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Thursday, March 12, 2009

The Complete Streets Acts of 2009

By Yokota Fritz

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Matui encourages National Bike Summit attendees to promote Complete Streets as they meet with legislators.

U.S Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA) and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced The Complete Streets Act of 2009 yesterday. The Complete Streets Act will work to promote the design of streets that are safe for all of those using the street— including motorists, bus riders, pedestrians and bicyclists, and people with disabilities.

“When Americans choose to leave their car at home and walk or ride a bike to school or work, they are making a healthy decision. We need to ensure streets, intersections and trails are designed to make them easier to use and maximize their safety,” said Harkin. “This legislation will encourage Americans to be more active, while also providing more travel options and cutting down on traffic congestion.”

“By diversifying our roadways, we can provide real alternatives to travel by car. The strength of this legislation is that it recognizes that we face very real challenges today, many of which are interwoven,” said Matsui. “By opening up our roadways to pedestrians and cyclists, we can help ease the congestion on our nation’s roads. In doing so, we will make progress fighting air pollution and global warming, and we will take strides toward improving the health and protecting the safety of people across our country.”

At the National Bike Summit opening session, Matsui encouraged cyclists to advocates for the Complete Streets bill when they meet with their legislators this week in Washington, DC.

The Urban Land Institute has estimated that carbon emissions from transportation would be 41 percent above today’s levels in 2030 if driving is not curbed, and a recent study by the Texas Transportation Institute found that providing more travel options, including public transportation, bicycling and walking, is an important element in reducing traffic congestion. The study reported that congestion was responsible for an annual $78 billion loss in fuel during traffic jams in 2007, an increase from $57.6 billion in 2000.

Another study found that 43 percent of people with access to a safe place to walk, within 10 minutes of their home, met recommended daily activity levels. At the same time, only 27 percent of those without access to safe walking options were active enough.

The Complete Streets Act of 2009 has been endorsed by Cyclelicious, America Bikes, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, Transportation For America, League of American Bicyclists, Safe Routes to School National Partnership, YMCA of the USA, National Association of Realtors, American Council of the Blind, Paralyzed Veterans of America, America Walks, and Active Transportation Alliance among others.

Ref: NBS09, HR 1443, S 584. HR 1443 was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure which is chaired by James Oberstar.

Labels: news

Friday, December 19, 2008

LaHood announced as Obama's pick for Transportation Secretary

By Yokota Fritz

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Obama on LaHood: "He’s created opportunities for bikers and runners to enjoy our great outdoors."

President Elect Barack Obama announced his picks for Trade, Labor, Transportation and Small Business posts for his administration at a press conference this afternoon.

Of primary interest to readers of this site is the selection of Congressman Ray LaHood from Peoria, Illinois as his Secretary of Transportation. Obama highlighted LaHood's six years on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and his efforts to modernize and upgrade the commercial aviation system. He also noted LaHood's efforts to improve mass transit and "beautify" the public landscape so "bikers and runners to enjoy our great outdoors."

At the press conference, LaHood focused on his work improving the highway infrastructure in Illinois and his plans for the rest of the nation. "We cannot stand by our infrastructure ages and crumbles," said LaHood. "We must pursue solid policies that allow our states and communities to address their transportation needs. We have a tremendous opportunity before us to rebuild our infrastructure and reinvigorate our economy, and I look forward to the challenge."

As he listed the areas of public infrastructure that need attention, LaHood noted public transportation before mentioning the highways. "As a nation, we need to continue to be the world leader in infrastructure development, Amtrak, mass transit, light rail, air travel, and our roads and bridges all play a vital role in our economy and our well-being as a nation."

Obama made it very clear that LaHood and the Department of Transportation would be play a key role in any kind of economic recovery plan for the nation. An economic stimulus package "is going to cost a significant amount of money on the front end," said Obama. "What we want to do is make sure that in spending that money to help jump-start the economy and put 2.5 million people back to work, that we are also looking at the long term. And that’s where Ray LaHood , myself, and others on the economic team are going to be changing how business is done in Washington."

Obama also praised today's $17.4 Billion bailout of the auto industry by the Bush Administration.

Labels: news, politics

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Ian Hibell RIP

By Yokota Fritz

Legendary touring cyclist Ian Hibell was killed in August after he was hit by a hit and run driver in Greece.

Ian Hibell is one of the greats of cycling -- he left his job in 1963 and never went back, becoming the first man to ride pole to pole from Africa to Alaska. He rode, dragged, carried and pushed his bike to every corner of the planet and continued his cycling adventures until his death in Greece at age 74. He inspired many cycling tourists with his book, Into the Remote Places, which highlights his adventures touring the world by bike.

More:

Eco Velo: Ian Hibell passes.
Grant Petersen on Ian Hibell.
Times Online: Ian Hibell, cyclist who pedalled world, killed by hit-and-run driver.
Bike Brothers: Tribute to Ian Hibell.
Bike Biz: Cyclotourist and author dies.

Labels: news

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Bike shops selling more bikes and service

By Yokota Fritz

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Is there an upside to high gas prices? If you're a bicycle retailer, there can be—particularly in the service department. Bikes Belong has just completed a survey of more than 150 bicycle retailers from nearly 40 states to see if their summer 2008 sales reflect an increase in the use of bicycles for transportation.

“I am located directly across the street from a large and busy Quick Trip with more than 12 gas pumps. At least one or two new customers per day tell me they first saw us [while] pumping gas and decided to stop in and see about buying or fixing up a bike to use instead of the car.” -- Comment from Bikes Belong Survey.

The majority of retailers who responded said their sales of transportation-related bicycles, accessories, and service have increased in 2008 compared to 2007:

73% said they are selling more bikes.
84% said they are selling more accessories.
88% said they are selling more service.

Is this increase in sales because of high gas prices? Most retailers who we surveyed think so:

95% of shops said customers cited high gas prices as a reason for their transportation-related purchases.
80% of retailers said gas prices were helping them sell more bikes for transportation.
86% thought accessory sales were getting a boost.
89% said they were selling more service because of high gas prices.

Many new customers are dusting off old bikes and bringing them in for repair. There appears to be a surge of interest in riding bicycles for short trips, errands, and commuting.

These survey results paint a clear picture of bicycling as a simple, affordable transportation solution and reinforces the need to create safe, appealing places to ride. Now is a prime time to encourage people to use bikes for transportation. It's good for the wallet, health, the environment—and it's fun.

View the survey results, which includes interesting comments from bike shops, at Bikes Belong.

Labels: news

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Criminal complaint against Christopher Long

By Yokota Fritz

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Update 7/7/2009: Christopher Long sues NYPD.

You've seen the video of New York Police officer Patrick Pogan tackling bike rider Chris Long during the Critical Mass bicycle ride through Times Square last week. If you haven't seen the video, it clearly shows Pogan targeting a cyclist then tackling him to the ground with a violent body check. The video shows Long riding and steering away from Pogan when Pogan runs directly at the cyclist and knocks him hard to the ground.

The Smoking Gun posted Pogan's sworn statement in which he says he arrested Long because Long "steered the ... bicycle in the direction of [Pogan] and drove the bicycle directly into [Pogan]'s body, causing [Pogan] to fall to the ground and causing [Pogan] to suffer lacerations on [his] forearms." The Manhattan attorney's office filed charges of "attempted assault in the 3rd Degree" against Chris Long as a result of Pogan's statement. Chris Long spent 26 hours in jail after his arrest.

All I can say of Pogan is "Liar Liar Pants on Fire."

Pogan played high school football and was chosen as an offensive lineman for the 2003 Long Island all stars team.

More:

NY Times: When Official Truth Collides With Cheap Digital Technology
Gothamist: Pogan's father, a retired NYPD detective, says "You do what you gotta do to make the arrest." Unbelievable.

Labels: new+york, news

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Bicycle Leadership Conference during Sea Otter Festival

By Yokota Fritz

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Bicycle Leadership Conference to be held in conjunction with Sea Otter Classic

In an effort to better leverage networking opportunities and industry leadership attendance, the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA) today announced it signed a three-year agreement with the Sea Otter Classic to host its annual Bicycle Leadership Conference (BLC) in conjunction with the cycling festival through 2011.

The 2009 BLC will be held April 15-17, 2009 at the Sea Otter host hotel, the Embassy Suites in Seaside, Calif. The 2009 Sea Otter Classic will be held April 16-19 at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey Calif.

"Aligning ourselves with the Sea Otter Classic, a well-attended and highly relevant cycling-focused event, is one way we can further support our attending membership and improve the effectiveness of our conference," said John Nedeau, president of the BPSA and vice president of global sales for SRAM. "Because many of our members also attend the Sea Otter Classic, we are confident that by combining the two events we will boost attendance from manufacturers and suppliers alike."

In addition to discussion on growing the bicycle industry, BLC 2009 will focus on improving communication about the growing number of industry organizations and advocacy groups, their individual missions and how manufacturers can better work with these groups to support the broader goals of the industry.

In addition to research results, panel discussions, breakout groups and networking opportunities, the conference will again offer improved bike rides and the industry's most prestigious golf tournament. The BLC will again host the BRAINy awards dinner presentation.

"The Bicycle Leadership Conference is important to the future of our industry," said Frank Yohannan, president and CEO of the Sea Otter Classic. "Only through strong leadership can we identify our challenges and plan a strategy of growth and expansion. All of us at the Sea Otter Classic welcome the opportunity to support this event and further grow the sport of cycling."

While the BPSA will continue to determine the conference topic and content, the Sea Otter Classic has retained the services of Lifeboat Solutions' Lance Camisasca as conference director for the event. Camisasca's experience in the cycling industry as Interbike show director for ten years and his industry contacts will be invaluable in managing the registration, logistics and marketing for the conference.

"The idea for Sea Otter to host the 2009 BLC is brilliant," Camisasca said. "I look forward to helping shape a memorable and purposeful BLC event by integrating the conference components with Sea Otter Classic's activities and events."

Labels: news

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Bike by shooting

By Yokota Fritz

A more earth friendly biker gang: Two men on bicycles opened fire on a man and woman in front of a South Los Angeles house late Monday.

Via Bicycle Notes.

Labels: news

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

LAPD arrests motorist for assault with deadly weapon

By Yokota Fritz

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Update Nov. 2 2009: Dr. Christopher Thompson tried and convicted of all seven counts against him.

Christopher Thompson is an emergency room doctor who sent to cyclists to the hospital with his car.

A motorist was arrested after he allegedly swerved in front of two bicyclists during an argument over rights to the road and caused them to crash into his car, police said.

Christopher Thompson, 58, was arrested Friday for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon—the car—and booked into jail, Officer Ana Aguirre, a police spokeswoman, said Tuesday.

Thompson allegedly argued with the bikers who were crossing his path on a narrow road and pulled in front of them, slamming on the brakes, she said.

The bicyclists were taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries.

State approval required before signs installed

Santa Cruz council approves "Bikes In Lane" sign for Mission Street

In a meeting last week, the Santa Cruz City Council unanimously voted to request "Bikes In Lane" signs to be installed on Mission Street, where two cyclists were killed by passing traffic over the past eight months.

