I found this table on the Biking Bis website. The whole post is about commuting and how it is climbing. He also talks about the percentage of women who commute by bicycle being an indicator, where the more women you have commuting, the more bicycle-friendly your community is. It's a good article, I highly recommend reading it.
What I really found interesting was the percentage of bicycle commuters per state, and where each state ranked. More specifically, where my state, Utah, ranked in comparison to everyone else. I made it easy to find Utah, but in case you are still having a problem, it's located somewhere between numbers 16 and 18. Here are all the states, including District of Columbia and Puerto Rico (the national average is 0.545%)
1. District of Columbia 2.334833%
2. Oregon 2.091982
3 .Idaho 1.516836
4 .Montana 1.449877
5 .Colorado 1.249676
6 .New Mexico 1.019163
7 .Wyoming 1.015782
8 .California 0.994617
9 .Hawaii 0.954369
10 .Washington 0.905223
11 .Arizona 0.865028
12 .Minnesota 0.864148
13 .Alaska 0.823371
14 .North Dakota 0.819927
15 .Wisconsin 0.737054
16 .Massachusetts 0.715799
17 .Utah 0.711098
18 .Vermont 0.645284
19 .Florida 0.601341
20 .Illinois 0.536436
21 .Maine 0.528803
22 .South Dakota 0.515014
23 .Iowa 0.482668
24 .Nebraska 0.472913
25 .New York 0.468634
26 .Nevada 0.452915
27 .Michigan 0.449389
28 .Indiana 0.435365
29 .Pennsylvania 0.412423
30 .Virginia 0.403295
31 .Kansas 0.389714
32 .Louisiana 0.360399
33 .Ohio 0.33633
34 .New Hampshire 0.321317
35 .Maryland 0.32044
36 .New Jersey 0.309701
37 .Puerto Rico 0.301092
38 .Rhode Island 0.298716
39 .Delaware 0.29775
40 .Oklahoma 0.262248
41 .Texas 0.258984
42 .North Carolina 0.237646
43 .Mississippi 0.237536
44 .Connecticut 0.234513
45 .South Carolina 0.227007
46 .Missouri 0.207202
47 .Georgia 0.203892
48 .Kentucky 0.190421
49 .Tennessee 0.160865
50 .West Virginia 0.157637
51 .Arkansas 0.128605
52 .Alabama 0.128286
Not surprisingly. All of the top 10, with the exception of the District of Columbia, are in the west, and also not surprisingly is that Oregon is #2 (thanks in no small part to cycling meccas Portland and Eugene). What completely blows my mind is who is occupying the #3 position. Idaho?!?!? I have been to Idaho many times and even taken my bicycle there on several occasions. I don't remember really seeing other cyclists while there. Also that the percentage of commuters who travel by bicycle for Idaho is more than double that of Utah.
I don't get it. Maybe I'm missing something. If there are any Idahoans who read this, please enlighten me, invite me to come ride with you and show me. Let me know where all of this cycling is happening, because I sure didn't see any of it.
I won't even get into some of the other states that beat Utah. Alaska?!? are you kidding me. Come on, Utah, step up!
30 September 2009
29 September 2009
Morning school drop-off, Amsterdam
What's missing from this picture? That's rignt, nothing! This is what morning school drop off looks like in Amsterdam.
No oversized SUV's driven by half-awake soccer moms who are paying more attention to watching their precious little ones skip happily into school behind them than they are to what is in front of them as they speed back home to catch the last half of Regis and Kelly.
We have a long way to go until it looks anything even remotely similar to that here.
27 September 2009
26 September 2009
22 September 2009
Park(ing) Day: The interview
Sorry for the delay. I did some searching on the interweb, and found out how to post an audio file on the blog. (Tip for anyone else who would like to post some audio, you need to create a video file using Windows movie maker.)
Here is the interview with Mark Puddy from IBI Group that should have been on yesterday's post.
Here is the interview with Mark Puddy from IBI Group that should have been on yesterday's post.
