What you see here is a your basic Beach cruiser bicycle, one hundred and fifty dollars of the world's most efficient urban transportation:
No gears, no fenders, one coaster brake and in this case no lights, no luggage rack, no frills. Key West is one of the few cities in North America where bicycles replace the car, as the basic way to get around.
It was during the endless, repetitive multiple hurricane evacuations of 2004 and 2005 that city officials figured about one third of the city's 25,000 permanent residents had no cars and a plan was developed to evacuate them with an endless round robin of buses hauling people up to evacuation centers in Miami. Bicycles are one of the reasons residents are quoted as loving to live in Key West. It's a four mile by two mile island, no more than 14 feet above sea level at it's highest point, where a bicycle is all you need. Along with a few accessories of course, because bicycles in this city are serious transport, not hobbies or toys:
Baskets and water bottles, even of the cheaper home made variety are useful but lets not forget that many people in Key West also like living here because beer is almost as good as currency and for others, more temperate, a Cuban cafe con leche should be part of the riding experience. Hence the cup holder:
It would be a mistake to think that because bicycles are widespread, expensive bicycles are also important to their riders. Status is conferred in other ways in Key West and showing up on a four thousand dollar bicycle would most likely mark the rider as a visitor, a snow bird or as someone with more money than sense. A "conch cruiser" is all one needs to meet and make friends in town:
Tourists are also obvious and clearly labelled by the rental company signs littering their machines:
Tourists ride with grins on their faces and gawp as they float by Key West's architecture, giving themselves away as creatures of low status. Status in Key West is conferred by longevity, not wealth. Bicycle helmets are not part of the cycling scene in Key West either, helmets are expensive and dorky and the rest of the country, in a desperate search for security in an uncertain world, embraces passive safety above all else, so naturally the Southernmost City spits, en masse, on bourgeois fear: 
Indeed, far from wearing safety gear many riders take to the unsafe roads with not even a top on:
But thanks to the flat streets and protection from headwinds, (wind does make riding in the Keys tough) not even the unfit need fear using a bicycle:
The white plaque on the front denotes a rental so I assume (what else can I do?) the rider, when at home, wouldn't be seen dead on a low status bicycle. In Key West, anything goes...even helmetless. For some people in Key West, bicycles are literally a way of life:
With so many bicycles around town there would have to be bike racks everywhere you might think. True, but apparently there aren't enough of those even:
I should point out it is not legal to lock a bicycle to a city structure like a street sign or lamp post and Public Works have been known to sweep downtown and impound bicycles that block sidewalks and create nuisances....Also if you ride at night without lights, or ride anytime the wrong way on a one way street, you can and will be stopped by a police officer. I enter millions of B N L (bike no light) traffic stops every night into the dispatch computer. A cycling ticket is a moving violation and is a fine excuse for your insurance to raise your rates because where you live you drive a car... It is legal to ride on sidewalks but cyclists must yield to pedestrians and have an audible means of approach ("Excuse me!").
No gears, no fenders, one coaster brake and in this case no lights, no luggage rack, no frills. Key West is one of the few cities in North America where bicycles replace the car, as the basic way to get around.It was during the endless, repetitive multiple hurricane evacuations of 2004 and 2005 that city officials figured about one third of the city's 25,000 permanent residents had no cars and a plan was developed to evacuate them with an endless round robin of buses hauling people up to evacuation centers in Miami. Bicycles are one of the reasons residents are quoted as loving to live in Key West. It's a four mile by two mile island, no more than 14 feet above sea level at it's highest point, where a bicycle is all you need. Along with a few accessories of course, because bicycles in this city are serious transport, not hobbies or toys:Baskets and water bottles, even of the cheaper home made variety are useful but lets not forget that many people in Key West also like living here because beer is almost as good as currency and for others, more temperate, a Cuban cafe con leche should be part of the riding experience. Hence the cup holder:It would be a mistake to think that because bicycles are widespread, expensive bicycles are also important to their riders. Status is conferred in other ways in Key West and showing up on a four thousand dollar bicycle would most likely mark the rider as a visitor, a snow bird or as someone with more money than sense. A "conch cruiser" is all one needs to meet and make friends in town:Tourists are also obvious and clearly labelled by the rental company signs littering their machines:Tourists ride with grins on their faces and gawp as they float by Key West's architecture, giving themselves away as creatures of low status. Status in Key West is conferred by longevity, not wealth. Bicycle helmets are not part of the cycling scene in Key West either, helmets are expensive and dorky and the rest of the country, in a desperate