Every summer the City of Portland closes off streets to motorized vehicles, and opens them to cyclists, walkers, runners, unicyclists, and any other human-powered transportation. This summer’s events are taking place once a month from May – September, with one event in each of the city’s 5 quadrants. The routes each include several city parks, which are hubs for community activities during the event. Each event often has over 20,000 participants. In 2011 Sunday Parkways had 107,300 participants across all days/locations.

If you visited us during the event and are wondering what exactly this site is all about, you might want to scroll on down to the bottom of this post where I’ve got links to some more information about how the site works, some of our more popular questions, and some of the other Stack Exchange sites. Of course, you’re welcome to keep reading about our experience volunteering today!

Families enjoying the open streets at Portland Sunday Parkways

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Note – if you’re in the UK you can watch the programme on iPlayer here.

I should probably start by saying that I’d seen a fair amount of publicity for this program (specifically this, this and this), and I was watching with a view to complaining to the BBC about it. Having watched it, I have to say it was nowhere near as bad as I feared it would be, but it could have been much better. In short – I’m not angry, just disappointed.

The programme starts with Gareth, a 24-year old cyclist. He initially comes off as a bit arrogant. A little bit later he’s shown antagonising a taxi driver by banging on the side of his taxi when it passes a little bit too close. He says with a smile, “I’ve noticed if you touch someone’s vehicle they get very possessive about that”. So it appears that he knows exactly what he’s doing. While I understand the point he makes – that if you can touch someone’s car as they overtake you, then they haven’t given you enough room – I don’t think it’s a particularly smart thing to do. Since the documentary aired Gareth has said that he felt it misrepresented him. Gareth’s YouTube page is here.

The next section is Mark, a traffic policeman on a bicycle. This was quite interesting as we see him chase down a motorcyclist that fails to stop. While there are a couple of scary manoeuvres he seems highly skilled and in control. We also see him pulling over drivers and cyclists for minor traffic offences. There are lots of cyclists jumping red lights, Mark points out “it’s not the crime of the century, but it could get you killed”.

Next up is a woman who’s daughter was killed while cycling, she was crushed by a cement mixer which turned left across her. This was quite an inspirational story as we hear about her campaign for better safety standards. She starts by buying shares in the company so she can speak at their Annual General Meeting, this leads to the company improving the training its drivers receive and installing proximity detectors on the sides of its vehicles.

Next there are two incidents caught on helmet camera. First there’s a very scary video from Glasgow. As a cyclist approaches a roundabout a truck travelling at speed fails to give way. The cyclist slams his brakes on and the truck misses him by a few centimetres. It’s absolutely terrifying (it’s on YouTube here). The second incident was a road rage attack by a driver on a cyclist. The video was posted on YouTube and widely reported in the press, which led to the driver being identified and prosecuted.

The Traffic Droid is the next section. While the programme describes him as “policing the situation himself”, in reality he’s a cyclist who videos poor driving (and cycling) and posts it online. We see him videoing drivers who are using mobile phones and iPads and handing them flyers with his YouTube address on. He describes how he started filming traffic violations after being knocked off his bike 3 years ago, he breaks down and cries as he talks about it.

Finally we see footage of a courier race across London. The cyclists ride in what can only be described as an aggressive and nearly suicidal manner. It’s this short section that seems to have caused most of the controversy, and it’s not hard to see why. The sheer recklessness is breathtaking, but it’s so far removed from the typical behaviour of the average cyclist. It appears to have been included simply for shock value.

In summary, I have mixed feelings about this documentary. The section about cement mixer safety I thought was positive, as it highlights a particular danger to cyclists and shows that if the will is there then these issues can be tackled. I thought the section with the cycling traffic policeman was interesting and it was also good that it showed him being even-handed in his dealings with cyclists and drivers. His clam approach and ability to defuse situations was a marked contrast to some of the other participants in the documentary.

