Bicycles as Landscape Art

Check out these custom-built gates, that incorporate vintage bicycles as decorative features.

They are at the home of my friends Abe and Laina and their family.  And, they were custom-built by their neighbor and my friend Joe.  Awesome!  I want some!

(The twisted-around handlebars are hard to look at... but they're for lookin' at, not for ridin'!)

Electric-powered bikes - are they really bikes?

I continue to have reservations about the gradual but steady increase in the number of people coasting around on electric-powered bikes.  Particularly, based on observation, I'm not convinced that they will ever mesh nicely with human-powered transportation.

It's always dangerous to stereotype, but (here goes...) riders of electric bikes seem to be generally inexperienced - it may be the first "bike" they've ridden in 20 or 30 or 40 years!  Their bicycling skills are rusty... they have grown unfamiliar with the bicycle rules of the road and common courtesy.  They tend to move at a considerably faster pace than their counterparts who are supplying their own forward propulsion.  (That's understandable, since e-bikes seem to zoom right along with the slightest rotation of the pedals or push of a handlebar-mounted lever.  And - I've never ridden one and don't intend to - but that's how it seems.)  Fast speeds and rusty skills tend to be a dangerous combination.

Many - perhaps most - seem uncomfortable riding anywhere but on corridors that have traditionally been reserved for "no motor vehicles" - and many are still posted as such.

Earlier this week, I was riding on the Greenbelt.  Traveling at what I consider to be a fairly brisk pace for the Greenbelt - 13 to 15mph.  Traffic was almost non-existent.  (Most people put away their white pants and bicycles after Labor Day - haha!)  A seasoned couple came crusing up behind me on their e-bikes.  I observed in my rearview helmet mirror that they were barely pedaling, but overtook me with ease.  A lady followed by a man.  They didn't try passing, but were riding close enough behind me to catch a little slipstream - ha!  We reached a point where the pathway was closed, and a sign directed traffic across the (Veterans Parkway) bridge, to the other side of the river.  A block up the pathway on that side - it was closed (!!) and a sign directed traffic onto city streets (which were covered with gravel for a chip-seal - is there ANY road or path that's not being repaired right now??).  I was somewhat amused when I left the path for the streets... and left the e-bike couple in the distance.  They were obviously unwilling to venture out on city streets.

At least they had the common sense to not attempt a pass, unlike some e-bicyclists who keep the pedal to the metal regardless of limited sight distance, heavy multi-mode traffic, etc.  (They are the pickup truck drivers of the bike path!  haha)

Finally... I can't imagine there would be much emotional reward to riding an e-bike.  A large part of my incentive in bicycling comes from ability to do so, and the sense of independence.  It's very satisfying to arrive at destinations powered completely by myself; it's something that most people are not able or willing to do, and frankly I feel like I rise above the masses, at least in my transportation choice.  Would you feel any such satisfaction if it's just a different form of motorized transportation?  (As a regular motorcyclist, I speak from experience.  I don't derive that same emotional reward from going someplace on the motorcycle.)

HOWEVER... for those few e-bike riders who would otherwise be driving someplace in a single-occupant motor coach, I s'pose I can get behind that.

When is a bike not a bike?

Happy new year!

I've posted a couple times recently, about the arrival and acceptance of "E-bikes" on the "no motor vehicles" Greenbelt and other bicycle infrastructure, and sidewalks, in our community.  I continue to have serious reservations about how it's all going to mesh, or not, during the busy summer months.  Time will tell.

We've had some interesting developments at the office "bike room" as well, over the past year or so.  (By "we," I really mean the people who manage the facility.  But most of them are friends of mine... and the majority are bike commuters as well.)

First it was the guy who rode his low-slung "tadpole trike."  You know... one of those contraptions with two wheels in the front, one in the back, and not quite as high as the hood of a passenger car.  (I worry about the safety of those things, in places where they share pavement with cars... but that's a different subject.)  The tadpole trike takes up three or more bicycle spaces, in the bike parking facility.  (NOT a problem in January... but six months from now?  That room gets pretty crowded on a nice day!)

