Bicycle Blog Cyclelicious

San Francisco bike thief photos ...i think i'm not a very nice person 'cuz i wouldn't feel too bad about seeing this guy get cracked hard across the knees w/ a baseball bat...

...& the knees, only to protect that pretty face...

..."they shoot horse thieves, don't they ???"... Somebody pointed out this guy looks like Lemmy from Motorhead! ...hey...even if times are tough, i think lemmy would try stealin' a hog (uhhh, that would be a harley davidson, for the uninformed) rather than a bicycle...

...but ya never know...

...the "new" MOTORHEAD: we've gone green !!!... Wow. He's even completely nasty looking. I think he *could* get a job in Hollyweird. "Klunkerz" interviews on kqed.org on 6/24/09 SF Mayor Gavin Newsom announces bike share The impending failure of San Francisco's pilot Bike Share program The implicit decision to compete with private bicycle rentals amazes me. It seems so "unAmerican"! (Note that "unAmerican" doesn't necessarily strike me as pejorative.) I don't really see them as competing. The private rental companies in SF are all on the North Side of town focused on tourists going down Crissy Field to the bridge.

I just don't see the point of this level of program. If I were stuck downtown, I couldn't grab a bike and ride home, dropping the bike off at a location near my home because one would not exist. Very few actual trips would be point to point given where the rental locations are, and that's a lot of the success of the Paris program.

I guess that makes it no different from the private rentals after all! SF Streetsblog now live and online VIVA San Francisco Streetsblog yes viva!
thanks for the tip!!!
xo.meli BBC wants to interview senior cyclists in San Francisco thanks for the info, I have a senior neighbor that rides to the market every morning. he is adorable and way beyond 50 ;) Miss January 2009 Oh how cool. A calendar featuring women without the cheesecake factor. I'm not sure I'd trust any mechanic, no matter how attractive, if they whipped out a giant adjustable wrench to adjust a headset. Kids these days! sweet! Way cool, Suz! San Francisco Sunday Streets NPR Talk of the Nation: Rob Anderson and Noah Budnick There was no debate. They brought Budnick on just before they were through with me. He said something lame about how planners, engineers, and experts agree on blah blah blah, and that was it. NPR, just like KQED, really dislikes any real controversy because, oh dear, that might lead to, like, some negative comments. NPR-type progressives will defend to the death your right to speak, as long as it doesn't make anybody else mad. Yeah, I listened. I was a little disappointed to be honest. Thanks for dropping by, Mr Anderson. You came across reasonably well, as did Noah Budnick.

Who was the guy from Seattle, anyway? Do you know?

Budnick's point about transportation elasticity is well established, by the way. 50 years of ever expanding roads only proves that traffic will expand to fill the capacity provided. Since, as you noted in the show, that there's no room to expand in San Francisco, it's time to try something different. The show was severely biased. Rob Anderson is notable only for filing a lawsuit to block a sensible public policy. He has no transportation experience or credentials. (Last week's Wall Street Journal article did a great job of portraying Anderson as the isolated eccentric.) Yet his remarks framed the entire conversation. Noah was valiant, but clearly on the defensive the entire program. And yes, the NPR reporter from Seattle was clearly unqualified to talk on this topic. They obviously picked him because of the recent Critical Mass incidents there. A laughable conversation. Bicycling deserves better than this. Hi Paul -- I should mention that readers should see Paul's commentary about the Wall Street Journal article the other day. "Budnick's point about transportation elasticity is well established, by the way. 50 years of ever expanding roads only proves that traffic will expand to fill the capacity provided."

We're not talking about "expanding roads" in SF; we're talking about the best use of existing streets. It's not the so-called experts who will determine how the city uses its streets; the people of SF's neighborhoods will ultimately make that decision. I agree: bicycling deserves better than this. =v= Is this guy like a broken record or what? What was clear was that Anderson had zero idea what he was talking about.

Mayor Gavin and the rest of SF's political establishiment should be deeply embarrassed that they've allowed a crank like Rob Anderson to put a stop to the city's bike network plan.

