As if you didn’t know: The Phillies won a tense game 5, forcing a game 6 tomorrow night in New York wherein Pedro Martinez will get a second chance to end the “who’s your daddy?” chants once and for all.

Also, SEPTA called an audible, announcing a 3 a.m. strike shutting down all city subway, bus and trolley service, essentially holding true to the letter of their word to not striking during the World Series home games. Yes, yes, we support the union’s right to strike, but tell it to the people waiting at bus stops at 5:30 this morning.

So we’ll take this opportunity to share a word with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia who suggest you “Bike the Strike”:

PHILADELPHIA - November 3, 2009 - The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia urges SEPTA travelers to bike instead of driving. Commuters who bike will win out over those stuck in traffic jams of epic proportions.”Avoid the crush and bike the strike,” says Alex Doty, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. “Bike the Strike to save time, money and help shrink your waistline.  Plus, I guarantee you will have more fun than anyone trying to drive during the strike.”

In cooperation with Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation and Utilities, the Bicycle Coalition has established a Bike the Strike station at City Hall (Dillworth Plaza). The station has bike parking corrals, free coffee, bike maps and Bicycle Ambassadors on hand to give tips on bike commuting and personalized route planning.

Keeping safe while bicycling is critical.  “Bicycles are considered vehicles, so we also urge all bicyclists to obey the rules of the road,” said Education Director Breen Goodwin.  “It’s important for all bicyclists to be civil, courteous and comply with traffic laws, such as walking their bikes on sidewalks and stopping at all signals, to ensure the everyone’s safety.”

More biking tips after the jump: (more…)

As the Philadelphia Parking Authority makes the transition from meters to kiosks, they’re simply popping the meters off their poles.

This, of course, is bad news if you happen to have locked your bike to one of them, as parking meter poles, sans parking meters, are essentially useless, as a U-lock will just slide right off.

The meter/kiosk conversion happened on Second Street today, and on a now-meterless pole outside the Khyber, there’s a taped-on sign that reads “Your bike is inside the Khyber.”

According to Khyber tapminder/beer slector Jeremy Thomson, the bike, a purple and green Magna women’s mountain bike remains unclained. There’s a lock attached to it, so if you posess the key to that lock, you can head over to 56 S. Second St. and claim your bike.

Anyone out there lose their bike to the meter conversion?

Full results at blog.bicyclecoalition.org

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia released its preliminary data on the controversial bike lane pilot program on Pine and Spruce, and early results indicate that the lanes are definitely increasing bike traffic on the streets (up about 90 percent overall) and, just as importantly, DECREASING the number of bikes on the sidewalk.

WHYY’s Elizabeth Fiedler reported yesterday that the city has thusfar received slightly more positive feedback than negative. In her report, she quotes Andrew Stober, Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities:

We’re hearing from drivers and neighborhood residents who are pleased with the bike lanes and they find traffic moving in a more orderly fashion. We’re also hearing from some drivers who are complaining about cyclists behavior and who are complaining that they only have one lane to drive in.

Which leads me to wonder how many of the negative comments address the actual bike lanes and how many are just anti-cyclist.

Previously: The New Bike Lanes: They’re real and they’re spectacular!

Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky – who, for the record, I like – got it wrong in his piece today on the new Center City bike lanes.

Writes Stu:

What’s not good was expressed by neighborhood resident Scott Shandler, 33, walking his Boston bull terrier, Lexie, when he saw the press gaggle and asked what was happening. When he learned a full traffic lane of Pine and Spruce had been dedicated (surrendered?) to bicyclists, he said, “I don’t like it at all” because “there’s not enough room for everyone.”

Scott Shandler’s right, in a way: lack of space is a big issue, especially in Center City – but because there are too many cars.

Yeah, I know what’s coming. You know where the comment section is. But for those out there who didn’t blow-torch their ears shut on this issue long ago, hear me out:

You know, perfectly well, drivers – better than anyone – that traffic sucks in Center City. Parking sucks. The streets are narrow; the traffic flow is byzantine.

That’s not bikes’ fault – it’s other cars that are holding you up, buddy. The roots of the problem are more than half a century old. In the glory days of super-cheap gas, we filled our cities with streets, highways, and cars, cars, cars. We built roads bigger and bigger to try and get the cars through them quicker – but they just kept filling up. We built interstate highways through the hearts of our cities – right through beautiful Fairmount Park in our case – and those filled up, too.

Stu complains that we’ve given “prime real estate” over to bikes – an absurd notion when you compare it with the valuable real estate – virtually our entire city – that we’ve given over to cars.

The fact that so many people have to drive every day – and no one’s saying that isn’t the case – is largely the result of half a century of building our cities around cars. We can’t reverse those decisions overnight, but putting in a couple of bike lanes is a pretty cheap way to start – a hell of a lot cheaper than those tax-subsidized highways we’ve all paid for.

Being pro-bike lanes doesn’t mean being anti-cars. Hell, the fewer people driving, the less traffic for you, my automotive friend.

And as for Stu’s complaint – so often echoed by readers here on the Clog – that bikers behave badly:

Stu: Most of the bad bikers out there are simply inexperienced and scared. Riding in traffic is scary. You want bikes to behave more consistently? Give them a lane.

Which is exactly what we did.

Last, I hereby invite Stu to ride the lanes with me. We can start by the Delaware, end at the Schuylkill, and have some cheese and crackers and talk about it.

Photo | Brian Howard’s Android

White Lines

Took Spruce Street for a bit of my bike commute home last night because I wanted to get a peek at the bike lanes, the long-awaited bike lanes, that I’d heard were being painted yesterday.

