Category: Biking Elsewhere

* U.S. cyclists who bike frequently have a median income of almost $60,000. – SRDS, 2005, The Lifestyle Market Analyst
* The average North American bicycle commuter is a 39-year-old male professional with a household income in excess of $45,000 who rides 10.6 months per year. – Moritz, W., 1997, Survey of North American bicycle commuters: Design and aggregate results,
* In the Yukon Territory, twice as many people bike to work as in California, and three times as many as in Florida. – Pucher, J., and R. Buehler, 2006, Why Canadians cycle more than Americans: A comparative analysis of bicycling trends and policies, Transport Policy, 13, 265-79
* Europeans bicycle an average of 188 km per year; United States residents bike only 40 km a year. – Bassett, Jr., et al., 2008, Walking, cycling, and obesity rates in Europe, North America, and Australia, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 5, 795-814
* 30% of bike commuters use a mountain bike, 28% a road bike, 18% a hybrid, and 17% a touring bike. 35% of bike commuters own a second, bad-weather bike. – Moritz, W., 1997, Survey of North American bicycle commuters: Design and aggregate results, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1578, 91-101
* Bicyclists with more automobiles in their household are less likely to bicycle for any purpose; while the more bicycles a cyclist owns, the more likely they are to choose to bicycle. – Sener et al., 2008, An analysis of bicyclists and bicycling characteristics: Who, why, and how much are they bicycling?
* Bicycling for non-commuting purposes generally precedes bicycling for commuting. – Sener et al., 2008, An analysis of bicyclists and bicycling characteristics: Who, why, and how much are they bicycling?
* Work trips account for only 15% of all trips. – U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, 2001 National Household Travel Survey
* From 1977-1995, the number of bicycle trips taken in the U.S. doubled. – Pucher, J., et al., 1999, Bicycling renaissance in North America?: Recent trends and alternative policies to promote bicycling, Transportation Research Part A, 33, 625-54
* On the average day when an adult rides a bicycle, he or she rides for about 40 minutes. – Barnes, G., and K. Krizek, 2005, Estimating bicycling demand, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1939, 45-51
* 89% of bicycle trips begin at a residence. – Royal, D., and D. Miller-Steiger, 2008, National Survey of Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behavior, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
* The average commuting bicycle costs $687. – Moritz, W., 1997, Survey of North American bicycle commuters: Design and aggregate results, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1578, 91-101
* Paris’ automated bike-sharing system, Vélib’, includes 20,600 bikes distributed among 1,451 stations throughout the city. In the first six months, people took the bikes on 13.4 million trips—an average of 75,000 trips per day. – Vélib’ press release
* High school students are less likely to bike or walk to school if they are girls, in grade 12, smoke daily, are low-moderate in physical activity, or attend a rural school. – Robertson-Wilson, J., et al., 2008, Social-ecological correlates of active commuting to school among high school students, Journal of Adolescent Health, 42, 486-95
* A person is 7% more likely to bike or walk to nonwork activities for every 1,000 retail workers within a half mile of their home. – Chatman (2005) in Arrington, G., and R. Cervero, 2008, Effects of TOD on Housing, Parking, and Travel, Transit Cooperative Research Program Report 128
* The average bicycle commuter has been commuting by bike for 8.3 years. – Moritz, W., 1997, Survey of North American bicycle commuters: Design and aggregate results, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1578, 91-101
Continue reading “Interesting facts”

By Linda Ellingsen – REI
In This Article
* 12 Cycling Myths, Exposed!
* Before You Ride
* Riding Tips
* Taking It to the Next Level
* Biking Q&A
* getting into biking
Welcome back to the saddle! By reading this, it means you already taking that first step towards getting back on a bike for fun or transportation. We think that’s awesome, and we’re here to help you go for it.
So what has you thinking about riding your bike? There are in fact lots of great reasons to dust off your bike (or even ride for the very first time) and start pedaling:
* High gas prices (ah, perhaps you’ve heard of this?).
* Paying all those other car-related expenses: parking, repairs, insurance.
* Getting some exercise.
* Doing your part to be more "green."
* Getting some fresh air.
* Reducing your stress level.
* Seeing your environs at a slower pace.
Sounds great, you say, but let’s get real for a minute, too. Most of us have found plenty of reasons NOT to go riding, so let’s take on those fears one by one.
12 Cycling Myths, Exposed!
Myth #1: Biking requires too much gear.
Myth #2: It’s costly to buy a bike and all the gear for cycling.
Myth #3: Only expensive bikes are any good.
Myth #4: Biking takes too much time.
Myth #5: Biking is too dangerous.
Myth #6: Bike seats are uncomfortable.
Myth #7: I’m clueless about how to maintain my bike.
Myth #8: I’m too out of shape to ride.
Myth #9: You can’t carry much stuff on a bike.
Myth #10: It’s too far for me to commute to work.
Myth #11: I’ll get sweaty.
Myth #12: My work clothes will get wrinkled.
Continue reading “Bike Your Drive”

