Cyclelicious

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Biking bank bandit in Boulder

The helmeted bike bandit is back! Ten days after a similar crime in nearby Longmont, a man wearing a Bell black bike helmet robbed Colorado Business Bank Friday afternoon in Boulder. The description of the robber in both cases is a guy about my height, build and hair color wearing a dark bike helmet, pink polo shirt, and light-colored cargo shorts. I think messenger bags suck, though, so the robber can't possibly be me. I also haven't owned any pink polo shirts since the mid-80s.

The top image is from the Longmont robbery on August 30; the bottom image is from yesterday's robbery in Boulder.

Remember, for safety always wear bright colors and a bike helmet when robbing banks.

Friday, September 09, 2005

Cyclist focus group

By Richard Masoner

The League of American Bicyclists is in the process of studying its membership, presumably for the purpose of deciding their future direction. If you're a League member, you may have participated in their online survey (which is now closed).

The League has hired International Cycle Works to further survey League membership. I participated in a focus group in Boulder tonight where we talked about cycling issues, membership, programs and communication. About half the participants are League members (including myself). The other half are not League members. Some interesting things that came out of the discussions.

Among members, the general feeling was that the LAB is doing a decent job given the limited resources the League has. The members feel good about giving money to the League for their lobbying efforts in Washington DC.
The non-members, although they were typically fairly involved in cycling, were members of local groups or national organizations like Rail-Trails and IMBA, and were well-read on cycling issues, knew nothing at all about the the LAB. They suggested that perhaps the League should focus more marketing effort on growing their membership through IBD's and direct mail. Everybody has heard of AAA, but nobody knows about LAB.
The LAB members tended to be somewhat knowledgable about some of the internal politics and squabbling that has occurred, especially since Andy Clark became executive director. It was noted that LAB membership is tiny and the League is relatively unknown and obscure because the "old guard" liked it that way. It was also expressed that Andy Clark has brought some much needed change to the group and is doing a good job in his efforts.
The group seemed about evenly split between VC and PnP riders, although the VC'ers weren't militantly anti-facility. A desire for more motorist education was strongly expressed. There was not much discussion of a need for cyclist education.
Almost everybody in the group are commuter/utility cyclists. We all do other types of cycling -- for example, we had a couple of roadies, there were a couple of people who tour, and we had a licensed mountain bike racer/IMBA member in the group.
Among the PnP'ers there was some griping about how crowded and dangerous the paths in Boulder are.
Among some VCs, there's a perception that cycling on roads outside of Boulder becomes more dangerous the further you get from Boulder.
Several members expressed that they would be willing to help promote the League and their activities, but they don't know where to start. The League has never asked for help and, in Colorado anyway, does not have a strong local or regional network. Colorado has several cities that are designated by the Leagues as "Bicycle Friendly Communties," but nobody knows about the League or their activities. The state of Colorado benefits from League activities, but the League does not seem to benefit from the strong cycling community in Colorado.

I didn't take notes at this meeting so it's likely I missed something important. If you have additional thoughts about what the League of American Bicyclists can do to better serve its members and/or promote bicycing in the United States, please feel free to comment below.

Bicycle blogs list of lists

For you bicycle blog junkies out there, Jonathan pointed me to this: There's list of bicycle blogs at BikeBlogs.com. The list at BikeBlogs is a little smaller but seems to be a little more up-to-date than the huge and comprehensive bicycle blog directory at Tortoise & Hare Designs. You can see my bicycle blogroll in my Bicycle Blog Top Ten.

Bike railroad crossing

Train Tracks Will Eat Your Bike by feaverish.

These railroad crossing signs are used in Portland, Oregon to warn cyclists of the danger of rail crossings. I've seen cyclists take a header on tracks; the suddeness with which this can occur is dramatic. If I'm going fast, I often bunnyhop over the tracks, especially if the crossing is bumpy.

High school principal bikes to work

Principal Mike Ward of Decatur High School in Decatur, Alabama kept griping about the high cost of gas. He finally decided to do something about it by riding his bike to work. Students and staff alike express shock that he rides -- GASP -- a whole three miles to work!

Principal Ward hopes others will take his example and reduce their gasoline consumption by bike riding. The writer also includes the obligatory wet blanket from a teacher that any student who tries to ride to school would probably get killed by traffic in spite of statistics to the contrary, but that's your public school system for you.

The Road Warrior gets it!

We occasionally see discussion in cyclist forums about ~~stupid~~ uninformed writers and morning show jocks who advocate violence against cyclists. When I saw a letter to "Road Warrior" -- the motoring columnist for the Allentown, PA Morning Call -- that complained about cyclists, I expected more of the same "Get off the road" type of ranting.

I was very pleasantly surprised, then, to read that this Road Warrior knows what he's talking about.

But there is a caveat, in the view of the Warrior, who, while not as avid a cyclist as Carpenter, does take to the pedals from time to time, on occasion riding the five miles to work in Allentown from adjacent South Whitehall Township. (OK, on a rare occasion.)

Often, given the relatively low speed of bicycles, it's not really necessary to come to a complete halt at every stop sign. For their own safety, it's important for riders to ensure there's no conflicting vehicular traffic ahead. But when you're approaching an intersection at a mere 5 mph or so, usually you can see if traffic is coming, and if so, stop on the proverbial dime. Absent the visual confines of a car's roofline and pillars, you have a clear, wide view of traffic.

So it depends on the conditions. In city riding, it's important to stop at red lights or stop signs, particularly on busier roads or those where vehicle speeds are high, or sight-distances short.

But in rural areas, when cycling along a country road with miles of view and nary a car on the scenic horizon, it's kind of silly to stop dead at a stop sign.

He continues about lawbreakers, and I am in complete agreement with Road Warriors opinion here:

The Warrior's beef with bicycle-riding practices, Don, has less to do with drifting through stop signs, and more to do with the total disregard of any rules of the road by some riders, particularly in and around downtown areas such as in Allentown. They think nothing of weaving in and out of traffic, riding with passengers perched on the handlebars, riding at night without lights or even, reflective or light-colored clothing, whizzing out from alleys into heavily traveled roadways and routinely cruising on one-way streets — in the wrong direction, against traffic.

Bravo to the Allentown Road Warrior!