The University of Washington in Seattle plans to offer automated rental of electric bicycles on campus. Anyone with a campus ID card can swipe the card at one of several bike rental kiosks to be located on campus. UW transportation officials hope to encourage more use of public transportation to the campus by offering this “last mile” service for intracampus travel once the student or employee gets to campus from a bus depot.

Other American universities such as Northern Arizona and the University of Buffalo have bike share programs, but Washington’s proposed plan is believed to the first to offer the use of electric bike hybrids. I realize many people object to the use of electric motors on bicycles, but urban revitalization consultant Rich Layman makes the case for “conquest sales” — that is, of moving people along a continuum to better transportation choices. A bicycle is certainly better in a lot of ways than almost any other vehicle, but an electric bike or even a Segway is better from a sustainability standpoint than any gasoline-powered automobile.

Read more about University of Washington bicycle share program.

Rich Layman: The Mobility Shed revisited.

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Transportation Resources.

Bicycle themed Christmas greeting cards are available from a number of vendors. I like these bicycle chain images from Skeese Greets.

• Earth Rider has a nice wheel and wreath card reproduced from a linoleum print among their greeting cards.
• For those in the UK, Sustrans has this nice “Rudolph’s night off” card with Santa delivering gifts to good bike riding children.
• Bicycle Gifts has a number of designs available, many of which feature Santa and a reindeer riding road and mountain bikes.

I owe Warren a link because he posted a baiku. Seasons greetings, all!

Fitz Cahall’s Dirt Bag Diaries brings the untold stories from wild places, stories that aren’t necessarily about sponsored atheletes. He tells the stories I like of people adventuring in the outdoors.

The latest episode features photographer, writer and cyclist Blake Gordon who pedaled 2,500 miles through the Patagonia region of South America. Click here to read, listen and watch the highlights of his adventures.

In the old days when I was a teenager — you know, the simple days when dinosaurs roamed etc, and Tipper Gore warned us of the evil of Twisted Sister — my next door neighbor and best friend “Kim” was an avid runner. We were having one of those deep talks that teens have and she told me, “Running is everything to me. It’s my daily religion. It’s my addiction. I cannot imagine life without running. If something happened to my legs life would be over. You know what I mean, right?“

I was a talented runner and Kim’s running partner, but no, I had no idea what she talked about. But Kim’s my best friend, and she’s very pretty, so of course I nodded with enthusiasm. “Oh yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

It’s now 20 years later and Kim still runs marathons and charity 10Ks in the Puget Sound area, while I’ve completely given up running. But I now understand what she meant back in 1983, because cycling is my daily meditation, my addiction, my drug. I’ve thought about what would happen if something were to happen to my legs that kept me off of my bike and it’s difficult for me to picture.

I’m thankful that I have the health and physical and mental capability to ride a bike. I’ve thought about all of the accidental and random circumstances that combined to make me enthusiastic about cycling — when I got a Schwinn LeTour for Christmas in 1981 and rode a criterium (in cutoff corduroys) the next summer. Kim (she’s very pretty) started riding a bike — her dad’s white Fuji 10 speed — after a knee injury, so of course I had ride too. I met enthusiastic cyclists when I got into college and discovered centuries. All of this and more combined to make me the cyclist I am today.

I’m thankful for more than that, of course — for my wife and children. I’m thankful I’m gainfully employed, and I’m thankful for a four day weekend. I’m thankful also for my friends, many of whom I’ve met (both virtually and in the flesh) through this blog and yours. I’m thankful for the wider perspectives the medium of Web 2.0 brings to me.

Tough times are ahead, but I hope to maintain my perspective on the things that really matter. Happy Thanksgiving, all!