Tuesday, November 27, 2012

OK...it's a sign to, as the Nike campaign goes: "Just Do It"

This Tread's for You: Winter Cycling in Northern Minnesota

BY: Natalie Gille / NOVEMBER 19 , 2012

Maintenance and tire tips for winter riding from a place where they know what they're doing…Northern Minnesota.

BEMIDJI, MN – Do you have a personal goal to ride your bike this winter? Maybe you’d like to ride your bike to work once a week, when the pavement is dry, or if the temperature is above 20 degrees. These are some goals Zachary Olson, bike mechanic for The Bike Guy Ski and Bicycle Shop in Bemidji, Minn., might recommend for winter cyclists. Whatever you decide, Zach encourages you to “commit to a goal and know that it doesn’t matter what other people are doing, you’re making a small meaningful change in your life.” Zach is a four-season cyclist, with experience riding in Bemidji winters.

Perhaps winter riding makes you think: “I’m going to wreck my bike!” or “Snow will cause me to fall!” I asked Zach about this and he was quick to suggest some tips. He says keeping your bike in good repair and conducting some easy basic maintenance can prevent your bike from being ruined by winter riding, not the snow itself. He adds, “In a few inches of wet snow, you get good traction, because it’s sticky.”

Here are a few of Zach’s maintenance tips for winter cycling:

Wash your bike
Use an oil-based lube
Wipe the drive train down every time you ride

In addition, appropriate bike tires are important for good traction on Bemidji winter terrain, where riders are challenged by snow and ice. To navigate through snow, Zach recommends that the winter cyclist first go slow, wear warm clothes, and gear up by investing in either a mountain bike with wide tires and studs or a bike with a coaster break and homemade traction made by attaching zip ties to the tires.

Zach hinted that the Bemidji community might persuade him to lead a winter cycling clinic to answer questions and teach some basics, if there was an interest. Contact Zach at The Bike Guy to learn more, 218-333-8891.

Zach also encourages people to experiment and try new things. If your bike has good mountain bike tires, it might perform just fine here in Bemidji if the pavement is clear. Last year we had a season of very light snowfall, which provided winter cyclists with clean pavement for about 30 to 40 percent of the winter. But it’s hard to say what the snowfall might be this season!

While we were talking, Zach was winterizing his bike—putting fenders and a rack on his bike, which he completed during our interview. Impressive!

If you’re out and about on your bike this winter, be sure to look for Zachary Olson, who has indicated there’s a new trend in winter cycling traction—tire chains with rim brakes. He hasn’t used these, but might just take his own advice and try something new this winter!

Featured in the photo: Zachary Olson and Cyndi Fenske at the 3rd Annual Brrrrmidji New Years Bike Ride.

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Brrrrmidji New Years Bike Ride

January 01 , 2013

RESOURCES

Bike Clubs in Minnesota

Put your spandex on and join new friends for a ride.

Monday, November 26, 2012

My last bike ride so far this year was Wednesday, November 21. The next day, Thanksgiving, it snowed. Every year I vow to bike the frozen tundra, last year the picture to the left was taken December 28th when the temp was in the 30s--I biked around the lake.

Below is link a link on the Twin Cities' Daily Planet website...


http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2012/11/(20/surviving-cold-two-wheels-10-tips-winter-biking-minnesota#.ULPi062BNQo.email

As much as I'd like to commute my 2 miles on bike to work at 4:00 am each winter day, I feel the risk is greater than the reward at this point. If I could only move every other street light from my downtown street to Richwood Road, and send my snowblower-happy neighbor out at 3:00 am on the bike trail and bike path, there would be no question that I would be on that bike!

Becker County Receives $10,000 For New Bike Racks...

DETROIT LAKES--Becker County receives $10,000 for bike racks to be installed at schools, businesses, and government buildings in communities around the county. The grant comes from the Statewide Health Improvement Program. SHIP's Karen Nitzkorski who works in Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, and Wilkin Counties says Becker County's Economic Development Coordinator, Guy Fischer, has spearheaded effort to identify the places lots of people tend to go and where the infrastructure is needed. She says the bike racks are exactly the type of thing SHIP invests in to make it easier for people to make the healthy choice. Nitzkorski says the bike racks will start to appear in the next few months at locations in Audubon, Lake Park, Frazee and Detroit Lakes.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

From www.pps.org

Why We Need a Little More Chaos: An Interview With Andy Clarke

By Mina Keyes on Jul 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment and 0 Reactions

Meet Andy Clarke!

League of American Bicyclists President Andy Clarke shared his thoughts and experiences with us at PPS on what bicycling means as a movement and how it has changed over the last 25 years. Andy, having been a part of the movement in the US since it involved just a handful of eager cyclists, shed some light on why passion is not enough, and what eager cyclists need to do today, more than ever, to keep the movement going. Before joining the League in 2003, Andy provided technical assistance to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center on site at the Federal Highway Administration, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for America Bikes, and as a member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycling Professionals.

Can you tell us what is new and innovative in the bicycling world?

