Category: Northwest Cycling
The first road hazard I ever fell victim to on a bicycle was a storm drain with openings that ran parallel to the road. I picked myself up, danced around as I waited for my road-burned palms to cool off, and said to myself, “I'll never do that again.”
That would have been in the early 1960s. Those road grates have disappeared in many places since then, although they're still quite common on the streets of Seattle.
Replacing those storms grates is a problem in Seattle and other cities. Storm grates cost about $500 apiece, not counting labor and other drain work that might be needed …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/01/14/storm-grates-are-a-catch-for-seattle-bike-riders/
Once every winter the rain stops, the winds die down, the clouds part and the sun shines. Every few years that day falls on a weekend.
I exaggerate, but only slightly. Sunday was such a day in Seattle. After several weeks of nearly daily rain and drizzle, the sun shone in the Puget Sound area and temperatures rose to the low 50s.
The weather drew lots of bicyclists outdoors. Lots of their bikes had fenders and buddy flaps. Those machines looked kind of grungy. I figure those folks would have been riding Sunday anyway — rain or shine…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/01/14/one-in-a-hundred-day-for-a-bike-ride/
Let's hope you weren't standing at a bus stop with your trusty bicycle Monday morning and discovered you had no place to mount it on the bus.
King County Metro (Seattle) determined that its three-bike carrier racks aren't secure and tried swapping them out with two-bike carriers over the weekend. Unfortunately, the other carriers are in short supply and buses on more than a dozen routes ran without the racks.
The following routes don't have bicycle racks, which will be replaced as they become available: Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13, 14, 49 and 70, and some trips on routes 7, 36, 43 and 44.
Metro uses bicycle racks manufactured by Sportworks in Woodinville, Washington. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/01/07/king-county-metro-swaps-out-faulty-bike-racks-on-buses/
Those of us who frequently ride our bicycles along the east side of the Lake Washington bike route have been watching the construction at the Seattle Seahawks training facility on a lakefront tract in Renton.
Here you can see a bicyclist pedaling past the indoor practice facility on Friday. The building under construction is as big as a football field and tall enough to contain the highest of punts.
This little-used stretch of road will certainly get more traffic when the facility opens in the summer of 2008. A couple of waterfront industries made their homes here, but traffic was minimal. Cyclists are going to have to pay greater heed when they enter the road from a nearby bike path, especially as there will be accommodations for some 3,000 fans during training camps…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/01/05/watching-the-seahawks-training-camp-grow/
Oregon will begin issuing “Share the Road” license plates beginning Jan. 2 for your other set of wheels. They're another reminder for other motorists that bicycles have a right to the road.
Proceeds from the sale of the special plates will be distributed to to cycling-related causes by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and the Cycle Oregon Fund. They cost an additional $10 at time of issuance and can be ordered through the DMV.
In other Oregon bicycling news, the Wall Street Journal wrote about US Rep. Earl Blumenauer in Saturday's edition. Here in the Northwest, we all know about Blumenauer and his many good efforts on behalf of bicyclists. It's good to see him get wider recognition in a national publication …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/12/31/oregons-share-the-road-license-plates-available-in-2008/
The Seattle P-I tossed out a weird bicycling story that broached the idea of bicycle registration or licensing after “some” began talking about it when Seattle endorsed the $240 million, 10-year bicycle plan.
The story was followed up the next day by an editorial opposing such licensing.
It's an attention grabber, especially for cyclists, but where's the groundswell for the licensing move? Just one person is quoted in the P-I story, a letter-to-the-editor writer, so I guess this isn't something on anybody's short list.
The premise of the story is based on the widespread incorrect assumption that bicyclists don't pay their fare share for the roads they use…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/12/28/raising-the-specter-of-bike-fees-in-seattle/
The mother and best friend of bicyclist Bryce Lewis, killed in a collision with a dump truck in Seattle, are suing the driver and truck owner.
Lewis, 19, died instantly when a dump truck made a right turn in front of him and his friend, Caleb Hall, 20, as they headed north on Eastlake Avenue East in September. They were dragged for 25 feet before bystanders freed them.
While the fatality sparked condemnation of motorists who make right turns without checking for cyclists in bike lanes, it also highlighted the poor traffic design that enables traffic to turn right in front of bicycle lanes that are carrying through-traffic…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/12/12/lawsuit-filed-in-right-hook-bicycle-fatality-in-seattle/
—- Bloggers: Check below —-
The Cascade Bicycle Club is raising money for flood relief for Seattle-to-Portland bike-route cities of Centralia and Chehalis. Flood damage could top $1 billion in the wake of the devastating floods that swept through Lewis County cities last week.
In a plea for donations, CBC executive director Chuck Ayers wrote:
“We rely on the hospitality of these communities to house, feed and support thousands of riders year after year. Clearly, these communities help make STP one of our most popular events.”
Cascade is pledging $2,500 in matching funds for flood relief through the Centralia United Way. You can donate online now, or send it to:
United Way of Lewis County, attn: CBC Flood Relief, 450 NW Pacific Avenue, Chehalis, WA 98532.
Note to bloggers: I'll donate $5 to the CBC flood relief for each of the first 20 bloggers who put a link to this post, and mention STP and flood relief, on their blog by noon (PST) Wednesday. Please leave a comment or send me an email that you've done so; I'll also check Technorati …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/12/11/seattle-bicycle-club-raises-funds-for-flood-victims/
Joe Kurmaskie isn't exactly the poet laureate of bicycle tourists; he's more like the comic laureate.
I caught Kurmaskie's very entertaining talk at the Seattle Bike Expo, and I'm happy to see he's returning for another Metal Cowboy Holiday Spectacular at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11 at the downtown Seattle REI. (Cascade Bicycle Club members, 2 for $5; nonmembers $5.)
Kurmaskie's a funny guy. He spends many days every year bicycle touring, often with his family. If you're not familiar with the Portland bicyclist, here's an excerpt from a quiz he sent out earlier this year entitled: “Are You Addicted to Cycling?” …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/12/09/joe-metal-cowboy-kurmaskie-finds-the-humor-in-bicycle-touring/
Seattle bicycle riders have no desire for more streetcar tracks in the curb lanes where they ride.
The newly laid tracks of a streetcar line along Westlake Avenue linking Westlake Center to the Hutch Cancer Center have caused numerous accidents already when bike tires get stuck in the groove, causing the rider to loose balance and fall.
Seattle Likes Bikes has scheduled a bicycling protest starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Denny Park to call attention to the problem and get the city to install warning signs and to paint sharrows in lanes where bicyclists must ride now that they can't use the curb lanes…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/12/06/dangerous-seattle-streetcar-tracks-spark-protest-bike-ride/
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