Bike Commuter Act part of Fed bailout bill

From Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, 10.02.08:

Congress Passes Commuter Act
WASHINGTON, DC (BRAIN)—Employers of people who bike to work stand to gain a $20 per month tax credit per cycling employee, according to the final version of the Wall Street bailout bill, H.R. 1424, passed this afternoon...

What does bicycle commuting have to do with credit issues or covering the debt racked up on Wall Street? Bicycle commuting advocate Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic Representative from Oregon, was one of the 228 Representatives who voted against the House version of the bailout package on Monday. House members looking to pass a bailout bill needed to convince as least 12 of the dissenters to switch their position and vote for a bailout bill...

Congressman Blumenauer spearheaded a seven-year campaign to extend commuter tax benefits to those who bike to work. Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, said the Bicycle Commuter Act has been held up getting through with previous bills. “It’s been attached to a variety of different bills or devices—climate change, energy, transportation,” Clarke said. “It’s ironic that it would wind up in a financial rescue package, but we’ll take it. I’m not going to quibble with the method; I’m glad to see it done.” (Read more.)

A number of blogs have already commented on the inclusion of the Bicycle Commuter Act into the ridiculous $700 billion Federal pork barrel bailout of Wall Street, including great coverage by Cyclelicious, BikePortland.org, StreetsBlog, and a survey of bicycle commuting attitudes by Outside Online. The bicycle commuter provisions of the bailout have also aroused hostility in less supportive quarters, summarized by Philadelphia Bicycle News:

"Bicycles are in the headlines today, but not in a good way. (The) Bicycle Commuter Act is tied into the Tax Bailout Bill lumping bicycle commuters with Rum Makers and tax breaks for NASCAR. They are labeling the Bicycle Commuter Tax Break as Pork, does this mean that Transit Check and commuter parking benefits are also Pork?"

As I understand it, the Bicycle Commuter Act provides employers a tax break of up to $20 a month if they give some bicycle commuting benefits to their employees. It's a modest step forward. "It may not be a total game changer," the LAB's Clarke told Bicycle Retailer & Industry News. "It's still a relatively small break. But it gets us closer to the kind of treatment that cyclists in the U.K. and other parts of the world have had for years."

This measure may attract a few additional bicycle commuters. Personally, I would have preferred that $700 billion spent on beneficial economy stimulating public works projects, such as passenger rail, bicycle facilities, and transit. However, this bailout will likely have another more significant favorable effect. Essentially, the Fed policy seems to be dollar devaluation, reducing the debt crisis through inflation. This can only mean even higher prices for gas, increasing the relative appeal of bicycle commuting.

Image: Web capture.
Visit: Congressional Bike Caucus
Visit: Bailout Bill Gives Bicyclists a Tax Break, Wired.com
Visit: Bicycle Bailed Out, New Haven Independent
Visit: Bailout passes with Bicycle Commuter Act attached; Bush signs it, BikingBis.com
Visit: Bicycle Commuter Act Becomes Law, Los Alamos Bikes
Visit: Adventures of the Bike Commuter Act, Discovering Urbanism
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Utility bicycles make sense

From the Los Angeles Times, 10.06.08:

Sport utility bikes: a comparison
When gas prices gushed over $4 a gallon earlier this year, bike shops were (and still are) swamped with people who suddenly wanted to use pedal power for commuting, socializing and shopping. Attracting particular attention are so-called "longtails"--extra-long SUBs (sport utility bikes) with welded-on racks designed to haul big, bulky cargo, whether it's a 200-pound load of bricks, surfboards or three or four bags of groceries. Here's a look at four of the most popular SUBs I tested at the recent Interbike trade show in Las Vegas. (Read more.)

Cyclist and author Roy M. Wallack (Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100) reports on several utility bicycles tested in Vegas, including the Yuba Mundo Cargo bike; the Surly Big Dummy; the Xtracycle FreeRadical Longtail bolt-on kit; and the Kona AfricaBike One.

Like any commuter, bicycle commuters need to carry things: lunch, a change of clothing, work files, paperwork, a laptop computer, tools, a gift for a colleague, or other materials. For most of my commuting, I make do with a rear rack and panniers. Occasionally I use my Timbuk2 messenger bag, and ride light. And for weekend errands or particularly heavy loads, I use a great Cycletote trailer. In general, with a little ingenuity and elastic straps, you can carry almost anything on a bicycle. These new long-tail utility bicycles may be useful to commuters who regularly need to carry heavier loads. Install a front basket or CETMArack, and you'll haul plenty with ease.

Image: Los Angeles Times.
Visit: Interbike: Urban gear for hauling and looking sharp, BikeRadar.com
Visit: Who needs a trunk?, Bike Commuting Tips Blog
Visit: Interview with Lane Kagay of CETMARacks, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Getting Started: Carrying Capacity, Bike Commuting Tips Site
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Employers warm to bicycle commuting

Work demands have limited my blogging activity. However, in catching up on the bicycle commuting news, a couple items in September seem important to share. One item is this video, which highlights bicycle encouragement programs at the National Institutes of Health, Discovery Channel, and Google.

Another important article on bicycle-friendly employers is this article from Chicago. From Crain's Chicago Business, 09.16.08:

Bike commuters find employers that smooth path

As more Chicago-area commuters opt to bike to work, many workplaces have made an effort to accommodate workers on two wheels, greeting them with secure parking spaces and hot showers. "Businesses are recognizing the benefit of having healthy, happy employees," said Margo O'Hara of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation...

Whether it's due to rising popularity of the green movement or recent sky-high gas prices, many workplaces are gearing up for an increase in bicycle traffic...The Sears Tower offers bike-friendly services to its more than 100 tenants and is ready to add more. "We roughly quadrupled our (bicycle parking) capacity (last) September," said Tom Dempsey, vice-president and general manager. There are now 49 indoor bicycle parking stalls in the garage on the first level, 44 of which are being leased to tenants for $25 per month or $200 per year. "If we lease up the next five stalls, we would definitely add more."

