Nicole Freeman makes good!

[Charlotte Berry]

I hadn't seen this. I knew MIT brain whiz Nicole Freedman was working as the Boston Bike Czar, Bosten being crowned with the infamous award as being about the worst place to bike in the country. However, this shows there is hope for America. Little Holland in America?

This is inspiring for sure. There is hope!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xiy-50bqmsE

[Charlotte Berry]

I found this by the same people who made Nicole Freedman's video. I guess obviously Freedman been taking cues from the Danes. This video is way cool. This is ten times better then that other video that explains biking in the Netherlands. If there was a video to finish up this topic, this is it! Don't miss this one! It's excellent! 10 minutes, but it's totally cool !!

Cycling Copenhagen, Through North American Eyes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyrTx9SXkVI

[Crankin]

She's an awesome speaker. She came to my club's rally/dinner a couple of years ago and told us how crappy it was to be a woman pro racer!
Yea, we've come a long way. Cycling is super popular here, so these changes were just waiting to happen.

[Bike Chick]

It's taking baby steps but it's progress. Maybe I will see bike lanes in the Midwest before I die.

[Thorn]

Love your posts, Charlotte. Inspiring.

As I search for a new job, each position gets a "does the job sound interesting?" as well as "is it bikeable?" screening. In the process I'm discovering that Milwaukee Couty has a pretty good bicycling infrastructure. If the bike commute will take me towards the city (I live just outside Milwaukee County), I can find several viable bike routes for each posting. Almost always, one route will be significantly greenway or MUP.

On the other hand, if I travel west, out and away from Milwaukee County and into the neighboring county, commutes often have one or two "scarey options" for several miles -- roads that are busy, cars speeding and you must take the lane with some having the double whammy of busy, speeding cars and plus a freeway on/off ramp.

The difference between the two counties is amazing--one is progressive and recognizes the need for urban infrastructure; the second is just awakening and has a long way to go. I dream of the day this is universal.

I saw another great video, albiet a bit older I hadn't seen it. From Malmo on its "Ridiculous Use of a Car" campaign.....http://www.grist.org/article/2010-09-29-how-one-swedish-city-gets-people-to-trade-silly-car-trips-for-bi/

[Charlotte Berry]

Thanks, and it has English Caption. :)

I had seen a sort of regular stream of cycling deaths posted here. The fact is that if you google, you will find horrible bike deaths every day, it is a fact of life in America. That need not be, and I thought it would positive to post something hopeful that could change this. Now, all we need is for Nicole Freedman to be appointed national bike czar by the powers that be, and she can go from city to city and start fixing things. What amazes me is how quickly she got this done. If you saw the older proposal videos, they are not very old!

A few years back, a bike path was proposed to go all the way from the central valley to Yosemite following via the old railroad grade. The path would end in El Portel. I am guessing the path would of been at least 100 miles long! Talk about a dream ride, too good to be true I guess, but there is always hope! I do remember there were some powerful people supporting this, so it wasn't just a pipe dream.

[shootingstar]

If one knows their local cycling advocacy group/local municipality asks for feedback, please speak up.

If one engages other local cyclists and offers constructive criticism and solutions long enough (you might have to repeat yourself in many different ways), someone might listen.

Seriously. Change ..takes several years in some areas.
Like where I am. It's pretty strange living in Calgary and I hear of Calgarian cyclists..envying Vancouver's cycling infrastructure. :rolleyes:

Charlotte, I was in Copenhagen earlier this past spring for few days.
Wrote up my cycling experience with the cycling flows of people
http://thirdwavecyclingblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/losing-my-cycling-identity-in-the-world%e2%80%99s-cycling-nirvana-copenhagen/

The cycling conference this year in Copenhagen, Global Velocity 2010, is coming to Vancouver, B.C. in 2012. Copenhagen's conference attendance was: 1,000 delegates. That video clip in Copenhagen incorporated the ride that the delegates took.....which I missed out since dearie was stuck in the throes of business meetings. :( He's the team lead for Vancouver 2012 conference. :rolleyes:

http://www.bike-eu.com/news/4524/vancouver-selected-for-velo-city-global-2012.html

[Charlotte Berry]

I read the Cycling Nirvana Copenhagen blog.

What make me stop to think is besides all this being infectious and a utopia we dream of, I saw other things that link hand in hand. For instance, while some noted obesity is low cause they ride bikes, no fat people, their pace of life is also slower. In other words there is more time to smell the flowers!

In America, people are on the run all the time, in their cars stuffing a Big Mac in their mouths while watching a flashing billboard perhaps of some drug commercial ad and such.

We have got to slow down before we can live like this! In France, Demark, many countries, the pace of life is much slower, at the dinner table, the workplace and even their sick leave and vacations are very generous. Over here, just the opposite, we work longer hours for less pay and the American lifestyle typically dictacted by our employers leaves little time for smelling the flowers.

If we adopt this change, the way we work and live must change too. When I look at that young man cycling with his mum in the front cart, if that is his mum, it makes me feel something special deep down, but if someone did that say in a typical valley city here, they would be laughed right off the streets!

Our culture would have to change considerable, a real social change in behavior all around. Nice blog, very interesting. I really enjoy reading cool blogs!

[shootingstar]

Latest is Copenhagen wants to build some biker highways, to relieve cycling congestion.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iTmHix1QKu2JZzasvEv-yDKlHdgA?docId=CNG.62f6b45aa708f6575581047250ad3caf.3b1

[Charlotte Berry]

Latest is Copenhagen wants to build some biker highways, to relieve cycling congestion.

Change..
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5577385/changes/