They weren’t finished as of last night, but they sure do look nice. If you’re thinking that the bike lane looks kind of narrow, keep in mind that those two parallel stripes are NOT the lane. They’ll be filled in with diagonal lines which will serve as the buffer between the car lane on the left and the bike lane on the right. If you’re thinking that that’s one huge bike lane, you’re right.

Photo | Brian Howard’s Android

In my neighborhood in South Philly (Wharton, according to this awesome map), someone has decided that Morris Street should be a bike lane. And they apparently don’t feel like going through the proper channels and neighborhood handwringing it would require to convert Morris into a bicycle-only thoroughfare. So they just turned  it into one. The above symbol has been spray-painted at least twice between Passyunk and Ninth. Anyone else see these or other improvised bike lanes?

As promised, CP’s Neal Santos was on the back of a tandem, shooting video of Sunday’s first-ever Philadelphia Naked Bike Ride.

If you rode, head on over to the Philadelphia Naked Bike Ride Facebook and post your photos and get in on the commenting.

Oh, and take our PNBR poll:

Photo | Brian Howard

The ride concluded at Fifth and Fairmount

City Paper’s Neal Santos, who documented the ride from the back of a tandem bike, will have more and better shots from the first ever Philadelphia Naked Bike Ride shortly, but for now here are the shaky shots I snapped while on the ride.

The first-ever Philly Naked Bike Ride kicks off in just a few hours.

Are you riding? Still on the fence? Ride co-facilitator Clifford Greer answered some FAQ’s here.

The ride’s Facebook.

The ride meet-up information has been sent via e-mail.

urbanvelo.org

Live a little.

Specialized is, ahem, rolling out its new line of commuter/city-friendly bikes, Globe Bikes, today in Philly. I got a peek at them this morning as the Globe folks and Victory Beer’s Bill Covaleski prepared to roll out from Rittenhouse Square on a cruise of the city with bike dealers and bloggers.

Though deadline dictated I not participate also, I did get a good up-close look at a few of the models:

The Live bike has a front basket with a wooden bottom designed to tote up to 40 pounds.

The Haul model has a wooden rear deck for heavier loads.

There are a few other models including a a single speed (with freewheel) bike designed to look all track-bikey.

The designs are all classy — understated but sleek with no discernible logo, at least from a distance. I’ll go on the record as saying they look pretty sweet, esp. for commutery bikes.

After the ride, the Globe reps will be at the Water Works behind the Art Museum showing off the bikes, so if you’re in the area, give one a try and let us know how they ride.

downtownportland.wordpress.com

DesignPhiladelphia (Oct. 7-13 this year) is calling for entries for its 2009 Bike Rack Design Contest:

Design Brief

Philadelphia has a growing bicycling community. The demands of bike parking needs are quickly outgrowing available sources and more unique, innovative solutions are needed. DesignPhiladelphia is looking to present proposals and ideas during this year’s event. The following issues should be considered:

- number of bikes per rack
- Ease of security and use
- Impact on public space

Conceptual and realistic entries are considered and encouraged.

Recognition
Cash prizes:
$200 for First Place and
$100 each for 3 Runners-up

Competition entries will be displayed during DesignPhiladelphia, with winners submitted for review to the city.

Guidelines
- Cost: $10.00 per entry (multiple submissions encouraged)
- Submission format: 11x 17 .pdf at 300dpi
- Do not include name/contact info on front of submission board
- Include contact info with entry in the body of the email as well as with the check upon mailing of entry fee.

Mail entry fee, made payable to “The Design Center at Phila Univ.”, to:
DesignPhiladelphia
c/o The Design Center at Philadelphia University
4200 Henry Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144

Deadline: September 15, 2009

Download event spec sheet here.

This competition is graciously sponsored by Bresslergroup and coordinated by DesignPhiladelphia.

That Sept. 15 deadline is creeping up. Please accept my submission above.

Last night, the city held a public meeting on its scheduled pilot program that would have two bike lanes, one going in each direction, stretching across Center City and connecting the Schuylkill and Delaware River bike paths.

Giving the presentation was Stephen Buckley, Director of Policy and Planning for the Mayor’s Office of Transportation.

Just a few months ago, when I wrote about Philadelphia as a potential “Biketopia,” the idea of two robust bike lanes connecting the rivers through Center City – probably the most-biked neighborhood in the city, and which currently has almost no lanes – seemed like a long shot.

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You have no doubt heard about the city’s plans to run a bike lane pilot program on Spruce and Pine, changing those two streets which presently accomodate two narrow automobile traffic lanes into streets with one car lane and one bike lane.

Reaction has been mixed, ranging from exaltation to, well, less-enthusiastic. Those in favor of the bike lanes are excited that there will finally be any east-west bike lanes in Center City. Those opposed are site congestion, the negative effects on commerce, etc.

There will be a meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the University of the Arts Gershman Y, Chapel 100, 401 S. Broad St. to discuss the pilot program. E-mail Charles Carmalt, Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator, at charles.carmalt@phila.gov with questions.

Tomorrow, the kind folks at Neighborhood Bike Works kick off a four-part class on building your own bike wheel. Via their blog:

Learn how to build your dream wheel! You can bring your own rims and hubs, or order new parts through us from a wide range of sizes, styles and prices. Learn the basic theory of wheel-building, including how to measure components, calculate correct spoke length, proper spoke lacing, as well as truing and tensioning wheels. Mild to intermediate repair experience is suggested, but not required! The fee for the class is $75 plus the cost of any new parts you may order.

If their paid class is anywhere near as helpful as the (absolutely free!) advice they provide most evenings, it’s definitely worth checking out. For more info, give them a call at 215-386-0316 or send an e-mail to yowei[at]neighborhoodbikeworks[dot]org.