Columbus Rides Bikes!

Zoom Back at the bike shop after the parade. I had some problems during, but nothing too bad. Many people yelling ‘awesome’, ‘Star Wars’ and 2 ‘Y-Wing’ :-) http://origamislayer.tumblr.com/post/34268932690/back-at-the-bike-shop-after-the-parade-i-had-some

How do you get your company on the list of most bicycle-friendly businesses? Talk to Bikes Make Life Better, which will help you change your policies and practices to make your office a place people want to bike to. Half a decade ago, if you said you worked for an "organizational bicycle consultancy," you would have been laughed out of the room. But then, as a wave of environmental-friendliness washed over Silicon Valley, startups and established tech companies started to think about implementing on-campus bikeshare programs and bike commuting initiatives. Two years ago,  Bikes Make Life Better  swooped in to help them--and anyone else itching to start a bike program. Now three of the bicycle consultancy’s clients (Apple, Facebook, Williams-Sonoma) have received  Bicycle Friendly Business awards from the League of American Bicyclists. Guess that consulting really paid off. What exactly does a bicycle consultancy do? In essence, says Bikes Make Life Better Co-Founde

Editor: Our friend Molly moved to SF, but she is documenting her move and new adventures Saturday we took the bikes on BART and headed over to San Francisco. We figured we would hop off at Embarcadero and see where the day took us. First stop was Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building. There is so much good stuff here. We did not linger long though as I knew I would be tempted to buy produce and meat. I did not want to carry too much with me as we were just starting out out for the day. We did get some lunch before heading out. We stayed along the coast and stopped to check out views of the city, the bay and the bridges. [Keep reading at The California Side]

Muddy Hell 2012 from Oliver Townsend on Vimeo .

It’s now common knowledge that annual changes in the volume of driving no longer follow the old ways. For sixty years, the number of vehicle miles travelled (VMT) rose steadily almost every year. Predicting more driving miles next year was a foregone conclusion, like predicting that the sun would rise or that computer chips would be faster. The only direction seemed to be up. Then, after 2004 per-capita VMT turned downward, falling 6 percent, and leading to a decline in total VMT since 2007. The most recent data are from July, traditionally America’s biggest month for driving. In July 2012, Americans clocked over 258 billion miles behind the wheel, a billion fewer miles than the previous July despite a slightly stronger economy and cheaper gasoline. In fact, you’d need to go back to 2002 to find a July when Americans drove fewer miles than July 2012. There are good reasons to believe the current slowdown in driving may persist. A  report  by the U.S. Public Interest Research

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation  launched  their “ New  Public Health” website last year with the goal of meeting community members where they are to talk about public health. A lot of those conversations happen online, and they explore the connections between public health and policy decisions related to everything from education to transportation. Last week, they published an  interview with U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood . They also put out a complete and convincing infographic showing why sustainable transportation modes are a key component of any public health strategy — and any healthy and prosperous community. It highlights the positive health correlation between transit and health — and suggests that maybe the walk home from the train station is the best part of your commute. Experts say people are willing to walk a quarter mile to a bus stop and a half mile to a rail station. The more bus stops and rail stations there are, the more people get those healthy 19 minutes o

Columbus Largest bike taxi and advertising company.Time for me to go on an extended vacation before I start grad school!  Lemme know if you want in on the action! 7 pedicabs, mostly high quality SRAM components throughout, and a good team of workers to back you up...ill show you the ropes to this turn key high profit business!  This also comes with the website which has gotten me some sweet ad contracts including Mc Donalds, muscle milk and tradewinds tea.  Columbuspedicab@gmail.com www.facebook.com/ ColumbusPedicab

Purchase Image Ray Browning of Fort Collins, rides his bike to work on West Elizabeth Street on Wednesday morning. He is part of a research program about bike traffic by CycleTracks, which helps cities better plan bicycle traffic routes. / V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan Local cyclists have the opportunity to shape what the future of Fort Collins’ cycling infrastructure will look like by downloading an application on their smartphone and simply doing what they normally do — riding their bikes. CSU, the city of Fort Collins and the Coalition for Activity & Nutrition to Defeat Obesity, or CanDo, are partnering to record Fort Collins cyclists’ transportation and recreation rides using the CycleTracks app. CycleTracks, which can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store, uses an iPhone’s GPS to record the user’s bicycle ride. The data gathered will be used by the city to determine what areas need more bike lanes, trails or signs to help with traffic flow. The app, dev

Description MADE IN NEW ENGLAND! Why search for that one gas station with the "pay as you pump"  air compressor? There are auto shops and fire stations every few blocks in the city. Guess what? They ALL have air compressors. This is "the missing link"   -  The key chain that allows you to connect and fill your bike tire  with any common type "A" industrial air compressor hose! Here's how it works... Step 1 Simply remove the bike pump from your key chain…  Step 2 connect one end into the compressor hose… Step 3 connect the other end to your  bike tire  and use the compressor gauge to fill to desired PSI! [This is a Bike Pump]

Fill your bicycle wheels with conveniently available pressurized air stored in automobiles. [From Instructables]

