‘Like riding a bike’

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I'm always fascinated when the links I read and share, speak to seemingly disparate interests. A recent Wall Street Journal headline resonated both with my interest in colloquial expressions and my passion for traveling by bicycle.

‘Bikenomics’ by Elly Blue

My latest “Suggest a Title” recommendation to my public library concerns Bikenomics, How Bicycling Can Save the Economy by Elly Blue (Microcosm Publishing, 2013).

In a recent eNewsletter, Utne Reader magazine directed my attention to an excerpt from chapter 1, “The Free Rider Myth.” In it, Blue challenges the “myth” that auto users pay for the roads they drive on.

Blue argues that drivers only pay for half the cost of our roads. The rest is paid for through sales, property or income taxes — whether or not we drive.

And much of the money goes to pay interest on loans that financed road construction projects.

Bicycle-assisted yarnbomb

A bicycle provided more than transportation, it also lent necessary height during an installation by yarnbomber Jenny Brown at her local library. Her adventure installing the Truffula Tree Yarnbomb makes an entertaining read and as a fellow cyclist (who rides a yarn-bombed bicycle), I appreciate Brown’s crocheted seat-cover.

ALA Conference by bicycle or bus

How many library professionals will travel by bus or bicycle during the American Library Association conference (happening in San Francisco this year)? Sarah Stone, a librarian in the Collection Development Office at the San Francisco Public Library, has compiled tips for getting around via public transit, ride services and bicycling. Her essay was published on the official blog of the Association for Library Services to Children.

Rogue Valley travelers log 4,000 miles by bike

Rogue Valley travelers logged more than 4,000 miles by bicycle during Go By Bike Week, according to recent email correspondence from Rogue Valley Transportation District. “That’s equal to a reduction of 4,360 lbs of CO2 from our air vs. driving alone in a car.” And even though, in a sense, National Bike Month is observed every month in my family — ever since we joined the 12 percent of U.S. households that do not have a car — I’m still proud to contribute toward a concerted effort to reduce society’s dependence upon automobiles.

‘Bike to Work Week’ encouragement

Need help or encouragement to ‪ride your bike‬ during Go By Bike Week, May 11 to 16 (alternatively known as National Bike to Work Week)? For Time Inc. Network’s “Money,” Brad Tuttle offers tips for first-timers with a photo gallery of the best places to walk or ride.

Social sharing credit: Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center

National Bike Month and Go By Bike Week

Source of image: Rogue Valley Transportation District

I work at four part-time jobs and commute via bicycle for all of them. In that sense, National Bike Month is something that I observe every month, every day. But each year May offers a chance to showcase biking’s benefits.

From the League of American Bicyclists, comes an encouraging statistic: that commuting by bicycle increased by 62 percent from 2000 to 2013. But the league points out that National Bike Month is about “so much more than just getting to and from the office.”