http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress Encouragement, Education & Advocacy for Bicycling in the Real World Thu, 24 May 2012 19:12:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Encouragement, Education & Advocacy for Bicycling in the Real World Commute Orlando no Encouragement, Education & Advocacy for Bicycling in the Real World http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/05/31/the-long-ride-to-deland/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/05/31/the-long-ride-to-deland/#comments Tue, 31 May 2011 13:59:58 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=12917 Lisa and I had been contemplating an overnight bike trip to put on some mileage with the touring panniers, this weekend’s Florida Bicycle Association board meeting in Deland provided a good opportunity. FBA’s new Executive Director, Tim Bustos, moved back to Florida from California and has settled in Deland—making it the new headquarters of the FBA. The meeting was Saturday and there was a meet-n-greet happy hour and dinner on Friday evening. I had a lunch meeting in Orlando, so we weren’t able to get on the road until 2:30. As long as we were not delayed by storms, we anticipated being able to make happy hour. Route Map This map shows both routes. The route to Deland is blue, the route home—the Wiggle Route—is green. The orange and red highlights show various segments of infrastructure. They are described in the map notes. I’ve also located the photos and videos with icon pins. The Route to Deland Heading out of town is easy. I have a tried and true route to Sanford/Lake Monroe. It uses mostly pleasant low-volume roads and 6.5 miles of the Seminole Wekiva Trail. There are a few traverses on busy roads, but they are made easy [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/05/31/the-long-ride-to-deland/feed/ 5 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/17/lovely-morning-for-a-stroll-downtown/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/17/lovely-morning-for-a-stroll-downtown/#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:44:55 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=11952 It was an exceptionally lovely morning. The humidity is still low enough to wear meeting clothes on the bike (come summer, I will have to take a change of clothes if I want to use the bike). My objective for the ride was to keep my exertion level to that of walking.]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/17/lovely-morning-for-a-stroll-downtown/feed/ 21 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/10/the-easy-way/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/10/the-easy-way/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 04:04:34 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=11935 Monday evening I rode to College Park for dinner. The green line is the route I took by bike. The Orange line is the route I would take by car. Both are 3.65 miles. The bike route has 5 traffic lights (not including Edgewater and Winter Park). The car route has 14. I haven’t timed it with either vehicle, but I suspect both would be pretty close. I can say with certainty, I would find the car trip unenjoyable, and probably frustrating. The bike trip, on the other hand, is quite pleasant. On my way to College Park, a little after 6PM, I had 5 motorist interactions: one driver let me turn right onto Bumby Ave and enter the queue for the light at Corrine Dr; another driver waited patiently for a few seconds and passed politely on Lake Shore Dr; another waited patiently for a longer stretch while I navigated the pitted pavement in front of OMA on Rollins St and then passed me courteously; another waited behind me while I stopped to let a pedestrian cross in the crosswalk at Florida Hospital, then stayed behind me til he entered the left turn lane at Orange Ave; and one [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/10/the-easy-way/feed/ 19 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/02/22/sunday-trip-to-the-burbs/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/02/22/sunday-trip-to-the-burbs/#comments Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:48:18 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=11595 I have great admiration for people who make a regular long-distance commute. In the last few years, my commute shrunk to 3.5 miles, then to the length of my condo. Now I use the bike for utility trips and some meetings. Sunday I made a longer trip.]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/02/22/sunday-trip-to-the-burbs/feed/ 1 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/11/12/thats-what-im-talkin-about/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/11/12/thats-what-im-talkin-about/#comments Fri, 12 Nov 2010 04:26:52 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=10606 This is what people want! They want to use quiet, shady streets with light, slow traffic to get to their destinations. Wayfinding could be a powerful tool to promote cycling.]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/11/12/thats-what-im-talkin-about/feed/ 8 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/04/23/destination-earth-day-%e2%80%93-bike-valet/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/04/23/destination-earth-day-%e2%80%93-bike-valet/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:16:48 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=7516 Don’t forget, RCBC is running a free Bike Valet at Earth Day Celebration at Lake Eola tomorrow. IMO, driving a bike is the best way to get to downtown Orlando on an average day. It’s no contest when there is an event. You do not want to try to park a car downtown tomorrow! And downtown Orlando is one of the easiest places to ride a bike (see here). So, here is a map with a few routes to get you started. The map is public, please add your routes. Sorry, I’m too slammed to elaborate, I just wanted to get this up. But don’t hesitate to ask for route advice!]