Just do the EIS already and start building out the bike network. Anderson's a nut job and a know-nothing. Talk of the nation is an absolutely lame program...Neil Conen is a twit. I can't stand the program or the people who call in. I wish the program would be cancelled as part of the economic catastrophy.
I commute by bike from the Oakland hills to Alameda. It's a treacherous ride through many parts of the city...hostile motorists. Rob Anderson says I ride because of political motivations I've been saying the same thing myself over here in New Haven, Connecticut. The line shouldn't be drawn between "motorists" and "cyclists," but rather between "responsible, courteous and law-abiding road users" and "reckless, irresponsible and dangerous" ones. That sort of pigeonholing is a major reason I DON'T participate in blatantly political things (like the B'more mayor going for a ride every Friday at 6AM with a bunch of agency heads). I ride for my own reasons, and while cycling does influence some of my politics, I don't want my presence on a bike to be seen as a political activity. So... regardless of the obvious dangers, some Islamic fanaticists will engage in suicide bombings?

I mean, he got his point across, but I think the logical implication weakens his argument somewhat.

"Political reasons" is just a euphemism for "I don't like what you're doing" anyway, is it not? ...i find people like rob anderson to not only be counter productive but almost dangerous, in that his lack of understanding & personal extrapolations have led him to affect a process that would lead to safer cycling conditions for all...thus, one man's attitude has a counter effect on the lives of thousands...

...anderson is smart enough to know how to disrupt the whole picture, but not smart enough to see it clearly...myopic personal view...

...while "freedom of choice" may be the american way, sometimes common sense gets factored out by self righteousness (& their lawyers)...

...that thought not only applies to anderson's politics but works hand in hand w/ 'captain kickstand's' astute comment...

...i know you're admonishing us, yk, to "please be nice to those around you" but i think anderson is 'clue nada' & suffering from anal/cranial inversion... Fritz:

Yeah, I saw this too. In general, I'm grateful for any coverage of bicycling; even if it's not entirely favorable. It's better to be noticed than ignored.

I might have preferred to see more from Leah Shahum--who is intelligent, responsible, and leads a 10,000-member organization--rather than so much from Rob Anderson, who is, as described in the article, a wingnut. The writer actually did a reasonably good job portraying him as a lonely eccentric, and the article illustrates a real problem of our polity when such lone nut jobs can derail sensible public policies.

Critical Mass is a high-visibility event. However, its traffic impact is minimal--generally causing only a few minutes delay to any individual motorist--compared to the delays routinely caused by the automotive "Critical Mass" each and every day.

Critical Mass as a once-monthly event is also far less significant in San Francisco politics than the everyday advocacy of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, which has been truly effective at gaining significant bicycling enhancements. I hope there's a follow up on this article at some point, with more coverage of the SFBC. (Lord knows I love Critical Mass, but it's clearly lost political significance.) while a little on the extreme side, he has a point. There are people out there riding just to make a point and they love to tell you why they are better than you because they are car free.

You ride a bike - big freaking deal. Just ride, do your part and let others be. Unless they drive hummers or ride without helmets.... Stop me if you've heard this:

A Zen Teacher saw five of his students return from the market, riding their bicycles. When they had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?" The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!" The teacher praised the student, saying, "You are a smart boy. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over, as I do." The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path." The teacher commended the student, "Your eyes are open and you see the world." The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant, nam myoho renge kyo." The teacher gave praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel." The fourth student answered, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all beings." The teacher was pleased and said, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming." The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle." The teacher went and sat at the feet of the fifth student, and said, "I am your disciple."

Yeah, so I ride my bike to ride my bike. Sometimes I'm a cheapskate who wants to save a buck. Sometimes I'm a middle-aged guy fighting middle-aged spread. Sometimes...you get the idea.

We have a local shop owner who is a great guy, but who constantly posts messages to our local club's mailing list like 'every bike ride is a political act!' I just tell him to get a grip. ...ah, fixedgear...to stop a master when he recites a zen koan, even if one knows it's finish, would be to deprive at least two students of furthering their path to enlightenment...

...& no, personally i hadn't heard that version of a time honored parable...so i say, thank you for the gift...

...cycling has always been my zen path & my meditation, not because i looked to find it as such, but because it was already there...

