The wild discrepancy between bike/ped trips and bike/ped funding (charts)

© Alliance for Biking & Walking

I remember using a very similar chart to the one above back when I was the director of a nonprofit promoting greater transportation choice (e.g., better bicycling, pedestrian, and transit options) in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sadly, about 7 years later, the chart looks practically the same.

The point, of course, is that bike and pedestrian infrastructure deserves a lot more funding. A counter-argument that many bike/ped advocates wouldn't note is that bike/ped trips are shorter than auto and transit trips, so those other modes need more infrastructure and more funding. However, 11.4% of trips versus 2.1% of funding is still a huge discrepancy, and imagine how many more people would bike or walk if there was decent infrastructure in their city! Also, that counter-argument doesn't deal with the fatality issue at all, and it doesn't deal with the fact that bike and pedestrian infrastructure networks are woefully disconnected.

Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize recently made a great diagram regarding that last point. In the image below, look at the map in the bottom-left corner. If those red lines represent roads with bike lanes or off-road bike paths, that could be considered a "good" (dare I say "great") bicycling city in the US. As Mikael notes in the bottom-right diagram, however, bicyclists want to ride a lot more places than on those few, disconnected routes. The bottom-right map, with the blue lines being roads with bike lanes or off-road bike paths, shows what could genuinely be considered a bicycle-friendly city.

More over at Treehugger.com

Ultimate Bike Share Bag

Our bike share program launched last summer and we were immediately smitten with how easy it made running errands, popping out to get lunch or meeting friends after work. 

The one thing we thought we could improve was how you carry things on the bike share bikes. Because the front basket doesn’t really hold large or odd shaped items well, you end up carrying your bag on your back. This can be uncomfortable if your bag is big or heavy, or downright impossible if your bag doesn't have a shoulder strap, like a grocery bag. Plus, it seemed a shame to have a basket that couldn't be used. We wanted to fix that. 

We take pride in designing and manufacturing bags that can take a beating and we choose fabrics, materials and construction techniques accordingly. 

The inspiration for the bag's features came from research with bike share members, and our own experience, about what attributes the ultimate bike share bag should have.

• Fits laptops up to 15"
• Adjustable 5/32" bungee cords easily and securely attach bag to bike basket
• A durable 14 oz. heavyweight weather resistant waxed canvas is lined with polyurethane coated polyester to keep your stuff dry even in the rain
• All hardware is durable nickel coated steel
• Bag expands to open even wider by unclipping side D-rings
• Reflective details add extra nighttime visibility
• A spacious interior equipped with a lot of pockets to keep your gear organized
• Two carrying options: use handle or adjustable shoulder strap
• The front pocket perfectly fits your phone and has an integrated keychain so your bike share key fob is always easily accessible 
• Size is 18" W x 5" D x 12.25" H 
• Volume is 17.5 L
• Weight is 1.5 lbs

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pocampo/ultimate-bike-share-bag

Iladora offers bike commuter clothes made in San Francisco

If you have a job that requires professional attire and you want to bike to work, finding the right garments that let you move and still look crisp takes some thought. Happily, there’s a growing number of clothing designers who are tackling this issue.

Iladora has new offerings for the bike-loving professional lady. Started by Ilana Siegelman and Meghan Murphy, the company was started to create cycle-ready clothes for office jobs. Designed by Siegelman and made in San Francisco, Iladora’s first garment was the “Perfect Bike Pant.” These sleek trousers feature just enough stretch and a special tab designed to hold your cuff rolled up and away from chain grease.

The company just launched two new items, a pretty blouse with a smart drop-tail hem in back and a water-resistant skirt with hidden pocket.

More over at Treehugger.com

OCEAN AIR RAMBLER | CycleEXIF

Have you ever thought about why you actually like cycling so much? Do you like the flying feeling, or the culture? Perhaps the attraction is the promise of escape. But you don’t have to embark on a world tour to feel like you’re getting away from it all.

Just riding a short way out of town for camp-style coffee at dawn can fill you an enormous sense of wellbeing, which hopefully inspires you to travel further afield. And that’ll be an accomplished mission for California’s Ocean Air Cycles.

Robert Perks gave up driving to work years ago but, as all of us have done at some stage, wondered how he can find the time to be outside on a bike more. Eureka! One morning he simply packed his camp stove and enamel cup into his basket and rode to the nearest park.