Mr. Dempsey is also exploring other ways to accommodate bicycle commuters, including offering tenants discounted memberships at a health club in the building, where they can use the showers. And they can sign out bicycles from the garage, free of charge, as part of a bike-sharing program. "I have a bike in (the building) garage that I use for meetings, and that kind of inspired it," Mr. Dempsey said. "It's a green alternative to a taxi or having to drive your car downtown because you have an outside meeting." (Read more.)

Bicycle commuting is more appealing when your workplace is supportive. There are many advantages to those employers that encourage bicycle commuting, including improved health of employees, better morale, reduced absenteeism, and reduced demand for vehicle parking. And employers who offer a diverse mix of transportation access have a competitive advantage recruiting the most talented staff.

How does your employer support bicycle commuting? What incentives or support might your employer offer to encourage more of your colleagues to bicycle commute? Health club membership? Cash for bicycling mileage? Secure bicycle parking?

Visit: As Bike Commuting Gains Traction, Companies Get Into Gear, CNBC.com
Visit: Firms promote cycling to work, United Press International
Visit: Bringing a bike to work would be easier under new bill, New York Daily News
Visit: Employers Finally Giving Bike Commuters Some Love, Wired.com
Visit: Wisconsin’s commuters parking cars in favor of bikes, Milwaukee Journal-Standard
Visit: Bicycling to work can show what co-workers think about you, Chico Enterprise-Record
Visit: Employers: Embrace bicycle commuting, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Portland: Leaving the car behind, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Pharma corp embraces bike commuting, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site
Thanks to TheRealEdwin at Current for sharing video link.

Optimism rages at Interbike

From Wired.com, 09.28.08:

As America Implodes, The Bike Industry Booms
LAS VEGAS--It's never been a better time to be in the bicycle business, what with global warming, childhood obesity and a failing economy.

The nation may be wracked by collapsing banks, foreclosed houses and a tanking economy, but there's no sign anything's amiss here at Interbike, the bike industry's annual trade show. In fact, it's party time as a perfect storm of eco-conscious consumerism, health-conscious lifestyles and wallet-sapping gas prices conspires to get people out of cars and onto bikes -- especially electric ones. "The gas prices are the best thing that ever happened to cycling," says Kevin Menard, whose year-old custom bike business, Traitor Cycles, is thriving. "I hope they go up even more."

The gargantuan trade show, and the crowd filling it, has never been bigger, organizers boast. A record 23,000 people and 750 exhibitors fill several acres of the Sands Convention Center, further proof that all is well in the bike biz..."You can feel the collective buzz," a smiling Tim Blumenthal, executive director of the bicycle advocacy group Bikes Belong, says from the middle of the bustling show floor. "It's a really, really heady time for us. This show feels very optimistic and that bucks the general economic trends. There doesn't seem to be many businesses that are thriving, but the bike business is doing very well."

Cycling enjoyed a "huge spike" in interest in June when gas topped four bucks a gallon, Blumenthal says. Much of the bike industry has enjoyed double digit growth since then. Some manufacturers have seen 50 percent growth in the last quarter, and dealers can’t keep up with demand. The service sector ("tubes and lube" in industry jargon) also is booming as old bikes are hauled out of sheds and garages and dragged into shops for tune-ups and tires. A growing number of people are ditching cars in favor of bikes for commuting to work or running to the supermarket, Blumenthal says. "Cycling for recreation in America has always been big," he says. "Now we're starting to see cycling for transport." (Read more.)

Interbike wrapped up last week, and from all reports, the bicycle industry is bullish on future growth. This is the same industry that long neglected the commuter market, as it chased the performance athlete and the single-track trail shredders. It's nice to see the industry finally waking up to the obvious market potential of the 98 percent of Americans who presently don't commute by bicycle. For complete Interbike coverage, see Cyclelicious and CommutebyBike.com.

One product category making a splash at Interbike is electric bicycles. As a traditional pedaling bike commuter, I have mixed feelings about electric bikes. I suppose I'll welcome more car-less commuters, even if they are on powered rides. But it feels a little funny to me. Electric bikes may reduce congestion and pollution, but won't address the public health issues of low physical activity levels among Americans. I'm also concerned about the safety issues (speed differentials, braking, noise, etc.) that arise from mixing powered and pedaled bicycles in dedicated bike facilities (bike lanes, bike paths). But maybe I'm just being a cranky geezer.

Your thoughts? Are electric bicycles a form of vehicular or cycle commuting?

Image: Web capture. Titanium commuting bicycle at Interbike 2008
Visit: Interbike 2008: Commuters are King in '09, Bicycling.com
Visit: Schwinn’s New Tailwind eBike: 25 To 30 Miles On A 30 Minute Charge, OhGizmo!
Visit: Bicycle makers tout two-wheeled hybrids for commuters, Los Angeles Times
Visit: More Americans Bike To Work, Voice of America
Visit: Manufacturers nailed it with new cruiser and commuter bikes, The Standard (St. Catharines, Quebec)
Visit: U.S. lags in global bicycling boom, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: CBS on bicycles in the U.S., Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Americans learn bikes cut costs and improve fitness, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Bike shop sales strong across the U.S.

From The Daily-Journal (Kankakee, IL), 09.20.08:

Bike sales increase as more people pedal to work
Hal Trovillion, pastor of First Baptist Church of Manteno, rides his bike four blocks to his church every Sunday. "I have ridden my bike to church for a couple years," Trovillion said. "It saves me money, but I mainly use it for exercise. It can also be eco-friendly."

Trovillion is not alone. As the cost of getting from here to there increases, local stores have reported a spike in bicycle sales as more people look for alternative means of transportation to save money...high fuel prices and eroding consumer confidence led more people to reach for Kryptonite bike locks rather than car keys.

