Look Both Ways

December 8th, 2005

I created the following bumper sticker upon my girlfriend’s suggestion and instead of making one just for myself, I thought I’d offer it up to anyone who might want it.

The bumper sticker measures 10″x3″ and is $2.99 + $.60 shipping. You can order one here: http://www.cafepress.com/thebikeadvocate.40392536

And just for clarification, **The Bike Advocate** isn’t making any money off the sale.


How do you feel about STR?

December 6th, 2005

There is debate within the cycling community about how drivers interpret the message “Share the Road.” **Some think drivers interpret it as “Share the Lane,”** which ultimately puts cyclists in danger on streets where there are no bike lanes. While others are happy with the popularity of the phrase and think it provides the proper awareness in a motorist’s mind.

Many, like myself, **haven’t thought much about it at all** and were just happy to see a bright yellow visual reminder for motorists. After the death of Jose Elias Carrillos Cruz on a road that I rarely bike on but live less than a mile from… it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about.

> DURHAM — Durham police on Thursday cited a man in connection with last week’s fatal bicycle accident on Hope Valley Road.

Officers cited James Howard, 42, of Bexley Avenue, on a charge of misdemeanor death by vehicle.

The bicyclist was Jose Elias Carrillos Cruz, 38, of Southpoint Crossing Drive.

Cruz was traveling south on Hope Valley Road around 6:36 a.m. when his bicycle was struck from behind by Howard’s southbound 2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck. Cruz later died at Duke Hospital. — Durham Herald Sun

There are “Share the Road” signs on Hope Valley Road, correct?

**In other news**, things around **The Bike Advocate** are going to be changing a little bit. My course, for which this blog was created, is now over and I plan to make this more of a local effort than a global one. **If you are a Durham cyclist,** and would like to contribute local news and events to the blog, please sign up on the right hand side of the page.

So, back to the original point of this post. **What do you think?** Is “Share the Road” the proper message we should be sending to motorists?


Katrina & Rita Victims Struggle W/Their Transportation Needs

December 5th, 2005

Hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their homes, jobs & possessions to Hurricanes Katrina & Rita. Two and a half months after these tragedies began, all of those who were affected struggle with the aftereffects. One of the most pressing issues facing many victims relates to transportation.

In vast, hard hit areas, everything was destroyed, cars included. Now, thousands of disaster victims have neither the funds nor the credit to replace their useless vehicles. Displaced throughout the USA and without transportation, the needs of these evacuees continue to grow even as government, aid and news leaders turn their attention and resources to other matters. Recognizing this trend, bicycling advocates around the country are organizing grass roots efforts in their local communities to gather, refurbish and distribute used bikes to those in need.

An abundance of used bikes simply go to waste in this country; yet, bikes are cheap to own, easy to maintain and pollution free. In most cases, putting an old bike to use again requires minimal costs in either time or materials. As a result, over 500 used bikes have already been transported and distributed to the needy in New Orleans, with more on the way.

To learn more about groups that are accepting donor bikes for the purpose of recycling and distributing the bikes to hurricane victims or to learn how you can help victims meet their needs for transportation, visit…

http://ridethisbike.com/help_katrina_victims.htm

Respectfully,
Larry Lagarde


Bike advocacy does a body good.

November 4th, 2005

America is a society that thrives on convenience. We rely unflinchingly on technology and machines to keep us educated, fed, employed. And it’s having it’s effect.

>Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate throughout the world. Today it is estimated that there are more than 300 million obese people world-wide. — The Global Challenge of Obesity and the International Obesity Task Force

**For some perspective:** According to Geohive there are 6,471,499,135 people in the world right now. Nearly 300 million of those 6+ billion are Americans and over 60 million of those Americans are obese. American children and teen-agers aren’t showing any promise for a turn around in this trend.

> The percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese is now higher than ever before. Poor dietary habits and inactivity are reported to contribute to the increase of obesity in youth. **Today’s youth are considered the most inactive generation in history** caused in part by reductions in school physical education programs and unavailable or unsafe community recreational facilities. — Obesity in Youth, AOA

**Have you figured out where the bike advocacy part comes in yet?** Good.

Bike advocacy and bike commuting **have a co-dependent relationship**. In order to safely commute, advocates need to exist. In order to advocate, we have to have people out on their bikes and riding.

If our advocacy efforts make it easier to bike safely, people will bike more. And the most successful way to loose weight and keep it off is to make lifestyle changes, **like riding a bike to work or school**.

> The amount of leisure time devoted to physical activity is among the key differences between weight maintainers and regainers found in every study thus far. The differences are dramatic. A large study at Kaiser Permanente Health Care group in Freemont, California found that 90 percent of maintainers—but only 34 percent of relapsers—exercised regularly. — How to Keep the Pounds Off, PDR Health

So, we’ve established the following:

- As a planet, we are less active and more obese.
- Lifestyle changes are necessary for long term health and weight maintenance.
- Successful bike advocacy makes it easier and more feasible for people to bike instead of drive.

