists and cyclists to share the road.

In real life, the Delmar resident is a transportation guru, public transit advocate and 1,000-mile-a-year cyclist. He worked at the state Department of Transportation for 14 years and now he's the senior legislative analyst for the New York State Senate Transportation Committee. Just last week he helped advance new legislation that would require New York roads be designed with all users in mind - not just drivers.

I took a moment to talk with Tom about biking in the Capital Region, his favorite places to ride and what it's like to see yourself on the side of a bus.

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Where to buy a bike?

Troy Bike Rescue

The Troy Bike Rescue

@MindyKB asked via Twitter:

Know any good places for a beginner to buy a bike, preferably a relatively simple, cheap one?

One option might be to start at the Troy Bike Rescue. They often have bikes for "adoption" -- and they can help you learn how to maintain it.

We're betting you have good suggestions for Mindy. Please share!

Bonus Troy Bike Rescue item: TBR has Bike! Bike! Northeast, "a meeting of the minds on all things bicycle culture in the Northeast US," coming up this weekend.

photo: Troy Bike Rescue

Photo roundup from Tour of the Battenkill

battenkill 2010 peloton

The peloton coming up Joe Bean Hill for the second lap.

At one point during this weekend's Tour of the Battenkill pro cycling race in Washington County, eventual winner Caleb Fairly told Velo News he was thinking: "I hope someone is taking pictures."

And, of course, they were! A whole of bunch of photos from the race are up on Flickr.

Fairly finished first (he won some chocolate milk), followed by (momentary Tour de France winner) Floyd Landis and Jay Robert Thomson (full results). Danny Goodwin (grifwin) has a photo of the winners on the podium (and from the start). Fairly and Landis dueled toward the end before Fairly pulled away solo.

The Battenkill course was 25 percent dirt road -- muddy conditions captured by Daniel Sharp (d_sharp) and Flickr user ffron. And from this picture by Meghan Eddy, it looks like there was plenty of spatter.

Even more photos: Ian Creitz (IanC83) has posted a huge photo set from the race -- almost 700 photos.

And here's a set from Amy and Aaron Mengel (that's their pic at the top). A trio of video clips they shot are embedded after the jump.

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Capital Region MapMyRide

mapmyride escarpment loop

A screengrab of the "Escarpment Loop" route.

Check it out: a cycling site called MapMyRide has a bunch of cycling routes for the Capital Region.

In addition to maps, the user-submitted routes include notes on distance, terrain and scenery. And some of the route names are great: Escarpment Loop, Almost Went to Cohoes and the VT Pain Bucket.

Here are routes that include Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady and Troy.

The site also includes routes for runs. And there's an iPhone app.

[via @amymengel]

Legislature back today, Tonko and Murphy split on health care vote, the weekend in stabbings, police chase half-naked suspect through Watervliet

The legislature is back this week for at least a few days. Today's schedule includes a joint session this afternoon in which David Paterson will speak about the state budget gap (whatever size it may be). A special session is schedule tomorrow to take up measures to address the gap -- and, maybe for the state Senate to vote on the same-sex marriage bill. [Fox23] [TU] [NYDN] [Daily Politics]

The two local House members split on the health care reform vote his past weekend. Paul Tonko voted "yes" -- in a statement he said the bill will provide coverage to 22,000 people in his district. Scott Murphy voted "no" -- in a statement, he said the bill didn't do enough to curb costs. Murphy was one of 39 Democrats to vote against the bill -- and one of three from New York. [TU] [Paul Tonko] [Scott Murphy] [NYT] [Daily Politics]

The Army has called the death of Colonie solider Amy Seyboth Tirador "a non-combat related incident" in Iraq. But her family says the staff sergeant was shot in the back of the head -- though beyond that, they say the military hasn't given them any more details. [Fort Lewis press release] [CBS6] [Fox23]

Week two of the Joe Bruno trial begins today. On a Friday Leonard Fassler, a longtime associate of Bruno, testified that the senator set up meetings with government officials, including then-Governor Pataki, for companies which were paying him consulting fees. Fassler said the consulting fees were paid to Bruno because he helped Fassler become a "better executive." [CBS6] [TU] [Troy Record]

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Final bicycle master plan presentation tonight

bike plan draft mapThe final bicycle master plan for the City of Albany is scheduled to be presented tonight. From the flyer for the event:

The City of Albany, in partnership with the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) is finishing a Bicycle Master Plan to identify a network of bicycle routes to help make cycling a more viable way of getting around the City. On Tuesday, October 27th, 2009, the final meeting will present the final plan, concept goals and priorities, maps, and detail graphics to clearly and logically incorporate bicycling into the City and region's overall transportation network.


