Gray with colors

Winter in Vienna generally means gray. A lot of gray sky. It's cloudy and foggy. If at least it would snow! But it very rarely does. What to do?

I survive this time of the year by wearing some colorful clothes. An additional benefit of this brightening up is that it also increases visibility. Today I set off with Paula for a short gift shopping trip. Since it's cold one has to wear proper protection anyhow. My choice of the day was a blue and red woolen combination. Feels much warmer already, doesn't it? What are you favorite winter cycling clothes?

Ready ...

... and go!

My first bike ride with Paula

Those of you who followed my blog already now that I ordered a pigeon blue Retrovelo Paula in December which just arrived a view weeks back. Due to lack of parking facilities in my house, it was parked in my boyfriend's apartment while it was still snowy and icy out there (in such situations I rather stick to my old mountain bike of which I know how it behaves) or I was out of town. Finally, yesterday, I took Paula for a ride around town. Here are some impressions of her first glance at Vienna (more are on my flickr album):

Paula in the corridor

A scenic bike ride through the center of Vienna

For another time Filigree from the Lovely Bicycle! blog is in town. She's a real expert when it comes to, well, lovely bicycles. And as I'm keen on getting such a bike I asked her for advice. Of course I know many bike brands but am kind of lost in the big field and only very few of them are actually available in bike shops in Vienna. Her immediate answer was that I should check out Retrovelo bikes.

Filigree found out that the Citybiker in Vienna is a dealer for Retrovelo, so we asked them for a test ride which they gladly offered. However, as they only had the male models in stock, I was the only one who ended up on a white 7-speed Retrovelo Paul (more about it next time). Filigree test rode the Globe Haul instead (a Mixte made of Specialized components, have a look at it here) whose rear rack can carry up to 50kg! But more about the bikes another time, this post is devoted to our scenic ride through the center of Vienna:

Our first destination was the Schmerling square beside the Parliament where we had an extensive look at the bikes. When we shot some pictures at the Parliament, we were suddenly surrounded by a bunch of Chinese tourists. Well, they weren't really interested in us, but certainly in the Retrovelo bike. A girl asked for the brand and the price, the guys surrounded the bike (and hence us) to take some pictures and videos. Amazing how much attention one gets with such a bike! Filigree wrote a whole post about this funny encounter, see "Cycling the Parliament".

Filigree cycling at the Schmerling square	The two of us surrounded by Chinese tourists at the Parliament

We changed the side of the Ring road and started cycling along the Ring bike path and passed by many lovely buildings in the 1st district (the natural and art history museum, the opera etc.). I quite like the Ring bike path in fall, cause the alley is all yellow at this time of the year. The bike path itself is on the sidewalk which often leads to confusions among tourists but also residents. Some of the bits are rather small, especially beside subway stations and tram stops where cautious cycling is necessary. In other places the path is very wide and clear, and it's possible to overtake or even cycle beside each other. Generally, the Ring bike path is great for recreational rides in the historical center, but not so well-designed for “normal” everyday cycling when safe fast connections are preferable.

Cycling along the Ring bike path in the city center

We hit the Danube canal at the Urania and continued cycling on the combined foot and bike path along the canal. That's a very relaxing, however not fast, stretch. There are some night clubs (especially in the summer) and many people go jogging or for a walk there. If you're interested in urban art you should definitely have a look at the graffitis near Schwedenplatz – there are many huge ones which keep changing regularly.

Later on Filigree had the idea to ride to the Augarten. Unfortunately I missed the right street (shame on me) and we ended up on a long cobbled street. Nothing I particularly fancy riding on, but on the other hand it was a good for testing the bikes. After some time in the 20th district, we started our way back through the 9th district along Alserbachstraße und Liechtensteinstraße (both have bike lanes in the door zone), until we hit the Ring bike path again and then changed to the so-called “2er Linie”.

All in all we have been on a long and lovely ride through the center of Vienna which took us about 2 hours (including a lot of photo shooting, of course). Thanks for all the fun on a gray Saturday morning, Filigree :).

If you still haven't seen enough pictures, have a look at our flickr sites (Filigree's and mine). Of course I really enjoyed riding the Retrovelo, but I shall tell you more about the bike itself in the next post. So stay tuned for more stories – here and on Filigree's bike blog.

Major bike paths in Vienna

Due to the ring structure of Vienna, there are two major roads, called Ring (the inner ring) and Gürtel (the outer ring), in the center. Both of them are of course highly frequented by cars, cyclists and pedestrians. There are bike paths on both streets, but none of them is really pleasant for cyclists.

Two major connections in Vienna: Gürtel and Ring bike path

The main complaints of cyclists are

• bad design (including too small width, horrible alignment, detours etc.)
  
• ignorant behavior of other road users (pedestrians who don't care about where they walk, broken glass, illegally parked cars etc.)
• most inconvenient traffic signals for cyclists (sometimes one has to wait a few minutes every 50m)
• in some places insufficient street lighting
• currently also a lot of building sites which lead to complicated detours for cyclists and conflicts with pedestrians (while on the other hand at the Gürtel car drivers still have 8 untouched lanes for themselves)
• almost painful noise, itchy dust and car exhausts (due to heavy motor traffic)
  
• ...
  

As it is now I would prefer to ride in the car lanes, but due to our traffic regulations I'm not allowed to (exceptions only for road bikes and certain trailers, see StVO §68 (1)). I'm only allowed to use "the road" when there is no bike path.