Share the Road licence plates
I found this on the front page of the Utah Bicycle Coalition website:
Share The Road License Plate
Coming Soon to a DMV office near you!Plates will be available after October1st, 2009
You will be able to order plates to replace your existing at anytime after they are available. The fee is $25 in addition to the regular registration & fees.
If you order mid-year replacement tags, your registration date will not change and the fee is not pro-rated. (You'll send in your $25 and a small mailing fee.) Remember the $25 goes to a good cause!
For general information from the State, Click Here. Not all locations may have plates, but they will be made available through mail-order from the State.
For questions for the UBC regarding the STR plates, Click Here
Above is a mockup of the current plate design.
Utah Department of Transportation will collect the $25 fee, most of which will be placed in a "restricted account" for use by the UBC for "support bicycle operation and safety awareness programs." For the full text of the law Click Here (look for underlined sections).
Below are states which currently have plates, as of January 2009
Green are states that have a Share the road plate available, dark grey are states that have limited availability of STR plates, and light grey are States that have not yet adopted a STR plate.
21 September 2009
Park(ing) Day
Friday, the 18th was Park(ing) Day.
Park(ing) Day was originally invented in 2005 by Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio as a way to challenge people to rethink the way streets are used and reinforces the need for broad-based changes to urban infrastructure. Additionally, it is an opportunity to celebrate parks by creating temporary parks in public parking spaces.
Since 2005, Park(ing) Day has blossomed into a worldwide grassroots movement: 2008 included more than 500 "PARK" installations in 100 cities on four continents.
This year, the project continues to expand to urban centers across the globe, including first-time PARK installations in South Africa, Poland, Norway, New Zealand & South Korea. (from flyer I was given at the "park")
I first heard about Park(ing) Day last year through a San Francisco based podcast. When I found out that the 19th was National Park(ing) Day, I did a quick search to see if anyone in SLC was setting up a "park" I found that the IBI Group, a downtown design firm, was setting up a park (from this point, quotations will be omitted as being superfluous, and highly annoying) only a couple of blocks away from my office. At lunchtime, I headed out to see what I would find. At the park I met Mark with the IBI group. Mark is the person responsible for setting up this installation for the past 3 years. We had a good talk about why he does this, and what goes into creating a park in the space of two parking spots along a busy road.
I took several pictures with my phone, and also managed to get a quick interview with Mark. Take a listen to the first ever Bike Junkie audio interview. -- (okay, I am having some problems figuring how to insert an audio file into my blog post. Enjoy the pictures for now. I'll update the post once audio is available.)
As an occasional bicycle commuter, I am of course in favor of anything that could lead to safer, more integrated streets. During my time there, several people walked past with questioning looks on their faces. As far as what the cars on the street thought, I didn't hear any honking, and I couldn't see if there were any puzzled looks on their faces (mainly because of my position, which was lying down on the grass, with the bushes blocking my view of the street). Sometimes drivers forget that they're not the only ones that use the streets. Events such as this, and to some extent Critical Mass when it started out (disclaimer: I have never participated in a critical mass, any information I have about them is definitely third-hand) let drivers know that they need to share the road.
Mark and his group did a great job designing and creating a park in the middle of the town. They also created the park with an environmentally sustainable mindset. All of the sod and plants were re-used in a local residents yard, and the flyers were printed on recycled paper. My thanks to Mark, and IBI Group for taking this on for the past 3 years, and for giving me the opportunity to interview him. Hopefully you can hear it soon.
Park(ing) Day was originally invented in 2005 by Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio as a way to challenge people to rethink the way streets are used and reinforces the need for broad-based changes to urban infrastructure. Additionally, it is an opportunity to celebrate parks by creating temporary parks in public parking spaces.
Since 2005, Park(ing) Day has blossomed into a worldwide grassroots movement: 2008 included more than 500 "PARK" installations in 100 cities on four continents.
