TheWashCycle

Thursday Evening Commute - Periphery

Good Afternoon

• Rockville is performing bicycle traffic counts as part of a public health project. In one week they counted 2065 cyclists on one bike path.
• Frederick County sherriff's office is encouraging residents to register their bike. Registration is simple and it’s free. Visit the Sheriff’s Office website, under Frederick County Bicycle Registration, at www.frederickcountymd.gov, and fill out the online registration form.
• Germantown college student bikes across country to raise money to fght cancer. Meanwhile a Patuxent High School graduate rides his bike across New Hampshire "to document and support local community initiatives to build a more sustainable future by advocating for a rapid and responsible transition away from fossil fuels." And some Boy Scouts bike from Cumberland to DC.
• The US Post office has 70 bicycle routes for delivery. Which frankly doesn't sound like that many to me.
• One more push to save Safe Routes to Schools funding.
• Jurisdiction over the sailor who killed a bicyclist during a military operation in Australia has been handed over to the Navy.

Born to work

this bike is made for work by Joe in DC

And look at how fast that car in the background is going.

Mobile Photo Studio

Photo by §83(b)

Tour de Links - Donkey

Virginia - Accident insurance for cyclists.

New York City - P.J. O'Rourke, you know I can't stay angry at you. "The bicycle is a parody of a wheeled vehicle—a donkey cart without the cart, where you do the work of the donkey." Meanwhile, Senator Schumer tries to stay out of the bike lane debate that his wife is a major player in, while the city government is not backing down on its support for cycling. "When protected bike lanes are installed, injury crashes for all road users typically drop by more than 40 percent." And the crackdown continues, but this time  the unexpected happened. After ticketing cyclists for speeding based on the belief the speed limit was 15mph, they went to the homes of the ticketed and personally apologized after they found out that it was actually 25. One guy kept his ticket because he, like Sammy Hagar, can't bike 25.

Pennsylvania - The Allegheny Trail Alliance is asking Amtrak to allow roll-on/roll-off service.

Kansas - Kansas is joining (if the Governor signs the bill) Virginia in allowing cyclists to run red lights that don't detect them. I really think this opens the door to the Idaho stop, but maybe I'm too optimistic.

Los Angeles - An interesting article about the history of bicycling in L.A. includes this depressing line "The Olympic Velodrome, demolished in 2003 to make way for the Home Depot Center..." I think the 1984 Olympics was the first time I ever watched a bicycle race. I remember being fascinated by the track standing.

Alaska - For those who think it gets too cold to bike, look at what Alaska is doing. "the bill establishes a grant program for municipalities to purchase, maintain and offer facilities for people who want to commute by bicycle...Seaton says innovations like studded tires, fenders and trailers to carry groceries and work supplies have made bicycle commuting a viable option even during Alaska's icy winters"

United States - The LAB has a map of bike commuting by state. The postal service is issuing a "ride a bike" stamp (How does that feel O'Rourke?), which is advice they've been taking "Some mail carriers in Arizona and Florida use bicycles to make deliveries" And later "Could you imagine if federal workers ever had to use battery-powered bikes to travel on official business?" Yes I can. A new book is out about the women's rights movement and bicycles - there are some great photos at this link.

Guadalajara, Mexico - Activists painted their own bike lanes.

