October 2008
1 post
September 2008
5 posts
double tragedy in brooklyn
the past three days have seen two tragedy’s for bicyclists in brooklyn. anyone who commutes home knows how close those screeching, four-wheeled beasts come, and yet little seems to be done to alter the status quo. more greenways, more separated bike lanes….and fewer cars!. please be safe out there.
August 2008
3 posts
July 2008
9 posts
bike commuting . . .
heck: even the NYTimes is jumping on the idea.
Watchpreach…on
WatchSpeaking of the moral high ground: the NY Times Ethicist chimes in on the ethics of transportation. Other great takes on similar themes can be found at StreetFilms.
bikes vs. cars: again
Yet again, the debate rages on about cyclists and traffic violations… sigh:
It seems a more productive debate could be had were the discussion broadened to the moral gravity of the activities themselves. True, motorists and cyclists alike respect and break traffic laws, yet this essentially self-evident claim ignores the more fundamental issue; namely, that motor vehicle use is...
LA Responds to Driver Attack
“[LA] City Councilman Bill Rosendahl submitted a motion endorsing the Cyclists’ Bill of Rights today. The motion, which was co-presented by Councilmembers Garcetti and Greuel, and seconded by Councilmembers Reyes and Parks, was referred to the council’s Transportation Committee. The date of the committee hearing on the item will be determined by the chair, Councilmember Greuel.
...
WatchDriver attacks to bicyclists, leaving both in the hospital.
“It is only by making them live in hell that we’ll get drivers to renounce their...”
– Yves Contassot, former Parisian Deputy Mayor for the Environment
declare independence
ok america. it’s that time. No, not to celebrate our twisted, sad imperial legacy—which, unfortunately, endures to this day. If July 4th truly were a celebration of political independence, we’d take action into our own hands: governments retain their legitimate claim to power only insofar as they represent the interests of the people; where elected officials stray from this...
June 2008
25 posts
commuting tips . . .
Paul Dorn’s site provides some excellent tips for you budding bike commuter’s out there, in addition to documenting the rightful rise in bike ownership and use. As an aside—a recent SUV ad (yes—tv is the devil but…) took a misguided self-congratulatory spin in promoting it’s “new” 23/mpg suburban monster-truck. Is this supposed to be an improvement?
...
point well taken
The Bay Area yet again proves how far ahead it is from the rest of the country:
‘In an effort to get more people to ride bikes, instead of pumping more smog into the air, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is kicking around the idea of legally allowing cyclists to run red lights… .
[A]sked Jerry Fountain, a cyclist courier, why he should be allowed to ignore traffic signals.
...
17 reasons . . . for bikes
“17 reasons why bicycles are the most popular vehicle in the world today” — a report from six continents by Ecoworldly
commuting battles
In Philadelphia’s recent annual commuter race, bicyclists prove yet again their superiority.
“Pit a bike, a car and a SEPTA bus against one another in a “commuter race” to Center City during rush hour, and the two-wheeler usually wins.
But yesterday’s margin was unusually large: A mere 10 minutes and 49 seconds after the race’s 8 a.m. start from 45th and...
bikelane violations . . .
trouble with cars in your bikelane? SUVs blocking your path? GET EVEN: A handy new web site allows concerned urban cyclists to report car abuses.
smartbikes
Yes, it’s operated in conjunction with Clear Channel; and yes, the write-up is in Time Magazine; but apart from those egregious things, the first U.S.-based bike share program is near to launch. “This month, … Washington is rolling out America’s first high-tech bike-sharing program.”
Of note: since Paris introduced its “Velib” program, drivership in the...
bicycle nomads
“For the radical few, the bicycle is an important part of the solution. The bicycle, that technological throwback from the nineteenth century, is for them a literal and metaphorical organizing principle for a new vision of the world, one that stands not simply against the most obvious form of petro-consumption, the automobile, but that heralds and celebrates—in advance of its actual...
tales of a bike commuter →
earlier incidents of freeway rides
- Photo by Alex Thompson “For the second time in two months, a bunch of Los Angeles bike advocates calling themselves Crimanimalz took to one of the busiest freeways in the world to make the case that, when your freeways are gridlocked, bikes are better. About 30 cyclists rode onto the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) at the height of Friday’s rush-hour commute and went east to the San...
bikes take over highway!
dateline: may 30, 2008: Photo by TObike from the Torontoist Flickr Pool “[L]ate Friday afternoon, more than two hundred cyclists rolled up the Jarvis Street ramp to slowly and steadily (and illegally) take the entire westbound expressway over. The cyclists were part of Critical Mass, the huge group cycle that takes place on the last Friday of every month in Toronto and around the world....
bike squad advice:
initial observations: bike lanes are for bikes—get the hell out! (I’m talking to you, old lady in the silver mercedes) exercise caution before opening driver’s sidedoors (seriously folks, badges of courage can be earned other ways than from your stupidity) my bike is morally superior to your SUV (this is not a subject for argument) your car is in my way—always thanks,...
bike squad steeds:
bike squad advice:
(1) handlebar mustaches are ok
bike squad identification:
(1) clearly not: (2) also clearly not:
“Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia …”
– H.G. Wells
May 2008
2 posts
