For most seasoned utility cyclists, it is generally easy to be a utility cyclist at home. You know the roads, you know where you are going, you know the best routes, you know where to grab a bite to eat or a coffee, you know where to get groceries. You have every detail figured out…
Blog
48 Hours in Austin
Austin, Texas has beckoned me for many years in the form of a college friend who has made Austin her home. And in those years, the only footprints I’ve left in Texas have been carbon–airport layovers, and marathon road trips (where the state was regarded as an enormous obstacle between me and my ultimate destination)….
Analysis of Google's Bike-There Feature: Part II
In April, I wrote the first part of an analysis of Google’s new Bike-There feature on Google Maps. Google announced their game-changing new feature in early March of 2010. When I first reviewed Google’s Bike-There feature, I had some criticisms of the underlying factors and variables that Google used to build the algorithm, which is…
Getting Around by Bicycle
I’m going to especially enjoy writing this post, because the topic is my favorite kind of utility cycling. We have been writing a lot recently about general bicycle transportation, which is distinct from bicycle commuting, as commuting is inherently built around the idea of getting to and from work. General bicycle transportation includes running errands…
The Ride of Silence: Let the Silence Roar
Every year, on the third Wednesday of May, thousands of cyclists across the world take to the streets to honor fellow riders who have been injured or killed while cycling. This event is known as the Ride of Silence, and it is a powerful way to use cycling as a statement. We have defined utility…
Bicycle Advocacy Organizations: Consorting with the Locals
On Friday morning, before the sun had made its daily appearance, I was on my way to set up shop at Northern Virginias largest Bike to Work Day pit stop in Rosslyn, Virginia. Through my position with a local bicycle retailer, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to represent our company as we offered…
Analysis of Google's Bike-There Feature: Part I
It’s been nearly a month since Google made their game-changing announcement about the addition of a “Bike There” option to Google Maps. Since that time, there have been numerous reviews and assessments about the utility of the new application – some positive, but also many that point out the limitations of Google’s new tool. Many…
Bike Advertising
Keeping in the theme of retail and commercial services by bike, which we recently posted about, today’s post is dedicated to bike advertising. With the spring and summer months creeping up, many business/bicycle-minded folks might be inspired to think about using bicycles for advertising businesses or services in the coming months. Hopefully this post can…
Retail & Commercial Services by Bike
Bicycles are an excellent way to do business. Whether you are advertising your business by bike (aka bikevertising), transporting customers around town in a pedicab, moving your business or vending station around town by bike, picking up trash by bike, or any other range of services, bicycles provide a unique, cost-effective, and eye-catching way to…
Bike Sharing Systems
Bicycle sharing systems have been appearing in more and more cities around the world in the last few years. According to the Bike Sharing Blog, there were approximately 160 or so bike sharing systems globally at the end of 2009, which is up nearly 74% from 92 bike sharing systems at the end of 2008….
Ride for Haiti
Talk about cycling for a cause! In light of the recent earthquake on January 12 in Haiti, young Charlie Simpson, a 7-year old boy from the UK, was inspired to organize a charity bike ride, with help from his parents, in benefit of UNICEF’s work in Haiti. Originally hoping to raise 500, Charlie’s efforts have…
Bike Salvage and Recycling Organizations
The holiday season has passed, and many of us were fortunate enough to be inundated with great bicycle related gifts. However, it is important to remember that many people are not so fortunate. So in the spirit of the holiday season, which may have passed (though the sentiments arguably never should) and new year resolutions,…
Utility Cycling Year in Review
Truth be told, Utility Cycling.org is only 1/2 year old, but we thought it would be fun to do a year in review post (excuse me, half year in review) nonetheless. It has been an exciting first half year and we hope you enjoy looking back on it with us. We are definitely looking forward…
Charity Bike Rides
When we first set out to define the concept of utility cycling, we identified the component of community building as being one important form of utility cycling. Community building refers to using the bicycle as a way to bring people together for some kind of purpose be it through a solo fundraising ride, critical mass,…
(PARK)ing Day 2009
Today is (PARK)ing Day! For those who are not familiar with it, (PARK)ing Day is a movement to reclaim and transform public spaces – such as parking spots – into temporary public parks. (PARK)ing Day occurs once a once a year for one whole day, and it is a global movement. It was originally started…
Bicycle Mapping
We are all map-users. Whether or not we recognize this fact (or like it, for that matter), is a whole different story. Maps are made for accomplishing a wide range of tasks from navigation to defining boundaries to measuring bits of information to showing elevation and much, much more. Maps are literally visual representations of…
Community Building
At UtilityCyling.org, we think that the potential for using your bike is quite vast. Of course, you can use a bike for transportation, you can use a bike to make deliveries, you can use a bike to provide a wide variety of services. All of the aforementioned types of uses are relatively straightforward and tangible…
A Bicycle Advocate's Call to a Transportation Revolution
A revolution in transportation solutions is gaining momentum. This revolution is being necessitated by environmental, economical and political crisis and encouraged by rapid developments in technology. As cyclists ride out into the crowded streets, we become central figures in the epic struggle of the transportation dilemma. Riding our bicycles, we directly experience the intensity of…
Defining Utility Cycling
Welcome to Utility Cycling.org. The main purpose of this site is to bring clarity to and elaborate upon the concept of utility cycling. To that end, it is important to begin by developing a working definition of the concept. In order to do this, we will use personal experience coupled with Internet research to write…
Welcome to our New Staff
Just a quick announcement to welcome on board our new employees, Melanie Street and Herman Sims. Melanie is joining our sales team that offers great service, expert knowledge and speedy shipping for all of our Bike Trailers, Bike Bags and Bike Racks. Herman is our new programmer and will be using his skill set to…