The folks at BikeABQ are advocating what I think is a fabulous idea: the Silver Bike Boulevard. The idea is to take a street that is already low traffic, slow speed and turn it into a bike-friendly boulevard. Silver’s perfect for the job: it parallels Central, which is bad for bikes. It has a lot …
California Zephyr Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. Riding the Coal Avenue bridge over the railyard this morning I saw this: the California Zephyr, a string of cars in the old fashion, being towed behind the Amtrak. I had to stop and chat up the proprietor, a fellow named Alvin Bishop. The cars were built in 1948, …
Stopped on my bike at a red light this morning, a scooter pulls up behind me. I glance over my shoulder and smile in greeting at an elderly couple – perhaps 70 – both in shorts. As they speed past me when the light turns green, I notice that the woman, sitting on the back, …
From today’s West Side Journal, a discussion of the bike trails (or lack thereof) on the new extension they just completed of Paseo del Norte: “Oh my,” John says. “When you get to the top of the hill, where the road narrows, there is not only no bike lane, but no shoulder. And not only …
Bikes on the train Originally uploaded by bhaskins1. The photographer known as bhaskins1 offers up some great evidence that Albuquerque is warming to the idea of throwing its collective bicycle on the train for its morning commute. . (Check out the other bike photos taken by bhaskins1.)
I’ve been wanting to make cool Internet maps for a while, but making them click-by-click by hand was such a chore. The idea is to use Google Earth and Google maps, so people who might want to use the bike trails can zoom in and figure out exactly where they are. It’s worth noting that …
Albuquerque Bicycle Map Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. The city of Albuquerque has published a new bicycle map. I point this out because I went on a wander this morning on the bike, deciding to follow the green “bike route” signs north out of my neighborhood. It was a bit of an adventure, especially the part …
Crosstown TrafficOriginally uploaded by heinemanfleck. I had a friend years ago in California, Victor, who was fun to talk to because he was so bafflingly smart. Among his many interests (he also imagined the Internet before there was one) was the way we map our personal geographies of the world around us. I was thinking …
Dirty Bike Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. In past years, I’ve suggested that celebrating my birthday by riding my age was a modest goal. Forty-eight miles yesterday (77 kilometers, not sure what it is in metric years) was tough. I could blame the weather, but I really don’t have a lot of miles in my legs …