There’s quite a few coffee and camping gear nerds out there who have compiled a comprehensive series of lightweight and innovative coffee kits, many of which are sold in the Ocean Air Cycles webstore, along with a superb collection of neckerchiefs, bandannas, bike racks and leather goods.

The most important accessory for #coffeeoutside, however, is a bicycle, but Robert has that covered also. He’s teamed up with another local Portlandian, Zen Bike Fabrication, on the Rambler: one third tourer, one third randonneur, one third porteur.

Constructed from 4130 cromoly tubes, The Rambler is available in American Blue, Orange Soda and Sunflower. It comes with the elegant and powerful Paul Racer brakes, internal wiring for the lights and a Columbine Quickchainger, allowing wheel changes without having to touch the chain.

For more inspiration, read the #coffeeoutside article in Issue 4 of the excellently edited magazine of adventure cycling: Bunyan Velo. The Rambler is available through the Ocean Air Cycles website andBlue Lug in Japan.

http://www.cycleexif.com/ocean-air-rambler

The Ringtool costs 3X what a set of bits and driver costs at the big box. I still want it.

© Reductivist

At Home Depot, you can buy a 100 piece bit set and driver for $9.99. you can by a bike tool for $7.50. At Reductivist, you can get an 8 bit Ringtool for $28. So why is this on TreeHugger? Because it represents a different mindset. On his website, Designer Jonathan Sabutis posts the Reductivist Manifesto:

No off-shoring
Products should be made as locally as possible.

No plastic
Products should be made with authentic, long-lasting materials.

No fashion
Products should aspire to timelessness rather than trends.

No luxury
Products should be as affordable as possible.

No style
“The extent to which you have a design style is the extent to which you have not solved the design problem.”
-Charles Eames

© Reductivist

The press release notes:

Not only is it portable, Ringtool is nearly indestructible. The carefully selected grade of hardened stainless steel is a favorite among trusted multi-tool brands for its perfect combination of strength, corrosion resistance, and quality finish. This is backed up by a lifetime warranty on all Reductivist tools. With eleven unique features, Ringtool offers quick fixes at your fingertips for a host of daily challenges including one of its most popular functions- the bottle cap opener.

Coco Chanel was supposed to have said "My family was poor. We couldn't afford to buy cheap shoes." Cheap tools are much the same thing. Steve Mouzon wrote at the start of the economic crash 5 years ago:

When times are tough, the thought of replacing a tool, a piece of furniture, or whatever on a frequent basis is really frightening... we simply cannot afford to do that. So I believe that the Meltdown will begin to cause people to think long-term again, and to begin to value enduring things.

© Reductivist

I've had those multi-bit sets in plastic boxes, lost the bits I needed most, bought the sets again. The ring tool might stay on my keychain forever. There's lots to like about it, besides the beer bottle opener. But every time we show something like this people complain about cost and the Brooklyn hipsters and it should be $3.99. What do you think?

More information here.

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/ringtool-costs-3x-what-set-bits-and-driver-costs-big-box-i-still-want-it.html

Morning Links: A disgustingly auto-centric driver, and the rest of the story on that biking tech exec beating

They drive among us.

Commenting on the Facebook page Look! Save A Life / Arizona, a gigantic motorhead asshole driver makes it clear he could care less about the lives on any cyclists who happen to ride — legally — on the road.

Thankfully, jerks like this are a very small minority of drivers, most of whom do their best to drive safely and accommodate everyone.

As for the others, comments like this live forever on the internet. And can be used as evidence if he ever does hit someone.

Thanks to Cyclelicious and Brendan Lyons for the heads-up.

……..

Speaking of Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious, trust him to get the whole story on that bike riding Silicon Valley tech exec arrested for beating the crap out of a driver.

Turns out the driver did hit the cyclist, as the exec had claimed. And both people in the truck — including the guy behind the wheel — were reportedly drunk, and got out to throw the first punches.

Which makes it a case of self defense against a drunken idiot, rather than the vicious assault the local press implied.

……..

And it turns out there’s a lot more to that story of the sick, twisted Ontario, Canada driver who sued the parents of the teenage bike rider she killed for her pain and suffering in having to live with what she did — including the incredible pain of the boy’s parents and allegations of police misconduct.

There’s a special place in hell for people like that.

More at http://bikinginla.com/2014/04/29/morning-links-a-disgustingly-auto-centric-driver-and-the-rest-of-the-story-on-that-biking-tech-exec-beating/

Caught on camera: Bicyclist struck by a car in Manheim Township, PA

A Lancaster woman was struck by a car while riding her bicycle in Manheim Township Monday.