Purchase Image Licking County officials gather to recognize the opening of the Buckeye Scenic Trail in Hebron Saturday. / Zach Gray/The Advocate HEBRON  — The latest component in Licking County’s network of bike trails officially opened Saturday, a project five years in the making that survived multiple legal hurdles and an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. Amid gray skies, rain drops and a shivering breeze — not exactly ideal biking conditions — a handful of county park employees and a few others christened the Buckeye Scenic Trail in a brief ceremony. The 4.25-mile paved path runs south from Irving Wick Drive in Heath to U.S. 40 in Licking Township, ending across from Lakewood High School. Officials praised the new addition to the more than 40 miles of trails already in Licking County. [Keep reading at Newark Advocate]

Mexicellent Adventure on Pinkbike

Gone in 60 secs Parts 1 & 2 (LETS FIGHT BIKE CRIME) on Pinkbike If you have 25 minutes to spare, watch this |||||| The London Programme investigates the £27 million pound crime wave that is seeing thousands of bicycles being stolen from the capitals streets. Our reporter catches some professional bike thieves in action and finds out how easy it is to steal a bike in central London |||||| ****http://bicycle-security.webs.com**** My website.

Towns in the Netherlands are considering a proposal to heat cycle lanes to encourage greater use of bicycles in winter. The scheme proposes to use geo-thermal energy to prevent ice forming. The idea has been provisionally costed at 20-40,000 euros per kilometre (£26-52,000 per mile). But the man behind the proposal, Marcel Boerefijn, said there would be savings from fewer accidents, less salt needed to grit roads and reduced car expenses. Mr Boerefijn said it was possible that the final net cost would be less than putting straw down on the paths. Arien de Jong, a spokeswoman for the Dutch Cyclists Unions said: "We are very excited about the heated paths, because they could prevent so much misery. If cycle lanes are frozen over for four weeks, that results in about 7,000 more accidents involving cyclists. "So of course we welcome all ideas to improve road safety for cyclists." [More at BBC]

Bike lanes separated by planters, posts or parked cars aren't just more popular and less stressful than bike lanes or back-road bike routes, an important new study shows. They're safer – far safer. As reported Monday by Atlantic Cities, researchers found that in Vancouver and Toronto,  protected green lanes reduce non-fatal road injuries by 90 percent . That's a huge impact. When it comes to reducing major injuries, these findings suggest that  converting a painted bike lane to a separated cycle track would be twice as effective as painting the bike lane was. To see just how much safer cycle tracks are than other bikeways, you really have to look at these results on a spectrum from the most dangerous type of street (left) to no risk of serious injury at all (right): [Keep reading at greenlaneproject]

Why send loud, traffic-clogging, air-polluting trucks rumbling through our city streets when we could instead employ a network of cargo bikes? That’s the plan that an alliance of activists, logistics firms, and city officials are trying to put in place across Europe. The last mile problem is simple to explain, but daunting to fix: It’s very easy to bring goods into cities (via plane, train, or truck), but it’s much harder to then bring the one thing you want to your house from the central point to which it was delivered. That last mile represents most of the inefficiency in the process. But is the future of last-mile delivery two wheels? It is, according to  a band  of European activists, logistics firms, and city officials who say bikes are not just for fun, but also a legitimate, and wholly efficient, way of expediting the delivery of many goods. The EU-funded alliance, called  Cycle Logistics , says up to a quarter of urban deliveries could go via

How much will an independent bike tour cost? Here are some typical expenses and budgets from bike tourists who’ve undertaken an extended trip across multiple countries and continents. *** Chris and Margo  went on an 11-month bike tour  from Bangkok to Paris  in 2009. The trip cost $30,400 in total. Chris & Margo  on their touring bicycles. Non-daily costs were: Visas $2,775 (11 visas & various Letters of Invitation) Transport within trip: $1,851.96 (Boat, bus, taxi) Souvenirs bought & mailed home: $500 Care packages from home $1,515 (Bike parts such as drive train replacements, new electronics) In terms of daily costs, Chris and Margo spent $73 per day as a couple. We travelled as cheaply as possible when we were younger but now we are a retired couple and we know our remaining touring days are finite. We’re no longer on a tight budget. Costs varied wildly between destinations such as China and the final part of the trip in northern  Europe  in

Municipal bike sharing has  rolled into dozens of American cities , from Washington to Oklahoma City to San Francisco. Now a Massachusetts start-up called Zagster aims to take the idea of bicycles on demand and deliver it to university and corporate campuses, apartment complexes, hotels and resorts. Zagster So far Zagster has set up its “bike fleet in a box” at about 55 locations. On Thursday, the company, formerly called CityRyde, announced a $1 million round of investment that will allow it to expand nationally. In essence, Zagster’s idea is to make access to bikes a coveted building amenity and corporate perk, right up there with pools, gyms, and cafeterias — at a relatively low cost. Fontinalis Partners , a Detroit-based venture firm jointly founded by  William Clay Ford Jr. , and the venture capital firm LaunchCapital  are among the lead investors in the expansion. So far, Zagster has set up its bike-fleet-in-a-box at about 55 locations, including places like Yale Univer

Bicycle Geekery: A Visit To The World's Only Suspended Bicycle Roundabout from travellingtwo on Vimeo . A little bit of bicycle geekery: we went to see the world's only suspended bicycle roundabout, the Hovenring in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. It takes about 50 seconds to bike around it on a Brompton folding bike, while towing 25kg of baby + trailer.

