Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Quick, name that tune! (hint: it mentions potholes)


The song is "A Day In The Life" by the Beatles, which was partly inspired
by this newspaper tidbit and ends with

I read the news today oh boy 
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire 
And though the holes were rather small 
They had to count them all 
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. 
I'd love to turn you on.

NDLR: to learn about the unrelated company started by Jim Blackburn, 
nowadays a well-known maker of bike lights, pumps, water bottle cages,
and especially pannier racks, click here or here.

Anyway, I read the news today, oh boy. Town Topics has declared 2014
to have been Year of The BicycleScroll down around half-way to read
their synopsis. Town Topics and I are out of sync vis-a-vis word usage,
it should say "synchrony". But kudos to PBAC for an action-packed year.







Sunday, December 21, 2014

the gift of a bike


The following review was posted by Toronto-based Jenny Treash. It concerns the latest animated short
film by the award-winning Torill Kove, which recounts memories of growing up in an unconventional family
in 1960s Norway. Kove earned a masters degree in Urban Planning prior to becoming an animator. 

As kids, I think we'd all admit to being embarrassed by our parents at one time or another.  In Torill Kove's 
animated short film "Me and My Moulton," a seven-year old girl struggles with the notion that her family 
is unconventional and different and she's quite bothered by it.  She's envious of the family living downstairs 
because she views them as normal.  The father is clean shaven.  Her dad has a moustache – the only man 
in a town of 10,000 people with one.  And this makes her stomach hurt.

The little girl and her two sisters long for a traditional bicycle like the one the children downstairs have.  They 
ask their parents for one and are told that a bike has been ordered for them from England.  When it arrives, 
it is a Moulton; a folding bike with small wheels and a tall seat and handlebars.  "Our parents have bought 
the bike they wanted," the little girl remarks.  It can be taken apart to fit inside the truck of a car, her parents 
proclaim proudly.  But they don't have a car.  They don't drive.  Despite their initial dismay at seeing the 
unique bicycle, the three sisters climb on their moulton and take it for a ride.  Though not on the bike they 
had in mind, they're happy.

Watch the 1-minute trailer here or the entire 13-minute animated film at at this link. Soundtrack is by
Kove's husband, jazz musician Kevin Dean.

In this short excerpt, the anxious young protagonist from Me and My Moulton looks on as her architect 
parents re-design Christmas. The tree, presents, and cake are all re-made in simple, clean lines using 
the principles of good design. But will Santa be able to get through the contemporary chimney on the 
family's flat-roofed home?

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Philadelphia Story: Zagster

The launch of Paris' pioneering VĂ©lib' bicycle sharing system in 2007 made an impression 
on two visiting Drexel University students. Timothy Ericson '07 and Jason Meinzer '09 were 
studying abroad as part of the Drexel in London program and witnessed the rollout of Europe's
biggest bike-sharing system on a serendipitous weekend trip to France. Seeing bikes
as such mainstream, ubiquitous elements in the urban landscape sparked a vision they'd
bring back to Philadelphia. Read the story here or watch How to Start a Bike Sharing Company,
a video interview with Jason Meinzer. Tim Ericson, CEO and co-founder, is interviewed here:

    "The twenty to forty year-olds are really shifting into the sharing economy. I, for one, don't 
      want to own anything. I think that people are moving away from buying expensive things. 
      We're seeing it in a lot of different industries. In transportation, I see bike sharing being 
      a key part of the overall trend of people moving back into the urban core, not owning a car, 
      and utilizing public transit."

In starting the company, initially named CityRyde, Ericson and Meinzer were able to leverage
Drexel's Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship. Two years ago, the company took part in the 
TechStars Boston and MassChallenge startup accelerators, and scored a $1 million funding
round led by LaunchCapital of Cambridge. The funding also included participation from 
Detroit-based Fontinalis Partners, whose founder is Princeton alumnus Bill Ford '79, and
Jean Hammond, prolific angel investor notably of Zipcar. Cambridge became HQ for Zagster.
whose "elevator pitch" goes like this:

       71% of Americans say they'd like to bicycle more yet list access to a bike as the number 
       one barrier to doing so. Zagster provides bikes where people live, work and visit; giving them 
       access using their mobile phone. We've found property managers (e.g. Related Management), 
       universities (Yale, Princeton), businesses (Cisco) and hotels are willing to cover the costs of 
       providing bike fleets as an amenity.

