Next time you need to fight for a good cause, I suggest contacting Time’s Up for a few creative ideas.  Their most recent event was a Paul Revere Ride to create awareness for the pending end of hundreds of preserved garden spaces in NYC, complete with a police escort, a gentle message to the Mayor, and David Bowie on the speakers.  Hats off to you Time’s Up!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/nyregion/02gardens.html?_r=1&hp

Great letter-to-the-editor by Mark Mykleby, sent to the The Beaufort Gazette in South Carolina.

“I’d like to join in on the blame game that has come to define our national approach to the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This isn’t BP’s or Transocean’s fault. It’s not the government’s fault. It’s my fault. I’m the one to blame and I’m sorry. It’s my fault because I haven’t digested the world’s in-your-face hints that maybe I ought to think about the future and change the unsustainable way I live my life. If the geopolitical, economic, and technological shifts of the 1990s didn’t do it; if the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 didn’t do it; if the current economic crisis didn’t do it; perhaps this oil spill will be the catalyst for me, as a citizen, to wean myself off of my petroleum-based lifestyle. ‘Citizen’ is the key word. It’s what we do as individuals that count. For those on the left, government regulation will not solve this problem. Government’s role should be to create an environment of opportunity that taps into the innovation and entrepreneurialism that define us as Americans. For those on the right, if you want less government and taxes, then decide what you’ll give up and what you’ll contribute. Here’s the bottom line: If we want to end our oil addiction, we, as citizens, need to pony up: bike to work, plant a garden, do something. So again, the oil spill is my fault. I’m sorry. I haven’t done my part. Now I have to convince my wife to give up her S.U.V. Mark Mykleby.”

Policy and a Pint w/ David Byrne and R.T. Rybak!

Posted at 7:44 AM on June 1, 2010 by Steve Seel (1 Comments)

As we announced this morning, our next “Policy and a Pint” is Thursday June 17th at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis, with guests David Byrne and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak among others. This time, its a production we’re doing in association with Nice Ride Minnesota, called “Cities, Bicycles, and the Future of Getting Around.”

David Byrne is a longtime cyclist and bicycling advocate (not to mention bike rack designer), and he’s written a new cycling memoir, The Bicycle Diaries. Mayor Rybak is a devoted cyclist as well (he’s been called “America’s Fittest Mayor”), and will surely have much to say on the topic. Our other guests: Steve Clark, manager of Transit for Liveable Communities’ Walking and Bycicling program, and Jay Walljasper, author and specialty on urban issues and sustainability.

Tickets are available at the Uptown Theater box office and also at the Minneapolis Commuter Connection, 220 6th Street South.

What a fucking jackass.  Now I have to get rid of my Free Floyd t-shirt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/sports/cycling/21landis.html?hp

All signs are indicating that summer will finally be arriving next week in Minneapolis.  Just in time for National Bike To Work Week!  75 and sunny everyday.  No more excuses.

Can you put the car keys away for a week?

Great news!  Thanks to some corporate sponsorship, BA will be sending our very own author, GoldBikeShoes, to NYC for a review of the newest exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design.  Bespoke:  The Handbuilt Bicycle.

http://collections.madmuseum.org/code/emuseum.asp?emu_action=advsearch&rawsearch=exhibitionid/,/is/,/516/,/true/,/false&profile=exhibitions

Stay tuned!

Americans spend, on average, 18% of their annual income for
transportation. The average annual operating cost of a bicycle is
3.75% ($308) of an average car ($8,220).

Interseting article in the NYT about the increase in motorcycles and scooters for transportation and leisure.  Sure, it’s for motorcycles and scooters, but the general theme is enjoying the sense of connectedness that is deprived in a car.  So we can chalk this up as a victory for bikes, too.

“When I’m traveling in a car — no matter how great a car it is — I’m cut off from the world around me,” he said. “On my [scooter] I’m actually touching my surroundings.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/business/06WHEELS.html?hpw

Check out Johnny Slocum’s Poster A Day Project at his Flickr site.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyandstacie/sets/72157623484007012/

Bike related or not, an entertaining poster everyday!

But still super douchey.

http://www.yikebike.com/

Just ride a freaking bike.