also, the annual 5 boro bike tour is on today —
beautiful weather for it :tup:


On Sunday, May 7, cyclists of all skill levels will come from around the world to roll through every borough of New York City on streets totally free of cars. For one day, the roads are yours, the bridges are yours, the City is yours—there’s no better way to experience NYC.

Produced in conjunction with the City of New York, the TD Five Boro Bike Tour is a charitable ride that funds free bike education programs reaching thousands of New Yorkers each year. When you ride with Bike New York, you’re helping us in our mission to empower more New Yorkers with the skills to ride safely and confidently on city streets.


more:
https://www.bike.nyc/events/td-five-boro-bike-tour/

oooh you know, just another day in brooklyn — :haha:


https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrG6f...c4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Cook County released its first ever Bicycle Network plan. Hopefully a lot of these projects come to fruition- they'd be huge in connectivity of the more important rail-trail paths.

You can read the plan here if interested-
https://www.cookcountyil.gov/bikeplan

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fw7DFLKWAAMjZ2g.jpg

DOT brings Street Seat initiative to Jamaica Avenue, hardens Queens Boulevard bike lane in Jamaica


more:
https://qns.com/2023/05/dot-street-s...lanes-jamaica/

Middle Village residents fume over newly installed Citi Bike stations during the Community Board 5 meeting


more:
https://qns.com/2023/05/middle-villa...ard-5-meeting/

well …. alright! :sly:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtEnL...RlODBiNWFlZA==

2x speed will make crazy things look even crazier.

nj rails to trails —

New in New Jersey: Abandoned rail tracks set to become N.J.’s newest hiking, bike trail

Published: Jul. 03, 2023
By Jackie Roman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com


The abandoned Rahway Valley Railroad tracks in Union County are one step closer to becoming a multi-use trail system with an infusion of $1.5 million from a federal program dedicated to “non-traditional” transportation projects.

…

The Rahway Valley Railroad operated in northern New Jersey from 1897 until it closed in 1992. At its height, the railroad was nearly 12 miles long, including the 7.1 mile long mainline and three branch lines, according to a historical account from the National Parks Service. The railroad traversed Roselle Park, Kenilworth, Union, Springfield, Summit and Maplewood.


more:
https://www.silive.com/entertainment...ike-trail.html

record breaking citibike month --



Citi Bike has record-breaking ridership month following news of potential sale

By Emily Davenport
Posted on August 2, 2023


Why walk when you can ride?

Citi Bike announced on Twitter that the bike-share system had a record-breaking month for riders this past July, with over 3.76 million trips taken throughout the entire month.

“Keep it up and let’s see how many rides you take in August! Will you break the record again?” Citi Bike said on Twitter.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/citi-bi...hip-july-2023/

Could Building Bike Lanes Become America’s Next Big Infrastructure Project?

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/08/...ucture-project

https://infrastructure.peopleforbikes.org/

WHO NEEDS SOULCYCLE ?! :haha:


https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwP90...RlODBiNWFlZA==

its fun to ride the randall’s island connector :tup:


https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cv-6f...RlODBiNWFlZA==

you be you kiddo! :cool:


https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwNte...RlODBiNWFlZA==

impressive with a heavy citibike —


https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwYuF...RlODBiNWFlZA==

Yeah, I can barely keep my balance on my Citibike, though I often keep a heavy backpack on the front basket. I can do a short bunny hop over metal plates on the road, but that's about it. :haha:

Hmm, are those Citibikes as in Citibank? Is it a public/private partnership?

In Los Angeles, LA County Metro has its own Metro Bike Share; you use your TAP card to buy rides on the bike just like you'd use the TAP card to board a Metro bus or train.
https://bikeshare.metro.net/wp-conte...85a4f8007-.jpg
Metro

No, Citibank is only a sponsor of the bike share. But yes, it is a sort of public/private partnership because Lyft operates & manages the bike share (although because their finances are in the red, they are looking to sell off the operations).

That would be great if we had that. We have OMNY as the RFID payment option in NYC for subways and buses, and hopefully other modes of regional transit in the future. Citibike uses its own app that holds the user's info, shows a real-time map of bike availability at each dock, and also unlocks the bikes via QR code.

Citibikes can also be unlocked through a keyfob, although Lyft prefers everyone to use the app. QR code vandalism is an issue in some communities (for reasons I don't completely understand - I've only been riding for a couple of months - but it's typically done by high schoolers on the e-bikes), so having the key fob helps.

Citibike also has a Bike Angels program that gives points to riders to help balance out the system. At certain points of the day (usually morning or evening rush), some docks will have too many bikes (meaning users can't dock a bike they are riding) and others will have too few. Citibike decided to outsource moving these bikes to where they are needed to the riders by incentivizing them with points. These points can be exchanged for e-bike credits, Lyft credits (for rideshare), extending your membership for free, or just plain old cash (gift cards).

i use an mta omny card for transit, but you dont have to use that, you can use your phone, which most people do.

the metrocard is still around, but on its way out.

and of course, these days, other that tourists or busters, irl no one pays.

