Biking and Walking News 9-28-12
Ira Weiss
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Biking & Walking News
Ira S. Weiss, Editor September 28, 2012
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ANNOUNCEMENTS – Nothing this issue
RIDES
Glacier Ridge
DAY TIME EVENT DESCRIPTION OPENINGS
Sep 27 Thu 7:00 pm Night Bike Ride Enjoy an 8.5-mile ride through fields an...
Upcoming bike rides
FMCPT is hosting a couple of bike rides in October—its 1st annual fall color ride on Oct. 13 and the last of its 2012 full moon ride series on Oct. 29.
Deer Creek Fall Color Ride: This Oct. 13 ride will celebrate the autumn leaf turn along the byways in the Darby Creek and Deer Creek valleys.
The tour consists of two routes: a 38-mile short loop to Darbydale and around toward London along Deer Creek; and a 77-mile option meandering along Darby Creek to Williamsport and over to the Deer Creek valley via Deer Creek State Park near Mount Sterling and back to London.
Both rides kick off between 8 and 10 a.m. from the Prairie Grass Trail trailhead located behind the Madison County Senior Citizens Center, 280 W. High St., London. The courses wind through rural countryside in Madison, Franklin, Pickaway and Fayette Counties, featuring gently rolling terrain.
Both routes start on the Prairie Grass Trail, go to Roberts Pass on the east side of London, and on to the Camp Chase Trail before turning south to Darbydale following rural roads through the two valleys on the way back to London. Since this is a budget tour, riders may opt to take a counter-clockwise loop and come back via the bikeway.
The $5 pre-registration fee includes detailed tour maps, identification number (which must be displayed at all times), and support services. FMCPT will also sell t-shirts the day of the tour for $15.
All pre-registrations must be received by Oct. 6. All registrations received after Oct. 6, including the day of the tour, are $8. No refunds.
For details or to download a registration form, go to www.fmcpt.com.
Full Moon Bike Ride: This Oct. 29 ride starts at 7 p.m. at the Prairie Grass Trailhead behind the Madison County Senior Center, 280 W. High St., London. Options include a 20-mile round trip to South Charleston or a 10-mile trip to Neil Road (departing 15 minutes later than the times listed above). Riders are encouraged to come equipped with helmets, lights and light-colored clothing. Registration is not required. There is no charge to participate. http://www.columbusmessenger.com/NC/0/11974.html
Cyclists mount up to assist deaf center
By Mary Vanac
The Columbus Dispatch Sunday September 23, 2012 6:25 AM
Dwayne Adkins sees the Ride DEAF Bike Challenge as a way to inform both deaf and hearing people about the services his organization offers. “When we do things like this, people find out about us,” said Adkins, who is a board member of Deaf Services Center in Worthington and also is deaf. “We get to say, ‘We’re here for you.’ ”The second annual bike ride to benefit the nonprofit services center started early, but not so brightly, yesterday morning… http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/09/23/cyclists-mount-up-to-assist-deaf-center.html
Friend’s suicide compels graduate to find way to help
Monday, September 24, 2012 06:20 AM
Eighteen-year-old Michael Mayberry thinks it’s about time for people to become more open about discussing suicide and depression… http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/09/24/friends-suicide-compels-graduate-to-find-way-to-help.html
SAFETY
September 21, 2012 | 12:03 PM | By Carey Goldberg
Don’t Be A Bicycling Statistic: One Key Way To Stay Safer
In major metropolitan areas like Boston, it often seems as if every week brings news of another bicycling death — or, as in this past week, more than one — usually in an unequal clash between vehicle and rider. Biking experts say that as more people take to two-wheel travel — surely a good thing — more accidents are also likely. Below, writer David C. Holzman describes his own bike crash, and shares a key safety technique that many riders ignore: Helmets save lives, but they have to be worn right.
By David C. Holzman
Guest contributor
The treetops seemed far away, as if through the wrong end of a telescope. They were all green, leafy, and dreamlike — like my memory of Seattle before I moved away at age eight. The dream quickly soured as it began to dawn on me that I might have had a bicycle crash. But that didn’t make sense. Even in my stupor, I remembered that I was a very experienced cyclist, and very safety-conscious. I began trying to wake myself up, as I’d done so easily in the lucid dreams of my early childhood. But it wasn’t working, and I couldn’t even shift the scene. Shock was cushioning me, like emotional Novocaine; nonetheless, I could feel the fear growing ominously more perceptible… http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/09/bicycle-accidents-helmet-fit
Specialized Bicycle Components Recalls Bicycles Due to Fall and Injury Hazards
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
Name of Product: Bicycles
Units: About 12,000
Distributor: Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., of Morgan Hill, Calif.