This year, the project continues to expand to urban centers across the globe, including first-time PARK installations in South Africa, Poland, Norway, New Zealand & South Korea. (from flyer I was given at the "park")
I first heard about Park(ing) Day last year through a San Francisco based podcast. When I found out that the 19th was National Park(ing) Day, I did a quick search to see if anyone in SLC was setting up a "park" I found that the IBI Group, a downtown design firm, was setting up a park (from this point, quotations will be omitted as being superfluous, and highly annoying) only a couple of blocks away from my office. At lunchtime, I headed out to see what I would find. At the park I met Mark with the IBI group. Mark is the person responsible for setting up this installation for the past 3 years. We had a good talk about why he does this, and what goes into creating a park in the space of two parking spots along a busy road.
I took several pictures with my phone, and also managed to get a quick interview with Mark. Take a listen to the first ever Bike Junkie audio interview. -- (okay, I am having some problems figuring how to insert an audio file into my blog post. Enjoy the pictures for now. I'll update the post once audio is available.)
As an occasional bicycle commuter, I am of course in favor of anything that could lead to safer, more integrated streets. During my time there, several people walked past with questioning looks on their faces. As far as what the cars on the street thought, I didn't hear any honking, and I couldn't see if there were any puzzled looks on their faces (mainly because of my position, which was lying down on the grass, with the bushes blocking my view of the street). Sometimes drivers forget that they're not the only ones that use the streets. Events such as this, and to some extent Critical Mass when it started out (disclaimer: I have never participated in a critical mass, any information I have about them is definitely third-hand) let drivers know that they need to share the road.As I was walking around the park, taking pictures, I was approached by a reporter with the Deseret News who asked me about my thoughts on the park. You can read the article here. More information about Park(ing) Day can be found by visiting the offical website: http://www.parkingday.org/
Mark and his group did a great job designing and creating a park in the middle of the town. They also created the park with an environmentally sustainable mindset. All of the sod and plants were re-used in a local residents yard, and the flyers were printed on recycled paper. My thanks to Mark, and IBI Group for taking this on for the past 3 years, and for giving me the opportunity to interview him. Hopefully you can hear it soon.
**update**
I was able to get the interview with Mark online. You can listen to it here.
20 September 2009
19 September 2009
17 September 2009
Unexpected hiatus
Sorry for the unexpected hiatus.
I still have some product reviews that I am working on from the Outdoor Retailer expo to post. Hope to have those up soon.
I still have some product reviews that I am working on from the Outdoor Retailer expo to post. Hope to have those up soon.
06 September 2009
05 September 2009
03 September 2009
Wii Bicycle?!?
Almost since we brought that infernal little white box called the Wii into our home (kidding, I actually enjoy playing it) I have wondered if they would ever make something to simulate cycling.
It seemed like a no-brainer. You have a game console that tracks the motion of a wireless control and translates that motion into on-screen movement. The Wii has used that to simulate such sports-related activites such as bowling, golf. archery, baseball, jogging, fishing, and the list goes on... but no cycling.
I've done searches on the interweb previously which have netted exactly 0 results.
Until today.
I came across this picture on this site.
Is it legit? Don't know. Does it look fun? Absolutely. Will it replace going outdoors and riding an actual bike? For me, no. For some? Very possible.
The other site listed the price as $89.99 (not surprising, that seems to be a comfortable price point for Wii, seeing as how the original Guitar Hero bundle as well as the Wii Fit bundle both were that price), but said that they couldn't tell if it was a Nintendo, or 3rd party accessory.
I'm interested.
It seemed like a no-brainer. You have a game console that tracks the motion of a wireless control and translates that motion into on-screen movement. The Wii has used that to simulate such sports-related activites such as bowling, golf. archery, baseball, jogging, fishing, and the list goes on... but no cycling.
I've done searches on the interweb previously which have netted exactly 0 results.
Until today.
I came across this picture on this site.
Is it legit? Don't know. Does it look fun? Absolutely. Will it replace going outdoors and riding an actual bike? For me, no. For some? Very possible.
The other site listed the price as $89.99 (not surprising, that seems to be a comfortable price point for Wii, seeing as how the original Guitar Hero bundle as well as the Wii Fit bundle both were that price), but said that they couldn't tell if it was a Nintendo, or 3rd party accessory.
I'm interested.
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