Thursday Morning Commute - Snakes on an Island

Good morning

• The Montgomery County Planning Board and the Montgomery County Recreation Advisory Boards are accepting public input on future capital improvement projects (CIP) for parks and recreation facilities for fiscal years 2013-2018.  Recent Department of Parks accomplishments from the current CIP include extension of the Black Hill Trail, construction of the Rock Creek Trail Pedestrian Bridge...Sign up to speak during this public forum by 4:00 pm, Tuesday, April 5., Call 301-495- 4600, or sign-up on-line at: http://www.montgomeryapps.org/planning_board/testify.asp   The forum is limited to 35 speakers; however, written comments may be submitted to Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Françoise Carrier at 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910 or [email protected] by Thursday, April 7.
• One ANC commissioner was worried that drivers backing out of driveways would crash into cyclists if the New Mexico Avenue bike lanes were built. Tales from the sharrows looked at the street, and realized there was no reason anyone would back out of the few driveways that existed.
• Good news: the Navy Yard Promenade portion of the ART is opening April 1st. Bad news: only from 8am-5pm Mon-Fri. 
• NASA-Goddard Spaceflight Center wants to build a ped/bike trail along the fence line from the BW parkway guard house to the back section of the Greenbriar 3 condo development. The trail would be lit and under NASA closed circuit TV security. [It would basically only serve employees]. The main issue is funding for a 40 foot connection between the end of the NASA trail and the Greenbriar sidewalk/parking system.
• How the Winter Weather Warrior contest winners won. And yeah, they're still working on those downtown stations that used to be SmartBike stations.
• The D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council has a new blog.
• "This guidance from FHA clarifies that contraflow lanes and buffered bike lanes are allowed, so long as the accompanying signs and pavement markings are MUTCD compliant, and that a cycletrack is “not a traffic control device” within the scope of MUTCD, and therefore not restricted."
• This guy needs his own reality TV show. "Using a $1,100 log arch attached to the back of his adult-sized tricycle, Hoye combs his Bethesda neighborhood almost every day scavenging wood left by tree crews." He uses the wood to heat his home. "he estimates that he has brought three or four tons of oak and maple home on his tricycle since he began logging a month ago."
• "Amid whoops of excitement and exclamations of awe, Rich Wieber wheeled around the Cedar Grove Elementary School gymnasium on his stunt bike to demonstrate tricks he said took him years of practice to learn.  He also shared lessons on bike safety, drug awareness and goal setting."

Tour de Links - the honor system

Maillot Jaune: New Mexico's Governor might run for President. And like so many others, he's also a cyclist. "On one visit [to iowa], Mr. Johnson pedaled the 472 miles of the Des Moines Register Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa." Meanwhile, CEO's and military leaders say driving alone helps terrorists.

Podium: One school in Maine tries an honor-system based bike sharing system. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't really work.

Podium: Maybe they should only write stories about pro cyclists who aren't accused of doping. It would be more efficient.

Maillot Vert: A Massachusetts State Senator says that bike trails are part of a holistic approach to health care.  Sen. Jamie Eldridge, the bill's sponsor, said a major goal of the legislation is to encourage communities to take into account everything from bike trails to open space when crafting new zoning plans.

Maillot a Pois Rouge: A Nevada bike trail plan tries to negotiate a difficult spot. If planners take the trail around a large rock feature, they'll go through land sacred to the Washoe Tribe. If they follow the highway through the tunnels, they'll have to close a lane to automobile traffic. "State highway officials believe it would not necessarily be unreasonable to close a lane in one of the tunnels."

Maillot Blanc: The rise and fall of the American paperboy at How We Drive. I didn't have a paper route, but my neighbor did and when he was out of town my parents let me deliver his papers for a fee. The year I was going to be "old enough," by my parents summation, to take on a route myself, the local paper shut down it's afternoon edition. Concern about safety is cited as one reason why paperboys are going the way of milkmen. Meanwhile Idaho considers a law requiring kids 12 and under to wear bike helmets.

Lanterne Rouge: Bike polo in L.A. "It's been a long time since I felt included in a group like this," Wainscott said. "I was such a sad, sad story of a loner, and then I got into the bikes."...  Bicycle polo is more than a century old. Irish cyclist Richard J. Mecredy is generally credited with inventing the game in 1891....A new organizing body, North American Hardcourt, composed of three representatives from each of the nation's seven regions - including Dash, who represents the southwest region - formed about a year ago to orchestrate events like the North American Hardcourt Bicycle Polo Championships, to standardize the rule of play and to help clubs pool resources.

And....

Data out of San Francisco shows that drivers are more often to blame in bike-car collisions.

Over the past two years, drivers were faulted by the police in 573 accidents involving vehicles and bikes — 57 percent of the total — according to the data. Cyclists were to blame in 428 accidents, or 43 percent.

Oddly enough, it is cyclists who are more often guilty of speeding. Must be the hills. Cycling in SF is up 58% since 2006. There was a 7% increase in bike-car crashes from 2008 to 2009.