Manufacturer: Kinesis, of China
Hazard: The front fork can break, posing fall and injury hazards to riders.
Incidents/Injuries: Specialized has received four reports of front forks breaking, resulting in facial fractures, head and shoulder injuries and cuts.
Description: This recall involves some 2008 and 2009 models women's and men's Globe model bicycles. Recalled models include the Globe Elite, Globe Sport, Globe Sport Disc, Globe Centrum Comp, Globe Centrum Elite, Globe City 6, Globe Vienna 3, Globe Vienna 3 Disc, Globe Vienna 4, Globe Vienna Deluxe 3, Globe Vienna Deluxe 4, Globe Vienna Deluxe 5 and Globe Vienna Deluxe 6 bicycles. The bicycles were sold in various colors, including gun, silver, black, khaki, navy, bone, blue, charcoal, burgundy and gold. The brand name "Specialized" is on the lower frame tube and the model name is on various locations on the bicycle frame.
Sold at: Authorized Specialized retailers nationwide from July 2007 to July 2012 for between $550 and $1,100.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop riding these bicycles and return them to an authorized Specialized retailer for the free installation of a free replacement fork.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Specialized toll-free at (877) 808-8154 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or visit the company's website at http://www.specialized.com and click on Support/Safety Notices.
To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled products, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12281.html
Texting while driving now illegal in Ohio
COLUMBUS — Whenever you walk outside late in the evening or at night, it is easy to tell fall is in the air. It is amazing to think that summer already has come and gone. That means, before you know it, winter weather will be upon us, which makes driving a car in the winding hills of southern Ohio a little trickier… http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20120923/OPINION/120923004/Texting-while-driving-now-illegal-Ohio
HEALTH
CHANGE TO REPORT CARDS
State will measure physical education
By Charlie Boss
The Columbus Dispatch Sunday September 23, 2012 6:03 AM
Next year’s state report cards will feature a new measure for Ohio schools: how their students are doing in physical education. Starting this year, Ohio schools must assess how students score on the state’s physical education standards, including whether they know the correct way to exercise, understand how games are played, are active outside of school and play well with others. Results will be posted on school report cards but won’t count toward schools’ performance ratings. “We certainly want to encourage children to exercise and to be fit, and these evaluations are one way we can make sure our students are at least getting a standard level of activity,” said John Charlton, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education. Ohio is part of a growing movement to require physical-education assessments, joining 17 other states and Washington, D.C., according to the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance… http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/09/23/state-will-measure-physical-education.html
Community Challenge promotes fitness
The nonprofit Trust for America's Health published results recently of a study that predicts 60 percent of Ohioans will be obese by 2030… http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/marysville/news/2012/09/21/community-challenge-promotes-fitness.html
County health district takes stand against obesity
If you work on the second floor of your office, a small reminder to take the stairs could pay off in the long run… http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/olentangy/news/2012/09/25/county-health-district-takes-stand-against-obesity.html
Q&A: When it’s good to be fat
By Christie Nicholson | September 21, 2012, 4:00 AM PDT
In the 1940s the Framingham Heart Study launched and brought to the forefront the serious health risks of obesity. This study became the gold standard long-term research that says the higher your weight the more likely you are to develop all kinds of serious illnesses from heart disease to high blood pressure. And ever since doctors’ first order of business is to have patients lose the weight. But during the last decade a curious discovery casts doubt over that recommendation to lose weight. In multiple studies crossing many different diseases it seems that those who are overweight or moderately obese have a significantly higher survival rate than normal-weight people suffering from the same illnesses. For instance in a recent study out of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University scientists found that normal-weight patients are twice as likely to die from Type 2 diabetes as overweight or obese patients. To find out more, SmartPlanet spoke with Harriet Brown, a journalist and author who has written extensively about weight issues and has been closely following the emergence of this “obesity paradox.” Brown’s latest book is Brave Girl Eating: A Family’s Struggle With Anorexia… http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/pure-genius/q-a-when-its-good-to-be-fat/8800?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660