Then a guy started riding this big "fat bike" with the pedal-assist motor.  The tires are too wide to fit in the bike racks... and I guess it's too heavy for him to lift up onto wall hooks.  (The bike room has some very nice custom features - a horizontal bike rack along one wall, that accepts tires of various widths - but it was built "BFB" - before fat bikes.  On the other walls, there are sturdy rails that bikes can be locked to, and hooks that accept a front wheel for vertical parking.  But you need adequate upper-body strength to hoist your bike onto the hook.)

And then... starting in the past week or so, some guy has been riding one of the biggest bikes I've ever seen, and parking it in the room.  At least I think it's a bike, in the same sense that a Hummer or Ford Excursion is a "car" - it sorta looks like a bike.  But - it occupies more space than either of my motorcycles.  Check it out!

Actually, it is a bike - a Surly Big Fat Dummy - and it has been customized with some interesting features - the big bike-mounted mitten thingies for the rider's hands.  Bags on the back.  Some sort of passenger accommodations... a seat maybe?  I can't tell because it's covered by some sort of thing that's apparently attached to the bike... it looks like a silver rain poncho with a hole for a neck.  But is it a child's neck that goes through there, or a dog's neck, or what?  Maybe at some point I'll get to see it, rolling down the pavement and loaded in all its glory... and I'll understand.

I'm sorta hoping this is just a "winter thing."  IMO, you don't need 4 1/2 inch wide tires to traverse what little snow we've had so far; I've been doing it mostly on 1 1/4 inch tires.  This thing would probably be better suited to Fairbanks, or maybe Minneapolis or Steamboat.  And there won't be room for it in our bike room that already gets very crowded in the summer.

On snowy days, my poor friend Dave rides a "fat bike" that looks pretty tiny by comparison.  You can see it - and the "tadpole"- in the second photo.  But it's pretty awkward for him to lift his fat bike down off the rack, when trying to maneuver around the "morbidly obese bike" (by comparison).

One-hour distance cycling record broken!

Just in case you didn't see this - pretty cool!

A Frenchman just broke a record for the most bicycle-miles in an hour.  He rode 22.5 kilometers in one hour!  That's about 14 miles.

"Hey!  Wait a minute!" you might be saying.  "I can ride 14 miles in an hour!" (Heck!  Even I might be able to ride 14 miles in an hour!)

Yeah... but I'm not 105 years old!  Robert Marchand is, and he set the record for the "105-plus age category."  Score one for the OLD GUYS!!

Almost 100 years ago, a cycling coach told him to give it up - he didn't have the size or physique to be a competitive cyclist.  I wish the coach could see him now!  Those close to him say he could've done even better, but he quit eating meat awhile back, which may have compromised his training.  But - how many 105-year-olds are trying to build muscle mass?!!

The story says he rides an indoor trainer every day, and rides outside when the weather is nice.  And "at 105, [he's] not making plans for the future."  Just the same, I hope in five years he can set a record for the 110-plus category!  You go Robert!

Transportation cycling is thrifty!

Way back almost ten years ago, near the beginning of this blogging adventure, I laid out the Top Ten reasons for bike transportation.  Looking at the overall list, those reasons all still resonate with me!

#2 was - and is - "Economy."  I observed that the AAA (the auto people) say the average American spends $8410 per year (back in '04) to own and operate a car.  It's satisfying to consider that I've probably saved $80,000 or more since then, by riding a bike.

A year ago, I shared an article I'd read in the Costco member magazine... "Mr. Money Mustache" He's a personal-finance blogger and enthusiastic proponent of bicycle transportation.  His observations about the "tragic clowns" getting around in their personal cars and trucks struck a note with me.  The guy gets it!

Well, lo and behold... Mr. Mustache surfaced again!  This time on the Bicycling Magazine website, in a story titled, "How to Ride Your Way to a Badass Life of Leisure."  Somebody from the magazine interviews him about his bike-riding thriftiness.  And, it's obviously directed at bicycle riders, rather than the general public.

Some sections resonated in particular...

