Electric BIkes Being Made In Washington, D.C. Even If Laws Are Not.

Lanes:

Protected bike lanes debuted this week in Pentagon City.  Yup.  The mall place.  The Pentagon place.  The place you never thought protected bike lanes would appear.  You imagined tank traps, yes.  But bike lanes, no.  And yet here they are.  Challenging your urbanite, smartphone toting, Twitter clever beliefs.  As a great philosopher once stated, go figure.
http://www.arlnow.com/2014/08/19/protected-bike-lane-open-in-pentagon-city/
#bikelanes  #protectedbikelanes  #crapweshouldhavedonedecadesago

Ward 8 is now getting 7.5 miles of bike lanes.  This community has been underserved for years.  It even went without a decent grocery store for decades.  This is a terribly hopeful sign.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2014/08/20/7-5-miles-of-bike-lanes-built-this-year-in-d-c-ward-8-gets-first-bike-lanes/
#Ward8
#bikelanes  #finally

Seattle's bike lanes along Broadway are really pretty amazing to see.  Green markings let people coming out of driveways know where the bike lanes begin.  Inflatable, decorative bollards help separate motorists and cyclists with good modern art.  Not that iffy modern art that makes you feel slightly belittled for regarding it.  More like a serious Mondrian than that stained, beige carpet sample someone hung in MOMO falsely claiming it captured the essence of man's inhumanity to man.  Check it out.
http://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/08/19/6-things-to-like-and-one-to-fix-about-seattles-new-broadway-bike-lanes/
#seattlecycling

London gets its first bike lanes in a roundabout. Let's see if cars can comply.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/road-users-split-over-magic-roundabout-which-separates-bikes-from-cars-9680178.html

The headline is quite silly: "Some Say that Bike Lane May Have Added to Confusion in Bicyclist's Death."  Hmm.  Well, some say the earth is flat.  Some say that Jimmy Hoffa is buried in their backyard.  Some say they can see the Virgin of Guadalupe in their toast.  This reporter said it was a "freak accident."  Very simply, he was doored.  Some who say otherwise are silly.
http://www.wmur.com/news/some-say-bike-lane-may-have-added-to-confusion-in-bicyclists-death/27619320#!bGvwy3
#skeptical
#reporternotthesharpestknifeinthedrawer

Share:

There have been over 23 million rides on bike share.  And there have been zero deaths from bike share in the United States.  Zero.  4700 people died last year from choking.  But none of them were on bike share when they choked.
http://www.care2.com/causes/number-of-deaths-caused-by-bike-share-0.html
http://news.discovery.com/earth/23-million-rides-later-no-us-bike-share-deaths-140813.htm
http://www.denverpost.com/editorials/ci_26331360/bike-sharings-impeccable-safety-record
http://www.bayoubuzz.com/top-stories/item/723799-after-23-million-rides-no-deaths-in-us-bike-share-programs
http://grist.org/list/u-s-bikeshares-have-killed-a-shocking-amount-of-people/

Strange data since The Washington Post wrote a story insinuating that head injuries were on the rise from bike shares being used by non-helmet-wearing riders.  (I was always skeptical about this.  Instead I blame distracted tourists who like to point at monuments and talk over their shoulder to their family members while crossing busy intersections.  But I have no data to support this.)
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/bike-share-helmets-bicycle-safety
#bikehelmets

Want the City of Los Angeles to place a bike share dock near a particular Metro stop?  Then vote on where you want it to go.  Or don't and grouse later.  As they say in LA, whatever.
http://laist.com/2014/08/19/metro_wants_you_to_vote_on_where_th.php

Bixi is facing a repair problem, and so is the program in Toronto.  Complaints are surfacing that the share bikes are in a state of deterioration.  Since it is a public service, the Canadians are trying to figure out how to save it.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Editorial+question+whether+save+Bixi/10122105/story.html?__federated=1
http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=199261
#bixi
#impulsepurchasesofsofamagnates

CNNMoney reports on a new program to reduce the cost of bike share programs by eliminating the kiosk and adding interactive screens on individual share bikes.
Given that the kiosks in DC are solar powered, it seems unclear how this would cut costs to municipalities.
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/smallbusiness/2014/08/15/commuting-transportation-startups/

Bike share is good for the environment, that is, if people use it.  For every mile travelled on a bike and not in a car, about a pound of carbon dioxide is saved.  However, hard data on how much carbon bike sharing is really saving is not available yet.  Depending upon which share system you are talking about, between 20 and 53% of share users report using their car less.  The bottom line?  Bike share systems have saved over 2900 metric tons of carbon since 2009.  A little harder to heat your planet with those stats, eh?
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/17/6629069/the-conversation-on-a-mission.html

The College of William and Mary is adding bike racks, bike share, and more.
http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2014/bike-initiative-pushes-off-to-a-strong-start-123.php

Bike share started in downtown Cincinnati this month.
http://www.fox19.com/story/26259866/red-bike-city-unveils-new-bike-share-program-downtown
http://www.wlwt.com/news/city-unveils-first-station-for-bikesharing-system/27426064#!bGuOn8
#bikeshare
#bikeshareinOhio
#thingsIneverthoughtIwouldsee

Events and Charities:

BoBikesBama is Bo Johnson's organization that raises money to help disaster victims in the State of Alabama, voted the least bike-friendly state in the country.  It seems to me that every able-bodied cycling advocate should participate in this ride - held annually in April - for a good cause, for good exercise, and to show all Alabamans that cyclists are great people.
https://bobikesbama.com/the-ride/#.U_KUUkvgXwI
#bobikesbama  #don'tbeabamajustshowup