And strong sales continue even as winter approaches, bike shop owners say. The national trend can be seen at Tern of the Wheel bike shop in Bradley. "We have experienced a 10 percent increase in sales compared to last year," said owner Steve Linneman. "People are saying they want to ride their bike to work because they can't afford to put gas in their car."

"The fact that people--even in Houston--are riding in record numbers is a clear sign to us that this is happening across the country in places you wouldn't expect," said Elizabeth Kiker, a spokeswoman for the League of American Bicyclists. (Read more.)

At the autumn equinox, we can perhaps declare Summer 2008 to have been the season Americans rediscovered the bicycle. This article from Illinois indicates that bike shops all over the country are reporting increased sales. All year, we've seen evidence of flourishing bike sales across the U.S., from Massachusetts to Ohio, to Florida to Oregon. The cost of gasoline is clearly a factor--about 30 percent above last year's price at this time. This article from "middle America" is further confirmation that the bicycling trend isn't just a phenomenon of the coastal areas or college towns. Bicycling is sweeping the nation.

Image: Web capture.
Visit: More Americans Bike To Work, Voice of America
Visit: High Gas Prices Mean High Bike Sales Across U.S., CBS4Denver.com
Visit: Biking it: From the morning commute to police patrol, some people prefer pedaling over driving, Benton County Record (Arkansas)
Visit: Pedal power: Commuters swap cars for bicycles, Wenatchee World (Washington)
Visit: Bicyclist Bucks High Gas Prices, WMTW-TV (Auburn, Maine)
Visit: CBS on bicycles in the U.S., Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Americans learn bikes cut costs and improve fitness, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Bike to Work Guide Available Soon

My publisher, Adams Media, contacted me this week to inform me that marketing had begun for the book project that kept me busy much of the summer.

The Bike to Work Guide: What You Need to Know to Save Gas, Go Green, Get Fit will ship in November, be in stores by December, and be on sale everywhere by January. It's now available for "pre-order" on Amazon.com and elsewhere. Affordably priced at only $7.95, the Bike to Work Guide offers a lot of helpful information to those considering commuting by bicycle.

This book owes a great debt to readers of this blog and my Bike Commuting Tips website. Your comments, questions, suggestions, and criticism have informed my understanding of bicycles for transportation. I am very grateful for your comments and messages. Please continue to respond to my site and blog; your comments are hugely appreciated.

Clearly, more people are considering bicycle commuting these days. My book is only one newly available resource responding to this new interest and demand. (My site and blog have encouraged commuting by bicycle for more than 10 years.) Another exciting new book project, Bike to Work, by Tim Grahl of CommutebyBike.com and Carlton Reid of BikeforAll.net, will also appear this fall. It seems that 2009 will be a promising year for the growth of bicycle commuting.

Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Study: More cyclists means safer cyclists

From Science Daily, 09.07.08:

A Virtuous Cycle: Safety In Numbers For Bicycle Riders
It seems paradoxical but the more people ride bicycles on our city streets, the less likely they are to be injured in traffic accidents.

International research reveals that as cycling participation increases, a cyclist is far less likely to collide with a motor vehicle or suffer injury and death...And it's not simply because there are fewer cars on the roads, but because motorists seem to change their behaviour and drive more safely when they see more cyclists and pedestrians around.

Studies in many countries have shown consistently that the number of motorists colliding with walkers or cyclists doesn't increase equally with the number of people walking or bicycling. For example, a community that doubles its cycling numbers can expect a one-third drop in the per-cyclist frequency of a crash with a motor vehicle.

"It's a virtuous cycle," says Dr Julie Hatfield, an injury expert from UNSW who address a cycling safety seminar in Sydney, Australia, on September 5. "The likelihood that an individual cyclist will be struck by a motorist falls with increasing rate of bicycling in a community. And the safer cycling is perceived to be, the more people are prepared to cycle." (Read more.)

Great news from Australia, confirming earlier research by Peter Jacobsen and others, that motorists adjust their driving behavior in the presence of bicyclists. This research will help bolster advocacy arguments for enhanced bicycling facilities and encouragement.

The researchers also suggested policy makers emphasize the positives of bicycling--fun and health--rather than safety concerns: "We should create a cycling friendly environment and accentuate cycling's positives," said Dr. Chris Rissel. "Rather than stress negatives with 'safety campaigns' that focus on cyclists without addressing drivers and road conditions. Reminding people of injury rates and risks, to wear helmets and reflective visible clothes has the unintended effect of reinforcing fears of cycling which discourages people from cycling."

Amen to this. Stop perpetuating the myth of bicycling as a dangerous activity. Leave your helmet at home.

Image: Web capture. Sunday Streets in San Francisco.
Visit: Don't let fear hold you back, Streetsblog.org
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Even Dutch people are bicycling more

From Agence France Presse, 09.07.08:

High petrol prices see bikes gain ground in the Netherlands
The Dutch rely ever more on the humble bike for transport as pollution concerns and high petrol prices give new impetus to traditional pedal power in the only country with more bicycles than people.

The average Dutchman cycled 902 kilometres in 2006, up 16 kilometres from 15 years ago, according to official statistics. Annual new bike sales rose by 80,000 in 2007 to 1.4 million as the Dutch, known for their thrift and pragmatism, shunned the comfort of gas-guzzling cars for the cheaper, greener alternative in a year marked by record oil prices.

The flat-landscaped Netherlands, home to just over 16.3 million people, actually boasts some 18 million bicycles--a ratio of 0.9 persons per cycle, or 1.1 bikes per person. Its closest European competitors are Denmark and Germany, with respective figures of 1.2 and 1.3 citizens for each bike...

Not even the wet climate seems able to put a spoke in the wheels of the Dutch, who weave through city traffic shrouded in plastic on rainy days, transporting anything from pets and children to groceries, musical instruments and plants on their bikes. Many a parent can be seen negotiating traffic with a child secured to each end of a bicycle with shopping bags and even a briefcase secured to the sides. (Read more.)

