to replace a few flights of stairs.
(Image: Dissing+Weitling Architecture)
This week’s news roundup is sponsored by Western Bikeworks who hopes to see you at the Seattle-to-Portland finish line on Saturday where you can pick up a souvenir t-shirt or score other deals.
Welcome back! We hope everyone enjoyed the long holiday weekend.
Check out the best bike links and news we came across this week:
Explaining bike brain: Portland Carl Alviani is making waves on the web this morning thanks to his thoughtful deconstruction of “why bikes make smart people say dumb things.”
Gas tax increase as our savior: As the federal transportation funding bill showdown gets more and more serious, there are hints that a gas tax increase might be on the table.
Build it and they ride: Speaking of running out of federal funding for transportation, a paltry $28 million in federal funds had a massive impact on bicycling conditions and mode share in Marin.
Bike share as public transit: We’ve been pushing for “bike-oriented development” around here for years, so it’s great to see former DOT commish for D.C. and Chicago Gabe Klein make the case. He argues that the success of bike share as a public transit option demands changes in public planning policy — and a dramatic re-configuration of public space toward active transportation.
Selfies plague Tour de France: Ugh. It appears that overzealous fans taking selfies while the peloton flies by (like the one below) have caused more than a few tumbles during the Tour’s opening stages in the U.K.
Nearly died talking #TDFselfie🚲💨 pic.twitter.com/xect1YjZIP
— zoe (@zodoyle) July 6, 2014
Critical Mass in Miami: Portlanders Elly Blue and Joe Biel are traveling the country on their Dinner and Bikes tour. A recent stop in Miami led to a story in the local paper about that city’s massive critical mass — which is interesting given how that topic has also been re-born here in Portland.
4,200 bicycle parking spaces at Utrecht’s new train station: The Netherlands raises the bar yet again. No other country has such high demand for bike parking at train stations (or anywhere else for that matter).
Copenhagen’s “Cycle Snake” unveiled: Not to be outdone by the Netherlands, the City of Copenhagen has finished its latest piece of high-profile transportation infrastructure: the “Cykelslangen” or bicycle snake. It’s a ramp that replaces a few flights of stairs; but “ramp” hardly does it justice.
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Driving gets harder, biking gets popular: Beyond making infrastructure that respects cycling, the other secret to a recent riding uptick in Copenhagen, and one that has lessons for other cities, was a bunch of major construction projects that “rendered driving incredibly difficult.”
One arm, one brake, one ticket: A man in Cologne, Germany rides his bike with just one brake because he has just one arm. Unfortunately an overzealous cop decided to ticket him for not having the other one (the brake, not the arm).
Best bike share system in the U.S.? The bike share limelight is usually hogged by Citi Bike in NYC or Capital Bikeshare in D.C., but noted reported Sarah Goodyear explained why Minnesota’s Nice Ride system just might be the best.
Metering gas consumption: Smart parking meters in Madrid price spots based on the car’s age and model. Older gas guzzlers can pay as much as 20% higher rates than hybrids and newer cars.
Financial benefits of cargo bikes:: Mr. Money Mustache is a hot new personal finance blog with a huge audience. What makes the posts even better is that the author is an everyday bike rider who totally gets bikenomics and translates it to his readers in fun ways. His latest frugal foray delved into carrying large items by bike.
Trip data created by Human: Strava isn’t the only way to track cycling trips. Human, a popular smartphone app claims millions of users and they’re starting to share their trip data as well. As something used by more everyday riders, it might make a nice complement to the more performance/training-oriented trips tracked by Strava.
No gravity, no bicycling (as we know it): Our video of the week comes via the Cycling Science blog where we heard about some amazing new research about how gravity impacts bicycling. Watch the video and become enlightened:
