Everybody Bike: Winter Cyclists Love Your Ride Celebration Feb 12
Are you a winter cyclist? EverybodyBIKE would like to say thank you, at their “Love Your Ride” celebration of winter cycling, Sunday Feb 12 at The Old Foundry 1110 Cornwall Ave.
• 4:00 all ages bike ride
• 5:00 Reception and Bike Film Shorts
• 6:00 Fashion Show
• 7:00 Lighted Bike Parade
• 8:00 After-party square dance hosted by Wild Buffalo
Details of Male Pneumatic Bike Hitch
I tacked the inner tube strips on to the copper pipe and chain stay with electrical tape. This keeps the assembly in place while tightening the hose clamps on.
Cancelled. Kids Bike Picnic 11/12, From Farmers Market to Marine Point
Updated 2011-11-09: cancelled due to back injury.
We will be heading to Marine Point after stocking up at the Farmers Market. BYOL. You could meet us at our house, the f/m, or at the park. Prepare for possible low tide, magnifiers or collecting buckets and wellies might be a good idea.
Kids Bike Picnic 11/5
Saturday morning. BYOL. Contact me if interested. Location dependent upon age of participants.
How to Report on Civilized Cycling
Marc at Amsterdamize enters a conversation with Matthew, the UK Gaurdian’s Bike Blogger, and I see this great pull quote:
Thus, when you sell bad infrastructure to the public that even ‘avid cyclists’ wouldn’t want to use, you’ve generated a negative sentiment that’s hard to spin your way out of, no matter the millions of pounds you spend on marketing that message. You can’t ‘encourage’ anyone to cycle when you give them a knife to a gun fight. It’s that simple.
However, the adventure goes sour after Matthew writes an unexpected post. Marc calls him on it and demands to know why Matthew is engaging in sloppy journalism.
Cars Passing Bikes: Do Gutter Bunnies Dress in Wigs?
Interesting news about how drivers act around bicyclists…there seems to be a space about 3 feet away from the curb. Too close to the gutter, and they assume they can pass closer. Also, lack of helmet and having long hair apparently promote further passing distance. Read more at cyclious and streetsblog. Remember — be conspicuous and predictable. Don’t duck between parked cars, cycle in a straight line as if you had a bike lane besides parked cars…otherwise you’re constantly mergine back into a lane of traffic.
Seattle Street Safety Numbers (Crosscut)
Here is a rather precise article comparing Seattle pedestrian, bicyclist and auto accidents with the citation rate between 2008-2010. It’s one thing to promote “share the road” but it’s also another thing to actually make streets safer. It appears about 10x more dangerous to be a pedestrian than a cyclist, and traffic citations appear to have dropped over some periods. The comments in the article are cogent.
Seen Bikes at Work on Farms?
I was talking with my CSA farmer about using a bike or a trike to haul boxes of veggies around the farm. While there is quite the spectrum of cargo bikes and trailers, hauling loads over unimproved paths seems challenging for small wheeled trailers. He also has a 26-inch wheeled dock-cart that could be towed with a creative hitch.
Have you seen bikes or trikes in use on farms? Please share what you think are the drawbacks and solutions.
Using Spokes as a Spring Core
Old spokes wrapped in some electrical tape should keep the hitch linkage stiff but less than entirely rigid.
The electrical tape was pretty quickly worn through, allowing the hose to bend and pinch. I will attempt to fill with wrapped inner tube and wrap with inner tube for a more solid construction.
Walk + Bike to School Day
Like every day should be, of course.
A Bicycle Lifestylist Day
It was a very bicycle-lifestyle day today. Family ride to early breakfast in Fairhaven. Biked in the Moving Planet procession to the Library. Bought some used bike parts. Cuddled Jesse when he fell off his run bike. Cheered the riders as they rolled off to Cherry Point. Picked up groceries by bike and swung by bike shop. Put different fat grips on bikes. Allowed an aquaintence to test out my recumbent and discussed ergonomics for his wrists. (Ever considered stacking bar-ends?) Adding Tuffies to my tires and doing brakes on my gray bike, adding lights for the winter and adjusting the handlebars and adding a new bike lock.
I would have liked to have spent more than a few minutes at the Bellingham Bike Plan table with these nice huge city maps that charted the bike lanes. I had to orbit the kids for the most part, and they wanted library time. I heard a fraction of Mayor Pike’s speach.
The number of people that showed up for the Bike Bellingham rally was better than none, but still really … not like a crowd the size of the Farmers Market. Really, the in-bike crowd seemed to show up. It would have been great to have held this gathering right in Railroad Ave between Market Depot and Boundary Bay Brewery, and block vehicle traffic. Mayor Pike and the other presenters would have been heard much broadly. And the bike master plan idea would have been circulated much more broadly as well.