Meanwhile back in Philly, Mayor Michael Nutter was raising awareness by subtle fashion statements.

Through a partnership announced in 2013, Advanced Sports International, a 15-year-old bicycle distributor 
in Northeast Philadelphia, began supplying Zagster with Breezer brand bikes, and provided space in ASI's
warehouse to add its electronic system and other touches to the bikes. 

When Mayor Nutter made a surprise trip to France last July, conveniently timed to watch the concluding
stages of the Tour de France and of La Course, he was accompanied by ASI's chief executive officer, Patrick 
Cunnane, and by state rep Madeleine Dean, who is Cunnane's wife. This bike-oriented trade mission
also involved a visit to Brian Cookson, new president of Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). As a result,
the Parx Casino Philly Classic next June has become a UCI-sanctioned women's World Cup event.

Mayor Nutter's wife Lisa is an avid and ASI-sponsored track cyclist. She is no doubt enthusiastic
about Project 250, a plan to convert 4 acres of the Olmstead-designed FDR Park to an Olympic-class
velodrome. In September, she accepted the inaugural Advocacy Leadership award on behalf of
Mayor Nutter at the huge Interbike Expo in Las Vegas.

The Project 250 velodrome is described, per this 68-page "Alternatives Analysis", as a "MULTI-SPORT,
ENTERTAINMENT, & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTER" and "FDR PARK REVITALIZATION". The document
is hugely interesting, but also an 8MB download. And by the way, Philly might bid on the 2024 Olympics.

   "During the last three years there has been an upwelling of enthusiasm for cycling and cycling in sport 
   as a path to healthy living and as an inexpensive out of school opportunity for boys and girls to develop
   character and find fulfillment throughout the City of Philadelphia, otherwise likely unrealizable. The City's 
   recognition of its inherent potential, combined with the diligent efforts and analysis by the Mayor's office, 
   local business professionals, and cycling enthusiasts, have reached a logical conclusion, plan, and vision
   for the City of Philadelphia. On October 2nd with the Honorable Michael A. Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia, 
   we will unveil the Vision – a multisport/use facility, focused and centered on a 250 meter, Velodrome meeting 
   Olympic Standards, housed in a World Class, Iconic Green Building, which we believe will become known 
   internationally as a symbol of cycling sport and youth development, and as a symbol of green power, with 
   its design adding another graceful icon to Philadelphia's beautiful skyline."

Last month, Mayor Nutter signed an Executive Order to create the Philadelphia Bicycle Advocacy Board,
whose chair is Karen Bliss, Vice President of Marketing for ASI. The other fourteen appointed members 
include: Philip Senechal, Velodrome Planning Team; Patrick Cunnane; Lisa Nutter; Marty Nothstein, Olympic
gold medalist for track cycling; Matt Diefenbach, track racer and Motorola account manager, and
Kristin Gavin, executive director of Gearing Up. 

The latter is a unique bicycling program to help women in transition find new lives by giving them a chance
to get outside, build self-esteem and bond with one another. It originated as a business plan when Kristen
Gavin was a graduate student at Temple University.









Thursday, December 4, 2014

Sourland Cycles set to open tomorrow, in Hopewell !


The address is 53 East Broad Street, in Hopewell.


Bonus trivia, from the annals of cycling numerology:

      In the Tour de France, the race number 51 is considered
      lucky. The number has been worn by several winners of the race:
      Eddy Merckx in 1969, Luis Ocana in 1973, Bernard Thevenet in 1975
      and Bernard Hinault in 1978. All four men won their first Tour while
      wearing Dossard 51.


