An eclectic quest for more comfortable bicycling
I’m beginning to think I’m editing a poetry book, what with all these poems on transportation I’m collecting. The images of being on a journey, the physical acts involved with driving or riding a motorcycle, the human relationships and interactions…Continue Reading
Transportation, in my daily work, is a means to an end. It isn’t usually a thing done for its own sake—it’s how we get where we need to go. “Travel” might be a better word for those times when we…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
Halloween provides the perfect excuse to make jokes about the zombie apocalypse. That isn’t the only potential — or real — disaster we face as a species, however. From hurricane relief to earthquakes, bicycles serve as a flexible, convenient utility…Continue Reading
If you haven’t read A Bit of a Rant on Data and Data Rant Continued, they’ll provide additional context for this. You wouldn’t think a place would vie for the title “Most Dangerous Intersection in the US.” But somehow a…Continue Reading
I like a good infographic as much as the next person. They’re eye-catching, they get passed around a lot, they’re more readable than dense academic papers full of footnotes (sorry, academics). So when I saw one highlighting “the most dangerous…Continue Reading
I’m a wee bit active on Twitter, where I find many resources, experts I can quickly question on a fine point of transportation policy or design, and inspiration. By now we all recognize the dark side as well — the…Continue Reading
The kind of text you DO NOT want to get from your sweetheart: “Car turned left in front. Hit car. Bike effed up. Phys. OK. Going to work.” — Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) April 8, 2017 This text set my heart…Continue Reading
A 2012 version of this post appeared on this blog. I updated it in 2014 for the Washington Bikes blog. This is yet another light update with some “as of 2016” notes. The way I used to tell the story of…Continue Reading
On a balmy Tuesday evening in July I pedaled south along the Elliott Bay Trail en route from a meeting in Seattle’s Pioneer Square to my home in White Center. In a number of places along the heavily traveled multi-use…Continue Reading
Setting: A separated trail running between the Duwamish River and a corridor thick with truck traffic spilling over from the Port of Seattle, part of my regular route to work. A row of bushes and trees and an active heavy rail…Continue Reading