Local cycling advocates, traffic engineers, and officials agree that Mission Street is too narrow to share safely, especially with the heavy truck traffic that travels down the road. The city's hands are tied, however, because Mission Street is California State Highway 1 and is under the jurisdiction of Caltrans District 5. Caltrans originally refused to install anything besides "Share the Road" signs, but after People Power Santa Cruz asked for state Assembly Member John Laird's assistance, Caltrans relented and agreed to install signage that the city of Santa Cruz considers more effective.

At the meeting, the decision to make was between three different signs: an advisory "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" sign that's becoming more common in California, a yellow "Watch for Bicycles Using Lane" sign proposed by Caltrans, and the "Bikes In Lane" sign that was approved by the council. The Santa Cruz police department opposed the "May Use Full Lane" sign but supported the "Bikes In Lane" sign.

This cyclist rides on the sidewalk alongside Mission Street near Bay in Santa Cruz, California. While the sidewalk is empty on the mid morning when I took this photo, pedestrian traffic is typically heavier on the weekends and other times when traffic is high on Mission Street.

Bill of Boston rides his heavily laden bicycle down the middle of the lane on Mission Street in Santa Cruz, California. One citizen at the council meeting said cyclists should use the sidewalk. Riding on the sidewalk, however, does nothing to protect cyclists from right hook collisions.

Several traffic engineering experts explained how to improve the safety of bicycling on Mission Street. John Ciccarelli of the Bicycle Technical Committee of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices explained that the "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" will likely be in the 2009 edition of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices published by the Federal Highway Adminstration. The MUTCD is the standard used by all U.S. transportation departments for their road signs -- it's the reason all stop signs in the United States are red octagons with white letters with a standard size and standard height.

Santa Cruz police chief Howard Skerry said they may ticket cyclists who in their view impeded traffic, regardless of any signage installed by the city. If bicyclists did not agree with that interpretation, he invited them to let the courts decide the matter.

Bob Shanteau spoke after the CHP and noted that the California Vehicle Code for impeding traffic only applies to 2 lane roads, not 4 lane highways such as Mission Street. "As long as the lane was too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to share side by side,' says Shanteau, "then the bicyclist was allowed to take the full lane."

"People have been taught since childhood to stay out of the way of cars, and that two bicyclists in Santa Cruz had followed that advice and they were both now dead. We need to make sure that never happens again," Shanteau continue as people in the council chambers applauded him.

Selection of non-standard sign may hinder final approval by state

While the engineers and advocates wanted the Bikes May Use Full Lane signs, the city voted for the "Bikes In Lane" sign instead. People Power Director Micah Posner said, "In the end not that much different. Having the sign will really improve the campaign to encourage awareness. It's about informing cyclist and motorist and it's about cyclists asserting their rights. These signs will be a big step forward."

Posner expressed some exasperation about the police department's threat to ticket cyclists who "impede" traffic. People Power has already gone to court on behalf of ticketed cyclists and "we beat it in court based on California Vehicle Code."

Caltrans still must get approval for the proposed sign from the California Traffic Control Device Committee, which meets next week. Because the city of Santa Cruz endorsed the untested "Bikes In Lane" sign over the standard "May Use Full Lane" sign, state approval is uncertain. The city council approved the Bikes In Lane sign thinking that Caltrans could get them installed this summer, but their selection of a non-standard sign will possibly mean a delay until this fall at the very earliest.

More:

People Power Santa Cruz
Bicycle Notes on the City Council decision.
KSBW: Santa Cruz approves bike safety sign.

Thank you to Micah Posner and Bob Shantaeu for the details.

Labels: news, santa cruz

Monday, May 19, 2008

Girls and Gear in Portland, Maine

By Yokota Fritz

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Dana tells up about the Girls and Gear event that took place at a bike shop in Portland, Maine. In the video from the event, Fuji Marketing Director Karen Bliss talks about women's specific design bikes from Fuji.

More bicycle news

Bikes for Kids Utah received a $40,000 grant from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation to help provide new bicycles for 1,000 underprivileged third graders during Bikes for Kids Utah's annual bicycle giveaway.

"Bicycles give children the chance to exercise, learn about safety, develop great skills and just have fun," said Joe Sorenson, trustee of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation. "We are delighted with this unique opportunity to enrich the lives of kids in our community."

On Saturday, May 31, Bikes for Kids Utah will give new bicycles and helmets to 1,000 pre-qualified third graders from the Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the Salt Lake City region. Visit Bikes for Kids Utah for more information.

Megabus cancels San Jose to Los Angeles Service. More here. Remaining bus options include Greyhound and California Shuttle Bus.

Silicon Valley Ride of Silence takes place Wednesday evening, May 21st, beginning at the Homestead High School student parking lot in Sunnyvale at 6:45 PM. The ride will be in silence and will proceed at about 12 mph. Riders are asked to wear black arm bands, or red arm bands if they have been injured in an accident caused by a motor vehicle. The 4 ¼ mile ride will go to the Stevens Creek Reservoir Parking, passing by a memorial for Matt Peterson and Christy, the cyclists who were killed on Stevens Canyon Road on March 9.

Santa Cruz Ride of Silence on Wednesday meets at Sprockets Bike Shop (1420 Mission Street at Trescony) at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, May 21. The 10 mile ride begins promptly at 7:00 PM. Helmets are required. The ride is open to any and all riders who would like to show their support, young or old, beginner or expert, recumbent or fixie, road or mountain.

Cozy Beehives links to a cool video on how bicycle helmets are made.

CyclePong 2.0. Wow.

WIRED blog's tips on Five ways to make bike commuting easy.

Instructables: Solar powered tricycle.

Labels: news

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Bicycle news in the Bay Area

By Yokota Fritz

100,000 to bike to work in Bay Area

East Bay Business News: Up to 100,000 in the Bay Area expected to bike to work.

Mercury News: Oh so smug in spandex: I bike to work

Palo Alto Weekly: Bike commuters of the year.

Palo Alto Weekly: List of Palo Alto Energizer Stations [PDF]

Mercury News: Panel of judges overturns manslaughter conviction of truck driver who hit and killed a cyclist.

Santa Cruz Sentinel: Dead cyclist's parents sue over death on Mission Street.

Santa Cruz Sentinel: Cycling along Mission Street is awful. Doh!

Santa Cruz Sentinel: Mission Street cyclist ban impractical.

Labels: news

Trips for Kids conference at IMBA National Summit

By Yokota Fritz

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Trips for Kids National (TFK) today announced it is hosting a Pre-Conference for TFK chapters in conjunction with the 2008 International Mountain Bicycling Association's (IMBA) World Summit taking place in Park City, Utah, this coming June. The conference will cover how to start a Trips for Kids advocacy program, promote it, respond to challenges and how to ensure long-term chapter success.

The TFK Pre-conference is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Park City Marriott, and is for current TFK chapters and those interested in starting a new TFK chapter.

"Trips for Kids is honored to partner with IMBA at its upcoming World Summit," said Marilyn Price, founder and director of TFK. "Many TFK chapters consist of IMBA members, and IMBA clubs are natural vehicles to start TFK chapters, so it made sense to meet together before the conference to share ideas and best practices."

The TFK Pre-Conference Workshop will address how to start and promote a program, respond to challenges, use the bicycle as an education tool and guarantee the long-term success of an individual chapter. From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on June 18, there will be a facilitated workshop for TFK and other youth biking groups.

"The goal of adding youth topics to the IMBA Summit agenda and including Trips for Kids in the session is to identify barriers, find solutions and ultimately inspire more youth biking programs around the globe," said Mike Van Abel, director of IMBA.

To that end, Quality Bicycle Product's Advocacy Director Gary Sjoquist requested that QBP's sponsorship of the IMBA World Summit be directed toward making Summit scholarships available to Trips for Kids chapters.

"With more than 60 chapters nationwide, it made sense to use our sponsorship funds to help get these folks to the Summit," said Sjoquist. "Kids are the future of mountain biking, and both IMBA and Trips for Kids are helping get kids on mountain bikes and out on the trails."

The 2008 IMBA World Summit begins immediately following the TFK Pre-Conference on Wednesday, June 18, and ends Saturday, June 21. Price and TFK Chapter members are also participating in panel discussions concerning mountain bicycling and trail stewardship among youth during the Summit.

Labels: news

Monday, May 12, 2008

Bikes Belong Awards $44,200 in Grants for Recreation Projects

By Yokota Fritz

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Bikes Belong is celebrating the joy of cycling and trailbuilding this spring by awarding six recreation-focused grants to grassroots groups across the country. The projects—all made possible by dedicated volunteers—include a riverfront path, a freeride trail, a BMX freestyle park, and some really sweet backcountry singletrack. From all of us at Bikes Belong, enjoy the ride!

Willimantic Whitewater Partnership—Hop River/Airline Extension Bike Path (Willlimantic, CT)

The Willimantic Whitewater Partnership will receive $10,000 to help build the Hop River/Airline Trail Extension bike path as part of their riverfront recreation park. Bikes Belong's grant will match SAFETEA-LU and Recreational Trails Program funding for the dynamic project, which also includes a whitewater park for kayakers.

Willimantic Whitewater Partnership is an innovative community coalition of corporations, families, and nonprofits working together to revitalize the historic riverfront and create a recreation hub in the town of Willimantic. The multi-use path will link to the East Coast Greenway, a national trail extending from Key West, Florida to Calais, Maine.

More about WWP. . .

California Off-Road Bicyclists Association—Mount Hillyer Freeride Trail (Los Angeles County, CA)

The Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association (CORBA) will use their $10,000 award to help build a freeride trail in the Mount Hillyer area of the Chilao Recreation Area and enhance the surrounding trail system. Bikes Belong's funding will leverage pending grants from local businesses as well as donations from CORBA members and other local riders.

CORBA has gained the full support of the Forest Service for this exciting project, which sets a huge precedent: It will be the first legal freeride trail in Angeles National Forest.

More about CORBA. . .

Vermont Mountain Bike Association—Green Mountain Trail Access

The Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA) will receive $9,200 for their Green Mountain National Forest Access Program. This grant will help VMBA in its effort to reconstruct and extend three sections of singletrack in the Green Mountain National Forest's Moosalamoo National Recreation Area—previously off-limits to mountain bikes. Bikes Belong's funding will leverage a National Forest Foundation grant as well as state funding for this important mountain bike initiative.

VMBA, the state's stellar mountain bike advocacy group, works to increase ridership in Vermont while minimizing impact on public lands through sustainable trailbuilding and stewardship. They also foster active, healthy lifestyles through Trailheads, their youth mountain biking program, and are working to promote mountain biking at eastern ski areas in the summer months.

More about VMBA. . .

Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship—North Yuba Trail Extension (Downieville, CA)

Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS) will use their $5,000 grant to help complete the final 4 miles of the North Yuba Trail—referred to as the Golden Spoke—which will connect 14 miles of singletrack. This non-motorized trail will enable cross-country mountain bikers to ride to the renowned Downieville trails from town instead of drive.

SBTS has established itself as a strong partner with the National Forest Service and promotes community support for trails through their innovative Trail Adoption program. They've also garnered state funding for this project.

