Blog
Out on Main Street, nearly 90 percent of local bike shops in the United States are owned by men. But off Broadway in New York City, “Bike Shop The Musical” is a one-woman show. Inspired by the rich cycling experiences of Liz Barkan — a former bike messenger, bike shop owner and spinning instructor — the fictional play follows the journey of Bobby, a female bike mechanic who works in her grandmother’s shop and is not only fixing flats but piecing her life back together after a tragic accident.
Read More →
For this year’s National Bike Summit, I collaborated with New Orleans-based urban planner Naomi Doerner, now the executive director of Bike Easy, to create a historical overview of bicycling and bike advocacy in the United States. The project grew from a discussion we had about how to visualize bike equity for Summit attendees.
Read More →
Thank you to the more than 10,000 of you who submitted comments to the Federal Highway Administration asking them to institute a non-motorized safety performance measure. As of this publication, there have been 10,815 comments submitted.
Read More →
While “equity” is a more and more common term to hear in bike circles, many people have asked us what it should mean in their work. The simple answer is that a commitment to equitable outcomes takes shape differently depending on the task. For planners, it might mean strengthening a community outreach process, such as what the City of Cambridge has done in creating a Community Engagement Team.
Read More →
All eyes were on New York City last year, as they launched the nation’s largest bike sharing system. With strong female ridership in places like Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, there were high hopes that bikesharing in the Big Apple would boost the number of women biking. So the release of data showing Citi Bike skews heavily male left some folks scratching their heads.
Read More →
In May of this year, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) invited Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard (R) to testify in front of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) on the importance of local control over the Transportation Alternatives Program — a program that funds bicycling and walking projects and other local priorities.
Read More →
This story comes to us from Randy LeBlanc, who is quickly rising up the leaderboard in the National Bike Challenge. But it’s been a year of transformation for Randy, who was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in March. Here’s more from this Platinum-level rider. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in March of 2013 with a blood glucose reading of 392.
Read More →
Two years ago, the League launched Women Bike at the Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place conference. I still remember that first moment standing at the podium. I had barely gotten the words “Welcome to the National Women’s Bicycling Summit” out of my mouth when a woman in the crowd yelled “It’s about time!” Well, now it’s time to take the conversation further. Get ready for Future Bike.
Read More →
Lexington may be known as the Horse Capital of the World, but our scenic country roads and rolling hills also make our Kentucky city a great place for bicyclists. With nearly 750 members, the Bluegrass Cycling Club sponsors weekly rides around the Lexington area — but that’s not all. Bicycling is also alive and well at Transylvania University, nestled in the northern reaches of the city, thanks to two dynamic and energetic women: one a student, the other her teacher and mentor.
Read More →
How do we know how many people are biking? In most cases, we rely upon the American Community Survey. Each year the Census Bureau releases data on how people get to work, including whether they bike to work. This is the most consistent and widespread data on the number of people regularly biking in the United States. We use it in many ways -– to compare cities large and small, to evaluate communities and states using Bicycle Friendly America programs, and to better understand bicycle safety.
Read More →