Humancar

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I’m taking one of these
to Critical Mass tonight.

(hat tip to Marino on the Shift list)

Biking Trifecta Friday!

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OK people, this Friday is looking quite bike-arific. Ready? Set. Go.

Start with Breakfast on the Bridges. Ride to work over the Hawthorne or Broadway Bridge and get free coffee, pastries and friendly conversation.

Then, roll with your velo brethren at Critical Mass.

Then, pedal over to Monsters of Bike Rawk and get your groove on all night long…or incur the wrath of this big, ugly BikeZilla guy who likes to crush bikes.

Interactive Bike Mapping Tool

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I’ve been thinking about this for a long time…a mapping tool just like Yahoo! or Google Maps, but specifically for bicycle routes. Turns out the S.F. Bay Area is way ahead of me. Wouldn’t this be cool here in Portland? We’ve already got a great bike map(which I hear will be fully revised and on sale this June!)…now all we need is a super-techie bike lover with some free time on their hands. Any takers? Email me

(Thanks to The Cycling Dude for reminding me about this.)

Real cyclists wear fishnets

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I thought the Portland cycling fashionistas and hipsters would enjoy this article from the Guardian, a UK newspaper. It’s been making its way around cycling websites. Here’s an excerpt:

“I find that wearing fishnets on a bike significantly reduces your chances of being killed. Not because everyone wants to protect your fabulous legs, just because people notice you’re there, if only because they’re thinking, “What’s that idiot doing in fishnets? She’ll only catch them on her gear set.” Drivers who’ve noticed you rarely try deliberately to kill you.”

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Bicycle Facilities

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The folks over at the BTA will like this one. An interesting tool for getting a quick estimate on how much a certain bike facility would cost. (from Velorution)

From the homepage:

How much do bicycle facilities cost? Can we quantify their benefits? In what cases do estimates of benefits outweigh costs?

If your community is considering building a new bicycle facility you can use this tool to estimate costs, the demand in terms of new cyclists, and measured economic benefits (e.g., time savings, increased livability, decreased health costs, a more enjoyable ride, decreased pollution).

Cyclists get shafted on St. Johns Bridge

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While attending Tuesday’s meeting of the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee I learned that ODOT has decided to give the St. Johns Bridge 2 lanes in each direction instead of a bike-friendly alternative suggested by traffic-flow consultants and local bicycle planners. With 2 lanes in each direction, there is not adequate room for bicycles.

At issue is whether or not accommodating bicycle traffic would hurt the freight capacity of the bridge. This issue was explored in a comprehensive study that showed putting 4 lanes on the bridge would not increase freight capacity. However, despite the findings of the study, it seems ODOT has made a decision that shows a complete disregard for cyclists and will make crossing the St. Johns Bridge by bike much more dangerous.

When will truckers realize that if more people were on bikes they could move their freight around much more quickly?!

Now, all that’s left is to fight for making the sidewalk (which is not going to be wide enough for bikes either) and the traffic lane as safe as possible for bikes.

I guess we’ll have to be satisfied with a bit of paint in the lane and a sign…gee, I feel safer already.

Great News about Safe Routes to School

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This just in from the BTA’s Jessica Roberts:

Our (the BTA’s) Safe Routes to School bill just passed the House–unanimously!

This bill would create a statewide Safe Routes to School program for Oregon, helping get kids active and reversing frightening trends towards childhood obesity and inactivity. It will also create safer neighborhood streets for all of us–did you know that 20% of morning traffic is parents driving children to school?

Now the bill must go to the Senate, but there’s a lot of excitement and community support for the bill as we move forward. I’ll keep in touch about campaigns to contact Senators when the time is right, but mostly I just wanted to share the news.

If you want to know more, here’s our legislative website:

Jessica Roberts
Membership Director & Metro-area Advocate

That’s great news Jessica! And a very special thanks to hard-working Robert Ping, the main man for Oregon’s Safe Routes to School program.

Ride with “Gal from Downunder” on Sunday

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This Sunday is your chance to meet and ride with the “Gal from Down Under” and Bike Friday evangelist Lynette Chiang. Never heard of Lynette Chiang? Here’s how she describes herself:

failed hippie, couldn’t-navigate-her-way-out-of-a-paper-bag world traveler from Downunder, who in May 1997 pedaled away from security, prosperity (longevity?) on a small folding bicycle.”

She’ll be showing a few of her films (from Cycle Oregon, a trip to Cuba, riding the highest paved rode in the world, and more!). For more details on Sunday’s event go here.