B’ Spokes: Once and a while someone will say that we can’t build bike/ped friendly infrastructure on our streets because it will delay fire truck response time. Usually this is because of the width and turning radius of fire trucks. If only there was a better fire truck…
Amtrak tests bicycle roll-on service on Capitol Limited route between Pittsburgh and D.C.
By Jon Schmitz / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Linda McKenna Boxx said she has been trying for more than a decade to get Amtrak to improve accommodations for bicycles on its Pittsburgh-to-Washington, D.C., trains, which closely follow the trails that connect the two cities.
On Tuesday, that goal moved a step closer to reality, when Amtrak allowed 20 bicyclists to take their two-wheelers onto the Capitol Limited train in Pittsburgh in a one-day trial of roll-on service.
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https://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/amtrak-tests-bicycle-roll-on-service-on-capitol-limited-route-between-pittsburgh-and-dc-707669/
Bikeability-trained kids cycle more, finds study
by Carlton Reid, Bike Biz
School kids who have undertaken Bikeability training use their bicycles more frequently than untrained children of the same age.
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Bikeability training leads to an uplift of 12.6 percent in the amount of children who cycle to school. Training also leads to an 11 percent increase in the amount of cycling children do with their families away from school.
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“Most children want to ride their bikes but often their parents are understandably reluctant to let them, even though they know that cycling is good for health. Bikeability is designed to give children the skills and confidence to ride well and to give their parents reassurance.”
In England Bikeability is funded by the Department for Transport and Transport for London and is offered free to about 50 percent of primary school children, mostly in urban and suburban settings. Most training occurs during school time in years 5 and 6.
https://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/bikeability-trained-kids-cycle-more-finds-study
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[B’ Spokes: I will note that from my informal polls parents are the ones that teach kids to ride against traffic and to ride on the sidewalk. We need something to address this wrong kind of thinking.
Get moving: Creating a research strategy for active cities
By Ben Welle, The City Fix
Many cities around the globe are home to dangerous roads, social stigmas that bicycling is “for the poor,” and urban designs that neglect walking and bicycling. Photo by Slightly-less-random.
Cities around the globe are seeing a creeping problem of growing physical inactivity, due in part to the lack of pleasurable every-day walking and bicycling. While in some cities there are ample facilities for a refreshing commute on bicycle, a leisurely stroll to the neighborhood market or park, or the ability to walk to high-quality public transport, many of the world’s metropolises are home to dangerous roads, social stigmas that bicycling is “for the poor,” and urban designs that neglect walking and bicycling.
The Problem
Physical inactivity currently causes 3.2 million deaths worldwide every year, and a growing number of the world’s inactive population comes from low- and middle-income countries.
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THE BEST FITNESS REGIME IS THE ONE WE DON’T NOTICE
By Jonathan Krall, Alixandra Times
Lately, I’ve been reading about exercise and fitness and have come to an odd realization: The most important form of exercise happens — every day — to people who practically are falling over themselves to avoid getting any at all.
The fitness industry tells us that exercise is something people do at a specialized facility using designated pieces of equipment, such as spinning on a stationary bicycle at a gym. But in reality, exercise is any sustained activity that raises the heart rate, such as a 20-minute walk from home to a nearby park or Metro station.
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Because so many of us in the United States are suffering from a multitude of low fitness-related preventable diseases, this is no small question. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, the per capita incidence of type 2 diabetes in Virginia more than doubled in the past 20 years, mirroring national trends.
When it comes to fitness, our public health policy clearly is not working. So what should we do?
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Because so many of us in the United States are suffering from a multitude of low fitness-related preventable diseases, this is no small question. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, the per capita incidence of type 2 diabetes in Virginia more than doubled in the past 20 years, mirroring national trends.
When it comes to fitness, our public health policy clearly is not working. So what should we do?
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https://alextimes.com/2013/10/move-along-the-best-fitness-regime-is-the-one-we-dont-notice/
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[B’ Spokes: I for one am tired of fustilugs* telling me a "better" way to get exercise that does NOT include cycling.]
Continue reading “THE BEST FITNESS REGIME IS THE ONE WE DON’T NOTICE”
City in Bolivia passes law making it compulsory to ride bikes
by Simon MacMichael, Road.CC
A city in Bolivia has passed a law that will make it compulsory for residents to ride a bike once a week instead of using other means of transport to get around for their everyday trips.
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It is aimed at not only reducing pollution, but also at improving the health of the city’s residents by introducing them to the benefits of using two wheels to get around, as part of promoting healthier lifestyles.
The law also provides for the construction of a major new cycle route, upgrading of existing ones, the provision of cycle parking at public and private workplaces and other institutions, and cycle training in schools.
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https://road.cc/content/news/96009-city-bolivia-passes-law-making-it-compulsory-ride-bikes
BIKES vs CARS TRAILER [video]
BIKES vs CARS TRAILER from WG Film on Vimeo.
Bike on the Street, Not on the Sidewalk [video]
[B’ Spokes: Nice introduction to safe cycling from Chicago. While this has a lot of nice tips for the novice cyclist, for me I would love it if something like this was shown to the drivers around here… cycling on the sidewalk is not always as easy as it sounds.]
Louis CK – Different Set of Values [video]
Caution: Language but of course he’s talking about driving.
[B’ Spokes: Seriously this should be part of Drivers’ Ed and periodic public service announcements.]
Repurposing Streets for All Users in Portland — Maine
[B’ Spokes: Can you imagine if they did something like this on, oh let’s say Northern Parkway or really lots and lots of streets in Baltimore where obstacles like poles and traffic control boxes are in the way of pedestrians on a already narrow sidewalk.]
by Angie Schmitt, Streets blog
On St. John Street in Portland, Maine, a lane of pavement was replaced with a landscaped walkway. Photo: Rights of Way
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https://streetsblog.net/2013/10/01/repurposing-streets-for-all-users-in-portland-maine/