Hard to believe, but even in the most bicycling intensive culture on the planet, higher priced fuel yields more bicyclists.

In a period of rising energy prices, those nations and communities that wisely made prior investments in bicycling facilities--such as the Netherlands and Portland--will see greater growth in bicycling, as other communities struggle to catch up. This will likely yield a competitive advantage to these communities, as enterprising and creative younger commuters seek a shorter commute and better quality of life.

Image: Web capture.
Visit: Wall Street Journal: Building a Better Bike Lane, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Less driving is more more cash, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: More cycling inspiration from abroad, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: John Pucher: Cycling for everyone, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Bike retailers warm to commuting market

To say I'm oblivious is an understatement; I'm male, graying, and, um, male. So the other day when my wife and I were in a local REI store, I didn't immediately grasp her point. "Look," she said. "Look at that."

Er, look at what? "At that! The last time I was looking for a bicycle bell at REI," she said, "I had to look in the children's section." Indeed, there was a healthy selection of bells and other commuter-related bicycling paraphernalia in a dedicated "Commuting" section.

Interesting, considering that most REI stores are located in sprawling parking-abundant mall locations--often adjacent to such earth-loving retailers as Walmart or Best Buy. (One might wonder what REI's "Stewardship" effort means, when they can't seem to develop stores in transit- and bike-friendly urban locations. Really, try to find an REI store that isn't surrounded by at least 200 parking spots...and online doesn't count.)

Despite some signs of a shift, the bike industry as a whole remains very much in the business of selling recreational equipment. A quick leaf through Bicycling will tell you that. For two decades the bike industry has pursued performance enhancements that offer precisely no benefit to commuting bicyclists, offering high-tech toys to competitive or athletic bicyclists. You know, maybe .5 percent of the American population? Us bicycle commuters? Well, we just kind of "got by." We commuted by bicycle in spite of the bike industry, not because of it.

A "Commuting" section at REI. Another sign of the bicycle industry's growing interest in the bicycle commuting market? Maybe?!?

Image: Paul Dorn
Visit: Bike Your Drive, REI.com
Visit: Beefy bikes for getting you around town or around the block, Seattle Times
Visit: National retailer supports bike advocacy, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Is the bicycle industry waking up?, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Bikes made for commuting are hot!, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: In praise of chainguards, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Where have all the kickstands gone?, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Massachusetts: Bicycle shops reap windfall, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

U.S. lags in global bicycling boom

From the Washington Post, 08.31.08:

For Bicyclists, a Widening Patchwork World
U.S. Lags Behind Two-Wheeled Boom

TACHIA, Taiwan -- Antony Lo is one happy biker. He is 60 but looks younger, with a body buffed by commuting 130 miles a week on his bike. He is also president of Taiwan-based Giant, the world's largest bicycle company, where sales are soaring, helped along by global anxiety over oil prices. With undisguised glee, Lo says: "High-priced gasoline is here to stay. I tell my people we are just at the beginning of a very big cycling boom."

Boom it is...Yet when it comes to using a bike for everyday transportation, the boom appears to have bypassed many countries. While Northern Europe and Japan have figured out how to make bicycle commuting a safe, cheap alternative to driving, the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain have not. And the world's two most populous nations, China and India, are discarding bicycles in favor of cars. A rising middle class in both countries views cycling as an unhappy reminder of the recent past, when nearly everyone was poor.

Still, among the world's most developed countries, a reliable recipe has emerged for making cycling a mainstream means of getting to work. Commuters in Northern Europe have been lured out of their cars by bike lanes, secure bike parking and easy access to mass transportation. At the same time, steep automobile taxes, congestion-zone fees and go-slow rules have made inner-city driving a costly pain in the neck. In the Netherlands, where such carrot-and-stick policies have been in place for decades, 27 percent of all trips are by bike.

"It is very clear how to do this," said John Pucher, a professor of urban planning at Rutgers University and lead author of a global study of strategies that promote cycling. "It is not rocket science."

In the United States, with the exception of a handful of cities, these strategies have been ignored. Car-centric transportation policies and suburban sprawl continue to make bicycle commuting rare, arduous and relatively dangerous. Although millions of Americans recreate on bikes, they ride them for just 0.4 percent of their trips to work, according to the U.S. Census. Germans are 10 times more likely than Americans to ride a bike and three times less likely to get hurt while doing so...

At the headquarters of Giant, the island-based bicycle maker, Antony Lo said that if gasoline prices remain high worldwide, government transportation policies will have to change. "People are waking up," he said. "This is a long-term trend, not a fad." (Read more, includes video.)

Impressive article in the influential Washington Post, featuring reporting from Beijing, London, New Delhi, Berlin, and Tokyo. There is also a video on the impressive robotic bicycle parking facility built in Tokyo. The lesson from all these cities is: "If you build it, they will come." Bicycle facilities attract bicyclists.

Image: San Francisco Chronicle
Visit: Obesity and high oil prices are good news for the world’s biggest bikemaker, The Economist
Visit: The Bike Boom--Will it Pass Us By?, Outside Blog
Visit: Eurobike and web tech, Cyclelicious
Visit: As oil prices rise, U.S. lags behind two-wheeled boom in rest of world, Cycle Rochester
Visit: More cycling inspiration from abroad, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Question from Europe: American cycling behavior?, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Stop signs with marketing pizazz

Yes. I work in marketing. And yes, marketing works just like this...

Stop signs are a hot topic in bicycling circles these days. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the Bay Area is considering a measure to allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields, similar to the present law in Idaho. And as fuel pump refugees crowd the bike lanes and streets as new bicycle commuters, a few motorists are raising the tiresome "bicyclists at stop signs" complaint. Hey, they gotta gripe at someone, right? And they can't touch the oil companies.

