Jackass + Activism: His strategy is to embarrass the officer and/or the City. The tactics of someone without a legal leg on which to stand.
Commute by Bike
A Second Perspective on Three-Way Streets
Over at our sibling site, Utility Cycling, Melanie posted “3-Way Street Campaign,” with a video showing a single intersection in New York City, highlighting the close interactions between pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. The purpose of the video, I think, is to show all of the bad behavior of the three types of users. This is…
The HybridBackpack Pizza Test
Karen Voyer-Caravona is an admitted bicycle dilettante in Flagstaff, Arizona, who blogs about her adventures on two wheels, vélo envy, her husband’s cooking, and cross country skiing at www.sheridesabike.com. Visit her Website for her endless opinions on the most stylish shoes for pedaling, critiques of bike parking, and the best bike date dining destinations. In…
The Brontosaurus and the Sentimental Fuel
I’ve been meaning to get a photo of this brontosaurus statue ever since I first saw it appear in front of our local Sinclair station. (Yes, I know that kids these days are learning to call it an Apatosaurus, but it will always be Brontosaurus to me.) It’s been a few months, but this is…
Strida: The Ethiopian Food of Folding Bikes
About ten years ago, I developed a case of folder envy after a trip to The Netherlands.In a leap of faith, I ordered a folding bike from a Web site without having ever ridden that model–or any other folding bike. The Website was Yahoo Auctions (if anyone in the US can remember that). The bike…
The Best Excuse for Not Bike Commuting
We spend a lot of time overcoming the excuses people come up with not to bike commute, or to not even give it a try. Some people–adults–don’t know how to ride a bike. Never learned. Who hasn’t heard the statistics on adult literacy. Something like 21 percent of American adults could look at this majestic…
A Fruitful BONGO Trailer Load
My wife and I maxed out our Wandertec BONGO Trailer a few weeks ago at Sam’s Club. Our supplies fit so perfectly into the Rubbermaid on the BONGO that it seemed a photo was needed to show the perfect packing of a months worth of supplies.
Send us your videos!
Just a few days ago we released a video of bike commuters. Bill Springer is the 14th commuter in the video. This morning I saw Bill out for a ride, and I yelled out to him, “Hey! I put you on YouTube.” He stopped and looked at me like, Do I know you? Should I…
Relief, Sweet Relief: The Commuter Relief Act
Update: See “Confusion, Sweet Confusion: The Commuter Relief Act” for Stacey’s search for answers to the questions raised by this article. Recently, U.S. House Representative Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore, proposed the Commuter Relief Act. This legislation, which is co-sponsored by Virginia's Jim Moran (D) and Hawaii's Mazie Hirono (D), seeks to equalize the field for all…
Memorial Day, Buffalo Soldiers, and Bikes
Today is Memorial Day in the United States. For you readers outside of the US, what this means is that some of us get to take the day off work, and it’s a great day to get a deal on a mattress. It’s also a day to commemorate U.S. Service Members who died while in…
'My name is _______, and I commute by bike.'
Ever since the North American Handmade Bike Show we’ve been accumulating these short videos of people declaring, on record, that they commute by bike. This is the first of what we hope will be an ongoing series. Our hope is that we can show the world that bike commuting is not just the realm of…
Probing the Fire Eye Helmet Light
It’s a busy Friday night in a college town. You see a man setting up a strange blinking apparatus right next to the train station–just as the Amtrak is loading and unloading passengers. The man quickly walks away. What do you do? I got some funny looks from a few bar hoppers as I walked…
e-Bikes and Commuters: Don't be fooled by cheap imitations!
Steve Benning has been experimenting with bike commuting on a loaner Ohm XS 750 e-bike. Now he has to return the fancy Ohm bike. But he sounds like he’s ready to dust off his own bike and to switch to pure pedal power. Sure, he’d like to keep that sweet $3,799 bike, but it has…
'Buy this car to drive to work. Drive to work to pay for this car.'
A recent post on Cyclelicio.us discussed the economics of car commuting as a function of personal time. James Schwartz at the Urban Country figures car ownership costs the average American about two hours a day "” that works out to about 500 hours each year to buy, insure, and maintain a car. Compare with the…
Dealing with Dogs
I somehow have managed not to read Mark Twain’s essay, Taming the Bicycle until recently. I particularly enjoyed the section on dogs: There was a row of low stepping-stones across one end of the street, a measured yard apart. Even after I got so I could steer pretty fairly I was so afraid of those…
Rapt Cycling Advocacy
Saturday came and went with no rapture to speak of. If you were aware of Harold Camping’s prediction, you fell into one of three broad categories: People completely convinced the rapture would happen, and bewildered when it didn’t, People who didn’t really expect the rapture but passed Saturday with your fingers crossed, hoping for the…
Back in your cars, everyone. Bike to Work Week is over.
Inside the drab building you see in the video below is the headquarters of Commute by Bike. But yesterday we de-drabified the building a bit with a new stainless steel sign. And today–at the conclusion of Bike to Work Week–the online cycling accessory powerhouse that is Campfire Cycling is unveiling a nice showroom squeezed into…
Bike to Work and/or Beer
I’ve gotten in touch with my inner lawyer, and feel compelled to clarify that today is Bike to Work Day–and not, as I wrote yesterday, Bike to Beer Day Yes, there is a Bike to Beer event today sponsored by my local bike advocacy organization and a local tavern. But today is Bike to Work…
Bumps in Bike to Work Week: It's a conspiracy, I tell you!
The oil companies and the auto industry control the weather! Wake up people! That’s how I felt yesterday afternoon, riding into what felt like a relentless spray of icy buckshot. The day started out just a bit chilly and drizzly, but that didn’t keep more than 100 dedicated bike commuters from visiting a “Bike to…
Cyclist: You're Just a Number (Be Counted)
Our Josh Lipton was interviewed about Bike to Work Week yesterday on local radio by Steve Benning (our e-bike commuting Guinea Pig), along with Anthony Quintile from our local advocacy organization. I snuck in halfway through, and snuck out again before the interview was over. (My sneaking is in full view in the video below.)…
A Windy Bike To Work Week… How About An E-bike?
We’re having quite the windy Bike-To-Work Week as often happens this time of year in Flagstaff. For cyclists with long commutes that are often into the wind, electric bikes can be a great way to make regular bike commuting more feasible.This is one of the many reasons we are introducing a lineup of electric bikes…
Pleading for Protection: A Transportation Bill Review
As headlines in the States are littered with concerns about the country's national debt, the ever increasing cost of oil, and the health and environmental repercussions of a largely inactive and auto-dependent population, the fate of federal funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure is uncertain. According to the League of American Bicyclists, the Senate Committee…
Commute by Tyke: Child Trailers
Bike commuting is fine for you, but I have kids who I need to take to daycare every morning. Oh Mama, are we ready with a comeback to that one. Child bike trailers aren’t just for towing your spawn to the playground on weekends. Many owners of child trailers use them daily as parents drop…
Bike to Work Week 2011 Begins
We kicked off Bike to Work Week by visiting and participating in a bike swap and parade held by our local bike advocacy organization. The bike swap was basically a bike-specific swap meet. Nirvana for DIY mechanics, bargain hunters, and bike nerds. I took some video and added some uplifting music to make it seem…