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Share Your Bike Hacks!
We’re always looking to share useful bike hacks with people, do you have one that you’re proud of? Send it our way and we can share it with the masses (giving you credit for your genius, obviously)!
Email leslie@slobikelane.org for any hacks you want to share.
Happy Friday!
CRAZY automated bike parking in Japan…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHlneYSUGmo]
Happy Friday!
Great video from Chicago’s Kidical Mass, a cover song of Rebecca Black’s ever-popular “Friday”…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxI7rTb202Q]
Bike Hack: DIY Bike Light
When it’s dark outside, riding without a white front light can get you a ticket, but more importantly, it’s super dangerous. Sometimes cars aren’t looking for bicycles on the road, so when you are riding without a light at night, it makes it even harder for them to notice you.
Bike-specific lights aren’t necessary to accomplish this (although they are nice and can be found in the Bike Kitchen) you can use an existing smaller flashlight you might have lying around.
- Find a smaller flashlight that works and isn’t too large to put on your handlebars (don’t prevent yourself from braking or turning)
- Using an old intertube, cut two small circles in it, about 3 inches apart
- Stretch the intertube under your handlebars and place the flashlight in the holes
- Make sure the flashlight is held on tight and will face forward while riding
Being visible while riding at night is extremely important to avoid collisions with cars, other bicyclists, pedestrians and inanimate objects.
Happy Friday!
We’ll see you tonight (and tomorrow) for the SLO Granfondo!
NYC Bike Share Crowdsourcing
Perhaps one of the best parts of the newly announced New York City bike share system is the way they are using crowdsourcing to make it serve the public as best as possible. You can go onto the NYDOT website, and suggest a place you would like to see a bike station, allowing them to then be voted on, creating a bike share program supported by the people who will use it!
New York’s announcement included the specifics of a system with 10,000 bicycles and 600 stations (!)… so start planning your trip to New York to check it out next year.
Designing a system that’s big enough is key to it’s success. If there aren’t enough stations or bikes, it’s not easy enough for people to pick up and drop off bikes. In it’s first year, Capital Bikeshare (in Washington DC) far exceeded the expectations, reaching 1,000,000 rides!
With over 1,100 bicycles at 110 stations, and 18,000 registered users (you don’t need to be registered to use it), it’s currently the largest in the country, soon to be outdone by New York. The Coalition used it as our main form of transportation when we were at the National Bike Summit in March, and it was amazing!
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