Cycle Schenectady board member Gillian Scott is mentioned in this excellent op-ed column by Albany Bicycle Coalition President Ed Brennan. Read it here: https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/capital-region-s-bike-trails-good-make-great-18353304.php
Author: Art Clayman
Cycle Schenectady board member Gillian Scott is mentioned in this excellent op-ed column by Ed Brennan, president of Albany Bicycle Coalitiion. Read it here: https://tinyurl.com/ytcwebbf
Gonna be at the Greenmarket this coming Sunday along with our friends from the Electric City Bike Rescue. They’ll be doing minor repairs and adjustments, while we’ll be talking about our efforts to promote a bike-friendly community and giving out helmets and other goodies. So come down with your bike, get it fixed or adjusted, and visit us.
Rain, or the threat of it, caused us to cancel our first two group rides of the season. But It appears the third time‘s a charm. The weather forecast for this coming Monday’s ride is sunny in the 80s.
The ride, which will start at 6 p.m. from Mohawk Harbor, will include a history tour of the Stockade and Mohawk River. The pace will be casual with stops along the way.
Meeting place will be the parking lot behind Druthers. Bring a helmet and come join us.
On July 10, Cycle Schenectady will host the first of its planned summer ride series. Every two weeks, we will explore a different part of the city or county. The pace will be casual,, and the bike trail will usually be used for at least part of the ride.
For this first ride, we will leave from the parking lot behind Druthers at Mohawk Harbor, proceed through the Stockade and out to Lock 8, with stops along the way to hear from experts about the history and ecology of the Mohawk River.
The ride starts at 6 p.m. Steady rain cancels. Hope to see you there.
—-Yet another cyclist was hit by a car and killed this week. Here is a letter written by a Troy bike advocate to the author of a Times Union story on the matter. What do you think?—-
Lauren,
I just read your article on the cyclist who was killed near I-87. This is disturbing enough news on its own, but I’m reaching out to express disgust with the words you chose to include.
You must be able to assume I am a cyclist, which is of course true. I am also an advocate and transportation planner. I understand what creates conflicts between bicyclists and drivers, and why cyclists die when there are crashes. It’s not from a missing helmet, a lack of reflective clothing, or not using the crosswalk (cyclists are not even meant to ride in crosswalks, anyway).
What killed this cyclist, and virtually every cyclist who ends up in newspapers like the TU, is a driver and the vehicle they’re in. What is disturbing to me and thousands of other cyclists around the region (not to mention our families and friends), is the way these stories are consistently written.
I’m not dense enough to claim a light couldn’t have been helpful here. Upon seeing some clouds this morning, I affixed my blinking rear light to my seatpost, to give myself extra visibility on the roads. I have no issue with a detail like this- the absence of something a rider should have- being noted. The issue lies in how you’ve portrayed the cyclist to be at fault, as if they died because they forgot their reflective vest. They died because they were hit by a car. Most likely, by a car moving over 30 mph (it’s around this speed we see a jump in fatal crashes), but upon reading the article we really cannot tell why the crash happened at all. There are so many important details missing. What’s the speed limit on this stretch of roadway? Is there a bike lane? Was the driver texting? Drunk? Speeding? Were there other roadway conditions that led to the crash, like street lights out, rain, construction?
These are examples of some meaningful details left out of stories like this one all too often. Instead, most authors choose to include details like the ones you did, naming some arbitrary things the cyclist didn’t have, as if they would’ve been okay if they had some brighter clothes on. The article you linked on Deborah Carpenter, who was left on the side of the road to die despite her reflective vest.
Stories like yours give readers a clear person to blame: the cyclist. While people like me, who deal with dangerous drivers everyday, are left with frustration and so many more questions on what actually happened. These articles reaffirm the lack of responsibility we have when we get behind the wheel of these powerful machines each day, by suggesting someone who is hit (if they’re not in a car too) is to blame. This is a plea, hoping you can listen, empathize, and change the way you cover stories like this in the future, because it has a significant impact on those who read it.
Thank you,
James Rath
Hamilton Hill RambleJoin Cycle Schenectady for a casual, slow-paced, family-friendly bike ride around the Hamilton Hill neighborhood on Saturday, September 11th (rain date Sunday).Here’s a chance to meet and ride with your neighbors, and those from other neighborhoods, while visiting historic and other significant sites and learning more about Hamilton Hill.Meet at the Electric City Barn, 400 Craig St., at 3 p.m.Helmets required. Minor adjustments and repairs available starting 30 minutes before the ride. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
This coming Saturday, July 17, Cycle Schenectady will be holding another in its series of neighborhood rides. The rides are intended to give residents of the neighborhood, and those from other neighborhoods, a chance to meet one another and learn about the place in which they are riding.
This ride will be in the Woodlawn neighborhood. It will start at 3 p.m. from the Schenectady Municipal Golf Course parking lot on Oregon Avenue. The pace will be slow and the route will be on low-traffic roads, with a few informational stops along the way. Ride leader Karen Kirstein will also be providing some safe riding tips along the way.
Helmets are required, and children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
Minor repairs and adjustments will be available starting 30 minutes before the ride.
This event is free and all are welcome. Come ride with us.
Take a Ride and Learn About a Landfill
Cycle Schenectady will be actively participating in this ride sponsored by ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse.
Here is the announcement from ECOS.
“Trash-Talk”
We are excited to announce a series of infrastructure talks hosted by ECOS summer intern Matthew Tate.
The first talk will be Friday, June 25th, at 6 pm. Individuals will gather on the paved path at the top of the hill in Blatnick Park, River Road, Niskayuna, to learn about the capped landfill. The adjacent parking lot is at the end of Line Drive behind the baseball fields. The talk will be followed by a 6-mile bike ride.
People can show up for just the talk at 6 pm, or join in for the bike ride afterwards, which goes 3 miles to the train depot at Lions Park and back.
Please call the ECOS office at (518) 370-4125 the day of the event for a recorded message of cancellation due to foul weather.
Join Us on Juneteenth
Cycle Schenectady will be participating in the Hamilton Hill Arts Center’s annual Juneteenth celebration at Central Park this year. Along with our partner Electric City Bike Rescue, we will be offering bike repairs, giving away some children’s bikes and helmets, and conducting a fun and educational bike rodeo for kids.
Stop by and visit us at our table. Bring your kids and your bikes, join the celebration, and enjoy a day in the park.