Diane Lausman, 59, was injured in the accident, according to township police.

A man riding his bike alongside Lausman captured the accident on a bike-mounted video camera, and posted the video on YouTube.

Police said Lausman was riding her bike around 10:16 a.m. in the 1500 block of Country Club Drive.

She was traveling east on the road.

Lloyd Hambright, 85, of Lititz, was driving a car in the opposite direction, when he made a left turn and hit Lausman.

Police said Hambright was cited for making an illegal left turn.

Lausman was taken by ambulance to Lancaster General Hospital for treatment of her injuries.

She was listed in serious condition Wednesday, according to a nursing supervisor.

The police investigation continues.

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/caught-on-camera-bicyclist-struck-by-a-car-in-manheim/article_509f48a0-d076-11e3-adf1-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=story

These Simple Devices Turn Every Sign Post Into A Bike Rack

The Cyclepark turns the multitude of sign posts found in cities into a network of bike parking spots, without the cost or space of installing free-standing racks.

One of the challenges of urban cycling is finding a place to park your bike. A simple design from U.K.-based Smartstreets might help: The Cyclepark, made of two metal loops, hooks around existing lampposts and street signs to provide extra bike parking on every block.

“By making use of what’s already there, you’re not adding obstacles on the pavement for pedestrians,” says Andrew Farish, one of the designers of the Cyclepark. “And the less stuff you have on the street, the better the street looks.”

People already tend to lock bikes to sign posts and railings when they can’t find a bike rack, but without something more substantial to latch onto, it’s easy for bikes to fall over or even be lifted over the pole and stolen. It’s also often illegal to use a street post if there isn’t an official rack.

More at FastCompany

THIS "SILLY WALK" SIGN AT A CROSSWALK IN NORWAY IS THE FUTURE OF TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT | Fast Cocreate

The joy of Monty Python sketches is surprisingly enduring: More than 30 years after the comedy troupe's Flying Circus sketch series ended, it continues to be rediscovered and celebrated by new generations of fans around the world. Including, of course, in Ørje, Norway.



[Keep reading at Fast CoCreate]

Hey @yaybikes members tomorrow is member event thanks @ElevatorBrewing @ChipotleTweets @HonestTea & host @Seagullbags

It's time to honor YOU, our members the ones who make Yay Bikes! the most bad ass, exciting  cycling collective in Ohio.  To honor you properly we'll be serving:

• food with integrity from Chipotle;
• artisinal-craft brew from Elevator Brewery; 
• delicious, truly healthy, organic beverages fom Honest Tea; and
• a short presentation with exclusive organizational updates. 

Simply choose the appropriate ticket, RSVP if you're already lucky enough to be a member, if not, purchase a membership. Feel free to add an additional donation if you love the work Yay Bikes! is doing and your means allow it. Not sure if your membership is current? Contact kathleen@yaybikes.com

Register NOW!

A Bike Light That You'll Want To Wear Around All Day

This leather-embedded light looks so good you'll want to wear it all the time. It will keep you safe at night whether you're on foot or two wheels.

Now that reflective clothing is starting to look less like traffic cop gear and more like Tron, it's becoming more common to see brightly lit cyclists and runners at night. But the average pedestrian still doesn’t walk around in safety gear in the dark. We tend to assume we’re much more visible than we actually are, and many of the options out there don’t really blend in with non-athletic clothes. But this subtle light, the Vega Edge, is different.

The leather-embedded light is designed to look good enough to wear all day, so if you end up walking at night you'll already have it on. Using strong magnets, it clips on wherever you want to wear it--on a collar or jacket lapel, on a bag, or on a shirt. When it’s turned off, it looks like a simple accessory, or part of your clothes, rather than a safety gadget.

Of course, it can also be used for biking, and that was actually why it was first developed. “As a commuter cyclist in Toronto, biking to work every day, I kept having problems with my bicycle lights,” says Angella Mackey, a Sweden-based designer who developed the lights along with wearable tech experts at Toronto’s Social Body Lab. “Sometimes I forgot them at home, they would get stolen from my bicycle, and they were difficult to fiddle with in the cold weather. As a fashion designer, I also didn’t really like how they looked.”

