http://www.child-aid.org/building/bike
11 Mile Family Ride • 30 Mile Ride • 55 Mile Challenge Ride
Sunday, September 20, 2009 in Forest Grove, OR
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Obesity Rates and the BMI
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439
Above is a link to a story on NPR about the Body Mass Index we use in this country to determine the population's obesity rate. I have long questioned the statistics we use so often and the map of the states with the fat rates going up up up. The math expert in this report uses weight and height info off of star athlete's web sites and finds them obese using the BMI formula. So, let's think about this.... We would be overjoyed if everyone in this country started to work out like a NBA star, right? Very active, very good! BUT if everyone did and we use the BMI formula, the overweight/obese rates would sky rocket! Because fit people show up as fat using this measurement tool. So.... here is another idea.. Perhaps we are actually reading the numbers wrong? All these "obese" people are actually fit people? OK, not likely. Well, something to think about!
Above is a link to a story on NPR about the Body Mass Index we use in this country to determine the population's obesity rate. I have long questioned the statistics we use so often and the map of the states with the fat rates going up up up. The math expert in this report uses weight and height info off of star athlete's web sites and finds them obese using the BMI formula. So, let's think about this.... We would be overjoyed if everyone in this country started to work out like a NBA star, right? Very active, very good! BUT if everyone did and we use the BMI formula, the overweight/obese rates would sky rocket! Because fit people show up as fat using this measurement tool. So.... here is another idea.. Perhaps we are actually reading the numbers wrong? All these "obese" people are actually fit people? OK, not likely. Well, something to think about!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Looking for great images from Europe?
Portlander and fellow bike nut and traffic engineering wonk, Greg Raisman has put together a great photo library of some of the innovations he has seen in his travels to Europe. You can view it on his Flickr page here.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
On to Des Moines
As I headed to Des Moines this morning, I had a very pleasant trip to the airport via my extra-cycle. I live about 10 minutes by bike from the airport, so it is easy and really too short. A little longer ride would be welcome on a day like today. IF they ever build it, and that is a big IF, I will live even closer to the high speed rail train station! That, my friends, would be awesome! High speed trains to the Twin Cities, Chicago, St Louis, and many other popular destinations!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Car-Free Challenge
Transform, a local non-profit alliance of green-minded organizations, has started a Car-Free Challenge. It's a lot like the Bike to Work Month activities organized by the MTC here in the Bay Area, but allows individuals to blog and has contests for best stories, photos and videos. I joined and it's getting me back out of the car, after a long 6 months of driving (mostly) to work. (My excuse: baby too young to put on bike and a one-way walk/transit trip of an hour and a half to go four miles.)
If you're interested in my blog, it's here.
If you're interested in my blog, it's here.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Bikes and cars: self-righteousness vs. self-preservation - The Oregonian

Monday June 08, 2009, 9:35 AM
Recently, Stephen Pastis lampooned cyclists in his Pearls Before Swine comic strip (June 2). In one panel, the character Rat says, "I don't know what it is about cyclists, but every one I've ever met has always been so self-righteous."
I had to laugh. The remark hit close to home. Like many Portlanders, I commute by bicycle and I know what sort of reaction we spark among many of our non-cycling fellows. I shared the strip with friends, who said, " It's YOU!"
Later that day, a more serious event cast a different light on the mismatched perspectives of those behind steering wheels and those leaning over handlebars. I was riding home from work on a busy street... [click here for entire article and comments]
Friday, June 5, 2009
Biking Fashion Contest
The New York Times reports on a bicycle fashion contest that was run this spring in a collaboration between Donna Karan and the department of transportation. The winner, a 21-year old from Queens, will have her designs developed as a prototype by DKNY. There's a link to a slide show there.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Velo-City Conference video
I thought this was an interesting little video from the perspective of Portland's Mayor Adams who recently presented at the Velo-City 2009 in Brussels, Belgium. He is joined by Andy D. Clarke, Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Freiker hits Wisconsin (Thanks Trek!)
http://tinyurl.com/lmvvxb
Should we be in touch with Trek to see what other good ideas they can fund? Perhaps they are short on ideas and we can help out?
Should we be in touch with Trek to see what other good ideas they can fund? Perhaps they are short on ideas and we can help out?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Bike Speed Vest
Check out this cool invention: the reflective vest that shows your speed. Some of you may have seen it in action at the Pro Walk Pro Bike conference in Seattle. If you're in the Bay Area on May 30th, Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) is going to be sponsoring a fun ride to display the vest.
The makers say that it:
- Increases awareness of the bicyclist and bicycling as an efficient way of getting around
- Educates drivers about overtaking bicyclists safely
- Illuminates that an average person can easily bike 10-15 mph (15-25 km/h)
Now what I want is a vest with radar that tells drivers when they are speeding.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Shabby Chic
Copenhagen is all the buzz lately in cycling, with their announcement of hosting Velo City 2010, the Copenhagen Cycle City video making the rounds, and lots of attention being given to the Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic blogs. The city of Copenhagen was certainly a big presence at this year's Velo City with a huge booth that was more of a lounge area complete with couches, a coffee bike (free cappucinos all day long) and about 8 staffers from their bike program hanging out. Copenhagen is positioning itself as the most stylish city in cycling, supported by their Cycle Chic blog which is mostly pictures of attractive gals on bikes showing the rest of us how glamorous riding a bike can be.
This whole emphasis on 'cycle chic' and a recent Copenhagenize discussion about this post http://www.heldenmerk.be/ got me thinking though: is positioning cycling as a 'status' item really the direction we need to head to get more people on bikes? I agree that we need to move beyond the lycra crowd to sell the vision of cycling. But are pictures of women cycling with designer hangbags really the key to getting the general public fired up about riding a bike? Corporate tie-ins? Yeah, that Louis Vuitton-branded Brompton just oozes cool. Good grief.
