We've seen several efforts to make roadways safe, not only for motorists, but also for everyone that makes use of them. For instance, there is the bicycle traffic school in Santa Cruz, California, that teaches safe cycling practices, and the growing movement for Cyclist Memorials, which raise awareness about cycling fatalities. Now a new site--HonorTheStop.org--has been launched, with the aim of "promoting safe, courteous and respectful use of roadways" for all.
The concept is simple: those interested in promoting the cause can order red and black wristbands and pledge to "obey all roadway laws and undertake to respectfully encourage others to do the same." Anyone from individuals, to corporations, to municipalities can partake in the program. So far the town of Woodside, California, has decided to support Honor the Stop, and will be launching a safety and awareness campaign. Now that high gas prices have encouraged more people to hop on their bikes, it's especially important that safety be emphasized as neophyte cyclists hit the roads and mingle with drivers that are feeling pain at the pump.
Via: ::HonortheStop.org

4 Ways of Looking at a Bicycle.

4 Ways of Looking at a Bicycle

By Laura Vanderkam

The best thing on 2 wheels in Africa, Germany, New York City, and Paris.

AS A LIFESAVER
Health care workers in Senegal, Namibia, and other African nations usually walk miles over dusty roads to deliver food, medicine, and companionship to people with HIV/AIDS. But with the donation of 1,500 single-speed bicycles by BikeTown Africa, caregivers now visit as many as six times more people in need. The program, a partnership between Bicycling magazine, Kona Bicycle Company, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, has a broad mission: Says Steve Madden, editor-in-chief of Bicycling, "One bike at a time, we can solve big problems and change the world."

Courtesy Harald Cramer

AS A CONCEPT
We have seen the future, and it's ergonomic and carbon composite. Conceived by German industrial designer Harald Cramer, 27, the Oryx is a spare machine: Its seat is molded onto its frame, and the handlebars, fork, and stem are all of a piece. The Oryx is made for speed-theoretically, anyway, since it's still just a model. Estimated cost? $9,500.

Kevin Caplicki/JustSeeds Visual Resistence Artists Cooperative

AS A MEMORIAL
Forty-one bicycles have been chained to signposts around New York City, each painted white and emanating an otherworldly glow. These "ghost bikes" mark sites where cyclists, known or not, have died in crashes (773 cyclists lost their lives in the U.S. in 2006 alone). "We all share these streets and we have to look out for each other," says Leah Todd of New York City's Street Memorial Project, which created the ghost bike in 2005. Similar tributes have rolled out in 35 other cities worldwide.

AS COMMUNITY PROPERTY

Cyclocity, a bike-sharing program in France, christened its wheel deal in Paris last year to reduce congestion and exhaust on city streets (in Lyon, a similar scheme cut traffic by 10 percent). Swap points at 1,500 locations across town let riders borrow bicyclettes with ease. Commuters especially like the sturdy bike because of its wide rear fender-great for coats, which can drape onto the back wheel without getting entangled.

originally published in the Reader's Digest

My mother. The worrier.

so mid-afternoon Sunday in the middle of my trial bike run to work i had stopped off at my friends' Laura and Leisy's for a social visit. [thanks again, Estrella, for the blueberry pancakes and iced coffee – yum!] when my phone rang. knowing it was my mum and knowing how she worries, i figured she was calling to make sure i had arrived home okay. now it's been a decade-and-a-half since i've even shared a roof with my mum and so it had been a long, long, long time since she had needed to call and check on my whereabouts. i knew it would be a tenderly amusing conversation, but i was not prepared for this:

ME: hey, mum!

HER: are you home safe? or are you still at your friend's house?

ME: i'm still here at Leisy's, mum. don't worry. i'm safe.

HER: you know…i was thinking. [here's where she traditionally lays out her worries]
…you should carry some form of ID on you.

ME: i have my driver's license with me, mum.

HER: no. i mean. some ID like emergency contact information. you should have that on you at
all times.

ME: yeah, you're right. you know.
i added you to my driver's license as my Official Emergency Contact. did you know you can do that?

HER: no….no. i didn't know that.

ME: yeah. i went to the website and added you. so…if the police find me, they will be able to contact you when they scan my driver's license.

HER: well i still think you should carry a card that says: my name is jen…and my emergency contact is so-and-so.
you should laminate it and put it in your pocket. and carry it everywhere.

ME: well…i can write it in my bike helmet. there's a place for that. i just haven't filled it out yet.

HER: [and this is the one that gave me pause]
but…but…what if someone chases you down and runs you off the road and beats you up and steals your stuff. how are the police going to find me THEN?!

ME: [after a stifled gasp and a pause]
Mom, that's reeeeally …. Disturbing.

HER: well, you know that stuff happens!



In all fairness. I have the most amazing mum in the world. And generally, she manages quite a healthy balance of keeping her devastating visions of horror to herself. But she's right. It's a scary world in which to be an independent woman. Thing is. I'd rather worry about the perils of cycling into those roadside cacti, but there are things with a far worse sting than that.