What I see happening in the bike movement is a realization that we are indeed a part of something bigger, and that we are not just a special interest group. We see that through things like bike sharing and open streets events with activities and programs that are much more open, public, and acceptable than they have been in the past. Times have changed from when we were a little bit more focused on the lycra-clad, recreational, weekend warrior-type rider. We’re finding that image very limiting in terms of where the bike movement needs to be, and how it relates to the urban environment and the creation of great communities. In order to be successful, and to thrive and grow, the bike movement has got to appeal to a broader, more mainstream audience.

We are coming to realize and accept that bicycling is only as good as the walking environment and transit system allows it to be. We live and die together; we have to understand that in order for bicycling to flourish, walking must thrive and for transit to work, bicycling needs to be part of the mix.

You referred to this as a “movement”, which suggests one of Fred Kent’s favorite terms: the “zealous nut.” Can you talk about how this group of “zealous nuts” has turned bicycling into a movement, and what people who are interested in Placemaking might learn from that success?

When I first moved to the US from the UK twenty-five years ago, the movement was pretty slow. There were not many full-time bike advocates at the national level. There were a handful of states that had bike coordinators, there were lots of riders’ clubs and events, and lots of riding activity going on, but it wasn’t really a movement. I think we’ve seen that change quite dramatically and I think there is a lot to learn from how we’ve managed to achieve that and in some cases change perceptions. One striking growth is the National Bike Summit. For the first two or three years we quite literally had to remind people not to wear lycra just to prove a point. We’ve got to grow up as movement.

The Placemaking movement has got early adopters and the passionate smart people who are way ahead of the curve in realizing this is what we need to go with our communities. Twenty-five years ago, as far as most people were concerned, the American City was dead and buried. Now, that has changed completely because of those pioneers from CNU and elsewhere. There’s a point at which that passion has to turn into some degree of normalcy, and it has to become a part of the planning, landscape architecture, and architecture vernacular. It has to become something that everyday traffic engineers aren’t going to think is going to get them in trouble or have them lose their license over. We all have to grow up, and that will piss off some of the purists in movement. They’ll think we’re selling out by becoming more mainstream and pragmatic.

Can you tell us a little bit about the Federal Transportation Bill, and what it will mean for those who like to ride their bikes?

It means that people who want something different from their communities, and from what DOTs typically offer, have got to show up and be part of the process to ask for, demand, and insist better places, streets, and communities. My big fear is that the new Highway Bill is a huge throwback to the 1950s. Many state DOTs, unfortunately, will take the opportunity to revert back to where they’ve always felt more comfortable. I think where the biking, walking, and Placemaking community needs to come together and focus on effecting change at the city council, municipal, and especially the state level. They need to make sure they’re raising their hands and saying, ‘We don’t want more six-lane divided highways. We want more places where people can live, breathe, and travel safely and conveniently.’

You’ve been a part of Pro Walk/Pro Bike: Pro Place since it was just called Pro Bike, back in 1988. What changes have you noticed, other than the name, of course?

For years, Pro Bike had almost exactly the same number of attendees; we used to joke that it had an audience of 234 people, and that was it! I think we’re at a point, now, where our movement could easily sustain a 1,000-person conference every year. Over the last 25 years it’s grown in leaps and bounds in terms of sophistication, our technical knowledge, our expectation of what our professions should be doing, and how we can participate in those professions.

I remember in 1992, in Montreal, we wanted to start up the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, and 60 of us got together at a meeting room at Pro Bike and said, ‘You know what? It’s more important that we are well represented within the American Public Works Association, American Planning Association, ITE, and other existing professional organizations.’ At the time, there was a burgeoning interest in the potential for those associations to address bicycling and walking issues. Within two years, when we met again in Portland, Oregon in 1994, we realized we needed to be working within all of those professions, but there was still no one looking out for us. There was still no one making sure that there was a career path, and that there were professional development opportunities for bicycling and pedestrian professionals. The movement and the profession have grown in size and the momentum is quite incredible.

Why should Placemakers care about walking and biking, and why should walkers and bikers care about Placemaking?

We are one in the same. When you look at great places, you see people walking and riding bikes in them. In reading the blog of some students from the University of Oregon who recently spent some time in Copenhagen and Amsterdam, it was really interesting to see the differences that they saw between these two cities. Copenhagen, they felt, was more immediately transferable because there was much more of the same kinds of corners, streets, and engineering, but there was this kind of amazing attraction with Dutch Placemaking. In Amsterdam it’s all negotiated, there isn’t dedicated space or order. It’s all a little bit more chaotic but it’s much more civilized…you wonder how it works, but it does!

I think understanding the intangible and seeing a place work is something that, when you’ve been doing this for awhile, you just know—but it’s very hard to document or put down on paper. I think there’s a certain segment of the cycling population that wants to know where their place is, but we will all benefit from a little more chaos! That seems to be the key to Placemaking: if a place is too sterile, too ordered, too segmented, it just looses vitality. That vitality is what we want! It’s what attracts people to those places.

The League of American Bicyclists is sponsoring the appearance of Mikael Colville-Andersonat PWPB:PP. Can you talk a little bit about why you think it’s important that he address our audience, and what he can teach us about Copenhagen?