"How many bikes do you own?"  He owns an 8-year-old Trek road bike, and a 12-year-old mountain bike... and a "city bike" for short errands.  Oh - and an electric bike for snow riding and pulling a trailer.  Surely the Bicycling people are somewhat disappointed that he says "no one besides Tour de France riders needs a bike that costs more than $1000."  (After all, Bicycling depends on advertising revenue from bike companies... primarily "expensive bike companies.")  He questions the need to "prioritize moving further up the toy ladder."  (He must really have disdain for people who spend $50,000 for a giant shiny pickup truck, or $80,000 for a luxury car.)  When the interviewer says the "nexus of price/performance" is a $3200 mountain bike, Mustache says "To me, the difference between [my Trek road bike] and the $10,000 all-carbon road bike a friend of mine has is vanishingly small."

He talks about "tiny details exaggeration syndrome" ... imagining the ride-difference between aluminum and carbon and steel frames to be huge.  "The difference is miniscule compared with, say, differences in tire size and pressure, or the presence of suspension... we need to zoom back out and think, 'What makes a difference in my lifetime of happiness?'"

He talks about paying the bills and staying afloat... and then the surplus can be used for "spending on treats" and "fancier stuff"... or it can instead be used to becoming flush enough to "buy freedom."  "While a fancy bike is kinda fun, getting to ride bikes whenever you like is really, really fun.  It's a kind of fun that never gets old and never needs upgrading."  He feels the same way about buying a $400 bicycling jacket... you can do that, or you can stick to the stuff you "also wear in real life."

How about getting cold and wet?  "Of course you will experience mild discomfort every single day unless you only dare venture out when the temperature is between 68 and 74 degrees. ... But it's the minor... discomfort that reminds you you are alive.  People who use cars just because they are afraid of the weather are completely missing the point of being alive."

The guy gets it... and can explain it!  (Oh - and my target retirement is age 65.  I've not been disciplined enough about hanging onto all those dollars I've saved over my 30+ years of bike riding.  Too many treats and fancy stuff, I guess.)

Boise Bicycle Project plays Santa - AGAIN!

I have nothing but admiration for the Boise Bicycle Project ... they are an organization that talks the talk, and walks the walk!  (Rides the ride?)  Once again this year, they are rejuvenating and giving away 350 bicycles to kids in the area.  It's inspirational and deeply meaningful!  Some of those kids will probably grow up and, like most adults, rationalize that bikes are too fun to be legitimate transportation, and relegate them to recreation.  But of 350 kids who get bikes... imagine if 50 of them embraced bicycles as "grown-up transportation"!  The BBP would've enriched them for life!

Tour de France!!!!!!!

So, are you paying attention to this year's Tour de France?  Yeah, me neither.  There are probably Americans riding in it, and maybe even competitively.  Does Radio Shack still sponsor a team?  How about the U.S. Postal Service?  (That was a favorite irony... an organization with a reputation for being slow and uncompetitive, sponsoring a team in possibly the most competitive of all team sports.)

I'm probably like lots of my fellow Americans.  Lance, and Greg LeMond before him, provided an additional point of interest in something that had always been quite foreign.  We wanted to rah-rah for the home team.  And our golden boys - in their yellow jerseys - filled us with patriotic sentiment and probably sold a lot of road bikes.  (Huffys and such.  haha!)

Then Lance burst our bubble.  Turns out we were all cheering for a cheater.

However, more and more it seems that Lance's big peccadillo was "getting caught."  Everybody cheats... right?  It seems to be part of competitive cycling... at least on the professional level, where lots and lots of money is on the line.  You'd almost think the major players have "cover-up experts" who know how the tests go, and can advise the team on how to game the system.

This year, for the first time, I've been reading about a new kind of test... infrared scanning of the bicycles, to make sure they don't have an electric "helper motor" hidden inside the frame.  What the?!!?  (Of course, if they were secret, it would've been hard for Shimano to sell their Dura-Ace Helper Motor, as used by the Team!)

Imagine - working out while you commute!

Just when you think you've seen everything... some genius comes along and thinks of something new and revolutionary!

In this case... it's a bus that, instead of being equipped with seats for the passengers, is equipped with exercise bikes for the passengers!

