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Today's picture: Save the date and leave your keys at home. Next Tuesday is your chance to join the active transportation movement at Louisville's monthly Car-Free Happy Hour. You'll see posters like this one popping up all over town.
Louisville's monthly Car Free Happy Hour started last fall. It's the grassroots brainstorm of locals who have discovered a variety of alternatives to motor vehicles for getting around town. They're not anti-car – just pro-bike, pro-transit, pro-pedestrian. They draw inspiration from very bike friendly cities like Portland, Oregon.
 Brent Tinnell's original intention was to have a follow-up to Metro Mayor Abramson's Bike Summit last February. He organzed a group of people to carry on the lively conversation that started at the Summit. He met with public health worker Katie McBride. They scheduled the first Happy Hour for a Tuesday night in October last year.
Katie had long wondered if an event of this kind would work here in Louisville. She's delighted to see it grow every month in spite of miserable weather conditions – ice, snow, and pouring rain.
True Grassroots effort
Car-Free Happy Hour has no real sponsorship. Its founders are nonetheless serious about making Louisville more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Brent is on the board of Bicy cling for Louisville and is involved with the Sustainability Forum and Freewheel Collective.
Katie works on contract with the Louisville Metro Deparment of Public Health and Wellness and works on bicycle and pedestrian projects for them. She's lso a commissioner on the Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeway Commission and does volunteer work for AARP on transportation issues for seniors.
"I'm amazed at how popular this has become," said Katie. The new faces and connections that have been made and the creative synergy are just awesome. The numbers have grown from 20 in October to 40 in January – in spite of some horrible weather."
Brent is likewise pleased. He was browsing bikeportland.org and noticed their Car-Free Happy Hour. They have their Happy Hour in a different part of town each month. "I wanted to try to see what might happen here with an event like Portland's. What impressed me right away was that I started meeting so many car-free people and cycling advocates I didn't know about," he said.
"It's promising to see how many people are hopping on bikes and how many have been doing it for years – Tom Armstrong, for example," said Brent.
(Tom is another local bike blogger and the Education Chairperson for the Louisville Bicycle Club. Check out his bikelounger's meandering thoughts )
"Car-Free Happy Hour unites cyclists from all over town. It helps us get together on a grassroots level to talk about ways our city can fund and support bike projects. The city can make this a priority and help louisville become more bike friendly and better place ot get around," said Brent.
Who's invited? Peds, transit users, bicyclists, nerds, activists, neighbors, friends, community members, even politicians running for mayor!
Come join us to discuss issues relevant to us in the Louisville area.
Expect folks from Bicycling for Louisville, CART, Freewheel Bike Collective, and Bike Louisville (among others) to be there!
The Car-Free Happy Hour is happening at Sol Aztecas this month. Come out if you're a pedestrian, transit user, or bicyclist and want to hangout with other folks, eat food, and listen to people talk about the projects they're working on related to sustainable transportation.
This months theme is bike-business. We will hear presenters from a plumbing business that moves by bike, as well as SoupBycycle, a new bike-based soup delivery business working from the Highlands.
Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: 520 S. 4th St.
For more information about Car-Free Happy Hour, call Brent Tinnell at 502-619-4352.
PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
............__o
............\<,
.......( )/ ( )
Enjoy the ride home.
See you at pedalaround
© Copyright, Kirk M. Kandle, MMX
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Car-Free Happy Hour Poster
Katie McBride organizes Car-Free Happy Hour
Brent Tinnell borrowed a good idea from Portland.
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Today's picture: Electric bikes. They're not in Louisville shops yet, but plan on seeing them soon. The Yike Bike folds to carry on a bus or train. It requires no effort. But isn't that kind of defeating the point?
Electric bikes and electric-assist bikes are taking off in Europe. I'm told electrics may be the fastest growing segment for sales over there. A few have made modest debuts here in the states. But are electric bikes really an improvement – or just another way to add comfort at a huge expense? This blog is called "Pedalaround" for a reason. It's about active transportation that keeps your heart pumping and keeps fresh air fresh. Electric add-ons seem to defeat both objectives. Or do they?
Check out this Yike Bike video. Looks like a lot of fun. But the $5,500 sticker is way out of my price range.
Clean electric?
Electric power may seem green enough when it's quietly charging your bike's $1,000 battery, but it's available basically because a mountain was toppled into a stream for coal-fired power. Just because your Yike Bike has no exhaust fumes doesn't mean it's clean. Your local coal-fired generator burns and emits carbon into the air. And don't believe the "Clean Coal" ads on TV. They're fiction. Clean Coal is one of the advertising industry's latest fantasies. No, make that a bald faced lie.
Another thing: Isn't the jury is still out concerning all these batteries? What kind of damage are we doing to the environment with their production? And what about disposal?
Let's think positive!
