Category Archives: bigger than here

Seattle Ride of Silence Tonight (May 20)

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Tim K | 3 comments

The Seattle 2009 Ride of Silence quietly rolls out from Gas Works Park at 6:30 this evening. The ride, if you aren’t familiar, is an international event intended to honor those killed or injured cycling on roadways.

I participated last year and was marked by the ride. It’s a rather eery experience when a few hundred normally chattery cyclists string out along the road for a completely silent, solemn parade. Other than the whir of tires, ratcheting of freehubs, or squeals of wet, longbike disc brakes (sorry about that), it really is a ride of silence.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, Human Powered Politics

Tagged advocacy, bicycle, bikes, Commute, respect, ride of silence, seattle

With Kids, Sometimes We Ride on the Sidewalk

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Anne | 15 comments

Bike to School Month is in full swing. The racks have been full this past week despite the rainy weather. This hardy group of riders doesn’t mind biking in the rain. Way to go.

The increased number of pedalers around the school means a few biker, non-biker conflicts. We’re learning from each other and need to keep an open dialog so we can live harmoniously on the shared streets and sidewalks.

One recent conflict surrounded whether or not bikes belong on the sidewalk. In King County, bikes are allowed on the sidewalk as long as they follow the rules of the road and the sidewalk. Continue reading →

15 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, kids, neighborhoods, School

Tagged bike-to-school, bikes, sidewalk

News Flash! Cars are expensive

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Tim K | 26 comments

This just in: driving a car costs a whole bunch of money. Crazy as it may sound to all eight of our car-loving readers, puttin’ the pedal to the metal isn’t quite as cost effective as actually pedaling.

This according the American Public Transportation Association’s Transit Savings Report. They looked at what a car costs to own and run (the whole deal from buying it, maintaining it, parking, registration, insurance and more) and then compared that with what transit use would cost the same family.

The PI says in Seattle such a comparison nets a$10,483 savings for those chucking their car keys. And that’s for transit use. A bicycle switchover would probably fare even better. Pretty impressive.

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26 Comments

Posted in bicycle neglect, bigger than here, bikes, Human Powered Politics, mass transit, sustainability

Tagged alternative, bike life, bikes, economy, money, transit

Transportation Forum + Bike to Work/School Kickoff

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Tim K | 1 comment

I love commuting with my wife

Friday is a big day.

We kick off Bike to Work month (Tim) and Bike to School month (Anne and the kids). I’m pretty sure we’ll be blessed with clear (or at least dry) skies, so don’t delay the start of your commute season. Remember, this is Seattle—the weather can only get worse as we get closer to June.

If you find yourself downtown with a spare hour around lunch time, I’d recommend checking out the Forum, TOWN HALL: Visioning the Puget Sound Region’s Transportation Future. It’s part of their ongoing Friday Forums series:

Transit demand continues to skyrocket while operating revenues are plummeting. How do car sharing, walkable and bike-friendly communities, and transit work together to form a new vision for transportation?

You’re even bring your lunch so if your schedule can swing it—unfortunately, mine can’t— please share any good takeaways. From over here in the cheap seats, it looks like an interesting collection of speakers will be covering some major ground.

WHEN:Friday, May 1st, 12:00 – 1:30 PM
WHERE: Bertha Landes Knight Room, Seattle City Hall (on 5th Ave.between Cherry and James St.)

More info at the Transportation Choices Coalition website.

-Tim

1 Comment

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, Commute

Tagged bike-to-school, bike-to-work, bikes, bluesky, Commute, oma, seattle, transportation, weather

Could D.O.T. Secretary think bikes are for real?

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Tim K | Leave a comment

I mentioned this on twitter last week, but I think it might be worth exploring in a little more depth here with our blog readers.

The US Department of Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood is blogging.

These days a blogging politico is no surprise. However, the things he’s saying have kind of caught me off guard (in a good way):

“Bicycling is an important factor in less carbon-intensive commuting”
“When I told the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit that “Cyclists are important users of America’s transportation systems,” I meant it.”
“And, when I wrote that “With DOT, bicyclists have a full partner in working toward livable communities,” I meant that as well.”

To cyclists, these statements are pretty logical. We get all of this and many of us have been saying the same thing for years. But the problem hasn’t been saying, it’s been the listening. That is, getting the Beltway to listen, and take us seriously (remember last summer’s anti-bike rant by N.C. Rep Patrick McHenry?).