Because of one of the building sites at the Gürtel bike path (they repair a short piece of tram lines and block the bike paths for weeks now) at U6 Thaliastraße I actually can use the "normal road" legally in one direction for about 50m. I always enjoy that. So much space, so fast :). Usually cars are ok with me cycling there. Not all of them might see the obstructions for cyclists, but as I'm only in "their lane" for a short while and they are often stuck in a traffic jam anyhow, "they" let me be.

However, today, on our national holiday, within these 50m two car drivers honked at me. Apparently they didn't see the building site and of course there first reaction was something like "Hey, you cyclist, get out of my way!". I really don't understand such a behavior a) at all and b) on a holiday where nobody is in a hurry anyhow. Suggestions?

A not so bad part of the Gürtel bike path

Well, since I'm almost daily annoyed with both of these bike paths, I will write a little more about them and show you some explicit incorrect planning of bicycle infrastructure in Vienna. In my humble opinion is this halfhearted planning one of the main reasons why a city with so much bicycle infrastructure (> 1000 km) still has such a small amount of cyclists (~ 5 %).

The Ring bike path is currently under construction. Small bits are improved, but the whole of it still just is a patchwork of leftover areas assigned to cyclists rather than a thought-through bike path. You can get some insight by reading "Stadt Wien beschließt RingRundFiasko" by IG Fahrrad (a Viennese bicycle lobby).

For the Gürtel area I have a rather radical suggestion for a redesign which would be convenient for most people (abutters, pedestrians, cyclists, shop owners, bars etc.), but well, is novel. More about all that another time.

Nevertheless I will also show you some of the good things about these bike paths, maybe do some videos so that you get an overall picture. After all, cycling is fun and I like to share that :).

Men cycling in work clothes

Well, cycling to work in work clothes is the obvious thing to do, isn't it? Not many people in Austria would bother to change clothes or demand a shower at the work place. Well, there might be the occasional guy who decides to change his T-shirt or leaves his jacket at work in the summer. But after all we're just cycling to work and not speeding in a race. No need for a complete transformation or to show off.

Note that the gardener in the upper left picture rides a company bicycle (company being the City of Vienna). This is really untypical and the first time I have seen something like that, so I tried to find out more about it -- and voilà, I found an old article (from May 1999) that mentions such efforts by the city council to try to make their employees set their cars aside. Ten years later, however, I would like to know if they are still at it and if it has made an impact on peoples' choice of transport.

Critical mass, n.

The term "Critical Mass" has different but similar meanings, e.g. it's widely-used in physics. According to the Free Dictionary we have the following definitions (only a small selection):

critical, adj.
forming or having the nature of a turning point; crucial or decisive

mass, n.
a grouping of individual parts or elements that compose a unified body of unspecified size or quantity

critical mass, n.
an amount or level needed for a specific result or new action to occur

As a cyclist you probably also heard about critical masses. On the worldwide Critical Mass site you can read where the term comes from:

The name "Critical Mass" is taken from Ted White's 1992 documentary film about bicycling, "Return of the Scorcher". In the film, George Bliss describes a typical scene in China, where cyclists often cannot cross intersections because there is automobile cross-traffic and no traffic lights. Slowly, more and more cyclists amass waiting to cross the road, and when there is a sufficient number of them - a critical mass, as Bliss called it - they are able to all move together with the force of their numbers to make cross traffic yield while they cross the road.

I sometimes come across such critical masses of cyclists in the rush hour in Vienna too (unfortunately only in the summer). It's very comfortable to ride in a critical mass cause it's much safer, although you shouldn't be in a hurry but just ride along with the crowd in a comfortable and slow speed.

My first (and so far only) "critical" mass this year

But then, there is also the other meaning of it -- the event, which we will refer to in the following:

Critical Mass, n.
a bicycle-centered social movement

Critical Masses take place in many cities all over the world. Generally it's a monthly "random" gathering of cyclists who ride around town together. It all started in San Francisco in 1992. Read more about it on Wikipedia, the Critical Mass wiki or simply search the web. Have you got one in your town? You don't know? Ask your local bike advocacy or start a Critical Mass yourself.

In Austria we currently have Critical Masses in Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Vorarlberg and Wr. Neustadt. Read more about it here. Hurrah! The next Critical Mass in Vienna is already this Friday at 4.30 pm at the Schwarzenbergplatz. I look very much forward to meet some friends I haven't seen in a while. What's better than cycling around town with friends and chatting all along? I can't think of much.

A few pictures of the last Critical Mass in Vienna, February 2009 (not mine)

I see the Critical Mass as a social event, but of course also as a way to promote cycling in a very easy and peaceful way. Well, not all about it is positive and easy-peasy. Dave Moulton (famous ex-framebuilder) writes about some negative aspects of Critical Masses in the US on his blog, and I also see some minor ones myself.

Well, just come along and form an opinion yourself!

By the way, the biggest Critical Masses are very close -- in Budapest, Hungary. But they are completely organized and take place twice a year. Last time an estimated number of 60-80.000 riders took part. Read about it on Greg Spencer's blog. In Vienna there are around 500 Critical Mass riders in the summer and around 100 in the winter, slowly increasing.

Finally winter has arrived.

Today was the first day in Vienna this winter where it not just snowed, but the snow also stayed. They had problems clearing the roads and of course the bike lanes and sidewalks were the last parts to be plowed. But who cares. Fresh, soft and white snow is fantastic for cycling. Much better than all the dirty mud in the middle of the road where the cars are sitting in a traffic jam.