Politicians Who Want to Ticket Cyclists and Other Perplexing Nonsense

#Zagster is raising several million dollars to expand bike share across the United States.  If you are picturing a constellation of inter connected share networks spanning the entire country, think again.  This is just a nationwide push to expand bike sharing, which is always a good thing.  The investors in Zagster's venture are an impressive lot in terms of their green/sustainable bona fides.  If you are awash in cash and want to jump into the crowd that is funding this, have at it.  #bikeshare #zagster

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/07/02/zagster-raises-3-5-million-to-take-bike-sharing-across-the-u-s/

http://m.digitaljournal.com/pr/2602006

#Ford Motors is now thinking ahead, as its board and R&D department should be after years of tired lines of too-big cars and trucks.  Ford Motors is building an electric bike with Apple Watch connectivity.  Yowsah!  #Fordmotors #applewatch #electricbicycle

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2015/06/29/Ford-building-electric-bike-prototypes-with-Apple-Watch-connectivity/2801435585454/

Ever try a game of "I'm more of a bike geek than you?"  For bragging rights, check out this history of bike paths, and write the #Jeopardy #cyclingchallenge game.  One piece of trivia: The idea of rails to trails took over 130 to execute after it was first conceived.  That is at least 129 years too long.  #bikegeek #railstotrails

http://www.railstotrails.org/trailblog/2015/may/27/history-happened-here-sidepaths-and-the-persistent-dreams-of-trail-building/

#Artcrank, that wonderful art festival featuring images of cycling and cyclists, is not in DC or NYC this year.  This is really unfortunate.  #Cycling + art, and/or #cyclingart combines two of my favorite things.  (Did Henry Moore every sculpt a cyclist?  I mean on a bicycle, not after weight gain and in a state of repose?)  I hope that Artcrank makes it back next year and displays in the #easternmarket.

http://artcrank.com

So I walked into a bike shop on Capital Hill, badumdum.  No, seriously, I went to #Citybikes with my least favorite bike in pretty bad shape.  For a ridiculously reasonable sum, the female bike mechanic ("Kate" I believe) fixed all that ailed my bike in a short time and remembered to call me when the work was done.  So I found it interesting this week to see that Bike Radar shares a list of ten things you should never say to a woman in a bike shop.  To the extent that anyone would say anything inappropriate to the mechanic who helped me (such as, "Can I please speak to the mechanic?"), that would probably irritate me and her.  Here is what not to say to a woman in a bike shop if you are a totally decent person (which bike people almost always are), or a really nice cave man (even troglodytes can grow), or just one of those gals with too much hair spray and a belief that women should sit on satin pillows and be fed peeled grapes.  Hint: None of the ten is, "Yes, that helmet makes you look fat."  #femalebikemechanics #womenbikemechanics

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/you-wont-believe-the-things-women-in-the-bike-biz-get-asked-44667/

There are politicians who believe that cyclists should be given tickets for select offenses.  Paschal Donohoe, Ireland's Minister for Tourism and Sport, is one of them.  Donohoe thinks cyclists should be given tickets for some offenses so unclear that they are reminiscent of the abolished offense of  "being a common scold," which the Supreme Court of the United States thought was too vague to be a valid law.  Donohoe claims to be a cyclist himself, and maybe his is true, but I will simply say that he looks rather more like a tourist than someone deeply into sport.  I know.  You are dealt the jawline God gave you.  Whatever.  Perhaps I am simply filled with resentment because I would like to be the Minister for Tourism and Sport.  I suspect the job has something to do with tourism and sport, pays well, and requires no heavy lifting, literal or intellectual.  #paschaldonohoe  #ticketingcyclists 

http://www.herald.ie/opinion/paschal-donohoe-fines-for-cyclists-can-help-make-our-roads-safer-for-everybody-31348094.html


So, if I see you in the bike lane, riding a Zagster share, or a Ford e-bike while dictating a text message with Siri on your watch, and you are not the Minister or Tourism or Sport, let's be smug.
Elisa P.