The "bicyclists don't stop" canard is among my favorite motorist laments, and I've responded to it before. Stop signs are a recent creation of the automotive age, intended primarily to regulate motorists intent on crashing into each other.

The characters in this video don't seem overly concerned with bicyclists. (And note the bike subversively lurking in the background of the creative studio at 3:40.) Bicyclists are simply not a significant public health threat.

Visit: City to step up enforcement of bike laws, Chicago Tribune
Visit: The Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist, TheWashCycle
Visit: "The law" is not divinely inspired!, Aren Cambre's Blog
Visit: Bike joy beats auto pathology, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Can't we all just get along?, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Demand grows for bike education

From the Christian Science Monitor, 08.25.08:

New bike commuters hit the classroom, then the road
The rush of new cyclists, created by high gas prices, is driving up demand for bike safety classes.
San Francisco - Like many Americans, Tara Collins hadn't bicycled much since middle school. That changed this year when she started paying $50 to fill up her gas tank. Since early July Ms. Collins has been biking to her job in San Francisco. Now she's sitting in Bert Hill's bicycle safety course--along with 31 others--after a close shave with a van.

"When that happened I thought, 'Wow, there probably are things I could learn about safety,'" says Ms. Collins. "I haven't been on a bike in years, and even when I did, it wasn't in traffic."

The high price of gas is creating a surge in bicycle commuting across the country, not just in West Coast cities but in places like Louisville, Ky., and Charlotte, N.C. The rush of newbies has triggered tensions with drivers unaccustomed to sharing the road, and driven cyclists to seek out traffic training.

"I'm getting hammered by mayors asking, 'What are you doing about all these new bikers on the street and nobody knows the rules of the road?'" says Robert Raburn, executive director of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition in Oakland. When the organization started classes in 2003, it offered maybe two a year. Now, it has six slated for September with two more to be announced. In the Bay State, MassBike reports offering two dozen classes this year, compared with three the year before...

A key precept in bike safety courses is the phrase: "Same roads, same rights, same rules." Hill's four-hour presentation highlighted common causes for collisions with cars and how to avoid them. It's partly a matter of proper bike positioning in a traffic lane to minimize driver error and partly cyclists following road rules and acting predictably..."If we look at car-bike crashes and who's at fault, in a sense it doesn't matter," Hill said. The cyclist suffers either way. (Read more.)

It will be some time before we have quantitative information on the growth of bicycle commuting. Among the anecdotal evidence for the recent increase in bike commuters is this article on the growing demand for bicycle safety education in many cities. I'm certified by the League of American Bicyclists as a League Cycling Instructor (LCI #1237). I certainly believe in the value of bicyclist education, and encourage new bike commuters to enroll in courses such as the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Urban Bike Training and the League's Bike Education programs.

However, Bike Ed classes in themselves will never be adequate to transform the U.S. into a North American Denmark. Bicyclists in most communities confront a hostile street environment, produced by traffic engineers who have prioritized car speed over every other consideration for more than 60 years. Bicycling advocacy remains the key. It was the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's advocacy that won funding from San Francisco's Municipal Transporation Agency for the coalition's Urban Bike Training program. It was advocacy that won closure of a block of Waller Street in Golden Gate Park to create the dedicated bicycle training facility pictured above.

I firmly believe Bike Ed should not be offered by volunteer organizations, it should be government funded, supported, and encouraged. Street safety is a public responsibility; the burden shouldn't be shifted to well-intentioned enthusiasts. Bike organizations may contract with public agencies to deliver the training, but shouldn't use their own precious volunteer energies and resources substituting for public agencies. I would urge my friend Robert Raburn of the EBBC to fire back a funding request at the mayors demanding bike safety training.

Beyond class or street instruction, I take a broad view of bicycle safety education. Bike lanes are educational, indicating to motorists the legitimacy of bicyclists on the streets. "Sharrows" are educational, showing cyclists the riding position to avoid the door zone and the direction with traffic, while simultaneously informing motorists of the presence of bike riders. Bike route signs, media outreach campaigns, public service announcements, public art projects, bike racks, bus signs, newsletters, blogs, and websites are all educational, informing both bicyclists and motorists about the rightful place of bicycling in our culture.

Education is important, but infrastructure is critical. Advocacy is the key for bicycling friendly infrastructure.

Image: Dave Campbell.
Visit: Safety tips for new bicycle commuters, KABC-TV (Los Angeles)
Visit: Ridership rise spurs bike classes, Lancaster New Era (PA)
Visit: Bicycling Safety, Bike Commuting Tips
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site
(Yes, there's an esoteric base-superstructure argument here--"do bicyclists create bike lanes, or do bike lanes create bicyclists?" Firmly grounded in Marxist theory, I believe in a dialectical relationship, that base and superstructure influence each other. But the base is dominant.)

Progress (temporarily) blocked in San Francisco

From the Wall Street Journal, 08.20.08:

San Francisco Ponders: Could Bike Lanes Cause Pollution?
City Backpedals on a Cycling Plan After Mr. Anderson Goes to Court
New York is wooing cyclists with chartreuse bike lanes. Chicago is spending nearly $1 million for double-decker bicycle parking.

San Francisco can't even install new bike racks.

Blame Rob Anderson. At a time when most other cities are encouraging biking as green transport, the 65-year-old local gadfly has stymied cycling-support efforts here by arguing that urban bicycle boosting could actually be bad for the environment. That's put the brakes on everything from new bike lanes to bike racks while the city works on an environmental-impact report.

Cyclists say the irony is killing them--literally. At least four bikers have died and hundreds more have been injured in San Francisco since mid-2006, when Mr. Anderson helped convince a judge to halt implementation of a massive pro-bike plan.(It's unclear whether the plan's execution could have prevented the accidents.) In the past year, bike advocates have demonstrated outside City Hall, pushed the city to challenge the plan's freeze in court and proposed putting the whole mess to local voters. Nothing worked.

