Ride Boldly!

Bikes, bicycling, and road safety.

February 7, 2009
by julie
Comments Off on Urgent Alert: Stimulus Bill Amendment

Urgent Alert: Stimulus Bill Amendment

Via the Thunderhead Alliance, there is an alert that Senator DeMint of South Carolina wishes to propose an amendment to the federal stimulus package to specifically prohibit infrastructure spending on facilities to benefit bicyclists, walkers, and users of off-road vehicles.

It hasn’t been formally introduced to the package as yet, but the League of American Bicyclists has put together a way to get a call in to your Senator to urge they vote against it. Minnesotans will wish to call an office of their sole Senator, Amy Klobuchar.

To claim such projects do not help stimulate the economy is a little precious. I’m sure our friends in Northern Minnesota can tell everyone how the economy is hurting winter resorts that get a lot of snowmobilers, and who will feel similar impact around ATVs come summer. Similarly, providing better access to regular use of bicycles helps Amercans save money at the pump and reallocate their funds to food, shleter, and other niceties and necessities. Construction of these projects, as with any other construction project, employs people. Employed people are a good thing.

January 6, 2009
by julie
Comments Off on Weekend on Wheels 2009

Weekend on Wheels 2009

The Twin Cities Bicycling Club has announced the 2009 Weekend on Wheels event. This year’s event will again be in Winona, Minnesota, and is scheduled for July 31, August 1 and August 2, 2009.

One special thing about this year’s event is that it will be the partner for the League of American Bicyclists National Rally of Bicyclists. TCBC and Winona will welcome bikers from across the country for the weekend’s festivities!

The weekend will feature riding, eating, and educational opportunities, including a session of the LAB’s Traffic Skills 101 course (formerly known as Road I).

Complete info on the event, as it develops, is posted on the Weekend on Wheels website at www.bikewow.org.

December 15, 2008
by julie
1 Comment

Bike Commuter Benefits ‘Begin’ January 1

…unfortunately, it seems as though no one is quite sure how to implement it, and the IRS isn’t helping much.

The Chicago Tribune has a story on it today.

Under the measure, which passed with the $700B bailout plan, cyclists would get $20 each month toward reimbursable expenses if they ride their bikes to work regularly.

Problem is: What’s ‘regularly?’ How will the IRS define ‘reimbursable?’

Another problem is that if a commuter uses another commuting benefit – like a transit benefit that helps reimburse for train or bus passes – they’re ineligible, even if they’re going multi-modal (bike to bus, bike to bike locker, hop on train). Or, rather, they have to pick one, and the transit pass benefit tends to slay the bicycle benefit for dollar value.

Frankly, I can’t blame employers for wanting the IRS to weigh in. Transit benefits have an easier paper trail: Buy a pass. Turn in pass for reimbursement. It’s obvious. The bike benefit is less obvious, and no one likes running afoul of the IRS.

December 14, 2008
by julie
2 Comments

Pediatrics Study: Bike Helmets for Children

A recent Pediatrics study of bicycle-related mortality rates in Ontario, Canada, from 1991 to 2002 among bicyclists 1 to 15 years of age set out to determine the effect of legislation requiring minors to wear bicycle helmets.

They found that as children under 15 years of age were required to wear helmets, the youth mortality rate from bicycle accidents decreased significantly.

I would throw in as an important adjunct that parents who strap the helmet on their kid and then don’t wear one themselves provide poor role model behavior to their kids. Adults are prone to all sorts of accidents that may have little to do with skill and more about happenstance (or even just ‘riding with kids, who are less predictable’). Concussions are no fun, and even non-serious head knocks can be awfully bloody. Watching the adult role model bleed profusely from a head wound is unlikely to be a great formative experience for a child. Or so I’d guess. I’d suggest avoiding field study of this, anyway, per my mother’s classic rule: Blood belongs inside the body.

December 12, 2008
by julie
2 Comments

Budget Cuts Impacting Snow Clearance?

The sidepaths of Dakota County have typically been plowed the past few years. My commute often takes me up Lexington Avenue, which has sidepaths down both sides. While I am typically no fan of sidepaths, I grant them their especial utility for winter commuting when plowed. It helps when there are paths on both sides of the street, to help users travel with prevailing traffic.

This year? The only part of the sidepaths I’ve seen plowed appear to have been cleared by neighboring property owners.

My suspicion, which I have yet to confirm, is this is one way to help deal with budget shortfalls and an anticipated drop in state aid to communities.

Given that Minneapolis is doomed to be especially impacted by the drop in state aid, I wonder if we’re looking at the end of the regular clearance of commuter byways such as the Midtown Greenway?