Cyclelicious

Transitfail photos

2009-11-09T13:00:00.004-07:00

Sarah @ Streetsblog wants your transit fail photos for her next slide show. Send her your pictures of crummy transit service and infrastructure.

Here are my contributions:

Motorist illegally drives on light rail tracks, blocking the train, then drives across the boarding platform. San Jose, California.

Plowed snow completely blocks bus shelter access. Longmont, Colorado.

Jam packed trolley. San Francisco, California.

Chewbacca and Han Solo ride bicycles

2009-11-09T10:00:00.001-07:00

Buy this and other cool images like this here.

From Freewheeling Spirit, who requests caption ideas for this. ~~I'd like to know where he snagged this from.~~ It comes from this guy.

Don't forget Chewie also rides a fixed gear bike.

Geronimo Stilton Race Across America

2009-11-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter's a fan of the Geronimo Stilton series of children books. She brought this Race Across America home from the library. I had no idea!

More about this title from Amazon.com.

Justin Chambers rides a bicycle

2009-11-08T08:00:00.002-07:00

Justin Chambers cruises down the sidewalk on his bike in West Hollywood. Justin plays Dr. Alex Karev on Grey's Anatomy.

Naiomi Watts walks her bike

2009-11-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Australian actress Naiomi Watts walks her bike to the gym in New York City.

Eric Dane rides a bicycle

2009-11-06T18:00:00.001-07:00

Eric "Dr McSteamy" Dane meets up with friends after a road ride. His Grey's Anatomy co-star Patrick Dempsey also rides.

Velo Celebration

2009-11-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

My buddy Rob in Hattiesburg, Mississippi describes himself as a "certified bike-nut living car free." He has a website cleverly called Velobration. Go drop by and introduce yourself to Rob.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday

2009-11-06T13:57:00.003-07:00

It's Friday, I'm hard at work and I just realized I haven't posted yet!

Somebody help me out -- I have a choice for Saturday morning: Record a new episode of The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast, or hit the trails with my buddy Erik with camera, video and the new 2010 Breezer Thunder mountain bike that I need to review. I can't do both this weekend. Which should I do?

Go read Dr Wally's beginner's guide to cyclocross, and then go and wish Anna good luck on her first every cyclocross race.

The always crazy Singlespeed Cyclocross World Championship 2009 is this weekend in Portland, OR.

WEND has a video recap of a Halloween CX race.

Sconnyboy is back to blogging (and it's about time, Mauricio!)

SF Cyclotouring posts about Japanese minivelo cargo bikes!!!!

And now back to work for me!

Famke Janssen rides a bicycle

2009-11-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Actress Famke Janssen (she's Dutch) rides her fabulous Azor Oma bike with her dog in New York City.

See also Famke Janssen.

Bike safety in Iraq

2009-11-05T12:37:00.002-07:00

I think helmets and the reflective strap are required by the military. I know umpteen years ago motorcycle riders were required to wear safety vests when riding on post / base.

How could this bike "safety" video be better? And is it okay for Sgt Hatchet to create more danger for a cyclist because he's not wearing a helmet?

Bicycle promotion Huntsville Alabama

2009-11-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

The city of Huntsville, Alabama will begin promoting cyclists' rights with an ad campaign on city buses.

Rolling billboards attached to city buses will try to hammer home the point "that bicycles are vehicles, they're allowed on the road," [bike commuter Jamie] Miernik said Wednesday.

"There's a percentage of drivers out there," she said, "that really think bikes are not safe to be on the road with them."

This part here about cyclist education for police officers was interesting.

More than 400 Huntsville police officers have taken a refresher course on bicycle laws.

City Administrator Rex Reynolds, a former police chief, said that was done because an officer wrongly used his vehicle's loudspeaker to order a group of cyclists from the road onto the sidewalk.

Cyclists are prohibited from riding on sidewalks in Alabama.

"That was a reality check for us," Reynolds said Wednesday. "We needed to go back and make sure our officers are aware of the bicycle laws."