...& paul dorn...while we may share many views on cycling, i find critical mass participants, for the most part, to be like the student monks who wandered into the open cellar while the master was away...they drank all the wine, only because no one stopped them...they made fools of themselves in their drunken zealousness & deprived the other students of the opportunity to enjoy both the wine & the lack of supervision in the future...

...unfortunately, some folks can't see past their front wheel...you sound experienced enough to know your way...too many don't & they represent us all... Bicycling tourists in San Francisco Sounds like a wonderful problem to have.

We need to have the problem that there are so many bikes, the infrastructure needs to grow to accommodate them :) Send them across the country to Long Island NY.

They can ride the north and south fork of LI and take TWO different ferries to and from Shelter Island.

I'll even give them cue sheets. @adriel -- yep. We're seeing that a lot of bike capacity issues in the SF Bay Area these days.

@Glenn -- We have 9 daily ferries from Sausalito to San Francisco. The cyclists can go a little farther north to the Larkspur terminal to catch one of nearly two dozen daily ferries from there to S.F.

Or they can just ride their bikes back to the City. The Golden Gate Bridge approach is very steep, however, and the ferry is a nice trip in itself. The Sausalito Ferry takes you right alongside Alcatraz Island.
Your Bicycle Site looks interesting -- I'll need to browse around and take a look at it sometime. Any suggestions on where I should start? Larkspur is not a simple ride, logistically, and most of these tourists are completely shot by the time they get to Sausalito. They rent the bikes somewhere in North Beach, and Lincoln Ave up to the Bridge causes some near coronaries.

The canonical place to take the ferry back from is actually Tiburon - that's not too tricky to get to. Larkspur requires some tricky spots. Bay Area bicycle and transportation news San Francisco Film Festival Bay Area Folding bike festivel Are they going to have ride - fold and sit - unfold and ride races like they did in Philly and across the pond?
I feel like such a trendsetter - I got one in February :) Leah Shahum on talk radio TODAY Audio available via the "Your Call" website:

http://yourcallradio.blogspot.com/ Thanks Gazer. San Francisco cycling fashion SF Quake City Rumble July 3-6, 2008 San Francisco bicyclist survey Wow, 10 percent! That is really high. I wonder what percentage of urban cyclists claim to ride on the sidewalk occasionally. I thought 10% was high too. Sidewalk riding is fairly common in SF, where the sidewalks are also heavily used by walkers. This stat is "horse-hockey". The "Cyclists" hitting pedestrians are crackheads on Market between 4th and 9th, oftentimes riding a freshly stolen bike to sell to a slightly less crack-addled fellow who will try to fence it up the line.

I ride on the sidewalk generally for one of two reasons only.

1) Leaving the road for my final destination (home, business, etc...)

2) Bypassing an obstacle - usually a garbage truck with 3 cars lined out behind it and a line of oncoming traffic on the left. I will use the sidewalk occasionally to make a right on red into a road with a bike lane, when a right on red turning car has pinched the curb and is blocked by backed up traffic on the cross street - but only if there are no pedestrians.

As a frequent pedestrian, I am aware of pedestrians when I bike, including those cretins that did not learn "Don't run out into the middle of the block between two parked cars". Everytime I see this happen I briefly tell myself I am going to run over their foot, then I decide that if they insist that they will only learn this lesson the hard way, I will let a car teach that lesson to them. ...if 10% said they had been concerned about, frightened by or had what 'they' consider to be a 'close call' w/ a cyclist on a sidewalk, i'd still be somewhat skeptical of that number... Riding on the sidewalk is illegal - Isn't there a ~$200 fine for riding on the sidewalk in SF? Not that it's enforced. Hah. Twice as many bikes as cars on Market Street that's amazing! though i think your title is flip-flopped. Oh yeah, you're right. In too much of a hurry!

If I can get the publishing software to work this should be fixed now. Thank you Jessica. Bay Area bicycle discussion forum I'm all for local sites and all, but isn't it a little overboard that a brand new, nearly empty site heralds itself as "San Francisco Bay Area's number one bicycle forum"? It looks like these guys completely ripped off bikeforums.net. Looking at the forum descriptions, I thought they looked familiar:

Road cycling:
BF: The road bike is the most efficient machine known to man. There is nothing like riding a nice road bike, on a nice road. Chat it up with other roadies in our road cycling forum.
Bikeness: There is nothing like riding a nice road bike, on a nice road. Find other roadies in our road cycling forum

Commuting:
BF: Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.
Bikeness: It's easier than you think. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, and safety requirements for riding your bike to work.

