Transportation

Daily Roundup: ‘lectric bikes in Japan, Cannondale recall, Tweet, Trail maintenance, Travel tales, Rider Down Update

ElectricBike: “Japan Electric Bicycles Booming” Battery technology is leading the way, but the high price of fuel is pushing it along too. Top drivers: Delivery … Read more

Daily Roundup: Seattle Times coverage, Portland fights licensing, more high school mountain biking, Sidi harbinger

Seattle Times: “Attacks spur rider awareness.” The Times, in another example of why we need newspapers, covers the followup bicycle event promoting alertness to muggings … Read more

The Carless Cyclist, Shannon Markley

With her newly powdercoated Marinoni
With her newly powdercoated Marinoni

I ride my bike a lot, but I drive a car as well. So I have to marvel at people, several of whom I know, who do not own a car. In Shannon Markley’s case, that has been her situation since 1976.

Shannon’s biography could be called “Life on a Bike.” She began cycling at the age of 7 and can take you to the exact spot on Beacon Hill where she learned to ride. For many of us, the bike represents an implement of independence, a moment in our young lives when we became, literally, self-empowered. The impact of learning to ride was to prove for Shannon far greater than what for most people is the later equivalent, getting a driver’s license.

Read more