WINTER! Off to a good start

I wasn't man enough to get up in the wee hours to observe the total lunar eclipse, but I enjoyed the light of the fullest-of-full moons on the way to the office in the morning. (It helps, on the shortest day of the year, huh?)



Later on the day was sunny and got up into the low 40s. I seized the opportunity and went on an afternoon exercise/recreation ride... the first time in a couple weeks where I really worked up a sweat. It felt fine!! (I rode "the cow loop" - out Warm Springs to the Harris Ranch area, and back into town via Boise Avenue.)

We may have a cold, wet winter ahead. But starting now, the days are getting longer and spring's a-comin'!!

Boise Bike Project Plays Santa

One of the main objectives of the Boise Bicycle Project is to "transform donated bicycles into functional pieces of rolling sustainable art." And this time of year is BIG!

According to this news story, they just dispensed 201 bicycles to deserving kids. (Wow! Are there that many good little girls and boys in Boise?!)

The BBP's director, Jimmy Halliburton, says, "For most of these kids this is a present that they're not going to get otherwise. Some of them it's the first bicycle they've ever gotten before, so most of them are absolutely ecstatic." I expect that these 201 kids will remember the Christmas of '10 forever; I remember the year I had a shiny bike - my first - under the tree, and wrote about it HERE.

What a great way to give to the community, huh? Hats off to everybody at the Boise Bicycle Project, including regular reader/commenter Clancy, for bringing about some peace and good will toward men!

Bike Bonus!

IKEA, the retailer of trendy put-it-together-yourself furniture (I hope that's right; I've never traded with 'em) has given every U.S. employee a surprise year-end bonus. Not cash, or a gift card - but a bicycle!

"We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport," said Mike Ward, IKEA US president.

Additional pro-bicycle propaganda on the press release:

Why a bike? Because when it comes to sustainable transport, a bicycle is a great option. And when it comes to healthy living, riding a bike is one of the best cardio forms of exercise. Here are some facts.
• Bicycling is an excellent cardio-vascular exercise, which promotes heart health.
• On average, commuting 10 miles a day by bike in 30 minutes, instead of driving a car burns 110,250 calories (keeping off 30 pounds of fat each year).
• Cycling just 20 miles a week can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 50%.
• Countries with the highest levels of cycling and walking generally have the lowest obesity rates.

For Sustainable living, bicycling also has many benefits.
• Bicycling reduces polluting emissions. A short, four mile round trip by a bike keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe.
• In 2001 walking and bicycling accounted for 23 billion miles traveled, worth billions of dollars in fuel savings alone.
• In one year, riding a bike versus owning and driving a car will save an individual $8,000 in gasoline and general car maintenance and insurance costs.

[The only point I'd take issue with is "commuting 10 miles a day in 30 minutes." 20mph is a little fast for a "commuting" pace, unless all their employees are very athletic.]

Decidedly Bike-Unfriendly

"This town ain't big enough for both of us!"

Blackhawk, Colorado, maybe an hour west of Denver (just north of Idaho Springs), is a tourist destination nestled in the mountains. It's a gambling town with a decidedly "wild west" feel to it. I passed through there in 2003 on the motorsickle, as I traveled between Mount Evans and Rocky Mountain National Park, and remember the place well.



Evidently the city fathers of Blackhawk have passed a no-bicycling ordinance for the entire town, declaring that the streets aren't wide enough for both cars and bikes. You'd think there must've been an incident involving a tourist-on-bike and a local-in-car, or vice versa, prompting the move, but nobody seems to be aware of a glaring problem... just the regular ongoing competition for limited space that some folks feel.

Are those Blackhawk Aristocrats aware that a lot of folks visit Colorado to ride bikes? And that those folks might avoid patronizing their town on account of their rather discriminatory law? (The law was upheld recently by a judge - story Here - scroll down. But I'm confident a determined cyclist could successfully press the issue, since in Colorado and most jurisdictions, public roadways must accommodate cyclists.)

Closer to home (at least for me), the shenanigans continue on the stretch of Greenbelt behind Riverside Village in Garden City.