More about SBTS. . .

Friends of Pathways—Order of the Arrow Trail Construction Project (Jackson, WY)

Friends of Pathways will receive $5,000 for their "Order of the Arrow" initiative, which will replace 10.5 miles of eroding, illegal trails with fun, sustainable singletrack on Teton Pass. Bikes Belong's funding will bolster grants and volunteer hours from the National Forest Foundation and the Teton Freedom Riders. More than 650 Boy Scouts from the trail's namesake service team will donate their time to trail construction this summer.

Friends of Pathways promotes active healthy lifestyles through great trail facilities. Their advocacy and fundraising work helps to connect and enhance communities and recreation opportunities—from paved paths to backcountry trails—in and around Jackson Hole.

More about Friends of Pathways. . .

Village of Mexico, New York—Freedom Skate/BMX Park

The Village of Mexico, New York, will use their $5,000 award to complete the Freedom Skate/BMX Park. Bikes Belong's funding will go toward bike-specific elements in the park and help leverage city funding as well as money raised by the BMX and skate communities. The Tony Hawk Foundation has also contributed to this great project.

The shared-use facility, which has strong support from the city's mayor and parks & recreation commissioner, will provide a place for freestyle BMX riders and skaters to coexist happily—and free of charge. It will also be a venue for events, clinics, and after-school programs.

Don't miss the IMBA World Summit!

If projects like these get your adrenalin pumping, head to Park City, Utah, June 18–21 for the IMBA World Mountain Bike Summit. Bikes Belong is a proud sponsor, and we'll be representing (and riding) at the event. Hope to see you there!

More about the IMBA Summit. . .

About Bikes Belong

Bikes Belong Coalition is the U.S. bicycle industry organization dedicated to putting more people on bicycles more often. Bikes Belong lobbies to increase federal bike funding, awards grants to support innovative bike projects, promotes bicycling and its benefits, and backs crucial national efforts such as Safe Routes to School, Bicycle Friendly Communities, and the National Bike Summit. The affiliated Bikes Belong Foundation focuses on improving bicycle safety and enhancing children's bike programs.

Since Bikes Belong's Grants Program began in 1999, we have funded 166 grant proposals in 44 states and the District of Columbia, awarding nearly $1.3 million in cash and leveraging more than $476 million in federal, state, and private funding. Our facilities grants alone have helped finance nearly 1,400 miles of bike paths and trails that link close to 6,400 miles of trail facilities.

For more information, visit bikesbelong.org.

Labels: news

Sunday, May 11, 2008

In the news: Bike shops report strong sales

By Yokota Fritz

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Teacher Joyce McCusker of Herndon, Va., owns a bicycle for the first time in years. She bought it last month and uses it to make the eight-mile trip home from work.

Bicycle shops across the country are reporting strong sales so far this year, and more people are bringing in bikes that have been idled for years, said Fred Clements, executive director the National Bicycle Dealers Association.

Mark Krenz, 48, is giving it a try. The Bismarck auto-parts store manager recently spent $750 on the 24-speed bike and is building up his mileage to prepare for his hilly commute.

"In this business, everybody is constantly talking about how to save gas," Krenz said. "I bought a bike because I figure it's a good way to save money, get in shape and save wear and tear on my pickup."

Rocky Schell, owner of Val's Cycle in Minot, said this may be one of the best years in the history of the shop, started by his father in 1960.

It's seeing a spike in the number of tuneups and repairs, which had been declining for the past 15 years. Schell said he's also selling lots of bike trailers designed to haul children — customers are using them for groceries instead.

Dahl, the Bismarck bike shop owner, said he's worked several on "dusty and rusty" bicycles that hadn't been ridden in at least 25 years. He said many families have told him that that they intend to go on a bicycle tour this summer instead of driving somewhere for vacation.

"Millions of people have bicycles hanging in the garage and they're getting them down and riding them," said Rebecca Anderson, advocacy director for Trek Bicycle Corp. "People are looking at the bicycle as more than just a toy."

Read more in this Associated Press article.

See also:

Drivers turning to bicycles because of high gas prices. (Video also available)
Some commuters prefer pedaling to work.
Los Angeles: Riding a bike to work is more than a healthy commute: It's a sign of adulthood.
Wasau, WI: Let's go for an easy bicycle commute.

Remember, May is National Bike Month in much of the United States. Bike To Work Day is Thursday, May 15 in California and many other locations.

Labels: news

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Inaugural Tour of America rescheduled for 2009

By Yokota Fritz

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Tour of America organizers decided this week to postpone the inaugural coast-to-coast race until September 2009.

Since the original announcement of the Tour of America in September 2007, Aqu executives and staff members have met with cities along the proposed route, potential sponsors and race teams, as well as staff members of USA Cycling and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the sport"s governing bodies.

"After we announced the Tour of America last fall, we hit the ground running to make the event happen in 2008," said Frank Arokiasamy, president of event organizer Aqu Inc. "We want to work with USA Cycling and UCI to establish this event as a compliment to the major international races, and at the same time not conflict with established races in the United States. Overall, we want to make sure the Tour of America strengthens the sport of cycling and the race calendar. In addition, potential sponsors and route cities have expressed strong support for a fall 2009 race."

Exact dates for the fall 2009 edition of the Tour of America has not been finalized. Tour of America staff are currently finalizing route details, sponsorship agreements and proposed dates to comply with USA Cycling"s race application process. Once the application is submitted, USA Cycling will review it and submit the 2009 Tour of America"s dates, along with all of the races on the national calendar, to the UCI for approval.

Aqu plans a 21-stage, 2,200 mile (more than 3,500 km) professional bicycle road race spanning the United States, making it the largest spectator event in the history of U.S. sports. The event will include close to 200 riders, from 21 of the world's elite cycling teams in the world to participate and will boast a prize purse currently pegged at $10 million, the largest purse of any international cycling event. The Tour of America will start in New York's Central Park and finish in San Francisco Bay Area.

For more information, visit the Tour of America website.

Labels: news, pro cycling

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

General Motors buys Specialized Bicycles!

By Yokota Fritz

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"In light of global concerns about climate change, GM has been at the forefront in developing new transportation choices that limit our impact on the environment," said Flora Lopi, GM's vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy. "GM's engineering, marketing and distribution expertise combined with Specialized's branding among cycling enthusiasts make this a winning combination for GM investors and consumers."

See the full story in The Silicon Valley Business Journal.

See also the story at BikeBiz.com, who promises to participate in the media conference call about this deal that takes place tomorrow.

This is pretty big news and people all over are discussing this:

Blue Collar MTB
Commute By Bike.
Bike Forums Road forum and General Cycling forum.
MTBR.
Fixed Gear Cycling.
Steven CX.
Minnesota Off Road Cyclists.
Interbike Times.
RocBike.
Mac Resource (?)

Because of the timing of this announcement, there's a lot of speculation that this might be an April Fool's joke. I talked with Chris Matthews (marketing director at Specialized) on the phone this evening and he assures me this is the real deal.

Labels: news

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Chicago passes bicycle safety ordinance

By Yokota Fritz

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(I almost wrote "ordnance," which could either be really good or really bad for cyclists).

The City of Chicago passed the Bicycle Safety Ordinance this afternoon. The new law now establishes fines for turning left or right in front of a bicyclist, passing a bicyclist with less than three feet of space, and opening a vehicle door into the path of a bicyclist. Fines range from $150 to $500 and go up to $500 if the violation results in a bicycle crash.

It also establishes a fine for double-parking in a marked shared lane, and increases the fine for driving, standing or parking in a bicycle lane.

"We are committed to making Chicago the most bicycle friendly city in the country, and safety is a very critical part of the plan," Daley said after the measure passed. "More than 6,000 crashes between bicycles and motor vehicles were reported in Chicago between 2001 and 2005. Unfortunately, 30 bicyclists were killed. These new laws will help prevent injuries and save lives."

Daley defended bike messengers when asked about their sometimes risky riding and rude behavior. "The bike messengers are a breed unto themselves," Daley said, smiling. "I got to meet a lot of them so I know a lot of them. They've got a job to do, and like anything else, they are respecting the laws on the road and all that, and the rules."

From Chicagoland Bicycle Federation via Jennifer in Chicago. Dave also points us to an illustrated PDF with photographic examples of the types of actions this law prohibits.

Labels: chicago, illinois, news

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Kristy Gough, Matt Peterson killed in cycling accident

By Yokota Fritz

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Triathlete Kristy Gough competed in events around the world.

Area cyclists and the California Highway Patrol report that a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy collided with a group of cyclists on Stevens Canyon Road south of Cupertino, California on Sunday morning.

The deputy admitted fault, stating that he was driving north on Stevens Canyon, which is a popular route for recreational cyclists. He crossed the centerline and hit the cyclists who were riding south, reportedly single file in the bike lane. A 29 year old man died at the scene and a 30 year old woman died enroute to Stanford Medical Center.

Update: Video report on KTVU, which reports one death. The Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle report two fatalities, and a third bicyclist critically injured. The Chronicle identified the deceased as Kristy Gough, 31, of Oakland and Matt Peterson, 29, of San Francisco.

More: Discussion at Slowtwitch.com. Post from a friend of Matt Peterson. Another friend of Matt Peterson. Word from a friend of Kristy. Notes from Amanda Lovato.

Labels: news

Monday, March 03, 2008

National Bike Summit 2008 in the news

By Yokota Fritz

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Summit fever is rising! The League of American Bicyclists reports that over 500 participants are now registered for the weekend, with company presidents, national press, strong local advocates—and an impressive array of speakers scheduled to appear.

In addition to the festivities of the National Bike Summit—from the opening dinner with National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and David Jones, Jr., Chairman of Humana’s Board of Directors to the famous politicians at the closing reception on Capitol Hill—there are many events for cyclists. The League of American Bicyclists is holding our annual meeting on Wednesday evening, with two authors—Bob Mionske and J. Harry Wray—speaking and signing books. Swing by for a free drink, good eats, and an update on how the League is doing in 2008—even non-Summit attendees are welcome.

There is also a League board meeting on Tuesday, March 4 from 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. in room Meridian C at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in downtown Washington, D.C. Open to all!

There are post-Summit evening events hosted by International Mountain Bicycling Association, Thunderhead Alliance, and Bikes Belong. For more information on the Summit, and events going on in conjunction with it, click here for the full agenda[PDF].

A group plans to ride from Reagan National Airport to the National Bike Summit location at Ronald Reagan Trade Center in something like a Critical Mass demonstration showing how bike transportation can be done. The ride will start at 12 p.m. on March 4. All bike riders are encouraged and welcome. If your plans already have you in Washington before noon on Tuesday, ride organizers invite you to ride out to the Airport: it is just 3.5 miles from the Reagan International Trade Center. You can also just ride Metrorail Blue Line from the airport to Federal Triangle Metro Station, from which you can just go upstairs into the plaza outside of the Reagan Trade Center.

Here are some mentions of the 2008 National Bike Summit in the mainstream media.