Sunday, November 30, 2014

The Millionaire Who Goes To Bed Hungry


Confronted by a fairly long daily commute, over the years I've devolved
into a state of audio book addiction. Having recently listened to the thought-
provoking "Zero to One" by the fountain of ideas known as Peter Thiel, I noted
this profile of Thiel's Paypal co-founder, tech star and serious roadie Max Levchin,
who rhapsodizes about Strava, etc.    Click here to view article at Business Insider

PS how to promote a book entitled "Beginning Italian" ? Click here to see its cover.
 

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Halter's Cycles is now much closer to Princeton - near the corner of 206 / 518


The article in Town Topics is at




Unrelated to the above, I was chatting with an elderly fellow (even older than me!) at the
Sustainable Princeton Great Ideas Breakfast a few weeks ago. He mentioned "I used to
bike when I was younger, but now am too slow and suffer from balance problems". I asked
why he didn't consider an adult tricycle. "I wasn't even aware of these" he replied. Right on
cue, an item appeared in the NY Times "T" magazine, which can be found at the link below.

           The Third Way: Tricycles             Culture By EMILY STOKES 

Long a favorite of toddlers, three-wheelers have also attracted the attention of British lords, Indian
maharajahs — and now, one writer hopes, a bold new generation.


   

               



Tuesday, November 18, 2014

What Should Be Princeton's Biking And Walking Goals for 2015?



What can we do to make Princeton friendlier to cyclists and walkers? That was a key question addressed by PBAC at our meeting at Princeton town hall on October 23 (read the minutes here). 
Which of the many, many things that we could do ought to be priorities? Our volunteer committee members drew up individual 'wish lists' on the board, which we consolidated into a number of key action areas, which fit within our overall framework of advancing the 'Six Es'. These are:
  • Improving the Built Environment,
  • Education efforts,
  • Encouraging and organizing the cycling community in Princeton,
  • Building ties to local and regional bike/walk planning groups.
You can read our current list of planned 'key results' for 2015 as part of the minutes from our meeting. Our action items take account of input from various members of the public who have attended our meetings or emailed us feedback throughout the year. We are always interested in this feedback, so if you have some suggestions, please get in touch at pjpbac@gmail.com.

At our next PBAC meeting, which is happening this Thursday, November 20, at 400 Witherspoon Street Meeting Room A at 7.30 p.m., part of our agenda will be to revise and approve our goals. Hopefully this will set us on the way for a successful and productive 2015!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Orange is the new tawny

How can one predict what will be trendy ? Could "Meme, Myself, and Irene" ever go viral as a T-shirt slogan ?

IBM's "Birth of a Trend" project studies the science behind predicting online trends that can revolutionize an
industry. Researchers analyzed six years of social media data to study "Cycle Chic," the fashion/transportation
movement dedicated to cycling in stylish street clothes, often atop classic bicycles. Read more about this.

A biking movement called Slow Roll aims to revitalize neighborhoods within bigger cities. It was founded in Detroit
by Jason Hall, who stars in a cool iPad commercial. If inspired to roll your own Slow Roll someday, get approval

In recent years the Gravel Grinder movement - events featuring unpaved roads - has sprouted in the US. Learn
more about this hot new trend in cycling here or here. Or start training for a local event to be held next March 21.
 
In the Chianti area of Tuscany, preserving the heritage of the white gravel roads has inspired a vintage-bicycle
race that has grown to more than 5,000 participants. L'Eroica, which means "the heroic" in Italian, takes place 
each October. The race was conceived to help prevent the gravel roads from being resurfaced with asphalt. Since 
its 1997 debut, the event has evolved into a model for environmental sustainability.  NYT article: A Race Against Time

As of 2013 there is a sister L'Eroica event in Japan, located near Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi. Video clip.

      "The theme of the event is to preserve the slow lifestyle of the past and enjoying nature, 
      community and sports within this lifestyle; and to promote sustainable tourism and international
      cooperation and exchange."            