Read more at AL.COM: "Loud" ads on Huntsville city buses will promote cycling safety. Unless you like aggravation, avoid reading the idiot comments after the article.

Mountain bikes and guns

2009-11-05T10:31:00.002-07:00

Low dark clouds threatened rain as we unloaded our mountain bikes and looked over our gear one final time before cycling up the trail. Bikes: check. Tent: check. Food: check. Rain gear: check. Spare inner tube: check. Rifles and ammunition: check.

In Montana, some of the most spectacular and fruitful hunting grounds are deep in the backcountry, beyond the reaches of pickup trucks or off-road vehicles. These areas have long been hotspots for backcountry horseman, but that doesn't mean they are beyond the reach of the average hunter with a bicycle.

More --> Great Falls Tribune: Hunters rely on pedal power bikes.

Stephen Moyer rides a bicycle

2009-11-04T18:00:00.001-07:00

Stephen Moyers rides a bike around Venice, California. Nice rack on that bike!

Guns Germs & Bikes

2009-11-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

Nobody rides bikes in Buenos Aries. As David Byrne writes of Buenos Aries: "Is it so uncool to ride a bike here that even messengers find other ways of getting around?"

David Byrne's Hypothesis: "I think the idea of cycling is simply off the radar here. The cycling meme hasn’t been dropped into the mix, or it never took hold. I am inclined to agree with Jared Diamond, who claims in his book Collapse that people develop cultural affinities for certain foods, ways of getting around, clothes, and habits of being that become so ingrained that they will, in his telling, persist in maintaining their habits even to the piont of driving themselves and sometimes their whole civilization to extinction."

Tom Vanderbilt then asks: What is "the mixture of infrastructure, social norms, behavioral change, incentives, and whatever else is needed to get a bike culture off the ground"?

More --> How We Drive: Guns, Germs, & Bikes.

Bike stuff

2009-11-04T13:56:00.004-07:00

Happy Hump Day. I left my helmet on the bus this morning and I'm bummed. The bad part: My Planet Bike Superflash was attached to said helmet, and with Daylight Savings over my evening commute is in the dark. I popped into Palo Alto Bicycles this morning to buy another light but they don't open until 10 AM. Rats.

SF Bay Guardian: SF Bike Injunction Becomes Absurd.

Lifehacker: DIY Hi / Low beam bike headlights from hardware store parts.

Treehugger: Combo bike light and tire pump.

WIRED Gadget Lab FAQ: Six things you should know about Brooks Saddle, with a followup on Selle An-Atomica leather saddles.

An Alex Rider gadget: Smokescreen bike pump.

Instructables: Bicycle Bar End Brake Lights.

Sexy safe freeing fun attractive normal necessary

2009-11-04T09:30:00.001-07:00

That's the list of words Dottie came up with when asked how she would promote bicycling.

I would use all the tactics that automobile advertisers use. They show the car as sexy, safe, freeing, fun, attractive, normal, necessary. In my experience, these adjectives describe bicycling more accurately than driving, especially in the city. Bicycling delivers the kind of freedom that car advertising promises. We need images of successful and happy people on bikes dressed nicely, going on dates, smiling and laughing.

I think it's a pretty good list. We're so earnest and preachy we sometimes forget that bicycling is just goofy fun.

What do you think? How do you promote bicycling?

Fat Bike in Anchorage

2009-11-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Carl Batrell's film "Fat Bike" got first place a couple of weekends ago at the Boston Bike Film Festival.

The film follows cyclists Josh Morehouse and Mike Morganson as they train in and around Anchorage, Alaska for the Susitna 100 race.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson is my cycling superhero

2009-11-03T14:11:00.002-07:00

Filmmaker Franny Armstrong tweeted last night: "Was getting attacked by feral kids with an iron bar on the streets of Camden tonight, when Boris Johnson cycled by & saved me. True story."

