(Photo: Ryan Hashagen/AROW)
– Bike sharing is coming to the Bay Area, and it’s coming up fast, with a pilot project in the works for SF and several nearby cities.
– In Guadalajara, Mexico, the government didn’t jump at a bike sharing system, so one was implemented with creative, grassroots funding sources.
– The Illinois transportation department has won a $90 million federal transportation grant and plans to invest $49 million dollars of it in bicycling in the next year, mostly in the Chicago area.
– In Bellingham, Washington, a nurse practitioner, instead of working out of a clinic, reaches patients via her electric bicycle and “mobile medicine” trailer.
– What’s wrong with cycling while pregnant? Nothing, finds a British woman who rode as much as she could up until delivery and found she had better health and energy and a less painful delivery than her peers who stayed inactive.
– In Long Beach, California, a 96 year old man rides his bike 12 miles every day and enjoys perfect health.
– We’ve all heard by now of the four year old who is being sued for hitting an elderly woman while bicycling on the sidewalk.
– A Florida woman has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for a DUII crash that killed two people on bikes. Meanwhile, some are concerned about the slow pace of the investigation of a man who “didn’t see” 15 people on bikes until he drove into the group, injuring several and leaving one in a coma. And in Wisconsin, the glare excuse strikes again.
– Just because a nice bike trail exists near your house doesn’t mean you’ll know about it, find a team of researchers. They recommend public outreach efforts when paths are constructed.
– Amtrak has announced record ridership and ticket revenue for the fourth year in a row.
– In NYC last week, a police officer parked his patrol car in a bike lane and proceeded to write tickets for everyone who biked past. We must assume this is part of the city’s recently announced enforcement mission aimed at improving bicycle safety. Some suspect it’s payback.
– An advocate speaks compellingly about why good public transportation is a civil rights issue. And, conveniently, an economist provides an in-depth analysis of why cars are so disproportionately costly to taxpayers.
– A Tea Party candidate in Philadelphia does his campaigning half by public transit and half by bicycle, using the bike as an metaphor for how he wants to simplify government.
– Two Swedish urban planning students are taking on the mega task of drawing up a bicycle plan for Mumbai, India.
– A Dutch expat says bicycling in Amsterdam is great, but prefers to ride in Seattle.
– The NY Times sure does cover bikes a lot lately. One blog suggests they go ahead and replace their auto section with a bicycle section.
– The latest in fashion for your bike? Wrap it in wool.
– Video of the week: How to dress—fashionably—for winter cycling. No high tech fabric was harmed in the making of this one…