Pounds bubble up with sugary drinks, studies say
Saturday September 22, 2012 8:03 AM
NEW YORK — As Americans debate what is most to blame for the nation’s obesity epidemic, researchers say they have the strongest evidence yet that sugary drinks play a leading role and that eliminating them would, more than any other single step, make a huge difference… http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/09/22/pounds-bubble-up-with-sugary-drinks-studies-say.html
LOCAL NEWS
CASINO CONCERNS
Sullivant Ave. plan ill-timed, some say
By Mark Ferenchik
The Columbus Dispatch Saturday September 22, 2012 6:18 AM
The timing of a proposal to reduce the number of lanes on Sullivant Avenue has perplexed some Hilltop neighborhood leaders. Traffic in each direction would be reduced from two lanes to one on Sullivant between Hague Avenue on the Hilltop and Yale Avenue in Franklinton. The 2.3-mile section would also get a new center turn lane and “sharrows,” symbols that tell drivers that bicycle riders are encouraged to use the same lane. “Why are we doing this now, before we see the impact of the casino?” said Chuck Patterson, who leads the Greater Hilltop Area Commission. “I do think it would be wise to wait and see.”The Hollywood Casino Columbus is to open Oct. 8 on W. Broad Street about 2.5 miles from the intersection of Sullivant and Hague avenues. Columbus wants to start the Sullivant work next spring or summer. City officials have presented the draft plan to the Greater Hilltop and Franklinton area commissions. They’ll be discussing it at a 6:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday at the Columbus Metropolitan Library branch at 511 S. Hague Ave. as part of an open house on making Sullivant more attractive and pedestrian-friendly. The city wants to increase safety along Sullivant by slowing traffic, said Rick Tilton, spokesman for the public service department. The intersection of Sullivant and Wayne avenues had the fourth-worst rate of crashes between cars and bicyclists and pedestrians in Columbus from 2006 through 2010, with 20 crashes, according to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission… http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/09/22/sullivant-ave--plan-ill-timed-some-say.html
Downtown Hills Market to open in December
By Steve Wartenberg
The Columbus Dispatch Sunday September 23, 2012 6:41 AM
The Hills will soon be alive ... with the sound of muesli?.. Moorhead said of the Downtown store. The 12,000-square-foot store at 95 N. Grant Ave. is another amenity designed to serve the blossoming Downtown and will provide a walkable, bikeable shopping option for the growing number of residents in the area… The new Hills market will have only 12 to 14 parking spots. “The first question we get asked is: ‘Do you have bike racks?’ ” Moorhead said. The answer is yes… http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/09/23/downtown-hills-market-to-open-in-december.html
Grove City Council approve funds for road improvements
(by Dedra Cordle, staff writer - September 20, 2012)
Road improvements are coming to North Meadows Drive.
At its Sept. 17 meeting, Grove City Council approved legislation to appropriate $1.5 million from the general fund to pay for the reconstruction and widening of this increasingly busy road. According to Councilman Steve Bennett, the North Meadows Drive improvement project will include the construction of a four-lane roadway with median and the installation of a new street lighting system. Also included in the project is the construction of new curbs and gutters, the allowance of greater connectivity for sidewalks and trails, and improvements to public utilities… http://www.columbusmessenger.com/NC/0/11945.html
Lancaster City Parks & Recreation Board selects new superintendent
Sep 26, 2012
LANCASTER -- The next superintendent for Lancaster Parks & Recreation comes with more than 20 years experience in the field and is the current facilities manager for the city of Mason's Parks & Recreation Department… http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20120926/NEWS01/209260308/Lancaster-City-Parks-Recreation-Board-selects-new-superintendent
Parks & Trails folks set sights on next bike path feature
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - September 26, 2012)
The Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT) never stop finding ways to improve the bike path that runs through Madison County. In conjunction with the City of London, the non-profit group is applying for a Clean Ohio Green Space grant to build a small observation deck overlooking the city-owned wetlands located off of East Center Street (Route 665) in London, about one-eighth of a mile from the Roberts Pass Trailhead near Maple Street. “It will be a good place to observe nature and a good place to stop along the trail. You can see a heron nest and other waterfowl from there,” said Alan Knowles, a London city councilman and member of FMCPT. Knowles briefly outlined the project at the Sept. 20 London Council meeting. He explained that the group needs council as a sponsor in the grant-writing process but does not need city funding. If London receives the grant, FMCPT will pay the required 25 percent match. As to how much the match will be and how much the project will cost overall, Knowles said final numbers have not yet been determined. An architect is working on the details… http://www.columbusmessenger.com/NC/0/11974.html
