[mattotoole]

@Powerful Pete 120062 wrote:

Picking up a conversation from the start of the TDF thread (I won’t ruin it with spoilers) the female Giro d’Italia (Giro Rosa) ended today. The FB page seems better than the website for info.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Giro-Rosa-Cycling-Race/1436449503235716?fref=nf

I hate to be a language cop, or to single you out because so many people do it, but could we please say “women’s” instead of “female?”

Anyway thanks for the link.

[mattotoole]

Note that CitiBike doesn’t go above 60th St. ie, Columbus Circle and Central Park South. Most of Manhattan, let alone the rest of the city, is still left out. Looking at the map, it seems to have expanded into Brooklyn, if anywhere, since I was there last year.

NYC is great to ride around in.

[mattotoole]

@PotomacCyclist 117636 wrote:

As for the weather, we can adapt by adding more showers in or near office buildings. Some private gyms may want to think about offering shower-only memberships. Some already do, but I don’t think most do.

There’s a lot of potential with gyms. Note how many are in struggling strip centers and office buildings with cheap rent, and often have a lot more space than they need. So I’ve been trying to sell the idea of providing secure bike parking, showers, and lockers for bike commuters. Also partnering with companies like Bikestation, etc. I’ve talked with them too. There’s been some interest, but it’s still a stretch.

[mattotoole]

I am so sorry to be out of town. A friend went aboard in Yorktown the other day, had a great time.

Tall ship crews are an interesting world unto themselves. Strike up a convo if you get a chance!

[mattotoole]

Now that repairs to this bridge are in the news, how about making some noise about our biggest problems with it: screeching tires and near misses at either end, as people on bikes and walking scurry across traffic trying to get on and off the bridge, or find where the trail continues. We need better approaches, but even a little signage would help.

I hear the screeching tires and see people stranded in the roadway every time I’m down there. NPS is negligent in not addressing it. Just because they’ve been doing so for 50+ years doesn’t change that.

Greg? Anyone?

[mattotoole]

A bell followed by a calmly-voiced alert is a lot friendlier than just barking at people, which too many cyclists seem to do. We get upset by how motorists treat us, then do the same to people walking on trails!

[mattotoole]

Thanks Dave. And thanks for the words — I hope you don’t mind I just quoted you here:

http://www.vabike.org/fhwa-releases-new-separated-bike-lane-planning-design-guide/

It is a big deal!

[mattotoole]

I love the Mt. Baldy stage in the ATOC! GMR/Baldy loops are a staple for SoCal riders. I started riding there when I went to Cal Poly Pomona, and did a lot more over the years. It was great riding to the snow in winter. (I skied a lot there too.) Summer heat and smog, not so much.

[mattotoole]

@Tim Kelley 114999 wrote:

Tell me more.

C’mon man. We all loved BikeSwell. I did plenty myself to support it and publicize it, as did many others. And the only criticism that I had, and also heard from others, was, “Way too much Lon.”

http://www.bikearlington.com/pages/about/bikeswell-smart-movement-in-arlington-virginia/

The Virginia Bicycling Federation will support AAA’s rollout of their new service on Friday. We will continue to try to build bridges and work together.

[mattotoole]

Helmet discussions = lowest common denominator. Whenever you get sucked into one, please try to turn it around toward something else constructive, like preventing crashes.

[mattotoole]

A big thanks from me too. Shane is one of the best, and has been a big help to VBF. Whomever gets him next is lucky!

[mattotoole]

@mstone 114585 wrote:

I’m pretty sure that AAA mid-atlantic is still the devil.

I’m not so sure. It may be just Lon Anderson — a hack of a flack who knows he can get press by picking on bikes. Then they make up for it (?) by giving the League some money and a nice PSA. Sooner or later their board will figure out that talking out both sides of one’s mouth is not a winning strategy, and Lon will be gone. I wish the BikeArlington movie hadn’t given him such airtime.

Anyway, look at Better World Club.

[mattotoole]

Tim,

Any plans to grow this beyond our region? Even nationally? I can’t see why not.

Great work, making all of Virginia proud!

[mattotoole]

@mstone 110023 wrote:

I’m mixed about this. On the one hand I’d like to see the service. On the other hand, amtrak’s biggest existential threat is congressional micromanagement.

Amtrak’s biggest existential threat is being de-funded and cut completely. That very well could have happened, but thankfully it didn’t. The funding bill was passed, with the Lipinski amendment:

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/234622-house-passes-amtrak-reauthorization-bill

Thanks to everyone who wrote!

I don’t know what you mean by congressional micromanagement. If anything it’s the opposite, but not really. The whole idea is just not applicable.

Amtrak provides the service specified by the states (and cities) it runs through, which also partially fund it. For example, Virginia is buying new rolling stock for the upcoming service to Roanoke, which actually originates in the northeast. All the trains serving our area come from several states away. Each one may have its own requirements — like roll-on bike/wheelchair access, cargo, pet cars — which Amtrak has to coordinate. The “standardization” in this funding bill can help with that, vs. continually reinventing the wheel (or the bike rack, as the case may be).

[mattotoole]

I had forgotten about this, ’til seeing the tweets tonight. As much as I’m familiar with the recipients, I’d say all the awards are well deserved.

But as a statewide org leader I’d like to extend special thanks and congrats to Jim Durham, and the Alexandria BPAC. The King St. bike lanes were the strongest advocacy effort I’ve seen in VA since I started with VBF in 2006. And personally, I’m looking forward to climbing that hill again without getting buzzed!

[Author]

Posts