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Showing posts from January 20, 2013

Why One San Francisco Bike Lane Design Is Upsetting Drivers and Cyclists [Transportation Nation]

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JFK Boulevard, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (Photo Courtesy of SFMTA Livable Streets) A prominent bike lane in San Francisco may be suffering because of its unique design. The ambitious, and expensive, bike lane striping of Golden Gate Park stands out from the other projects of San Francisco’s bike plan for the criticism it draws from cyclists and drivers alike. “I think it’s one of the dumbest things I ever saw that they put these stripes down here,” says driver Jimmy Harris of the lanes, pictured above. Average speeds of drivers and bike riders have both fallen, a success at what’s known as traffic calming. But also a stark test case of transportation psychology as users cite narrow lanes and an unusual arrangement of parked cars as confusing.  Ben Trefny and Rai Sue Sussman took a ride along JFK Blvd, with a measuring tape, to see why these particular stripes are raising hackles of bike riders and drivers. Give the audio version a listen.  [Keep reading at Transpo

The Safety-in-Numbers Effect Surfaces in Minneapolis Bike Crash Data [StreetsBlog]

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New data from Minneapolis confirms: the more cyclists on the road, the safer they will be. Image:  Twin City Sidewalks via the City of Minneapolis Minneapolis’s public works department just completed a rigorous, long-term analysis of bike-car collisions, and they’ve released a  trove of data . Bill Lindeke at Network blog  Twin City Sidewalks  says it might be “as good a study of crash data as you’re ever likely to see in this country.” There were a number of interesting findings, many of which bolstered previous research. For example, as shown in the chart above, a confirmation of the safety-in-numbers effect  popularized by researcher Peter Jacobsen : It’s long been a truism in nonmotorized transportation planning that safety improves dramatically as the overall number of bicyclists and pedestrians rise. Well, this seems to hold true for Minneapolis over the last decade, and is one of the most hope-inspiring pieces of the bicycling puzzle… What this suggests to me is t

Cycle corridors will give riders safe haven from other traffic [The Times]

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To improve safety, cycle lanes are now being designed to run behind bus stops Transport For London Kaya Burgess Last updated at 12:01AM, January 19 2013 Cycle lanes segregated from motor traffic are being planned and built around the country as Britain seeks to extend the Olympics-inspired cycling boom. Proposed schemes in London, Brighton and Southampton have been welcomed as a sign that councils are beginning to appreciate the economic and health benefits of encouraging cycling. In the capital, the Cycle Superhighway that runs from Aldgate to Bow will be extended to Stratford under Transport for London plans that are currently open to consultation. Of the 3km of new cycle lanes to be built, 2.4km will be segregated from traffic by a kerb while ten junctions will be upgraded in line with demands made in the  Times Cities Fit for Cycling campaign. [Keep reading at The Times]

Yuba’s Boda Boda Cargo Cruiser

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Yuba’s Boda Boda Cargo Cruiser elevates utility cycling to a new level of elegance and comfort. The  integrated rear rack and love handles make it easy to pick up a friend, carry a kid, a few large bags of groceries or speakers. Green accents, such as cork grips, bamboo back deck and optional running boards insure that this bike will turn heads as you spin around town. Apartment dwellers will appreciate that the Boda Boda weighs a mere 35 pounds, and features a hand hold for carrying the bike up stairs. Shorter cargo bike riders will appreciate that the bike is available in step-thru versions to make it easier to get on under load. Its stable handling and easy-shifting, eight speed urban derailleur system will get you there and back, even in hilly San Francisco. This is the lightest and most compact Cargo Bike. Accessories  make it easy to configure the bike to exactly match your lifestyle. Features • Comfortable:  The Boda Boda Cargo Cruiser rides like a European townie bike – u

Riding in the cold - Bremen Upper Loop Gravel Ride Recap

On MLK day we ventured out to ride the Bremen Upper Loop Gravel Grinder. Temperatures were expected to peak in the 20's with chills in the single digits. What did I wear to stay warm? From head to toe Pearl Izumi Amfib Balaclava Pearl Izumi Barrier Gloves Ibex Wool Jersey Performance Coolmax Jersey Showers Pass Elite 2.0 Jacket Pearl Izumi Amfib Cycling Bib Tight Pearl Izumi shoe covers Pearl Izumi cycling shoes Wool cycling socks HotHands Toe warmers  We rode 25.5 miles and climbed 2200+ feet. Mixed gravel and pavement. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2064310