This is going to be a huge hit with people who like riding exercise bikes, and riding on the bus!

Story HERE.

From the article: "Why commute to work on a bike, fighting traffic and dodging potholes, when you could ride a stationary bike mounted inside a bus while you commute?"  And, "Safety concerns could be the biggest obstacle for 1Rebel's novel commuting plan.  The bikes mounted in the buses are not currently slated to include seatbelts, and Balfour made no mention of helmets."

Stationary bikes on a bus, with seatbelts!  Hahahahaha!  Hilarious!

The wizards behind this scheme are anticipating charging $17-21 for a 45-minute "class."  It's called "Ride2Rebel."  Edgy!!  I assume the cost of the commute will be included. If they could rig the bikes up so that they provided the forward propulsion, instead of that big diesel engine, they might be on to something! (Kinda like those "bar bikes" where everybody sitting around the bar is pedaling, while the bar lumbers down the road at 4mph.)

Full disclosure:  They have a gym at my place of work.  The first winter of my employment, I signed up and rode a stationary bicycle maybe half-a-dozen times on icy winter days.  I could NOT stand it!  I sorely missed the breeze (or wind and sleet) in my face... and the potholes and traffic, too, I s'pose.  I'd rather walk to and from work... or ride a bike fighting traffic and dodging potholes... than ride an exercise bike in a moving bus!  But... different enthusiasms make the world an interesting place.

Another Tour de Fat in the books

My two local granddaughters, Mackenzie and Bonnie, joined me once again to ride in the Tour de Fat Parade on Saturday, August 15th.  We crossed paths with friends, and a good time seemed to be had by all.  (How not?  A lovely day - a delightful activity - and boisterous but not TOO crazy participants.  The "official estimate" put the rider count at about 11,000 this year.  Fantastic!  That's a LOT of bikes and bike riders!  If I'm not mistaken, people are still leaving the staging area as the first-out riders are getting back, making it a full circle.)

Besides the fun, the event raised right around $450,000 (!!) for the local bike-oriented nonprofits.  Way to go everybody - especially the army of dedicated volunteers who work behind the scenes to make it happen.  (Yeah, not everybody just magically shows up on Saturday morning, nor does the event magically transpire.)

CLARIFICATION: The $450K figure (which I got off the Boise Bicycle Project website) is the grand total for all the Boise Tours over the years... approximately $45K was raised this time around.  (Thanks, Clancy, for your diligence in keeping things straight.)

Bicycling as social statement

Steve Henning is a textiles-industry executive.  He was working in Australia, and bicycle commuted almost exclusively.  His associates admired him for it.

Then he was relocated to China, where he assumed he could continue riding... after all, bicycle is a very common mode of transportation in that heavily-populated country.  But then he made an unfortunate discovery.  "My team was humiliated that their boss rode a bike to work like a common person. While Chinese bike to work infinitely more than Australians, among the wealthier Chinese, bikes are not an option. There are plenty of bikes on the road, but biking is for the lower classes only. So my team felt it was an embarrassment that their boss rode a bike to the office. They felt it suggested to the entire company that their boss was unimportant, and that by association, they were unimportant, too."  (Story HERE.)

Wow!

Can you imagine being socially-pressured on account of your bicycle riding?

But as I think about it... what kind of social pressures do we have, here in the U.S.A., regarding our transportation?

There is no doubt that in many eyes and minds, choice of vehicle is a very significant "statement."  If you don't believe me, spend an evening watching network TV, and observe the car and truck commercials.  If they are to be believed, your wheels are everything!  If you don't drive their vehicle, you might as well tattoo LOSER on your forehead!

Ride the bus?  Are you kidding?  Do you eat at the rescue mission, too?!?

Ride a bike?  A grownup riding a bike?  Pitiful!  Lost your driver's license, huh?  What are you, some kind of tree-hugging liberal?

Of course, there are exceptions.  Among the "hipsters" where image is EVERYTHING, it's very stylish to ride a vintage single-speed... and particularly if you're wearing the proper hipster clothing style (which seems to change somewhat regularly - ya gotta pay attention to these things).  Perhaps as they graduate to full adulthood, bicycle-as-transportation will continue to evolve into respectability?