The Ride to Victory is coming up in less than a month.  You can support this cancer charity by riding.
http://www.ridetovictory.org/dclandingpage/index2.html?s_src=OAD_RCDC14_DC_GoogleAdwords&gclid=CPj6pu7WoMACFQwV7AodJjoAcw


Show up between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of 14th and Q Northwest on Wednesday to receive free Peregrine Coffee thanks to The Bike Rack.
#onlyweirdosrefusefreePeregrinecoffee
#Peregrinecoffee
#TheBikeRack

Policy and Advocacy:

Effective in September, California motorists will have to give a three foot berth to cyclists.  I hereby name this the "duh" statute.
https://calbike.org/3footeducation/

Home in Washington, bike riding in lanes jumped over 40% upon the installation of the L street lanes.  Cycling on the sidewalk (by non-celebrities) dropped by 27%.  As Diane Keaton stated in Woody Allen's Sleeper, "Makes you think."
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/17/6629016/a-solution-for-bikes-and-pedestrians.html
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/17/6629069/the-conversation-on-a-mission.html

#bikeshare
#smarterthandriving
#burnsmorecaloriesthanbeingagrump

Want to know how the Netherlands designed those terrific bike intersection junctions?  Here's a lovely video that breaks it down for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpQMgbDJPok&app=desktop

How you present a policy issue can often determine whether you can build consensus for change.  So if you itemize the number of parking spots lost to bike lanes, you lose.  If you emphasize how small the percentage of spaces will be lost, you just might win.  See how it worked in one jurisdiction.
http://www.planetizen.com/node/68554

Civility:

If you insist on participating in World Naked Bike Ride Day, against my very sage advice, please follow these etiquette tips from Bicycling Magazine.  My favorite is" "[F]or the love of all humanity," if you ride a share bike, sanitize the seat.  Indeed.  And use some e-coli killing product.  I should also add that you might want to cover your face with something like a bag to prevent people who might hire you from knowing that you were there in the buff.
http://www.bicycling.com/ride-maps/featured-rides/keep-it-clean
#eventsidonotget

So if you are the Chief of Police at NYPD, you get a full waiver and may park in any bike lanes with your ear-piece-wearing security detail.  Wait a second!  I do not recall that law or that waiver.
http://gothamist.com/2014/08/14/nypd_loves_bike_lane_parking.php#photo-1
#bikelane
#naughty
#youregoshouldneverbesobigthatyouparkinthebikelane

Travel:

Bicycling Magazine offer tips on how to travel with your bike.
http://www.bicycling.com/ride-maps/featured-rides/have-bike-will-travel?cid=social_20140820_30044596

E-Bikes:

Electric bikes made in the District of Columbia?  Yup.  Well at least something's getting done in this city!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2014/08/15/riide-plans-to-make-d-c-a-hub-for-electric-bikes-so-we-gave-one-a-spin/

Electric bike sales are surging across Europe.   Now mail carriers in some areas are using e-bikes to deliver the mail.  I guess this is in lieu of parking in the bike lane or folding and shoving photos in the mail slots of decent tax paying Americans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/business/e-bike-sales-are-surging-in-europe.html?_r=0

But electric mountain bikes?  This, I do not understand.
http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2014/08/15/new-brain-issue-looks-electric-mountain-bikes#.U_FMWUvgXwI

That old stalwart, Popular Mechanics, the magazine your father, or grandfather had on his work bench next to his Heathkit junk, covers a new electric bike that might be ideal thing for urban commuters.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/technology/this-just-might-be-the-perfect-commuting-e-bike-17113876
#electric bikes
#popularmechanics
#OMGhowcool

Cargoes with electric engines are replacing sedans.  Maybe not overnight, but in time.  If this trend is nothing more than a trend, as the author suggests, it is just capturing the zeitgeist.  Beware.  The zeitgeist changes by definition, and cycling needs to become a lifestyle for Americans, not a trend that passes.
http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20140815-rise-of-the-short-haul-truckers

Schadenfreude:

Although he was nabbed in Cheltenham, an ocean away, I feel fiendish delight in the arrest, conviction and sentencing of a bike thief who got three years in the clink.  Jolly, jolly good show crown court.
http://road.cc/content/news/126721-cheltenham-thief-who-stole-bikes-order-and-sold-them-online-jailed-32-months

James May of Top Gear seems ready to embrace bike lanes.  Compare that with his irascible colleague.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-gears-james-may-im-bicycles-cities-133048

Bike porn:

A great video of Copenhagen's bike culture where bikes are thought of as utilitarian transport items, like vacuum cleaners.  Yes, the woman who drives the sperm bank bike that holds the frozen sperm is featured.  Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAr5sB6aivk&app=desktop
#cyclingcopenhagen

CNN Travel covered the world's best bicycling cities.  Berlin was at the top.  Perhaps Angela rides a bit herself.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/17/travel/best-cycling-cities/index.html?sr=sharebar_twitter
#angelamerkelbikes

Random notes:

Honestly.  I know the USA Pro Challenge started today, and I am really trying to care.  Really.  But I guess I have evolved sufficiently to think bikes are just fun transportation, and not objects for competition amongst the juiced.  In case you do care though, here is a link to Bicycling's blog.
http://blogs.bicycling.com/blogs/boulderreport/2014-usa-pro-challenge-preview?cid=socNews_20140818_29817046
#USAprochallenge

In watching Bob the Builder with my four-year-old tonight, I learned Bob was on a bike lane project.  Who is the saint who writes this stuff???
#bobthebuilder
#bobthebuilderbikelanes
#indoctrinateyourweeones

So if I see you in the bike lane, creating no carbon, dressed (please!), and being mannerly, let's be smug.
Elisa P.