May is national bike month, but what does that mean?  It means ad campaigns and bike to work promotions and maybe, just maybe, decent weather.   For me bike month means a lot of people send me links to stories about the car/rider disputes.  Lesson? We all need to practice safe riding and driving.  Only safe riding can help change the perception that cyclists are scofflaws and that drivers hate cyclists.   Allow me to explain.

 A Trek colleague sent me a link to an article in the Atlanta Constitution.    The article was simply titled “Should Bikes Be Allowed on the Road?”  I had a feeling before I read the comments that there would be some not-too-nice comments about bike riders.   The term “blather” doesn’t come close to the 50+ comments that were posted, among them the usual old saws like:

- bike riders don’t follow the rules

- bike riders should stay off the road and on the sidewalk/bike path

- bike riders cause traffic to jam up 

- And my personal favorite: “bikes cause cars to have to go around them on blind hills which is dangerous.”  

 It’s hard to listen to those complaints and not get upset however, good communication requires understanding.  W hat I hear when I read the criticisms is fear, lack of understanding of the rules of the road, and uncertainty about how to work around bikes. 

Example: Why would anyone in a car pass another car on a blind hill? They most likely would not, but for some reason some drivers feel it’s ok to pass a bike on a blind hill….and instead of using common sense they get angry at the bike for being there.  I don’t know how to fix that one.    

Then again why would a cyclist zoom past a line of cars in order to make a right turn and risk being hit by the car already in the turning process?  I’ve seen this happen as I sit in my spot behind the cars in line to turn and watch a rider cruise past us to get to the front.   This is just plain foolish on the rider’s part and earns the angst (rightfully so) of the drivers who see it. 

Let me say that I firmly believe that cyclists are NOT innocent of rule breaking when it comes to riding in traffic.  But neither are drivers.   So all the shouting is getting us nowhere and why don’t we start talking a bit?  If someone starts shouting at you, don’t shout back. Use words.  Calm words.    We need a little Steven Covey here: Seek to understand before you are understood, ok?

Can we cyclists police ourselves better?  Can we be predictable and courteous?  It doesn’t mean that drivers will return it but MOST of them will.   That’s all we can hope for…most drivers are kind to bikes so let’s aim to be good citizens, on and off the bike, in and out of our autos.  

Safe riding all.  And if you haven’t joined your local or state bike advocacy group yet please do.  We need more voices at the table listening and talking.   

I was filling up my car last week and realized that just two years ago my tank took $29 to fill.  It’s now $57 and that extra $28/week is starting to hurt.    I take my bike to work so where the heck am I using the gas?

I’ve decided that the only way I can cut back on using my vehicle is to be very aware of how much I drive.  One way to do that is to ration the gas I buy.  Welcome back to 1940.  

My goal for April is to fill the car with $30 of gas each week.  No more, no less, but the $30 has to last an entire week.   So far my plan is working; I’m choosing differently because of the $30/week limit.  Example?

Last night I really, really, really wanted a glass of wine.  I could feel that my red wine cell count was low but…it would be a 15 mile round trip to get it and it was too dark to ride a bike.   So, I stayed home and had hot chocolate.  You know what? I was ok with that.   It’s funny how challenge creates opportunities to make changes we may have been wanting to make anyway. 

If I gain some fitness and lose some of the winter wine weight while staying under $30/week, I come out ahead.  I double dog dare you to try this…..pick whatever the dollar amount it was two years ago to fill your tank, and make it last a week.  Then write to me and tell me what choices you made to stretch the petrol.   Email me at info@1world2wheels.org.   

 For my part, I have to drive to town for a meeting today and one of the stops I’ll make is to the wine store.  I deserve a treat for not making the extra trip last night.  Yee-haw.

Someone sent me this photo and I’ve no idea if it was a real photo or an altered one.  It doesn’t matter as the message is  timely.  $4 gas, traffic jams, pollution….how many more reasons to we need to “go by bike?” 

It’s time to make a small change in habit; take your bike for short trips.  What is a short trip? It’s the one or two block ride to the gas station for a newspaper.  Or the mile drive to the bank to make a deposit, or the pharmacy to pick up a script.   The two mile drive to the java joint for a latte.  

Can we, collectively as a 1world2wheels community commit to taking these short trips by bike in May? 

What say we give this a try; leave the car and take your bike for short trips.  Then drop me a note and let me know how it’s going.  If you send a photo and brief story I’ll publish it on the site.    We need examples and stories and motivation to get ourselves and our friends out of the car and onto the bike.   Are you ready?  Go! Send me your fun stories about going by bike…info@1world2wheels.org. 

There’s a guy on a bike riding up and down the east coast pitching a program called “Bicycle Benefits.”  The guy is Ian Klepatar and BB is his program to encourage businesses to reward customers who arrive by bicycle.    

Simple and effective are two words to describe this program.   A business chooses what reward to offer a customer who arrives on bike, the customer gets rewarded and everyone wins.  