Oh, there I go again, getting into thorny details. Maybe I'm a little overboard here. Alright, I'll concede that power-assisted and electric bicycles may be a big improvement over even the most fuel-efficient cars. And if they get people out for a spin, what's the harm? Electric bikes may be the gateway vehicle that can lead their owners to the truly sublime pleasure of 100% human-powered cycling. That would be a plus.
And speaking of a plusses, I really like the Trek promotion for their new line of Ride + power-assisted bikes. They invite you to "Expand the Possibilities." Their selling copy goes like this: "If you think you can't commute by bike, Trek Ride+ electric assist changes the game. Suddenly pulling a trailer or carrying heavier loads becomes doable. A sweat-free commute becomes a reality. And going up hills is as fun as going down. Ride+. It's your p ower, plus."
The Trek Ride + is basically a Trek FX 7.3 – just like the $700 hybrid I've used as my main form of transport for the past two years. But when you add the power-assist features, the price takes a big jump to about $2200. The credit card companies will at least get a charge out of it. There's an economic stimulus package, eh?
The local Trek dealers I talked to recently didn't plan on carrying the Ride + anytime soon. Howevert, I'm sure they can order one if you can't do without a boost up the hills of Cherokee or Iroquois parks. Better still, you can spend a whole lot less and get cartons of Cliff Bars and energy drinks instead. – totally green. True biofuel.
NOTE: In case you're new to this blog, Pedalaround currently serves as a journal for My Car-Free Experiment that started on Sept. 16, 2009, when I sold my 1991 Volvo 940 Turbo station wagon on Craigslist. I don't own a car. I get around mainly by bicycle, walking, using public transit, and ride sharing.
On Feb. 9, I broke my leg when I crashed my bicycle while crossing railroad tracks at something other than a 90º angle. I learned a valuable lesson and have accepted kind offers to share rides to work with my generous friend and colleague Marte Markwell.
Thanks also to Walt and Lynn Kunau for giving me a lift to and from church this morning. And thanks to my kind buddy Ben St. Clair for getting me out in the fresh air – then to Cumberland Brew for a righteous quesadilla. I owe you, brutha!
PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
............__o
............\<,
.......( )/ ( )
Enjoy the ride home.
See you at pedalaround
© Copyright, Kirk M. Kandle, MMX
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Yike Bike
Trek Ride + Electric Assist
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Jax Rhapsody
mon mar 08 2010
at 9:26 am
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I've seen electric bikes for sale. Not lately though. The only benefit I could see is using the motor to help on hills and ceertain times when your tired. Not really as usefull as a Motoredbike, gasser style. And that thing looks like a big wheel. I could see something like if you had a dynamo to recharge as you rode it. |
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Black Gladiator
mon mar 08 2010
at 9:40 am
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Jax, now you're talkin! A big wheel:
http://www.uncrate.com/men/gear/toys/adult-big-wheel/
Unfortunately I think they're discontinued. Per usual I'm a day late and a dollar short.
At least the Coal Industry isn't the Oil Industry, we're choosing the best of two evils and given the political climate I'll choose electric if I can. |
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Mixed Mojo
mon mar 08 2010
at 9:59 pm
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"Electric add-ons seem to defeat both objectives."
I'll put pedals on my Kia and you can tell me how it doesn't get my heart rate up or keep the air fresh (you should smell me after I've ridden a few miles by the way).
No, even though they bolted on pedals and call it a bike, the people who make this contraption don't share you idealism. Most people don't. They're just trying to make a buck. |
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Jax Rhapsody
tue mar 09 2010
at 11:21 pm
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Besides, the last thing you want is a front-drive bike anyway. |
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Today's Picture – What's the Governor of Colorado doing in this Kentuckian's blog? Well, at this moment I'm aware of two people who are laid up with injuries from riding bicycles. One is Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, resting in the hospital with several broken ribs after he "went down hard" on a Tuesday Morning ride with his buddies.
The crash made headlines. He's a governor. He was on a bike. It's not news that 114 people die every day on our nation's highways. It should be.
 Gov. Ritter's spokesman said the accident happened when the governor ran into another cyclist in his group of four. One wrong move – that's all it takes. Sounds all too familiar to me.
He was treated at Denver Health Medical Center and is in good spirits, "laughing and joking with hospital staff," his spokesman said. I bet those aren't deep, belly laughs.
I wish the Governor a swift recovery, but I know from experience that cracked ribs can easily take eight weeks to heal. Until then, every deep breath, sneeze, cough, or chuckle is likely to be paired with a wincing reminder of his simple mistake.
Gov. Ritter, from what I gather, is an experienced cyclist. I bet he'll be back in the saddle as soon as the angry ribs settle down. But I'm worried that when active, high-profile people experience a mishap like Ritter's, it adds fuel to the sedentary arguments against activities such as riding a bicycle. As if people need another excuse to sit in front of the plasma, eating chips.