For me it is pictures like this that get me the most excited about the potential for cycling. A family out cycling in the park, making the most of a pleasant spring evening. Nothing really that stylish about them, just average folks. Maybe my photo wouldn't get many hits on a blog, but I think it is closer to the truth of the users we are trying to attract in the US.
This whole emphasis on 'cycle chic' and a recent Copenhagenize discussion about this post http://www.heldenmerk.be/ got me thinking though: is positioning cycling as a 'status' item really the direction we need to head to get more people on bikes? I agree that we need to move beyond the lycra crowd to sell the vision of cycling. But are pictures of women cycling with designer hangbags really the key to getting the general public fired up about riding a bike? Corporate tie-ins? Yeah, that Louis Vuitton-branded Brompton just oozes cool. Good grief.
For me it is pictures like this that get me the most excited about the potential for cycling. A family out cycling in the park, making the most of a pleasant spring evening. Nothing really that stylish about them, just average folks. Maybe my photo wouldn't get many hits on a blog, but I think it is closer to the truth of the users we are trying to attract in the US.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
How not to get hit by cars
http://bicyclesafe.com/
This is a down to earth explanation of easy ways to get hit by a car and how to avoid such things. We can share this link with our attendees at public meetings and spread the word!
This is a down to earth explanation of easy ways to get hit by a car and how to avoid such things. We can share this link with our attendees at public meetings and spread the word!
New authors abound
Welcome to our new authors joining up today. I believe I have everyone in Alta as an author. So! Post away! If I missed someone, it was inadvertent, so let me know and I will add them.
Soon, I will be posting pics of my bikes. Stay tuned! Post pics of your bikes!
Soon, I will be posting pics of my bikes. Stay tuned! Post pics of your bikes!
Copenhagen Chic
http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/
Here is a cool blog with pics of chic cycling ladies! Check it out!
Here is a cool blog with pics of chic cycling ladies! Check it out!
Complete Streets on the front page of NYT
The New York Times seems to have adopted our cause as its own. At least once a week they have a related article on the front of their web addition. And as we know, some of our comrades have been quoted in the paper of record. Lauren should post that link here on the blog, don't you agree?
Anyway here is the latest, http://tinyurl.com/r32op7
Thanks to Kim for the tiny URL hook up.
Anyway here is the latest, http://tinyurl.com/r32op7
Thanks to Kim for the tiny URL hook up.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Where does it all lead?
Sometimes we all get so caught up in the here-and-now that we forget the grand purpose of what we're doing. What's the point of all this? What will these bicycle and pedestrian improvements achieve? Why don't I receive immediate gratification and increased from laying down some markings on a street?
I think this video does a pretty great job of showing us where good planning and effort can take a city:
Found on Streetsblog.
I think this video does a pretty great job of showing us where good planning and effort can take a city:
Copenhagen - City of Cyclists from Colville Andersen on Vimeo.
According to the artist "It took forty years of incremental improvements for the city to attain that level* of bike ridership." *That level is half a million Copenhageners.Found on Streetsblog.
Door someone and go to Jail
In Wisconsin news, both houses of the state Legislature passed a bill requiring drivers to look before opening their doors. What a fantastic idea! They also eliminated the rule that bikers must stay at least three feet from parked cars. The change, similar to a recent change in Madison ordinances, was prompted by a recent crash in Madison in which the bicyclists who got doored received a ticket from the cops in addition to her cracked vertebra. Nice get well card!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Drive Less. Save More. ad campaign!
The Portland Metro regional government recently put out a call for short videos to promote their Drive Less. Save More. alternative transportation campaign. The resulting ads promote bicycling, walking, carpooling, and public transit as viable alternatives to drive alone trips and are a great way to encourage people to change the way they think about getting around. You can view the top ads online here.
Critical Mass
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/may/07/cycling-safety-york-calderdale
News from the UK: More cyclists = fewer "accidents" (they meant crashes). So, there is something to critical mass after all. Now, get out and ride!
News from the UK: More cyclists = fewer "accidents" (they meant crashes). So, there is something to critical mass after all. Now, get out and ride!
Moon Walking Bear
I have been using the "moon walking bear" video in my presentations, even in my project interviews, to drive home the point about the education "E". I show the video, without much intro. And then I give short talk about how we educate drivers to look for autos, and not bikes and peds and just as in the video, by simply asking people to watch out for them we can improve safety.
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47LCLoidJh4
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47LCLoidJh4
Introductions
Hello my fellows at Alta- I have started up this blog for us to use to post things of interest to the group. I started it because I hate to use the "all-staff" email, yet there ARE things I feel I want to share with my fellow staff. I will make all of us "authors" and everyone will be able to post and view the blog. For now I have restricted those who can view it to authors only. We can see if there is a need or desire to broaden our readership as we go on.
If something like this already exists at Alta, for pete's sake! Let me know and I will back down with my blog!
Here is the first thing I wanted to share with my fellows at Alta:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF4x01MkzE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbikeportland.org%2F2009%2F04%2F28%2Fpull-over-id-like-to-give-you-a-hug%2F&feature=player_embedded
If something like this already exists at Alta, for pete's sake! Let me know and I will back down with my blog!
Here is the first thing I wanted to share with my fellows at Alta:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF4x01MkzE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbikeportland.org%2F2009%2F04%2F28%2Fpull-over-id-like-to-give-you-a-hug%2F&feature=player_embedded
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