After taking a tumble on his bicycle, the mayor of Los Angeles is a born-again bike advocate. According to the Associated Press:
The mayor, who said little on the topic during five years in office, is campaigning to make streets safer for cyclists after a parked cab abruptly pulled out across a bike lane, causing him to shatter an elbow. The ill-fated ride was his first on city streets since taking office.
The Ride Right video was recently released by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition in partnership with the Marin Cyclists recreational cycling club. The short video provides techniques for passing, being passed and identifying obstacles when cycling with a group. For more information visit www.marinbike.org.
Bike!Bike!, the annual conference of non-profit bike shops is coming up this August 12-15, with Toronto’s Bike Pirates playing host this time around. For those in the non-profit bike project world, everyone seems to descibe this conference as a must-see for networking and expanding your expertise. There is a rough listing of workshops listed, and pre-registration is now open.
BikeFest is not only BikePGH’s fundraiser, but Pittsburgh’s biggest cycling event for cyclists by cyclists. Ten days of bike events for every type of rider are all kicked off with what has become one of the premier parties in Pittsburgh on August 6th, attracting hundreds of cyclists from around the region to one place to throw down for a good cause. The main party kicks off at 8pm with desserts from Whole Foods and Dozen, beer from Penn Brewery, music by local DJs, a bicycle-themed silent auction which includes actual bicycles, raffles, and a number of people with nice legs. The VIP reception is at 6:30pm, catered by one of Pittsburgh’s premier chefs and accompanied with wine and live jazz. General admission tickets are available for $35, with the VIP reception running $100 per head — remember, this is BikePGH’s biggest fundraiser of the year and all proceeds go to support local cycling advocacy. If that’s too much coin, there are $15 tickets available for those that simply can’t afford the higher priced entry. If you’re in the area, this is not to be missed.
For the sake of transparency is it worth noting that Urban Velo editor Brad Quartuccio sits on the board of directors of BikePGH.
Green transportation is the new marketing Mecca, and it looks as though times are good for vendors and manufacturers of alternative transportation. To be sure, there has been a recent (relatively) surge in bikes here in the US that have car-like abilities such as cargo bikes and Dutch-style child transporters. It’s a great time to expand your horizons and try a new bike that will help you to reduce your dependence on oil—either foreign or domestic. This has no doubt been brought even more sharply into focus with the explosion of, sinking and resulting environmental disaster of the BP Deep Water Horizon. This tragedy on the seas will be capitalized on by folks who want to sell you something that isn’t petroleum powered. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…
As reported by the Bay Citizen: They’re called bike corrals – racks bolted into the street, using a spot that typically would go to a vehicle. This month a handful of corrals popped up in the city, like the one on Valencia at 22nd Street outside insanely popular Boogaloos restaurant.
PHILADELPHIA, PA (BRAIN)—Patrick Cunnane won Philadelphia’s annual Bike versus Car versus Transit race held Wednesday in Philadelphia, sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. His bicycle beat a car and a subway by nearly six minutes. He wore a business suit to accentuate the fact that he rides to work nearly every day, and that even “suits” can do it.
Via Bicycle Retailer.
People for Bikes is holding a bike giveaway for May, which is National Bike Month here in the United States. Simply click over to their page and sign the pledge before May 31 to have a chance at winning one of four commuter bikes from Trek and Breezer.
The Pledge:
I am for bikes. I’m for long rides and short rides. I’m for commuting to work, weekend rides, racing, riding to school, or just a quick spin around the block. I believe that no matter how I ride, biking makes me happy and is great for my health, my community and the environment we all share. That is why I am pledging my name in support of a better future for bicycling — one that is safe and fun for everyone. By uniting my voice with a million others, I believe that we can make our world a better place to ride.
As a profession, bicycle advocacy hasn’t been around that long. Yet over the last ten years or so, the changes in the type and breadth of work that we do as advocates has been great. This article explores the origins of bicycle advocacy and makes some predictions on where we are going.
Washington DC bicycle advocates find themselves not only fighting to gain favor within the halls of government, they’ve found an enemy in the Mid-Atlantic branch of AAA.
According to a recent AAA press release regarding the recent and proposed new bike lanes in downtown Washington, “It is unlikely the addition of new bike lanes in Washington’s Central Business District will entice most motorists out of their cars or attract more residents to bicycling to work. That’s according to the findings of AAA Mid-Atlantic’s latest survey of District motorists.”
Visit www.thewashcycle.com for more info.
Today is Earth Day, and this story from NPR highlights Mexico City’s Ecobici program:
This spring the city launched Ecobici, installing 1,100 bikes at 85 stations throughout the center of the city. In its first three months, 4,000 people have paid $24 for user cards they swipe at a rack to release a bicycle for a half-hour. City officials hope to register 24,000 people in the first year.
Link courtesy of Bill @ Earth Wind and Rider.
B-cycle, Denver’s citywide bike-sharing system, is being launched on Earth Day, April 22, 2010.
The launch will put 500 B-cycles located at 40-50 B-stations around the city, offering not only a green alternative to cars and cabs, but also encouraging healthy behavior.
The program is sponsored by the insurance company Humana. Why does one of the country’s largest health insurers want to get more people on bikes? Because just three hours of pedaling a week can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by 50 percent, according to the League of American Bicyclists. Humana hopes that B-cycle can be one part of many solutions to America’s obesity and environmental problems, making it easier for people to lead healthier, greener lives.
Each bike is equipped with computers to track mileage, calories burned and carbon offsets. The tracking enables riders to monitor their personal fitness and contributions to the city’s green efforts while also helping to connect B-cycle users with one another at www.bcycle.com.
SF Urban Riders has jumped in with both feet behind a proposal to build an urban mountain bike skills park in McLaren park, accessible from downtown San Francisco and site of a successful BMX track in the late 1970’s heyday. From kids just getting used to riding on two wheels to older kids and adults looking for jumps and a pump track the park hopes to cater to a wide variety of riders and inevitably function as a social meeting place beyond simply a bike track. Read all about the plan at the dedicated McLaren Bike Park site where you can also read various letters of support from the community and around the country, and add your own if you’re so inclined.
All of Bike Pittsburgh’s staff is in Washington DC right now for the National Bike Summit - a few days where we get to trade strategies with over 700 other advocates from around the country, then storm the capitol building to talk with our Representatives and Senators about bicycling issues. One of the big news items (so far) at this year’s summit was Google’s announcement of a “bike there” option on their online maps.
“What isn’t counted, doesn’t count.”
These are the opening words of the Bicycling and Walking in the United States 2010 Benchmark Report published late January by the Alliance for Biking and Walking (www.peoplepoweredmovement.org). This 196-page tome is perhaps the most comprehensive report on all measurements related to bicycling and walking ever published in this country in one place. The report is truly amazing, and tracks an incredible amount of information and trends related to bicycling and walking in all 50 states and the 51 largest cities. This is the second Benchmarking Report released by the Alliance. Plans to publish updates every two years (the next being 2012) are in the works.
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