Moving Planet – Bike Bellingham – Sat Sep 24
Who wants to join us at Columbia School?
[Copied from ride event http://facebook.com/350bellinghamRide Event Page ]
11am – Ten city bike rides from 10 schools in Bellingham, to converge downtown at City Hall and Library. Meet in front of: Happy Valley, Sunnyland, Kulshan, Shuksan, Fairhaven, Columbia, Larrabee, Silver Beach, WCC (meet in front of Laidlaw Building), WWU (meet in Red Square)
*Join your nearest listed school location, dressed up with decorated bikes,
helmets required, parents must accompany kids
12-2pm – CLIMATE RALLY and INFO FAIR
– Bike Skills Course for Kids with everybody BIKE from 12-1pm
– Guest Speakers beginning at 1:15, including Mayor Dan Pike
– 350.org group photo just before 2pm.
2 pm – Advanced Ride to Cherry Point, with a send off from everyone else.
**Looking for volunteers AT event (setup, take down, bike skills course, resource collection), Please contact Jill at 360-201-3093 if interested (text ok) or email jillmwitt@hotmail.com.
***Thank you to the following sponsors: Sierra Club, Climate Solutions, Surfrider Foundation, RE Sources, Transition Whatcom, Cascade Community Wind, Forest Ethics, Adventures NW Magazine, SSC, Fairhaven Bike, Earls Bike Shop, Mount Bakery, Community Food Coop, The Bagelry, Jacks Bicycle Shop, Fanatik Bike Co, Kulshan Cycles and Hammerhead Coffee
keep updated at facebook.com/350bellingham and ‘like’ or moving-planet.org!
…pssst…pass this on and invite/add your Bellingham friends to this event!
Bike trailers and floppy bags
Using a bike trailer can present unusual challenges, like keeping your groceries in their bags. Often I use a plastic tub to keep my groceries from spilling about in my trailer. If I’ve neglected my plastic tubs, I like to use a clip to hold the bag handles together to keep order in the trailer.
bag handled clipped
bags asking for entropy
Reflective kids vest, group order
I’m putting together a group order for reflective kids vests (Safetybright.com). Let me know if you’re interested.
Bellingham Traverse, Road Ride Map, Sat Sep 17
I love Bellingham. If I didn’t want to do a bike picnic on the 17th, I’d prolly be riding around Lake Samish in the Bellingham Traverse. Check out the road ride course map, doesn’t that look great?
September Resumes Bike Picnics
Please chime in on Saturdays starting on Sep the 17th that you would
be interested in going on a bike picnic. Let n me know your preferred distance, dates and/or locations. I think we can get away withmparks lacking shelters for the next few weeks. I’d like to organize picnics more around availability of riders and their capabilities than location, for example, if you’re interested in a kindergartener level ride, lets see if we can get a few together for Cornwall Park; if you’re interested in a third grade level ride, i’d also like to get a
group to go as far as Whatcom Falls, Lake Padden, or Hovander Homestead. Feel free to see by blog for previous ride ideas.
Also, Chuckanut Century is Sep 18, Liam and I will be participating in the 25mi ride.
Bike Shed Ideas?
My office is exploring the possibility of a free standing structure in the parking lot for bike parking. If you’ve been part of such a project, I’d love to hear from you (comment, email or facebook).
This structure would want to hold six bikes, have cable locks, and a structure. Probably both the options for upright and horizontal locking. The structure should not penetrate the tarmac (no concrete bolts or staples), and it will not be touching the existing office structure. It would want to be tall enough to hang upright a cargo bike or a long wheel base recumbent, so that puts a hook as high as 72-74 inches, iirc.
The approval process involves presenting plans to building management and HR, et al. Ideas welcome!
Clear Thoughts on Share the Lane Signs
This concept, and flaws, need to be distinguished in drivers ed, and commonly reminded: A “Share The Road” sign may give the motorist behind the cyclist the wrong message that the motorist can choose to share, or not, since the implication is that the bigger car has bigger rights that supercedes the right of the cyclist. Â It may also give the motorist the wrong impression that the LANE can be “Shared” with the bicycle – i.e., that they can co-exist side by side in the same lane.
Weekend of Bellingham Bike Fun
http://www.everybodybike.com/calendar.aspx
- Friday: ice cream ride
- Sat: Pickford Bike-in Movie
- Sun: Easy and 60mi Coffee hunt
I’m looking forward to Sat. On Sun, I will be taking a ride to Lummi Isl.
Xtracycle Tarp
Details of the tarp I use to cover my Xtracycle snap deck.
corner showing innertube strap and D ring
showing 8 straps