Continue at FastCompany

Ride 2 Recovery Honor Ride is May 24th

Ohio Honor Ride – Raising Money to Help America’s Healing Heroes! Ride 2 Recovery promotes wellness for injured veterans by using cycling as a form of rehabilitation. And it is making a difference in the lives of Healing Heroes! Please help support Ride 2 Recovery through the First Annual Ohio Honor Ride May 24, 2014 Start / Finish:  New Albany Plain Local High School New Albany, Ohio   Rider registration Click Here

INNAK BIKING SHORTS

The Innak Biking Shorts are designed to give you superior comfort and performance on dawn to dusk rides and treks. Made from Schoeller stretch canvas finished with R3 technology, the outside of the material up to the middle is water repellent; while from the inside to the middle it is water absorbent. This combination enables the Feelgood Technology 3XDRY® to prevent noticeable perspiration marks, to generate a comfortable cooling-effect, and to improve dirt and water repellency. Additional features include zippable leg vents, easy to access stash pockets, articulated crotch construction for ease of movement, and ultrasuede waistband facing to prevent chafing caused by repeated movement.

[Innak Biking Shorts]

RED-BULL R.évolution-BERLIN 2013! with track design by PumpTrax USA in Gahanna OH

Organic Forms – Thinkibility Nibble | Thinkibility

Look at the photo above.

What is your first thought?

Lots of ideas flashed through my mind when I saw the organic shape but bicycle was not one of them.

Arion 1 was designed by a team of engineering students from the University of Liverpool. The bicycle is more aerodynamic than most cars and the bicycle is encased in an inverted teardrop shell. This shape minimises the resistance and the bicycle  can reach a speed of 145 kmh(90mph). The rider of the bicycle is as low as possible and it may not be the most comfortable bicycle to ride.

Every year the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA) hold a speed challenge in Battle Mountian Nevda. The team from Liverpool University hopes to pass the rigorous testing in 2015 and break the world record that is currently held by TU Delft and VU Amsterdam universities, which recorded a speed of 133.78 kmh (83.13 mph) in September 2013.

[ From thinkibility.com ]

What Is A Rouleur?

Huayhuash - MTB Tour

The Cordillera Huayhuash lies in the Andes of Peru. It is located in the boundaries of the Ancash Region, Lima Region and Huanuco Region.

“¿Huayhuash?¿¡Huayhuash con bici’s!? No. No noooo… Es imposible.” In the winter of 2014, three friends set out on a self supported ride, looking for nothing more than a truly genuine experience. The goal: to circumnavigate one of the most wonderful and wicked mountain ranges in the world – the Huayhuash, by bicycle.

This was all a spur of the moment idea; part of the vicious cycle of making every adventure more thrilling than the last. January was the off-season, or rainy season, for the Andes so the wilderness would be completely desolate.

The three friends hoped to be the second group to complete this trek on bikes. However, they underestimated the relentless weather they would encounter as they traveled for a week above treeline.

The friends tagged first descents down rocky couloirs and 16,000ft passes, watched sunrises against the tallest peaks in the country, and slept to the sounds of serac fall at night.

EDC Bike Kit | Kaufmann Mercantile

Every day carry (or EDC) refers to a small collection of pocket-friendly tools that you carry on a daily basis for tackling situations both mundane and, when required, more urgent. The idea is to keep the kit simple with an eye towards self-reliance — you want items that do the most, while taking up as little pocket space as possible. 

Whether you need to adjust your seat or change a tire, our EDC Bike Kit turns your keychain into an efficient cycling companion. There are two hex keys for on-the-road adjustments, a pair of mini pry bars for last-minute tire changes and a glow-in-the-dark compass for when your inner-navigational skills might have led you astray... 

The corrosion resistant and rustproof quick release brass key ring gives you easy access to your house keys or puts your bike lock key at the ready.

The four and five millimeter hex keys with loop handles help to adjust your seat post and handlebars or tighten your brakes on the go. (Hint: For extra leverage, slide one key through the loop of the other to form a sturdy T-shaped handle.)

The water- and shock-resistant brass compass has a Lexan lens and glow-in-the-dark background for nighttime navigation.

The mini pry bars are made with industrial-grade, heat-treated steel. In a pinch, the two can be used to change a tire on the spot.  (We didn't want to include plastic tools, so just be careful to not puncture your tire or scratch your wheel frame.) Not much longer than a key, they can also pick, pry, score, cut, lift and pull apart a remarkable number of things, such as nails, staples, boxes... 

The U-shaped brass key ring holds it all together and can be swiftly opened or closed, and looped onto a belt loop or bag strap.

