Life in Exurbia becomes expensive (NY Times)

Well, duh....tell us something we don't already know.

"Suddenly, the economics of American suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the costs of reaching, heating and cooling homes on the distant edges of metropolitan areas."

Congrats to our Road I Class!

Congratulations to the graduates of Neale and my Road I class, which we taught last Friday. I'd also like to thank them (and Neale) for putting up with me, since I had not taught this class before!

Los Alamos County Codes

I've added a link to the list on the right to Municodes. The link takes you to the Los Alamos County page. It doesn't want to let me link directly to the specific bike-related code, but most is in Ch. 38, Traffic. Bicycle specific stuff is in Article X. This is a direct source to the stuff that was on the old LA Bikes page.

Enjoy.

Are More Cyclists Commuting on the Roads of Los Alamos?

Are More Cyclists Commuting on the Roads of Los Alamos?

It sure looks that way to me. This morning, coming past the high school on Diamond Drive about 8:10, there were 4 other cyclists in a line immediately in front of me, none of them apparently traveling together but just fellow commuters who happened to be in the same place at the same time.

Left lane full of motor vehicles, right lane full of bicycles.

Here's hoping for lots more of the same!

Maynard Hershon on bike paths vs. the road

Muchas gracias to Patrick O'Grady for posting a link to Maynard Hershon's blog. I had lost track of Maynard, who I once read regularly.

Maynard, like O'Grady and some others, have hit the bike paths rather than continue to share the roads with distracted motorists, in spite of the limitations of bike paths. So sez Maynard:

"The bike paths are crowded, particularly on weekends, with clueless, self-obsessed citizens, oblivious, unwilling to admit that others may also be enjoying the path today. When they have to share the path they get testy, certain they’ve been slighted.

Why, they’re just like drivers, oblivious and unwilling to share the roadway. No, they aren’t just like drivers. They ARE drivers. They’re drivers - disguised as skaters, dog walkers and cyclists.

They’re drivers; they’re just not in their cars. So they probably can’t kill you."

I've only known of one cyclist killed on a bike path by another "unarmed", i.e., car-free person. That was in Calgary, Alberta, where a cyclist and jogger collided and the cyclist got the worst of it--possibly with a little help from a concrete abutment. Problem is, I see little hope in finding servicable "bike paths" leading around the Bandelier Loop or up into the Jemez, as I once happily found running along the North Sea cost of Holland as I rode from Amsterdam to The Hague. I'll therefore stick to the roads. Frankly, I paid for them.

LANL to sponsor Road I course.

Under the auspicies of the Division of Industrial Hygene and Safety, Los Alamos National Laboratory will be sponsoring a League of American Bicyclists "Road I" bicycling course on Friday, 20 June, 2008, starting at 8 a.m.. The course will be a full day long (including breaks) and will be held at the Canyon Complex Room 172.

In addition to classroom material, the course includes a significant "on road" section. Students should bring a bicycle in good operating condition and a helmet and be prepared to ride on Los Alamos' quieter side streets, including parts of downtown.

The course is designed to give cyclists the confidence they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. It covers bicycle safety checks, fixing a flat, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques and includes a student manual.This fast-paced, adult cycling course is approximately six to nine hours long and prepares cyclists for a full understanding of vehicular cycling.

The course will be taught by Laboratory staff members Khalil Spencer and Neale Pickett, who are licenced League Cycling Instructors. Classroom material will be provided. Class size is limited to less than 20 students, and is further limited to all LANL badgeholders. Please contact either Khal (khalil@losalamos.com or spencerk@lanl.gov) or Neale (neale@lanl.gov or neale@woozle.org) by COB Thursday, 19 June to confirm a space and ensure availability.

Bike to work!

It may seem unattractive what with all the construction but let me tell you biking in to work has never been easier. People are being very polite, probably because they've allotted extra time for getting in to work. And coming home is a breeze too, traffic gets so backed up on Conoco hill that I hardly ever exceed a liesurely 9 miles per hour.

In the past I claimed that $4/gal gas wasn't going to convince anybody to change any habits, but it seems I'm being proven wrong. Hop on your bike, it's great!

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As promised months ago, here's a cool photo taken in a German town (the name escapes me). It shows the space taken to transport 60 people by car, bus, and bike.