Dirty Double Fondo is May 18th, 2013. Salida, Colorado

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Please make sure to read all rules for this. This is fully unsupported and you will need to be self-sufficient in order to complete this. The rules are located  HERE . No more than 74 people allowed for this event! This is intended to be  NON-COMMERCIAL , Recreational-Use Activities that are held on parts of USFS lands in compliance with USFS Special Use Rules and Regulations. Double Metric (200K) Gravel Grinder  Website located at:    http://dirtydoublefondo.wordpress.com/ What:  Early Season, High Elevation Gravel Grinder, Self Supported, Ultra-Endurance, Hella-Epic. 200K of high altitude gravel. Starts and finishes in Salida. Formerly known as the  South Park Dirty Fondo . The DDF is re-tooled and fully optimized. Registration page located here:  DDF 200k registration Start : Meet a 6:45 AM in  SALIDA  at  Cafe Dawn , rolling at 07:00 AM sharp! Restrooms are available at the Start. PARKING:  Please park in the Parking lot on the East side of first street, by Su

Growing bike rack business run by homeless men [Cleveland.com]

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John Handyside runs a drill press in the bike rack-making shop at the men's homeless shelter on Lakeside Avenue. Handyside lives in the shelter and is paid minimum wage. He says the work gives him training and helps to build his resume. Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Shopping for bicycle racks a few years ago, the city had to spend its money out of state because no machine shop in this old smokestack town made them. But now Metro Metal Works, a program of  Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry , is cranking out bike racks at the Lakeside men's homeless shelter, hiring people on the skids who need money and job training. Some are homeless. Some are just out of prison. "This allows us to show that we have current employment," said John Handyside, a homeless man working a pipe-bending machine in the rack shop. "And that makes it easier to find a better-paying job." Handyside lives in the shelter, earns minimum wage and pays child support. "

Pee-Wee Herman Skinsuit

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A customer requesting this design, and we loved it enough to sell in the store. Any fan of the Pee-wee Herman will love this as a Pee-Wee skinsuit, or a Pee-Wee costume. Provide your own Red Schwinn cruiser bike, and we recommend you stay away from movie theaters. For sizing, please refer to the skinsuit  Size Chart [Available at Cycling Skin Suits]

Can We Finally Declare Peace in the 'War on Cars'? [Atlantic Cities]

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Can you still have a war if nobody wants to fight? Can you still have a war if nobody wants to fight? A recent survey of attitudes toward bicycles in Seattle raises the question. As local alt-weekly The Stranger  points out in a piece called  "Debunking the So-Called Bike Backlash,"  residents in Seattle have been  talking about a “war on cars” for years . And the front line in that alleged war has been the stripes of paint that mark off lanes for bicycles. But according to a recent survey commissioned by the Seattle-based  Cascade Bicycle Club , this war isn’t anywhere near as hot as the rhetoric would have you believe. Before we go any further, yes, this is an advocacy group-commissioned poll, but they hired reputable research firm FM3 to conduct a scientific poll, which has a margin of error of 4.9 percent. The poll was originally intended for internal use, but according to Craig Benjamin, Cascade's policy and government affairs manager, the results were so hear

2013 Gravel Rouser Classic is March 14-17, 2013

Event #1: Debutante Ball on Hollow Point Trail Date:  Thursday, March 14 Start Time:  5 p.m., registration begins at 4:30 p.m. Meeting Place:  Strouds Run Group Camp Site > Practice your curtsies because it'll be polite society all the way for this timed trail race. Join us at a coming-out party to debut Hollow Point Trail, the newest trail at Strouds Run State Park. Approximately 6 miles of timed singletrack racing. Feel free to ride at parade pace and enjoy the beauty of the woods if you aren't race ready. Ball gowns optional. > To get to the Group Camp Site: Turn onto State Park Road off of Strouds Run Road but don't turn into the campground. The Group Camp Site is on your right about a half mile down State Park Road. Event #2: Big Jim's Trail Buffet & DJ Party Date:  Friday, March 15 Start Time:  5 p.m., registration begins at 4:30 p.m. Meeting Place:  11595 Simms Road, Athens > Last year Jim and Ellen proved they can throw an off-road

therightbike - crowdsourced bike recommendations

the right bike Public Beta We currently have a limited database size, so you may be running into errors. You can  help expand the database ! The Right Bike finds the bike most suited to you.  Just answer the questions below and we'll use our ever-growing database to find your perfect bike. - See more at: http://therightbike.com/#sthash.tKdFIZVx.dpuf More information about the project at BikeHacks

Awesome riding: madness

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Side-by-Side Router Compares Driving, Walking, Biking, and Transit [Mobility Lab]

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Online mapping applications have become an essential tool for route planning. The route planner from Google Maps originally assumed everyone wanted driving directions for cars, but has grown to include options for biking, walking, and transit. Availability depends on the location, but I’ve been impressed with Google Maps’ coverage. Using Google’s “application programming interface” (API), I created a tool that lets you compare all four options at the same time. I call it the  Side-by-Side Router . Once you pick two end-points, the four modes’ routes are drawn with different colors. It’s been surprising to see how the routes vary depending on the mode. The program also gives you the total travel time and distance for each mode. As an advocate for biking and transit, it was a bit disheartening to see the driving mode “win” when it came to creating the fastest trip. But the driving directions assume what is known as “ Doris Day parking ,” the phenomenon where one magically finds

So Far To Go

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The lure of gravel - go pick up the issue of Bicycle Times to read it.