August, GA: Bike shop owner becomes first time lobbyist.
Political action aside, community service has been a staple for Cohen. Annually, his shop participates in bike giveaways at Christmas, promotes bicycle safety classes, donates helmets at local elementary schools and helps scouts earn their bicycle merit badges.

“I am happy to have helped,” says Cohen. “I like interacting with kids in the community, but I also feel it is my obligation to give back to the community that gives me and my family its livelihood.”

Louisville, KY: The Year of the Bicycle? Also at Daily press.com.
Bicycling's best year since the start of the auto age? That's the argument likely to be made March 4-6 as hundreds of cyclists from across the nation gather in Washington for the National Bike Summit sponsored of the League of American Bicyclists.

USA Today: Stars ride bikes to assist wounded veterans.
The Road 2 Recovery effort kicks off with an informal fun ride Tuesday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. It will be held in conjunction with the League of American Bicyclists' National Bike Summit.

For more information, see the LAB Summit web page.
Photo: Me riding a rented bike in front of the U.S. Capitol Building

Labels: advocacy, news

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Cyclist spontaneously combusts

By Yokota Fritz

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Perhaps Mr. Mieczyslaw Jasinski should consider lycra bike shorts, which don't chafe quite so much, or maybe he needs to wipe the grease off of his chain. Jasinski was Just Riding Along when he smelled burning and looked down to see his pants had caught on fire.

A police spokesman said: “Witnesses said he was like a flaming human torch cycling along the road.

“We do not know how it happened but we have heard that it could have been caused by a reaction between friction as he cycled, sweat and the material of his trousers.”

Read more about this cycling human torch here and here. Big props to Biking Bis for this important safety news.

Labels: news

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Universal Studios: Not In My Back Yard

By Yokota Fritz

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Politicians and cycling advocates in Los Angeles want to extend a bike path along the Los Angeles River to provide a relatively flat, straight, low traffic bike route from the San Gabriel Valley into downtown Los Angeles. Jennifer Klausner, executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, said the bike path potentially offers the chance to give cyclists a way to get across the city without dealing with streets.

"The beauty of the river path is that it's basically flat and separated from the road for people who want a quieter ride and don't want to hump it over a hill," she said.

The blocker: Universal Studios, which owns property along the Los Angeles River, doesn't want a bike path there.

"We have some very important, high-profile production companies that are located along that road as well, and security is a concern," says Tom Smith, senior vice president of West Coast real estate for NBC Universal.

LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky counters, "The fact is that we have a public bike path along some of the most expensive and reclusive properties along the ocean -- from Will Rogers [beach] to Torrance. I don't think it's a mutually exclusive proposition to have a bike path and a secure studio in the same location."

Read more in the Los Angeles Times, with discussion also at LAist.

Labels: california, news

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Shimano buys Pearl Izumi

By Yokota Fritz

Nautilis will sell its Pearl Izumi sports apparel segment to Shimano for $65.3 million and assume $4.2 million in debt. The sale comes after Nautilus reported disappointing earnings and after Nautilus lost a proxy battle in which New York turnaround firm Sherborne Investors LP won two director seats and Sherborne partner Edward Bramson became chairman of Nautilus.

Read more at VeloNews, Outside Online, Bike Biz.

Labels: news

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Ripon College bike giveaway

By Yokota Fritz

Wisconsin college to give bikes to incoming freshmen -
Additional parking "not an option."

Among the many choices Ripon College’s class of 2012 will face is whether or not to bring a car to campus this fall. Those who pledge not to do so will receive a big incentive: a brand-new mountain bike to keep. Dubbed the “Ripon Velorution Program” (RVP), it is the first of its kind in the nation.

Incoming students starting their first college semester at Ripon will have the option to sign an RVP pledge this spring saying that they will not bring a car to campus for the duration of the upcoming academic year. Those who participate will be given a brand-new Trek 820 mountain bike, a Trek Vapor helmet and a MasterLock U-Lock to keep.

Dealing with student vehicles is not just a big-campus problem; the 1,000-student liberal arts college 70 miles northwest of Milwaukee discovered last fall that demand for student parking was about to outstrip its capacity. Proposed solutions focused on where additional lots could go, but President David C. Joyce, an avid cyclist, was dead-set against it.

“We’re a residential college with a beautiful, historic campus in the middle of a small town,” Joyce said. “Paving it over was not an option I was willing to consider. I'm afraid that anyone hoping for news of a new parking lot or a multilevel garage being on campus will be waiting for a long time. For anyone waiting to reinvigorate themselves and our society by helping to build a bicycle culture in Ripon, however, the wait is over.”

When an opportunity came to purchase a quantity of Trek mountain bikes from a nearby bike shop, Joyce had his solution: Trade four wheels for two. Friends, trustees and alumni donated about $60,000 to buy 200 bicycles to give away to an incoming freshman class of an expected 300 students.

“Parking in this case is a distant third to the health and fitness of our students, and responsible energy practices. For students, it’s a lifestyle choice. For Ripon College, it’s choosing sustainability over ease and convenience,” he said.

The “Velorution,” in the program’s name is a deliberate anagram of “revolution” using “vélo” (French for bicycle) as its root. It refers to the mass acceptance of bicycles, thereby reducing societies’ dependence on automobiles. Cities such as Amsterdam, Portland and nearby Madison run successful community-bike programs, whereby bikes can be rented or borrowed at little or no cost. By actually giving students bikes, Ripon’s program takes the idea one bold step further. Initial funding will come from friends of the college, trustees and alumni, whose support of cycling became evident last fall when the college agreed to sponsor a mountain-biking team - one of only a handful in the entire state.

It remains to be seen how students will react to the program. For the roughly one-third who weren’t going to bring a car to campus in the first place, a free bike is a no-brainer. Another third or so won’t give up their cars no matter what, leaving a tantalizing group of undecided students to determine the program’s success. Determinations about winter storage, extra bike racks and maintenance cannot begin in earnest until administrators know how many students are willing to take the pledge. While Joyce is confident they’ll find a rider for every bike, he acknowledges that the car habit may be hard to break.

“We obviously live in a car culture,” he said. “That’s not about to change, but if a significant number of students learn that a car isn’t a necessity at this stage of their lives, that’s good enough for us.”

Visit the Ripon Velorution program web page.

Labels: news, wisconsin

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

9% of Boulder commuters commute by bike

By Yokota Fritz

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From 2006 U.S. Census data, as reported at Go Bike Boulder.

In a survey of larger cities, Portland, OR had the highest percentage of bike commuters at 3.5 percent. Nationwide, the share of commuters biking to work in 2006 was 0.4%.

In the chart, "SOV" means Single Occupant Vehicle.

Labels: colorado, news

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Team High Road now American

By Yokota Fritz

The pro Team High Road cycling team officially relocated its team headquarters to San Luis Obispo, Calif., inheriting Team Discovery's mantle as the sole United States-based UCI ProTour team for the 2008 racing season. The move, officially approved on Monday by the UCI, brings the number of U.S.-registered professional cycling teams to 18.

“We are an International team and proud of it,” says team owner Bob Stapleton. “We are open to committed athletes from wherever they come from. One of the simple pleasures of this team is the international diversity and personal character each athlete brings to the team.”

Team High Road’s 2008 roster currently includes three Americans including George Hincapie (Greenville, S.C.) and USA Cycling National Development Team alumni John Devine (Dixon, Ill.) and Craig Lewis (Spartanburg, S.C.). The three athletes are part of an international roster than includes 29 riders from 15 different countries.

Team High Road also operates a UCI-registered women’s team which includes U.S. National Champion Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo.) and fellow American Kim Anderson (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

No change in the European operations is anticipated. “We remain committed to our European operations centre in Germany and our excellent staff located there,” adds Stapleton.

Team High Road opened the 2008 UCI ProTour with an overall victory at the Tour Down Under in Australia last month where German Andre Greipel won the overall classification. The team is next scheduled to compete at the Amgen Tour of California, Feb. 17-24.

Labels: news, pro cycling

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Bicycle news

By Yokota Fritz

Lots and lots of bicycle news to catch up on, which should be (mostly) celebrity-free...

Levi Leipheimer in Sports Illustrated. Okay, so he's a celebrity.

Bicyclist tackles bike thief. The bicyclist is the mayor of Ogden, Utah.

Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (of which I'm a member) to provide free bike parking at Webcore King of the Mountain.

Salon magazine somewhat accurately reports on what Bay Area bike commuters talk about.

These prodigiously well-informed and hugely calved men and women do not confine themselves to disputing quantitative criteria -- price, brightness, battery life, and so on. Fuzzier issues are also in play: the differing lighting requirements for mountain bikers and road bikers, the possibility that bike lights can be too bright (distracting other bikers or drivers), the question of whether red taillights should be set to flash or remain constant ... Seriously. I have witnessed grown men grow heated over the propriety of flashing tail lights.

Bike advocacy Done Right: Safety instruction and a Bike Buddy program in Bellingham, WA. See Everbody Bike for more details.

South Florida bike lanes: Build it but they don't come.

South Africa: Fury over bicyclists first plan. Landowners are mad over land seizure done to widen a highway. Meanwhile in Jakarta, commuters are encouraged to ride their bikes to reduce traffic congestion.

Wellington, New Zealand says "we need cyclists" for the Cycle Mad challenge. New Zealand cyclists also want bike racks on buses. Are the United States and Canada the only countries that have the bike racks on the front of city buses?

Road Cycling in Marin County California. Bike Hugger writes about cycling in adjacent Sonoma County.

Call for filmmakers: 8th Annual Bicycle Film Festival. Deadline is February 19, 2008.

Strida folding bicycle review in Business Week, of all places.

Bicycle blogs

This is the article I was writing: The bike commute as training. Treadly wrote what I already had in mind.

St. Louis: Cyclists fight back.

A new blog: Bikes For the Rest of Us.

Chicago snow biking. And tips for cold weather cycling in Iowa.

Guitar Ted: Tubes vs No Tubes debate. Again.

Fixing a folder.

History: Fausto Coppi.

Photos Credits: (1) Kate on a Strida, by me. (2) Tokyo Nights, by Manganite. (3) Traditional Wardrobe in Indonesia by Gustar Mono.

Labels: news

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Canada buys Cannondale, Sugoi

By Yokota Fritz

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Dorel acquires Cannondale - Two distinct bicycle divisions to be created

Possible move to Asian manufacturing?

Dorel Industries Inc announced the acquisition of Cannondale Bicycle Corporation of Bethel, CT. Dorel -- which owns the U.S. based Pacific Cycles which in turn markets Schwinn, GT Bicycle, Mongoose, Pacific, Dyno, Murray, RoadMaster, PowerLite and InSTEP brands of bicycle products -- also announced the creation of an Independent Bicycle Dealers division to differentiate the Cannondale and GT bikes from the mass merchant retail products that the other brands primarily focus on, with Cannondale the "crown jewel" of this new division. Sugoi Performance Apparel (which is already Canadian, but who's paying attention) is also included in the purchase from the investment group that currently owns Cannondale and Sugoi. Pacific Cycles will be a stand alone division focusing on the mass merchant channel. The purchase price will be somewhere around US$200 million.

Dorel stated they are seeking acquisitions of of similar high quality, performance bicycle companies to join this new IBD group.

