Now that bike share stations are being placed around town, people are freaking through various complaints and vandalizing the stations. So a fews days ago I went to a bike share town hall meeting, hosted by our local council member. Here are some of the arguments against bike share that I heard:

"We didn't know a station was being proposed here."
"The stations take up space for needed parking."
"All the bike stations are making more traffic congestion."
"Now it's more difficult for businesses to get deliveries."
"Bike share is a commercial venture, not appropriate for public city streets."

THE LAUNCH OF BIKEWITNESS.ORG!

In honor of upcoming Bike Month and the soon to be launched NYC Bike-Share Program, NewYorkBikeLawyers.com, the Law Firm Flanzig and Flanzig, LLP has released a brand new site, BikeWitness.Org!

It's been a while since we've added new cities to Ride the City but we are happy today to make a soft launch of Ride the City Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, two up and coming bicycling cities. We're calling this a soft launch because volunteers and Open Street Map users are still adding bike routes and improving the map. Give Ride the City a try and let us know how it's working for you.
 

Got an email recently from the NY Permaculture Meetup group that I thought I'd share for the NYC crowd. Greg is trying to set up a commercial composting business that hauls used coffee grinds away by bicycle. See below and please consider sharing his survey with your local coffee shop. Thanks!
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Image source: Revolution Compost, Vermont

Just got this from our friends at Chrome:

Chrome Industries launches the Streets of Chrome – A photo contest to find the world’s next great street photographer in conjunction with its new camera bags.

Streets of Chrome from Chrome Industries on Vimeo.

It's seems like we're regularly thinking about how to make Ride the City better but, you know, sometimes in thinking about the problems so much you can forget what's really important...so we've decided to get your opinions. If you have some time, we'd love your input:

On my way home today I was looking at a dark lower Manhattan, thinking how amazing it is that so much of this huge, modern city is without electricity. Will we ever be able to bicycle through lower Manhattan in complete darkness again? Probably not. Let's take this opportunity. It sounds creepy, but you know it'll be fun.

Image source

We got an innovative bike shop in Brooklyn that's bringing together bikes, coffee, and beer to give you a place to relax before, during, or after using the shop. It's Red Lantern Bicycles, at 345 Myrtle Ave (Carlton/Adelphi), in Fort Greene.

Image from Hennie Kuiper

This post is a bit of a tangent from our regular pieces on bicycling, but I just couldn't resist with the news that's just been made public about Lance....

20 years ago I raced bicycles competitively and I loved it! Cycling was my life. I did well and made it onto the U.S. National Cycling Team of young riders in 1993, the year Lance Armstrong won the World Championships (above) before the world knew his name. But in the sport of cycling he was already a god. I thought to myself, "One day I want to be like that".

Image from Bike Calgary

At about 1.1 million people, Calgary, Alberta, is Canada’s third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area. As a young, largely suburban, sprawling metropolis it is less known for cycling, and more as a North American capital of the oil and gas industry, the Calgary Stampede rodeo, and for the winter Olympics hosted here in 1988. Despite reputation and expectations, however, cycling is increasingly popular in Calgary. A network of walking and cycling paths, at 700 km (434 mi) the most extensive in North America, provides not only opportunities for recreational cycling but also convenient, safe, and often scenic commute routes.