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The lure of gravel A new breed of race is cropping up in the Midwest, one that promises a grueling but beautiful ride—the gravel grinder. Two such events, The Gravel Worlds and the Dirty Kanza 200, highlight the experience. By Eric Benjamin.

The Growler Bike: Pedal Power For Beer Snobs [FastCompany]

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THIS BIKE’S INSPIRATION IS THOSE WHO’VE LOST THEIR DRIVER’S LICENSE TO A DUI BUT MANAGE TO KEEP ON TRUCKING. The growler. Technically, it’s a half gallon. Emotionally, it’s so much more. It’s the go-to container of back-porch hooch and fine craft beer, or home-fermented concoctions and wines better suited to a box. It’s also, now, a bike. By  Joey Ruiter , the  Growler City Bike  is a concept inspired in part by this folkloric jug and in part by the “West-ee’s” of Grand Rapids, Michigan. “The West-ee’s is a term for people in our community that lost their license for DUI and now use bicycles for everything,” Ruiter explains. “Local bike shops help outfit commuters with a rack and such. The carts, baskets, trailers, packs, whatever, that they make are all really great.” I’d never heard the term “West-ee” before this interview, nor had I ever heard any word for people who now ride bikes following a DUI. But I imagine them as a highly ingenious sect of

‘Cargo bikes are the greenest way to carry shopping – they run on bananas and flapjacks’ [The Times]

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Graeme Semple: “I just couldn’t face the idea of sitting in traffic any more”   Picasa Kaya Burgess Published at 12:01AM, December 26 2012 A new generation of family runabouts looks set to change the face of Britain’s roads next year and no one will be worried about the running costs. Cargo bikes and child-carrying cycles could transform the way Britons do their shopping and the school run, as retailers report sharp increases in sales of the load-carrying bicycles. On the streets of Copenhagen it is common to see a father or mother cycling to school with two children strapped safely into a carrier on the front of a bike. In Amsterdam, it is equally common to see an old lady pedalling serenely back from the local shops with bags of groceries in a carry-box on the back of her tricycle. [Keep reading at The Times]

Casting Call for Midwest Bike Messengers

My name is Serita Wesley; I am a Casting Producer with Zodiak USA in New York City.  We are currently casting bike messengers/messenger services in the Midwest for a possible new series. The reasoning behind our search is for privately owned businesses in the Midwest that deal with customer service and interact face to face with clients on a daily basis.  We are not looking for people who just deal with disgruntled customers, but those who provide a service, have very entertaining employees, and have some funny stories to tell about encounters with customers. Seeing as though bike messengers and their headquarters deal directly with their customers in a pretty fast paced environment; I feel as though funny interactions, awkward occurrences, misunderstandings and incidents happen on the regular. If this sounds like your business or a business you know of, then email me at  Serita.Wesley@zodiakusa.com , and tell me all about your business. If you do not fit this description then pl

Inherent Value - Surly Bikes

I’d like to talk about bikes for a minute, and more specifically the value of bikes. See that bike hanging on the hook in your basement or garage?  How much money do you have into it?  What do you use yours for?  Are you getting your money’s worth, and how do you know?  Let’s face it - a bike is a fancy pile of metal and plastic. Its true value is no different than most other possessions – it’s in what you want it for and for what it can do for you. Most things are designed to serve a purpose and sometimes more a window of potential uses than a specific purpose. Take the bicycle for example. The material and geometry are best suited to a style of riding, or a type of terrain, but the bike is not limited to that. I wouldn’t point a road bike down a full blown DH course, but you get the point.  The window of potential uses is fairly broad for most bikes. They’re remarkably strong and capable. It helps if the rider is too, but whatever. Run what you brung and you’ll do all right.

Year of Yay Ride Recap @yaybikes

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The first Year of Yay ride of 2013 was a smashing success. Almost 60 cyclists attended the event which meant that we split into two groups for the first time. A view of a large portion of the group. The route was 21 miles and we stopped at three different bakeries: Audino’s Italian Bakery Resch’s Bakery Cherbourg Bakery I’ll have to admit. I had no idea where we were or where we were going at the beginning. Thankfully, we had a lot of experienced cyclists and after a few turns here and there, we arrived at  Audino’s Italian Bakery  at Clara Ave. and 11th Ave. [Keep reading at Yay Bikes!]

