By foot or by bike
Car, you are my nemesis
You need to watch out!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
A Little help please from the Roadies....
Hey everyone.
I received this email a few weeks ago and told Joe that I would put the word out to the Fort Wayne contingent in order to try to solicit help that I myself can not provide.
His email is listed below so give him a shout please if you have any great ideas for him. Or email me and I will be sure to get it to him.
Thank You.
FWBC
Hi
I’ll try to make a long story short.
I was just researching via the Internet if you bike legally and safely from the intersection of the 69 and 24 on the south side of FW to the Carmel area near Indianapolis.
A little history/background
I love biking.
Graduated of IU in 88 and 92. I’m 42
I have worked in FW
I have family and friends up and down all of Indiana but my wife and family live in Thousand Oaks, CA.
I’m a decent endurance MTB.
This summer I'm flying out to Indiana to visit my parents in Bloomington, my brother in Fort Wayne and several friends in Indianapolis. I'm also bringing my MT bike to ride BCSP and race in the Super D race in Aug.
In a nutshell, as I map out my travel plans from city to city, it's turning out that it will be very inconvenient for my brother to shuttle me back to Indy to the Carmel area on the day I want to travel (Aug 11th). I was somewhat serious when I suggested to him that I wouldn't mind biking from the intersections of 69 and 24, through Huntington, through Marian, through Elwood to Carmel. route 24, 9 and 37. It's just under 100 miles.
Question: Have you ever tried to bike along those roads to Indy? Is it legal? I don't remember any biking lanes but the shoulder lanes are wide but a little rough. Do you know of anyone who has ever made the trip along those roads?
Overall, the distance and elevation wouldn't be an issue for me. Yesterday, I did a MTB training ride here in southern CA of 57.5 miles and 8,200 feet of ascent. (Next week is my first endurance race of the season, 86 miles and 12,000+ feet of ascent.)
I'm just concerned about the safety and legal stuff of riding on those roads. Should I be concerned about anything else?
Thanks for your advice
I tried the new Google Maps Bike feature but it takes me off 24,9,37 on a few places to hit the back roads. I'm not 100% why it allows me to ride on the state highways at times and takes me past the corn fields on some other miles.
Joe
jkeays@roadrunner.com
I received this email a few weeks ago and told Joe that I would put the word out to the Fort Wayne contingent in order to try to solicit help that I myself can not provide.
His email is listed below so give him a shout please if you have any great ideas for him. Or email me and I will be sure to get it to him.
Thank You.
FWBC
Hi
I’ll try to make a long story short.
I was just researching via the Internet if you bike legally and safely from the intersection of the 69 and 24 on the south side of FW to the Carmel area near Indianapolis.
A little history/background
I love biking.
Graduated of IU in 88 and 92. I’m 42
I have worked in FW
I have family and friends up and down all of Indiana but my wife and family live in Thousand Oaks, CA.
I’m a decent endurance MTB.
This summer I'm flying out to Indiana to visit my parents in Bloomington, my brother in Fort Wayne and several friends in Indianapolis. I'm also bringing my MT bike to ride BCSP and race in the Super D race in Aug.
In a nutshell, as I map out my travel plans from city to city, it's turning out that it will be very inconvenient for my brother to shuttle me back to Indy to the Carmel area on the day I want to travel (Aug 11th). I was somewhat serious when I suggested to him that I wouldn't mind biking from the intersections of 69 and 24, through Huntington, through Marian, through Elwood to Carmel. route 24, 9 and 37. It's just under 100 miles.
Question: Have you ever tried to bike along those roads to Indy? Is it legal? I don't remember any biking lanes but the shoulder lanes are wide but a little rough. Do you know of anyone who has ever made the trip along those roads?
Overall, the distance and elevation wouldn't be an issue for me. Yesterday, I did a MTB training ride here in southern CA of 57.5 miles and 8,200 feet of ascent. (Next week is my first endurance race of the season, 86 miles and 12,000+ feet of ascent.)
I'm just concerned about the safety and legal stuff of riding on those roads. Should I be concerned about anything else?