And of course there's a subculture of "equipment fethishists" in the world of bicycling as everywhere else... people who derive satisfaction from having the very top-level gear.  Surely part of the appeal of titanium carbon fiber / Dura-Ace / Campy Record is other like-minded riders making note of your awesome steed.

If I'm making a "social statement" by my bicycling, it's at the subconscious level.  (In my mind, transportation by bicycle is superior in pretty much every way.  I'm saving a boatload of dough.  I'm not contributing to the inversion.  I could do what every motorist is doing... but relatively few of them could do what I'm doing.  But I don't care whether they recognize any of that or not.)

Excuse me, while I wax nostalgic for a moment...

When I was a kid, most families only had one car... or at least that's my memory.  (More moms stayed home back then.)  But still, it was a very unusual sight to see a grownup riding a bike, other than for recreation.

Wesley Goodson was well-known in my neighborhood - for bicycling.  He rode an ancient "cruiser" style bike that was festooned with baskets, several headlights, horns, and literally hundreds of reflectors.  He was an adult - but not a normal adult.  I'm sure he was mentally impaired to some degree... he mowed lawns for pocket money and constantly smoked a pipe as he rode.  He'd ride his bike to Roosevelt Market, right across the street from my elementary school, where we would admire it while he leaned against the wall and sipped beer from a quart bottle.  (Thinking back... Wesley was a pretty cool character!  Although he was hardly a role model, he certainly didn't feel any pressure to "fit in."  He was his own guy.  And - he probably was role model in the sense of his transportation... for me.  Here was a guy who didn't have much in the way of prosperity, but he got around the neighborhood in style, and on the cheap!)

There was another fellow - I don't know his name, but I knew of him from the same Roosevelt Market connection.  He'd park his "English three speed" out front, while he ran in for provisions... on his way to work downtown.  He worked at the music store.  (When I was a bit older, I'd hang out there, admiring electric guitars and horns and pianos and such.)  He bicycled to work regularly... you could say it was his daily transportation.

And my dad rode a bike to work sometimes, but only maybe once a week and when the weather was nice.  I always thought it was pretty cool when his bicycle was cabled up in his office parking spot.

Pre-Super-Bowl bike ride

Defensive end Michael Bennett, of the Seattle Seahawks, was feeling celebratory after the team's playoff victory over the Packers... so he hopped on a cop bike, and took a spin around the stadium, doing wheelies and high-fivin' fans.

Is there a better way to celebrate anything?

Story HERE.

The first thing I noticed is how tiny that 26-inch bike looks, underneath that mountain of man.

Apparently the police were okay with it - they just asked him to return the bike before the Super Bowl.  The Seattle Seahawks meet the New England Cheatin' Ball-Deflators on February 1.  Go Seahawks!

Fat girl on a bike!

Andrea Parrish is a cyclist in Spokane.  But she's no ordinary cyclist - she's 6 feet 4 inches tall, wears a size 24 dress, and tips the scale at 325 pounds.  She's also a gifted writer.

Andrea deals with unique challenges because of her "super human" status.  She has learned (as have I!) that bicycles are generally designed with smaller people in mind.  She's hard on wheels, hubs, frames, saddles, etc.  She observes that women's cycling-specific clothing - "incredibly cute" and "full cycling kits" - aren't available in Size 24.

But she loves cycling.  "The feeling of freedom, the sense of accomplishment, and even the stares I get as I pedal by. I am a fat girl on a bike, and I love it. Biking allows me the chance to get in a workout in the time I would normally spend driving. Biking is the one thing that is easy to fit into my (sometimes far too busy) schedule."

Andrea rode a century ride last summer - awesome!  And she says she's lost 85 pounds since she started riding.  That is SO impressive!

She points out that we all stereotype bike riders, and anybody who busts the stereotype makes us react, perhaps more than is merited.