Rivendell People

New Movie About Us Or you could call it a New About Us Movie since it will live on our  About Us  page from now on. Made by former Riv employee Jay Ritchey and about thirty minutes long, the film features interviews with some of Rivendell's full time employees.  Rivendell People from Jay Bird Films on Vimeo .

LANCE ARMSTRONG’S FLAWED CONFESSION [The New Yorker]

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It all might have worked if Lance Armstrong hadn’t had to talk about anyone but Lance Armstrong. It bespeaks his flaws and his corruption that he seems to have thought, as he sat down for his interview with Oprah Winfrey, that it might be possible. She began by walking him through a confession: “Yes or no? Did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance?” Yes. EPO, blood doping, cortisone, testosterone, and human-growth hormone in “all seven of your Tour de France victories”? Yes. Read more:  http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/01/lance-armstrongs-flawed-confession.html#ixzz2IZCapoiI

Welcome To Alaska, Where Winter Is Cold And Bikes Are Fat [NPR]

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The plummeting mercury in Alaska this time of year doesn't keep bikers inside. More and more of them are heading to recreational trails and to the office on "fat bikes." They look like mountain bikes on steroids, with tires wider than most people's arms. Kevin Breitenbach runs the bike shop at Beaver Sports in Alaska's second-largest city. Aboard a fat bike, he makes his way down a trail that winds through a forest as wet, quarter-sized snowflakes drop from the sky. Visibility is low, and the snow hides the roughest spots on the trail. Breitenbach's bike is his primary form of transportation. When he's not commuting to work, he's racing in ultra-distance events. "Now, if we were out here on regular mountain bikes, you'd just be all over the place. The bikes are set up to be stable, and so you can go much slower and still maintain your balance," he says. [Keep reading at NPR]

Tour de Donut! Sweetest ride in OH

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The Tour de Donut is a unique bicycle event, where your ability to eat donuts is just as important as your ability to ride your bicycle fast. The event is a mass start timed bicycle "race" where riders visit two "donut stops" during the 30 mile course or one stop for the 15 mile mini and eat donuts. For each donut the rider eats during the ride (and keeps down) they have 5 minutes deducted from their ride time. There are prizes in several classes including the coveted golden Tour de Donut championship belt for the best adjusted "donut time". We also award the most donuts eaten in several classes, and for the speed freaks we also award the fastest bike only time. This ride is intended to be fun and include all cyclists pro to amateur, triathletes, tourist, fitness riders, fun riders, or you can dust off that two wheeler you found along side the road, or in the back of the barn you are not going to want to miss this event. While the event is technica

Student hit by dump truck has ‘waited long enough’ for police report, lawyer demands answers [The Lantern]

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Daniel Chi / Asst. photo editor Police officers survey the scene after a Sept. 5 bicycle accident where OSU student James Daniel Hughes was hit by a dump truck near Woodruff Avenue. Nearly four months have passed since Daniel Hughes, an 18-year-old chemical engineering student at Ohio State, was hit and run over by a construction truck, and as no police report has been released, many details on the case remain unknown. Hughes’ lawyer said he’s willing to take legal action against the university for not cooperating and for not making routine information available. While Hughes broke his silence to the media when he spoke with ABC-6 Tuesday, Steve Crandall, the Hughes’ lawyer, said he’s handling media inquiries for the Hughes family. The Lantern’s requests for comment from Hughes and his father, David Hughes, were unsuccessful. Daniel Hughes was released from the  Wexner  Medical Center last month after being hospitalized since the Sept. 5 incident on Woodruff Avenue, and un

Doping at the Tour de France - a wiki

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There have been allegations of  doping  in the  Tour de France  since the race began in 1903. Early Tour riders consumed  alcohol  and used  ether , among other substances, as a means of dulling the pain of competing in endurance cycling. [1]  Riders began using substances as a means of increasing performance rather than dulling the senses, and organizing bodies such as the  Tour  and the  International Cycling Union  (UCI), as well as government bodies, enacted policies to combat the practice. Use of performance-enhancing drugs  in cycling predates the Tour de France. Cycling having been from the start a sport of extremes, whether of speed by being paced by tandems, motorcycles and even cars, or of distance, the suffering involved encouraged the means to alleviate it. Not until after World War II were sporting or even particularly health issues raised. Those came shortly before the death of  Tom Simpson  in the Tour de France of 1967. Max Novich referred to the Tour de France in