Charity:
BF: Whether you're looking for riders, sponsors, or volunteers, this is the place to tell the world that cyclists can make a difference.
Bikeness: Riders, sponsors, and volunteers making a difference in this world

Mechanics:
BF: Broken bottom bracket? Tacoed wheel? If you're having problems with your bicycle, or just need help fixing a flat, drop in here for the latest on bicycle mechanics & bicycle maintenance.
Bikeness: If you're having problems with your bicycle, or just need help fixing a flat, drop in here for the latest on bicycle mechanics & bicycle maintenance.

This is some pretty blatant plaigarism not to mention very poor taste. How did they think people would not notice?

IMO steer clear of these guys and chat on the BF Northern Cal forum instead; there's a lively group of friendly riders and good community.

I'm sending this comment to BF admin Joe Gardner in addition to the Bikeness forum admin. Separated bike lanes proposed for S.F. Market Street With all the intersections on Market Street, many of them complex and angular, it's going to be quite a trick to design functional sidepaths. That's kind of what I thought, too.

"sidepath" -- that was the word I was hunting for. (I was in a hurry when I posted and couldn't retrieve the word!) ...this will be interesting to see how it plays out on the sf political front...
...& you gents are quit right...on the physical level, it's gonna be a real fuster cluck, no doubt... Aside from the design challenge, there's also the lawsuit against the SF Bike Plan that forced the city to do a full environmental impact report. Bike-related infrastructure in SF is on hold for another year or so until that's settled. Bike newbies on Caltrain ...never having ridden the train w/ my bike, i hadn't thought of all the concerns involved but reading the regs was interesting...& who better to help them draw up the tips & information page...

...does this kinda procedure usually run fairly smooth, fritz... Yeah, it's usually fairly smooth and the rules aren't that difficult, but it can be a little intimidating for the newbies I'm sure. You're lucky to have all-bike cars on trains. Metra (Chicago) hates cyclists and one conductor shoved me off the steps when I started to bring my **folding** bike on the train. Why they don't gut the seats from a single car and allow all-bike cars all the time is beyond me. Don't they want to increase ridership?? They suck! Bay Area: Bike commuter of the year 2008 Critical Mass in 1896 Cyclists were encouraged to decorate their wheels

Scraper bikes in the nineteenth century?

Whodathunkit... And dudes dressing in drag, too. I thought the whole thing was fascinating to read. KQED Forum on bicycle safety - show notes Looks like they'll probably have a podcast up tomorrow - normally takes a day or so to get it on the site. Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/kqedforum Thanks for that, Mr Radio Guy. =v= Leah only touched on this briefly, but the 2000 Census figures were skewed. Intermodal bike journeys were counted as train (BART and Caltrain) or bus (Golden Gate Transit) commutes. People who bike commuted less than 3 days a week were not counted at all, nor were those who made non-commute journeys.

This has been explained to Mr. Anderson in as few syllables as possible, but he clearly has no interest in accuracy. I have to say I frequently give cabbies the finger. It doesn't matter if they did anything wrong this time- they certainly have before. Cabbies are scummier than musicians! Sorry Michael!

Why would they even have this Rob Anderson idiot on? He has nothing to do with bicycle safety, other than wanting all bikes off the street so his car won't get scratched! ...seems to be a certain amount of give & take amongst the participants w/ the exception of anderson, who is a clown w/ an agenda...
...unfortunately, he's a dangerous clown because he has learned just enough to interrupt the system but not enough to realize how many lives he is actually disrupting w/ his limited viewpoint... the 2000 census figures are skewed in a different way. the question is something like ~in the past week, did you bicycle to work~. The question is asked in march, not as popular to cycle in many regions of the US (snow, ice, and darkness are not good for the popularity of this transit mode). Tucson and San Francisco, both tending to have fair march weather have the highest census numbers in the nation.

Also Rob Anderson has said before - he does not own a car. He's a ped and rides muni.