Every once in a very great while, somebody will comment about my physique.  How could I get upset?  They're almost always driving - frequently in a pickup truck.  But Andrea makes me think.  Sometimes I'll see a "super size" guy or gal on a bicycle, and my first mental reaction is probably harsh.  But it's always followed by a "mental slap in my own face" - how can you possibly find fault with an overweight person riding a bike?  Would it be better if they were driving... or sitting on a sofa downin' the snacks?  GOOD FOR THEM, for making cycling part of their life!  (If it weren't for cycling, I'm confident I'd have to be much more aware of my weight, and food intake.)

Read what Andrea wrote HERE.  It's excellent.

Christmas Bicycle Joy

Take a look at this photo.

The pretty little girl - does she look happy? She's Annie Rasmussen, and she's sitting on her sweet new bike, courtesy of the Boise Bicycle Project. The BBP overhauled and gave out more than 350 bikes - and helmets - to kids here in Boise this year.  The bicycle giveaway project is now a well-established tradition.

Now notice the guy in the photo.

Santa?

No - better! It's Clancy Anderson, who freely shares his time and talents with the BBP on a regular basis. Does Clancy look happy?

Clancy not only volunteers (at the BBP and at Recreation Unlimited), he's also a devoted transportation cyclist and a regular commenter here on the Bike Nazi. And he's rightfully profiled in a story on the Idaho Statesman website... read it HERE. Jimmy Hallyburton down at the BBP calls Clancy a "magical volunteer" - and that he is!

The world is a better place, because of organizations like the BBP, and especially because of guys like Clancy.

(Photo stolen from the Idaho Statesman website - it's a great one!)

Depression

In 1978, this offbeat new sitcom came into existence - Mork and Mindy.  I was young and poor, and much of my entertainment was listening to my records and watching TV, so I tuned in.  It was a winner... I watched it regularly.  I thought Mindy was cute as a bug (that's very cute... right?), but it was the zany antics of newcomer Robin Williams that kept it truly interesting.  (According to the Wikipedia, Williams came in to audition with the producer of the show... he was directed to a seat, and stood on his head in the seat, and was hired on the spot.)

Over the next 30 years, Robin Williams became a household name and part of our culture.  He made a wide variety of movies, playing everything from "manic Robin Williams" to straight men to sinister scary dudes.  And of course, whenever he got the chance to cut loose, there was no one better at frenetic high-energy improvisational comedy.  He sure caused me to laugh - and groan - a lot, over the years.

Off-camera, one of his passions was bicycling!  Did you know that?  It wasn't well-publicized, but he loved to ride bicycles, would hang out with Lance and visit France during the race of the same name, etc.

When he took his own life earlier this year, it shocked even his best friends.

How could a guy who made us so happy, be so sad?

So, why do I bring this up in a blog about cycling?  Well, I already mentioned his love of bikes.  But also... there's a saying among motorcyclists, "You never see a motorcycle parked in front of a psychiatrist's office."  Suggesting that motorcycling is therapeutic and brings peace of mind.

I certainly believe that to be true... unless maybe you're a white-knuckle edge-of-control motorcycle rider, and maybe even they get to release some stress.  (I don't think it would work for me.)

I believe bicycling is even more therapeutic!  Or at least I know it works that way for me.

Maybe Robin had let dust collect on his bicycles for too long.  Evidently he was very, very disappointed about how the Lance Armstrong soap opera turned out.  I s'pose I can understand.

Depression - chronic depression - is a serious condition, and obviously hard to understand if you don't suffer from it.  I had a younger sister who was a brilliant over-achiever.  As we were growing up, I know it was hard for my parents to not say, "Why can't you be more like your sister?!!"  She graduated from medical school at the top of her class, and very young.  Two or three years later, after several unsuccessful attempts, she committed suicide.  That's the last time I cried like a baby.  I couldn't understand how such a gentle, gifted person, beloved by everybody in her circle, could feel so bad about herself and her situation.  I still don't.  I still miss her many years later, and I'll miss Robin Williams, too.

(I happened across an interesting article about Robin Williams and his love of bicycling... HERE.)

Fat is coming to Boise!!

The New Belgium Tour de Fat will roll thru town next weekend - Saturday, August 16 to be specific.