[Kaufmann Mercantile]

Hiplok D

[Hiplok]

THE BIKE DECONSTRUCTED | Bless This Stuff

A metal frame, two wheels, pedals, a seat, and handlebars—on first glance, bicycles look pretty straightforward. And yet, even today's most stripped-down bicycles can feature as many as two hundred parts, each with a critical role to play. The unbelievably efficient way they work together is what makes modern bicycles such marvels of compact engineering, and sometimes frustrating to diagnose and repair. In The Bike Deconstructed, bicycle guru Richard Hallett dismantles the modern bicycle to uncover the origin, design, and evolution of every integral part. Through stunning photography, accessible writing, and clear diagrams, Hallett examines every aspect of the bike in detail—from the anatomy of the drive chain to the geometry of the main frame, and from spoke weaving patterns to the effect of fork rake on steering and stability. So whether you are a leisurely cruiser or have dreams of entering the Tour de France, The Bike Deconstructed is your must-have cycle resource.

[Keep reading at Bless This Stuff]

America's (True) First Cycling Champion | Bicycling

He won the race—then was lost to history

If asked to name the greatest American road-racing champions, the average fan is likely to start with Greg LeMond (the three-time winner of the Tour de France and a two-time world champion) or Lance Armstrong (once credited with seven Tours and still a world champ). Others on the list might include 1988 Giro d'ltalia winner Andy Hampsten, last year's Vuelta a Espana king Chris Horner, and '84 Olympic gold-medal winners Connie Carpenter-Phinney and Alexi Grewal.

Encyclopedic scholars might add the name of George Mount, the first modern-era American to break into the European peloton (his sixth place in the 1976 Olympics road race was the first time an American placed in the top 10), or cite Jonathan Boyer, the first US racer to compete in the Tour de France. But almost no one remembers the first great American champion—or knows much about his curious story, which started soon after the dawn of bike racing. 

The first commercially available bicycles appeared in Paris in 1867. These 70-pound "boneshakers" were made of wrought iron and equipped with wooden wheels encircled with hoops of iron, with cranks and pedals emanating from the front hub. Gradually, the best models were outfitted with the latest technology of the time—solid rubber tires. 

"Velocipede mania" swept across Europe and around the world. In Florence, Italy, a hearty band of pioneers formed the Veloce Club and organized a 20-mile road race from Florence to Pistoia, set for February 2, 1870. The sport was so new that the first official race of any kind, held in a park in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Cloud, had taken place just 20 months earlier. Not even three months had passed since the original road race, from Paris to Rouen, was won by Englishman James Moore. The Olympic debut of cycling, which would happen in the inaugural modern Games, was still more than two decades in the future, and the first Tour de France was more than 30 years off. 

The Veloce Club went to great lengths to attract an international field, and hundreds of curious spectators turned out on that frigid and rainy Wednesday morning to witness this unprecedented spectacle. Twenty riders assembled by the old city gate, Porta al Prato. So narrow was the road that they had to line up in four rows. Those whose feet could not reach the ground had to be propped up by volunteers. Meanwhile, two women scurried about distributing cups of hot coffee. 

At precisely 9 a.m. a trumpet sounded and the racers were off, raising clouds of dust and hearty cheers. A few carriages and horsemen managed to elude the police safeguarding the route and chased after the riders as other spectators sprinted to the train station to try to catch the finish. The world's first tifosi lined the road (and would do so the entire route), some hanging off walls or trees. Pedaling furiously somewhere in this madness was a teenager described by Florence's daily La Nazione as "pale and skinny, but fast and laid back," and to whom a Florentine poet, Sebastiano Fenzi, paid tribute in verse: "Your face is like a maiden's, and so no one will note, that you're a little wolf dressed out in petticoat." That racer was the American Rynier Van Nest. 

La Nazione described the dramatic arrival in Pistoia, about two hours later: "Suddenly a few cried, 'Eccolo, eccolol' [There he is!] Soon everyone could see from afar, just above an ocean of heads, a cap sporting the badge of the Veloce Club. It was Mr. Rynner Van Hest, well known to midday frequenters of the Cascine [Florence's main park], for his extraordinary skills managing his velocipede. He advanced rather slowly, and appeared tuckered out, but no one else was in sight. A unanimous and sustained applause broke out. The throng was stunned to see a young man—he appeared to be no more than 15 or 16—win such a long race." 

It was indeed an impressive performance by the American prodigy, who in fact was not quite 16. He took an early lead and never relinquished it, finishing a good two minutes ahead of his nearest rivals, a Belgian, a Frenchman, and two Italians, all about 10 years his senior. 

[ Read the rest on bicycling.com ]