One of the great things about bike expos is that you can see tons of bikes, parts, gear and other cycling-related items — both new and old — in one place. Plus, with the swap factor added in, there’s generally some haggling room when trying to get what you want.

The details: Bicycle Expo and Swap, November 29-30 at the Cow Palace. One-day tickets are $10 at the door, kids 12 and under get in free.

For more information, visit rideSFO.com.

Riding a bike at night can seem intimidating, but if you can see where you’re going and can be seen, riding at night can be an enjoyable experience. According to the California Vehicle Code [CVC 21201(d)]:

A bicycle operated during darkness upon a highway, a sidewalk where bicycle operation is not prohibited by the local jurisdiction, or a bikeway… shall be equipped with all of the following:

1. A lamp emitting a white light that, while the bicycle is in motion, illuminates the highway, sidewalk, or bikeway in front of the bicyclist and is visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and from the sides of the bicycle.
2. A red reflector on the rear that shall be visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle.
3. A white or yellow reflector on each pedal, shoe, or ankle visible from the front and rear of the bicycle from a distance of 200 feet.
4. A white or yellow reflector on each side forward of the center of the bicycle, and a white or red reflector on each side to the rear of the center of the bicycle, except that bicycles that are equipped with reflectorized tires on the front and the rear need not be equipped with these side reflectors.

Before you rush off to the local bike shop to purchase your new lamp or reflective gear, think about your needs. Here are a couple of fun/geeky online resources:

• Planet Bike – various lights with photos showing the light’s actual coverage area
• Bicycle Lighting Systems – massive database of products and useful information

If you want free front and rear bike lights, be in San Francisco on the evening of Tuesday, December 2nd for Light Up the Night! SFBC in conjunction with the SFMTA will be installing blinky front (white) and rear (red) lights at various locations December 2nd from 6-7pm.

My Favorites:

• Cheap and bright Velcro ankle straps that also keep my pant legs free from chains
• Blinkies (any kind): Lively, can have varied cycles to bring a little Vegas to my 2-wheeled wonder
• NiteRider: No, not the Hoff. A chargeable battery pack that packs a punch with mega-bright white light — can use the laptop battery as a power source
• Fierce Fluorescents: Yes, don’t be shy about bright, reflective clothing.
• Where do I get those bicycle generator lights?!

Here’s the disclaimer and an important one: Having lights and reflective gear will not eliminate dangers inherent in bicycling. So keep it real and ride safely.

Sure, now that it’s “winter,” it gets dark earlier, and it rains more,
but that is no reason to stop walking, and to stop walking with an eye
for your surroundings.  In the past few weeks, I’ve found myself
walking home at night around the lake, and I’m pleased to report, it’s
worth a watch.

The other night, election night, as a matter of fact, I was returning
to Frontierland from Woody’s cafe where I had watched the returns
(across from the Parkway.  The Parkway was full, and Woody’s had a big
tv and free wifi and, frankly, better food than the Parkway.)  Since I
cannot walk on water, I was walking the path around the lake, when I
was startled by two rats who ran across my path toward the edge of the
lake.  You might say, eww, but save that thought for what happened
next.  Just as I was thinking to myself, “Rats? Were those rats? Is
there any other rodent that they could have been?” a bird swooped in,
back pedaling its wings to descend just where the rats had disappeared from view over the bank.  Looking closely, I believe it was a Black-Crowned night heron.

Once home I checked my book (the National Geographic Guide to Bird:
California, which I have renewed from the library more than the
allowed number of times) to determine that yes, (a) primarily
nocturnal and (b) diet includes rodents.  If that night-heron managed
to catch even one of those rats, I’m figuring it didn’t eat for the
next few days: the rats were about 1/3 the size of the bird.

Maybe this isn’t that exciting to you, but I’ve seen and noticed this
bird dozens of times.  I’ve learned to identify it.  But until these
past few weeks, I’ve never seen it at night, and I’ve never seen it
moving.  I’ve just seen it sitting in trees or on fences in the refuge
area near lakeside park.  Just sitting, fully upright, probably
sleeping.  Now, finally, I’ve seen it where it actually looks like a
bird more than it looks like a scarecrow.

I didn’t get a photo of the awesome rat-hunting, black-crowned
night-heron, but here’s one I took last night of an egret fishing off
the edge of a concrete pipe.

The second bird in the background is a
black-crowned night-heron.

*I know.  I know.  It’s Oakland.  Even though I think of my
neighborhood, and most of my routes, as pretty damn safe, we always
keep our eyes open. 