How does one describe the Tour de Fat to someone not familiar?

Well, its not about Body Mass Index, or an eating contest, or a gathering of the morbidly obese.

Rather, it's a celebration of bicycle transportation and culture.  It's brought to you by the people who also bring you Fat Tire Amber Ale... which is probably delicious, particularly on a hot August afternoon in Boise!  (Not being a beer drinker, I can't speak from personal experience.  And in case you're wondering, most of the events are all-ages appropriate... particularly the parade, which takes a relaxed pace through downtown Boise on bicycles and contraptions that vaguely resemble bicycles.)

A complete schedule of events, and additional information, can be found HERE.  (It asks when you were born... apparently even though the kiddies are welcome to ride in the parade, they shouldn't be looking at the schedule!)

Mark your calendar now - the parade begins at 11am.  It's probably the closest thing we have to Carnaval, or Mardi Gras.  Very, very festive!  If you've done it once, you'll want to do it every year.

Another favorite event is the "Car for Bike Trade."  An attendee who mostly drives a car for transportation pledges to give up that car for a year... and in return he or she rides away on a shiny new limited-edition Fat Tire bike!  (I'm always jealous... but must admit I'm not the "target demographic" since I'm already a believer.)

Last year, they estimated 7000 parade participants!  No other parade in Boise even comes close!  And - there's another reason to participate... last year the attendees contributed $62,000 to local non-profit bicycle partners (this year the beneficiaries are SWIMBA, Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance, and the Boise Bike Project).

Let's hope for 8000 or maybe 10,000 participants this year... and be part of it!

CNN: 150 Years of the Bicycle

I happened across a rather interesting brief history of the bicycle, as presented on the CNN website.

"From Boneshaker to BMX: 150 years of the bicycle."

It has some awesome photo illustrations, particularly from early on.  In fact, I wonder if maybe some of them weren't staged in modern times.  (The 1817 Draisine - did they even have cameras in 1817?)  It appropriately points out how many innovations came about in the late 1800s, when bicycles were the leading edge of personal transportation.

(On a personal level, not a lot to report, or to get all excited about.  We've had a particularly dreary January this year - with the sun rarely even making an appearance, and temperatures lingering below freezing.  Hardly ideal for encouraging Bicycle Joy!  But the pavement is dry, and I have ridden each day so far this winter... and warmer days are just around the corner!)

Bike Share arrives in... Moscow! (Russia)

Bike sharing seems to be trending upwards, as more and more cities adopt programs. You can now rent a bikeshare bike in Red Square. Story HERE.

Color of the bikes? RED, of course! (And they look like they have a rack of some sort on the front, probably so you can carry your AK-47 and some turnips.) As in pretty much every other place, bikes can be rented by the hour, day, week, etc., with fees encouraging shorter "trip" rentals.

Are shared bikes in Boise's future? Clancy recently stated - and who would disagree? - that a bike share would be a much better use of taxpayer dollars than a track-mounted trolley that circles downtown. Just the same, I can't support it if it's funded by the taxpayers. CitiBank sponsors the startup NYC effort (CitiBike). We have banks, grocery store corporate HQ, etc., in these parts... how about a WincoBike? (I'm not confident you could recover the startup cost via user fees... but I bet if those fees were set reasonably, the user fees could pay for the ongoing operational costs.)

Interestingly, Portland which is famous for bike-friendliness, and which also is home to Alta, the company that engineers many of the shared programs, doesn't yet have a bikeshare. (Is my understanding.)  But I believe talks are underway.

Lawrence of Arabia - killed by bad cyclists!

I'm in the process of watching "Lawrence of Arabia." I saw it as a young child in the movie theater; this is the first time since. I got the Blu-Ray - it looks and sounds fantastic! (It goes almost 4 hours - I've made it to intermission. I don't get many 4-hour time slots.)

Lawrence of Arabia! Legendary British war hero, who thrived in forbidding circumstances, survived daunting desert treks, cemented alliances between Arabs and "westerners"!