The Citizens for an Open Greenbelt group is reporting that 11 cyclists have been cited for riding on that stretch of the bike path. Ironically, cops on a motorized ATV patrol the bike path, to make sure cyclists aren't using it! (What's wrong with this picture?)

Stay tuned for further developments. The COG has officially taken it to court, and I totally expect them to prevail. Frankly, I'm disappointed that apparently none of the cited cyclists pleaded not guilty, or appealed their convictions. (But such actions take money.)

NOTES: I took the photo of Black Hawk, when I passed thru in 2003. I lifted the Greenbelt photo from the COG Facebook thing. (Check it out.) Previous commentary HERE.

Transportation Expense

Every year, 'round this time, we get a message from the Accounting folks something like the following (this year's message):

Effective January 1, 2011, the mileage reimbursement rate for the use of personal cars in conjunction with company business will be 51¢ per mile, up from the current 50¢.

The reimbursement rate supposedly covers all aspects of vehicle ownership - car payment, depreciation, insurance, maintenance... plus gas, of course.

No mention of reimbursement for riding my bicycle on company business.

If I could get 50¢/mile for my bike miles, it would've paid for the cost of the bike purchase a little over a year ago, plus all the expenses of operating the bike, and I'd still have several hundred dollars left over.

Cycling Safety in Boise - Revisited

Cycling safety isn't on the forefront of our collective minds in winter time. However, it's been a year since the city's Cycling Safety Task Force was convened (in the wake of 3 bicycle fatalities), so I recently asked the City Fathers for an accounting of how it's gone.

One of the Task Force members was Deputy Chief Jim Kerns of the Police Department. I emailed him directly, since I heard him testify about bike safety, and got the clear impression he both understood the issue and was sincere and sympathetic. (Frankly, I think many of our law enforcement professionals view cyclists as a nuisance, rather than as legitimate roadway users.)

Mr. Kerns emailed me back with good information.

- The hoped-for "education outreach program" didn't make much headway. (Mostly due to budget constraints, I'm sure.)
- However, new info is posted on the city's web page, and the BPD is "twittering" and using Facebook to disseminate info.
- The BPD contributed significantly to the Boise Weekly's bicycle issue last May.
- All officers were trained on the new ordinances, and had a "spring refresher" to remind them of their responsibilities. Because of that, there seems to be a (slightly) stepped-up effort at enforcing traffic laws that affect cyclists.

He also sent me an interesting stats sheet about bicycle accidents and enforcement.

Highlights:

- Of 102 reported bicycle accidents, a "vehicle driver" (auto, truck, SUV, etc.) was at fault in 78, compared with 47 where the cyclist was at fault. ("Overlapping data assume both were at fault.")

- YTD, the Boise Police had issued 69 citations for bicycle violations. The most prevalent violation appears to be riding at night without proper equipment, but "position on highway violations" (my pet peeve) was cited 7 times, it looks like. (A HUGE improvement over the 1-per-year average, for the past few years.)

I appreciate the city's effort to keep the issue of bicycle safety in the minds of the road-going public. It's part of being a bike-friendly city, which we take pride in. I hope they keep up - and even step up - the effort as time goes on.

Ridin' in a Winter Wonderland

I was a half-hour or so late to work this morning. And that after leaving 10 minutes or so earlier than usual.

Five minutes can be attributed to the winter conditions. The rest can be attributed to multiple "Kodak Moments" along the way. It was so beautiful out there!

NOTES:
- Today is a "catastrophic snow day" in these parts. Many people stayed home on account of the road conditions. The schools are all closed. The garbage truck came down my street this morning, and was getting stuck at every stop. (Pathetic! There's maybe 8 inches out there. The folks in Chicago or Minneapolis or Salt Lake City would mock our wimpiness!)
- I've surrendered the skinny-tire bike, and have relied on the old faithful fat-tire workhorse for the past week or so.
- Our Parks and Recreation folks are doing a fantastic job of keeping the Greenbelt bike path in usable condition.
- It's VERY unusual in these parts, particularly in November, to have snow on the ground for such a long stretch. I imagine it'll be gone by the weekend; warmer temperatures are predicted.



This one's for the Christmas card!


Another rider, Tom, came by and offered to push the button. Nice!

(That HI-VIZ is pretty sweet, huh?)