Rogue Valley Transit: Snow affects Routes 10 and 60

Image credit: Rogue Valley Transportation District

Rogue Valley Transportation District (RVTD) was not in service on Saturday because of inclement weather and dangerous conditions related to Friday’s snow. On Monday, RVTD made temporary changes to Route 10 between Medford and Ashland.

‘Crunch’ by Leslie Connor

In Crunch by Leslie Connor (Katherine Tegan Books, 2010) a family’s bicycle repair business is the only thing keeping people on the road when gas supplies dry up.

A long-distance truck driver and his wife are stranded several hundred miles from home when gasoline supplies abruptly disappear. Fourteen-year-old Dewey and his siblings must manage the “Marriss Bike Barn” while meeting family responsibilities.

With no cars on the highway, cyclists take to the lanes. Suddenly, everyone is turning to the Marrisses for much-needed bicycle repairs.

Oregon ranked No. 1 for bicycle commuting

Oregon is ranked No. 1 among U.S. states for its percentage of bicycle commuters, 2.5 percent, according to a community survey data report issued by the League of American Bicyclists.

Easier to walk when I shelve every day

For years I worked in a job that involved sitting at a desk. I really wanted the kind of job I have now: physically active at a library.

Yes, I ride a bicycle. Yes, I use a cane

My bicycle gives me mobility
(and it’s yarn-bombed too).

I can relate to the sentiments of Shannon Des Roches Rosa when she says her vehicle’s disabled parking pass is none of disapproving strangers’ business.

“Folks don’t have the passes if they don’t need them, and as they go through an official process of applications and approvals to get that pass, your opinion is irrelevant -- even if you can’t tell what the person’s disability is.”

The situation I encountered this week wasn’t entirely the same, but it involved a stranger’s unsolicited judgement about my supposed disability.

I parked my bicycle Tuesday evening outside the Ashland library and retrieved my cane (which was secured across my back by a really cool, over-the-shoulder, upcycled-T-shirt braided strap).

Caturday project: Starfire ‘helps’ with Sharrow jacket

Starfire ‘helps’ me work

Assisted by my “helper” Starfire, I upcycled T-shirts into a “Sharrow” Share-the-road bicycle design on a hoodie jacket.

My first step, with a paper template, was to cut out the sharrow pattern. Starfire was highly interested in the proceedings and I had to watch her carefully lest, when batting at the sharrow template, she end up with a pawful of pins.

Back view: The finished jacket

As I began assembling pieces for the sharrow design on the back, Starfire burrowed into the discarded T-shirt.

Starfire managed to shove her entire face into the sleeve. She reared up and was surprised by the effect.

Once free from the shirt, she was oh-so-dignified as I continued with my work.

The back of the jacket features an appliqued sharrow design against a floral background. I also attached a floral sharrow motif to one side on the jacket front.

‘Books on Wheels’: Library bicycle delivery

From the Arizona Daily Star, reprinted at ILoveLibraries.org, the Pima County Public Library offers a once-a-month bicycle delivery service for home-bound library patrons.

Books on Wheels is offered in partnership with Pima County Bike Ambassadors. Could a similar program operate in the Bicycle Friendly Community of Ashland, Oregon?