• Safety Suggestions, Some Better Than Others

    Riding to work this morning I crossed the site of bicyclist Lance David’s death. I still don’t know why this tragedy happened, but I do have a few observations on what will– and will not– make things safer for those of us still riding. First, actions speak louder than words.  Today, a motorist stuck his…

  • Better Beginnings

    This was what I had expected to post yesterday to begin Bike to Work Month…. our bike lawyer Dave Catechi taking his boys to school on his way to work yesterday. Today Dave, John McHale and I rode to Cascade’s Bike to Work Breakfast.  I am please to report that we all arrived safely.  We…

  • Bad Beginnings

    This is not how Bike to Work Month should begin.  Someone was killed this morning, presumably riding to work.  I saw him on my ride in. People are already speculating about what happened.  My job is to prove whose fault collisions were, but as a bicyclist I don’t want collisions to occur in the first…

  • PLAY BIKE BINGO

    You’ve probably heard of Bike to Work Day.  You may know there’s also Bike to Work Week, Bike to School Day and Bike Month. But now… what we’ve all been waiting for… there’s BIKE MONTH BINGO! Download a  BIKE MONTH BINGO playing card: BINGO.pdf

  • Fed Ex, UPS, Fractures and Bringing Bicycling to Afghani Women

    Today is the 40th anniversary of Federal Express, now known as Fed Ex. Although UPS started in Seattle as a bike messenger service, we have Fed Ex here too, as shown below, parked in a bike lane… Interestingly, when Fed Ex trucks park in bike lanes and open their doors, their logo reads “FX”, which…

  • A Real Proposal for Mayor McGinn: Protect Pedestrians and Bicyclists Throughout Seattle

    Seattle’s Mayor McGinn was elected using his “Mike Bikes” campaign slogan.  His detractors sometimes call him Mayor McSchwinn.  And yet, despite the rhetoric, Seattle remains a dangerous place for bicyclists and pedestrians. The Stranger was instrumental in electing McGinn and has been pushing him to embrace the bicycle-focus on which he was elected.  Bethany Jean…

  • AAA and Rodney King… Maybe we can all get along

    There’s a new PSA out from AAA, the American Automobile Association, which has been described by the Sierra Club as “a lobbyist for more roads, more pollution, and more gas guzzling” that actually seems pretty good. What do you think? Remember Rodney King? Now that AAA likes bikes, will this be next?

  • New Commuting Statistics for Downtown Seattle

    Commute Seattle is about to release a study on commute modes in Downtown Seattle. More people ride transit (43%) than drive alone (34%). This is good. But more people “telework/flex” (4%) than ride bikes to work (3%).  Who wants to bet which workers are more productive?  Yahoo anyone? Perhaps the take-home on this is that…

  • It’s not how many bike lanes you have, it’s how safe the ride is…

    Bike Lanes are getting press again in NYC. A recent poll found that 66 percent of New Yorkers said bike lanes were a good idea while 27 percent called them a bad idea. Mayoral candidate Christine C. Quinn said she placed bike lanes “in the category of things you shouldn’t discuss at dinner parties,” alongside…

  • Do we need SB 5564, the safe passing bill?

    The Bicycle Alliance says it’s “just common sense” to allow the crossing of “double yellow lines on an empty road to safely pass a person walking or biking on the shoulder”.  They “just want to make sure you don’t get a ticket for doing something so sensible.”  We agree.  But has anyone actually ever been issued…