The program is so brilliant and effective that I’ve asked Ian to send in updates from the road.   He left his hometown near Saratoga, New York two weeks ago to start his trek around the east coast, talking up the benfits of “going by bike.”  Klepatar attended the Washington DC Bike Summit then lit out for Boston.    The first of many entries on his travels follows. 

Boston, MA: Today was like so many days that cyclists and bicycle advocates know all too well.  Whether we are pushing for bike lanes on a new street in our community or getting cut-off, doored or disrespected among traffic flow while commuting to work, we know the feeling in others just “not getting it.”  Unlike the past three days since I arrived in Boston, business owners didn’t really seem to be that interested in the benefits of bicycles.  ‘You know there aren’t really that many bikers that come in this restaurant’ they tell me.  I guess in my eyes, if somebody knows how to ride a bicycle, they are automatically a biker.  At the same time just because we ride bicycles, it doesn’t make us bikers.  So I go on to tell the uninterested owner the benefits of participating in a program which promotes physical activity, helmet use, alleviating congestion and parking hassle.  The concept of the program is pretty basic.  Businesses in the community offer discounts/rewards in order to entice community members to jump on their bicycles and visit the restaurants/businesses by bicycle.  Upon arriving by bicycle and showing the affixed Bicycle Benefit helmet sticker, the individual receives the designated discount/reward.  However, just as we often struggle to convey the many benefits of bicycle paths connecting neighborhoods to community centers or the importance of complete streets http://www.completestreets.org/ legislation to our elected politicians, I too wonder why some people don’t get it…Perhaps it’s been a while since we all felt the joy and benefits of riding a bicycle.      

This little piece was going around the web recently.  Without giving away the content, let me just say that it’s an excellent public awareness piece about cyclists.  

 I’ll send a One World, Two Wheels jersey to the first person who can get this piece playing on their local televion station!  Note, you need to send proof.  

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

The Washington DC Annual Bike Summit is a cheer-for-all for bikes and bike people.   The Bike Summit is two days of seminars on what is happening around the country where bikes are concerned  and a few receptions in between.

If you’ve never been to the bike summit–or any summit for that matter–but you ride a bike I recommend you take the three days vacation next year and trek to the bike mecca of Washington.  The atmosphere was downright friendly with five or six hundred cyclists from all walks of life coming together around a topic we all love.  There were people in suits and jeans and people in bike jerseys.   It was a small comet of similar interests and the results were nothing short of stellar.

In three days I met people from every state.  They came to learn and to speak to their legislators and in some cases, to learn to speak to their legislator.  

 If you’ve never paid a visit to your congressman/woman it is much easier than one might imagine.  The Longworth building houses a lot of legislators and as soon as you are inside you see that you belong.  Groups of people representing their causes gather outside of legislative offices, waiting to be heard. 

 We elected these people, so they have to listen to us.  How beautiful is that? A group of ten of us from Wisconsin stopped in Congressman Ryan’s office and we laid out our case to the legislative aide that Wisconsin has a vibrant bike industry that contributes $10 billion to the Wisconsin economy and provides thousands of jobs.    We asked for support of upcoming  legislation that can add more funding for bicycle infrastructure.  we asked for bikes to be considered in all transporation bills. 

 My personal request to both Congressmen was that they ride to work.  That got the same raised eyebrow look both times.  I suggested that if Ryan and Kind start riding they could start a “bike pool” with  Congressman Blumenauer (D-Oregon) and James Oberstar (D-Minnesota) .

 That would really be a sign of change, wouldn’t it?

I learned that there are a lot of bike advocates in this country who showed up to speak to their legislators about making sure bikes get their fair share of the transporation pie.  Right now, that slice is mighty small but that means there’s no where to go but up.

It does my heart good to see people–especially grown ups–discover how much fun it is to ride a bike. The photo here is of a new neighborhood ride near Tampa. The palm trees and Spanish moss look especially nice to this winter-weary rider.

A 1World2Wheels reader, Alan Snel, shared his story about the Seminole Heights Riding Club.

According to Snel, “I’d been leading bike rides on neighborhood streets for local folks who fear Tampa’s roads since September. I decided to lead 6-mile rides for newbies, and casual hybrid-bike types in our neighborhood, which has lots of old oaks and bungalow houses.

The weekly bike rides became the foundation for the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club. The club formed when 25 people showed up at Snel’s house and together they organized the club right on his front porch.

The inaugural ride of the Seminole Bike Club was 2 weeks ago and 60 cyclists showed up. Starbucks chipped in with free coffee and water for the bike ride that included Tampa mayor Pam Iorio.

One outcome of the ride is that Mayor Iorio pledged to paint a bike lane on a wide, one-way road that leads into downtown Tampa.

