Day: February 17, 2006

Reflections on Burnside Bridge closure

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
burnsideclosure

[Photo by Aaron Tarfman]

Bike activist Aaron Tarfman shares his thoughts on the recent Burnside Bridge closure over in the “Voices” section.

“This past weekend the Burnside Bridge was closed to all traffic. Given that at least 5 of the city’s most dangerous pedestrian intersections occur on Burnside, I had to see what effect this would have on our city. The first thing I noticed about the closed bridge was the quiet. There were still numerous vehicles figuring out how to get around the detours (too bad they didn’t read BTA’s website) however it wasn’t the nearly deafening roar which normally pervades the Burnside Bridge…”

Read more and see additional photos over on Aaron’s website.

Answers from Kryptonite

seth's business card

[Seth’s card]

A few weeks ago I asked if you had questions for Kryptonite because I was going to meet with one of their tech guys, Seth Samson. I printed out all of your questions and brought them to dinner. Here are your questions followed by answers I managed to scribble down over beers and Chinese food:

James: “I’m curious how their distribution has changed. I think REI used to carry Kryptonite, but now no longer does.”

    REI actually still carries Kryptonite, just less models than they have in the past. This is due to normal competitive market forces and REI purchasing decisions. In addition to carrying Kryptonite they also offer a less-expensive brand called OnGuard.

Andrew: “I’m curious what they ended up doing with all the returned locks. Sold as scrap?”

Read more

Worst Day success brings pains and gains

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

I just heard from bike community mastermind and uber event promoter Ayleen Crotty that the final tally for Sunday’s Worst Day of the Year Ride was a whopping 1,525 people. That’s an amazing turnout and over twice the amount of riders they had last year.

The big turnout was a cause for celebration from organizers and sponsors…but it made for a challenging day for some participants. Over in the forums, I noticed this account from a disgruntled rider. You can also read Ayleen’s gracious response.

I think it’s important for us to realize that the people behind many of these great events are not making tons of money and they’re doing a lot of work so we can have fun on our bikes. Thanks again to all the sponsors and organizers for such a great event!

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