I felt the central premise of the documentary, a war between cyclists and drivers, was flawed. The majority of cyclists are also drivers – 87% of British Cycling members own a car and the president of the Automobile Association is a keen cyclist. How can two groups be at war when so many people belong to both groups? I thought the other main failing of the documentary was a lack of context. For example a few cycling accident and death statistics were mentioned, but there was no comparison to other activities such as walking, or to accident and death statistics for cycling in other countries. The documentary would have left viewers with the false impression that cycling on Britain’s roads is a very dangerous activity, I hope my mum hasn’t watched it.

I also felt that the documentary missed an opportunity to discuss cycling facilities and road layout, which can be a cause of conflict between cyclists and drivers. There were a few incidents shown were a cyclist in a narrow cycle lane was overtaken by a vehicle which passed closely to the cyclist without actually moving into the cycle lane. One of the road rage incidents shown occurred after a driver was unable to overtake a cyclist through a traffic calming system.

In the US, May is National Bike Month, and next week (May 14-18) is National Bike to Work Week. This is an awesome opportunity to challenge yourself to commute by bike more often, and with the weather getting warmer, it’s the perfect time to get back into the habit of using your bike to get around.

Individual communities have bike challenges, with prizes sponsored by local bike advocacy groups, cycling shops, and bike groups. The League of American Bicyclists has a webpage where you can look up official Bike Month events in your community. Not all events are listed on this site, so you should also do a web search for bike to work <city name> and see what you can find. For example, Oregon has the Walk and Bike Month Challenge, New York City has Bike Month NYC, San Francisco Bay Area has a Bike to Work Day, and dozens of other communities across the US have their own programs.

Not every city’s Bike to Work events are on the “official” dates, so make sure to check for local events right away so you don’t miss out!

As you get geared up for spring commuting, don’t forget to ask Bicycles Stack Exchange when you have questions about setting up your bike!

If there are local events in your area, please leave links in the comments below and we’ll add them to the blog post.

I recently spent a few weeks commuting in our nation’s capital, and my best route was through Rock Creek Park. I wish I had a permanent commute along a route like this!

Folks playing in the park. The pictures in this post are from previous trips; I didn’t have a camera this time.

The park was created by congress in 1890, along with Yosemite National Park. The park is a long valley that pretty much divides the district in half. Most access points are very steep, and I see many more riders walking those hills than riding them. (At the end of my three weeks in the District, I’m proud to say I was regularly climbing those hills.) more »

Taking some lights out for a test ride at night

Whether you bike to work every day regardless of how dark it is outside, or only let dusk catch you on the occasional evening ride, every cyclist should have lights. They’re required after dark by law in almost all regions, and are a crucial piece of safety equipment even where they’re optional.

Remember that although spending $30-50 on good lights may seem like a lot of money, the medical costs from a single accident would far surpass that initial investment. If you bike at night (or even bike on busy roads during the day – several of these lights are daytime visible), a bright light is a must-have!

Choosing a light can be a difficult task though – there are countless options to choose from ranging from cheap $3 flashers to blindingly bright $200 powerhouses. The internet already has some good comparisons of bike headlights, but there’s a surprising lack of comprehensive taillight comparisons, so I decided to make one. For science.

In total, I reviewed 16 different taillights from 8 of the top light manufacturers. I chose which lights to review based on a survey I conducted on the parent site for this blog - Bicycles Stack Exchange, a Q&A site for everything about bicycles, and also asked on Reddit’s /r/bicycling. The incumbent in this race is the Planet Bike Blinky Superflash. Everyone has this light (myself included). Not only is it the light most people own, it’s also the most-loved – 20% of respondents said it was their favorite. In terms of what people wish they had or are considering buying, the Planet Bike Superflash Turbo, Portland Design Works’ Radbot 1000 and Danger Zone, and the Niterider Cherrybomb were all high on the list. Many people expressed an interest in DiNotte’s lights, but unfortunately we were unable to acquire one for this review and the company declined to loan a light for the review.

I’m sure you’re all dying to know which light is the best, but first, let’s take a look at the contenders.

Table of Contents

• What I measured
• Data overview
• Individual light reviews
• Comparisons
• The winners
• Final thoughts

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Sorry to all the non-US folks that read this blog; this doesn’t directly affect you.