City Council debates planned roundabout
By JENNIFER NESBITT
ThisWeek Community News Wednesday September 26, 2012 11:16 AM
A roundabout planned for a new roadway connecting Old Worthington Road to Polaris Parkway prompted debate among Westerville City Council during a Sept. 18 work session. "I think it's confusing to drivers, and it scares me to think about people biking through it while drivers are trying to navigate the roundabout," said City Councilwoman Jenifer French. "I think I'm going to need some convincing that we need it there." In June, council discussed the roadway, which would provide access to a proposed development currently before the Westerville Planning Commission. At that time, Westerville staff told City Council it would see legislation to move forward with the $7.9-million roadway in September, with plans to begin construction early next year. No questions were raised about the plan for a roundabout where a new north-south road between County Line Road and Polaris Parkway would meet an east-west stub from Old Worthington Road to the west. The proposed roundabout would be Westerville's first… http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/westerville/news/2012/09/26/city-council-debates-planned-roundabout.html
SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
ODOT seeking public comments on two 2014 Fairfield County projects
6:10 AM, Sep 26, 2012
JACKSONTOWN -- The Ohio Department of Transportation is seeking public comments regarding a pair of 2014 proposed projects in Fairfield County… The second proposed project is funded with federal funds from the Safe Route to School Program. The city of Pickerington and the Pickerington school district have proposed to replace and install sidewalks and ADA ramps at various locations within the city limits to facilitate safe travel to school. New sidewalks will be constructed on the south side of Long Road starting east of Diley Road to Colony Park Drive. The sidewalk will be constructed to connect Long Street south to Janice Lane, and a connection at Pickerington Elementary from Diley Road to the existing sidewalk at the northwest area of the property. A 10-foot, multi-use path from Georges Creek Drive to Diley Road also will be constructed with the project (north side of Diley Road only). In addition to the sidewalks, new school zone signs will be installed along Long Road. Construction is scheduled for the summer 2014. Comments need to be provided within the next 15 days. To help expedite a response, provide the project name and PID number provided above as well as contact information. Comments without contact information cannot be responded to. Project-related issues the public might wish to comment on include, but are not limited to, historic or cultural resources, ecological resources and environmental justice issues. Comments can be made by contacting Amy Toohey at ODOT District 5, P.O. Box 306, Jacksontown, OH 43030; at amy.t...@dot.state.oh.us ; or 740-323-5191. http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20120926/NEWS01/209260306/ODOT-seeking-public-comments-two-2014-Fairfield-County-projects
Safe Routes to School project to resume in 2013
By NATE ELLIS
ThisWeek Community News Wednesday September 26, 2012 10:49 AM
Following a year of planning, a federally assisted program to encourage safe walking and exercise among local students and residents is expected to resume next year. In summer 2011, crews from the city of Pickerington and Violet Township completed construction of approximately 7,000 lineal feet of new sidewalks from the Summerfield subdivision to Fairfield Elementary, as well as a multiuse path around Diley Middle School. The work represented the first phase of a local project tied to the federal government's Safe Routes to Schools program, which provides funding to states for projects to connect neighborhoods to schools via multiuse paths. Local officials have said they also hope it will encourage more active lifestyles among students and adults. Although no SRTS construction projects are slated to take place in 2012, representatives of the Pickerington Local School District and a citizens-led SRTS Committee last week said more sidewalks and paths are planned for the near future… http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/pickerington/news/2012/09/26/safe-routes-to-school-project-to-resume-in-2013.html
Issue 48
Funds could provide traffic relief at Riverside
By JENNIFER NOBLIT
ThisWeek Community News Wednesday September 26, 2012 10:26 AM