If you build something painful, they will come.  In the 21st century, it seems the only thing we like better than self-flagellating activities is self-flagellating activities with other folks, competing to see who can, in the words of Dean Karnazes, “survive the fastest.” Fortunately, we have all kinds of outlets when it comes to human-powered suffering over long distances. Here are our picks for the toughest of the tough. 1. Mountain Biking: Tour Divide/Great Divide Race The world’s longest unsupported off-road cycling race began as the Great Divide Race in 2004, when four racers finished time-trialing the U.S. portion of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Roosville, Montana, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, in less than 30 days. In following years, a handful of racers gathered to compete, and in 2008, an additional section of the route was added to the course, starting in Banff, and the race lived on as Tour Divide, a 2,745-mile string of jeep roads, singletrack, and pavemen

Columbus has agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit that said large potholes on a city street contributed to a crash that left a bicyclist paralyzed - a decision that puts cities across the state on notice they can be held liable for streets in disrepair. W. Justin Crabtree will be awarded the settlement after he sued the city, saying the potholes on Williams Road on the city’s South Side were a factor in his bicycle crash with a car in January 2006. Crabtree and his friend, Terry Blake, were riding bikes when Andre Cook, tried to pass them in his car, according to court documents. Cook passed Blake, but struck Crabtree, who was left a quadriplegic. A witness said Crabtree had to ride toward the center of the road right before the crash because of potholes in his path. Crabtree and his attorney, John M. Alton, took the city to court saying it was negligent because of the potholes, but lost the Common Pleas Court decision. They appealed to the 10th District Court of A

Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country I fly out of town for business approximately once every month. There are many different ways to get to the airport from my home downtown. I normally take public transit, but will occasionally take a taxi if I am running late or if I have an early morning flight. I have been longing to ride my cargo bike to the airport every since I purchased it back in May. My luggage fits perfectly in the cargo box and I could certainly use some extra exercise since I have gained about 15 pounds since I returned from living in China in May. I looked at a few different routes to the airport, and decided that safety and comfort would be my number one priority. I ended up  choosing a route  that added about 5 kilometres to the trip, resulting in a total distance of 27 kilometres. My flight was scheduled to depart at 9:35PM, so I figured giving myself two hours for the trip would be plenty of time. I left my house at 6:40PM and headed down the bike lan

It’s hard to quantify what makes a city "greener" than any other metropolis, but there are some clues: car ownership, green space, bicycle usage, solar installations, recycling, and water consumption are just some of the factors that add up to create environmentally responsible cities. An infographic from  HouseTrip  lays out what different cities are doing in an easy-to-read format. A handful of major world cities stand out as leaders. This infographic focuses on the contest between London, New York, Vancouver, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Stockholm. Three of thesecities made it into our list of  the top 10 smart cities on the planet  (two others were runners-up). In each of these cities, there are notable statistics worth mentioning. Amsterdam has one bike for every 0.73 people, Copenhagen has legislation requiring all new buildings to have green roofs (this will add 5,000 square meters of vegetation), and only 44% of New Yorkers own a car, compared to 95% of Americans

In the future, Detroit may be known for more than its automotive achievements. Motor City is becoming more bike-friendly and commuting by bicycle is now a real possibility for many residents of the D. The popularity of this healthy, green and affordable way to travel is growing not only in Detroit, but nationwide. Small businesses like  Detroit Bikes  are trying to make their start in the industry. According to a story  on Model D, owner and founder, Zac Pashak, plans to build an affordable commuter bike in a factory he purchased in the city. In  another story  written about him in Canada’s Globe and Mail, Canadian-born Pashak shared his reason for locating his factory in Detroit. [Keep reading at UHAUL]

BUILDING CYCLING CONFIDENCE A PEDAL STROKE AT A TIME SUSI  //  CITY CYCLING 101 ,  GETTING STARTED Diane Jones Randall is known as an organized person.  She has a lot to juggle in her busy professional and personal life. “I like process,” says the 50-year-old Manhattan resident. So it wouldn’t surprise people who know her that Randall took a deliberate approach to her journey into the New York City bike lanes, beginning in the summer of 2011. Two bicycles, and four bicycle seats, later, it’s been non-stop discovery and adventure. In Randall’s stepwise approach — building confidence with each gradual advance — are found lessons and inspiration for others who are curious about adding bicycling to their urban routines. A New Way to Explore “I’m not a driver,” says Randall, who is director of custom publishing at iVillage. She grew up in Queens, riding a coffee-colored Raleigh roadster as a girl on sidewalks and paths near her home. Having inherited a love of New Yor