Thursday Morning Commute - Royalties

Good morning

• Evidence of safety in numbers
• Bike and Roll is hiring
• Three foot bill in Virginia needs your help now
• Check out the Wash Cycle Laundry in Philadelphia (no I don't get royalties). They pick up and deliver laundry using bicycles.
• Montgomery County is serious about bike sharing. Council President Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring questioned whether some federal funding could be secured for a Montgomery County bike-share program, similar to one in Washington, D.C., that has 110 stations in the District and Arlington, Va.   "Anyway we can get these projects moving," Cardin said. "We need them, and we need them now."
• The CCT yesterday:

Wednesday Morning Commute - Brewery

Late, late, late

• Maryland Bike Symposium
• Brewery looks to open along the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Some people's commute just got longer. The next thing we need is a bar that you pedal around town for tours. (Don't worry, the people drinking are driving).
• New Baltimore county bike legislation.
• While drivers may help pay for roads, they do so by not paying for anything else "If I buy a bicycle in Maryland, I pay 6% sales tax and the money goes into the general fund where it pays for education, public safety, the governor's salary, and other state expenses. Cars and gasoline are exempt from the sales tax."
• Revolution bikes seeks advocacy and events coordinator
• UPS turns a new page.
• Public meeting on Tyson's bike plan is next week.

Tour de Links - Cal Park

Maillot Jaune: An author suggests that London replace its freight fleet with bicycles. The truth is, bicycles (and their three-wheeled cousins) are already a major piece of the freight puzzle all over the world.

Podium - St Louis is building a bike station and looking for help from the Pepsi Refresh project to do so. 

Podium - IKEA gave 12,400 employees a free bicycle for the holidays. "We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport." Except they don't call them bicycles. They call them Fforonags. 

Maillot Vert: From the East Coast Greenway: "For years, the ECG has left Richmond (southbound) by crossing the James River on Manchester Bridge - narrow, sewer grates, merging traffic. Not optimal by any stretch of the imagination. However, we will shortly be improving the route by using a bike-ped span suspended beneath the Robert E. Lee Bridge (US Rt 1), which drops you on Belle Isle (a beautiful park in the river; it was used as a prison during the Civil War) to use the paths found there, which link to calmer streets on the south side of the river."

Maillot a Pois Rouge: Esquire has a long profile on Janette Sadik-Kahn and her efforts to change New York City as part of a series on the 16 geniuses that give them hope. Millions of New Yorkers love the new plazas and walking spaces and bike lanes. But millions of car drivers are pissed off. And that manifested itself in a City Council hearing on bike lanes.

Maillot Blanc: An Italian driver whose license had been revoked and who was driving under the influence or marijauna hit a group of cyclists, killing 8 of them and injuring 4 others. Meanwhile, an Indianapolis women who hit and killed a police officer on a bicycle because she was paying attention to her kids is asking that her case be dismissed because the police have been uncooperative with her information requests.

Lanterne Rouge: The Cal Park Tunnel, an 1100 foot tunnel in Marin County, CA opened. The bicycle and pedestrian portion of the tunnel is 12 feet wide and divided by a wall from the train portion. It has an arched ceiling 12 to 13 feet high. A 2002 county study predicted that 800 to 1,000 bike riders and pedestrians would use the path daily.

 

Saturday Morning Ride

Fenty finished 16th in last weekend's Triathlon. He'll have to do better than that in the primary.

Scenes of Cycling.

Virginia's 2035 surface transportation plan is ready for comment. Take time to mention bikes. Some facts from within:

Surveys show higher levels of bicycle commuting in cities that have invested in bicycle infrastructure. Forty-nine percent of active bicyclists who did not currently commute by bicycle said they would sometimes commute by bicycle if there were safe bike lanes.

Comments can be submitted via e-mail to [email protected] between June 16, 2010, and July 30, 2010.

Revolution Cycles hires an event and advocacy coordinator - Angela Koch

Bikes used to fight mosquitoes in Fairfax.

RAM coverage.

It's an impressive feat for those who can walk, let alone those who can't walk and Monday, Ripatti accomplished the nine-day bike relay across the U.S.