Traffic at Riverside Elementary School can get hectic at times. Improvements to the traffic flow at the school on Riverside Green Drive are included in Issue 48, a 6.4-mill operating levy and $15.87 million bond issue set for the Nov. 6 ballot. The school is served by only a few buses, but Annette Morud, district director of business affairs, said the traffic problem stems from a large number of vehicles at the school during drop-off and pick-up times. "I think the problem at Riverside is, there is only one or two buses, so the majority of the kids are either walking or getting picked up by their parents," she said. "With so many kids going to something after school, a high percentage of parents are picking up their kids from school." Traffic often lines up on the street before and after school, Morud said. "It's just something that keeps getting worse all the time," she said… http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/dublin/news/2012/09/25/issue-48-funds-could-provide-traffic-relief-at-riverside.html
Council inches closer to prioritizing capital projects
By KELLEY YOUMAN
ThisWeek Community News Wednesday September 26, 2012 10:39 AM
Gahanna City Council members began discussing a citywide wish list featuring tens of millions in capital improvements. During the committee-of-the-whole meeting Sept. 24, members began asking questions of city staff and talking about a list of dozens of projects that could become part of a comprehensive five-year capital improvement plan. City staff members have compiled a capital-needs assessment that is expected to be affirmed or changed based on council feedback, the 2012 comprehensive resident survey and the 2012 Parks and Recreation Master Plan update. It looks out five years and is designed to help Gahanna with strategic planning and budgeting. Little to no funding is available for the majority of the projects, so the community will have to decide collectively what is most important, Mayor Becky Stinchcomb said… Initial must-do projects over the next five years, including estimated costs, are: Safe Routes to School (2009 funding), $302,610; and Safe Routes 2012 funding, $36,000. The Priority 1 projects total $4,273,611… multiple-purpose trails, including land and easement acquisition, $2 million;… http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/gahanna/news/2012/09/26/council-inches-closer-to-prioritizing-capital-projects.html
Safe Routes to School
Johnstown's sidewalks nearing completion
By SCOTT RAWDON
ThisWeek Community News Saturday September 22, 2012 5:28 PM
Soon Johnstown residents will truly be able to walk the walk. Village Manager Jim Lenner said he expects nearly a mile of new sidewalks to be completed by Oct. 31. "It's going quick. I can't complain," Lenner said. The sidewalk project is part of the Ohio Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School grant. Lenner said the village received $250,000 for construction of new and reconstruction of deteriorated sidewalks in Johnstown. "The bulk of the project involves a new 5-feet-wide sidewalk from Westview Drive to Benedict Drive," he said. Sidewalks also are being installed to close gaps in the existing sidewalk system… http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/johnstown/news/2012/09/21/safe-routes-to-school-johnstowns-sidewalks-nearing-completion.html
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is hosting a free webinar:
Show Me the Money
Finding Local Funding Sources for Safe Routes to School
Thursday, October 4
2-3pm eastern/1-2pm central/12-1pm mountain/11am-12pm pacific
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8033167537065525248
There are many ways to fund community and state-wide Safe Routes to School programs. From traffic fines to sales taxes to government and private grants, learn how to sustain your program, and about the new funding opportunities in the federal transportation act: MAP-21.
We are pleased to feature the following presenters:
Bev Brody, Get Fit Kauai Health and Built Environment Facilitator: Bev will share how Hawaii advocates worked with elected officials to fund Safe Routes to School in every Hawaii county through traffic fines legislation.
Wendi Kallins, Founder and Program Director, Safe Routes to School in Marin County, CA: Learn about Marin County, California's sales tax and how it's funding Safe Routes to School in dozens of schools.
Leslie Meehan, Director of Healthy Communities, Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization: Learn how the Nashville, TN area regional government has prioritized Safe Routes to School and is providing funding to local communities.
Robert Ping, Technical Assistance Director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership: Hear how Arizona, Illinois, Washington and Portland, Oregon are using fines to calm traffic, and to fund Safe Routes to School and other safety measures.
This webinar is the fifth in a series of monthly webinars on topics related to Safe Routes to School and other policy and program initiatives that can increase walking and bicycling to school and in daily life.
