Stop Complaining and Ride

What the . . . ?
Is a self-described cyclist who is against bike share committing treason?  Meet Linda of Santa Monica, assuming that's her real name, who thinks the program is too expensive and hard to use.  She claims to have used bike share in London.  Perhaps she is one of those prolific letter-to-the-editor writers who is actually a passive shut-in.  A free cup of coffee goes to the person who can confirm that Linda is not her real name, or who change her mind if it is.  #skeptical #bikeshare  Worry not, Linda, if that is your real name.  There are delays in rolling out the program.
http://smdp.com/letters-google-bikeshares/143286
http://smdp.com/proposed-bikeshare-vendor-struggles-delays/143780

Crash, blackness, what happened?
The Washington Area Bicycling Association is in favor of law that would allow for shared liability in bike and car accidents.  The insurance industry and the Washington Post's editorial board are not.  You be the judge.  #bikelaw #bikesversuscars #3000poundsagainst112onafatday
http://www.waba.org/advocacy/take-action/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/protecting-cyclists-and-pedestrians-should-not-come-with-special-treatment/2014/11/11/9c94906a-69c5-11e4-9fb4-a622dae742a2_story.html

Chutes and Ladders has been around for centuries.  Now cycling advocate Mikael Colleville-Andersen has created a version, Snakes and  Ladders that uses bikes instead of cars to promote cycling.  Is there a Nobel prize for awesome?  Buy the game.  Indoctrinate your kids.  Change the world.  #normalizecycling  #chutesandladders #snakesandladders
http://www.wired.com/2014/11/copenhagenize-cycling-game/

The BBC's morning show devoted a week to the cycling culture and infrastructure.  This is a good thing.  Right?  But there were still complaints about the coverage's integrity.  Sigh.  Let us pause a moment to consider morning programs in the developed world.  When coiffed and heavily made-up deliverers of feel good stories give cycling a week's worth of attention, that is a good thing.  I've not seen any lengthy treatment of the subject by American network news-entertainment shows.  Concerts in the square, celebrity chefs using hot-pots to demonstrate blintzes, cute pets, and oddly conceived marriage proposals, yes.  But a nice story about the everyday cyclists, never.   #bikenews
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2014/nov/10/the-bbc-still-getting-it-wrong-on-cycling-coverage

The guys who move your bike share bikes around want to join a union.  And it looked good for them until Capitol Bike Share recently hired a union busting firm, according to Politico.  I spoke to a bike share worker today who remained optimistic.  "People don't see bikes like the rest of transit."  He added that he thought the issue of unionization was "a work in progress."  While I do not see a sweating Norma Ray moment in the offing, bikes are transit and should be treated that way.   Whether a union will help this or not is yet to be determined.  #bikeshareunion
http://www.politico.com/morningshift/1114/morningshift16056.html

I like the idea of a solar powered bike path but remain baffled by the concept.  Would DDOT sell back to the grid?  Would the path simply be heated to prevent icy conditions during the next polar vortex?  Those Dutch.  They don't wear the wooden shoes anymore, its been over 60 years since one of them tried to save Ann Frank, and Dutch tulips now come from Equador, but they will always be in the heart of any true city cyclist.   #bikepath
http://www.bicycling.com/blogs/thehub/netherlands-begins-installation-worlds-first-solar-bike-path?adbid=532333250920714242&adbpl=tw&adbpr=17900130&cid=socBL_20141112_35427327

So, if I see you in the bike lane, whether it is solar powered or not, and assuming you are not a morning show "personality" who is blocking the lane, let's be smug.
Elisa P.