pdk's blog

long bike ride today

Today I went on a fairly long bike ride.  Started in Kapolei (next to Ho Ho Chinese), went to White Plains beach to say "hello" to the family, then to Ewa Beach and stopped at Eric's house (not home).  Through Waipahu, to the Pearl Harbor Bike Path and found a shortcut over to Leeward Community College.  Down into the edge of Pearl City and then up the hill to Wendy's for a bite.  Then returned by pretty much the same path, except I took Kapolei Parkway instead of visiting White Plains.

My phone's battery was low, so I didn't do GPS, but I did a map by hand.  The trip out was about 18 miles, so maybe 30-35 miles total.

Screen_shot_2011-06-29_at_10

http://u.pdk.to/iZvf0S

cool bike shop: trek bicycle store, chattanooga, tn

While I was on vacation in the mainland (I live in Hawaii) I wanted to check out some actual Niner bikes.  The local Niner retail store on Oahu doesn't actually stock anything.  While in California I went to a store near sacramento that was listed on the Niner web site (http://ninerbikes.com/dealers) as having demo bikes, but when I got there all they had was a single frame hanging on the wall.

After we visited the aquarium in Chattanooga, TN, we wanted to find a health food store, for some particulars, and the one we found happened to be right next to the niner dealer in Chattanooga: Trek Bicycle Store (http://trekstorechattanooga.com/).  This store is not actually owned by Trek, and they do carry other stuff, like Niner.

They had an Air 9 and an M.C.R.  I finally got a chance to test ride a couple Niner bikes!  It turned out that what they had there was perfect for me since I just bought an E.M.D. (the aluminum frame) and the Air 9 and M.C.R. are the equivilent in scandium and steel.  They were exactly the bikes that I wanted to check out.

If you want to check out one of Niners full suspension or single speed models, I guess you're out of luck.  But from my experience they've got *way* more stuff to check out than any other "Niner dealer" that I found.  That is to say, they actually have demo bikes you can test ride.

Thanks Trek Bicycle Store!

better bicycling for Hawaii? both possible and worth it!

"Seville is a remarkable case study for the cost-savings and urban benefits of investments in bicycling," added Vanderkooy.  "Six years ago, bicycling was a virtually non-existent form of transportation in Seville, with less than half of one percent of all trips made by bike.  Today, almost seven percent of all trips made in Seville are by bike.  It's an inspiring model for American cities that are just beginning to incorporate bicycling into their transportation networks.  If it works in Seville, a city with no previous tradition of bicycling or particular proclivity for innovative urban design, why not Dallas, Los Angeles, or Chicago?" (Bicycle Times 11, pg 20)

Or how about Honolulu?

It turns out that money spent on bicycle infrastructure is an excellent investment that gives good returns.  All across the U.S., there are examples of projects that have had a positive impact for a tiny fraction of the cost of facilities for cars.  For around the cost of one mile of highway built in a dense urban environment, $50 million, an entire network of bike lanes and other facilities can be installed in a mid-size city... [Portland] invested a relatively paltry $57 million between 1991 and 2008 and saw a huge increase in cycling with a resulting savings in health and fuel costs.... (Bicycle Times 11, pg 45)

Sounds like a really good way for Hawaii to make steps towards being more energy independent to me.  If we invest in our bicycle infrastructure, how much $$ will that save in imported oil expenses?

 

 

More Roads Causes More Traffic

heavy traffic

A quick drive on one of Los Angeles's many freeways illustrates the fact that having more roads doesn't necessarily prevent traffic. Now a study from the University of Toronto confirms it: Expanding highways and roads increases congestion by creating more demand. And building out public transportation systems doesn't help either; there will always be more drivers to fill up any new road we build.

The disheartening study used data from hundreds of metro areas in the U.S. to reach the conclusion that there is a "fundamental law of highway congestion," which essentially says that people drive more when there are more roads to drive on--no matter how much traffic there is. As a result, increased building of "interstate highways and major urban roads is unlikely to relieve congestion of these roads."

Not even building more trains, buses, and light rail can help with the traffic problem. In an interview with Streetsblog, study coauthor Matthew Turner explains that his fundamental law means that people are always waiting for extra space on the roads, and a person taking the bus simply opens up space for a new car:

If somebody stays home, or if you add capacity to the road, there’s somebody there waiting to use that space. Well you should expect the same thing to happen if somebody gets out of their car and gets on the bus, it’s bringing up a little bit more room on the roads, and there’s somebody out there waiting to use it.

This doesn't mean public transportation is worthless; it transports more people with less fuel and fewer carbon emissions. But spending more on it has no effect on traffic.

So what does help? The University of Toronto researchers offer just one suggestion: congestion pricing. It's a pain for commuters, but that's sort of the point. People are desperate to drive, so if you want less traffic, you have to make it harder for them.

[Image: Wikipedia]

Reach Ariel Schwartz via Twitter or email.

via fastcompany.com