The presentation starts at 7 pm in the large auditorium at the main branch of the Albany Public Library on Washington Ave.

CDTC has some info about past public bike plan meetings posted online, though it doesn't look like there's anything posted for tonight's presentation.

Update: here's the final draft report, via daleyplanit.

(Thanks, daleyplanit!)

"I have a bike, now what" this weekend

Tamara Flanders.jpgUpdate: the class has been canceled. We heard from Tamara that she's broken her wrist.

Tamara Flanders has one of her "I have a bike, now what" classes coming up this Saturday. She says the class will cover:

  • Helmet and bike fit
  • Clothing and accessory basics
  • Nutrition and hydration
  • Gears and cadence
  • Tire pressure and repair
  • Safety checks for a good working bike
  • Hand signals and safe scanning
  • Crash prevention
  • Rules of the pathways and the road (overview)
  • Riding skills

The class is at the YWCA in Schenectady from 11 am - 2 pm. Participants should be 14 and up -- and bring their own bike, helmet, water, and a snack.

The cost is $20 (you get a $5 discount if you sign up in advance). Email tamaraflanders@yourbodyawake.com or call 399-5104 to sign up or for more info.

photo: Tamara Flanders

"Driving" your bike with Tamara Flanders

Tamara Flanders.jpg

Tamara Flanders and her daughter on their tandem bike

We'd like to bike more in the Capital Region. Really, we would. But frankly, we're a bit, well, chicken. OK, maybe not exactly chicken. It's just that riding a bike in an area with few bike lanes and often-inconsiderate drivers seems a bit hazardous.

Which is why Tamara Flanders new class on how to "drive" a bike looked interesting to us. Flanders is a holistic health teacher who added a class for novice adult cyclists to her repertoire this spring.

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And the bike wins again!

Feliks 2.jpg

This year's winner Feliks Kizhner.

It was no contest really. For the 6th year in a row the bike beat the car and the bus in the National Bike Month Commuter Contest. The race from Starbucks on Pearl Street to Eastern Mountain Sports in Stuyvesant Plaza ran a little bit slower than last year, but the wind and rain could account for some of that. Here's how it all shook out:

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The Commuter Contest

commuter contest winner 2008

Willem Heydendael won the contest last year.

The New York Bicycling Coalition is holding its annual Commuter Contest this Thursday. From the org's press release:

This exciting competition pits bicyclists against motorists and transit riders during rush-hour traffic to determine the most efficient means of transportation. This friendly contest is designed to highlight the merits of a bicycle as a form of clean, low-cost, zero-carbon form of transportation. For the past 5 years, the bicyclist has been the winner--join us this year to see if we can make it 6 in a row!

(Results from last year's competition.)

The first 50 people to enter this year's competition will get a free safety light.

The dash starts at the Starbucks on North Pearl in downtown Albany at 5 pm and ends at the Stuyvesant Plaza Starbucks (that's 5.2 miles, according to Google).

Bonus bike fun: There's a showing of Veer, a documentary about Portland's thriving bike culture, at the Madison Theater Thursday night.

Bonus alternate transportation item: that commuter cruise between Albany and Troy is on Wednesday this week.

Cranksgiving

cranksgiving posterIt's a canned food drive! It's a bike race! It's both!

Here's how Andrew (Pink Tallbike) Franciosa described Cranksgiving to us:

This race takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving every year. There's no registration fee, but riders bring money with them, because the checkpoints are all grocery stores. At these grocery stores, they have to leave their bike outside, run in, and purchase a specified food item. Once they've collected all of the food items and have finished the race (we check the receipts to make sure they didn't cheat), all of the food gets donated to the Albany Homeless Action Committee.

Registration starts at 8:30 pm Saturday night (you'll need $20, a bag and a lock -- and, we're guessing, a light) at the memorial near State and Henry Johnson in Albany's Washington Park.

