The Washington State legislative session in Olympia is only a few days old, but so far it’s looking good for “vulnerable user” legislation backed by Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club. Or at least it isn’t looking bad. This year’s bill is more “wakeup call” than “strict punishment,” and we think that’s good. The point with upping the ante in bike-car accidents is simply to get drivers to take bikes seriously, not wreck their lives after the fact. The legislation’s positive intent should carry it through this year.
Don’t ask me how an Australian men’s Web site became the international authority on Planet Earth’s Top 10 bicycle-friendly cities, but AskMen.com is back at it with an update. Only one American city makes the list, and we’re gonna let you guess which one cuz our banner includes the word “intelligence.” No real surprises except possibly…Bogota? Colombia is a great cycling country and all, and we’ve never had the pleasure, but surely Portland’s elegant matrix and relentless cheer for all things velo could have carried them higher than… Bogota? Ah well. If AskMen drops that “n” and pays attention a bit, Seattle will be in the 2011 edition.
BikeRadar: Good piece on how Trek and the rest of Wisconsin’s bike industry are doing their bit for the economy. I still have the Trek cro-moly touring bike I bought in 1979 from Bicycle Outfitter in Los Altos. Thing is bulletproof.
The Vancouver B.C. bike scammer, the one featured in Mountain Bike Action magazine as a “Local Hero,” the one slapped with charges the mag said “may or may not be” true … he pleaded guilty to 36 charges.
Next month’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show is shaping up as a barnburner.
You’re one of the countless Americans who are being furloughed from jobs around this time of year, so what do you do to maximize the value of your time off? Two Wheels has the answer.
Thanks for this Paul. I hadn’t seen the list. Though I have no ideas about the Aussie site’s credentials, I would like to make a comment about the bike-friendliness of Bogotá and Columbia in general.
They’ve been doing the bike thing a long long. time. You know the Ciclovia (closing parts of a city for bike and ped use on certain days) movement sweeping “green” cities all over the world? Well, Bogotá did this first — way back in 1976!!! Every week (week!!!) they close 70 mies (70 miles!!) of road to automotive traffic.
Estimates are that more than 1.5 MILLION people participate each week. That would be like if we got every man, woman, and child in the Seattle AND Portland metro areas out for a weekly bike ride.
Can you imagine anything of that scale every happening around here, or even in the great Portland? When we close streets we talk about closing blocks, not miles, and certainly not 70 miles.
Though I agree Portland has done some amazing things, and that I, too, would like to see Seattle make the list, the truth is: We’ve got a long way to go, baby.
More on Ciclovia on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciclov%C3%ADa) and on Bogotá, specifically, on Street Films: http://www.streetfilms.org/ciclovia/
Good stuff Tim, thanks for the info. Yes we’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’ve also got a new mayor who rides! I’m hopeful we’ll start seeing some real innovations coming from soggy Emerald City.