Mikael is an immensely talented presenter and speaker, very challenging and iconoclastic. Anyone who thinks they’re doing something “hot” is going to get a rude awakening when Mikael comes and looks at their stuff. He is not afraid to slaughter a few sacred cows and call things out when they’re stupid, and I think we need that. When we gave Portland our top bicycle friendly community award for the US, Gil Penalosa pointed out that Portland would be a pretty shitty Dutch city—the standard we’re using in this country is not exactly world-class! Part of the attraction of getting Mikael to come to Pro Walk/Pro Bike: Pro Place is that he has no hesitation pointing that out. He’ll do that with gusto, I’m sure, but in a very informative, helpful, and well-presented way. I’m looking forward to it.

The National Women's Bicycling Summit will take place in Long Beach directly following PWPB:PP.

The National Women’s Bicycling Summit,organized by some of your staff, will take place immediately after PWPB:PP. Can you talk about why you’re supporting that even, and what you hope it will accomplish?

We are excited about the interest in the topic, but I don’t know where it’s going to take us; it’s not my place to suggest it either. It’s an extremely timely event that speaks to the fact that we have been a very Type-A personality driven group for a long time. Even on my daily commute, I pass through places where, if you’re not on the bike trail, you have to be pretty alpha male to ride on these streets. As you get into Arlington, you see that change completely, with a much greater diversity of people riding for everyday activities. It’s really critical that we use this as an indicator of how well we’re doing, and if we’re not serving that segment of the population, we’re simply not doing our jobs.

———————————————–

For those of you interested in learning more about how to foster great streets, register for Pro Walk/Pro Bike® 2012: Pro Place, North America’s premier walking and bicycling conference, taking place September 10-13th, 2012 in Long Beach, CA. Join more than 1,000 planners, engineers, elected officials, health professionals, and advocates to gain the insights of national experts in the field, learn about practical solutions to getting bike and pedestrian infrastructure built, and meet peers from across the country. Remember: standard registration ends on August 10th!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

MN Energy Challenge - Minnesota Energy Challenge

The Future of Open Space in Minneapolis (and it’s impact on biking)

Walking to school, sports tied to teen weight
Mon Jul 16 11:49:46 UTC 2012

By Andrew M. Seaman

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teens who play a couple of team sports and walk or bike to school are less likely to be overweight or obese, says a new study.

Researchers found that of more than 1,700 teens, those who played on at least two sports teams per year were 22 percent less likely to be overweight or obese than those who did not. Those who walked or biked to school four to five times per week were 33 percent less likely to have weight problems.

The findings, however, can't prove those activities prevented the weight problems, or whether something else could explain the link.

Overall, the connection shouldn't come as a surprise to most people, said Dr. William Stratbucker, a pediatrician at the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Healthy Weight Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"I think this is info that a lot of consumers will see as common sense. If your child is on sports teams, they're less likely to be obese," said Stratbucker, who was not involved with the new study.

The researchers say, however, past research on different activities, including walking to school, recreational activities and playing sports, have reported conflicting results on whether they actually cut down on obesity.

ALMOST A THIRD OBESE

The researchers surveyed students and parents from New Hampshire and Vermont public schools over seven years - starting about 2002. The surveys were conducted over the telephone and recorded several pieces of information, including what activities the students participated in and the students' height and weight.

The researchers used the information that was recorded once the students entered high school, which gave them information on 1,718 teens.

Overall, 29 percent of the teens were overweight or obese.

The researchers, who published their study in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, then looked at which activities seemed to be linked to the least risk of weight problems.

About three out of four teens played on a sports team, and the researchers found that those who played at least two sports per year were least likely to be obese.

Of the 492 teens that didn't play on a team, about 40 percent were overweight or obese. That's compared to about 22 percent of the 927 that played at least two sports.

Keith Drake, the study's lead author from Dartmouth Medical School's Hood Center for Children and Families in Lebanon, New Hampshire, said that playing multiple team sports may help more than just playing one because those teens probably stay more active throughout the entire year.

"It does give kids a consistent way to participate in moderate to vigorous activity," Drake told Reuters Health.

He added, however, that simply playing one sport is probably good for kids, too.

As for walking or biking to school, Drake and his colleagues found those who commuted more than three days per week were least likely to be obese.

Meanwhile, extracurricular and recreational physical activities didn't seem linked to weight.

NOT ALL SPORTS CREATED EQUAL

The study did have some limitations, including that the information was reported by the students and parents, which could introduce errors.

But overall, Stratbucker told Reuters Health that the study shows that it's important for parents to encourage their kids to remain moderately to vigorously active all year long.

He cautioned, however, that just being in a sport does not mean teens are active.

"If a sport is what they want to do and it's limited in moderate to vigorous activity, they're going to have to find that moderate to vigorous activity somewhere else," he said.

Drake added that it's also important to make those opportunities available to teens.

"I think finding efforts to promote sports participation helps in our obesity prevention efforts. And this study - I think - speaks to paying more attention to that," he said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/L9suBT Pediatrics, online July 16, 2012.

(Corrects second paragraph of story to change the risk reduction for playing on sports teams and walking to school to 22 percent and 33 percent, respectively.)

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