"We're the ones keeping emissions from the air!" shouted Leah Shahum, executive director of the 10,000-strong San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, at a July 21 protest.

Mr. Anderson disagrees. Cars always will vastly outnumber bikes, he reasons, so allotting more street space to cyclists could cause more traffic jams, more idling and more pollution. Mr. Anderson says the city has been blinded by political correctness. It's an "attempt by the anti-car fanatics to screw up our traffic on behalf of the bicycle fantasy," he wrote in his blog this month.

Mr. Anderson's fight underscores the tensions that can circulate as urban cycling, bolstered by environmental awareness and high gasoline prices, takes off across the U.S. New York City, where the number of commuter cyclists is estimated to have jumped 77% between 2000 and 2007, is adding new bike lanes despite some motorist backlash. Chicago recently elected to kick cars off stretches of big roads on two Sundays this year.(Read more.)

Interesting article in an important national media outlet. As we marketing professionals say, any coverage is good coverage, even if it's not entirely favorable. It's always better to be noticed than ignored.

I might have preferred to see more from Leah Shahum--who is intelligent, responsible, and leads a 10,000-member organization--rather than Rob Anderson, who is, as described in the article, a wingnut. But the writer did a good job portraying him as a lonely eccentric, and the article illustrates a real problem of our polity when such iconoclasts can derail sensible public policies.

The article and associated video also spends too much time with Critical Mass, which really has little relation with Anderson's lawsuit. An undeniably high-visibility event, Critical Mass as a once-monthly protest/celebration is far less significant in San Francisco politics than the everyday advocacy of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, which has been truly effective at gaining significant bicycling enhancements. However, Critical Mass is an attractive subject for biased reporters seeking to malign bicyclists. The traffic impact of Critical Mass is minimal--generally causing only a few minutes delay to any individual motorist--compared to the delays routinely caused by the automotive "Critical Mass" each and every day.

Anderson's argument is, of course, ridiculous. Essentially, he's saying that narrow streets cause air pollution from vehicles stuck in traffic idling. Sooo, we should bulldoze some buildings and widen streets, Mr. Anderson? Sorry, been there, done that. And all we got was even more vehicle traffic. This case should have been tossed immediately, if not for the city's inept and sloppy defense of the bicycle plan.

The temporary delay has for the moment prevented any on-street improvements in San Francisco. But as Leah Shahum indicated at the Car Free Cities Conference in Portland, important planning and preparation work for bicycle infrastructure has continued at the city's transportation agency, and many projects will be ready for rapid implementation once the stay is lifted. And the SFBC's cultural efforts have continued: Bike to Work Day was a huge success this year, and the coalition's membership continues to surge.

Image: Rhonda Winter/San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
Visit: Rob Anderson says I ride because of political motivations, Cyclelicious
Visit: Biking, walking gain in San Francisco, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Warm Planet Bikes opens in S.F., Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Custom bicycles for the upscale commuter

From Marketplace (American Public Radio), 08.18.09:

Can't afford gas? Try a 'commuter bike'
Kai Ryssdal: There's some evidence commuting to work by bicycle is on the rise. A survey out from the advocacy group Bikes Belong says sales of what're called commuter bikes, those are bikes designed for short city trips, [is up]. There's some good reasons. Maybe it's a desire to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. Or maybe it's gas still at $3.75 a gallon, although you can drop a pretty penny on consumer bikes if you want to. Marketplace's Sean Cole got to ride one for nuthin'.

Sean Cole: Wow, I am once again in the saddle. I hadn't ridden in years. But I had to try one of Mike Flanigan's bikes. Mike runs a one-man factory in Holliston, Mass., called Alternative Needs Transport, or ANT. Each bike takes him maybe a week to build. His waiting list is a year long.

I'd actually never heard of a commuter bike. It just means a bike with fenders and a chain guard, upright handle bars, maybe a basket, definitely lights and a bell. [bell rings] In this case a special bell from Japan. You have to be up close to see how well made Mike's bikes are, and you might never guess the price. His base model runs $2900.

Flanigan: And actually mine is on the low end of the high end market.

Cole: Really?

Flanigan: Oh yeah. People can spend upwards of $10,000 dollars for a bike.

Or as little as $400 to $1,000 for a factory-made commuter bike. But since Mike's bikes are handmade in America, they're gonna be pricier. Plus, he fits each one to the customer's height. He's been doing this for six years, long before there was so much interest in commuter bikes...

Flanigan: Like Specialized tried that in the early '90s...They had a bike called the Globe. Very nice bike. Reasonable priced. Completely failed in the market. Gas was still cheap. Bicycles were still toys. It just, the market wasn't ready for it.

But last fall, he says, at an annual trade show called Interbike, a lot of the big brands were finally hawking bicycles built for commuting. (Read more, includes audio and slideshow.)

Sigh. Envy those bicycle commuters who can treat themselves to one of Mike Flanigan's bicycles ("not sport...transport"). A custom commuting bike is really only suited for those fortunate bicycle commuters who have secure indoor bike parking at work. For us less fortunate bike commuters--who need to leave our rides locked outside vulnerable to theft and the elements--a less costly bicycle is probably best.

As I've said on this blog before, American employers should really do more to encourage bicycle commuting (showers, lockers, secure parking, etc.) Providing vehicle parking is costly: land, construction, lighting, security, insurance, etc. Yet employers routinely provide car parking for staff, while neglecting the needs of bicycle commuting employees. Many of us might enjoy our commutes more if we used our best quality bicycle, feeling secure about where we kept it during work.

This radio report contrasts with an interesting story from Washington DC, where Union Station employees confiscated a woman's bicycle for being "too ugly." Needless harassment of bicycle commuters, I'd say. If Union Station were really concerned about aesthetics, they could provide secure bicycle lockers or, better, a Bikestation-type staffed facility. Then maybe more local bike commuters would feel comfortable leaving their beauty bikes at the train station.