“Dorel recognizes that doing business with the IBD and mass merchant categories is two very different things and requires distinct strategies and specialized people selling the best products for those channels. We clearly realize this and are making the necessary adjustments to best meet the needs of our customers,” said Dorel President and CEO Martin Schwartz.

Cannondale's insane foray into motorcycles bankrupted the company in 2003. After the sale of company assets in a bankruptcy auction, the company sold off its motorcycles operations and was able to turn itself around with a renewed focus on bicycle design and production.

Margins are signficantly higher than mass market bicycles, but Dorel also recognizes that dealing with the IBD channel is "vastly different" from the mass market. "We need to focus much more on quality and innovation," said Schwartz. "Relationships and personal contact are much more important for the independent bike dealers."

Cannondale's manufacturing and assembly currently is done in the United States and Europe; Dorel's management said they'll look at how much to move to Asia. With Cannondale's acquisition and the current business from GT, Dorel hopes to be the number three player in the IBD channel behind Trek and Giant.

Via; props also to Jennifer for the heads up.

Labels: cannondale, news

Monday, February 04, 2008

Sheldon Brown

By Yokota Fritz

Sheldon Brown aka "Captain Bike" aka Carapace Completed Umber passed last night of a massive heart attack.

I've communicated with him numerous times on Usenet and via email, but the closest I came to meeting him was seeing him from across the floor at Interbike. The man was a wonderful wonderful soul, very giving and kind with his knowledge and expertise and with a fantastic sense of humor.

I'm saddened to hear of his loss; I feel like I've lost a close friend.

In his last journal entry last night he endorses Obama for the Massachusetts Democratic primary. In his last post on BikeForums, he's helping somebody out with a question on freewheel threading.

Via numerous sources, though I think I saw it at Jim G's blog first.

Labels: news

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Tree hugger, bicyclist, Frenchman, gay guy all in one shot

By Yokota Fritz

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Melissa Arrington killed cyclist Paul L'Ecuyer with her car in December 2006. Though she expressed remorse to the judge, she laughed out loud after a friend told her she should get a medal and a parade because she had "taken out" a "tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot." When the man said he knew it was a terrible thing to say, she responded, "No, it's not."

Arizona Superior Court Judge Michael Cruikshank said he found a telephone conversation between Arrington and an unknown male friend, a week after L'Ecuyer was killed, to be "breathtaking in its inhumanity." He sentenced her Tuesday to 10 1/2 years — one year shy of the maximum.

Read more at FoxNews. Props to Warren T. Who is not a wimp.

Labels: news

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Amtrak strike would impact Caltrain, other commuter rail services

By Yokota Fritz

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Update: Strike Averted -- "Amtrak and nine of its unions have reached a tentative contract agreement, according to industry experts, and plan to announce the settlement on Friday."

A possible strike by Amtrak workers on January 30 would stop commuter rail service in the San Francisco Bay Area as well commuter rail service in the areas around Chicago, New York City, Boston, Virginia, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Philadelphia. Thank you to Jennifer for the heads up.

SF Examiner: Amtrak strike would derail Caltrain service.

Associated Press: Rail Strike Would Be Commuter Nightmare.

Associated Press lists commuter rail services that would be impacted by an Amtrak strike. Chicago Metra, Long Island Rail Road, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Maryland MARC, Virginia Railway Express, Connecticut Shore Line East, and San Francisco Bay Area Caltrain are either operated by Amtrak employees or use facilities controlled by Amtrak and would be impacted by the strike.

Chicago Tribune: Specter of Amtrak strike has commuters bracing for shutdowns.

Chicago Business News: Amtrak strike could close Union Station to Metra riders.

Newsday: Amtrak strike would derail LIRR riders at 5 stops.

NJ Transit issues strike warning.

Philly.com: Amtrak strike could shut 6 SEPTA lines.

Boston: Amtrak strike could cripple commuter rail service.

Labels: news, transit

Bicycle news

By Yokota Fritz

Bicycle Leadership Conference

The 2008 Bicycle Leadership Conference begins tomorrow in San Diego, California. The first item on the agenda is the BLC Golf Tournament at the Steel Canyon Golf Club. The non-golfers can go for a bike ride.

Saturday morning, Interbike consultant Lance Camisasca will have a breakfast presentation to discuss the possibility of moving Interbike out of Las Vegas after the 2009 show. "We want to be prepared to provide the best shows possible." Camisasca said. "At last year's conference, we gained valuable insight from the manufacturers and retailers who attended and I think that everyone left with a better understanding of the multiple factors we consider when entertaining the idea of possibly moving a major show. We hope this year will be equally beneficial as we discuss our recommendations for the show in the coming years."

Sunday morning, Trek Bicycle Company President John Burke will deliver the industry keynote address, where he will talk about "The Bicycle Industry's Greatest Opportunity" expanding on his campaign for increased cycling advocacy in the bicycle industry. See Bicycle Leadership Conference website for details.

Celebrity Time Trials

The Local Organizing Committee for the 2008 Tour of California Prologue in Palo Alto will give local cyclists an opportunity to give it their all on the official individual time trial route before the race begins on Sunday, February 17. The highest bidders in an auction will be able to test their speeds against some of the best cyclists in the world on the closed time trial course from Palo Alto City Hall to Stanford University. A press conference to present the details starts about a half from from now at Palo Alto Bicycles on University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto.

"Car culture if fading."

Those are the words of Nissan Motors General Manager for Product Strategy Tom Lane in this interview from the Detroit auto show. Via Bike Portland.

Innovate Or Die contest winner

From the Google Blog:

The contest said to "Innovate or Die" – and Team Aquaduct lives! In fact, the San Bruno, California team – consisting of John Lai, Adam Mack, Brian Mason, Eleanor Morgan, Paul Silberschatz – is living in grand (prize) style today after winning the first Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine contest.

Team Aquaduct was declared the winner out of 102 entries by building a unique and functional solution to provide rural communities with access to clean water. The quintet will share the $5,000 grand prize, and each will receive a Specialized Globe bicycle – as will all five of the finalist runners-up (read more about all the winners).

The contest encouraged people to evaluate environmental issues and develop ingenious solutions surrounding climate change. Many original and inspiring ideas emerged; make sure to visit the YouTube Innovate or Die page to view all of the entries.

Visit the Google Blog for details and video.

More bicycle news and blog commentary

BBC Video Documentary: The Battle for Britain's Streets.
It's Winter Bike to Work Day in Chicago. Via that strange chick who drinks just coffee.
Give us our sidewalks.
Guns and bikes.
Realizing bicycling potential.
Velorution: Fashion and bikes.
Tree debris in the bike lanes, but it's not just in Berkeley. The streets all over the Bay Area are still littered with eucalyptus branches and palm tree debris after the big storm two weeks ago.
South Australia Tour Down Under.
San Carlos, CA: Hit and run.
Wash Post: Don't honk at cyclists.
I can't believe Seattle still has these storm drains that are dangerous to cyclists.

Labels: news

Sunday, January 13, 2008

VTA: Big route and schedule changes on Monday

By Yokota Fritz

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Remember, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has big changes in routes and scheduling that begin Monday morning, January 14, 2008. While VTA will provide more frequent service on a number of bus lines and convert a number of routes to "Community Bus Service" using smaller buses, several routes have also been eliminated, shortened and combined with other routes. Route 60, for example, will not continue south beyond the Winchester Transit Center, and Route 22 will no longer serve the Menlo Park Caltrain Station. Visit the VTA website (which has been significantly redesigned) for details.

Public transportation to MacWorld

Apple fans heading to the annual Macworld Conference and Expo at the Moscone Center Jan. 14 – 18 can focus on technology rather than traffic and parking by taking Caltrain to The City.

Attendees of the week-long conference will find Caltrain’s 96 weekday trains a convenient way to avoid the city’s traffic and parking hassles. All northbound trains end at the San Francisco Caltrain Station at Fourth and King streets. From there, passengers can either walk to Moscone Center, approximately six blocks away, or they can catch either of Muni’s 30 or 45 lines, which stop right across from the train station on Fourth Street. They can get off at Third and Folsom, and the Moscone Center is just a block away at 747 Howard St.

The last southbound train leaves San Francisco at 12:01 a.m., which leaves plenty of time for the most ardent Mac user to spend a full day at the expo and spend some time sight-seeing or dining in The City as well.

Secure bicycle parking is available at the new bike station at the 4th & King Caltrain Station in San Francisco. Caltrain schedule and fare information is available at Caltrain website. Leave a comment here at Cyclelicious if you have a specific question about riding Caltrain.

BART considers increased bike lockers fees

The Bay Area Rapid Transit system considered increasing the annual locker fees charged at BART stations and introducing an hourly charge for lockers with electronic locks. For details, read the Examiner.

Infrequent BART users should also be warned that BART recently changed its service to SFO Airport. You can no longer head straight to SFO from Millbrae Caltrain, but now must go to San Bruno then backtrack to the airport. Regular travelers to SFO have discovered it's faster to get off Caltrain in Hillsdale then take a bus to the airport.

Labels: news, san francisco, transit

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Interbike Outdoor Demo East scheduled October 21-22, 2008

By Yokota Fritz

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Interbike Outdoor Demo East - October 21-22, 2008. Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI

Interbike announced today that they will host the first annual Interbike Outdoor Demo East Tuesday, October 21 to Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Roger Williams Park in Providence, R.I.

The Interbike Outdoor Demo East event is based on the Interbike Outdoor Demo held in conjunction with the Interbike International Bicycle Expo in Las Vegas and will include product testing, National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) seminars and networking events. The new event is aimed at servicing retailers who do not attend and/or additional staff members who are not able to participate in the Interbike International Expo and Outdoor Demo.

"We recognize there are members of the industry that have difficulties attending the Interbike Expo in Las Vegas," said Lance Camisasca, Interbike's industry consultant. "Interbike Outdoor Demo East is a hands-on, no-hassle, inexpensive regional style event that allows retailers to not only test new products but also educate staff members on the latest trends and network with industry members in a historic and event friendly location."

Manufacturers who have already committed to exhibit at the event include Advanced Sports (Fuji, SE Racing, Kestrel), Fox Racing Shox, Giant Bicycles, Kenda USA, Pacific Cycle (GT, Schwinn, Mongoose), Pedro's Total Bicycle Care and Santa Cruz Bicycles, with more expected to follow in the coming weeks.

"Interbike always produces a great trade event," said Pat Cunnane, president of Advanced Sports "We're confident OutDoor Demo East will be a great event as well and we are looking forward to giving our East Coast retailers another opportunity to learn about and test ride our products."

"The genesis of an opportunity to reach out to the other half of cycling is perfect," said Chris Zigmont, general manager of Pedro's Total Bicycle Care. "We will now be able to meet with the guys and gals who work the shop floor and who can't attend Interbike's Las Vegas trade show because of time and money constraints."

"We've had great feedback on our Super Seminars around the country and attendance has exceeded expectations," said Fred Clements, executive director of the National Bicycle Dealers Association. "By partnering with Interbike at Outdoor Demo East, we feel we'll be able to offer high quality sessions in a convenient setting that will allow us to reach an even larger audience in a region that deserves the support."