Here's the dope: Boris Johnson, who regularly bikes to and from the office, was Just Riding Along when he heard a cry for help from Franny Armstrong. Some teenagers were threatening Armstrong with an iron pipe. Johnson chased the girls away, then escorted Ms Armstrong the rest of the way home.

Boris Johnson is a pretty big dude. Armstrong admits that she had voted for rival Ken Livingstone in the 2008 mayoral election. But Ms Armstrong added: "If you find yourself down a dark alleyway and in trouble I think Boris would be of more use than Ken."

More: -->

* Guardian: Boris Johnson saves woman from street attack. Green filmmaker Franny Armstrong pays tribute to 'my knight on a shining bicycle'

* BBC: Johnson saves woman from 'oiks'.

How does he grab his water bottle?

2009-11-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Dan Scott carries the Olympic Torch while riding his mountain bike in British Columbia. The torch makes a brilliant if awkward "be seen" light for his bike. The torch is also a reasonable gauge for those states that have passed a 1 meter / 3 foot passing law.

The Olympic Flame will be travelling across Canada on the longest torch relay within a single country in Olympic history with nearly 200 communities across Canada and 12,000 torchbearers participating.

Doctor in cuffs: What's the lesson?

2009-11-03T11:02:00.003-07:00

Guest essay from Serge Issakov of La Jolla, California. Posted originally to the CABO Forum and republished here with his permission.

The attitude and ignorance of Dr. Christopher Thompson is all too familiar for most bicyclists, exemplified by the fact that he admitted to police at the scene that he slammed on his brakes "to teach them a lesson". Now who is receiving the lesson? And what is the lesson?

This reminds me of the time I was riding while pulling Anya on the trailercycle down La Jolla Blvd and stopped in the middle of the lane at a red light which soon turned green at which time we proceeded. While still in the intersection we were passed by a honking raging maniac shaking his fist at us. It was a good opportunity to teach Anya how to ignore and dismiss such occasional and very rare nuts (that was 3 years ago and none since), but the next car following him turned out to be San Diego police. The officer and I exchanged knowing glances and he turned on his lights and pulled over the guy in front of the Su Casa Mexican restaurant. We slowed to watch. Before we left I overheard the man, in a Jekyll/Hyde change in demeanor, claiming he was just trying to teach me a lesson because I was putting my child in so much danger, and the officer explaining that we were doing nothing wrong.

That said, and it's nice to see this ahole in handcuffs, but I don't feel the rejoicing many other cyclists have expressed about this and agree with one of the victims here who said, "It's sad for both sides, I lost a lot of my time and my life, and he's losing a lot of his." There is much to be sad about here, including what the other victim said, "Our hope is that this brings to light how vulnerable cyclists are out there". That's not my hope, and it's sad to me to hear that that is his hope.

Everyone is already all too aware of how vulnerable cyclists are, this doctor included, I'm sure. Cyclist vulnerability is what ironically justifies this kind of rage, for it based on the belief that riding in the road is so inherently dangerous that it is irresponsible and wrong behavior. That's the lesson these guys (and, yes, it's usually men) think we need to learn: "you're so vulnerable it's insane to be bicycling out there... here, let me show you why". Luckily, the lesson plan is usually ultimately harmless: honking, gunning of engine, shaking of fist, screaming, a close pass. This situation, where motorist behavior actually physically harmed the cyclists, is very rare.

My hope is that this brings to light that bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers of vehicles (CVC 21200). I hope prudent cyclists who know and follow the rules and safe practices ignore, rather than engage with, the rare ignorant motorists who try to teach us lessons about our vulnerability.

Ft Collins analyzes bike accidents

2009-11-03T10:00:00.002-07:00

It was about a week ago in conversation a friend told me she was 'hooked' when a car driver passed her then immediately made a right turn into her.

"It was so weird," she told me. "I've never heard of anyone get hit like that before."

I, in my super knowledgeable bike advocate smarminess, informed her that this collision is, in fact, the most common type of bike vs car collision. It even has a name: The Right Hook.

