It’s great to be back home in Austin after a week away in Oklahoma, where I saw a grand total of one urban cyclist in six days, and even better to have time to write some articles again!
Here are the tidbits I’ve caught in the cycling blog world lately.
Bicycle spokes in Baltimore has a short-but-to-the-point tirade against the Bicycle Commuter Act, which, if they are correct, makes a lot of sense to me. Why would you take a $20 cycling commuter fringe benefit if you were at all a multi-modal user of transit, or even occasional driving? It wouldn’t make financial sense.
Copenhagen Cycle Chic has a story about the cargo bike brand Nihola, which I had never heard of until this morning. They look generally like Bakfiets except the front cargo area looks a bit rounder, and they *may* be a bit lighter. Also noticeable on first glance was that they don’t have a fully enclosed chaincase. More options are better in this segment, though.
EcoVelo links to a US News & World Report listing where cycling to work is one of the “top 50 ways to improve your life in 2009.” Uh oh, sounds like we’re getting even more mainstream.
TheWashCycle covers a posting from the book Nowtopia, by Chris Carlsson, one of the founders of Critical Mass. I read the book this summer after picking up a copy at City Lights in San Francisco and I highly recommend it.
And finally, this last bit isn’t from a blog but the New York Post says that yes, there will be some of the billions of stimulus package dollars going to transit – approximately $20 billion.
on Dec 29th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Where were you in Oklahoma? OKC? I was in Tulsa, and I saw a non-trivial number of city cyclists – considering the near-freezing weather – and even a fixie or two. If you do go to Tulsa, you should check out Soundpony next time: it’s a cycling-themed indie-rock bar that even sponsors a racing team.
on Dec 29th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Yep, OKC and Edmond.
on Dec 29th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
On the bike commuter act article you’re referring to: $220 for auto parking, $115 mass transit. What he failed to mention is that $20 X 12 months is $240, which beats the other two..