There’s currently activity in both houses of Congress affecting funding for cycling (and walking) infrastructure. If things go wrong in Congress, we could end up with a lot fewer bike lanes, bike paths and sidewalks and move more towards a totally car-centric infrastructure.

The current Senate transportation bill (MAP-21) weakens walking and biking programs. To improve the bill, bicycle advocates are asking senators to vote for a bipartisan amendment to guarantee local governments a voice in transportation decisions and allow them to build sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that keep people safe.

In the House, cycling advocates are asking representatives to oppose the House transportation bill. Despite the fact that walking and bicycling infrastructure is a low-cost investment that creates more jobs per dollar than any other kind of highway spending, the House bill eliminates dedicated funding for walking and biking altogether.

Learn more and contact your senators and representative about this issue.

Obligatory disclaimer: none of this represents the official stance of Stack Exchange.

A message to drivers:

We know you don’t all hate cyclists. Many of you–most of you?–probably like bicycles and have fond memories of riding one as a kid. Many of you may not understand why adults would ride a bike when they could be in a car, but hey! –live and let live. You yourself may even ride from time to time.

We know that you try to keep alert for cyclists and pedestrians. It’s the occasional driver talking on a cell phone while giving themselves a pedicure that makes you all look bad.

Also, we’re truly embarrassed by the stupid, suicidal riders you see on the roads. Those of us who know how to cycle in traffic see wrong-way cyclists (or worse, cyclists who ride on the goddamn sidewalk) as misguided at best, damn fools at worst. Yeah, they’re our fellow cyclists (sorta), but every time we see a ninja cyclist at night dressed in black without even a reflector, let along lights, who’s riding salmon-style on a divided highway… we shudder. These riders are road-pizza in the making.

We’re trying to educate them, but a lack of cyclist education in driver’s ed classes (coupled with all the misinformation that’s out there) makes this a hard, uphill task. Some days, it makes us all seem like salmon swimming upriver.

(Personally, I’d love to see more cyclists get traffic citations. Sure, the bike advocacy organizations would howl about a “needless and vengeful crackdown on cyclists”–or something along those lines–but nothing makes people more law-abiding than the threat of a ticket.)

If you’re one of these drivers who considers cyclists fellow road users, you may have wondered: How can drivers like you make cyclists’ lives easier? more »

Would you like to be part of a blogging community? Do you have opinions about cycling, or just a good story to tell? Do you love the Bicycles site but are you’re frustrated by the limitations of the Q&A format? Come and write for the Bicycles blog!

What kinds of posts are we looking for?

Stories about bike rides — These are easy to write up, and fun to read. If you have pictures from your ride, or even of the terrain or road, so much the better.

Reviews — Have you bought a bike you love? A headlight that gets you home in the winter evening hours? We’d love to hear about it.

Cycling culture — Posts about culture, weirdness associating with riding, frankenbikes; really, about anything interesting and strange.

Bike shops — Do you love your mechanic? Your shop? Tell us all about it, maybe the post will help someone who’s looking for a shop.

Controversial stuff — Do you think helmets are a conspiracy by the styrofoam hat manufacturers? Is “carbon fiber” just another name for “cheap-ass plastic bikes marked up for suckers”? Your Stack Exchange rant-disguised-as-a-question will be closed in a heartbeat because Stack Exchange hates fun, but the blog is a perfect place for you to write about these crazy interesting ideas.

Stuff — Anything that doesn’t fit in the above categories. For anyone looking for ideas for posts, we’ve started a list of them. This page is filled with post ideas you can use. Also, if you have an idea but you’re lacking the ten minutes it’ll take to write it up, post to that page and someone else will pick up the slack.

What am I getting myself into (or, “how often will you want a post from me?”)

The blog updates once a week on Monday mornings when we’re lucky, twice a week when posters are extraordinarily prolific. But you don’t have to write a post nearly that often, just when you have something to say.

Okay, I’m sold. How do I get started posting?