Thanks for your advice
I tried the new Google Maps Bike feature but it takes me off 24,9,37 on a few places to hit the back roads. I'm not 100% why it allows me to ride on the state highways at times and takes me past the corn fields on some other miles.
Joe
jkeays@roadrunner.com
Friday, April 30, 2010
What we know about bike infrastructure: people want it
I really hope that President Obama is around for more than four years because Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, kicks ass! That is, if you like bikes.
Why devote resources to a transportation mode that fewer than 10% of the nation is using? Well, bike infrastructure is relatively inexpensive--particularly if you compare it to, say, adding a lane to an existing roadway. Now, imagine if those people who do bike around chose instead to make all of their trips in single-occupancy vehicles. Our already congested roadways would be brought to a halt.
So, even for those folks who have no interest in bicycling, this relatively low investment actually pays dividends for those who still choose to drive. Everybody wins.
And the fact is, as Washington, DC, DOT Director Gabe Klein noted on NPR, "We see a direct correlation between our investment in bike infrastructure and an uptick in usage. When you make it hassle-free and inexpensive for people to use a certain mode, they will use it."
The whole post here
Why devote resources to a transportation mode that fewer than 10% of the nation is using? Well, bike infrastructure is relatively inexpensive--particularly if you compare it to, say, adding a lane to an existing roadway. Now, imagine if those people who do bike around chose instead to make all of their trips in single-occupancy vehicles. Our already congested roadways would be brought to a halt.
So, even for those folks who have no interest in bicycling, this relatively low investment actually pays dividends for those who still choose to drive. Everybody wins.
And the fact is, as Washington, DC, DOT Director Gabe Klein noted on NPR, "We see a direct correlation between our investment in bike infrastructure and an uptick in usage. When you make it hassle-free and inexpensive for people to use a certain mode, they will use it."
The whole post here
Detroit....,What?
No one really takes me seriously but I believe that Detroit is the last frontier. The opportunities that will begin to present themselves for a really sweet community is going to happen for Detroit. I am stoked for the residents that they will start to see things go for that City that has been hard on its luck for so long. Cheap houses and 30 miles of new bike lanes. What more could you ask for?
BY MATT HELMS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Detroit is embarking on an ambitious plan to create bike lanes on roads across town, giving cyclists like Jon Koller designated space for riding as city leaders and community groups rethink street and land use in a shrinking city.
It's a big change. Although the city is starting with about 30 miles in a handful of neighborhoods this year, there eventually could be as many as 400 miles of bike lanes in Detroit.
"I think it's going to encourage more people to get out there and take biking as a serious form of transportation," said Koller, 25, who lives in the city's Corktown neighborhood and commutes by bike to Wayne State University, where he's a doctoral student in transportation engineering.
Supporters envision a city that's easier to maneuver without a car, with bike lanes and paths connecting the Cultural Center, Mexicantown, parks and other attractions.
The largest share of 30 miles of marked on-street bike lanes that the city plans to add this year will be 17 miles in southwest Detroit connecting the Corktown and Mexicantown neighborhoods.
That area also will get nearly 12 miles of roads designated as bike routes, with signs directing cyclists to destinations and alerting drivers to bicycle traffic but no painted bike lanes.
Other bike lanes will be added on streets near Wayne State University in Midtown, the New Center area and the city's east side as Detroit spends more than $3.6 million -- mostly federal funds with matching grants provided by private nonprofit groups -- for signs and repainting on the first batch of what ultimately could be hundreds of miles of lanes set aside for cyclists.
Read the whole story HERE
BY MATT HELMS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Detroit is embarking on an ambitious plan to create bike lanes on roads across town, giving cyclists like Jon Koller designated space for riding as city leaders and community groups rethink street and land use in a shrinking city.
It's a big change. Although the city is starting with about 30 miles in a handful of neighborhoods this year, there eventually could be as many as 400 miles of bike lanes in Detroit.
"I think it's going to encourage more people to get out there and take biking as a serious form of transportation," said Koller, 25, who lives in the city's Corktown neighborhood and commutes by bike to Wayne State University, where he's a doctoral student in transportation engineering.