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Getting Ready for Bike to School Month

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Anne | 4 comments

It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed since we planned our first ever Bike to School Month at our local elementary school . I feel so much older and wiser this year : ) Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, kids, neighborhoods, School

Tagged Bike to School Month, bike-to-school, kids, School, seattle

Leaf-Blower Elegance in a Bike-friendly Package

Posted on April 1, 2009 by Tim K | 14 comments

Oma Tanker As most of you know by now, the team at Car Free Days is involved in an outright crusade to drive less and ride more. So far it’s been great. We’ve been riding (our Xtracycles and Anne’s Oma, mostly) nearly everywhere we need to go.

Those of you adept at reading through the lines, however, have probably noticed a little discord along the way. There was our son’s brush with hypothermia on the New Years cargo bike ride. There were challenging logistics for a 10pm wedding reception in Auburn. And we still get grief for the 50″ Plasma we scratched the crap out of hauling it home from Costco on the Xtracycles. And yes, the hills. Always the damn hills.

In many cases, my friends, pure people power isn’t the only answer.

We’ve dabbled with the idea of powering our Xtracycles with a Stokemonkey. Everyone we know who’s used one loves it. And Todd at Clever Cycles is a total peach. Really, the Stokemonkey is a perfect product, save one major shortcoming: They run on electricity. Franky, we just can’t condone the wasteful use of electrons wondering if perhaps a salmon got trapped behind a dam or a seagull met its demise at the blade of a wind turbine.

Though people can overlook such negatives, we at Car Free Days like to think our moral junk is of a stiffer quality than average. So that’s meant schellping our damn kids up the damn hills on our damn bikes with only our damn legs to thank.

Until now…

Continue reading →

14 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, buildin' the xtracycle, consumerism, gas, Ha, safety gear, sustainability

Tagged alternative transporation, april 1, april fools, e-bike, motorized bike, oma, seattle, xtracycle

SXSW Adventures: Bike Hugger Mobile Social Ride

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Tim K | 2 comments

As I mentioned, I was in Austin last week at SXSW. While there, I had the good fortune to participate in the Bike Hugger Mobile Social Ride and BBQ. Anne and I are fairly regular participants in Seattle-area cargo rides and so I thought it would be fun to check out the dynamic of a mixed tech-texas hybrid event.

The day dawned like any other in Seattle. Wet, cold and dark. It wasn’t actually raining so I was raring to go. One problem: we weren’t in Seattle and the Austinites aren’t quite used to gray skies and wet roads. Though roads dried by the time morning SXSW sessions finished, it was only their 3rd day of rain since summer or something. I’m thinking this had to have an impact on the number of riders , yet the turnout was impressive (somewhere between 100 and 150) anyway. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bike lust, bikes, In other Cities

Tagged austin, bikehugger, community, mobilesocial, sxsw, sxswi, texas

SXSW Adventures: Large Guy, Small Bike

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Tim K | 3 comments

large-guy-small-bike I went to the South by Southwest Interactive festival (SXSWi) in Austin last weekend for work. While there I was lucky enough to score a loaner bike from our friends at the great Austin bike blog/magazine: Austin on Two Wheels.

Oh, and this wasn’t just any beater… it’s was a sweet Azor Transport all the way from Holland (via our pals Dutch Bike Seattle—small world)! Anyway, as you can tell from the reflective Panda snapshot, the bike was a tad small, but that sure didn’t stop me from having an excellent time riding it all over Austin (side note: how freakin’ cool is the Internet when other bloggers loan you their very own bike, just ’cause you’re a fellow bike-life blogger and long-bike rider?).

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3 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, cargo bikes, In other Cities

Tagged austin, bikehugger, bikes, cargobikes, mobilesocial, sxsw, sxswi

Park Your Car and Walk a Block to School

Posted on February 1, 2009 by Anne | 17 comments

Ever since my kids started school, I’ve become fixated on a strange American practice: the school drive-through drop off. Many parents it seems have made the choice to drive by the school, open the door and drop their kids off at the school entrance without leaving the comfort of their car. I know every one does not live walking distance from school and some parents must drive their kids to school. But is it necessary to do a drive-through drop off? Can’t they park their cars and walk their kids to the school yard?

Sure it may be easier, more convenient and less hassle to do a drive-through. But what about the impact to the whole community around the school? What about the unnecessary pollution and increased traffic they are creating and the sedentary habits they’re teaching kids? Continue reading →