You’ll need an account, and the simplest way to get one is to ask Neil, Gary, or Freiheit to add you. Just ping us in chat by typing @ before our usernames, or post in this thread.

The other day, the weather was unseasonably nice and a pretty sunset looked forthcoming, so a friend and I decided to go for a short ride down to the Portland waterfront. We ended up catching a beautiful sunset, and had a nice leisurely ride around the Eastbank Esplanade, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, and up the first bit of the Springwater Corridor. It was just about rush hour for bike commuters, with hundreds of cyclists passing over bridges and down bike paths. Here are a few pictures from our trip. (Photos taken by jtbandes)

Portland's skyline from the Eastbank Esplanade

The Burnside Bridge from the Eastbank Esplanade

Big Pink and downtown skyline

An interesting bike-reindeer stencil on a trash can

Construction of the new MAX light rail bridge in background; OMSI submarine "Blue Back" in the foreground

OMSI's iconic sign

We only went for a short ride, but it was nice to see the city at night and enjoy some time on our bikes with friends.

Looking for a gift for a cyclist? Been putting off your shopping? Here are some stocking-stuffers ideas for the cyclist on your list. Price ranges are estimates; you can almost certainly find these items for more than this, faux-carbon pattern included. Most of these should be available at your local bike shop.

Lighting

If the cyclist on your list doesn’t have any lighting, then anything that emits light will be an improvement. If they already have a few lights, you can contribute to their lighting themselves up like (ahem) a Christmas tree.

Rear Blinkies: The Planet Bike Superflash is well thought of. It’s bright, cheap (around $35 US), and durable. (It does tend to bounce out of its included clip, so you may want to toss in a zip tie.)

Spoke lights: Cat Eye makes a set of two that goes for around $20. These things last forever, particularly on blinking mode, and drivers can’t help but see the circling, blinking motion. Great for when you cross an intersection. And if they already have these, they can keep adding pairs to their wheels.

You can also get them a safety vest. These can be had for $15–20. Look for the ones made of mesh on the front and shoulders.

Bar Tape

Anyone with drop bars who rides a lot goes through a lot of bar tape. You usually can’t go wrong with black, but if your friend has color-coordinated road rig, have a look at their bike before purchasing.

Tubes

Tires are something people get picky about—I know I do, buying me tires would be like trying to buy me shoes—but tubes? Feh. Avoid the cheap tubes, get Specialized or another name brand and you’ll be fine.

Lube

If your friend does their own maintenance, a bottle of chain lube goes for around ten bucks. Just try to find out if they use wax or regular lube on their chain.

Tools

Multitools are usually a good bet. Park Tool is the “Craftsman” of bike tools, and their stuff is solid. $15–30. You could also get tire irons (maybe $5 if you want the expensive ones), a chain washer tool (around $25), or a pedal wrench ($15). But the most useful bike tool I own is a 3-way hex wrench. They go for anywhere from $9–20, and they’re amazingly useful for tightening anything on a bike from rack screws to bottle cages to saddle rail bolts.

Clothing

Pfft. Yeah, right. I have enough trouble picking out my own bike clothes. About all you can safely get for a cyclist is socks. A pair of nice wool socks can cost $15–30, glaringly bright colors included.

A balaclava might be a safe present; these run from $10–20, more if you want a nice wool one.

A warm winter cap should work out well. Something thin that fits close to the head, so that it fits under a helmet. Bonus points for ear flaps or other ear coverage. A cap and scarf are a more stylish alternative to a balaclava, so a matching scarf wouldn’t hurt.

Gloves

These can be expensive, or not. Winter cyclists often have collections of different kinds of gloves. While they’ll be picky about the gloves, they often go through a lot of glove liners—and those are pretty generic. You can layer these under heavier gloves, or wear them under fingerless gloves for a little extra warmth on not-so-cold days. Glove liners run from $5–30.

Water Bottles

Your call: You can find these for a few bucks, or pay more for insulated bottles. A nice idea is to fill an empty water bottle with other knicknacks.

Happy gifting, happy holidays, and have a great new year!