bike20lane20smA Pioneer Press article recently featured a passage with a rider review of the EcoBike Vatavio:

Joshua Foss, of Northeast Minneapolis, uses an EcoBike e-bike on a roughly one-mile commute to his office.

“It’s the bee’s knees,” he said. “I can hop on the bike while wearing decent clothes, and I do not have to worry about breaking a sweat.”

His EcoBike model is the kind that folds, too, so he can stash it in the back of his Smart Car hatchback if necessary.

“But honestly, for anything within a three- to four-mile radius, I don’t even think about hopping in my car,” he said. “I want to ride my bike.”

“There are times when I’m Bluetoothing on a conference call while riding past people in their bike gear,” he said. “They all do goofy double-takes because it does not look like I should go that fast. They know something is up. Those are the moments that are cool.”

To read the whole article, visit TwinCities.com

Englishman Eddie Sedgemore is attempting to break the record for the longest journey taken on an electric bike.   He plans to ride over 1,600 miles around England.

See BBC News for the full story.

images4David Perlman has written a beautiful article in Orion Magazine on how commuting by bike gives him a little slice of transcendance.  Although we often promote bicycle commuting for reasons like health, finances, and environmental kindness, it’s nice to hear that some people also find poetry in their bike commuting experiences.

Perlman explains, “On my way to the office amidst the rush of wind, I’ll catch the call of a jay or glimpse a solo scull, its oars spread like wings, slicing the glimmering river.”

Read the full article, The Commute, on Orion Magazine.

images3The Bicycle Transportation Alliance of Oregon has put together a guide to designing a combo commute, which entails biking part of the way and riding the bus or train part of the way.  The article gives lots of tips to make combo commuting safer and easier.

By combining biking and public transportation, you can greatly reduce your costs of commuting, and increase the range with which you can comfortable travel using your electric bike.

Read the full article, Tips for Bringing Your Bike on Transit.

(There’s also a great video on how to safely bike near buses.  This includes lane positioning, interactions at bus stops, what to do if you have a bad experience, and more.)

images1If you’re new to owning an electric bike, you might be concerned about bike theft.  What kind of lock should I get?  Where should I lock my bike up?  How can I protect my shiny, new investment?

Unbreakable Bonds recently posted their top ten cities for bike theft.  As you might expect, the list includes Philly, Chicago, NYC, and San Fran.  More surprising are towns like Cambridge, New Haven, and Austin.  For the top 10 list, check out the Top 10 Cities for Bike Theft.

But the kind people at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance have posted a thorough set of tips for keeping your bike safe.  This is especially important when you’ve got a electric bike.  They discuss how to choose a lock, a locking location, and what bike features to be mindful of.  Read Don’t Get Your Bike Stolen for the full run down on protecting your new investment.

cashConsistent with our last post, the popularity of commuter cycling is growing due to cash concerns.  Recent research indicates that some people are turning to loans to buy high quality commuter bikes, including electric bikes.  This gives people a more economical alternative to transportation, even if they don’t have cash in hand.

For the full article, check out “Popularity of Cycling for Commute Grows Due to Cash Concerns.”

imagesThe New York Times has uncovered the average *actual* cost of owning a car — taking into account the cost of the vehicle, insurance, registration fees, and the host of other sneaking expenses.  And this cost is nothing to sneer at: $8,758 per vehicle for the year 2007.  Wow!

Paul White of NYC’s Transportation Alternatives then calculated the average annual cost of bicycle ownership to be a mere $390.  That even includes a theft allowance.

Electric bikes are more expensive than straight mechanical bikes, but they also allow for longer, less sweaty commutes.  On the Ecobike, charging the battery doesn’t really add to the expense as much as many expect: less than a dime per charge, although this varies based on local electric costs.

For full details on the calculations, see “The Costs of Owning a Car” on the New York Times.

Picture 4.pngRepresentative Wayne Krieger of Salem is the chief architect of House Bill 3008, which would require every bicycle owner in Oregon to pay a mandatory $54 registration fee, and then renew it every other year for the same fee.

He explained, “This is an opportunity for the bicyclists to start contributing to our roads,” he said. “If you want to have something that everybody is going to use, than everybody needs to contribute to what’s there… if there were not bicycles we wouldn’t need bicycle lanes.”

He also said the tags would give drivers a way to track down cyclists who cause accidents.

Asked if he cycles, Krieger responded that he’s “not into it.”

For a full discussion of the bill and an interview with Krieger, see BikePortland.org’s A conversation with Rep. Krieger about his bike registration bill.

Picture 3.pngA Modest Proposal — Bikers, Take the High Road at the NYTimes.com explores how cyclists can be safer, adapting to the increasing number of bikes on city streets. The cheeky article includes with four recommendations on improving not only safety, but also public relations between cyclists and non-cyclists.

Check out Robert Sullivan’s entire article here.

Picture 2.pngHat Tip to Fritz at Commute by Bike for posting on the availability of commuter checks for those who commute by bike to work. This program allows the employer to give a pre-tax salary deduction to help offset the costs of bicycles, equipment and accessories, and bike storage. Fritz reports:

The new solution supports the expansion of the Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit (IRS Tax Code Section 132(f)) to allow bicycle commuters to designate pre-tax salary deductions of up to $240 per year. Individuals can now designate up to $20.00 per month as a pre-tax salary deduction to pay for the cost of commuting via bicycle. This includes the cost of bicycles, bicycling equipment and accessories, and storage unit costs.

Similar to current Commuter Check programs for public transit and parking, employers can offer the bicycling benefit as a pre-tax salary deduction, saving on taxes for the individual and the company or as a subsidy, which is also tax deductible for the company.

For more information on the program, visit http://www.commutercheck.com/

Click here to read the Commute by Bike post in its entirety.