Category: Biking Elsewhere

The 10 mph limit on the Yorkshire approach to the Humber Bridge could cause significant delays to faster cyclists. In order to bypass the speed limit, the cycle route has been diverted onto the pavement [sidewalk in US] on the opposite side of the road. This innovative cycle lane has been set out to enable cyclists to maintain full speed as they swerve across the path of traffic in complete safety.
Continue reading “Cycle Facility of the Month April 2009”

We’re big advocates for all things human-powered, but we really really like to see this particular efficiency put to use for transportation. Enter with a flash "Rollerblade Man" who’s keeping all his options open by covering his entire body with a suit of wheels allowing one to travel up to 60 miles-per-hour while maintaining any position found in the Kama Sutra. More about Rollerblade Man after the jump and as always, please note well: he’s wearing a helmet.
Continue reading “Rollerblade Man’s Entire Body Covered in Wheels (Video)”

-> "If there’s a supermarket in your zip code, you’re 10% less likely to be obese. If there are a lot of intersections in your neighborhood — a sign of street connectivity and continuity — you’re less likely to be obese. And, not surprisingly, the more time people spend in their cars, the more likely they are to be obese"
— Russ Lopez, Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Public Health
https://tinyurl.com/c2xzxu
-> "Although the U.S. has improved traffic safety in many ways, we’re not doing as well as many other countries. Prior to the mid 1960s, the U.S. enjoyed the greatest level of traffic safety in the world by any measure; whereas today, the U.S. has fallen behind most of Western Europe in terms of fatalities per mile driven, and ranks near the bottom of the OECD in terms of traffic fatalities per capita. The evidence suggests that these countries have achieved — and are still achieving — greater safety gains than the United States. Experts believe this is because they are willing to set more ambitious safety performance goals than we are, and because they are willing to do more to achieve them."
— J. Peter Kissinger, President and CEO, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
"Improving Traffic Safety Culture in the United States – The Journey Forward" 2007 (2.5mb pdf)
https://tinyurl.com/dbq2es
-> "A lot of people like the freedom and individualism of the private car. But I think the difference you find in Europe is that people do own cars, they’re just not enslaved to them for any and every trip. They’re much more judicious and selective when they use the car or don’t."
— Robert Cervero, Director, University of California Transportation Center
https://tinyurl.com/cwcdyo
-> "Travel on all roads and streets declined by 3.1 percent (-7 billion vehicle miles) in January 2009 as compared with January 2008. Travel for the month is estimated to be 222.4 billion vehicle miles. Cumulative travel for 2009 was down by 3.1 percent (-7 billion vehicle miles)."
— Traffic Volume Trends: January 2009, FHWA
https://tinyurl.com/daqoc9
-> "The Canadian Medical Association Journal has estimated that the annual economic burden of physical inactivity is $5.3 billion ($1.6 billion in direct costs and $3.7 billion in indirect costs). As one example, Environment Canada estimated the average medical costs associated with a hospital admission for respiratory illness at $3,000, with an additional $1,000 in lost wages and worker production."
— "The Links between Public Health and Sustainable and Active Transportation," Transport Canada
https://tinyurl.com/czfgcl

Roads are being built to nowhere, causing the need to build more roads.

Much of the wealth invested in the US transportation system has disappeared. The Obama Administration’s Government Accountability Project has revealed that Americans have been paying into a system of transportation that has actually been stripping wealth from communities and degrading the American quality of life for decades. While the findings are a shock to the country, the Obama administration is using this crisis as an opportunity to shift investment into a new system of transportation.

The transportation investments, meant to help get people to places they want to be, have created places where no one wants to be.

Gary Toth, Director of Transportation Initiatives at Project for Public Spaces, confirmed the anomaly while reviewing State DOT proposals for stimulus funding. He found that much of the money was not actually improving access for Americans. “Much like drug addiction, investments in high speed highway capacity led to a temporary high but were quickly followed by a craving for more,” said Toth. “Each addition of road capacity created sprawl and degraded the very destinations the system is meant to connect people with. In the end, the funding was simply supporting driving more and more and accomplishing less and less.”

The scheme has even sucked children in, making it impossible for them to get to school without investing in the system.

Toth said he became suspicious after examining all the money that had gone into the transportation system over the last fifty years, and realizing how little had come out of it. “All that money, and things just became worse!” he explained.