Every activity carries a little risk. Lord, don't I know it!
As I write this, I'm elevating a  leg that's already been two weeks in a cast. I hope the doctor will get me out of this thing in another two weeks – and on my way to cycling hills again before spring arrives in earnest.
In case you're one who's comfortable biding your sweet time parked on the couch, stuck behind the wheel of your car in traffic, gliding on escalators, and viewing life as a climate-controlled spectator instead of an active, human-powered participant, consider this:
Sitting still can– and will – kill you. About six out of 10 of us are sitting ducks, overweight or obese, on our way to heart attack, stroke, or something worse. So, it's no secret – and there's no serious argument to the contrary – that sitting around and eating junk kills. As many as 500,000 people a year go to their graves because of sitting around and eating junk. About 700 a year die on bicycles. Most of those cyclists are run over by cars. Some of them made fatal mistakes. But at least they didn't make the same wrong decisions over and over, day after day, to sit and let comfort do them in.
Lower you heart risk by 50 percent. Ride a bike.
Yes, there are dangers involved in bicycling. You can break ribs or break a leg, or get yourself killed out there. But even when you take into account the dangers of cycling, the act of pedaling far outweighs the risk of injury or death. In fact, a British researcher found the health benefits of bicycling outweigh the risks by 20 to one. And a study of General Motors workers backs this up. researchers found that regular bicyclists at GM were as fit, on average, as non-bicycling factory workers who were 10 years younger!
And then there's this ...
Researchers at a Toronto hospital say that every hour spent driving could lead to a 20-minute loss in life expectancy. Using computer models, a team at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre determined that, in the same way each cigarette smoked takes about five minutes off of a person's life, the more time spent behind the wheel, the more likely a person is to die in a car crash. "When drivers try to speed to get to their destination faster, they actually lose more time because the savings from faster travel are offset by the increased prospect of a crash," said Dr. Donald Redelmeier, the study's lead researcher. So, you see, My Car-Free Experiment isn't so crazy after all.
The Governor of Colorado certainly has enough close advisors, so he doesn't need any advice from me. But here it is anyway: Be more careful. Don't follow so closely. And stay away from the Doritos while you're recovering.
Me? I'll forever be on the lookout for tire-grabbing railroad tracks. And, God willing, I'll live to look back across decades and laugh long and hard at my foolishness.
PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
............__o
............\<,
.......( )/ ( )
Enjoy the ride home.
See you at pedalaround
© Copyright, Kirk M. Kandle, MMX
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Colo. Gov. Bill Ritter crashed bike, broke ribs.
My leg broken in a bike mishap, Feb. 9.
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Today's picture: He's our invisible bicyclist, Matt Milewski, 33, a violinist in The Louisville Orchestra. I met Matt at a traffic signal on Main Street back on Feb. 3, when we were both in a hurry to get to work. If you're headed downtown in the morning, watch out for Matt between his home on Market St. and his rehearsals at The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.
 Matt Milewski carries his violin on his back in a pretty cool case. It looks like carbon fiber. As I caught up with him, I couldn't tell what he was carrying. Now I know that it's probably a way-above-average instrument. And it only makes sense that on a frigid morning in February, no professional musician is venturing out on a mountain bike with his axe tossed in a burlap sack on his back.
In a a few minutes I learned that Matt's been playing violin for 29 years – since he was four years old. That morning he was on his way to a Louisville Orchestra rehearsal with the Louisville Youth Orchestra.
"This morning we're doing a side-by-side concert with Jason Seber conducting," he said. "We'll play a couple of pieces alone and a couple of pieces with the young musicians. It's a good experience for us to share what it's like to play in the Orchestra, and it gives the kids a chance to know if this is really something they want to do. When I used to do that as a kid, alongside the Detroit Symphony, it made a huge difference."
Matt moved to Louisville nearly five years ago. He likes the bike culture that's growing here. "I live near Market and Clay, so it's only two miles to work and that's just great," he said. "The city's doing a great job putting in more bike lanes and everything. It can always get better, but already Louisville's one of the best places for promoting bikes, so it's exciting. I've been biking to work since I moved here and landed my job with the Orchestra," said Matt.
On March 15, he'll celebrate five years of making beautiful music here in Louisville – and pedaling around town with his violin on his back. Matt demonstrates that people in all sorts of occupations can use cycling for short trips – and carry some precious cargo along the way.
PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
............__o
............\<,
.......( )/ ( )
Enjoy the ride home.
See you at pedalaround
© Copyright, Kirk M. Kandle, MMX
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Matt Milewski
The violinist rides to work.
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A bicycle commuter's essays, how-to tips, reflections, and observations. Follow my car-free experiment! Go to http://pedalaround.blogspot.com/
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