2014 – Week 20 – Internet Round Up

2014 – Week 20 – Internet Round Up

News

A Foldable Bike Helmet You’ll Just Happen to Have in Your Bag – This is a neat idea! A portable helmet. This helmet was crowd-sourced and developed by Jeff Woolf who saw that many Europeans forgo wearing a helmet because they did not like carrying it around because of its bulkiness.  As expected, the helmet is going through rigorous safety testing in order for it to be sold in the U.S. market.  The helmet will retail at about $110 USD.


D.C. Commuters Keen On Riding And Walking To Work, Census Finds – DC and Boston top 2 cities where people want to walk and bike to work according to census data.  These marginal increases in these cities does not include the walk or bike over to public transportation.  This only represents people who are walking and biking for the majority of the way.  Behind these 2 cities, Pittsburgh, New York, and San Francisco rounds out the top 5 cities where commuters are riding and walking to work.


West side community house to become Cleveland’s first bike-friendly apartment building – Cleveland first ever bicycle-friendly apartments being built.  Facilities will include 19 apartment units, 4000 square feet of office space, a Phoenix coffee shop which will also manage a bike share program, communal bike parking as well as individual unit bike parking, basement lounge which will have bike tools, and includes a membership to Bike Cleveland non-profit bicycling coalition. Hopefully this is a trend that other cities will follow as we see more and more people living in urban city environment.


Would you drive less for the bike of your dreams? – We already have the bike of my dreams. Driving less is still debatable but definitely riding more!  The Swedish Energy Department is loaning out to 5 families in 7 different municipalities the bike of their dream between April to October this year.  The family promises to use them at least 3 out of the 5 days a week and will undergo health examines before and after as well as filling out surveys.  Not a bad way to get more cyclists out there but it’s a little underwhelming in terms of impact.  I suppose this would be a good data gathering initiative if that is the sole purpose but it seems like the goals are a bit lofty.


Portland has 10 times more people cycling to work than the average US city – And this is why we want to go to Portland and ride.  We’re not surprised that the numbers jumped up 60% in the last decade.  There are more information in the article comparing other towns with Portland that we won’t go over here as it would be redundant.  Just know that we’re coming Portland to ride your network of bike lanes and infrastructure.


Yes, I Text and Drive. No, I’m Not Sorry – Not sure if this is link baiting but this article in LA Weekly is irresponsible to publish.  The author of this article, Hillel Aron, is complaining about how absurd the law is when we have other ways to distract the drivers as well as when we are sitting in traffic.  Not to mention allowing people to use their smart phones to find directions.  Although I understand his points of view but to be so blatantly ignorant of the fact that doing any of these things whether it is changing your radio or texting is distracted driving and it is dangerous – period!  To dismiss this law as a whole tells me he/she needs to really look at the numbers or get on a bike and ride around Los Angeles.  Either way, be careful out there whether you’re on a bike, walking, or driving.  With people like this out there, we have to use extra precaution.


This Hubless Bicycle Folds to the Size of an Umbrella – Folding bike to the extreme!  A hubless bike designed to fold up to the size of an umbrella features a 26 inch wheel which I think is not part of this fold.  With the design lacking spokes in the tires Gizmodo points out that there maybe a design flaw as wheels needs to be reinforced for the weight of the rider.  This Sada Bike is still a prototype so don’t expect it to be out any time soon but a very interesting concept.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Why cyclists should be able to roll through stop signs and ride through red lights – A great article pointing out why cyclists should be allowed to roll through stop signs.  The Idaho Stop which was a law passed in Idaho in 1982 allows cyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs and stop lights as stop signs saw a drop in bicycle accidents.  The article goes through and explains why it’s a good idea to allow cyclists do this in terms of efficiency for cyclists as well as improve predictability to drivers.  Many other states have similar laws as pointed out by the article and they also have a great image to indicate which ones have them or not.  Until this becomes more of a wide-spread law, we still advise following your local and state laws.


Money Watchers: AAA will respond to bicycle breakdowns – Road-side assistance for bicycles? Yes please.  Apparently this is a new thing for the East Coast according to this article.  This service is available to the West Coast and Canada in which they will haul your bike within a 10 mile radius.  The best part is that you don’t need to sign up for any additional features.


Bicycle Findings & Recommendations from the 2013 L.A. Bike and Pedestrian Count – Guess what? There are more bike riders in Los Angeles! Check out LACBC’s bike count report which was conducted last year.  Ridership has gone up 7.5% since 2011.  The study was conducted with the help of 400 volunteers at 120 distinct locations across the Greater Los Angeles County.  The reports also highlights behaviors of cyclists such as the commute time and route preferences.  Check out their report if you haven’t already done so.

Joshua Tree Entrance
Chino Hills to Joshua Tree – Come join us on a 4 day bike tour to Joshua Tree later this month.  We’re planning to start at Chino Hills and take our time through the Morongo Valley and camp at some KOAs on our way to Joshua Tree.  If you’re interested, sign up through our Facebook event page or just emailing us at info@milestonerides.com.

Videos

[youtube=http://youtu.be/r-B6awDYcWI]

How to Be a Gentleman Cyclist – How to be a gentleman/lady cyclist video.

[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/92641962]

Hal Grades Your Bike Locking 2014 (Part IV) – We shared his video on which locks to buy, now see how Hal grades locking technique.

Photos

Dinner last night. #biketouring #selfie #unpredictyourwednesday

Our primitive camp last night and this morning. #biketouring #gridleycanyon #unpredictyourwednesday #bikeojai

Another view of our campsite. #biketouring #gridleycanyon #unpredictyourwednesday @topangacreek

It’s not always puppy dogs, rainbows, & ice cream cones. The one below would have been bad another few inches forward on a tree root w/branches #closecall #biketouring

Big props to team Andrew Jackson of BikeSGV for their hard work and dedication.

Festivities for San Gabriel Valley’s first cycle track in Temple City. #bikelove

Congress woman Judy Chu on stage. #cycletrack #bikelove #bikela

Unveiling of the statue on Rosemead and Broadway! #cycletrack #bikela

Start of the @cicleorg community ride! #bikela #bikelove @kcyclivist

Rolling through the streets of Temple City with @cicleorg. #bikela

Happy Mother’s Day! Did you see the cool Google home page? Lots of bike love.

Goofballs #latergram #templecity #cycletrack #bikela @kcyclivist

So what’s your excuse for not riding to work?

Huge turn out for @cicleorg Taste of Pasadena ride! #mydayinla #bikela

Still waiting for Ellen after watching Blended. #imatellen #perpetuallywaiting

Big congrats to Rancho Cucamonga and Cuong Phu Trinh for his efforts in applying!

This girl needed a good spray down after our last adventure in Ojai. #bikebath

Lunch stop. #surly #crosscheck #wb

Women on bikes night in Pasadena #bikela #mydayinla @cicleorg

Luna Chix clinic at the Pasadena Cyclery with Dorothy Wong going over safety. #safetyfirst #pasadena #bikela @cicleorg

The men at @cicleorg’s Women On Bikes Night. #rockon #gometro #surly

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  • Pingback:2014 - Week 21 - Internet Round Up | Milestone Rides
    Posted at 10:04h, 26 May

    […] bicycle and pedestrian count that was conducted last year and was highlighted in an article in last week’s Internet Round Up.  Only 1 in 5 bicycle riders were women.  Infrastructure improvements should help provide a […]