Charge into the world of electric vehicles with these models
SMARTEBIKE
The four cars above are all definitely worth driving, but Smart’s eBike occupies the opposite end of the electric vehicle spectrum. Electric two-wheelers have been around for years, and are very common in countries like China and India where even regular gasoline cars may be out of reach for many. The Smart is a ‘Pedelec,’ meaning a pedal-electric hybrid — you still get some exercise, as we found out on our first ride, but the electric motor assists your pedaling, giving you a welcome boost of speed. Top speed is limited to 15 mph to avoid licensing issues, and you can pick varying levels of assistance. Ironic that in a company known for its city cars, the eBike might be its best method of city transport yet. This article originally appeared on AllCarsElectric.com , a High Gear Media property and vertical publishing company. Other sites include MotorAuthority.com , GreenCarReports.com and FamilyCarGuide.com . http://www.greencarreports.com/news/electric-cars
Urban Cycling and Commuting
E-Bikes Are an Absolute Sure Thing. Maybe.
A look at the stop-and-go ascent of a radically different type of urban bicycle
By Chris Lesser
Situated right in the heart of Portland, Oregon’s thriving bike scene, a new store located on North Alberta Street welcomes customers, with high ceilings, painstakingly polished concrete floors and rows of freshly assembled bicycles. It’s the type of space where you might imagine lounging for hours, sipping a cappuccino while bantering with a mechanic as she spins through the gears on your new S-Works or custom Rock Lobster. But you won’t find any baristas and carbon tubes there. The eBike Store sells only electric-assist bikes, better known as, yes, e-bikes. Owner Wakefield Gregg sells nearly a dozen brands, ranging from practical city commuters to three-wheeled trikes built to haul up to 250 pounds of cargo. The bikes’ designs vary widely, but most use lithium batteries to power a 250- to 350-watt motor that, with the push of a button, kicks in to give riders a push up hills or to boost their speed on flats. The bicycles are targeted at aging commuters and eco-conscious urbanites looking for a speedy, car-free way to zip across town. Sales are modest at Gregg’s store. But nationwide, sales of e-bikes now top 90,000 units a year. That’s still only a fraction of the almost 16 million bikes purchased annually in the United States, but a look at the global e-bike market shows the machine’s seemingly limitless potential. Last year, Europeans purchased 1.3 million electric bikes and the Chinese snapped up 30 million (though many of the models there are actually more akin to scooters)… http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/bikes-and-gear-features/e-bikes-are-absolute-sure-thing-maybe?cm_mmc=BicyclingNL-_-1054716-_-09272012-_-e_bikes_are_an_absolute_sure_thing_maybe
Bicycles as building amenities
By Andrew Nusca | September 24, 2012, 7:33 AM PDT
The bicycle may be a fad for some and a tried-and-true transit option for others, but how cities are reacting to its increasing popularity has been interesting to watch. New York and Los Angeles have faced opposition to their addition of bicycle lanes on already-clogged streets; Paris and London have become globally renowned for their rental programs; many other cities have been criticized for not doing enough, especially after decades of automobile domination. Philadelphia has quietly become the American city with more bicycle ridership than any other. The same stories listed above have played out on streets here, but a new report in the Philadelphia Inquirer shows progressive building developers eyeing the two-wheeled transport as a way to attract affluent customers. Architecture critic Inga Saffron writes about Carl Dranoff in her regular column: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/bicycles-as-building-amenities/942?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660
100 mph on a human-powered bike?
By Tyler Falk | September 24, 2012, 8:35 PM PDT
Sure, you’ve heard of Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive and world record holder in the 100 meter dash. But have you heard of Graeme Obree? He might soon be the fastest man alive on two (self-propelled) wheels. Nicknamed “The Flying Scotsman,” Obree is known for designing bikes that use atypical rider positions. They might be unusual, but his bikes are fast. He has twice broken the world record for the longest distance biked in one hour. And he thinks he can break the human-powered vehicle land speed world record. Not just break, but smash the current record of 83 miles per hour. He believes that he’ll reach 100 mph on this bike: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/100-mph-on-a-human-powered-bike/957?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660
Past issues are available here: http://www.considerbiking.org/category/newsletters/
Contact Information
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Web site - www.considerbiking.org
Facebook - Facebook Page change to http://www.facebook.com/considerbiking
Twitter - @Consider_Biking http://twitter.com/#!/consider_biking
Biking and Walking Newsletter Editor, Ira S. Weiss - iwe...@insight.rr.com
Consider Biking Staff, http://www.considerbiking.org/contact/ 614-447-8894
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Ira S. Weiss
11735 Eddington
Pickerington, OH 43147