Texting About Biking

Inspired by a tweet a while back on kids “texting about transit” (see below), herewith my guide to some of the messaging shortcuts that are really all about riding your bike. A couple of these are straight-up an accepted meaning,…Continue Reading

Black and white image showing bus at left, African American riding bicycles and walking at right, during the Montgomery bus boycott.

Once upon a time in 2012 before I worked as a professional in bicycle advocacy, I became the first person to ride a bicycle on the newly dedicated Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Spokane, Washington. Back then I wrote,…Continue Reading

Sunset with bike and person doing yoga

How Bicycling Keeps Me Flexible

My yoga habit comes and goes — that probably means it’s no longer a habit, doesn’t it? — so I no longer count on it to keep me flexible. When I say bicycling keeps me flexible, I’m talking about the…Continue Reading

Ian Mackay (in power wheelchair with red awning) finishing his trip east to west across Washington state in 2018 with friends riding, rolling and running on the Olympic Discovery Trail.

Every Thursday night since 2010, bike-friendly people have gathered on Twitter to attend an hour of “#BikeSchool”. Participants follow the hashtag and answer questions asked by a guest “professor.” No academic credentials required to serve as guest prof, mind you.…Continue Reading

#30DaysOfBiking, Day 12: Finding a Better Way

My life and my work really do run on the same road. Today made that especially obvious: I went from a morning meeting with WSDOT colleagues that included discussions of what makes for a more pleasant and lower-stress walking or…Continue Reading

30 Days of Biking is obviously a commitment. I realized today when somebody asked me how it was going that riding my e-bike to work results in another kind of commitment: Riding home. When I ride the Sweetie Bike or…Continue Reading

I strode into the house after a day in Olympia, shedding work bags and jacket and heading straight for a change of clothing to run to the grocery store. Not that I really had to change to go ride, mind…Continue Reading

I’m taking liberties with this title. Day 6 didn’t exactly overflow with magic on the bike. Sweet Hubs tuned up Tessa the Folding Bike to get her road-ready for a trip to Spokane. I rolled her through the garage, confirming…Continue Reading

In foreground, sitting on a wooden table-top in soft lighting, white coffee cup with drawing of a turquoise upright bicycle and the words "Life is a beautiful ride". Background soft focus of kitchen with appliances.

Sharing some (and by no means all) of the articles that have caught my eye over the past few weeks since the March 4 Transportation Reading Round-up. The quoted snippet from the article gives you a takeaway even if you…Continue Reading

In my work at Washington State Department of Transportation, where I’m Director of the Active Transportation Division, I put out an e-newsletter 2-3 times a month. If you subscribe (everyone welcome!) you’ll get two types of emails: A news round-up…Continue Reading

Side view of white cargo bike made by Urban Arrow with black front cargo box.

I’ve been developing this theory for a while now. The longer I ponder it the more I think it makes sense. Stay with me while I work through this line of reasoning: We’d dramatically improve transportation safety if we all moved…Continue Reading

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