More recently, there has been expansion to the UK with L'Eroica Britannia last June, branded as 
"the most handsome bike race in the world".  Getting right into the spirit of it, the official video, or
read a nice article about the UK's vintage cycling movement. 

Whereas the ethos of the UK-based Eroica references "sustainability" only once, the philosophy of the
Tuscan prototype mentions it 3 times. I'm not sure whether this imbalance is due to macadam pavement
having been invented in the UK, or the Slow Food movement having originated in Italy. There also appears
to be some amount of fast food wordplay going on, with reference to "hero" sandwiches rather than "grinders".

The Slow Food movement has as its logo an orange snail, as used by this restaurant in Belgrade. An orange
item is an important prop in the wonderful 2-minute video "Rolling" by NYC's Transportation Alternatives. But
as explained by this SF-based color consultant, the color of sustainability is not just orange, or even green. In
any case, the movement continues to grow in the central part of the Garden State.
  
Brian Eno, co-composer of the music used in "Rolling", coined the phrase "The Long Now" two decades ago.
It "refers to the idea that in some cultures the word 'now' refers not to the immediate moment, as it does in 
our culture, but to a day, a year, or even 10 generations backward and forward. A project, The Clock of the Long
Now, aims to build a monumental, super-slow astronomical clock - to embody the idea that "sustainability begins with 
taking a long view of our past and our future and adjusting current activities in accordance". Princeton alumnus
Jeff Bezos is funding the project. Details on how the ingenious movement within the 10,000 Year Clock is synchronized
to the sun can be found here.

Meanwhile, around here there's no stupendous techno-marvel, only an iconic sundial. Downtown restaurants dedicated
to Slow Food include the newly-opened and vibrant Jammin' CrĂŞpes at 20 Nassau. There remain several nice unpaved 
stretches of road nearby. Plus you can literally take the long view by biking along Longview Drive ! For sustenance, there
are no heroes or grinders, only hoagies. 

But we can be heroes: a map showing a slow, loopy 8-mile bike ride in search of local colors and such is online here.




 








 



Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Welcome New Friends Of Princeton Walking And Cycling!



Last Thursday, October 30, 'Sustainable Princeton' held a breakfast session at the Princeton Public Library focusing on 'Creating A Bike-Friendly Princeton'. The turnout was great, and many of the participants signed up for our Princeton Pedestrian and Bicycling Advisory Committee mailing list. I'd like to say 'thank you' to everyone on our mailing list for their ongoing support, and also welcome our new friends! There are over 200 of us now! 

Princeton Pedestrian and Bicyling Advisory Committee (PBAC) is part of Princeton's municipal government, with a mission to advise Council on policy relating to walking and cycling. We don't get to set policy, but we try to make sure that our local government is doing what is best to support everybody who likes to get around on foot or on two wheels. To make that happen, we rely on the community for support, and the time of our committee members, who are local residents and volunteers.

If you have any suggestions for what PBAC ought to be working on, or if you are particularly keen to help, let us know by emailing pjpbac@gmail.com. We also have a website at pjpbac.blogspot.com and a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/princetonpbac. If you're on Facebook, why not give us a 'like'?!

Special thanks must also go to Sustainable Princeton for putting on this terrific event! Look out for other events in their ongoing 'Great Ideas Breakfasts' series.


Thursday, October 30, 2014

Cover Photo Selected For New Princeton Bike Map!

The photo below, of a yellow jersey neophyte forging ahead of the pack
along Mountain Avenue during the recent Ride of the Falling Leaves, will be
the cover image on the bike map, whose 1st edition is nearing publication.
To everybody out there who took the time to submit an image for our
consideration, we do thank you for rising to the challenge, and helping us.

          



Wednesday, October 29, 2014

feed zone 08540 - Sustainable Princeton’s Great Ideas Breakfast tomorrow


Hop On Your Bike And Ride To Sustainable Princeton's Great Ideas Breakfast To Learn About 
Princeton's Biking Rev-Olution! 

Thursday, October 30th From 8:15 Am To 9:30 Am In The Princeton Public Library Community Room.






Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Mayor's Ride of the Falling Leaves 2014 - In Pictures!


PBAC Chair, Steve Kruse, at the start of 'The Ride of the Falling Leaves'

PBAC's annual community bike ride, the "Ride of the Falling Leaves" took place last Sunday. It was more like 'the ride of the blowing leaves' because there was a pretty brisk breeze, but a great crowd of local cyclists of all ages joined in for a scenic tour of Mountain Lakes Park. This ride was started last year at the special request of Mayor Liz Lempert, who joined in for the tour.

Thanks to Princeton police for marshaling the crossing of Route 206.
Thanks to David Cohen for brewing hot cider for the riders to enjoy at Mountain Lakes House!
And thanks to all the participants for a great afternoon out.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

A Tour Of The Innovative Bike Facilities of Hoboken And Jersey City

Last Saturday, the New Jersey chapter of the American Planning Association hosted a 'Tour of Bike Facilities' in Hoboken and Jersey City. For those of us who are slightly obsessed with building better bike facilities, and I unashamedly count myself in that group, this was an awesome opportunity to check out best practice from two towns that are making a sustained effort to implement 'Complete Streets' and give cyclists some space on the road.

I took a huge number of photos as I went round. Here are some of them. Not everything in Hoboken and Jersey City is applicable to Princeton- obviously- but we have more in common with these cities than you'd think. There is huge pressure for on-street parking in both places, just as there is in Princeton. But both cities manage to find room for cyclists. Check out how below…

Riders gathering for the APA-NJ Tour of Bike Facilities. Hoboken Terminal, October 19, 2014.

Monday, October 20, 2014

maps, Martians, and badgers Re: ride idea: visit Elsie (the Jersey girl)




> Google search using keywords "more recognized than Albert Einstein" yields
> somebody you might not expect: Elsie the Cow.   There's a headstone to memorialize
> Elsie, near this easy-to-spot wooden gazebo. Its rough location is marked on this map of
> a fairly easy bike ride, mostly on the towpath.

     I've updated the map to show the location of Van Nest Park in Grovers Mill (West Windsor Twp)
     - the place made famous (infamous?) by Orson Welles in his Halloween 1938 radio play.

             "On his day off, playwright Howard Koch visited his family up the Hudson River.
              On his return, he picked up a map at a gas station to determine where the Martians
              would begin their assault. Since he was passing through New Jersey on Route 9W,
              it was a map of that state. Back in New York, Koch closed his eyes and dropped
              a pencil on the map. It fell on the tiny unincorporated hamlet of Grovers Mill, New
              Jersey. And, thus, a small village near Princeton became ground zero for the Martian
              invasion of the earth — and entered media history."

But why am I telling you about Orson Welles ?

        "He was born to affluent parents in Kenosha WI in 1915, but still endured hardship as a child. His
         father had invented and made a fortune with a popular bicycle lamp, but suffered from alcoholism. ... 
         Soon after Welles' graduation from prep school, his father passed away. Using funds from his
         inheritance Welles traveled to Europe. While on a walking tour of Ireland he boldly walked into the
         Gate Theatre of Dublin and claimed to be a Broadway star.

Welles' father Richard was co-founder and treasurer of the Badger Brass Manufacturing Co. of Kenosha.
Their product, the carbide-based Solar Bicycle Lamp, started out lighting the way for bicycles and did the same
for motorized vehicles. The Kenosha factory employed 200 people in 1917 and boasted annual sales near
the $1 million mark with an annual production of 100,000 cycle/bicycle and 400,000 auto lamps.

Orson Welles on his movie, "The Magnificent Ambersons",  based on Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1918 novel:

        "The Eugene Morgan character brings with him the whole stinking hell of the automobile age, but that doesn't mean
         he isn't a nice human being. He admits himself that what's he's doing may be a bad thing. My father felt that way
         about it. He was a motorcar pioneer, but he abandoned it early on. He got tired of it, I guess. Then he invented
         a bicycle lamp which, as it turned out, was on practically every automobile in the world! He was a friend of Booth
         Tarkington's, and really there's a lot of my father in that character. An early automobile fellow with a deep suspicion
         of what the automobile would do fascinated by it, and very much afraid of what it was going to do to the world.




