Tag Archives: bikes

Bike to School Month, Parents Who Ride Rule!

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Anne | 6 comments

I would like to applaud all of the parents who are taking their kids to school by bike this month. You are all doing a fantastic job. Way to go! Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, Human Powered Politics, kids, neighborhoods, seattle

Tagged bike-to-school, bikes, Family Cycling, kids, parents

New Bike Lane on 9th: Safety (or is it mail?) First

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Tim K | 2 comments

You know that new bike lane on 9th? The one the mayor scrambled to say they had been planning all along but didn’t mention until cyclists started protesting the SLUT? The one that is supposed to be way safer than riding near the trolley tracks? Yeah, that one.

Um, apparently not everyone got the safety memo. This was just one of three vehicles I saw blocking the less-than-Nichol’s-sized lane in a mere three blocks. Lots wackiness along this stretch of bike lane—cars parked over the line, doors flying without a care in the world and people swerving in and out of parking places. Finally, Lance’s old team colors put me over the top. I grabbed a photo and bailed.

As one might imagine, I’m not a bit impressed with the engineering or enforcement for this project. Judging from the still impressive volume of bike traffic on Westlake, I think most in-city riders have voted. 9th isn’t going to be worth the trip until such time the city can bother to enforce parking regulations more seriously around bike paths. From what I’ve seen lately, I’m not hopeful.

I met some Cascade Bike Club advocacy guys at trolley talk at REI in March. They say when 9th is done it will be really cool. But they admit it could take a while. For now I think I’m going to take my chances with Westlake. At least I know where the tracks are and I’m unlikey to get doored.

-Tim

2 Comments

Posted in bicycle neglect, bikes, Commute, Human Powered Politics, seattle

Tagged Add new tag, bike lanes, bike neglect, bikes, Commute, seattle, traffic

Bike to School Month, Day One

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Anne | 2 comments

The first day of Bike to School Month went off without a hitch. This morning, my two kids enthusiastically pushed their bikes up all six hills. No complaints. I usually get at least oneten complaints out of the five-year-old. To which I usually reply, “please don’t whine so early in the morning”. I didn’t hear a peep out of him this morning. He even wanted to push his own bike up the hills. Even though we always go to school by human power – we regularly hoof it up the hills or take the Xtracycle, for some reason the kids knew today was special. They got really excited when they saw the first fellow cyclists riding their bikes to school. Their excitement grew as we got closer to school and saw even more cyclists. Upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to see the one rack and most of the fences and gates surrounding the playground completely packed with bikes. (the most I have ever seen at school).

Great Day. Hopefully the momentum will continue and we’ll see just as many bikers tomorrow and during the coming weeks.

How about you – did you ride to School/Work today?

– Anne

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Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, kids, seattle

Tagged alternative transportation, bike-to-school, bikes, kids, neighborhoods, seattle

Xtracycle Shuttle

Posted on April 30, 2008 by Anne | Leave a comment

Xtracycle Shuttle on flickr

Tim had knee surgery last week and hasn’t been able to ride to work for a few days. Since walking downhill is a bit painful – I offered him a lift to the stinky bus. I wouldn’t want to ride very far like that, but downhill for a few blocks was just fine.

– Anne

Seattle’s Got a Whole Lot of Bikin’ Goin’ On

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Tim K | 3 comments

I had minor knee surgery Thursday. I’m surprisingly mobile, (three laps around the block yesterday!) but not quite up for my normal ride. That meant a trip home from work via Metro bus today. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a very good bus commuter. I resent buses being late and early (and sometimes on time). Mostly it’s my problem because I have time issues. Regardless, I’d rather ride.

One advantage of the bus, I found today, is the ability to check on the state of the Seattle bike commute. On my daily ride, I see a few folks out there but don’t get a sense for numbers. I don’t pass a lot of riders and don’t get passed too much either. Mostly I just roll along alone, occasionally waving toward oncoming riders. Am I alone or just riding in a bike-free bubble? It’s hard to tell.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, Commute, mass transit, seattle, sustainability

Tagged bikecommuters, bikes, bus, commuting, seattle, transit

Bike to School Month Family Bike Extravaganza

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Anne | 3 comments

We kicked off Bike to School Month in style this morning with a fantastic family-focused bike event at our elementary school. Judging from the turnout – easily more than 100 people – it seems there’s no better way to get families excited about biking to school than getting them biking at school. Of course a rare sunny (this spring in Seattle, anyway) Saturday didn’t hurt numbers. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, kids, neighborhoods, seattle

Tagged Bike to School Month, bikes, conference bike, cycling, Families, Family Cycling, kids

Bike Rack Capacity: Tokyo vending-machine style

Posted on April 21, 2008 by Tim K | 2 comments

Too many bikes and not enough racks… around here, we’d be happy with with a few more two-bike units. Sorry, that’s way too simple for Japan. There they turn the engineers loose. Visitors to Toyko are frequenty awed by the crazy vending machines: Hot Ramen, socks, umbrellas, eggs, kerosene, and more. One count puts it at one vending machine for every 23 people.

So it only makes sense that bike parking would benefit from this technical vending genius. Understanding Japanese would add to the experience but we managed to get the gist. Combine this baby with the giant bike parking garage we saw in Amsterdam and we’d be in bike-parking dork heaven.

-Tim

via Streetsblog and Gizmodo

2 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, consumerism, Rack that Bike

Tagged automation, bike parking, bikes, japan, tokyo, vending machines

You know how we said spring had sprung?

Posted on April 19, 2008 by Tim K | 1 comment

Um…. I think we might have been a bit premature.

I got really wet both directions on Friday. I had rain gear but it was not raining when I left so I thought I’d risk it. On the way home I thought “what are the odds that it will start raining on two trips in a row.” I didn’t think to ask about the odds of snow.

Of course by the time I decided it was probably prudent to gear up, it no longer mattered. It’s only water, right?

-tim

1 Comment

Posted in bikes, Commute, weather

Tagged bikes, Commute, seattle, seattle weather smackdown, snow, weather

The Bike Rack Dance

Posted on April 14, 2008 by Anne | 2 comments

This bike rack makes us laugh. It’s really old and rusty and it’s not bolted to anything. Very effective!

I only shop at this Safeway when I’m feeling lazy: it’s at the top of the hill so I can cruise down the hill on my grocery-laden bike for a change.

The other day the five year old did an impromptu dance on the rusty-non-bolted rack. He was really loving the music he created. The fake burp at the end of the video is the best – you gotta love five-year-old boys.

– Anne

2 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, kids, xtracycle

Tagged bikes, kids, racks, xtracycle

May is Bike to School Month

Posted on April 13, 2008 by Anne | 6 comments

I saw this video on Copenhagenize last week. Wouldn’t it be nice if biking to school in America was that pleasant? I love the shots of really young kids riding on their own. Continue reading →