At the very beginning of the movie, he dusts off his Brough Superior motorcycle, pulls on his goggles, and heads enthusiastically down the winding 2-lane road. (Riding on the left side of the center stripe - this is Great Britain, after all.) He comes over a hill and encounters 2 bike riders, meandering down the wrong side of the road, straight toward him! He skids and wobbles - and you hear the sickening sounds of crunching metal. The next scenes are of his funeral.

Apparently the movie portrayal is at least somewhat accurate. Wikipedia says, "At the age of 46, two months after leaving military service, Lawrence was fatally injured in an accident on his Brough Superior SS100 motorcycle in Dorset, close to his cottage ... A dip in the road obstructed his view of two boys on their bicycles; he swerved to avoid them, lost control and was thrown over the handlebars. He died six days later..."

Perhaps his death wasn't totally in vain; the Wikipedia continues: "One of the doctors attending him was the neurosurgeon Hugh Cairns who consequently began a long study of what he saw as the unnecessary loss of life by motorcycle dispatch riders through head injuries. His research led to the use of crash helmets by both military and civilian motorcyclists."

"Piteous Contempt"

I'm in the process of reading a book, In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist, by Pete Jordan.

Jordan was pursuing an education in urban planning and transportation infrastructure and such, and wanted to do a year in Amsterdam, where he could observe their well-known devotion to bicycle transportation.  He ended up loving the place so much that he lives there now.

The book is quite interesting; I hope to share my opinion on the overall work when I finish.  In the meantime, I've been making note of some passages which capture my interest in particular.  The author has done considerable research, gathering historical documents about how Holland evolved over the course of the 20th Century, in such a different way than the United States did.

Going back about 90 years (1923)... the automobile was already ingrained in American culture.

Jordan:

[In America] after the populace had taken to cars, cycling was then confined to "telegraph messengers, schoolboys and eccentrics."  He quotes a Dutch reporter in 1923: "The average American feels complete for the first time when he's sitting behind a steering wheel" and such a driver "immediately assumes an air of piteous contempt" toward anyone who didn't drive.

American children could fool around with bikes, but as they aged, their bicycles were expected to be shed along with their dolls and their teddy bears as they matured into full-fledged motorists.

Dutch reporter in 1912, on car ownership in America:

"It's a question of uniformity, not liberty.  The principle of uniformity is stronger here than that of liberty.  Everyone is expected to do what everyone else does.  The smallest deviation from this law will be punished through the tacit disapproval by the combined humanity.  He who doesn't believe this should try wearing a straw hat or a high hat in the "off season," or go strolling in a green tie while knowing that purple is in vogue.

No doubt a lot of that dynamic has persisted ... and I s'pose turnabout is fair play.  I say that, because I assume an air of piteous contempt for anybody who does drive!!
(-;

NYC Bike Share not embraced by everybody

On most days, I search the web for news about "bike" and "bicycle." The search almost always gives me 2 or 3 tragic stories of bike/car accident fatalities, some stories about bicycle racing (which I'm only marginally interested in), a new bike-related invention or two, and a mishmash of various other bike news.

Lately there have been a lot of stories about the impending Bike Sharing program, about to debut in New York City. (I've commented about it before, HERE and HERE.) And with good reason; it will be the world's largest bike sharing program despite it's relatively late arrival. (And I'm also favorably impressed that it will be subsidized by CORPORATE sponsors, rather than taxpayers. The way it oughtta be!)

Not all NYC citizens are enamored with the bike share. As the parking stations have gone in, there have been numerous complaints by residents who see their scarce parking spaces, or sidewalks out front of their apartments, or vendor stations, being gobbled up by bike parking. And I've even seen complaints from the emergency service providers - paramedics, firefighters, etc. - who are complaining that in some cases, the parking racks are hindering their ability to do their work.

I s'pose there's always a tradeoff with any new venture. Especially when the venture takes up space... and especially in a place like Manhattan Island, where space is limited and they ain't making any more.

I believe the official kickoff date for the NYC program is Memorial Day... which is nigh upon us. I hope it's a smashing success, and that even the doubters and complainers come to acknowledge the sacrifice is worth the reward.