No Thanks for No Sidewalks!

You know what people who drive can take for granted 100% of the time? Having a system of roads connected all the way from starting point to destination. I can start from my driveway in Olympia and go all the…Continue Reading

Wheeling Sea to Sound, Day Two

A longer, harder day, and a new perspective from which to view a trail: That was Day Two. Longer and harder meant 27 miles with a lot more climbing. That’s where Zelda the e-bike shines, though. Both yesterday and today…Continue Reading

Wheeling Sea to Sound, Day One

What a wonderful first day of Sea to Sound! Yes, we got rained on a bit, but that’s what it takes to have those lush green and mossy forests we rode through. The Olympic Discovery Trail is an absolute treasure.…Continue Reading

Photo of a man and two children with darker skin walking down a dirt road lined with trees on either side. All 3 are wearing dark shorts and light-colored shirts and the sun is shining. At the bottom, text with a quotation from Ram Dass: We are all just walking each other home.

Why I Walk

This post first ran on my personal blog, BikeWalkBake Barb, where I’ve been chronicling my walking habits. Since I’ve been writing about multimodal transportation here, I thought I’d add the post to these archives as well. Walking, like riding my…Continue Reading

Bike Books I Recommend: Policy Edition

For obvious reasons (if you know what my professional life has been since 2012, that is) these types of books take up a fair amount of shelf space at my house and occupy memory on my e-reader. Buy these at…Continue Reading

Photo of two people holding giant double-scoop ice cream cones in front of a wall packed with glass-front cases holding a wild variety of memorabilia from various old science fiction movies and other topics. The white woman on the left is wearing a blue and white striped sleeveless dress that buttons up the front, a light straw hat, and blue glasses. The brown-skinned man with silvering hair standing next to her is smiling and pointing at the ice cream cones. He is wearing blue jeans, a charcoal gray short-sleeved collared shirt, and rimless glasses.

Broken Wrist, Dang It! No Riding for a While

Ever tripped over something on a sidewalk and broken a bone? Spoiler: It hurts. Story of a broken wrist with a dose of public policy thoughts about why we need to create dedicated in-street parking space for foot scooters, bicycles, and other micromobility devices. We leave lots of room for cars–why not for these more space-efficient transportation devices?

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

#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

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

Image of blue and white bicycle on bright green background. Text at bottom: My New Year's Resolution: Bike More!

#BikeIt: What’s On Your List?

You know what a bucket list is — the things you want to do before you die. I’m not looking quite that far ahead with this #BikeIt list, just musing about things related to bicycling that might strike you as entertaining, inspiring,…Continue Reading