The Monday Roundup

Welcome to Monday. Hope you enjoyed the holiday. Let’s get right back to it shall we?

— The big news (just hit this morning) is that Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford — a bike hater who will live in infamy for ripping out a bike lane — was removed from office for improprieties surrounding a conflict of interest case.

— We’ve had 15 stolen bike listed since Thanksgiving, so you might want to check out this solid roundup of bike locks as shared by the Brisbane police department.

— Speaking of bike thieves, did you see what happened to the guy in Ft. Lauderdale who got caught stealing a $600 bike? A serious beatdown.

— Last week I shared a link to a story picked up by media outlets all over the world saying how the “cycling utopia” of Amsterdam had become choked with bicycles and that it was “a big problem.” Well, it turns out that’s not exactly the case, at least according to the Bicycle Dutch blog. Read their breakdown of what’s actually going on.

— Look closely at these amazing old photos of bike stunts from the streets of D.C. in 1921. (Hint: Look at the guy’s legs.)

— Remember those awesome, custom wooden helmets? Now the Corvallis-based entrepreneur behind them, Dan Coyle, is ready to take the next step. He’s launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to ramp up production.

— And another new bike brand is tapping into Portland’s manufacturing prowess. Ocean Air Cycles is crowdfunding their plans to produce a touring/rando bike that would be made by Zen Fabrications in north Portland.

— Local Portland writer and publisher Elly Blue’s new book, Everyday Bicycling, received a great review from Atlantic Cities.

— More good economic news for bike share systems. Nice Ride Minnesota is crunching numbers after a busy summer season and their new study finds, “An average of $7 to $14 was spent per Nice Ride trip on shopping, dining and entertainment at local businesses, totaling $150,000 over the season.”

— You’ve heard it reported here several times recently that the new federal transportation bill has hastened a push to focus advocacy efforts at the local level. Influential Capitol Hill media outlet Roll Call takes a look at how that’s playing out: “… Cities across the country are moving forward with bigger plans for bicycling.”

— States that voted Republican have higher traffic fatality rates than those that voted Democrat, so says a recent finding reported by Streetsblog.

— We saw this coming: As sharrows gained official acceptance, many city engineers use them too liberally and forget they are not a substitute for a real bikeway. The Systemic Failure blog (which is no fan of sharrows) has been tracking this phenomenon and points out that “Sharrows are not a bike plan.”

— Our friend Carlton Reid from BikeBiz UK has the story of a new report from the London Assembly that tells the Mayor of London to, “Take roadspace away from cars and give it to cyclists.”

— Portland still hasn’t managed to open a new velodrome, so I’m currently living vicariously through the tribulations of New York City’s attempt. As the NY Times reports, it’s complicated.

— Not sure what to get for the bike lover on your gift list? Check out Trotify, a wooden device that sits on your front wheel and makes your bike clop like a horse. I can’t tell if this is real or not; but it sure is hilarious. Oh, and there’s a video:

— The video of the week isn’t new; but I had not come across it until this week. It documents a 58-year old man who suffers from a condition that prevents him from walking; but, “Astonishingly, however, this patient could still ride his bicycle.”

Remember folks, if you come across something noteworthy, be sure to share it with us via Twitter or send it in via email.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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K'Tesh
K'Tesh
11 years ago

That Trotify device looks like too much fun! 😀

q`Tzal
q`Tzal
11 years ago
Reply to  K'Tesh

Brought to you by the Ministry of Silly Bike Projects©.

Chrystal
Chrystal
11 years ago

I love the wooden helmets they are so slick!

Champs
Champs
11 years ago

At my last job, I had to fight for indoor space on a rack full of bikes that hadn’t moved in years. Whoever left them there had long since graduated or moved on to a new job, because I could tell that bike parking wasn’t much of a priority for the university’s administration.

Amsterdam doesn’t quite have this problem, but Utrecht does. The people of Portland don’t seem to understand this with their tarp-covered mounds of dirt left on the street for months at a time, but parking and storage are not the same thing.

o/o
o/o
11 years ago

my friend with CP told me it was easier to pedal than to walk. i can confirm that because i saw him pedaling effortless. He falls at times while walking. He loves bicycle riding.

Arem
Arem
11 years ago

RE: Toronto mayor-
Annnd heeee’s outta theeeeere!
Thinking of George Carlin and his quip about politicians resembling diapers, they can stink and should be changed often. 😛

q`Tzal
q`Tzal
11 years ago
Reply to  Arem

“The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.”

― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Rob Ford is a reprehensible specimen of homo sapiens but is also reasonably representative of the bottom half of a standard deviation of humanity. Basically we have a 50/50 chance of electing a Rob Ford before we even consider the propensity for power to attract those who would abuse it.