City Council member Don Redman sporting his "I Bike Jax" tee around the Riverside Market this past Saturday.
Still don't have yours yet? You can order line HERE for $12. Or you can pick up one every Saturday through December 19th at the BIke Valet in the Riverside Arts Market for $10.
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Despite the mechanical simplicity of the bicycle. They all still to need to receive some periodic TLC. So what do you do when your bike needs a new part or the gears adjusted? Most load up their bike on the car and drive to the local bike shop.
But what if kids, work and any of life's other multitude of commitments don't allow the time to go to a bike shop? Your sweet ride ends up sitting in a corner of the house or shuffled around in the garage until you can find the time.
What if your bike is your only source of transportation and you can't live without your bike for a couple of days. Most people can't, and your local bike shop sure as hell ain't in the business of giving out service loaners.
This is where the Bicycle Clinic mobile bike repair shines. Alex Milicic grew up in Croatia and later moved to Germany where he spent several years learning the trade of bicycle repair and maintenance before immigrating to Jacksonville. After moving to Jacksonville, Alex spent a few years working with a local bike shop where he saw a need for mobile repair after repeatedly listening to customers complain about their trials and tribulations with getting their bikes to the shop for repair.
One thing that really stood out for me upon meeting Alex is his commitment and love of bicycles. And unlike certain local shops, you will not get an attitude if your bike happens to be a POS from one of the big box stores. Alex will happily put it in top condition. "A well tuned bike is a safe and happy bike" is all you'll hear from Alex.
His prices are more than reasonable. He will come to your home or place of business and do a complete $45 tune up that includes:
And here's the kicker, The Bicycle Clinic is available 7 days week from 8 am to 8 pm. And also offers after hours emergency service.
To help introduce Alex and his great service he will be setting at the Riverside Arts Market Bike Valet (Which is free by the way) to do free bike checkups this Saturday (11/14) and the following Saturday (11/21). Come by get your bike some love.
You can find more information and contact Alex and The Bicycle Clinic through his site.
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On October the 19th The League of American Bicyclists release their list of Fall 2009 Bicycle Friendly Communities. And Jacksonville was included at the bottom of the list with an Honorable Mention.
Really? Jacksonville a bicycle friendly community? Weren't we just recently denied that distinction by the same group? Ok, so Jax is not officially a bicycle friendly city. But, to paraphrase a quote from Monty Python's Holy Grail, according to the League of American Bicyclists, "We Got Better."
When asked, Meghan Cahill, Director of Communications for the League of American Bicyclists cited the following as justification for the Honorable Mention:
"Highlights of the application included the 3’ passing law promoted on signage on JTA transit vehicles; a good percentage of roads with bicycle accommodations like bike lanes; the Bicycle Safety & Helmet Promotion Bike Fair in all 111 schools and the Mayor’s yearly Bike Month Proclamation."
"Kernan BV Recreational Path extension, Talbot Island - Timucuan Bike Trail extension. (Bike Jax Note: Timucuan Bike Trail is dead until additional funding can be found and is also solely for recreational use.)
FCMPO Commuter Services Program
Bike to Work day promotions
JTA Bikes on Buses program
Traffic skills 101 classes"
Which appears to be an impressive list of accomplishments. That is until you actually try and ride your bike somewhere only to find yourself stymied by bridges you can't access or frustrated by the fragments of bike lanes that disappear as fast as they appear while being honked, yelled, threatened and overall abused by Jacksonville drivers. Is Jacksonville worthy of even a Honorable Mention as a Bicycle Friendly Community? I personally don't think so. Will it ever be? Yes, it will. I know the people working to make it so. And if those same people are allowed to follow through by our city and state leaders, I think in the next five to ten years Jacksonville will become a very friendly city towards those that wish to bike to work, shopping or play.
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Bike Jax has just learned that the Johnny Jones Ghost Bike has yet again gone missing for the third time. We will of course replace it as soon as possible.
But a far sadder note than the missing ghost bike is the continued suffering and hardships faced by Johnny's widow and the business they started together. On talking with Cindy Jones today, I learned that she recently had to close the restaurant that she and Johnny had spent years building. "When a restaurant loses a chef of Johnny's caliber, it's hard to continue attracting the clientele you once did" say's Cindy Jones on the closing of their restaurant.
Upon closing the restaurant Cindy donated the entire kitchen to the Clara White's School of Culinary Arts a program Johnny helped set up.
The death of a cyclist doesn't stop effecting those in their life. In this case, Johnny's death continues to effect not only his wife, but his former employees, those who called the Genesis Cafe their special place and all those future chefs at the Clara White Mission who will never receive Johnny's mentoring.
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Even before Florida was a state the movement of people and goods was a concern to those in power. With the public highways of the early to mid 1800's not land based but being the waterways of this great state. The leaders at the time of Florida's statehood in 1845 thought the protection of those right-a-ways so important that they created the The Public Trust Doctrine: Protection of Navigable Waters.
What is Navigable Waters?
As applied in Florida, the Public Trust Doctrine protects water bodies that were navigable in fact at the time of statehood in 1845. In 1909, the Florida Supreme Court defined the term "navigable in fact" as meaning "navigable for useful purposes common to the public in the locality where the waterbody is located."
