The Monday Roundup

When CNN covers bicycling on their front
page, it’s big news.

Here’s the news and other cool stuff that caught our eyes this past week with highlights from Boston, Chicago, the UK, and more…

– John Griffin, head of a cab company in London who offered to refund his drivers’ fines if they drove illegally in bus lanes, penned an editorial promoting the idea that people on bikes should undergo training and pay additional taxes. His comments have spurred a backlash from businesses and citizens, some of which are now boycotting Griffin’s company.

– CNN talked to the victim of a hit-and-run accident in New York City and looked into why most of NYC’s hit-and-run accidents involving people on bikes aren’t fully investigated.

– A new report finds fuel-efficient cars save people over $70 billion in gas money, which represents a lot of lost revenue for transportation systems that rely on gas taxes to expand and maintain roads.

– But The Wall Street Journal thinks they know exactly why we have potholes: gas taxes are being “intercepted by the public transit lobby and Congressional earmarkers“. Puh-leeze.

– This month marks the start of construction on Seattle’s new street car line and accompanying cycle track. (You can see more renderings of the project on Jonathan’s coverage of their plans.)

– In the UK engineers are pushing for mandatory collision-avoidance technology to be installed on busses and trucks as soon as 2015.

– Fred Birchmore, a man who rode his bicycle around the world in the 1930s, passed away at the age of 100.

– We’ve reported in the past how Montreal’s Bixi bike share has been ordered to sell off it’s international operations. We wondered if Alta Bicycle Share might purchase company; but now there’s talk that it could go a British firm.

– A few people are wringing their hands, worried that some bike share systems aren’t entirely profitable but as StreetsBlog DC points out, that’s not the point of bike share in the first place and D.C.’s bike share system is more profitable than most would expect.

– Some of the less-successful bike share systems could be struggling because of mandatory helmet laws, says the National Post, citing examples in Vancouver, BC and Sydney, Australia.

– Solo released a line of classically-styled jerseys and one landed in the hands of the Eugene Bicyclist who’s auctioning it off to raise money for local foundations and non-profits.

– Bostonians got a shot at car-free streets during the Boston Midnight Marathon Bike Ride. If you’re thinking of joining them next year, make sure you watch out for frogs.

– In fact, the momentum for bicycling in Boston is growing so strong that some are calling for cycle tracks on major roads, citing Boston’s Copenhagen-like topography.

– Think you’ve seen everything on a bike trailer at one point or another? How about these beehives towed behind bicycles by the Bike-a-Bee project in Chicago.

– During the IBD Summit (Interbike’s symposium specifically for industry insiders) Marian Salzman said bicycle retailers should use Twitter to monitor trends if they want to be successful.

– If you’re looking for a way to get back to nature on your bicycle you might want to check out “bicycle-only season” in Yellowstone National Park.

– You’ve heard it before, now here it is again: young people are driving less while biking (and busing) more.

– Looking for custom grips for that freakbike with gnarly handlebars? Look no further than the Spurcycle GripRings, the multi-colored customizable grips being funded on Kickstarter.

– Also on Kickstarter are colorful, cubical, wireless “Sleep Speak” speakers that will blast your beats at over 80 dB from just about anywhere on your bike.

– And finally, what exactly is the impact of “traffic”? This short film from Mexico explains it succinctly:

— Did you find something interesting that should be in next week’s Monday Roundup? Drop us a line. For more great links from around the web, follow us on Twitter @BikePortland.