Image: Mike Flanigan.
Visit: Buying the right commuting bike, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Dutch bicycles finding market in U.S.?, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Bikes come in all types for all people, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Wrong way cycling is evil

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune, 08.18.08:

Taking it to the streets
What was the bicyclist thinking? What I do know is this: Before he had even untangled himself from my side-view mirror, he was calling me names and screaming that I should have looked both ways...

Had he been traveling in the correct direction along St. Claude Avenue, I might have been moved by his argument. But he was traveling in the wrong direction, against traffic.

"Do you want to die?" he shouted at me...There was no time for me to express to him my disgust that childishness has remained with him so long after his teen years...

My impression is that today's motorists, myself included, are not sufficiently aware of the presence of bicycles or the rights of bicyclists. Ours has become such a car-driven society that it seems as if the average teenager either owns or has access to a car. It's possible that even the youngest drivers on the road haven't been on a bicycle in years.

These impressions are on a collision course with the fact that more people are turning to bicycling as the price of gasoline keeps increasing, along with the value we place on maintaining physical fitness.

Certainly motorists should be increasingly vigilant, because an accident involving an automobile and a bicycle can easily prove fatal to the bicyclist, while not apt to cause even serious injury to the driver. But what of the responsibilities of the bicyclists? (Read more.)

Readers of this blog know I'm generally not effusive in sympathy for the plight of motorists. I can justify much bicyclist behavior that some motorists find objectionable, such as treating stop signs as yield signs (not entirely legal) and taking the traffic lane (entirely legal.) However, wrong way bicycling is just plain evil.

Bicycling against traffic is extremely dangerous to the miscreant rider, as motorists don't expect bicyclists coming the wrong way and make turns into the bike rider's path. But wrong way riding is also hazardous to other bicyclists. I work at the most cycling intensive university campus in the U.S., and the greatest danger I face comes from other bicycle riders (I won't call them "bicyclists", but rather young motorists temporarily bicycling for convenience.) UC Davis features an abundance of bicyclists riding without lights, failing to signal turns, and, of course, riding the wrong way.

And, wrong way bicycling absolutely infuriates motorists. They might not scream at bicyclists rolling through stop signs, since most motorists do this as well. But, as this column from New Orleans indicates, no cyclist behavior frosts motorists more than a bicyclist riding against traffic.

To be sure, much of the wrong way bicycling behavior occurs because of poor street design. For example, one way streets that don't facilitate bike travel to desired destinations. Or multi-lane roads with a long barrier divider, impeding bicycling in the desired direction. Better design of streets, Complete Streets, should be the goal of every community. Many cities have also found "sharrows" to be very effective at reducing the incidence of wrong way bicycling.

Wrong way bicycling is extremely dangerous and offensive. So don't. It ain't worth it.

Image: Web capture.
Visit: Wrong Way Cycling, Ken Kifer
Visit: Bicycling increases, so does injury rate, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Safe bicycling video from League of American Bicyclists, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

New bike: Giant Halfway

This is the new bike in my stable, the Giant Halfway folding bicycle. I'd long wanted--but didn't need--a folding bicycle. Many of my friends had them, and they're just very practical and fun. After test riding a few folding bikes from different makers, I bought this Giant Halfway a week ago at Pacific Bicycles in San Francisco, using my San Francisco Bicycle Coalition membership to save an additional 10 percent. (Yes, membership pays for itself.)

What finally prompted my purchase of a folder? Short answer: higher gas prices. As most conscious bicycle commuters understand, recent increases in gas prices have caused many motorists to reexamine their standard commute mode. Many drivers are flocking to bike shops and emerging as bicycle commuters, and many are also fleeing to transit. Which means increasingly crowded transit systems, and growing competition by multimodal bike commuters for space on buses and trains. As many bike commuters who rely on Caltrain in the Bay Area will tell you, overcrowded transit can mean bicyclists waiting for later trains or buses.

A folding bike avoids this challenge. Nearly all transit systems in the U.S. allow folded bikes onboard, even during peak rush hour periods. My present commute--between home in Sacramento and office at UC Davis 17 miles away--is made with a combination of bicycling and transit. I usually board with my bike on the Amtrak Capitol Corridor, but I also occasionally use the UC Davis shuttle bus or Yolobus. (Most days I use transit for morning commute, and bicycle the entire distance home.) All these transit services have been much--much!--more crowded, and I have been anxious about getting stranded or delayed by a lack of bike capacity. Hence the Giant Halfway acquisition.

Of all the folding bikes available, what was appealing about this bike? First, the Giant Halfway is relatively affordable, sold at an attractive price point. Depending on your needs, it might work for your budget. Second, it is relatively quick to fold. Many folders, such as some models of the Bike Friday line--are really travel bikes--offering great ride quality but requiring more time to collapse; suitable for a trip to Europe or elsewhere, but maybe not the best option for quick folding as you rush to your bus or train.

This Giant Halfway is affordable and quick folding. It is also very smartly designed. The geometry is great; meaning the ride quality doesn't feel cramped, "squirrelly," or uncomfortable. The single front fork (above) facilitates quick folding, and also easy repairs of flats. You don't need to remove the entire wheel, just the inntertube.

The Giant Halfway also offers great features, such as fenders, kickstand, and a rear rack. The designers even created a special mount (above) for the fenders and kickstand, showing the Halfway's intended purpose as a practical commuter. It's a smartly designed bicycle.

Again, there are many great folding bicycles on the market today, another sign that the bicycle industry is moving to better serve the commuter market. Great folders include the Breezer Zigzag, the Brompton, and the KHS Mocha/Latte. If you are a multimodal bicycle commuter fearful of rapid crowding on transit systems, or live in a small apartment, or lack secure bike parking and need to bring your bike into your office/workplace--you might want to consider a folding bike.