The Seminole Heights Bike Club is grassroots in the purest form; no hierarchy, no connection to an agency, no dues. Just people of all biycling levels and types of bikes and ages coming together for the pure love of biking and neighborhood spirit. Sweet!
You can find more photos and information here: http://www.seminoleheightsbicycleclub.com/rides.html

The rider in this photo is Dr. David C. Joyce, President of Ripon College. Ripon College is a private university set in the scenic Kettle Morraine area of southeastern Wisconsin. I got wind of their “Velo-ution” and was able to talk to the publicity director, Cody Pinkston, to get some photos of Dr. Joyce who is driving the Velo-ution. The press release Ripon College sent out follows. For the record, I want to go back to college–at Ripon. Who wouldn’t want to go to a school with a President that can tear up a trail and thinks progressively?

Ripon, Wi; Among the many choices Ripon College’s class of 2012 will face is whether or not to bring a car to campus this fall. Those who pledge not to do so will receive a big incentive: a brand-new mountain bike to keep. Dubbed the “Ripon Velorution Program (RVP), it is the first of its kind in the nation.

Incoming students starting their first college semester at Ripon will have the option to sign an RVP pledge this spring saying that they will not bring a car to campus for the duration of the upcoming academic year. Those who participate will be given a brand-new Trek 820 mountain bike, a Trek Vapor helmet and a Masterlock U-Lock to keep.

Here’s a link to more of the story on the Ripon College website:http://www.ripon.edu/velorution/

Meet Eric Bjorling, also known as “Hootie” to all his colleagues and friends. Bjorling, 25, is a promotional wizard, all around team player and he was the mastermind behind “Project M,” also known as the launch of One World, Two Wheels.

It was August 2007 in Madison, Wisconsin and all Trek staff were anticipating John Burke’s first presentation of the One World, Two Wheels program. No one more so than Hootie who was given the task of assembling, storing and transporting 1,000 Lime bikes for the dealer show. Mille is Latin for thousand, thus “Project M.”

The presentation was a hit — it ended with a standing ovation at the news of Trek’s pledge of $1,000,000 to the Bicycle Friendly Community program and $600,000 to International Mountain Bike Association. At the end of the presentation, Burke surprised the 1,000 dealers in attendance by telling them they could opt to ride a bike to the off site dinner location. All 1,000 dealers took to the streets of Madison led by Burke himself. It was a school of cyclists, moving in a long, winding line down East Washington stretching at least a kilometer long.

When asked how he felt upon taking on Project M, Hootie had this to say: “The first thing I thought was ‘I’m going to need a whole lot of aspirin.’ The second thought was of who I was going to have to get to help me complete the tasks. You can do anything if you have the right team.”

There were a few hitches along the way but Bjorling is a problem solver. Building, storing and moving 1,000 bikes and helmets brought a few challenges but an even bigger one was getting the permit for the ride. True to form, Bjorling found good partners.

“I cannot send enough love to the Madison Police Department, said Bjorling. The route we took was revised because the Midwest Shriners were having a parade nearby at the same time. I had these horrible visions of a mini-car/camel/bicycle pile up but in the end, the camels were the least of our worries. The Police were patient with our riders and riding at night with a police escort through the city was something I’ll never forget. Everybody we worked with at the city offfices was great.”

The entire Trek company of dealers and employees could not have been prouder at the accomplishment of Bjorling which made the launch of One World, Two Wheels one of a kind. Thanks, Hootie.

To read about the launch of the One World, Two Wheels program from a Trek staffer who blogged about the launch, click here: http://bicycledesign.blogspot.com/2007/08/1000-limes.html

If you’d like to follow Hootie’s adventures, click on his blog”Life in the Bike Lane.” Check it out here: http://trekbikes.typepad.com/rec_and_fitness/2008/02/tag-backs.html

I get emails everyday with news of projects that leave me in awe of what the human mind can do. One of the emails I got came with the message that is the headline of this post and it’s so true; turn an artist loose with no limits and cool things happen. Here are two of my favorite bike-turned-into-art projects.

The first is the “Green Hummer Project.” Upon opening the website to the Green Hummber Project I found a “hummer-esque” vehicle that is powered by two humans and rolls around the streets of Savannah, Georgia as a poster vehicle for over-consumption.

The Green Hummer is competitive with the real H2 on many levels and beats the H2 in several categories: gas mileage, weight, load to weight ratio, and cost. It’s also comparable on height, width and seating capacity. Either vehicle will get you around town but you can’t argue with the massive savings in cost and fuel that the Green Hummer offers.

You have to give these students credit for ingenuity. While not a school project, many of the Green Hummer project builders are or were students at the Savannah School of Art and Design. Read more about it: http://greenhummerproject.org/

The next groovy thing is a video clip sent to me by a Trek colleague who said the video would “make Fred Flintstone proud.” I spilled some coffee as I watched it because I was giggling, then laughing at the great spirit behind this pedal powered “car.” As my Trek colleague put it, “My favorite part of the video is the driver talking to the cop. That’s all I’m going to say except enjoy! http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/clips/toronto-cops-dont-like-bicycle-cars-329652.php