Posts tagged “commute”  

I ran into Buddha on my way to the Thursday night race in Seattle. He caught my attention because Buddha is a Briard (same breed that I have) which popular in the south of France, but is sort of rare for the states. Buddha rides in the trailer to and from the office most every day with his owner, and while Briards look like a big pile of fur, they weight almost 100lbs. I didn't catch the owner's name, but he was riding a sweet Davidson with S&S couplers.

Quote from the owner, "His name is Buddha - he's all about happiness". Looked pretty happy to me!

Readers tipped us to a story from Asheville North Carolina where a city firefighter has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after he fired a handgun at a bicyclist.

"Charles Alexander Diez, 42, apparently fired at the Asheville man after arguing with him about riding his bike on the busy road with his 3-year-old child in a bike seat behind him," Asheville Police Capt. Tim Splain said.

Predictably, the cyclist deserved it comments will get posted to the article. There isn't a story the media runs in Seattle where the Bike Hater Club doesn't show up and say that, even when a death occurs. This story brings out the gun advocates and is reminiscent of the face-smashing Colorado incident with a cop.

In the 3 years we've been publishing this blog and all the riding we do, I don't understand the hate or violence. It's rooted in American's tendency to judge everyone else and what they're doing, car-based economy, drivers don't expect us on the road, and what? I just shake my head sometimes.

Updates

• Quickrelease.tv posts about the helmet and the bullet.
• The title was edited changing "shot" to "shot at"

Hat tip: wingbatwu and torndorff.

Updating our post from yesterday with Byrne's Bicycle Diaries Book Tour dates. BikeJuJu noted he's stopping in Seattle on September 28th before the Portland event.

From earlier this year, a profile of Portland's Earl Blumenauer whose mission is to create a sustainable society and do so with bicycles.

"We have been flogging this bicycle thing for 20 years . . . All of a sudden it's hot."

Cycling is hot and David Byrne will talk about "seeing the world from the seat of a bike" at a release party for his new book, the Bicycle Diaries, on September 30th.

Bike Portland has for the details.

Myballard posts on cyclists being hit by blow darts in Ballard:

"I was riding on the east side bike lane, heading north. I heard a little "pop" sound then felt a sting. My first reaction was that it was a rock that had been run over and shot out at me."

"I was also hit with a dart in Ballard," says "Mksprout" in the forum"

Photo: Myballard

We've heard of cyclist having things thrown at them, being shot at, brushed and harrased, but blowdarts is new.

Hat tip to Monica Guzman.

Update

King 5 ran the story tonight with video online.

Link Light rail opened this weekend. JJTweets is riding the rails for us to report on how bike friendly the trains and stations are.

Uploaded by Seattle Transit Blog | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation is offering a pilot program this week for fourth- through sixth-grade students in Pemberton Township. NJ Bike School

is a free, comprehensive bicycle safety program that educates children about sharing the road safely with motor vehicles and pedestrians," DOT Commissioner Stephen Dilts said. "This program could improve bicycle safety, pediatric health and the environment."

We'd like to see that extended to adults as well, like the ones that don't know about holding their line around the corner where Spokane meets Alaskan Way.

Like many, I get more jaded each year in the sport of cycling. The doping, controversies, fallen heroes, racing locally in parking lots, and so on. However, a stage like today's Team Time Trial brings me and the crew right back to being in love with le Tour. Before that it was Cancellara rocketing to a win and Cavendish turning on the afterburners with his ego antics full on.

It's Vive le Tour time here at Hugga HQ. Frank, a contributor and TDF blogger, noted

When the wheels start to turn, I can't look away

Even Cap'n the Pug was watching today.

Love it or hate it, if you ride a bike you can't deny it. As I wrote on Twitter, "Guaranteed, there's a commuter heading to work now, that's going to rip it up, in their own Team Time Trial." Commuter Challenges are that much faster during le Tour and we see the Euros out on the bike paths, riders you never see, except in July. They're kitted up like their heroes, throwing down on a lunch ride, and fancying themselves a climber on the way home.

This weekend at Redmond Derby Days and Seattle to Portland expect a faster pace with someone making up the seconds between placings.