search for security in an uncertain world, embraces passive safety above all else, so naturally the Southernmost City spits, en masse, on bourgeois fear: Indeed, far from wearing safety gear many riders take to the unsafe roads with not even a top on:But thanks to the flat streets and protection from headwinds, (wind does make riding in the Keys tough) not even the unfit need fear using a bicycle:The white plaque on the front denotes a rental so I assume (what else can I do?) the rider, when at home, wouldn't be seen dead on a low status bicycle. In Key West, anything goes...even helmetless. For some people in Key West, bicycles are literally a way of life:With so many bicycles around town there would have to be bike racks everywhere you might think. True, but apparently there aren't enough of those even: I should point out it is not legal to lock a bicycle to a city structure like a street sign or lamp post and Public Works have been known to sweep downtown and impound bicycles that block sidewalks and create nuisances....Also if you ride at night without lights, or ride anytime the wrong way on a one way street, you can and will be stopped by a police officer. I enter millions of B N L (bike no light) traffic stops every night into the dispatch computer. A cycling ticket is a moving violation and is a fine excuse for your insurance to raise your rates because where you live you drive a car... It is legal to ride on sidewalks but cyclists must yield to pedestrians and have an audible means of approach ("Excuse me!").I got a request for an essay on bicycles in Key West and I had so much fun wandering Eaton to Southard and back on Duval I got about 50 usable pictures before I knew it, so as I try to figure out when to taste street food and then find a cooperative a photogenic manatee somewhere, don't be surprised if more cycling photos appear...In the meantime this parting shot which made me think of Key West, the Asian view:
Imagine that, an American city where you too could earn a modest winter living pedaling a rickshaw...and not a snow flake in sight.
11 comments:
Reason 1320 on why I want to move to Key West. The ability not to own a car, and I really like riding my bike to boot!
I am astonished by the number of people who don't seem to know how to ride a bike. A lost art?
Well, a bit south of my place on California Avenue, there used to be a bicycle-riding school. Me, I got a bike for Xmas when I was six and only quit riding the first time when I got a driver's license. I don't ride now because of a bad knee & bad hip resulting from an incident on a Segway.
Bicycle-wise, Seattle is a 180° contrast. Nobody on a bicycle seems to be having a good time, and it's highly likely the bicycle rider paid more for their ride than I paid for the GTS...
wooo-haaa! i have finally moved here after visiting regularly for 10 years and thefirst full day here i see a great post about bicycles. right on! that's part of the reason i fell in love with the island many years ago. i hope to continue writing on my hometown bicycle blog about the scene here. does anyone here ride fixed gear bikes?! they also simple, low maintenance, and super fun to ride.
It amazes me the number of people that do not remember or never learned the traffic laws governing a bicycle (or hand signals). They are generally the same as for a car, except you can ride on the side walk in FL as long as you yield to pedestrians.
It seems that many cars don't want to yield to bikes on the sidewalk (which is the case if the bike is on the sidewalk, it is considered a pedestrian to an auto). I have flown the "lone eagle" many times do to someone turning right in front of me.
Sad, I seem to see this behavior more in the winter. It could be perception, for I don't know if it is just statistics for more people in proximity, or people just don't care when they are on vacation...
Such is life and have a safe, eco-friendly bike ride!
~Jeffrey
Congratulations to chillwill for making the move. Single speeds are pretty much the norm for around town cruisers. I use a three speed but I pootle around outside town and headwinds are the biggest bar to progress on the open road. And which of a multiplicity of blogs is the one about bicycles? Such energy, I hope Key West can contain it...
ha! such energy! i hope that energy serves me well in finding a decent job (or two) (or three!) here!!
the blog is www.beatbikeblog.blogspot.com
there will certainly be pics and posts about key west from me whilst my peoples continue to write about riding on snow and ice!
My little joke. Some people think I am a little over energetic as I post at least once a day...Jobs are harder to find than previously. Certainly government jobs are, bar jobs are at their most available now if they are available. Employers look for sober people who can show up on time more or less properly dressed. Key West the party town is for visitors only (and after hours for locals).Good luck.
Got my first Bicycle at the tender age of 6...(Christmas present). Today, I own 12 bicycles, all in good running condition, and will keep adding to my collection.
Have you seen the papi chulo cruising Duval (the Greene St. end) in the evenings on his chromed-out chopper bicycle? That's quite a ride he's got.
On October 10th, I rented a bicycle in Key West for a day. Sadly, after reading something that said "unlawful to use sidewalk" on the table of the vendor, I rode in the street. Now that I see that it is okay to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk, I realize now that my biking in the street was a huge mistake!
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