Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) announced his plans to re-introduce the Bike Commuter Benefits Act. The bill would amend a section of the IRS code to include bicycles in the definition of transportation covered by fringe benefits. If passed, it would provide strong financial incentives for employees to bike to work. Currently, employers may offer a…
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Don't Need It 'Til You Need It
20 years ago I thought bike helmets were silly and didn’t wear one. Back then I only commuted by bike occasionally, about a 20 miles round-trip, in traffic, and I never worried about safety issues. 17 years ago my wife convinced me that since my children were getting bike helmets, I should too in order…
Today's gas saving tip
Gas prices are spiking all around the United States. Blame who you like — Republicans, Democrats, Environmentalists, Big Oil, Communists, Fascists, Terrorists, whoever — the fact remains that you are ultimately responsible for the gas you buy. In that spirit, I present today’s gas saving tip, which is the title of this blog! Commute by…
El dia de ir al trabajo en bicicleta
Denver BTWD Spanish Flyer. Originally uploaded by richardmasoner. That mouthful is Spanish for “Bike to Work Day” or, literally, “The day of going to work on a bicycle.” In my area, many of the more visible bike commuters tend to be nerdy engineers riding fairly expensive rigs with pricey accessories and clothing. To us engineers,…
Shop Drawings
This Week: 1.Had a look at the drawings for the new workshop. 2.Started writing about 30 posts for the Bike Trailer Blog simultaneously. 3.Spent way to much time messing around in the world of Search Engine Optimization. My buddy Pete showed up with the layout for the new workshop. It’s looking nice. Now its time…
Bykaboose Trailer Review
Bykaboose trailers has been around for about 10 years now manufacturing the Gecko and the nearly identical, and slightly smaller Newt Cargo Trailers.
The Bykaboose Gecko and Bykaboose Newt are two afford ably priced trailers that offer solid performance. There most unique feature is there pop up design that allow them to easily collapse down for storage or travel.
$250 instant rebate for folding bicycle
Santa Cruz County residents can receive a discount of up to $250 on folding bikes through the Santa Cruz Area Transportation Management Agency. The Santa Cruz Area TMA started the folding bike program yesterday to encourage area resident to ride the bus. Santa Cruz County also offers instant rebates of up to $375 for electric…
Do NOT Stop the Presses
I promise you I’m working on some other articles – but I couldn’t pass up this link to a Boston Herald article about bike commuting. This one leads with a chef who has a three hour roundtrip bike commute six days per week and has my favorite quote thus far of all the recent, numerous…
Seven steps to a bicycle friendly workplace
Bicycle Colorado recently posted these seven steps to a bicycle friendly workplace. Encourage your co-workers to bicycle to work as a way to promote health, decrease turnover, and relieve crowded parking lots. Post a bike map with local bicycling routes in office break areas or near the main entrance to highlight good routes near your…
Bike Commuters in the News
I was happy to see several positive news stories in the last few days about those of us who commute by bike. Here are a couple quick reads: A Hartford journalist goes on a ride-along. According to the article, we are “part of a national movement.” Bike commuters are also refered to as “Pioneers” who…
Fuel saving tip: Ride a bike!
Daily Fuel Economy Tip is an informative blog to help people buy less gasoline and save money. With gasoline prices hitting $3/gallon in California again, I’m sure there’s renewed interest in these kinds of things. Last year, the Daily Tip was to reduce your driving, suggesting the bike as a means to get around. I…
Commuter bikes at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show
NAHBS: Thursday Bicycles "Muttonmaster" Originally uploaded by richardmasoner. I attended the 2007 North American Bicycle Show in San Jose, California this past weekend, where craftsman displayed their works of art and admired one another’s worksmanship. In addition to showing fascinating concept bikes and high performance racers, several builders specializing in utility bikes also appeared at…
Brainstorms
This week: 1. Redesigned the little bracket part that makes a Greenspeed Trike’s rear rack mount nicely onto a BOB Yak trailer. 2. Took photos of & posted a listing for a security cable lock setup for BOB Trailers, the above mentioned Greenspeed rack mount, and a B&M 4D Toplight to mount onto the Greenspeed…
A Wonderful Resource
You don’t need to live in or around London to benefit from the special 92 page cycling section that The Guardian put out today. You can find many articles about “The world’s greatest invention” at their site by clicking this link. Also included are a ton of cycling routes in and around London. Very, very…
Share your route
Where do you ride? What’s your route to work? Create a map of your bike route on one of the bike mapping sites such as Bikely, Veloroutes, or Routeslip. Post a link to your route below. I’ll go first: this is my short ride from the Caltrain Station in Palo Alto, CA to my office….
Bike commuter of the day
Nobody knows the identity of this bike commuter yet, but authorities in four states are interested enough in his mode of transportation that they’d like to find him. The FBI is searching for this bike rider — a white male in his 50s — in Ohio, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. Riding a bike to…
New Feature on Google Maps
Google Maps now shows traffic information. According to the official blog: “For more than 30 major U.S. cities, you can now see up-to-date traffic conditions to help you plan your schedule and route.” “If your route shows red, you’re looking at a stop-and-go commute; yellow, you could be a little late for dinner; green, you’ve…
Perfect bike commute distance
Get it off my chest Originally uploaded by richardmasoner. This is a section of Ivy Drive in Menlo Park, CA. I was cycling east on this street this morning when I saw a car back out into the street. I stopped behind this car while the driver dug in her purse for something. After half…
News You Can Use…
If you live in St. Louis or San Francisco. Here is the latest on the bike commuter dilemma in St. Louis. A large portion of Highway 40 is going to be re-routed to county roads that bicycle commuters frequent. The bike lanes are being taken out so that the lanes can be re-painted to include…
Everybody Likes Customer Reviews
It was another week of pondering my way through the world of internet sales. In my quest to raise the profile of both by websites in Google, I sent out requests to professors with sustainable technology web pages. I recently learned that links from websites ending in .edu can be very valuable in search engines….
BOB Trailer: Traveling & Shipping
BOB Trailers have become a popular choice for extended bike touring adventures. They have a large capacity, work well over a variety of terrain and are rugged. If they are damaged they can be welded back together by anyone with a gas torch, usually something that can be found even in remote villages.
Deliver anything by Bike Trailer
Working in the online bike world requires that I make a delivery trip to UPS or the post office almost everyday. Most of the time I use my BOB Trailer or Xtracycle except when I’ve got just too many boxes and I need to resort to the car. It gives me an excellent opportunity to test out the capacity of what I can load on my rigs.
Proselytizing
I am fortunate to live 0.7 miles away from a bike/hike path that runs right past the building I work in. That was one of the reasons I decided to commute by bicycle. July 4th 2005 changed that a bit when construction on and around a portion of the path forced me to find an…
Lifting the Fog
For some time now my family and my friend John have been attempting to make me less Fred. Sure, I encouraged it in some cases — I even posted some bike-related Christmas gift suggestions on my personal blog with a big “Hint, hint!” One of those suggestions, the Hind Balaclava with breathable mesh, found its…