It turns out I'm wrong, at least in Ft. Collins, Colorado. The city traffic department analyzed accident reports involving bicycles from the year 2000 to June 2009. The infamous Right Hook -- or what the city calls "Overtaking Turn Accidents at Intersections" -- is the second most common collision at 13% of the total in their count.

The most common collision is "The Broadside," at 60.5% of crashes. That's when a motorist goes straight through an intersection even when there's a bike right in front of him.

The Coloradoan article on this analysis highlights the fact that of the 214 "broadside" collisions, 123 of them involve a cyclist riding against traffic. Naturally, the public comments section focuses on the scofflaw cyclists as the cause of this traffic mayhem.

What the article failed to mention is that in 10% of the broadside collisions, the motorist failed to stop at a stop sign or even a red light. Two of the drivers were DUI. In 130 instances, the drivers were cited for "failure to yield right of way."

To be sure, cyclists should ride with traffic for safety, but that's not the only problem. There's a problem with the bull in the china shop, and that bull should be controlled (to use the methaphor from Copenhagenize).

Left Cross

The third most common collision type is the left cross at 9.3% of collisions. This is when a left turning motorist slams into a cyclist going straight through an intersection. Of the 33 left crosses, 3 involved a cyclist riding on the sidewalk, 2 were going the wrong way, and two failed to stop at a signal or sign. The overwhelming number of these were motorists who just kept going in spite of the presence of a bike in their path.

Hit from behind

After that, the next collision type is the dreaded "Hit From Behind." The 30 "sideswipes" recorded account for 8.5% of bike collisions. With the exception of a single head on, all fatalities are these types.

The report also counts 25 severe injury (including fatalities) collisions out of the 354 bicycle accidents in the analysis. About half of the severe injuries are from the "Broadside" collisions.

Many risks are controllable while cycling and the city report highlights some of the contributing factors that involve bicyclists -- you should generally ride with traffic, avoid sidewalks, and obey traffic control signs and signals. There's still work to do to reign in the bull as well -- Ft Collins with a population of 137,000 has a serious injury accident almost once a month.

But is it dangerous?

For the 9 year period that Ft Collins examined, the accident rate is 0.93 per 1,000 population. Compare that against an injury rate of 7.7 per 1,000 population for all people involved in car accidents. There were four bicycle fatalities in Ft Collins in nine years, compared against two to four traffic fatalities total each year.

While bicycling is generally a safe activity, there are risks in bicycling, and it's good to see Ft Collins quantifying some of those risks.

Download report PDF here.

Gerard Butler (still) rides a bicycle

2009-11-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Actor Gerard Butler enjoys a crisp fall day riding his bike on the streets of SoHo.

GUILTY all 7 counts

2009-11-02T16:52:00.004-07:00

The jury returned a verdict this afternoon to conclude Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson's road rage trial in Los Angeles. He's the guy who passed a pair of cyclists then slammed on his brakes to ~~allegedly~~ "teach them a lesson."
Assault with a deadly weapon - GUILTY.
Reckless driving causing specified bodily injury - GUILTY.
Battery with serious bodily injury - GUILTY.
Mayhem - GUILTY.

Details at Velonews and LA Times Blog.

SoapBoxLA was at the trial live blogging the verdict through Twitter. He's been following this case closely and I'm sure he'll post details of the trial later tonight on his blog.

See also:
* LAPD arrests Christopher Thompson: Assault with a deadly weapon
* Christopher Thompson tells police he slammed brakes to "teach them a lesson!"

Cargo Bike Gallery

2009-11-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

Cargo Bike Gallery aspires to be the most comprehensive list of cargo bikes on the planet: Cargo Bike Gallery.

Don't need no stinkin' bike lanes

2009-11-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Trials rider Danny MacAskill bikes to work. For him, every facility is a bike facility.

Via London Cyclist best of the web.

Trek Lime wins design award. Commentary at WIRED Magazine.

James likes The Batavus BuB bike.