The CDT Online has a few more shots, one of which is me. It also states that the reason I rode with AAA was because of Gareth, which, while true, isn’t the whole story. I was there representing BikeAble, but BikeAble wouldn’t exist without Gare.
A while back, Gareth and I were in the CDT … somewhere between the legs of a circus elephant.
Well, today, I was in the CDT myself. Or at least the two front wheels and the flag of my trike were. I’m on the right, hidden behind Joe.
Believe me, I’m not angry. The ride wasn’t about me. I just thought it funny to once again almost be in the paper.
I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I’ve been invited to ride a short stretch with Amputees Across America on Monday, followed by demos at the HealthSouth rehab hospital and then a luncheon with their department heads and lead therapists during which time I will give a 5-10 minute talk about accessible cycling and do a short Q&A.
Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning.
The 99 Designs experiment was interesting, and I did walk away with a logo that I mostly liked, but it doesn’t really compare to what a professional graphic designer can pump out. With that, here is the new and final BikeAble logo as created by Shannon Lake of Lake Creative Communications:
To say I’m happy with this design would be an understatement. Now I need to rush an order of new business cards in order to have them for the WCD Expo next week.
And then I need to erase all mention of BikeAble from this site so that nobody comes here by accident when looking up info on it. No offense to myself, but I hardly think the contents of this blog are suitable for a disability organization.
Well, except for that entry on disabilities and masturbation. No no, even that’s pushing it. Oh well.
I’m really loving this logo design that was submitted earlier today.
Honestly, what’s not to like? It nailed the inclusion of something recognizable as bike gear while also pulling in the human aspect in a way that looks tight! Opinions?
I’m not sure if I like the use of gray as opposed to black, but I should be able to play with that once I get the vector art.
Forget that lamenting over logos crap. I found 99 Designs, which lets you set up a contest with a dollar reward (minimum $100). I set up my contest on Friday and already have some good designs (one that I love).
This is much easier than the other avenues I pursued. And the results come quick!
I’m trying to get going on a new long-term project. It’s a service that goes by the name BikeAble that offers free consulting to anyone who has a physical limitation of some sort that keeps them off a bike when they’d rather be out riding.
This naturally spawned from two events. First was going through the paces of getting Gareth his bike and adapting it accordingly. Second was going to the PSU retiree fair and talking to a bunch of people who long ago gave up on bicycling because they had no idea what possibilities existed for them.
As usual, I’m going about things in a backward manner. Instead of just saying, “Hi, I represent BikeAble” and getting out there to help folks, I’m working to get a site set up, get my partnerships in place (RBR is on board), and get a logo designed.
I thought for sure that I could make up something suitable for a logo, but after purchasing a Wacom Bamboo tablet, I came to the sudden realization that hardware purchases do not translate into artistic skill or sudden knowledge of Adobe Illustrator. (Not that I regret buying the tablet. It’s awesome for me in Photoshop.)
What to do? I posted an ad at work that resulted in a hit from a graphic designer in NYC who waived his usual $3K “creative” fee but still wants to charge me $50/hr with an estimate of 9-10 hours. Come on now. I don’t really have $500 to throw at a logo, no matter who designs it.
So then I hit Craigslist and found somebody in Williamsport willing to do one up for $125. That’s much better.
But then I hit the mother lode - I hooked up with Elance and put in a project. Bids have been flying in from as low as $75 and as high as $500+. There are a couple in the $120-140 range that look promising, so I’ll be combing their portfolios to get a sense of their usual clientele.
Of course, I thought about hitting up INART on campus, but I figured the semester is nearly over making it unlikely that any students want to pick up my little project for the fun of it.
It’s good to have options, but I really had no idea how challenging it was going to be to find somebody to help me with this at a price that won’t kill me.
Hopefully, that title got your attention. It’s a warning, folks. The contents of this post are not for the weak and not for those who are apt to put their fingers in their ears and yell “TOO MUCH INFORMATION” or simply fill the air with “LA LA LA LA LA” when uncomfortable topics are discussed.
Because of the nature of this entry, the entirety of it is stuck behind a “more” link. No use upsetting those who’d rather not see it.
Life was much simpler when my weekends consisted only of playing Banjo-Kazooie in my underpants.
These days, however, there are so many competing interests vying for weekend time.
- Miracle League games - Gareth is signed up for the Blair County Miracle League this year. The ball games are on Saturdays, but we don’t yet know what time of day they are. They are, however, all held in Altoona.
- Camping trips - This weekend, I’m heading out to Hammersley Fork to get the camp ready for the season. And then, of course, I’ll have a desire to use it throughout the summer and fall.
- Bike/kayak outings - These are typically Saturday affairs since our Sundays are already hectic as is.
- Trip to Philly at the end of this month - Well, that’s a no brainer. It’s to visit the Star Wars exhibit at the Franklin Institute.
- Putting in time at RBR - I’ve been offered the opportunity to work at the shop part time to learn recumbent mechanics, help coordinate bike accessibility efforts, and barter my time towards the purchase of a new bike. But the hours are only until 6PM on weekdays, and the only day they’re open on the weekend is… Saturday.
- Kayaking with coworkers - Somebody at the office is organizing a beginners group outing for May 3rd, same day as the first game in the Miracle League season.
Yeesh. How did I get this busy? At least I can look forward (I hope) to once again just paying somebody to mow the lawn. But other than that, I’m pretty much screwed for time.
The first dangerous thing was that I went to RBR to check on a part I had ordered for my Draftmaster rack. It’s an add-on module that provides a mount point for a tadpole trike. That module isn’t the dangerous part - just the fact that I stopped at RBR.
The second dangerous thing was that RBR had an HP Velotechnik Grasshopper FX assembled and on a rack. I’ve been wanting this bike for a little over half a year now. While Rob was talking to another customer, I pored over the details of the Grasshopper - the rack, folding mechanism, flexible chain tube, padded seat, rear hub, very green paint job. It’s a lovely little bike, and I loved getting my hands on it.
And then Rob said, “You want to take it out for a ride?”
I had never ridden a two wheeled recumbent before, so I was hesitant, but he got me acclimated, gave me some tips, and then helped me push off not unlike an adult who runs behind the first time cyclist. After some initial shakiness, I picked up on the balance and steering enough to start tooling around the parking lot, doing figure eights, and occasionally making too tight a turn. It was almost as exhilarating as my first trike ride in that very same parking lot.
The third dangerous thing happened when I went back inside. Rob and I got to talking about a lot of things related to the shop during which I mentioned that Brandy once suggested I work a few odd hours for RBR since I had a jones to help out. Rob was quite for the idea. We then went on to talk about customers with disabilities. He has been getting a lot of referrals for both kids and adults looking for adapted bi/tricycles. Turns out I have a vested interest in that stuff, so we started talking about ways that we could work together to serve two distinct communities - I would concentrate on the folks with disabilities, he would concentrate on his usual clientele. Then he asked if I wanted to learn how to weld.
I had to get out of there before I quit my job and plunged my family into poverty.
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