By the way: if you're curious about the backstory to Cranksgiving, it was started by bike messengers in New York City in 1999.

Bike polo back and forth

Check out the video Sebastien shot of this past weekend's bike polo action in Washington Park:


Collar City Bike Polo - Albany, NY - 08, Nov from Sébastien B. on Vimeo.

(Thanks, Sebastien!)

Bike polo, anyone?

By Jessica Pasko

troy bike polo logoBike polo?

Yep. It's polo, on bikes, and it's heading across the river to Albany on Sunday.

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The guy on the big pink bike

Andrew Franciosa and his big pink bike

We first saw The Big Pink Bike (our name for it) after Jess spotted it back in August. And since then, it seems like we've either been seeing it, or hearing about it, everywhere.

So who is this guy who rides The Big Pink Bike?

His name is Andrew Franciosa. He's a junior at UAlbany. And he was nice enough to answer a few questions we had -- most of all, why?

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Cycling (18)90s style

vintage tandem bike Check out this vintage tandem bike Jess spotted on the local Craigslist. The listing says it's from the 1890s -- it has a wooden chain guard and fender!

Price: $800.

(Thanks, Jess!)

The Troy Bike Rescue

Troy Bike Rescue

The Troy Bike Rescue's new space.

By Jessica Pasko

Sure, it might be getting a little chillier, but there's still plenty of bike-riding weather left. And if you don't have one of your own, the Troy Bike Rescue can help you out with that.

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As if sexy cycling legs weren't enough

neon bikes

Anyone tooling around town on one of these definitely deserves a discount.

By Jessica Pasko

Alright, you know riding your bicycle is good for the earth and good for your physical fitness. Did you know it's also good for getting you discounts?

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Diva de Loayza's Ghost Bike

Diva de Loayza Ghost Bike

A memorial at the intersection of Western Ave and University Pl.

We first noticed this memorial to Diva de Loayza on Western Ave in Albany a few weeks ago. It marks the spot where de Loayza, the founder of Some Girls Boutique, was hit by a minivan while riding her bike last summer. She died a few days later from her injuries. The memorial seems to have been in place since May.

Bicycle memorials like this one are called Ghost Bikes. They first popped up in 2003 in St. Louis as a way to remember bicyclists who died while riding on the street. The idea has since spread all over the world -- and there are a handful here in the Capital Region.

Albany Rickshaw

Ricshaw.jpg

Yes, that's a rickshaw at the corner of State and Lark.

Check out what we found while we were having dinner on Lark Street the other night! (Unfortunately all we had handy was the camera phone, but you get the idea.) Yep, there's a new way to travel in Albany. A very, very old new way to travel.

Right now Albany Rickshaw is a one man company, and that one man is in pretty good shape. Loren Grugan is an Albany police officer, but in his off-hours he'll pull you around the city in his new rickshaw. Loren doesn't stay still for very long, but he put the breaks on to talk with AOA.

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And it's the bike by a mile!

Willem Heydendael, commuter contest winner

Afterward, Willem sipped the sweet, sweet nectar of victory -- which looked a lot like a Starbucks frozen drink.

The bike easily beat out the car and bus in the National Bike Month Commuter Contest yesterday evening. Here are the final times among the various modes of transportation for the Starbucks (downtown Albany) to Starbucks (Stuyvesant Plaza) route, which was about five miles long:

1. First Bike - 15:41 (19 mph)

2. The Smart Car - 21:00 (14 mph)

3. The Bus Riders - 44:00 (6.8 mph)

Willem Heydendael rode the first bike to the finish. He commutes everyday from Troy to Albany Med, where he's a grad student in the neurosciences program. And get this, he says that during the past year he's only driven to AMC from Troy about six times. The rest of his trips were all on the bike.

Earlier on AOA:
+ Does it pay to ride the bus?

National Bike Month Commuter Contest

NY_Bicycling_art.jpg
By Jessica Pasko

What's the quickest way home in rush hour traffic? No, clicking your heels three times doesn't work, we've tried. For the last four years the NY Bicycling Coalition has proved that in A-Town, it's the bicycle. Tonight they'll try and do it again.

(there's more)

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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