He's committed to fighting cyclists.
Worse he claims that he's actually helping them because cycling is SO DANGEROUS that crash rates actually decline when there's a higher population of cyclists. More bike riders in San Francisco in 2007 VTA: Big route and schedule changes on Monday No time to cycle, I'm too busy being king of the world! I'm so honored the CEO of Microsoft visited! Check out his zany blog, all. SF Bay Area: rain Rain RAIN RAIN. And wind, too. Fun! Yeah yeah yeah, I know....

It rains just hard enough to get wet, and it's usually a cold rain around here so you're miserable if you're not in rain gear. I've been out on days with rain forecast for the afternoon, and in the morning all the bike commuters are in their normal bike commute clothes like nice slacks, dress shirts, and good shoes. In the evening I see them covered up in plastic trash bags with holes for their heads and arms. I hope it has enough momentum to drop a bunch on Minnesota. I would love some more snow. There's no such thing as bad weather, just poor choice in clothes.

Enjoy the misting... Bay Area bicycle blogs Indeed I did. But Sacramento is good too. Thanks for the link to my blog SF Cyclotouring. I have aggregated several bike-related blogs at the iBOB Metablog, some of which are in the SF Bay Area, e.g.:
Black Mountain Cycles, a great new shop in Pt. Reyes Station and the Wheelgirl blog from the Wheelgirl Bike Shop in Berkeley. I believe Paul Dorn's Bike Commute Tips Blog is out of SF, and Smudgemo's You Just Don't Want To is an Oakland area blog. East Bay Bicycle Coalition web site has blogs. Try http://www.bikesarerad.com Pick Up the Podium. Catch A CamelBak Podium Bottle From Team Saunier Duval-Scott and Win Prizes at the Tour of California

250 Bottles, Multiple Prizes: One lucky Fan Who Catches the Podium Will Win a Carbon Addict SL Frameset By Scott Bicycles

Win a prize while you watch along the route of the Tour of California! CamelBak, Team Saunier Duval – Scott, and Scott Bicycles are working together to spread the news about CamelBak’s new sustainable bottle marketing campaign “Choose to Re-Use.” Team Saunier Duval - Scott will be tossing race fans their new and re-usable CamelBak Podium Bottles as they compete during each stage of the Tour of California, February 17 - 24. Team Saunier Duval-Scott Podium Bottles will be redeemable for prizes including one Grand Prize, a Carbon Addict SL Frameset By Scott Bicycles. Other prizes include 5 pairs of Scott Pro Carbon Road shoes and assorted CamelBak gear.

If you catch it, you win it! In addition to receiving a new innovative, reusable bike bottle to take home, winning Podium Bottles will be marked with a special sticker located on the bottom of select bottles. One lucky spectator who picks up the Grand Prize Team Saunier Duval-Scott CamelBak Podium Bottle during the race will win a 790 gram Addict Sl Carbon Frameset from Scott Bicycles, valued at $3199.99.

Bottle catchers will be encouraged to email prize codes to a specific CamelBak email address provided on each Podium Bottle before 12:00 pm PST, Friday February 29, 2008, to see if they are the Grand Prize Winner. Visit Camelbak.com to see official rules and regulations. Love your blog. You do us locals proud!

Come join our Northern California Blogger Network..http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=81379964792&ref=mf hey.. i just started a blog to catalogue some of the rides around marin county and the bay area.. google hasn't crawled it yet, as since i'm new to blogging, i'm still figuring out how to make it searchable and such.
http://baildownworld.blogspot.com/ Here are two more to add to the list:

Girl on Bike (Berkeley)
http://girlonbikewrites.blogspot.com

Bike Man Dan (Oakland)
http://www.bikemandan.com/blog/ great reading and useful stuff.. enjoyed reading your post.. thanks San Francisco bike plan rally San Francisco bike plan on hold two more years ...that's rather harsh...a plan that would serve & benefit thousands of sf cyclists' is put aside indefinitely because one cantankerous curmudgeon, who takes issue w/ anything cycling related, happens to know the procedure for stymieing progress...

...selfish move, anderson... San Francisco zombie alert! San Francisco bicycle film festival continues... San Francisco considers congestion pricing San Francisco limousine A new favorite photo for my portfolio. Probably two people in it. EVERYONE RUN TO THE FRONT OF THE LIMO! Perfect! May it RIP for years to come.
Jack Where's your SUV god now? Oh, but they did it in style! LOL Ha Ha Ha. Nice shot.

