BikeRide

The Greater Greater Washington Blog has a post titled “12 ways our region could reform bicycling laws.” in which it gives suggestions on ways changes to laws could contribute to the encouragement of more people to ride bicycles.  Most of these ideas could be applied to many cities besides Washington D.C. A summary of their list is as follows.

1. Replace contributory negligence with comparative negligence.

2. Close the negligent driving loophole.

3. Ban distracted driving.

4. Treat cycling as transportation.

5. 3 Foot passing distance.

6. Fix equipment requirements (such as requiring bells).

7. Improve the return of recovered and impounded bikes.

8. Let cyclists decide where to ride (when it is necessary to take the whole lane).

9. Let cyclists ride more that 2 abreast

10. Improve access and parking.

11. Decriminalize safe cycling (for example allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs)

12. Allow more sidewalk cycling.

See the Greater Greater Washington Blog for the entire summary of each item.

I’ll say that I would disagree with number #9.  It is one thing to be more that 2 abreast while passing other cyclists, but to continually ride more that 2 abreast really isn’t necessary, and will only cause more problems between drivers and cyclists.

The book Bicycling & the Law: Your Rights as a Cyclist By Bob Mionskie is a good resource for educating yourself about what the law say about your rights as a cyclist and how many bicycling laws are interpreted.

Many bicycle specific laws vary by state or city, so it is best to get familiar with the laws where you live.

Do you live in a bicycle friendly city?  Virgin Vacations has published a list of the their 11 most bicycle friendly cities in the world. Their list was largely based on the criteria and list of Bicycle Friendly Communities from the league of American Bicyclists.  Here are Virgin Vacations top 11 cities:

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands
2. Portland, Oregon, USA
3. Copenhagen, Denmark
4. Boulder, Colorado, USA
5. Davis, California, USA
6. Sandnes, Norway
7. Trondheim, Norway
8. San Francisco, California, USA
9. Berlin, Germany
10. Barcelona, Spain
11. Basel, Switzerland

The number seven city on the list Trondheim, Norway has a “bicycle lift” that helps  cyclists up a hill.

I wouldn’t mind having one of these on some of my rides!

It may be cold in many northern cities in the U.S. but that did not stop Chicago’s Active Transportation Alliance from celebrating Winter Bike To Work Day

Winter Bike to Work Day celebrates the coldest day in Chicago history — Jan. 20, 1985, when the official temperature at O’Hare International Airport was 27 degrees below zero with 36 mph wind gusts, producing wind chills as low as 93 degrees below zero.

Although the Winter Bike To Work Day celebrates Chicago’s coldest date on record, today’s temperatures called for a high of 31 degrees. With a little planning and the right cold weather clothing it is possible to commute by bike through most of the winter.

Speaking of winter cycling, Team Sky recently posted some photos of Edvald Boasson Hagen training in his native Norway on a winter training ride in the snow.  That makes for some motivation for those living in cold winter climates.

A bike sharing program first planned in 2008 is set to start in the Twin Cities in June.

Plans call for the Minneapolis program to start with up to 80 kiosks, dispensing up to 1,000 bikes. It will operate in a way that planners say will deter the bike thefts that have plagued some earlier sharing programs. Kiosks will be concentrated mostly in downtown, Uptown and at the University of Minnesota. The city will join some 130 bike-sharing programs globally.

Users of the bike program can buy an annual key card, or pay by credit card.  It will be interesting to hear if this program is successful.