Any other suggestions you might share? Your experiences with folding bikes?

Images: Paul Dorn.
Visit: Folding bikes win new fans on region's packed buses, Arizona Republic
Visit: The Best of the Best: Folding Bikes, ecogeek
Visit: The Folding Bike Solution, Transportation Alternatives
Visit: The Folding Cyclist
Visit: Folding bikes for crowded transit, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Advertising misrepresents bicycling

From the Birmingham News (AL), 08.13.08:

Positives of bicycling often not portrayed in ads
Most images of cycling presented in mass market ads follow one of two distinct approaches--one positive, albeit often nostalgic, the other unfortunately negative. This dichotomy neatly reflects the conflicted perception of the bicycle in our society.

On the positive side, images of riding through sunny wildflower-filled meadows or along quiet tree-lined streets are used to evoke warm feelings about simpler times, healthy living and good clean fun. This approach is used to sell everything from medicines and personal hygiene products to real estate developments and banking services, with the bicycle emblematic of life lived better.

On the dark side, negative ads typically depict riding a bike to actually go somewhere as a desperation move to be avoided. Some poor guy is shown ridiculously crouched on a child's bike or glumly struggling up a hill, his punishment for not buying the advertised product (usually car insurance, car parts, or even the car itself) which would have kept him among the happy motorized masses.

The potency of this biker-equals-loser image may help explain why, in a country with more than 100 million bikes, so few Americans ever use one to go to work or run an errand. (Read more.)

Excellent article from Alabama by Doug Daughhetee, who initiates a new cycling column in the Birmingham News with this provocative piece. How many of us bicycle commuters have not been offended by some ridiculous television commercial?

My personal least favorite commercial at present is a noxious ad from Autozone, which seems to plague every baseball game I watch. (Other than "South Park", my only consistent television habit is baseball.) The commercial shows some teenage boy (of course he's male) spending the hot summer fixing a broken down car at the side of the road, with a sign in the window declaring "If you can fix it, it's yours!" Making frequent trips on his bicycle to the local Autozone for helpful advice and parts, the kid gets the jalopy running: "At least the next time I come to Autozone, it won't be on my bike!" Yeah, right. In my ending of this silly commercial, the kid spends lots of time and money fixing the junker and just before he makes the final critical repair...the county tows it to the scrap yard. Am I cruel? Or realistic?

What's your least favorite broadcast or internet commercial these days?

Beyond television commercials--always heavy with automobile-related spots--television programming and films are bereft of positive images of bicyclists. As I wrote on this blog in 2006:

Generally, when bicyclists appear on celluloid, they are presented as marginal outcasts or eccentrics. In films such as The 40-Year-Old Virginor In & Out(1997, starring Kevin Kline), the films use bike commuting to accentuate the main character's idiosyncrasy. Or the so-bad-it's-hilarious 1986 Kevin Bacon vehicle, Quicksilver, which manages to insult both stockbrokers and bike messengers in one swoop. In The Wizard of Oz, what does the Wicked Witch ride when she's not on her broom? A bicycle (as her Kansas alter-ego). (Read more.)

The challenge for bike commuters isn't just about finding space on our streets. It's also about finding space in our culture. It's clear from all the recent news coverage of bicycling that we have an opportunity right now, thanks to rising gas prices. The recent growth of bicycling blogs, sites, publications, and advocacy groups is very encouraging. The moment is ripe, and we need to be present. On the streets, and in the culture.

Image: Web capture.
Visit: Ad Nauseam: State Farm on the Humiliation of Biking to Work, Streetsblog
Visit: More funny bike advertising, Bike Man Dan
Visit: Bicycling against car culture, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: San Francisco bike mural, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Why I Ride: Bicycling in New York, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Zen and the Art of Bike Commuting, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

Hi-tech tires for older bikes

From the New York Times, 08.07.08:

Gear Test | High-Tech Bicycle Tires
Jalopy Bikes With Techie Tires
BICYCLE lovers, thrifty as well as trend conscious, are pulling neglected 10-speeds from storage and readying them for the road again. (Let the environmentally aware bragging rights begin.)

These bicycles, made in the 1970s and 80s, used 27-inch wheels, which have been replaced with the smaller 700c wheels by road bike manufacturers. But a recent surge in sales of 27-inch tires suggests that the lowly steeds of yore are gaining new life as commuter bikes and weekend cruisers.

This time around, bike owners have more high-tech tires to choose from. The latest models feature increased thread counts in tire casings, and Kevlar and other space-age fibers to improve puncture resistance, as well as sophisticated rubber compounds that are durable, improve traction and enhance ride quality.

“The manufacturers can’t make the tires fast enough,” said David Pierce, a senior buyer at Quality Bicycle Products, one of the country’s biggest parts distributors, who reported a 200-percent increase in sales of the tires this year.

Ramona Marks and Ted Liscinski, carless volunteers at a nonprofit bike repair shop in Los Angeles, the Bicycle Kitchen, tested five pairs of tires while commuting and running errands around the Southland. (Read more.)

I've been fortunate to have pedaled many miles on older 27-inch wheeled bicycles, including a much missed Trek Touring Bike. I have no 27-inch wheels in my current bike stable.

It seems many fuel pump refugees are dusting off their own older bikes and fixing them up. This article features five brands of tires in 27-inch sizes. Any other suggestions?

I used to be almost exclusively loyal to Continental Top Touring (now the "Touring Plus") tires, which I continue to admire and believe still come in a 27-inch size. In recent years I've been broader in my tire use, and have been very impressed with the Vittoria Randonneurs on my touring bike (in a fat, comfortable 700x38 size.) Now on my second set of these, and they've been great.

Image: New York Times.
Visit: Bikes made for commuting are hot!, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Buying a Bike: new or used?, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Tribulus terrestris: Bane of cyclists, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site