The driver must have miscalculated it. He must have thought he is driving a sedan. lol. San Francisco cyclist photos Bay Area Regional Rail plans SFPD bicycle training video Yes a step in the right direction. However, rules and enforcement are two different things... let us know when the latter is used to defend and support cyclists' rights. Thanks,
Jack We need an initiative like that here in Melbourne. There is quite a bit of agro between motorists and cyclists at the moment. A few criticisms:

1. San Francisco Police Officers - not that good at acting.

2. "I'll catch up to the motorist, you catch up to the guy on the bicycle." simply means "I'm going to stop up here, you go ALL THE WAY down the street to get that guy". He was greedy by taking the easy catch.

3. When the police officer catches up to the guy down the street, if you look further down the street, there is a car parked facing the wrong direction. I know in many cities that is an offense that can be ticketed.

4. "Bet you coffee" is illegal gambling. The police are not setting a good example.

5. At 6:16 remaining, there is obviously a car with it's hazards on in the bike lane.

6. At 4:56 remaining, you can clearly see the same car parked illegally in the street.

7. The cyclist who was intimidated should have kept what was thrown at him. A littering fine would add insult to injury.

8. The girl hit that hit the car is wearing a microphone on her sweatshirt. Seems sketchy, maybe she's working undercover for the SFPD in some type of insurance fraud scheme.

9. When the group exclaims "Bikes Belong In Traffic, Share The Road", they are obviously taking up the entire road. This can create an unsafe environment for all and is probably illegal.

In all seriousness, it's a great training video for SFPD. A good initiative. Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed it very much. Let's hope that drivers get a taste of it as well. Thanks for the post; cool video. It would be nice if they'd include something along those lines in driver's education courses. I've had 3 kids go through driver's ed and none of them have every gotten any information on how to drive around cyclists. I'll try to remember this link for the next 2 kid sessions. Three CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms:

1) Dooring is NOT the most common bike/car crash. The left-turning car clipping the opposite-direction bike is the MOST common.

2) NOBODY, cops included, is using rear-view mirror.

3) If bikes are allowed the FULL use of traffic lanes, wat up with da bike lanes? Suppose SF just lose 'em! Bay Area bicycle news Big HUGE MONSTROUS bicycle weekend in San Francisco DAMMIT. Santa's stuck in Tulsa, Oklahoma til July. I'm here now for a Spoon concert, just happens to coincide with monstrous bicycle weekend;) The wear a helmet part is important -- especially for the pillow fight. THANKS for the link to Paul Dorn's comments... they're great! They should be read and understood by all cycling advocates.

Jack San Francisco: More bicycles than cars on Bike To Work Day This a great outcome. The bicycle message is slowly getting through.

DrK

BikesThatFold.com - All about Folding Bikes. FORTUNATELY, Tulsa's Mayor simply exhorted city employees to ride on BTW Day, and didn't even bother to ride herself. She looks ridiculous in spandex. Wow! Nothing like that here. I really didn't see anything out of the normal around town.

We have a weight loss challenge thing going on at work, and they didn't even mention Bike to Work Week. Lots to accomplish around these parts! Wow, more bikes than cars. that is like a dream come true for an American city.

Nice BTWD photos Fritz. I am still kicking myself for forgeting my camera. I didn't notice -- I guess I am too far from the parade grounds. San Francisco: The minivan vs critical mass I heard that when the police arrived and asked how it all started, the cyclist who supposedly was "hit" by the driver told the police that he was only tapped by the van and that he was fine and didn't know why other cyclists did what they did to the minivan. Having only heard about Critical Mass, my feeling is that is does no good for the bicycle culture. To me I feel like it is likened to the Hells Angels bike rally. If bicycling is to be respected, is Critical Mass the proper action to be taken??? Can anyone correct me or comment on this??? The anecdotes that I've heard from SF locals make me favor the minivan driver here. Critical Mass is less a protest and more an invitation to bicycle hooliganism.

http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2005/04/30/critical_violent_mass_or_how_a_group_of_bicyclists_alienated_me.html Thanks for the other side of the story fritz. In response to "anonymous", if I were deliberately "tapped" by a car when I was riding my bike, I would be furious, and I would hope that fellow cyclists came to my defense. That said, I would agree that CM was devolved into something more malicious than was originally intended. A. Hells Angels conduct themselves better in public than CM does.