…
"Accommodating cyclists in your community is a solution not a problem," Peel told the group, which included Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson, Alderman Gary Higdon, Hernando’s bicycle police officers, several civil engineers and a handful of biking enthusiasts.
Peel presented several statistics to support his case including that 40 percent of trips made are 2 miles or less and 89 percent of those trips are made by car.
"Motorists think bicyclists are in the way, but really it’s one less motorist in a car in front of you at the stoplight," Peel said.
…
Continue reading “Solution not a problem”

The 2007 Oregon Legislature passed HB 3314, creating an enhanced penalty for careless diving if it contributes to serious physical injury or death to a “vulnerable user of a public way,” and will go into effect January 1, 2008. The purpose of this article is to discuss the Vulnerable User legal concept and its potential for improvement in safety for non-motorized roadway users such as bicyclists and pedestrians. Earlier this year, I wrote about the need for enhanced protection for vulnerable roadway users. See Cycling Injuries & Law Change, from the Winter 2007 issue.
“Vulnerable Roadway User”: A European Safety Concept
The concept of “vulnerable roadway user” has been used by planners and safety organizations in Europe to categorize and describe non-motorized roadway users. The label is a nice one because it incorporates the inherent vulnerability of humans who use the roads without being encased in a protective steel shell. Inclusion of the concept of vulnerability evokes a more sympathetic image and focuses on the shared vulnerability of these different user groups. By including vulnerable users within a single term, the requirement for protection is brought to mind to counterbalance the somewhat natural reaction some people have to improving safety by restricting access, such as by restricting bicycle access to freeways or pedestrian crossings or road access.
No state has ever used the Vulnerable Roadway User concept as a legal term, but for the reasons above stated, the members of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) Legislative Committee felt it could focus the need for enhanced protection of vulnerable user groups (who are reducing energy consumption and pollution, while improving their own good health and fitness). Since people need to get out of their cars and walk or roll under their own power, some enhanced protection is necessary to get law enforcement and the court system participating in protecting and encouraging kids to walk to school, commuters to ride a bike, and the use of a skateboard or scooter instead of getting a ride or driving a car to run an errand.
It was our view that Oregon law was far too lenient in punishing careless drivers who receive merely a fine and are not even required to make a court appearance after a horrific collision. Some police officers and medical personnel have even been heard to argue that people who choose not to ride in a car should expect to have bad things happen because the roadways are so dangerous. To us, tolerating the status quo was not acceptable – it was time to change the law and create a zone of protection instead of indifference toward those people brave enough to use their bodies to get around.
Continue reading “Vulnerable Roadway Users”

According to the Dec. 19th issue of Environmental Roundup, "Transportation in the U.S. is responsible for 30 percent of our global warming pollution and 70 percent of our oil consumption. We cannot solve the energy and climate challenge without making our transportation system far cleaner and more efficient.
Continue reading “FRIENDS OF THE EARTH’S "NEW ROADS = NEW POLLUTION" CAMPAIGN”

The Thunderhead Alliance for Biking and Walking is launching our new annual Awards for excellence in bicycling and walking advocacy. We invite you to nominate a person or organization for any of the awards below. The deadline for nominations is January 31st, 2009.
Awards:
“Advocate of the Year”
“Advocacy Organization of the Year”
"Innovation Award"
“Winning Campaign of the Year”
“Business Advocate of the Year”
"Best Practices Award"
Continue reading “Annual Awards for Excellence in Bicycling and Walking Advocacy”

It is promoted as the longest, most remote winter ultrarace in the world, a slog across century-old marshland trails from the outpost of Knik over the Farewell Hills, up the Yukon River, through the ghost towns of the Kuskokwim Mountains and on to the Bering Sea.
Continue reading “An Iditarod Without Dogs”

[I have been at a lost to find something to post for the holidays until I ran across this, revolution and excitement sounds like something we can get behind. 😉 ]
A RECIPE FOR FLIPPING
In the spirit of the season, we offer the following recipe for a holiday punch of another kind. The story is that the appropriately named "Flip" was a popular revolutionary-era drink, and that, together with coffee, it fueled the excitement –the ferment, you might say– that became the American Revolution. So for your own edification:
Continue reading “Something for the holidays”

Just in time for the holidays:
A look at one potential future for the city of Minneapolis if the 2009 economic stimulus bill expected to be passed by Congress very soon focuses on yesterday’s transportation vision rather than building for the needs of the next century. What might the future have in store? Let’s take a look.
Continue reading “The Future (result) of Freeway Expansion”

Degnaw made this flash game and I thought I would share.
Continue reading “So you think you have what it takes to be a bike messenger”