I would use OMNY, except friggin Edenred doesn't send us RFID cards for our commuter pre-tax benefits. And I'm loathe to spend $5 for something that we should be getting anyway. So here I am still using a worn-out Metrocard like a luddite (I also refuse to spend $1 for a flimsy easily-scratched piece of plastic).

i was in the exact same boat with edenred until i just retired! so thats a way out of it -- :haha:

but yeah you definitely have to use edenred because its pre-tax and it is maddening that they dont support omny services.

i doubt they will either until the metrocard goes away and they are forced to act.

also, word to the wise watch edenred closely that they aren't ripping you off.

i canceled after covid as it had built up and a month or so later they randomly reinstated it without my noticing.

Oh in LA too, if you downlod the TAP app, you can use your phone to pay for the bus/train/bike share.

I personally like using the TAP card... it's smaller/slimmer and I feel it's quicker to use---slides easily in and out of my back pocket. And I guess, unlike most people, I like to take my phone out as little as possible.

I looooove the TAP app on my phone. I've used it several times now, and it just couldn't be easier.

anyone thats pays is a sucker these days.

literally no one pays.

super complex bike parking in japan — :cool:


https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwWVr...RlODBiNWFlZA==

Over in my neck of the woods...

Only 1.5 miles long, but it's a start---2-way protected bike lanes on a one way street in Pasadena, CA. It officially opened today (Saturday, 9.9.2023).

I took a few pictures---while driving in my car!

Separate traffic signals for cars, bikes, and pedestrians... hopefully everyone will behave properly.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1ab17995_h.jpg
Photo by me

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4bf21192_h.jpg
Photo by me

See... bikes and peds need to wait while the driver has a "protected" left turn...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f920249c_h.jpg
Photo by me

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5b0ac04b_h.jpg
Photo by me

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...93b67a44_h.jpg
Photo by me

2-way bike lane on a one-way street. You can see that there's a bike signal facing the other way.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8799288c_h.jpg
Photo by me

There are some solid islands too, not just plastic bollards, separating bike/vehicular traffic, but I didn't take a picture. Some raised driveway aprons, too, for higher visibility of cyclists, and for cyclists to be aware of possible motorists entering or exiting driveways/parking lots.

The first signalized protected bike lanes I saw in LA County are in Long Beach, and this was probably 11 or 12 years ago. And then they installed some in downtown LA. These are the first in Pasadena, and as far as I know, they're the first in the SGV.

^ you’re showing us this bike path with nobody on it from your car? :haha:

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/cdn-c...1-png.5834331/

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/cdn-c...8-png.5834340/

:haha: Yeah. :P

I only saw two cyclists using it, each going in opposite directions. This was probably around 1 in the afternoon, and I had driven the whole length of the bike path.

Hopefully more people will start using it. Again, it's only 1.5 miles long, but it's intended to connect some key parts of Pasadena (Old Town, Playhouse Village, Pasadena City College, Caltech).

It’s new. And for it to really work as intended (e.g. carrying a high volume of traffic) it needs to be a part of a complete system of bike lanes and infrastructure.

A local Cincinnati bike shop hosted its annual hill climb ride on Sunday, Sept 17. This shop is owned by a guy who rode BMX in the 80s and so isn't a roadie-type place at all. I encouraged them to hire someone with a drone to film this event in the future because Cincinnati is without a doubt one of the most interesting bicycling cities in the United States given its steep terrain, confusing street layout, and wildly varied cityscapes.

We did about 2,300 feet of climbing over a route length of about 12 miles (this graphic includes the ride to/from my house).
https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...720&fit=bounds

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...720&fit=bounds

The "Everest" climb has become a bit of a thing in the last five years and it would definitely be possible to do an all-Cincinnati Everest route that doesn't repeat any hills.

Lots of updates on Atlanta's Beltline, a multi-use trail circling the city. Currently more than four additional miles are under construction, two more miles are shovel ready, and 2.2 more miles received a RAISE grant and is in design.

https://beltlineorg.wpenginepowered....R-1024x800.jpg

Northeast trail construction:
https://beltlineorg.wpenginepowered....9-websized.jpg

Southside trail construction:
https://beltlineorg.wpenginepowered....3-websized.jpg

Westside trail construction:
https://beltlineorg.wpenginepowered....6-websized.jpg

Northwest trail design plan to cross Peachtree Creek:
https://beltlineorg.wpenginepowered....k-websized.jpg

I like that bridge.

I read this in an article about electric delivery vans. I thought it is pretty neat.

"But in New York, DutchX is launching a new service to bring small loaded containers into Manhattan by ferry, then load them onto Fernhay electric cargo bikes for city deliveries, said DutchX co-founder Marcus Hoed. The company will use the bikes to deliver packages for its customers - which include Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods.

"Some customers are pushing very, very hard for as many zero-emission deliveries as possible," Hoed said.

DutchX's revenue should rise by more than a third to around $40 million this year. The company will launch operations in Philadelphia this year, with three or four more additional U.S cities next year..."

Startups with electric vans race to fill demand for zero-emissions delivery


https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ry-2023-09-18/

shivtim-- Thank you for posting. These extensive multi-use trails really make an area more desirable to visit and to live at.

100%. Atlanta has been doing a great job of this recently with the Beltline, PATH, Trolley Line trail, and some other initiatives. I just wish we were doing as well with "regular" bike lanes and cycle tracks, and connectivity. It's fits and starts, and very little enforcement for cars that block bike lanes.
For anyone interested, here's a crowd-sourced map of Atlanta's bicycle infrastructure.

interesting bike cleanup problems here —


https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cvhs9...RlODBiNWFlZA==