This and That

Bike racks take over space on state road in Orlando.

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Hey, at Cafe Hey, they'll take 10 percent off your bill if your ride your bicycle to the pleasant cafe.

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When I get my early-morning cycling in -- cycling to Flatwoods, doing a loop and heading home -- it guarantees the day will end a success.

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Bicycling Magazine has a lot of cool techie stories, but I like its everyman bicycle stories the best. Witness: This is a wonderful read.

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This will put a smile on your face.

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Definition of a roll of the dice: an afternoon bike ride in Florida

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When in Vilnius, don't park your car in the bike lane: Because this is what happens.

What Do You Think About Bike Boxes?

Several cities around the country have instituted bike boxes, including San Francisco, which has more than a half-dozen bike boxes.

Let's Bike The Bay On the Causeway

Let's bike with Nick and Ellen along the frontage road on the Courtney Campbell Causeway between Clearwater and Tampa. Great ride Sunday morning. Look at this incredible cycling access to the Bay.


Also, SWFBUD supports the Florida DOT building a Courtney Campbell Bridge trail, including a new bicycle-pedestrian bridge alongside the high span on the Tampa side of the causeway. Check out what it's like to bike the high bridge now -- the shoulder is a mere four feet wide.

When Motorists Attack (Or Scream At You To Get Off The Road And Nearly Hit You)

I have lived in metro New York City; upstate New York; Ann Arbor, Michigan; South Florida; Denver; and metro Seattle.

And nowhere have I lived in an area where motorists scream at me to get off the road while I'm cycling more often as the drivers in the Tampa Bay area. Quite simply, a disturbing high number of motorists in the Tampa Bay area are not educated to understand that bicycles are vehicles and have a right to bike in the road.

About three weeks ago, I was cycling single file with my bike pals Nick and Rick on Swann Avenue in Tampa heading west just west of the McDill Avenue intersection when the three of us heard a motorist blaring her car horn from a quarter-mile behind. She continued to honk her horn loudly as she got closer and closer and proceeded to pass all three of us by mere inches. It was a frighening episode. We caught up with the driver in the black Jeep Cherokee at a traffic signal at Manhattan Avenue and I snapped a photo of the tag number for ID purposes.



Later that day, I contacted Tampa Police about this incident and later that week a police corporal interviewed the woman driver about the case. The corporal told me the driver was not aware that motorists are required by law to pass a bicyclist by a minimum berth of three feet in Florida and the driver told the officer that she thought all bicyclists should be biking on "pathways" in Tampa. But the officer said her investigation concluded that the driver did not try to intentionally strike us.

That's why the driver was not charged with any violation. But the driver was given a stern lecture by the officer about a bicyclist's right to the road and that motorists must pass cyclists by a minimum space of three feet.

Today, I received a disturbing email from a bicyclist friend who said he was biking a road in Tampa today when a driver blared his horn and nearly hit him with his side mirror while passing him. Then this happened: "After this person passed us, he then abruptly slammed on his brakes with the intention of having us run into his vehicle from behind."

My friend said he caught up with the driver and they exchanged words, with the driver yelling that cyclists should be on the sidewalk and that roads are for cars. My friend said he was biking away on his mountain bike on the sidewalk when the driver attempted to drive onto the sidewalk in an attempt to strike him. I do not know whether my friend got a tag number or reported this incident.

Here are my suggestions regarding confrontational situations when motorists nearly strike bicyclists.

1. Get a tag number. In my case three weeks ago, I photographed the license plate and the car. My friend Rick also got the tag number, too,

2. Only if you feel safe enough, use your cell phone to take a photo of the driver for ID purposes.

3. NEVER NEVER touch the motorist's vehicle.

4. Report the incident with local police. It's vital to get the case on the record and launch an investigation.

If you bike on the roads in the Tampa Bay area, I'm sure you have faced a situation where a motorist was hostile to you by blaring his or her car horn or screaming at you to get off the road. In my friend's case today, he said the driver tred to hit him.

Emotions run high under these scenarios. Try to stay as calm as possible while making sure you get the tag number and even a photo of the vehicle. When a HART bus nearly sideswiped me a year and a half ago, I caught up with the driver at a red light, circled his vehicle and snapped a photo of the driver through the windshield from the sidewalk. HART investigated the matter and determined the bus driver was wrong for nearly hitting me and HART proceeded to put 3-foot signs on its buses and became a sponsor of the Bicycle Bash to improve bicycle awareness.

If you want to report a case in Tampa where a motorist nearly struck you or acted in a manner in which the driver tried to hit you, get a tag number and driver ID and contact Tampa Police. If it's not real-time and you're back at your home after the incident, call Tampa Police at its non-emergency number st 813-231-6130.

Stay safe out there. The roads are for everyone and bicyclists and motorists alike must obey the law to share the road safely.

Margaret's Greeting

This morning, the amazing Margaret greeted bicyclists in Seminole Heights with her bicyclist cowbell during the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club Neighborhood Ride. Margaret is recovering from an ankle injury and she can't ride her bike but she can sound the cowbell when bicyclist pass her home.


Here's why bicycling in Seminole Heights is so special -- the early-morning light plus the wonderful tree canopy.

SWFBUD Asks MPO Board To Recommend Funding The BAM Network

This morning SWFBUD appeared before the Metropolitan Planning Organization board to unveil its proposed BAM Network -- the unified multi-trail system that would cover most ofHillsborough County and Tampa. BAM stands for Bicycle Area Mobility and SWFBUD believes connecting the Tampa Bypass Canal Trail, the South Coast Greenway and the Selmon Expressway Greenway into one unified trail system would offer bicyclists a safe and efficient way to get around while also interconnecting with bus routes and surface streets with bike lanes.

Our message to the MPO board and elected officials: Ride The BAM! SWFBUD asked that the MPO board recommend funding a regional BAM Network and get the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County to partner in building the BAM.

Here's a great stat: Portland, Oregon built 360 miles of bike trails and bike lanes for the cost of a single mile of highway construction.



This man serves on several Ybor City business committees and urged the MPO board to recommend funding the Selmon Expressway Greenway as a vital link between downtown Tampa and Ybor City.



Thank you Kathy D'Onofrio of state Rep. Janet Cruz for speaking on behalf of the funding of the Tampa Bypass Canal Trail. Rep, Cruz has been a terrific supporter of bicycling in Tampa Bay.The Bypass Canal Trail would connect New Tampa to State Road 60 and be one leg of the BAM Network.



This woman asked the MPO board why the Selmon Expressway Greenway is not being funded after she told the board she was buzzed by motorists when she rode her bicycle on the road in Tampa.

Seminole Heights Art and Antique Bicycle Tour Set For Oct. 22

I will be teaming up with famed glass artist Susan Gott of the Phoenix Studio to put on an artist and antiques bicycle tour ride in Seminole Heights on Oct. 22.

The ride will start and finish at Susan's glass art studio off Nebraska Avenue, about a half-mile north of Hanna Avenue.

Susan has lined up three antique shops and several artists for this bicycle tour.

Stay tuned for more details.