The Gasoline Crunch; It Will Come To Your Town Too!

 Back in the 20’s, I think the dialogue went something like this. “We’ll get them addicted to oil by building communities that you can’t walk in. We’ll spread the taxpayers out all over this great land. They’ll have to use our gas to get to school & work. Eventually, we’ll run out of the stuff… and as the population explodes, WHAM!!!! We’ll run up the prices. In our free market, our corporations write the rules. It’s perfect!”

Today, we have a major problem. If we’d get the hell out of our cars to hear the message that freedom from this stress is right here. Get out of our cars, get on our bikes & ride; We’ll be free. Save the gas for when we need it.

This afternoon, Aug 23rd, 2008, I rode by a hundred or so cars, with their engines on, belching fumes & impatience. “Send this video to the President!” One guy screamed to me as I pedalled by.


Eventually, tow trucks showed up to move the dead vehicles. It is like watching people die of starvation in line at the Mega Buffet. But the world is actually quite normal outside the panic of a motorist.

I hope you enjoyed the optimistic tunes of the Flaming Lips, as heard on a recent car commercial (sorry, but already sold-out).

No Gas? No Problem….for some.

Finally some of us are in a great spot riding bikes to and from work, and running our errands without cars.  At last taking my child to school in a Burley trailer puts me in a position of envy!

In case you didn’t know, the Southeast is amid a serious gas shortage.  We haven’t seen gas lines like this since the Carter administration.  People are waiting 2+ hours for gas, all while the bike commuters pedal home in the sunshine and cooler Fall temps. Check out the thread from the Asheville Citizen Times, note the desperation.

OK…the smugness will end now.  What we all want to see is people take this short term setback as a chance to discover bike commuting!  There really is nothing like freedom of not needing your car and pedaling past ExonMobilConglomo-Mart! 

Cincinnati Commuting Tidbits

May’s Bike Awareness Month is coming up soon in Cincinnati, and the new place to be for all activities related to Cincinnati bicycle commuting and activities is HERE!

• The next general meeting of Cincinnati Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BikePAC) will be Tuesday, April 8 from 6:30-9pm at Arnold’s (210 E 8th Street Downtown - 2nd floor)
• Queen City Bike and Dine this summer! - explore local eateries with other bicyclists beginning June 7.

Downtown Cincinnati bike rack locations

Safe commutes: Hyde Park/Mt Lookout has two good options for downtown commuting. Option A is down Delta and west on Eastern for a relatively easy and quick trip with good shoulder space. Option B takes Observatory or Erie to Madison (shoulder space varies but is mostly pretty good), south on Victory through Walnut Hills and scenic Eden Park, and finish up with a drop down Gilbert.

Petition Google Maps to add “Bike There” feature

Google Maps currently has features in its mapping that enable users to select “Drive There” or “Take Public Transit” options.  There is a petition drive for Google to add a “Bike There” option to its mapping.  We think this is a great idea!  You can view the petition and sign it at this link:  Google Maps ‘Bike There’ Feature Request

Allright Bike Commuters; It’s time to show yourselves

Asheville is poised for change. As documented in our Advocate blog, recently civic minded cyclists have effected change for the good of the whole. 

Much media coverage has been given, here is Mountain Xpress’ take on the good news. much more to come. Check out the awesome speach delivered by ‘Asheville on Bikes’ founder, Michael Sule. Bravo!

Hey Cincinnati, what’s cookin up there? Any good bike project to speak of? And how about you, Pittsburgh?

Great News for Asheville’s Cyclists

Where do we go from here? The “Bike Petition” has an ambitious goal of putting people back to the center of urban planning decisions. The recent Bike Plan speaks to many of the concerns addressed in city councils recent show of support for ‘people-centered planning’. Thanks to everybody that helped get this petition into the right hands. Here is the video of it being turned in at the City Council Meeting on 2/26/08.

Below is the final list of signatures by zip code. These are your servers, your doctors, your painters, your accountants, your attorneys, your babysitters, your teachers, your stockbrokers, your carpenters, your nurses & your neighbors. Here is the Finalized Asheville Bike Petition representing as many as 7300 people. (Originals are on file at Asheville City Hall.)