Let’s go advocate! Right? Well, sure, **but there are some stumbling blocks.** Namely in *what* we advocate for. For example, there is often a great debate when the phrase “bike lane” is mentioned in a group of cyclists.

Some people believe that bike lanes get people biking on the roads that wouldn’t if the lanes didn’t exist. Others doubt the safety of such lanes, arguing that they provide a false sense of security, create turning conflicts, put the biker in a poorly visible position and are often littered with gravel, glass and potholes.

While the anti-bike lane argument makes excellent points, it doesn’t do much in terms of encouraging people to ride bikes on roads, does it?

> Cities like Davis, California, Eugene, Oregon, and Boulder, Colorado, have many bicyclists and they have bike lanes. On the other hand, Missoula, Montana, has a lot of bicyclists but no lanes. It would be nice if we had good empirical data on use-especially use before and after implementation of various program options. As it is, there’s no really good way to figure out whether the lanes or the riders came first. — Bike Plan Source Bike Lane Questions

Perhaps advocates need to adopt the attitude that any news is good news, just for a little while. If we take two steps forward and one step back, **we’re still making progress.** And considering the fact that if our efforts result in more cyclists on the road, we’ll not only create awareness, we’ll probably gain a few more advocates.

> “I’m in favor of almost anything that motivates people to get out and ride. Despite the pollyannaish and upbeat notion, I think the more cyclists, the better.” **John Little**, Durham Commuter

Here are some websites I found useful when researching:

Bike Plan Source — This website serves as a “how to make my community more bike friendly” guide. The creators are very knowledgable about the viewpoints of the cycling community.

How I Lost 100 Pounds — This is the personal journal of a biker who lost 100 pounds primarily from making biking a more important part of his life.

How to Keep the Lost Pounds Off — This is an excellent article discussing how maintainers differ from regainers.

Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin — This group believes that lifestyle changes involving bike commuting make people healthier and happier both physically and emotionally.

American Obesity Association Fact Sheet — This paints a fairly complete picture of what America is dealing with in regards to obesity.

The Global Challenge of Obesity — This website paints a fairly complete picture of what the WORLD is dealing with in regards to obesity.

Geohive — A nice place for global statistics.


When are ‘cagers’ really listening?

November 2nd, 2005


> Cager - noun; A person who drives an automobile, particulary for commuting. Usage mostly by cyclists. — Wiktionary

This morning as I sliced a banana for my peanut butter english muffin, I overheard the traffic report of WRAL’s trafficologist, Mark Roberts. I couldn’t help but realize that it’s a warm day, bright and sunny and **why isn’t he mentioning the bike conditions when reporting on traffic?**

> We aren’t blocking traffic, we are traffic. — Bike Sticker

I’ve emailed Mr. Roberts to suggest that he include bikers (and bike related news like the new lanes on Cornwallis and Duke University Rd.) in his morning traffic reports.

I think it would get ‘cagers’ where they’re at their most educatable… **intently listening to a traffic report!** It couldn’t hurt to have a daily mention of bikers enter their awareness before they hit the road.

If you agree, I encourage you to email your local traffic reporter. Mark Robert’s email address can be found on his WRAL bio.


A list of scary things.

October 31st, 2005

Happy Halloween, Bike Advocate readers!

In the spirit of the holiday, I want to explore some things that scare me today. Particularly in reference to how biking makes us healthier and how advocating for safer streets is, in a way, advocating for our health. (Look for a post later this week that’s more in depth.)

**Thing 1:**
As a society/country/world we seem to no longer value our physical bodies. We drive in machines, work in front of machines, fall asleep watching machines.

**Thing 2:**
These machines are so vulnerable. People who have skills that don’t pertain to technology are literally dying everyday.

**Thing 3:**
This **no physical activity required** world we’ve created for ourselves is resulting in more and more children and adults — all over the world — becoming overweight and obese.

**Thing 4:**
The advocacy community involves politics.

**Thing 5:**
Not all advocates agree about the proper approach to advocacy.

**Thing 6:**
Advocacy success is hard to measure.

**Thing 7:**
What if all our efforts don’t work and people really are just lazy?


When the weather outside is frightful…

October 28th, 2005

We “fall back” this weekend, which is good for exactly one day and then a pain for the rest of the winter. This change means that many commuters will be biking in darker and colder conditions.