The 450 acre Roger Williams Park is located just south of downtown Providence and has been the host city for the 2006 and 2007 National Cyclocross Championships. In addition to being a great place for cycling, Providence is a central location for Northeast and Mid Atlantic retails and is easily accessible by most forms of transportation.

Labels: interbike, news

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Innovation with bicycles

By Yokota Fritz

What a really really cool idea: Ride your bike to the store, grab a shopping cart and fill it with groceries, pay for the groceries, then roll the cart out to the parking lot, where you hook it to your bicycle.

Shoppers at a Cambridge supermarket are being asked to saddle up for a new green initiative.

Waitrose in Hauxton Road, Trumpington, has teamed up with the city council to provide special trailers to allow cyclists to transport their shopping home using pedal power.

Shoppers will be able to fill up a trailer as they walk around the store and simply hitch it onto the back of their bikes when they have paid.

The free-of-charge trailer will then have to be returned within three days.

Read the full story here. Via Grist.

A fun bicycle powered tennis ball launcher. Via.

Here's something cool I saw today: A backpack with a built in solar panel.

I can potentially use this to recharge batteries for my lights or camera while I'm cycling to work. It will be available at the company store in a few weeks, I'm told. Seen at the 2008 Eco Summit.

Urban Velo describes Bilinky's S & S couplings, while James @ Bicycle Design contemplates breakaway frames for biking during his travels.

Labels: news

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Bicycle news

By Yokota Fritz

There's a lot's going on the world of cycling in this second week of 2008!

Cute story in the SF Chron: Kids Bike Sex Change. It involves duct tape and scissors. Spray paint is much easier and faster.

Reno, NV: Don't let the cold keep you off your bike.

Boston motorists blame bike lanes for traffic congestion. It's not as if there are too many other cars on the road.

Okay, so it's sad that this cyclist was killed in traffic. But does anyone else think it's kind of cool that this guy was 83 years old riding a bike around town?

Debate: who pays for cycling facilities?

Aussie cyclists: Railway bike ban briefly lifted.

San Francisco Caltrain bikestation grand opening (though it's actually been in use since last summer).

"Attack dog ripped my bicycle to shreds."

Jobs for bicyclists: drug dealer.

AlterNet: Are US cities ready for bike sharing?

A decent enough list of bicycle vacations, even if the site looks a little bit spammy.

I like this policy of an open work area at bike shops, but I can understand that mechanics need to get the work done.

Bike Hugger chronicles the bicycles seen at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Bike Winter Chicago 1896.

UK tax tip: Ride Your Bike in 2008.

Planet Bike has installed photovoltaic panels to generate electricity. Planet Bike's newly commissioned 10 kilowatt solar power system began generating electric power atop the company''s headquarters in Madison, WI. They expect the 48 panel system to more than offset the company''s energy needs and Planet Bike plans to sell nearly 2/3 of the sustainable electric power back to the city's power grid.

Trailer bike recall: Instep Pathfinder, Schwinn Runabout, and Mongoose Alleycat. These are all manufactured and distributed by Pacific Cycles and sold mostly through mass market retail outlets (e.g. Target and WalMart) and bike shops. Info on the recalls and affected models at Instep, Schwinn, Mongoose. The coupling connecting the child trailer to the adult's bicycle can fail, causing the child's bike to fall over.

There's also yet another recall from Cannondale: 2008 Scalpel mountain bike frames can break. See all Cannondale recalls here.

Raleigh Bicycle History (posted at my request).

Iranian university mountain biking team to compete in Malaysia.

Obligatory link to Jennifer's bicycle haikus about folding bikes.

Photo: Abigail Anderson Beyond Thunderdome by David Schloss, used with his permission.

Labels: news

Monday, January 07, 2008

This week in cycling

By Yokota Fritz

Monday night in San Luis Obispo: Monday Night Mountain Bike Ride, 6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. 1422 Monterey Street, San Luis Obsispo, CA 93401. 805-543-1148 for details.

Thursday in San Francisco: Bike Ed Day One from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. This is the "day 1" course for League of American Bicyclists' Bike Ed Road I certification. Each class is free, but registration is required.

Friday in San Francisco: Critical Manners ride at 5:30 p.m. northeast corner of Larkin & Grove.

Early Bird Criterium continues next Sunday in Fremont, California. Details.

I may add a cycling calendar sidebar, focusing mostly on California events but I'll include other important national and international events. If you have items for inclusion on this calendar that are not already on the Cycle California calendar or Quick Release TVs calendar, please feel free to contact me with your event information.

Labels: news

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Bike production costs going up

By Yokota Fritz

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I've been sitting on this story since September and now Bike Europe has broken the news: Bicycle production costs are going up significantly in China. The Bike Europe article notes that labor costs are increasing in China, along with other costs of doing business such as new pension requirements and new taxes.

Bike Europe mentions a six to seven percent increase in the cost of bike components, which just happens to match the seven percent drop of the value of the dollar against the Chinese yuan. Bike Europe also fails to mention the skyrocketing cost of raw materials used to build bikes, fuel shortages in China that make it increasingly difficult to manufacture product there, along with rapidly rising costs of energy and fuel. While the cost of transporting product from China to the rest of the world is still negligible, this is also increasing.

I expect more demand for bikes in the USA, Canada and Europe, especially for the low end bikes that are typically produced in mainland China. Some of these cost increases will be passed along to consumers, but the increased production cost of bikes will eat somewhat into profit margins.

Labels: news

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

SF Bay Area: rain Rain RAIN RAIN. And wind, too.

By Yokota Fritz

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This is for all of you bicycle commuters who neglect to check the weather forecast (and you know who you are) -- three storms systems are barreling down from Alaska with two to four inches of rain forecast in Santa Clara valley and up the Peninsula into San Francisco beginning Thursday at noon. On Friday, 20 to 30 mph winds gusting to 50 mph are expected throughout the Bay Area and coastal areas. Up to ten inches on rain is expected in the Santa Cruz Mountains (where I live) over the weekend, with snow falling as low as 2,500 feet.

As the storms move east over the Sierra Mountains, the snow is expected to fall in crippling volumes. "They could see up to eight to 10 feet [of snow] by Sunday," Weather Service Meteorologist Steve Anderson. "It's going to be a major winter storm with white-out, blizzard conditions, winds up to 100 miles per hour on the peaks and around 50 miles per hour down on Interstate 80," he says.

Although big swells are expected through the storms in Santa Cruz, surf conditions will be too choppy for it to be any fun.

Before you break out the bikes for your commute to work on Thursday morning, break out your rain gear.

Photo: "Cycling through the rain" by Annemiek van der Kuil. With expected high winds, an umbrella is not recommended this week.

Labels: news, san francisco, santa cruz

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Bike dopes

By Yokota Fritz

I plan to work on a Facebook Application over the holiday break. It's a bike racing game in which you join a cycling team to race in the big American and European races. You "train" by visiting the bike application, and more time spent training equates with better racing times. The races will occur at the same time as the real races, and I might even include real world events (such as weather, crashes, and DNFs) into the game world.

Recruiting friends to the game earns you sponsorship money which you can use to buy equipment, coaching, training aids and so forth. I'm trying to decide if drugs should be an option. If you get tested, you will be caught and if you win you will be tested. What do you think? What should be the consequences if you're caught doping?

More below...

In the real world, Floyd Landis has now been officially suspended from French, non-UCI cycling races by the French national doping agency. The UCI, which is the international union which regulates most pro cycling, had banned Landis already. The ASO is an independent organization that runs the Tour de France and Paris-Nice.

We also see that Iban Mayo's "B" sample has tested positive for the banned substance EPO. The sample was taken during the 2007 Tour de France. The Spanish sport federation had previously cleared Mayo and now they're in the uncomfortable position of going back on their assurances to Mayo.

Speaking of dopes, Richmond, VA police officer William McKay blew through an intersection at 40 mph without checking to see that the intersection was clear (as required by law). He hit cyclist Kristin Stokes, who was still in the intersection when the light turned red on her. The city of Richmond then sent Stokes a $3,000 bill for the damage to the cop car. After criticism from around the nation and offers of pro bono legal assistance to Stokes, the city dropped its claim. “In a state like this, the motor vehicle guy is always right and the cyclist is cluttering up the road,” says Bud Vye of the Richmond Area Bicycling Association.

From Jack's reports, we also know that the car is king in St. Louis, Missouri, where cyclists are anticipating increased harassment from motorists and law enforcement along bicycling corridors that will be overrun with traffic from the I-40 highway project.

We also see dopiness in Auckland, New Zealand, where errant cyclists who chain their bikes to ramp railings are fined the same $200 "towing fee" that illegally parked motorists are charged.

On a lighter note, VeloNews site of the day is this shocking news of another drug scandal from unexpected quarters.

I'm only posting this to scoop my friends in the Kansas City area: Gladstone, Missouri plans to build a pedestrian / bicycle bridge over Shoal Creek to improve access to Happy Rock Park.

Finally, Jennifer posted some wonderful bicycle haiku while commenting on urban cycling and the goofiness of outlandishly decorated Christmas bikes. I might as well just post a permanent link to Sue's blog in Urbana-Champaign because she posts several baikus every day! You can also find the answer to the question: Why did the chicken cross the road?

Labels: news

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Cyclists power supercomputer

By Yokota Fritz

MIT cyclists generated 1.2kw to power a supercomputer in response to Google's "Innovate or Die" challenge.

SciCortex is new to the supercomputing field. With their relatively slow MIPs processors they don't have any contenders in the Top 500 list of supercomputers, but SciCortex is known for their development of very low power supercomputers, which is why bicyclists are able to power them.

My own employer brags about the lower power requirements of the "Constellation" High Performance Computing platform (I'm part of the development team), and the hardware and mechanical designers work hard and get industry awards optimizing power consumption and cooling, but the fact remains that higher clock speeds in the cores, memory and I/O means more juice is required for the system. Anyway, it's an exciting field to be in.

More bicycle news

Even nice guys dope.

Specialized 2D Helmet recalled because it fails CPSC safety standards.

Community Bike Cart Design has a zine.

I've been meaning to mention Dekochari for nearly two years now. I forgot all about it and now Makezine has beat me to the punch. I have a collection of Dekochari photos around someplace that I'll post some day. Dekochari, BTW, are insane Japanese art bikes. Deko for decorated, and chari for "chariots" which is the Engrish for "bicycle" in Japan. Here's a good collection of photos and here's some more info from Pink Tentacle.

Labels: news

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Shortened Tour of America announced

By Yokota Fritz

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We laughed, we mocked, we were incredulous, but the indomitable spirit of bike racing doesn't give up. The organizers of the insanely ambitious Tour of America announced they still plan to hold a coast-to-coast race in September 2008, but they've decided to cut down the distance and stages.

"We realized our first plans were perhaps too ambitious and that the original race schedule didn't fit within standard racing protocols," said race organizer Frank Arokiasamy. They've decided to cut the race down to 21 stages and 2,200 miles, beginning in New York's Central Park and winding across 18 states before finishing up in Palo Alto, California. Read more at VeloNews.