Considering that some of our leaders may never actually see all the hand signatures, or fully grasp it’s vision, here is a reminder of our mutual realization, as set forth by the “Asheville Bike Petition” Continue reading Great News for Asheville’s Cyclists…

BioWheels Supports “Downtown On The Move” in Asheville

A new program aimed at getting downtown Asheville workers out of their cars and using local merchants kicked off on January 30.

BioWheels is participating in the program because we want to help inform folks that there’s no reason to get in your car at lunchtime and drive to Tunnel Road fast-food-land. It’s much easier (and healthier) to hop on a bike or take to the sidewalk and visit one of the many local food purveyors.

The Asheville Citizen-Times wrote an article about this new program and it features a photo of BioWheels’ Ian Baldwin. Ian is not doing anything special in the photo - he’s just doing what he does almost every day - he’s riding his bike to get where he’s going!

If you need more motivation to get out of your car, or you want to offer incentives at your workplace, check out the article. There’s information on the Downtown Commuter Club, a free downtown commuting/walking map and a list of free programs available to downtown businesses & employees.

On Wednesdays this Spring, there will be a Bike Commuter Group gathering at Asheville Pizza & Brewing on Coxe Avenue next to BioWheels (3/12, 3/26, 4/9, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/21). Join us at 12:15 for a great buffet lunch and to learn tips on better bike commuting. These sessions are geared toward preparing commuters for Strive Not To Drive week May 16-23. See the flier for details: Flyer for “Downtown On The Move” Series
You can also contact the Downtown On The Move program director, Marjorie Vestal at 828.250.6987 or Marjorie.vestal@buncombecounty.org

Step into my Office, Baby…

I am told I should be discussing commuting via the two wheeled rolling wonder, the bicycle.  Two months ago, when this little endeavor started, it would have been a struggle to say it was anything more than a joy.  My story of bike commuting is one of ease and leisure, save for the fact that my commute to work has easily 500 feet of climbing involved, though the hills be rolling.  My story of commuting is also one of dark mornings, seeing your breath in the summer time, afternoon showers, patchwork roads with narrow shoulders, brief stints of heavy traffic, the golf ball-swatting bourgeoisie, afternoons with my Ipod, and moments spent strutting around the office in spandex and reverse heels.  SeXy.

I will tell you my story.  I am lazy.  Not lazy in the true American fashion, involving 3 hours of television per evening and endless supplies of Doritos, but more in the vein of more often than not taking the path of least resistance.  Waking up any earlier than I need to; washing dishes, drying them AND putting them away; finishing my workload AND leaving without having my desk look like a demilitarized zone are all examples of what I am seemingly incapable of doing without a gun to my head.  So, introduce gun to my situation.

I sold my car.

Now, that still leaves me access to a bus line, which does run by my office (at horribly inconvenient hours) and my girlfriend’s car (which seems to run less and less smoothly each time it is started!), but let us call these plan B, for BAAAAAD options in the grand scheme of things. So biking to work it is.  Did I mention I start my work day at 6:30 or 7 AM with my first patient?  Did I mention it is just under a 30 minute commute to the old office?  Did I mention it is awfully hard to peel my sorry ass out of warm bed out into the frigid air and start pedaling to the office at 5:30 in the morn?  Did I mention I’m lazy?

But as with anything, you acclimate.  The receptionist doesn’t ask me if I’m crazy biking six miles to work anymore, or if I need help with the door in as I practice my trackstands.  Honestly, I get the best park space in the joint: inside the utility closet in the gym.  My clients may have to walk accross an entire parking lot, but I hop off my vehicle and am sitting at my desk in 10 steps or less.  Hot.

CommutebyBike.com

Are you interested in learning more about bike commuting? Want more news on commuting issues? Looking to read more from like-minded bike commuters?

Commute by Bike.com is a site you should check on a regular basis. This site is loaded with useful content and news regarding commuting & living without a car. Since discovering the site I have been visiting on a daily basis!

Think your car is 98.6 percent efficient?

Of course not, but your bicycle is!  Johns Hopkins U. always seems to come up with some cool studies and facts…..

” When it comes to efficient use of energy, it’s tough to beat a bike.

That’s what Johns Hopkins University engineers learned when they aimed an infrared camera at a computer-controlled bicycle drive train in a campus lab. The camera detected heat generated by friction as the chain moved through the sprockets under varying conditions. This heat represented wasted energy, and by measuring it, the engineers were able to identify sources of inefficiency……”

Read the whole article here