We’re All Jerks Sometimes.

Wow its been a while since I’ve last posted.  Have had a lot to write about and not much time to actually do it.  Tonight won’t be a long post either, as I still have some foursquare work to crank on.

Quick story: Went to Washington Square Park to eat lunch today and road my bike over- standard two minute ride.  While sitting on the grass a news reporter (I believe from the NY Post) came over and asked me a few questions about the DOT’s new “Don’t be a Jerk” campaign, complete with billboards and PSA’s attempting to teach cyclists how not be.. well, JERKS.  The campaign begs the question, are cyclists really jerks?  There is obviously no clear cut answer.  Yes, some cyclists are jerks; running red lights, biking against traffic, or riding on the sidewalks with no regard for anything else around them except things bigger than themselves, ie. cars, busses, trucks, and cabs.  Cab drivers fall into a whole separate category of drivers, just like NY vs NJ drivers, but thats a whole different argument saved for another day.  The point is that some cyclists are deliberately jerks, some are entirely law abiding, but most are only jerks when they have to be, usually out of pure self defense.  The problem is that most pedestrians that have never ridden a bicycle in Manhattan have no idea what its like to constantly be looking over your shoulder for the next cab deliberately trying to pass as close as they can to you without actually hitting you.  We’re fast, but not as fast as vehicles.  And the facts don’t lie: Cyclist collisions with pedestrians caused zero deaths in Manhattan last year.  The same cannot be said for automobiles which caused nearly 270 deaths. 270 people were hit by cars and died, but cyclists are still the jerks.

The “Don’t be a Jerk” campaign has done nothing but strengthen the false illusions that all cyclists are deliberately jerks on the road.  What the DOT needs to do is strike a balance of blame between all of the parties involved. Pedestrians are equally as guilty of J walking, crossing on red lights, opening doors into traffic, etc.

Not the first time we've seen this..

The same is true for vehicles: speeding, running red lights, parking illegally, and pulling into bike lanes.  That said, it should be noted that police are not above the law.  If they want to dish out tickets to cyclists that don’t have bells and lights on their bikes so be it.  But I would love to know how to dish it back to cops equally as guilty.

Saddle Protection

My girlfriend bought me a new saddle.  Needless to say its beautiful. Brooks B17 Special in dark green leather with copper rivets.  Easily one of the best additions to my bike, but unfortunately one of the easiest parts to steal as well.

I can’t imagine locking my bike up only to come back five minutes later to find my saddle jacked. Unthinkable and yet very probable.  I would estimate a good thief could remove my saddle in under two minutes with the right tool.  And who am I kidding, the right tool is no more than an allen key.

So heres the problem; I’ve done a ton of research looking for the right way to protect my saddle from theft and everything has come up short.

Here are the options I’ve come up with so far:

Buy a Quick Release

It sounds great: inexpensive, easy to install, and secure.. at first. Lock up your bike and bring your seat post and saddle with you. And then you realize all of the random times when you just want to ride out to go shopping or something.  Then what? Take your saddle into every store. As if carrying around a 12 pound Kryptonite lock wasn’t enough, now I get to carry my saddle everywhere I go after I lock up.  Not to mention if you forget you have that quick release.  Leave it on the street once, and a three year old child could be walking away with your saddle in under 30 seconds.

Lock it up with an old bike chain

One word. Ugly. I know its the most effective way to lock up a saddle, and most bike stores will even do it for free.

But seriously, you couldn’t pay me enough to put that on my bike. Besides, the distance from the saddle to the seat stays is way too long to even think about making an old chain look cool.  Simplicity is an art.  One wrong part could ruin the entire dream and thats why its out of the question.

Buy a Removable Flex Cable

Fail. They will cut it in a minute.  Two more minutes and the seat is gone.

Wrap it Up in Plastic

Yikes, clever idea, who would ever think to steal some crappy seat wrapped in an old plastic bag.  And its weather proof too, albeit terrible looking. Unfortunately it can’t be trusted at all, even when combined with any of the other options aforementioned.

Buy a set of Locking Skewers

At first I thought this was the best option out of all of them.  Totally invisible and pretty difficult to work with for the majority of bike thieves.  Plus the set will lock both my wheels and possibly my headset- A great bonus considering I only lock my front wheel usually. However, a bit more research shows just how poor the locking skewers really are.  For one, I read that a universal wrench could probably unscrew even the best of locking skewers. Moreover, the set only locks the seat post. Bleeh.  Did OnGuard or Pinhead or any other lock company not realize there is another bolt attaching the saddle to the seat post?  How is that possible? Whether a thief unscrews the saddle or the seat post with the saddle, they still win.  And I still lose.  It might look like a deterrent, but I definitely don’t trust it.

Keep your nice saddle on your desk at home and just ride around with the $20 one that hurts Your Butt on every bump.

Doesn’t sound very fun but looks like the only option for now…

Suster’s Lessons

I listened to Mark Suster speak at NYU last week.  Suster is a General Partner at GRP Partners and writer of the very popular blog “Both Sides of the Table.” He made a lot of interesting points about how entrepreneurs should think about their ideas, their businesses, their teams, raising money, and an array of other challenges.  I thought I would share a few things he described that really hit home. **Note: the following are a combination of Suster’s points mixed with my own impressions.

Solve Big Problems

Too many business ideas are not really businesses at all.  They are merely features of other businesses that already exist.  Don’t be just  a feature.  Look at problems that affect a large market and find some creative solutions to fix it.  Just because facebook or Google could do what you’ve thought of doesn’t mean you need to find something else.  If anything it means that you’ve discovered a problem and a market with real potential.  Don’t waste time building features that the Mint.com of whatever will be adding to their own platform 6 months down the road.

Follow the Puck

When building products do not lose sight of your market.  I’ve been interning at foursquare for just over a week now.  The thing that has impressed me the most so far is how focused the entire team is on the product, and most importantly how their product fits into the market. The conversations that take place to make sure that everyone is on the same page in the roadmap are really what sets it apart from its competitors.  Every employee shares the same long-term vision for the company, but keeps track of short-term goals and knows exactly the role they will play in its development.

network up

Suster explained that one should always be conscious of the necessity to consistently network up the chain of command (hierarchy of influence, etc).  It’s an interesting philosophy, which I agree with up to a point.  My only issue is that networking for the sake of networking can be dangerous.  Knowing a lot of people can be a great thing.  But networking should be viewed as an even exchange between both parties.  Reputation is always at stake.  Failing to follow up, not returning a favor, or just simply using a person to get ahead is wrong and will almost always come back to bite you.

Don’t believe the hype

Stay off TechCrunch. Yes TechCrunch is on my BlogRoll.  Yes I read it a few times a week. No I dont treat it, or any sites like it as if I’m going to discover the next big idea on it.  TechCrunch is hype and it can destroy entrepreneurs who may have actually had real potential.  Stories about getting a hundred thousand users over night after launch or raising millions of dollars from a few VC’s with only a minimum viable product make great news.  And that is exactly what they are, Great News.  The other thousands of startups that are struggling for attention, users, money, etc. are what running a startup is really like, but almost never depicted.