Supporters envision a city that's easier to maneuver without a car, with bike lanes and paths connecting the Cultural Center, Mexicantown, parks and other attractions.
The largest share of 30 miles of marked on-street bike lanes that the city plans to add this year will be 17 miles in southwest Detroit connecting the Corktown and Mexicantown neighborhoods.
That area also will get nearly 12 miles of roads designated as bike routes, with signs directing cyclists to destinations and alerting drivers to bicycle traffic but no painted bike lanes.
Other bike lanes will be added on streets near Wayne State University in Midtown, the New Center area and the city's east side as Detroit spends more than $3.6 million -- mostly federal funds with matching grants provided by private nonprofit groups -- for signs and repainting on the first batch of what ultimately could be hundreds of miles of lanes set aside for cyclists.
Read the whole story HERE
Commuting
I have been preaching this for a long time now. Move closer to where you work/shop/eat/go to school/whatever. Get out of your car! Sell your house in the suburbs and get to it.
This post is great.
by Jonah Lehrer
Of course, as Brooks notes, that time in traffic is torture, and the big house isn't worth it. According to the calculations of Frey and Stutzer, a person with a one-hour commute has to earn 40 percent more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the office. Another study, led by Daniel Kahneman and the economist Alan Krueger, surveyed nine hundred working women in Texas and found that commuting was, by far, the least pleasurable part of their day.
Why is traffic so unpleasant? One reason is that it's a painful ritual we never get used to - the flow of traffic is inherently unpredictable. As a result, we don't habituate to the suffering of rush hour. (Ironically, if traffic was always bad, and not just usually bad, it would be easier to deal with. So the commutes that really kill us are those rare days when the highways are clear.) As the Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert notes, "Driving in traffic is a different kind of hell every day."
Read it!
This post is great.
by Jonah Lehrer
Of course, as Brooks notes, that time in traffic is torture, and the big house isn't worth it. According to the calculations of Frey and Stutzer, a person with a one-hour commute has to earn 40 percent more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the office. Another study, led by Daniel Kahneman and the economist Alan Krueger, surveyed nine hundred working women in Texas and found that commuting was, by far, the least pleasurable part of their day.
Why is traffic so unpleasant? One reason is that it's a painful ritual we never get used to - the flow of traffic is inherently unpredictable. As a result, we don't habituate to the suffering of rush hour. (Ironically, if traffic was always bad, and not just usually bad, it would be easier to deal with. So the commutes that really kill us are those rare days when the highways are clear.) As the Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert notes, "Driving in traffic is a different kind of hell every day."
Read it!
Bicycles and the ‘Immigrant Effect’
I just wanted to share this with you all due to the fact that there are so many out there that have no choice but to bike and I think that they are an important population that as the Bike Fort Wayne thing gets off the ground, must be considered.
Bicycles and the ‘Immigrant Effect’
Finally, some research that may have positive public health implications for minorities! (Or at least recent immigrants.)
By Elisabeth Best
Immigrants tend to be healthier than native-born Americans when they arrive in the United States, but within a generation that advantage is lost. A new study by UCLA doctoral candidate Michael Smart suggests one reason why. In the May issue of Transportation Policy he describes findings that new immigrants — legal or not — are twice as likely to travel by bicycle than native-born Americans.
Smart believes that transportation planning agencies should include immigrant communities when planning bicycle networks and facilities. Pointing to the example of the Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan Update, he argues that this is not currently a priority. Although L.A. County has the largest concentration of immigrants in the U.S., immigrant community outreach has not been incorporated into city planning. In fact, an Internet survey was the most significant element of the public participation process for the bike plan revision.
Read the entire story here
Bicycles and the ‘Immigrant Effect’
Finally, some research that may have positive public health implications for minorities! (Or at least recent immigrants.)
