Tuesday Morning Commute - Pedal Car

Good morning

• Construction on the Washington Gateway building, which will be built along the MBT just north of the NY Ave Metro station and the Courtyard Marriott will break ground by the end of the year. It's hard to tell if it will open up to the MBT with it's own "front door" or present a blank wall like the Courtyard, but hopefully it will be the former. Here's hoping for no trail closures or parked fork lifts.
• I don't know if this fills a niche, but it looks like fun. David Alpert wonders if it would cause more people to bike (probably not) or create more conflict (hard to say). There's a woman in my neighborhood who rides an adult trike. I feel like she gets more respect, not less. But I'd hate to see what would happen if she took it on MacArthur Blvd. 
• Green Lantern takes on the issue of a bicycle's carbon footprint. "Shreya Dave, a graduate student at MIT, recently estimated that manufacturing an average bicycle results in the emission of approximately 530 pounds of greenhouse gases....Given a typical U.S. diet, you would have to ride your bike instead of driving for around 400 miles to cover the bike’s initial carbon footprint." Done.
• TBD on Cantor's dislike of CaBi.

Comments

[Michael H.]

Hopefully the new residential buildings and their residents will help to deter crime on the MBT.

Surrey already sells pedal-powered "cars". The guy from Leesburg has the right idea, but he's a little late to the game.

http://surreycompany.com/surrey.htm

[Michael H.]

Even a casual cyclist can cover the carbon costs of the bike in a couple months. Then the next few years will be a net positive on carbon emissions.

I hate to think of how many pounds, or tons, of greenhouse gases are emitted from the production of a car or SUV, not even considering the emissions from gas combustion when the car is driven. Plus the emissions associated with producing, refining and transporting that gas.

[Early Man]

My idea for integrating bicycling into the car culture is a little different than the pedal car but gets at the "what's a surbanite to do?" probem more directly. It is ideal for someone who wants to bike to work but may need to drive a ways to a trail. You have a lightweight car platform with one electric drive wheel that powers the "car" when two bikes are attached to provide four passive wheels (front wheels with Lefty and Righty forks attach to a steering rack). When you get to the "Park and Bike" lot, internal jacks support the platform and your release one or two of the fully functional bikes that had provided your "car" with wheels. Then bike the rest of the way to work. You use pedal power on the bike (and don't have to move more than 30 pounds), electric power when you are taking the whole lane (and have to move 400 or 500 pounds).

[Greenbelt]

I've got over 4,000 miles on my commuter bike so far this year. Can I sell carbon offsets?

[tdcjames]

Glad to see someone run the numbers on a physical bike's carbon footprint; I've been curious for a while. It's gratifying, too, that the results are so favorable.

@Early Man: clever idea!