Bikes are back in Dublin

There has certainly been a bike boom in Dublin since my last visit in July 2006. Bikes are piled into racks and locked to street signs and railings everywhere. Brave cyclists claim their space among taxis and double-decker buses on the busiest streets in the downtown tourist areas. Bike lanes have been signposted throughout the city, usually within the bus lanes. Many of the bike lanes are reserved only during the morning and evening rush hours, and some bike lanes appear to be no more than 2 feet wide, but they are being used despite their shortcomings. Whether it's the higher cost of gas, the drop in the economy, or a growing environmental awareness, Dublin residents of all ages seem to be bringing out their bikes, and the city seems to be scrambling to meet their needs.

Catching a photo of any of these cyclists from the crowded sidewalks or our moving rental car sure kept me scrambling, but I eventually caught a few live ones. Click here or on the photo below to see my small set of photos from Dublin.



(For an insider's view of cycling in and around Dublin, check out Jack's blog, Le Vie en Velo.)

Many Happy Returns

All good things must come to an end sometime, and so we have returned home from our visit with my husband's family in Ireland. I have quite a few bike-related photos to share from the trip, but first I want to report the news from today: My bike buddy is back! Daughter rode her bike today for the first time since her foot injury on May 1! After two and a half months of Sever's disease, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, bruised toes, crutches, a walking boot and physical therapy, she finally felt confident enough to ride her bike to the library this morning. We discovered her bike needed a little physical therapy, too:
Flabby tires need to get pumped!

As we pulled up to the bike rack outside the library, another mother and her two young sons arrived on bikes. I was happy to see that someone else had discovered the bicycle solution to our library's notorious parking space shortage (about 10).


Later in the day, Daughter requested another bike ride to the farmer's market to buy her favorite cinnamon scones from the bread stand. How could I say no? After dinner, she suggested riding our bikes to the convenience store for milk. No problem! Looks like someone has rediscovered her bike love.

It's good to be back.

Crossing the Delaware

The Delaware River forms the entire border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. George Washington made his famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas Day in 1776. This Memorial Day weekend, we crossed it six times:

Saturday – We drove from our home in the suburbs of Philadelphia to Ocean City, New Jersey, in the morning (1st crossing), then back to Philadelphia in the afternoon (2nd crossing) for a wedding at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.
I spotted some bike racks as we left the stadium to return to Ocean City (3rd crossing).

Sunday – Husband and I tiptoed out for an early morning bike ride.
We treated ourselves to breakfast after riding into the wind for 3 miles.
Afterward, a few more bikes (and dogs) began to appear.
This street mural is a traffic calming device on the bike route. (See its story on YouTube here.)
We headed home to Pennsylvania later in the day (4th crossing).

Monday (Memorial Day) – Daughter convinced us it was the perfect day to visit the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey.
We decided to take the River Link ferry across the Delaware River (5th crossing) instead of getting stuck in the holiday traffic on the bridges.
I was happy to see two passengers bring their bikes aboard, and surprised when a crew member told me there is no extra charge to do so! (Adult fare is $6 roundtrip.)
Of course, you can always cross the Delaware for free by riding your bike across the walkway above the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. No thank you!
Inside the Adventure Aquarium:
This very large green sea turtle was Daughter’s favorite.
Piranhas! (Obviously not Daughter’s favorite.)
The Battleship New Jersey is docked next to the aquarium and would have been a fitting destination for Memorial Day, but Daughter ran out of energy due to the crutches, so we’ll have to return another day for a tour.
A father and child on bike watched our ferry return to Philadelphia (6th crossing). The warship Olympia from the Spanish-American War is behind them.
As we drove through downtown Philadelphia on our way home, we saw bikes in use and parked everywhere. Even as a passenger, it’s difficult to take photos from a moving car, but I managed to get this bit of a corner café scene:
And here’s a wonderful example of Philadelphia Cycle Chic – - that I just missed!

Supermarket Park It

Make-do
Make-believe

Okay, more than likely the riders of those six bikes were visiting the REI store to the right of the supermarket (as I was). Nearly every time I’m there, I see a bike or two parked outside, which is not surprising since the Schuylkill River Trail is nearby, but there isn’t a bike rack anywhere. This small shopping center got a makeover last year, but I guess nobody thought of adding a bike rack. Maybe I’ll ask someone at REI about it after the holidays when they have time to chat. Or maybe I’ll send an email since that worked wonders in my town. In the meantime, maybe Santa will leave that Playmobil bike rack in my stocking. It’s so small!

Progress (UPDATED)

Early this summer, I wrote to my local town officials asking if they would consider installing bike racks in three of our public parking lots which serve small clusters of shops. One parking lot becomes the site of a farmers market on Wednesdays from spring through fall, which limits parking nearby, so some people (like me) arrive by bike instead. I was surprised to receive an immediate, positive reply, and the bike racks were installed about a month later.

My daughter took the top photo when we parked our bikes in one new rack before picking up our takeout order from the Chinese restaurant across the street. I was disappointed in their choice of location for the bike rack – the furthermost, unlit corner of the large parking lot, as opposed to the central, well-lit walkway leading to the paystation – but it’s progress in this town, and I’m grateful for it.

The bottom photo was taken this past Wednesday by me, with my camera still on my new handlebar mount (hence the slight tilt). This rack has an ideal placement at the entrance to the lot, and is easily visible to inspire visitors to ride their bike next time. I used the trip to the market to test out my new handlebar camera mount for the first time. Here is the video I made:


To market, to market, to find a bike rack from BIKE Lite on Vimeo.

I haven’t visited the third bike rack yet, because that parking lot is currently in use as a temporary firehouse while the old one is rebuilt across the street. On second thought, maybe I should go there to take some photos documenting even bigger progress in this town. Okay, coming soon…

UPDATE – Finally visited the third municipal parking lot to see if the new bike rack has been installed yet. As you can see, there are more important vehicles parked there (temporarily), most likely on the ideal location for the bike rack. Across the street lies the foundation of the new firehouse, with a banner giving us a sneak peek into the future. Progress is looking good. The bike rack can wait.