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Trek is introducing two new chainless bicycles this winter.
Oh, and meet your new namesake bike Washington, DC.
OK, it may not be named for DC, but I'm sticking with that until proved wrong.
From Bikes@Vienna
The bikes@vienna tradition for Thanksgiving morning is the "Guilt Reduction Ride". We gather at the store for a ride to Herndon and back which departs at 9 AM. I'll start serving the hot cider about 8:30 AM. Please bring canned goods for the Committee Helping Others (CHO) food drive. The idea is to get your exercise and make a charitable donation before you enjoy that Thanksgiving feast. We gather together to ride our bikes and trikes and count our blessings.
The following Monday, December 1 is the Holiday Stroll on Church Street. People gather to light the holiday tree, welcome Santa's arrival on a fire truck, hear strolling carolers, ride in horse drawn carriages, and roast marshmallows in the warming fires. The event begins at 6:30. We will be having a sale on baskets, bags, and racks. All those items will be 25% off from 6:30 to 9 PM.
Photo by outtacontext
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and Bikes Belong presented their report on Active Transportation for America to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar at the National Press Club last month.
The report quantifies the national benefits of bicycling and walking and public demand for an investment in varied transportation choices. It reports that more funding for bicycling and walking can save Americans billions of dollars not only in traditional transportation and health benefits, but in the economic, energy and climate benefits of Active Transportation.
You can watch it on C-SPAN here (if you didn't already Tivo it). You can read the report here.
The amount the government spent to build a single highway interchange in Virginia is comparable to one and half years of national spending on biking and walking and trails
Oberstar starts talking around 22 minutes in. At about 30 minutes in he talks about the "Fifth Transformational Era of Transportation in America." (Right after he teases Secretary Peters for blaming the Minneapolis Bridge collapse on bike trails). The first is in the 1890's when cyclists lobby for a grant to study a system of paved roadways to get the horseless carriages off their trails (irony). Next was when we established the interstate highway system in 1959. Then in 1970's when the first trillion miles in a year were driven. Fourth was in 1991 with the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, when we began to use our highway transportation fund for things other than roads (including transit, inner-city rail, bike facilities etc...)
The fifth era, he promises, will reduce carbon emissions, save fuel and fight obesity.
Photo by BikePortland.org
Richard Layman points out that Colorado now has a "Share the Road" license plate.
The additional fee for the "vanity message" is $25. 100% of the fees go to bicycle education programs.
He notes that Georgia has one too.
So do Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, and Kentucky.
Groups in West Virginia, Indiana and California are pursuing one. Of them all, I like Kentucky's the best - except that it looks like the cyclists are trying to run the jogger down.
Eric and I were on Chris Core's show this weekend at his invitation following the reaction to his commentary. You can see it here. I can't figure out how to link to the actual video so you'll have to go through to find the 11/22/08 clip with Eric Gilliland and I.
I didn't do as well as I would have liked. I had four points I wanted to get out, and I made half of two of them. I also started out by saying "What was wrong with the email..." when what I meant was "commentary." Nerves. The time goes fast and it's easy to get sucked into the question at hand. Now I see why politicians on morning talk shows ignore the question to stay on their talking points.
Chris continued with his thesis - that cars goes faster than cyclists, that it is unrealistic for a driver to wait behind a cyclist, so cyclists should get out of the way. In other words, he's willing to share the road, as long as he only has to share the part he doesn't want to use [Add this to case 3 below].
My wife the lawyer says that every case has three versions. The case you plan to put on, the case you do put on and the devastating thing you should have said, and only think of afterward. You can see #2 at the link. Here are cases #1 and #3.
Case #1
1. I wanted to disagree with the whole premise of bicycle road rage:
I think cyclists have reason to be angry. They're frequently intimidated or put at risk by drivers. Up until very recently they were ignored by transportation planners. The police often fail to take cycling fatalities seriously enough and incorrectly apply the law with regards to cyclists.
But studies consistently show that cyclists aren't angry. In fact, among commuters, cyclists are the happiest about their commute. Nearly 70% claim to be happy with it. While less than a quarter of drivers can say the same thing. The question isn't "why are cyclists so angry?" It's why are they so happy? And why aren't more people doing it?
2. Taking the lane is legal and often the safest option. It is sometimes inconvenient for drivers. If a cyclist is taking the lane in front of you, they're biking safely.
3. While many cyclists break the law, I don't believe you can make the case that cyclists break the law more than drivers do.
4. The Rock Creek Park trail is unsuitable for most bike commuters. It is in poor condition, too narrow, too crowded with slower users, has too many blind curves and bad crossings. Even if the trail is upgraded to the standards WABA is pursuing, many cyclists will still find the road more fitting to their needs.
Case #3
1. If you think cyclists send in a lot of email, wait till you hear from the AARP (you have to watch the video) - I actually thought this during the show, but decided it was best not said.
2. You aren't really asking cyclists to take on greater risk so that you can gain convenience are you?
3. We don't need to earn your respect. As a licensed driver, you're legally required to give it to us.
4. How many emails would you have to get to reconsider your position?
Anyway, everyone there was very nice including Mr. Core, who made a point of saying that he rides a bike on vacation and that he supports bike lanes and trails - though only to get bikes out of the way. I really left with the impression that he doesn't understand why what he said made cyclists so angry.
Photo by Alec81
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