More bike stuff below...

Photo by Alex Draude is from "Shakariki Knight" (or "Trick Night") in Okazaki Park or Takaragaike Park, Kyoto, Japan. See the photoset of Japanese boys on their fixed gear bikes.

Does anybody else have this problem? I always lose my handlebar end caps on every road bike I've ever owned. Is there a secret to keeping these?

My front brake lever came loose so I did this today.

Thanks for the link love from:

Labels: news

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Random bicycle news

By Yokota Fritz

Time to catch up on some links.

Spinning world record attempt. 112 hours on a stationary bike. With video.
Sue asked me to link to this about biking for polar bears. And she continues to post many many bike haikus, so I'll just point to her blog.

Photo "Pizza delivery by bicycle" by Matty Lang and used with permission. More bicycle news below...

I have a bus haiku. It's a true story.

       White pigeon swoops low.
       Bird dodges highway traffic.
       Thud on bus windshield.

CenterLines is the newsletter of the U.S. National Center for Bicycling & Walking. Here are some tidbits from the December 12 issue.

They have a podcast discussing bicycling and walking advocacy efforts.
Chico Velo's cute "Turn a pedal, melt fat" video PSA, which was also mentioned at Bike Commute Tips.
This Energy Counter shows how much states in the Northwest spend each day in energy. Comes with cool widgets that you can put on your website, too.
Alcoholic bought a bicycle and found new life.
Freikers in Bouler, Colorado (for "frequent bikers) win prizes for riding their bikes to school.

Oh, by the way, I have a Facebook account or profile or whatever you want to call it. If you know my real name feel free to look me up.

US Pacific Northwest Energy Spending Today: 0

Labels: news

Monday, December 10, 2007

Bicycle crimes

By Yokota Fritz

You can apparently use bicycles to smuggle drugs. (edited with a good link)

Bicycles are also suspected in a museum theft. Says a detective: "If I was going to do a job like this, I'd do it on a mountain bike because people don't notice that sort of thing and when people are racing to the scene of the crime they're looking for cars, they're not looking for people on bikes."

Nine banks robbed by serial robber on a bicycle. What makes this criminal especially malicious: "We think he rides a bike and ditches it and then gets in a car. We think he's stealing the bikes."

Pedestrian death prompts crackdown on law breaking cyclists. Just like they do when motorists kill somebody. Oh, waitaminute...

Soglin's criminalstupidity about shooting bicyclists makes the news. When somebody blogs about shooting teachers, they get arrested. When they talk about shooting cyclists, it's just subtle humor.

Dooring kills. Beware.

Labels: news

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Interbike: East coast demo days?

By Yokota Fritz

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Interbike organizers are apparently contemplating demo days on the USA east coast near Providence, Rhode Island. Interbike sent surveys to mid-Atlantic and New England retailers in November to gauge their interest in this event. Read more at Bicycle Retailer & Industry News.

More bicycle news

James has been reviewing the Strida folding bicycle.

Bicycling magazine: Gear list for 24+ hour adventure races.

Bike Commute Tips: Bike commuting for health and sanity, which includes a link to Jason's excellent Rochester Bike Blog. Except he's in Albany now, but never mind that.

Bike Hugger: It rained in Seattle. That deluge over the Pacific Northwest also covered Portland, Oregon in rain and wind. It'll hit my area on Thursday.

Bike Chicago: Five winter bike commute necessities. They're tires, fenders, lights, lube, and (since this is a shop's blog) a winter tune up special with coupons. They also list another Top 5: Reasons why folding bikes make great Christmas gifts.

What about Cyclocross?

I need to promote this to its own article. In case I forget: The SF Bay Area Air Quality Management District distributed a memo prohibiting bicycle transportation for employees "in the course of their work duties" because "the potential for serious injury is much greater riding a bicycle than driving a car." Grrrr....

Giro d'Italia 2008 course description. See also Steep Hill's coverage.

PV powered EV.

Cafiend on Specialized's Interbike publicity stunt.

A Velodrome in Orange County, California?

Singapore: Bicycle safety low hanging fruit?

Bicycle jokes that you've probably already heard.

Lisbon bicycle blog in Portuguese.

Bicycles in the background in these Sartorialist photos here, here, and here.

650B, Is it for me?

Ciclovia.

Sunrace Driven preview: Drool worthy photos.

Motorhead.

Go speed racer: Over Drive is an anime series on a Japanese cyclist winning the TdF. Maybe he's the only one who can pass the dope tests. Check this plot description: "The top racer is a Japanese boy named Shinozaki Mikoto. 'Why dont you join our bicycle club?' said Fukazawa, Shinozaki Mikotos secret love. Unfortunately, despite being a high school student, he doesnt know how to ride a bike. With no real idea of what the bicycle club is, he earnestly practices." In Japanese with English subtitles.

Labels: interbike, news

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Rodney King rides a bicycle

By Yokota Fritz

Another celebrity bike rider! From news reports:

Rialto Police Sgt Don Lewis said Rodney King told police the shooting took place while he was riding his bicycle in neighboring San Bernardino. King rode his bicycle home after the incident and it was not immediately clear who fired the shot, Lewis said.

Labels: celebrity, news

Monday, November 26, 2007

Bicycle haiku and other bicycle blog madness

By Yokota Fritz

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Frank has an nice winter CX baiku in Illinois. He also pointed me to a old set of baikus from last summer.

Carlton talks about "get off the road for your own safety" individuals in the Netherlands(!), India and Nazi Germany. Perhaps there's a connection with this "bicycle neglect". Alan makes the point that the American Automobile Association -- which is a motorist lobbying group -- has more than 300 times the membership of bicycling advocacy groups. He writes:

In fact, cyclists are so utterly overpowered that the motoring interests hardly even have to show up. In Olympia and Salem, according to leading cycling advocates, the trucking, development, and manufacturing industries lobby fairly heavily on transportation issues. But car manufacturers, car dealers, and auto clubs rarely flex their muscle. Says [Bicycle Alliance of Washington executive director Gordon] Black, “They don’t have to show up very often, because they know the government is doing their bidding. They don’t feel threatened. They don’t see us as a threat.”

CycleDog points us to an online driving test. I scored 95%.

Now let's ge to the boring news: Diesel shortages in South Dakota, North Dakota (in spite of record production at the state's lone refinery) and Iowa, where the presidential hopefuls are stumping for the January caucus. There's even a shortage of hops for beer manufacture. The state of Connecticut plans for fuel shortages. Some French equestrians are pushing horses for transportation. And in Zimbabwe, a brand new biodiesel factory isn't quite living up to the hype. One of the problems? Not enough feedstock to go around: the farmers have to choose between starvation or running their cars, trucks, generators and irrigation pumps.

Labels: advocacy, haiku, news

Monday, November 12, 2007

Ontario exempts bicycles from sales tax

By Yokota Fritz

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Beginning December 1, bicycles and bike helmets will be exempted from the 8% provincial retail sales tax in Ontario, Canada. "We want to encourage more Ontarians - young and young-at-heart - to get outdoors, spend time riding bikes as a family and with friends, or to try riding to work if possible, leaving the car at home," said Ontario Premier McGuinty.

The full details are at the Ontario Ministry of Revenue website. Bicycles purchased for under $1000 are exempt, as well as bike safety equipment such as helmets, reflectors, lights, bells, horns, and mirrors. Bike rental, bike parts, non-safety bike accessories and labor for repairs and assembly remain taxable.

Mentioned at Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (aka the BR&IN), Canadian Cyclist, Pedal Magazine.

Labels: canada, news

Monday, September 24, 2007

The ultimate bicycle model

By Yokota Fritz

From Physorg.com:

'Bicycle manufacturers have never been able to say precisely how a bicycle works', explains Dr Arend Schwab of the Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (3mE). 'They have always had to refine their designs purely through experimentation. In our model, they can enter into the computer all of the various factors that influence the stability and handling of their bicycle. The model then calculates how the bicycle will react at specific speeds.' The model has recently been published in the science magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series A.

Because the model has the ability to indicate whether a design will deliver a jittery bicycle, or indeed a stable one for seniors, the bicycle industry is highly interested in the findings.

Read more. Via the always fascinating Velorution.

Labels: news

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Cyclist shoots motorist

By Yokota Fritz

Milwaukee bicyclist shoots motorist after near collision

A bicyclist shot a motorist after the man's car nearly hit the bike on Friday night, police said.

The 28-year-old driver of the car stopped to check on the bicyclist, who had fallen to the pavement around 10:45 p.m., police said.

The bicyclist got up, fired three shots and hit the driver once in the shoulder, police said.

The motorist drove to the house of a friend, who then took him to a hospital. He was treated and released.

Police said they were looking for the bicyclist on Saturday. No other details were released.

This real-life Spike Bike was mentioned in the Milwaukee Star Tribune. Reported also at WKBT and FOX 6.

Labels: news

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Bike messenger business on the downhill

By Yokota Fritz

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I couldn't decide of this is news or not, but I was persuaded to post the article. The messenger business is tough and getting tougher because of the Internet. Messengers used to be able to rake in as much as $100 day (!), but those days are gone. Most of those hipster kids riding their fixed gear bikes down Market Street aren't really messengers. Real messengers ride bikes with gears and baskets when they're on the job.

It's old news, I know, but the Chronicle reported on it so some editor decided it was newsworthy. I thought yesterday's story that (gasp!) BART bathrooms are filthy stinking disgusting pits of slime and spew wasn't exactly breaking news either.

Labels: news

Sunday, April 01, 2007

NYC to drill for oil in Central Park

By Yokota Fritz

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NYC Parks employees discovered oil seeping to surface through the grass at Sheep Meadow in Central Park. Upon the discovery, Mayor Bloomberg and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe quickly approved some exploratory drilling and geological analysis. The results appear to be very encouraging for anyone worried about gas prices.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn quickly embraced the continued drilling and exploitation of this new megafield, citing the many programs around the city that this could help fund, like eliminating tolls on all bridges & tunnels, abolishing parking meters and reducing other fees that city drivers face. "It's time to give something back to the city's oppressed automobile drivers and this new oil field will help us reduce the burden on these hard working New Yorkers who fight traffic everyday". Quinn added "it's time to rethink the City as a place that welcomes automobiles, instead of discourages them. People want more cars on our streets and we should support them by making it as easy as possible instead of pandering to pedestrians, cyclists and mass transit rider who only complain about poor safety conditions and are never satisfied."

While for many this was seen as a great new source of revenue for the city, many in the area complained that it would ruin a historic park. "Drilling for oil in Central Park will ruin the neighborhood and destroy the vision of an urban oasis set forth by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux," a resident of Fifth Avenue protested as she drove through the park in her Ford Expedition.

Read more at the Oil Drum.

More good news on global warming comes to us from RealClimate, which reports on new research from the New Zealand Institute of Veterinary Climatology that shows a statistical inverse relationship between the sheep population in New Zealand and global temperatures. The statistical analysis shows that as the numbers of sheep have dropped in New Zealand, world temperatures have increased. Researchers hypothesize that the increased albedo of land that is no longer covered in sheep results in less solar energy radiating back out to space.