That being the case, I think it’s time for **Ron Sanftleben’s Winter Clothing Selection Guide.**

> 60F and up Shorts, jersey, socks, riding gloves, glasses
55-60F Add arm warmers (or long sleeve jersey)
50-55F Add lycra tights
45-50F Add wind vest and long fingered gloves
40-45 Replace riding socks with wool socks, add latex or polypropylene gloves to long fingered gloves
32-40 Add 2nd layer of socks, or booties. Add another layer of long finger gloves, add 2nd layer of tights (or switch to thicker windproof tights), add 2nd layer of long sleeves, add head band.

In Durham, we’ve experienced some chilly mornings so far and I’ve had good luck with a Capilene long sleeve base layer, jeans and a wool sweater. One morning this week was especially cold (mid-thirties), but I made due nicely with adding a polartec vest and skull cap.

I haven’t found gloves that work wonderfully yet, and would welcome recommendations. How do others keep warm in the cold?


A few wins on the home front.

October 27th, 2005

As it is the point of this blog, I wanted to let you all know about some advocacy improvements that’ve occurred recently. They just happen to be in my own neck of the woods!

The city of Durham **just allocated bike lanes** on Duke University Road. This is an area that is highly trafficked by cyclists (including myself!) every day. Also I received word from the director of the Parking & Transportation department at Duke University that they’ve **decided to give daily bike commuters emergency parking passes** (1 per month) so that they aren’t required to pay hefty parking pass fees, but are able to park on campus in the case of emergencies or bad weather.

I think these are considerable advocacy wins in my own backyard and am proud to say they’ll improve (and perhaps even save) the lives of Durham & Duke cyclists.

[Photo taken by Jack Edinger, view more photos at http://www.jackedinger.net/bikelanes.htm. Used with permission.]


A Great Example of Global Strategy.

October 26th, 2005


> The idea is simple. If someone needs to use a bike they just take it out of the rack, ride it to where they’re going, and then leave it for the next person. — U of C gearing up for “U-Bike” program (Photo taken by Ken Bendiktsen, used with permission.)

The University of Calgary has borrowed a forty year old idea from the Netherlands: **the community bicycle movement** . They have painted 10 bikes in a unique red/yellow striped pattern and converted them all to singlespeeds with baskets.

There are no locks. **If you need a bike, you just ride it.** And then when you’re at your destination, you leave it, unlocked, for the next person who comes along that might need it.

Another term for this kind of utilitarian bike use is **public use bicycle programs** and it is in practice around the globe. Some programs are based completely on the honor system, like U of C’s, and others require a deposit that is fully refunded when the bike is returned.

> The Arcata Bike Library in Calif. uses a library model for distributing its bikes: the rider deposits $20, signs a waiver, and checks out the bike for up to six months. Bicycles are donated to the library and repaired and spruced up by volunteers. — Green Party of Alaska, Bicycle Activism!

As you can probably imagine, **theft is an issue for such programs.** The most successful way to combat this is to make the bikes very simple (shy away from advanced componentry), paint them in very identifiable color schemes, and encourage community ownership over the program.

> In Copenhagen’s City Bike program, bikes needing repair are taken to a local jail where they are fixed by the inmates, who thus gain a sense of community involvement. Bike theft in Copenhagen dropped significantly after the introduction of the program. “Convenience thefts,” where the thief simply grabs a bike because it is a handy way to get somewhere, were also reduced, as there was no longer any need to steal a bike for convenience’s sake—free ones abound. — Green Party of Alaska, Bicycle Activism!

Other programs use magnetic cards to track bike use to combat theft.

This is a great example of how an idea created in one part of the world has made it’s way, through various interpretations, throughout the globe to improve bike use and advocacy. U of C’s program has **already created buzz across Canada and into the U.S. as well**. A student from the University of Western Ontario has mentioned starting a similar program and a bike advocacy mailing list here at Duke has entertained the same idea.

Janna Klemen, Media Relations Advisor for the University of Calgary said, “We’ve had a huge response from all over the country, and now the U.S. I guess. They’re hoping to add more bikes to the program in the spring, and they shouldn’t have any problem doing that as we’ve been bombarded with calls from people wanting to donate old bikes. ”

As for how the program has been received, **it’s been a big success.** All ten bikes were being used by students w/in the first hour of their availability.


Two wheels, many forms.

October 25th, 2005


>Bicycling is not just for the super athlete. For a start, various cycle technologies are used by people from two years old to more than one-hundred and two years old. More and more cycle technologies are being develop to get differently abled people on bikes, over more kinds of terrain, in more types of whether, and more of the time. — Cycle Technology Applications

It occurred to me this morning that so far we have only been discussing commuting via the traditional bicycle. This is a **disservice to the many other cycles manufactured.**

There are arm powered bikes, recumbents, bikes that fold, tricycles for adults, tandems, even **quad**racycles. The ibike.org Cycle Technoology Applications page not only describes each of these, but provides links to equipment providers. Go check it out.

Do any of our readers ride *alternative* alternative transportation vehicles?


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