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/04/23/destination-earth-day-%e2%80%93-bike-valet/feed/ 3 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/03/14/connectivity-opportunity-palm-lakeside/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/03/14/connectivity-opportunity-palm-lakeside/#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:18:46 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=7091 I’ve been testing the Google maps bike route feature and I’ll have a more comprehensive post on that soon. During one of my tests, Google sent me up Palm Lane to connect with Lakeside Dr. I’ve pondered this spot a number of times and have been meaning to ride up there and check it out. Google shows it as a continuous road, other mapping tools show it as not connected. The satellite view of the critical spot is obscured by trees. Palm Ln has a “Dead End” sign where it connects with Corrine. There are quite a few “secret” bike connections around town hiding behind “Dead End” signs, but the times I’ve thought about it, I was on my way somewhere and didn’t have the time to turn around and come back if it wasn’t passable. Yesterday, I had the time and was thinking about it, so Lisa and I rode up there to solve the mystery. There is, in fact, a path connecting the two roads. But someone has strung a metal cable across it. Here are some photos: It would be possible for a skilled mountain biker to jump over the concrete curb, but we carried our bikes [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/03/14/connectivity-opportunity-palm-lakeside/feed/ 12 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/02/21/riding-to-blue-springs-to-visit-the-manatees/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/02/21/riding-to-blue-springs-to-visit-the-manatees/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:40:33 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=6793 The freshwater springs that feed our rivers are among Florida’s better features. Aside from being beautiful, sparkling, blue-green ribbons of water in the forest, they run a consistent temperature year round. In summer, the 72° water is a human playground and refuge from the heat. In winter, it offers manatees refuge from the cold. This has been a brutal winter for Florida manatees. Blue Springs State Park (Wikipedia) in Orange City is a winter home to hundreds of the friendly sea cows, and a major eco-attraction in Central Florida. The headspring dumps over a million gallons of water into a half-mile, crystal-clear run that feeds the St. Johns River. We often ride up there in summer. It’s a fun destination for a distance ride because you can cool your core temp in the spring before heading home. From Orlando, it’s a little over 70 miles round trip. LisaB and I and our friend Cindy took advantage of the perfect weather and rode to Blue Springs State Park today. Here’s the route. Because of the park’s popularity in manatee season, it fills up early and there is a long queue and wait for motorists to enter. The rangers give each driver [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/02/21/riding-to-blue-springs-to-visit-the-manatees/feed/ 3 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/01/06/its-all-in-the-route/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/01/06/its-all-in-the-route/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:14:13 +0000 Angie http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=6042 When I first started pondering the possibility of riding my bike to work, each time I would abandon the thought because I was absolutely sure there was no way to safely get from the vicinity of SR 436 & SR 50 over to UCF.  I had driven that route a million times, knew the area well and knew it to be “bike un-friendly,” and thus gave up the dream each night in frustration. Then, by a stroke of very good luck, my husband and I met Keri.  I made a passing mention of my desire to ride, more by way of complaining about my bad route luck than anything else.  I had zero expectation that this problem could be fixed, so I was shocked when I got an email from Keri with a route to get me to work; she even offered to ride it with me!  As I looked over the map and visualized each road, it was like a whole new world opening up.  I realized that I had deemed riding to work as impossible because I was thinking of how I drive to work.  Though it is so obvious now, I hadn’t thought about zooming out from my daily [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/01/06/its-all-in-the-route/feed/ 5 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2009/10/19/spring-comes-to-florida-thoughts-from-a-long-saturday-ride/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2009/10/19/spring-comes-to-florida-thoughts-from-a-long-saturday-ride/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:07:11 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=5200 We finally got a significant break in the heat and I took advantage of it this weekend! Saturday I did a long recreational ride with two other women. Sunday I ran errands around town. The day after a cold front is always windy. I didn’t care. Saturday, we planned a destination and route to ride into the wind — 65 miles round trip to Clermont — then get the big tailwind push coming home. It worked like a charm! Route-planning through sprawlsville I enjoy recreational riding, but I don’t enjoy driving to a ride start. Over the years, I’ve studied maps to find good routes in and out of this sprawling metro just to get to more scenic riding areas. It’s no easy task. While I’m comfortable (safety-wise) riding on the big arterial roads, they are not very enjoyable once they’re full of noisy, stinky auto traffic. In the interest of time and distance, I’ll use them on the way out of town because they have very little traffic at 8 AM on a weekend morning. Coming back into town, I try to find roads with less traffic… and more shade. This is where route planning becomes a challenge. Very [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2009/10/19/spring-comes-to-florida-thoughts-from-a-long-saturday-ride/feed/ 2