There is in fact an important destabilizing feedback in the system: as climate gets warmer, there is less demand for wool sweaters and wooly underwear. Hence the sheep population tends to drop, leading to even more warming. In an extreme form, this can lead to a "runaway sheep-albedo feedback," which is believed to have led to the present torrid climate of Venus. Read more at RealClimate.org.

Labels: environment, news

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Reasons to ride: Crime fighting superhero

By Yokota Fritz

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"An 81-year-old man ran down a suspected shoplifter with his bike in the Netherlands, a country with more bicycles than people. The alleged thief, 29, had $162 worth of cosmetics on him, police said." Reported in The Washington Post. Props to WashCycle for this find and his commentary.

Update: Silly me, I Dugg this this article last week and forgot all about it!

Labels: news

Thursday, March 15, 2007

2007 National Bike Summit news

By Yokota Fritz

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If you're at all interested in bicycle advocacy and what's going on in Washinton, D.C., go read Jonathan's coverage of the National Bike Summit at Bike Portland. Jonathan is covering it all. See his National Bike Summit photos at his Flickr photostream.

Labels: news

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

New Hampshire state bike map

By Yokota Fritz

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is in the process of redesigning their state bike map, holding meetings across the state to discuss and show their plans and taking input from participants on what the map should feature.

Currently, New Hampshire has several region maps showing state and regional bicycle routes. The new map, designed to encourage bicycling touring and bicycling as a mode of transportation, shows trails, terrain, bus stops and train stations. The Bicycle and Pedestrian section is seeking information from cyclists on the best routes, loops, and landmarks to show.

The NH DOT's ultimate goal is to make bicycle use more common on New Hampshire roadways, giving riders a sense of safety and motorists a sense of respect for bicyclists which are legally allowed on every road except interstates.

The goal is an uphill battle, as many road agents and law enforcement officials have a "perception of what is safe and what is not safe," according to Tom Jameson of the New Hampshire DOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Section

Jameson said many law enforcement officials will encourage bicyclists to ride on sidewalks and away from the road, while state law defines bikes as a vehicle. "It's a political fight to say, 'We want the focus to be on bikes not cars.'"

View the draft bicycle map and information about public meetings at the New Hampshire DOT Bicycle Pedestrian Information Center.

Laconia Citizen: "DOT to offer maps for bicycling tourists"
Dover Foster's Online: "DOT updating statewide bicycle maps"
Seacoast Online: "Seacoast bike map updated"
New Hampshire bicycling resources.

Labels: new+hampshire, news

Monday, March 12, 2007

Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano

By Yokota Fritz

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That mouthful is the official name of the UCI sanctioned multinational mountain bike competition series. See the the UCI website for the schedule which will take mountain bikers across Europe and Canada. Read more about Nissan's sponsorship BikeBiz.

The big news in bike racing over the weekend is that the Spanish doping investigation Operation Puerto disintegrated when Spanish judge Antonio Serrano declared the evidence was insufficient for prosecution. Discussion at Velochimp & Cycloblog.

In the meantime, drug-free cyclist David Millar retains the lead at Paris-Nice after winning the prologue yesterday. After Millar was suspended for two years for EPO use, he has reinvented himself as an anti-doping crusader. I wish the best in this mission.

I think of traffic congested cities as the domain of bike messengers, but they're thriving in a most unlikely place: Columbia, Missouri.

Be prepared for St. Patrick's Day.

Labels: news

National Bike Summit '07

By Yokota Fritz

The U.S. National Bike Summit begins tomorrow in Washington, D.C. The National Bike Summit brings together stakeholders from user groups, industry, government, and elected officials from around the country to share their ideas and best practices. Industry superstars, innovative thinkers, and effective national, state and local advocates will help craft a persuasive case statement for bicycling. Delegates will discover the value and impact of bicycling in the critical fields of transportation, health, recreation, tourism, energy and the environment.

California typically has the largest delegation attending the National Bike Summit, with Colorado sending the second most. These are volunteers who are positive and passionate about cycling -- it's no accident that some of the most innovative and effective cycling advocacy are pioneered in these states. If you want to see cycling advocacy in your state, you need to be involved and show up for these things.

Bloggers who will attend the National Bike Summit include:

I'm sure there are others I've missed -- please feel free to comment if you know of htem. I know several of the folks going in Colorado, and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (of which I'm a member) is also sending people. I'm looking forward to some good reports from the 2007 National Bike Summit.

Labels: advocacy, news

Friday, March 09, 2007

Tour de Frank

By Yokota Fritz

Universal Studios recently secured rights to the film "Tour de Frank," a comedy revolving around the competitive world of bicycle racing. Written by Andrea King and Andy Marx, the flick is a production of Shady Acres Entertainment and will be produced by Michael Bostick and Tom Shadyac. Read more.

More daily Diggs

Step-by-step guide to building a fixed gear bike.

Toronto councillor Rob Ford says: "I can't support bike lanes. Roads are built for buses, cars, and trucks. My heart bleeds when someone gets killed, but it's their own fault at the end of the day." Grrr. Commentary also at Industry Outsider.

More about the $3 million allocated for the Toronto bike plan. "Instead of my car being in front of Councillor Ford's car at a stoplight, or me turning left to pick up something at the variety store, my bike zooms along the side of the road and he can zoom past me," said Ward 38 Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker. "If we can get 50 to 60,000 people onto bikes, not only does it protect themselves and their families to have a cleaner, softer option to get to work, they help every single person who's in a car."

Bicycle news

Shanghai building bike lanes.

$7.3 million for cycling facilities in Minneapolis.

National Bike Show in the UK starts in April.

Bike helmet in the Hundred Acre Wood. Comment: "Because you could fall down in the 100 Acre Woods and hurt yourself. I swear, they’re going to put airbags on Barbie’s Pegasus next, and require thick corks on the point of all unicorn horns."

Kool Aid on pink, flowery bikes.

Labels: news

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Cyclelicious feeds in multiple languages

By Yokota Fritz

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First of all, give a shout out to my buddy Aaron of Bicycle.net. There's a humorous article about Unibet's "Riddler" outfits.

Through the magic of computer translation and Yahoo Pipes, I now provide feeds for this blog in Japanese, German, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Korean, Spanish and French. U.S. English, of course, is still available.

This translation is done using Yahoo's Babelfish computer translation service, which means the text will be awkward but it can help with understanding. At the moment, the French translation doesn't seem to be working. Also, Babelfish limits the amount of text that's translated, so longer Cyclelicious posts will not be translated in the alternate language feeds. If you have a request for something like Greek or Italian, please feel free to comment.

I've been doing some other housekeeping, so that's why you might notice old posts and other oddities popping up in the feeds.

Finally, some cycling stories:

68-year-old cycles after losing leg in car collission.
Saul Raisin back to racing - WOW!
My buddy Megan in Austin has a video of a ride with Pie.
Specialized Bicycles presents their successes at the Silicon Valley Cool Commutes presentation. I've also been meaning to follow up on this post about the Cool Commute meeting, in which we learn that 36% of Yahoo's employees get to work through 'alternative' transportation. Definitely cool.
Ivan Basso interview where he talks Italian soccer, Marco Pantani and his plans for 2007.
Team Disco commentary.
Cool video of cycling in London.
Viking Biker's Diary.

Labels: blog, news

Friday, February 09, 2007

Discovery Channel to drop cycling sponsorship

By Yokota Fritz

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After a major management shakeup at Discovery that included the sacking of company CEO Billy Campbell, Team Discovery managers were informed that Discovery would not renew its sponsorship of the pro cycling team after the 2007 season. Read more at Velonews.

Labels: discovery, news, pro cycling

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

More bike haiku

By Yokota Fritz

A couple more people posted their bicycle haiku creations. I'm obligated to link to them.

Warren T writes about the slush.

Logan likes his curious machine.

Bicycle News

Here's something I've discussed with local advocacy groups: specialty bike retailers have to decide whether to continue to focus on serving non-Hispanic white males or reach out to the growing population of Latinos and Asians, says Brad Edmonson of ePodunk.com at the Bicycle Leadership Conference. “The new America is already here. Your choice is to either join it or fade away with the old America,” Edmonson said. Read more at BRaIN.

Atlanta burb proposes single-file bike restrictions.

100 mile bike race in the arctic coming soon. Jill's training for it.

DIY bike hoist.

Silicon Valley Leadership Group had a Cool Commutes conference, focusing on what companies in the Valley are doing to reduce single occupant vehicle commutes. One of the dramatic reports comes from Yahoo, where 36% of Yahoo headquarters employees get to work without driving solo. This is double the 18% mode-shift that the corporation committed to the City of Sunnyvale when building permits were first issued.

20,000 bicycles for self-service rent in Paris, France.

Labels: haiku, news

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Children bike to Bike Man's funeral

By Yokota Fritz

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74-year-old Reed Palmer was "the Bike Man" to the children in his neighborhood. He provided bicycles to all of them and he was loved by his neighbors. Reed and his wife, LoaFae, perished last week when their car got stuck in snow in a remote area of Central Utah. Hundreds of people came to the funeral, many of them children who rode their bicycles and tricycles to remember the couple.

KSL.COM: Children honor neighbor with bikes at his funeral.

ABC4.COM: Community remembers West Valley couple with bicycles.

Deseret News: A show of love — Hundreds remember couple.

CNN: Kids take tricycles, bikes to funeral. (Video)

Labels: news, utah

Bicycle Blog Cyclelicious

Journal of bicycle culture

Cyclelicious blog index

State approval required before signs installed

Selection of non-standard sign may hinder final approval by state

More bicycle news

100,000 to bike to work in Bay Area

Wisconsin college to give bikes to incoming freshmen -
Additional parking "not an option."

Bicycle blogs

Dorel acquires Cannondale - Two distinct bicycle divisions to be created

Possible move to Asian manufacturing?

Bicycle Leadership Conference

Celebrity Time Trials

"Car culture if fading."

Innovate Or Die contest winner

More bicycle news and blog commentary

Public transportation to MacWorld

BART considers increased bike lockers fees

More bicycle news

US Pacific Northwest Energy Spending Today: 0

More bicycle news

Milwaukee bicyclist shoots motorist after near collision

More daily Diggs

Bicycle news

Bicycle News

Bicycle Blog Cyclelicious

Journal of bicycle culture

Cyclelicious blog index

State approval required before signs installed

Selection of non-standard sign may hinder final approval by state

More bicycle news

100,000 to bike to work in Bay Area

Wisconsin college to give bikes to incoming freshmen - Additional parking "not an option."

Bicycle blogs

Dorel acquires Cannondale - Two distinct bicycle divisions to be created

Possible move to Asian manufacturing?

Bicycle Leadership Conference

Celebrity Time Trials

"Car culture if fading."

Innovate Or Die contest winner

More bicycle news and blog commentary

Public transportation to MacWorld

BART considers increased bike lockers fees

More bicycle news

US Pacific Northwest Energy Spending Today: 0

More bicycle news

Milwaukee bicyclist shoots motorist after near collision

More daily Diggs

Bicycle news

Bicycle News

Wisconsin college to give bikes to incoming freshmen -
Additional parking "not an option."