The term "navigable for useful purposes" must be understood in the context of the transportation system that actually existed at the time of statehood. In 1845, the only railroad in the state ran from Tallahassee to St. Marks, and operated on wooden rails with carts pulled by mules. Engines didn't arrive until eleven years later. The status of land transportation routes is evidenced by two provisions in an early act of the territorial legislature. The first provision declared that a public road was in satisfactory condition so long as the tree stumps left in the road were less than 12 inches high. The second provision declared that bridges and causeways used in connection with these roads could remain out of repair for as long as 15 days unless repair was "hindered by extremely bad weather," in which case the bridges could be out for even longer. As a result, lakes and streams were by far the most reliable public highways for moving goods and people. An early congressional act recognized the public status of these highways when it declared that all the "navigable rivers and waters in the districts of East and West Florida shall be, and forever remain, public highways."
That was then, this is now.
City and state leaders are still concerned with the protection of the right-a-ways for the movement of people and goods on our roads and highways. As long as you're doing that movement by automobile. If you chose any other source of transportation, like say a bicycle, your options for travel are most likely not the most direct or safest choice. Oh sure, the state says you as a cyclist have access and a right to all roads. But are those roads available the best and safest options for you? What if there is a shorter safer road that lies between you and your destination but you are restricted from using it for one reason or another. Would you still use it?
Meet Glen Kernan Parkway.
By looking at a map you would think that Glen Kernan Parkway would be an ideal link between Hodges Blvd. and Kernan Blvd.. But you would be in for a surprise once you made it there by bike. Especially if you entered Glen Kernan from Hodges Blvd.
The problem is Glen Kernan Parkway turns out to be a private road...Partly. If you turn on to Glen Kernan Pkwy from Hodges Blvd. It is a public road for the first quarter mile. Upon which you run into the gates of doom.
So why are commuters risking arrest for trespassing rather than finding another route? If you look at the map above you'll see that Glen Kernan is the only roadway that connects the two major roadways of Kernan Blvd. & Hodges Blvd.. The only other option for those along Hodges Blvd. is to ride the unmarked shoulder of a posted 45 mph road with actual speeds in the neighborhood of 55 mph. to the two-lane Hunt Club Rd. with 45 mph speeds and no bike lanes or unpaved shoulders to Beach Blvd. and then back up Kernan Blvd. A distance just under 5 miles.
Why the need to get to Kernan Blvd. from Hodges Blvd. so great? Lets look at another map.
The strife over access to Glen Kernan Pkwy. has only risen in the last year with the opening of the Kernan Multi-use path that runs from Atlantic Blvd on the North End to just past the entrance of Glen Kernan Pkwy. it seems that as more people become aware of the bike path, they prefer using it over the shoulder of a road with cars whizzing by at 55 mph. It's also helpful to point out that Jacksonville's largest University, the University of North Florida is also just off the Kernan Blvd. Bike Path at the south end. And at the Kernan Blvd. & Beach Blvd. intersections you have all your major retailers which also contribute to make the bike path a more appealing choice of travel.
So what's the problem? Well it turns out that residents of Glen Kernan are not happy with cyclist who use their private road as a cut thru between the two major roads. Cyclist are repeatedly threatened with arrest by Glen Kernan's private security force. But as of yet, I've not heard of anyone being arrested or charged by Glen Kernan.
Which brings us full circle to laws pertaining to navigable waterways. People are just like bodies of water, in that they will always take the path of least resistance to get from point a to point b.
I'm not saying that residents of Glen Kernan should have to open the road to everyone. Not all roads are open to bicycles, why should every road be open to the automobiles of the general public? But a few cyclists traveling quietly thru their neighborhood should pose no problem for them. I also believe that the needs of a community on the whole out weigh those of few select individuals. What I'm suggesting is that Navigable Roadways whether public or private should be navigable for useful purposes common to the public in the locality where the roadway is located. The founders of our state understood this principal. It's time we relearned it.
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We at Bike Jax have been working on so many projects this year that actually posting to Bike Jax has been seriously lacking. We are working on changing that.
One of the side projects we have been working on is designing a line of bike related tee shirts and gear as source of funding for future projects and events.
Our first line of shirts are in and will available this Saturday at the Riverside Arts Market Bike Valet for the low, low price of $10.
All proceeds go to support Bike Jax projects.
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This weekend our friends over at Actionville are hosting a weekend of bike fun and music.
Sat. Sept. 26th
3pm: Meet up at willowbranch park for an alleycat (which is like a scavenger hunt/race on bikes).. this will be point based with trival questions, so the fastest might not necessarily win, bring your thinking cap! these are so much fun!
5pm: Pick-up polo at Murray Hill (even if you don't play, come out and watch!! we'll have food/maybe beer it'll be a blast don't lie)
Evening Ride: details unknown
9pm: A night of music at Steamworks:
($2 Cover Charge)
Premadonnasaurus
Tourist Trap
Gnarly by Nature
National Dairy. Starts
Sunday Sept. 27th
2pm: Meet up at Starlite for the monthly ride, we'll end this one at another one of our favorite parks with picnics, kickballs and more.
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I would like to take a moment to thank Sen. Bill Nelson who voted with the Senate majority rejecting an amendment introduced by former presidential candidate and well known hater of alternative transportation, Sen. John McCain that would have gutted the funding for bicycle and rail infrastructure.
On a down side Sen. George LeMieux recently hand picked by Gov. Crist to replace Mel Martinez' voted for the McCain amendment.
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