By Elisabeth Best
Immigrants tend to be healthier than native-born Americans when they arrive in the United States, but within a generation that advantage is lost. A new study by UCLA doctoral candidate Michael Smart suggests one reason why. In the May issue of Transportation Policy he describes findings that new immigrants — legal or not — are twice as likely to travel by bicycle than native-born Americans.
Smart believes that transportation planning agencies should include immigrant communities when planning bicycle networks and facilities. Pointing to the example of the Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan Update, he argues that this is not currently a priority. Although L.A. County has the largest concentration of immigrants in the U.S., immigrant community outreach has not been incorporated into city planning. In fact, an Internet survey was the most significant element of the public participation process for the bike plan revision.
Read the entire story here
AIDS task force 12K ride
Hey ya'll.
Life at work and with the family has come first as of late and I have let the Bike commuter site go.
It is not that I haven't been thinking about biking or about bike issues or trying to figure out with Vince what we are going to talk about with regard to bike transportation at the summit though.
I hope that you all are well and enjoying the nice weather (I actually broke a sweat on the way home today, yuck).
We are going to do this ride tomorrow and if none of you have heard about it and want to support a good cause and get on you bike with some other people and go somewhere and then come back then this is the event for you.
2010 marks the 25th year of the AIDS Task Force of Northeast Indiana. This year's 5k walk (and we've added a 12k ride) on May 1st will be the culminating event of our 8 month long celebration of service to the area. VIVE LE ROUGE! (pronounced "veev luh roojh") is French for "Long Live Red!" This theme captures what the red ribbon and the 25th anniversary are all about: - Long live the momory of those we've lost. Long live those who survive. Long live our commitment to a future without AIDS. Register yourself, a team, or sponsor someone you know below to help this the biggest and best AIDS Walk & Ride ever! Each registrant raising $50 receives a Portley-design T-shirt. All proceeds benefit the programs and service of the AIDS Task Force.
REGISTER HERE for VIVE LE ROUGE!!!
What: Vive le Rouge! - AIDS Walk & Ride
Where: Headwaters Park East
When: Saturday, May 1, 3pm-10pm
Registration will begin at 3pm with the 12k ride and 5k walk routes leading off at 4:30pm with the Fort Wayne Derby Girls. Afterwards, join us back under the Lincoln Pavillion for more food, fun, drinks, and live music. See more details and our sponsors under the "Events" tab. To volunteer, call the office at 744.1144 or send an email to info@aidsfortwayne.org
Check the link out here
Life at work and with the family has come first as of late and I have let the Bike commuter site go.
It is not that I haven't been thinking about biking or about bike issues or trying to figure out with Vince what we are going to talk about with regard to bike transportation at the summit though.
I hope that you all are well and enjoying the nice weather (I actually broke a sweat on the way home today, yuck).
We are going to do this ride tomorrow and if none of you have heard about it and want to support a good cause and get on you bike with some other people and go somewhere and then come back then this is the event for you.
2010 marks the 25th year of the AIDS Task Force of Northeast Indiana. This year's 5k walk (and we've added a 12k ride) on May 1st will be the culminating event of our 8 month long celebration of service to the area. VIVE LE ROUGE! (pronounced "veev luh roojh") is French for "Long Live Red!" This theme captures what the red ribbon and the 25th anniversary are all about: - Long live the momory of those we've lost. Long live those who survive. Long live our commitment to a future without AIDS. Register yourself, a team, or sponsor someone you know below to help this the biggest and best AIDS Walk & Ride ever! Each registrant raising $50 receives a Portley-design T-shirt. All proceeds benefit the programs and service of the AIDS Task Force.
REGISTER HERE for VIVE LE ROUGE!!!
What: Vive le Rouge! - AIDS Walk & Ride
Where: Headwaters Park East
When: Saturday, May 1, 3pm-10pm
Registration will begin at 3pm with the 12k ride and 5k walk routes leading off at 4:30pm with the Fort Wayne Derby Girls. Afterwards, join us back under the Lincoln Pavillion for more food, fun, drinks, and live music. See more details and our sponsors under the "Events" tab. To volunteer, call the office at 744.1144 or send an email to info@aidsfortwayne.org
Check the link out here
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