Bike Month was just the start to the best year in biking Buffalo has ever seen. Now that you’ve rode to school, rode to work, rode to parties, and rode TO RIDE, let’s keep that momentum going.
This past winter, we spoke with Andrew Hintermeier (@everysinglestreetbuffalo) who decided to spend his pandemic (2020 and 2021) riding every single street in Buffalo. That’s over 1,600 miles! Due to all the backtracking necessary to make it happen, we estimate he rode nearly 2,500 miles while getting to new streets from his start point in South Buffalo.
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WOW. And despite getting buzzed a few times, he never once was struck by a car. YES!
Explore the rides that made up the entire project here.
“I reached out to Jim Cielencki who had run every single street in the city years ago. He motivated me to find adventure in my own backyard. Stuck in the city during COVID, I wanted to explore the city more and more, and I was finding new paths at first to go beyond just heading to and around the waterfront.
“There were incredible discoveries in Buffalo’s East Side. So many cool things to find. So many hidden gems. There’s a big woolly mammoth in an empty lot on the West Side. Odd stuff you’ll find. Random, eccentric houses, people.
“The worst streets by far were Bailey and Main. I was buzzed so many times that once I checked those two streets off, I never went back to them. Snaking is the way to get it done. Pick a main arterial and snake up and down all the side streets that connect to it.
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“I’m a data engineer professionally – So I wrote down a code to download my routes from Strava and get them onto a map and data point. You can get a personal heat map on Strava to see where you’ve been and where you haven’t. I would plan out rides with its Routes function, and I could draw out a box and then do a ride within it.
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“Almost all my rides started in South Buffalo
. I sort of came up with a pattern to make the entire venture end downtown around Niagara Square to close it out.
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So if you want to spend more time on your bike this summer, and get to really, truly know your city, your neighbors, and all the hidden gems this town has to offer, get out there and ride. Check out Strava to track those rides and see what you might find possible. Oh, and if you do, tag us in some photos or use #BikeBFLO, wouldya??
Bonus Points: See something in your path in need of repair? Calling 311 works. Do it and be as specific as possible about your location.