Sunday Comics

Not quite a comic today, but this is my blog and I still found this comical, so deal with it, nerds.

For only $800 you could be the proud owner of a bike that is guaranteed to have hipsters everywhere telling you "I knew of this before you did."

Aside from the initial ridiculous look and about a 80% kill-rate when you hit a pothole, I kind of want one.

(Don't) Blame Canada - Toronto's Bike Sharing Program

For those of you that have been steady readers since I first started this blog last year (there are about 150 of you from what I can tell… *internet high-five*), then you probably realize that I am somewhat obsessed with riding my bike even though it is a relatively crappy mountain bike that I treat like a road bike.

So, it probably comes as no surprise that I am going to keep on punching away on bike-sharing topics. The most recent development comes from Toronto where they are starting a new bike sharing program as an extension of their public transportation system.

I love these programs because they address two topics which I think everyone needs to take seriously:

• Carbon Emissions
• Personal Health

Here is how Toronto’s program will work:

In order to rent bicycles through BIXI’s program, users are encouraged to subscribe to an annual membership, however, occasional users are also welcome and can take out bicycles using credit cards. Similar to bike-sharing programs around the world, BIXI’s annual members can rent bicycles for free for the first half-hour, with additional charges for extra time of usage.

Bike sharing is awesome because instead of one person owning a bike and parking it for an entire day where it isn’t used, multiple people can enjoy a whole system of bikes. This alleviates traffic, carbon emissions, and fat people - all things I would like to see resolved in the near future.

Either way, take a look at the full article, it is good stuff: Full Article

Short Comment Friday: Bike Path Edition

Welcome to Short Comment Friday!!! This is a new segment spawned purely out of laziness, because lets face it, I'm on vacation in Florida and the 80°F weather has destroyed any ounce of productivity I may have had before I went to the beach.

While I have been down here on Sanibel Island, I have fallen in love with bike riding all over again. This island has bike paths all over the island that allow you travel quicker than you would be able to in a car.

Long story short, I wish all areas were like this.

Now I'm off to have a staring contest with this guy!

Back To Basics: Bike Infrastructure

Living near Chicago, I have enjoyed the perks of having various bike paths throughout the city and along the lake. It is great exercise and provides and cheap way to get from point A to B without emitting any pollution or consuming fuel.

My Sweet Ride

This addresses two obvious issues that are very important to this country:

• Weight Control
• Energy Consumption

To my surprise though, job creation may be addressed through the expansion of a biking infrastructure. A study in Baltimore has shown that the investment into biking infrastructures creates more jobs when compared to a focus on traditional roadways:

Each $1 million spent creating on-street bike lanes directly creates 7.9 jobs and creates a total of 14.4 jobs when we include the indirect and induced effects,” the author, Heidi Garrett-Peltier, writes, “The two categories of road repairs have the lowest employment effects, with 3-4 direct jobs and approximately 7 total jobs created for each $1 million.

Obviously this interests me because biking reduces pollution and helps people lead a healthier life, all while being financially attractive to the government.

As I have said before, the only way any of these environmentally friendly projects will achieve staying power is if they make financially sound arguments, and as far as I can tell from this Baltimore study, a furthered investment into biking infrastructures seems like a no-brainer.