Friday, October 17, 2014

event info re: 2nd annual "Mayor's Ride Of The Falling Leaves" - this Sunday


The start location is adjacent to the parking lot at Community Park South,
whose official address is 380 Witherspoon St, Princeton, NJ 08542. MAP

Our gathering spot will be down the embankment, on the bike path. It's
basically between the parking lot and the tennis courts.  The parking lot
can be entered from Witherspoon, next to Community Park School. It runs
parallel to Birch Avenue, and is between John and Race streets. 


On Sat, Oct 4, 2014 at 4:49 PM, Sam Bunting <thebunting@gmail.com> wrote:



Please Save The Date and tell your friends! Princeton Pedestrian and Bicycling Advisory Committee, in association with Mayor Liz Lempert and the Princeton Police Department invite you to the 2014 'Ride of the Falling Leaves'. We will repeat our route from last year, which is 3.5 miles, starting in Community Park South and taking in a leisurely tour of Mountain Lakes Park. The ride, which is mostly on trails, is free and suitable for all ages. Helmets are required. Hot cider will be served at Mountain Lakes House half-way around. For more details, please email pjpbac@gmail.com

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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Princeton Council Set To Make Decision On New Hamilton Avenue Bike Lanes



In Princeton, we might be about to get bike lanes on one of our local roads. After discussions with municipal engineers earlier this year, Princeton Pedestrian and Bicycling Advisory Committee (PBAC) unanimously recommended that bidirectional bike lanes should be striped on Hamilton Avenue between North Harrison Street and Snowden Lane (as seen in image above). At their September meeting, the Princeton Traffic and Transportation committee also voted to support the addition of bike lanes on this section of Hamilton Avenue. The bike lanes will now be considered by Princeton Council, who will have to vote to approve the project.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Save The Date: "Mayor's Ride Of The Falling Leaves" - October 19



Please Save The Date and tell your friends! Princeton Pedestrian and Bicycling Advisory Committee, in association with Mayor Liz Lempert and the Princeton Police Department invite you to the 2014 'Ride of the Falling Leaves'. We will repeat our route from last year, which is 3.5 miles, starting in Community Park South and taking in a leisurely tour of Mountain Lakes Park. The ride, which is mostly on trails, is free and suitable for all ages. Helmets are required. Hot cider will be served at Mountain Lakes House half-way around. For more details, please email pjpbac@gmail.com

Friday, October 3, 2014

Re: [pjpbac-public forum listserv] announcing Operation Photo Op


We're grateful to all who participated - close to 30 images were
submitted last month. From these, the PBAC members voted
independently, and winnowed the list down to 5 popular images
which are viewable online Click here to view (2 pages).

Image #29 on page 2 received the most votes, except the
smiling cyclist has forgotten to strap on her helmet, contrary to
the safety-related text accompanying the map. This was taken from
an observation tower along the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail.

Image #28 by Wiebke is a close runner up and can also be
cropped into the desired tall/narrow aspect ratio. It loses
several points due to the protagonist having his back to the
camera. Although actually, Mother Nature is the protagonist.

Image #5 also submitted by Wiebke is more horizontal than
vertical, although it does evoke downtown Princeton superbly.

Image #25 by Aaron is tied as the runner up, but would need to
be rotated and cropped, to achieve the correct aspect ratio.

Image #14 is seriously lacking in impartiality (it's my daughter)
although this one scores bonus points by flashing the PBAC logo.

The net result of all this rumination, with our committee having not yet
reached a clear decision, is that we plan to solicit further images until
midnight on Sunday Oct 19th, which is the date of PBAC's next event,
the second annual Mayor's Ride of the Falling Leaves (details soon).

I hope this gives you some idea of what criteria we've used when
considering the cover art, and also gives encouragement.    SK