Are you fired up about the Tour as well? Join the convo about the Tour in the blog comments and our live chats. Really, did you imagine that Lance would have 0 seconds to yellow before the mountains or at all?

Do something good for your country, and your community on the 4th. Skip the driving slog to the various viewpoints for the big fireworks shows. Dig out those winter commuting lights and roll past the lines of traffic in the bike lane. If you're watching the Seattle Chase Family 4th show, the Burke-Gilman trail will get you on your way quickly. I heard from Gregg's that there is even organized bike parking for the Seattle show at Gasworks Park. Do something patriotic and safe yourself the hassle.

We visited Herriott Sports Performance, a facility for cyclists training for all types of events; a personal best commute, the big charity ride, or race.

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We're here in Minneapolis at a Specialized-sponsored media event for the unveiling of the new Globe Brand Bikes.

Globe is a new urban line from Specialized.

The Haul greeted us at the train stop and took our bags. More details as we ride and review the bikes. That's an Alfine class commuter with a bent-wood rack.

David Byrne is on the cover of Fader's current issue and takes them on a tour of his office. At the end of clip 2, there's his bike, an unremarkable commuter -- fitting for riding around NYC.

Byrne is a long-time cyclist and advocate. We've covered Byrne previously on Bike Hugger and he's got a bike book out this Fall.

• Show us Your Rack
• David Byrne's Bike Stolen
• New York Bike Rides

Also read his review of Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities.

Streetfilms video with Matthew Modine on the advocacy group Bicycle for a Day:

Roadies, fixed, commuters, e-bikes, all seen on yesterday's ride. I was back on the bike after 5 days off and it was a good day to ride.

"Three feminist PhD candidates at a Midwest university, on a crusade against the ill-fitting polyester suit of academic yore," also ride their bikes around campus and town.

This photo is from Bike to Work week. Also see Pinned skirt and Flower Skirt.

Uploaded by academichic | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

On the Microsoft Campus, during Bike to Work Day 2009, we spotted a Front-Wheel Drive Recumbent.

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More

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• More videos
• Huggacasts are also available in the iTunes podcast directory.

We rode over to the East Side to commute with Sam Lester from Microsoft on Bike to Work Day 2009.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

iPhone Users

iPhone users can access our Huggacasts via the iTunes Store on a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

More

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• More videos
• Huggacasts are also available in the iTunes podcast directory.

Best Ride to Work Day Schwag EVER! Free Smartwool Socks AND a branded tail light. REI was there with the SmartWool Rep Tracy Ross. I've got more waterbottles and mini-Clif bars than I'll ever use, but $15 socks as a giveaway is nuts!

Cascade Bicycle Club releases a report that gives Seattle a B for bicycling. Do you think Seattle deserves a B?

Highlights

"After only two years with an adopted Bicycle Master Plan, the city's service toward bicycling has been commendable," the club said in its 2009 Report Card on Bicycling. "Seattle has nearly doubled the miles of bicycle routes since 2006, added several hundred bicycle racks, decreased the number of bicycle thefts, and maintained a consistent, if not decreasing, bicycle crash rate."

Since 2007, the city has made integrating cycling facilities routine and started finding "innovative and expressive" ways to support cycling, the report said. "In other words, cycling is becoming an icon to Seattle."

Grading

• Satisfaction with pavement quality, D plus
• Bicycle safety, B; satisfaction with bicycle safety, C
• Gender distribution, C
• Satisfaction with bicycle routes, C
• Bicycle participation, B
• Bicycle network, C plus
• Bicycle support facilities, B
• Bicycle counts, B
• Level of bicycling, A minus
• Bicycle Master Plan implementation, B plus
• New bicycle racks, A
• Bicycle service on public transit, B
• Parking and 'end of trip' facilities, C plus
• Bicycle crash rate, B
• Reported bicycle thefts, A plus.

Seattle has certainly improved with wayfinding signage, sharrows, lanes and awareness, but a B? Readers?

There's a definite element of style to transporting a pineapple on your city bike. Place it properly on the custom wood rack, of course, and make sure it's ripe. Get to the office and slice it up in the lunchroom. Share it with your fellow commuters.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.