Q and A with Rydel

1. Name, Age, Occupation.
Rydel, 32, purveyor of run-on sentences.

2. Where do you live?
Unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

3. What are you riding these days?
1984 Basso, 49/17 ratio w/ a slew of Italian componentry (Campagnolo / 3TTT / Gipiemme / Selle Italia) + a Specialized Rockhopper which rarely gets any action.

4. Name your favorite place to ride. Why?
Any smooth preferably tree-lined road with descents, curves, and a strong tail wind. Why? Because I put no effort, can pretend to be really fast & not sweat in the process.. Looks amazing in HD videos too. Unfortunately that's never the case, so instead I settle to ride throughout Downtown Miami, Coral Gables, South Miami, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach & Ft. Lauderdale. I'm most content riding in S. Florida after dusk. Chicago is my favorite city in which I've ridden in, great during the fall. Portland is also awesome.


5. Explain how Miami Bike Scene and MIA Fixed became.
I started Miami Bike Scene in Nov '07 due to the lack of community down here. There was no online hub for everyday bike commuters & the burgeoning fixed-gear scene. At first there was really not much for me to post about except for a few Critical Mass rides. Then came the first Loose Cannons race in Jan '08 and the Earth First Alleycat the following month. Since then the scene has grown slowly but steadily and so have the events/races. Now the blog boasts an events calendar with several bicycle related activities weekly, there's plenty of options for all types of riders.


The MIA Fixed forum came about due to requests from a couple riders desiring a place online to congregate, FLFixed was already established, but quite frankly not many people from Miami visited that forum. MIA Fixed was started early this year and has 350 registered members, it's an active community and lots of people organize rides, ask questions, sell goods, & sometimes post irrelevant nonsense via the forum. I believe it's quite an asset to our bike scene and not necessarily just for fixed-gear riders how the name implies.

6. How do you feel about the South Florida Cycling Scene?
There's plenty for everyone to be a part of. Whether you're doing an early morning ride with a group of road cyclists, riding late night with some degenerates, commuting to work, BMX'n, riding laps at the velodrome, playing bike polo, MTBing, or taking a leisurely ride to the beach. We have more than enough options in S. Florida when it comes to cycling, except for hill climbs, we seem to be lacking those. I think we're quite spoiled, we generally have decent weather year round, though a bit too hot/humid in the summer.. But cities up north have it so much worse in the winter.

Unfortunately motorists are so careless & self-centered that the majority of cyclists are petrified to go out on the roads and stick to the sidewalks instead. I'll feel better about the scene when the streets feel safer for cyclists regardless of their skill level. The road cyclists are gonna be out there daily regardless of whether there's a bike lane or not, same goes for the fixed-gear cyclists & commuters who choose to use a bicycle for transportation. The ones on the fence though, the ones too scared to get on their bikes, those are the folks that will take the South Florida bike scene to the next level when they stop fearing cars and start riding. Slowly but surely.


7. You contribute a lot to the Miami Cycling Community. What is the most important thing that the city need to focus on regarding cycling?
Bicycle law education & enforcement for motorists! Cyclist need to be educated too, but I'm more concerned with the motorists who more than likely will kill or seriously injure someone in an accident. I would also like to see adequate bike lanes, signage, and sharrows throughout the city. But I cannot stress education enough, it's mind-boggling how many motorists yell to get on the sidewalk down here.


8. I heard that you got hit by a car a few months ago awhile back. Is that why you are missing a tooth?
My bike was destroyed by some imbecile driving in the wrong direction on a 1-way street in downtown Miami, it was a pretty bad accident and I'm very lucky to be able to talk about it. It was a hit & run but the driver crashed his car about half a block away while attempting to flee in reverse, instant karma I suppose. As for the missing tooth.. let's just say I gave the tooth fairy a refund.


9. If we were to take all the Miami kids. Then all the Ft. Lauderdale kids. Who would win in a tall bike jousting challenge?
I'll go with the home team on this. The Firefly Bike Collective kids would win the challenge.


10. What is the one thing you would like to see more of in the South Florida Scene?Well there's more than one thing that I would like to see. For starters I would like to see more cyclists participating on the Friday Critical Mass rides, at least 100 before the end of the year. It's really pathetic that in a large metropolitan city like Miami, it's nearly impossible for 100 cyclists to meet up once a month for a bike ride. I would also like to see a few more well organized alley cats since they are the most fun & rewarding. It would also be nice to see the bicycle celebrated for the great human-powered vehicle that it is, not frowned upon by ignorant motorists as something people ride when they get their driver's license revoked, are meager and/or homeless, etc. They tend to forget there wouldn't be any automobiles here today or roads to drive on if it wasn't for the bicycle. So to sum it up, more cyclists, less irresponsible and selfish drivers.

11. Why don't you have a Headset Hat on?
My sponsors prohibit me. You think Staisha can embroider a NO MA'AM logo on one of the hats, or would that be hypocritical on my part?

12. When can we expect to see MIA Fixed T-Shirts? I want one!!
I think you'll see an official MIA Fixed logo on the site & stickers before any t-shirt is made available. It's been almost 6 months and I still haven't come up with a logo.