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Continue reading “US Transportation System Revealed to be Giant Ponzi Scheme”

-> According to a Feb. 25th news release, "INRIX(c), the leading provider of traffic information, today released its second annual INRIX National Traffic Scorecard, revealing a 30 percent decline in traffic congestion in 2008 during the peak periods on major roads in urban America. Overall the report found that 99 of the top 100 most populated cities in the U.S. experienced decreases in traffic congestion levels in 2008 as compared to the prior year…
"The report cites turbulent fuel prices and a struggling economy as sources for a consistent decline in overall traffic volume. Detroit, where the jobless rate climbed past 21 percent in 2008, saw the second largest decrease in congestion nationwide. Additionally, Riverside, Calif., which ranked third-highest in the nation in foreclosure activity during 2008, saw the highest drop in congestion of the nation’s larger regions…"
Continue reading “NAT’L TRAFFIC SCORECARD: CONGESTION DROPS 30% IN 2008”

-> According to a Mar. 26th news release, "Funding is now available to communities interested in making their environment more ‘walkable’ for residents. The Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) is seeking proposals from up to 10 communities or neighborhoods to pilot test the use of a newly developed guidebook on how to improve pedestrian safety in neighborhoods. Each selected site will be provided $2,000 as well as technical assistance from pedestrian safety experts.
"Only government agencies and other not-for-profit organizations and neighborhood groups (such as PTAs, homeowner’s associations, advocacy groups, etc.) are eligible to apply. Project funds are not payable to individuals. HSRC will conduct a pre-award conference call on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 1 PM ET to offer applicants an overview of the RFP as well as answer questions from applicants."
Continue reading “HSRC TO FUND 10 WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOOD PILOT PROJECTS”

US$100 In Prizes
SUBJECT: Your essay may be on any aspect of bicycling (history, touring, racing, commuting, role in society, learning, teaching, etc.) *
ENTRY: Essays should be in English, legible and 2-3 pages. Entrants can base their paper on interviews, research, and/or personal opinion.
Girls and boys from all countries are encouraged to participate. You need not be a bicyclist. All essays become the property of the International Bicycle Fund. Decisions of the judges are final.
ENTRY CATEGORIES AND FIRST PLACE PRIZES:
A. Age 8 and under, US$20.00 (up to half of the entry may be illustration).
B. Age 9-12, US$30.00
C. Age 13-16, US$50.00
Additional prizes may be awarded.
DEADLINE: Entry must be postmarked by 1 May and arrive no later than 15 May, each year.
* Among the reasons for bicycling are ethics, health, fitness, aesthetics, economics, enjoyment, mobility, access and the environment. There are hundreds of possible topics. Here are some suggestions: environmental benefits of bicycles, making my town more bicycle-friendly, bicycling and my (my family or friend), why people bicycle, bicycling and health, history of bicycling in my country, important aspects of safe bicycling, bicycle tourism, famous people who have bicycled and why, famous bicycle rides, unique uses of bicycles, teaching someone to bicycle, etc. Original topics are encouraged. Chose the topic that you can write the best essay on.
Continue reading “Student Bicycle Essay Contest”

That cup of coffee that many gym rats, bikers and runners swill before a workout does more than energize them. It kills some of the pain of athletic exertion, a new study suggests. And it works regardless of whether a person already had a coffee habit or not.
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"What we saw is something we didn’t expect," Motl said. "Caffeine-naïve individuals and habitual users have the same amount of reduction in pain during exercise after caffeine (consumption)."
Continue reading “Coffee Lessens the Pain of Exercise”

[Baltimore Spokes: This article brought up memories of the time a school bus passed me just to stop and pick up kids, drove 200 feet to stop and pick up more kids then 200 feet later made a left turn into a school. I really have to question "all the money saved" by not building sidewalks and make roads inhospitable to bicycling traffic so we need to bus or drive kids anywhere they need to go.]
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Lake County School Board members were briefed by transportation officials Monday on the potential savings the district could see if it stopped offering busing for students who live within two miles of school.
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School officials said the district could save approximately $2.7 million a year by eliminating 34 bus routes.
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Chairman Kyleen Fischer said she was concerned about the risk students faced while walking to school.
District officials said they identified 23 hazardous walking areas within the two-mile radius of 10 elementary schools. Students living in those areas could be eligible for busing. However, those areas could be eliminated if the municipalities add sidewalks or lower speed limits.
…
Continue reading “Thousands of students may lose their bus ride to school”

Continue reading “Benefits of a bicycle”