From the office of Councilmember Pat Kernighan, an update on various “improvements” around the Lake Merritt Ave district.  Staff from the District 2 City Council Office and the Transportation Services Division will also be at the Grand Lake Farmers Market at Splash Pad Park on Saturday, November 15th, from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. to discuss the proposal. We look forward to hearing from you.

Project features include:

Lakeshore at Lake Park Intersection
• New pedestrian and transit Plaza
• Relocated bus stop from Lakeshore and MacArthur to the new plaza
• New crosswalk alignment to reduce pedestrian crossing distance
• New curb ramps
• Closure of Rand Avenue from Lakeshore to accommodate the new plaza

Northern Side of Lake Park Avenue
• Sidewalk widened by six feet
• Extended bus stop to accommodate longer buses

South Eastern Corner of MacArthur Blvd and Lakeshore Avenue Intersection
• New curb bulb-out to reduce pedestrian crossing distances
• Reduction of vehicle turning speeds from north bound Lakeshore Avenue to 580 Eastbound

Please click here to see a description and schematic of the proposal and to fill out a survey with your comments.  Please take a minute to let them know what you want!!!
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Last (well, last-last) Monday I was invited for dinner at the home of a friend who lives in Rockridge. Every time that I have visited her home before this, I had driven from my home in Frontierland. Sure, often I would stop there on my way to or from someplace completely un-bike-or-transit-able, so I had some excuse to drive, but the main reason for driving to her home over a transit or self-propelled mode of transportation is just that Rockridge seems far, much farther than it is, for whatever reason. (Ok, not whatever reason, for a complex set of reasons that I keep trying to type out but keep distracting me from the story I actually want to tell.)

But I am trying to become a more fit and healthy person, a more fit and healthy and energetic (and skinny) person. One way that I work toward this goal is by going to the gym. Another, that I do with less success, is to avoid alcohol, as a half a bottle of wine with dinner really packs in the calories, and to try to eat more home-cooked food (it’s not un-fatty, because I just don’t have a lot of willpower, but none of the fat is hidden, at least). And my third technique to becoming fit, healthy, energetic, and skinny is something I’ve learned from the fundamentalist, evangelical Christians.

Much as they suggest evaluating the ethics of every situation, from the mundane to the extreme, with the mantra: What would Jesus do? (Or the extra clever: What would Jesus drive?) I now try to evaluate my life, as much as possible, with the similar, What would a FESH do? Where FESH stands for (perhaps you’ve guessed) Fit, Energetic, Skinny, and Healthy (person). [Ok. I dont actually use the acronym in my head, I spell it out. But it's just not as pretty on the page: "What would a fit, energetic, healthy, skinny person do in this situation?" Is it?]

Based on prompting myself with this question, I have ridden my bicycle home from Berkeley, twice, and to and from the Nomad cafe, twice, and I have even started walking to the grocery store. (Sure, this means I’m more likely to go to Albertson’s (20 minute walk) than Trader Joe’s (35 minutes), but since I get most of my groceries delivered by the PlanetOrganics.com people, I’m ok with that.)

So, in this case, I said to myself, dinner in Rockridge, and I’d like to bring a bottle of wine, which will be split between only two people. What would FESH do? FESH, in this case, would clearly ride her bicycle to Rockridge. On the map, it doesn’t look that far; you eliminate any worry of driving too soon after drinking the wine; and you get to feel good about yourself, all ethical and exercise-y.

I like to think of myself as a seasoned urban cyclist. When I lived in Berkeley, I had no car and cycled everywhere. I’m comfortable, at least in theory, with turning left like a car and taking the lane in traffic. But I guess it has been a while since I’ve ridden for anything more than pleasure: before undertaking this ride to Rockridge, I consulted two different cycle-commuter friends. One to ask for a route suggestion and the other to find a good bike shop: If I was going to ride to Rockridge at 7pm, and home again at 10, I was going to need a light.*

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Great news – last night at City Council  they approved  by 6-1 [D. Brooks] a new bike staff position to focus on designing new bike projects.  WOBO has been working hard with the City Council offices and with city staff to secure this extra position for two years.  Which brings the City’s entire Bicycle and Pedestrian Program up to…. THREE!  Bit shy of SF’s 13, but you have to start somewhere.
‘Course, this is the silver lining.  The position is being paid for by Measure B dedicated county funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects in the city.  So while we need this staff position in order to implement dozens of key projects, it is being funded with money that would otherwise go to building more bike lanes and improving pedestrian conditions.  Clearly, there is still a long, long ways to go to establishing an effective bike/ped unit within the City big enough to keep tabs on other city departments.

For now, we’re thankful and can’t wait for this position to get filled in 2009.  Hopefully we’ll be seeing the differences sooner than later.  Thanks for all of your support!!!!