facts & figures

bike thefts in Tucson

Facts & Figures the who/what/why/when/where/how of bikers.

Commuter Bike Design competition

! what a great idea: check it out at Bicycle Design or TreeHugger

There is a shiny new Cannondale as a prize. Here is the brief in brief:

Do you have an idea for a bicycle that might persuade the average person, with no prior interest in cycling, to park the car and pedal to work? That is the main idea behind this competition. The scope is up to you- choose to come up with a whole new form factor for a pedal powered machine, or focus on specific details that you consider key to accomplishing the goal of getting the average non-cyclist to consider riding a bike for transportation. Don’t be constrained by products that are currently on the market, but do make sure that your concepts are based in reality (don’t break the laws of physics, etc) and that they are manufacturable using existing technology.

Bicycle Commuter Tax Provision:

financial reimbursement from biking. Get details here.

Accor Services USA is the leading provider of tax-free commuter benefit solutions in the U.S., and we have made it our mission to make tax-free commuter benefits a staple in employee benefits packages throughout the American workplace to help protect the environment.

See more on the Bike commuter Act.

Register your bike

Since 1984, the National Bike Registry (NBR®) has been working with law enforcement to return stolen bikes to their rightful owners. A bike registered with NBR, the only true national database, can be identified by police and returned to you instead of being sold at an auction.

Register your bike here

• $10 will cover a bike for 10 years.
• $25 will cover a bike for 30 years.
  When you replace your current bike, contact NBR for a new label and certificate, limit one bike at a time.
• $25 Family Registration will cover up to 5 bikes at a single address. Each bike is registered for 10 years.
• 99cent Stolen Bike Registry.
  You can register a bike AFTER it has been stolen. In the event that one of our participating law enforcement agencies finds it, it can be returned! (This registration is for one bike, for six months, and does not include a decal or certificate).

Genentech
Ranked on Fortune best 50 companies, unusual perks: (this is GREAT!)

Best Companies rank: 5

Forget the morning drive. Come to work by bicycle, on foot, via public transportation, or in a carpool and you get a subsidy of $4 a day.

locking tips.

I spoke to someone who runs a bike shop - maybe you all know these things, but here are some pointers on locking your bike:
do not lock bikes to scaffolding (very easy to undo the bars), nor outside of movies if you are going in (thieves know they have time), always lock in the triangle part of the bike and back wheel, do not lock to jiggly bike signs or those w/out a sign post on top (can be hoisted up), & one of the best locks is the U Kryptonite lock. (Perhaps we can engage them in some conversation about designing a new lock?!)

make it & they will come...

more on the infrastructure:

If your boss encourages alternative forms of transportation and the place of business provides a shower, then commuting on a bike becomes a reasonable option.

Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life, by J. Harry Wray. Dr. Wray is a professor at DePaul University in Chicago, and teaches a class devoted entirely to the subject of cycling and politics.

A safe place to park my bike is ultimately the most important factor to me. Bike lanes are just alright with me as they imply that roads without them are unsafe or off limits.