B. Attacking a Motor Vehicle with a GMVW of about 30 time yours, with a bicycle is a really, really good way to get hurt very badly. The only real choice is to call 911 and report a Hit and Run. Since no 911 call was placed (except by the van driver). I suspect there was not a hit and run at all.

C. Good thing there were not Hells Angels in the van huh. :) My account of this incident: This was towards the end of the ride (after splitting off and dissipating). We had about 30 people by the time we were leaving Japantown when I heard a noise, which I could even hear over the music, and I turned my head to see a minivan on my left just having run over a bike and saw the rider on the ground. Riders nearby yelled at the driver to stop and the minivan just sped away. Many people in the ride chased after the van and surrounded it after catching up with it at the red light. The driver had her hand pressed on the horn the entire time. The cops got there pretty much right away as they were following right behind us. I rode away with the rest of the ride but some people stayed behind to deal with the cops. I didn't see the rear window get smashed but I can say that I only saw the couple sitting in the front of the minivan as the rest of the windows were heavily tinted and we could not see that there was anyone else in the vehicle.

If anyone cares, you can see that the windows were tinted in this video of the awful KRON4 news report:
http://tinyurl.com/27v4pf


Upcoming rides for those interested:

April 6th - Oakland Critical Mass (every first friday)
6pm @ Frank Ogawa Plaza (12th St. BART entrance on Broadway & 14th St)

April 13th - Berkeley Critical Mass (every second friday)
6pm @ Downtown Berkley BART on Shattuck Ave

April 20th - Walnut Creek Critical Mass (every third friday)
6pm @ Walnut Creek BART

April 27th - San Francisco Critical Mass (every last friday)
6pm @ Justin Herman Plaza (near Embarcadero BART on Market St.) Let's hope the San Francisco news media strives for fair and balanced reporting to put this issue in perspective, instead of relying on the one-source hysterics of the Chronicle columnists. It looks like allegations of the minivan "striking" the bicyclist are bullshit. Notice how there is no mangled bike or injured cyclist.

For vandalizing the minivan, as well as other incidents of vandalism, and for blocking people in cars from peaceably going where they will, it sounds to me like these "Critical Mass" maggots need to be run down with SUVs and killed for their crimes. Bike said: "If anyone cares, you can see that the windows were tinted in this video of the awful KRON4 news report:"

GOSH YES! If only the cyclists could see whether children were in the car, this wouldn't have happened! Bullshit. The cyclists are just lucky the van wasn't full of gang members from South Central LA.

You morons are NOT helping the sport of cycling! Critical Mass, intially had lofty and laudable goals, has been taken over by a bunch of anarchists whose purpose is to propagate chaos.

Resorting to terrorism hardly seems in line with their goals. Critical mass in san francsico is not a protest but a celebration of riding, and it raises awareness in others. It mostly frustrates drivers because they feel powerless to go where they want when they want. For all the folks that feel it is giving bike riding a bad rap - I suggest you try it first, and for all the drivers that get angry waiting for it to pass, I suggest you depersonalize it and take it as a chance to slow down - if you get angry everytime something gets in your way then you're going to spend your whole life angry. San Francisco Police to enforce cyclist sidewalk prohibition San Francisco to require bike rentals at bus shelters Oh those SanFran happy campers are at it again, eh?

I am just trying to get Tulsa Transit to re-design the bus shelters to protect patrons, NOT the landscaping.

Most bus shelters expose waiting patrons to traffic noise, spray from tires slicing through curb-side water, and other unplesantries from moving traffic.

King County Transit, WA has a nifty idea: rotate the conventional bus shelter 180 degrees. DUH. What will they think of next? I believe that Toronto has a similar program of bike share as you will find a small reference to in this post from Lauren's site. I'll add this -- sad press about the Toronto Bike Share program. Yep. Looks good on paper. But, if the market rejects it, it's TOAST. Say, how about try bike parking at the bus shelters?