transportation

Bike Lanes on Cameron & Dessau Roads – City of Austin Listening Session

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 8 Comments

This past Thursday the City of Austin (Texas) Active Transportation Department had a gathering for interested citizens to come give their input about bike lanes. These roads are really the same, they just change names. After passing one highway, it becomes a six-lane death trap from hell, if you’re on a bicycle. As a cyclist who volunteered numerous times on a committee for just this cause, I was keen to go and see this project finally start to come to life. It’s always interesting to participate in the process of something that could save your own life and that of friends and neighbors. Isn’t that something every bike rider should get behind?

Continue reading →

The Kids Bikes in Stranger Things: Fighting Monsters, Freedom and Fun

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

I’ve just begun watching Stranger Things, the moody, spooky Netflix sci-fi series about a group of kids searching for one of their own who goes missing. And then the weird stuff transpires. Set in the 80’s, when I was a teen, the show has a very Stephen King vibe to it (there’s even a direct shout out to him). Season 3 is being released on July 4th, Independence Day, fittingly enough. Because like on the show, when you’re a kid, bikes mean the ability to feel free. The wind in your face and hair, and that feeling of almost flying, or floating. Luckily, grown-up kids get to recapture that sensation, too.

Continue reading →

Victory! Protected Bike Lanes on Shoal Creek Boulevard in Austin, Texas

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 8 Comments

After a several year grassroots campaign by members of Bike Austin and Walk Austin, victory was achieved! The City of Austin (Texas) announced it will construct a two-way protected bicycle lane on the west side of the major bike thoroughfare from 38th Street to Foster Lane. From that point to 183, it will put in one-way bicycle lanes on each side of Shoal Creek Boulevard (SCB). This is an important win for bicyclists of all kinds who use the street, as well as for pedestrians. Because currently it’s a mess of weaving in and out of parked cars, which can be deadly. The details are below.

Continue reading →

Bike to Work Day 2019 Party

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

Today was Bike to Work Day in Austin as in many cities worldwide. I didn’t make to any of the morning fueling stations or the gathering and speechifying at City Hall. My excuse? I don’t have a job. Well, aside from the job of being A Dude Abikes, and lemme tell ya’, it ain’t easy bein’ me. Or green. Or green me. But I do work my ass off every day, actually, I’m just not getting paid for it! I’m either researching, writing and editing this blog or my book, walking, and doing yoga… every damn day for over 16 months now (the yoga goes back over 64 months). Then there’s biking almost every single day — about 100 miles per week (sometimes less and slower lately with knee pain, but I’m still doing it). Plus I’m looking for work and housing, not to mention volunteering for Bike Austin. I did make it to the after-party like last year, so here’s my recap.

Continue reading →

Study Says Painted Bike Lanes Aren’t Enough; Two Close Calls in Two Days Confirm It

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

The study, done by Monash University of cyclists in Victoria, Australia, found that painted bike lanes do not deter car drivers from coming too close to bicycles. And people ride their bikes less when they do not feel safe. The answer is clear: bike lanes must be protected in order to create true safety for bike riders.

Here in Austin, Texas, as in many places around the United States, we’re lucky if we even get those white lines. Which we now know do not work well enough. Nearly getting hit by cars while I was in the bike lane twice in the last two makes this a hot topic for me, one that I’m hot under the collar about. Why? Because I spoke to both drivers, and they’re responses were infuriating. Come on inside this post and I’ll tell you about it.

Continue reading →

Five Bike News Stories from Around Texas

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

One of the blogs I follow is one I find hard to read. That’s because it seems like most days BikingInLA usually has coverage of a bicyclist fatality . It’s a major downer for me, and I’m sure everyone. But it’s important to hold the City of Angels and car drivers’ feet to the fire. Also, the author has a ton of other good stuff in there. If you can get past the gloom and doom, it’s worth a read. Here are a few Texas stories I found and thought I’d share with y’all. Thanks, BikingInLA! Keep fighting the good fight.

Continue reading →

The Austin Mobility Plan: Sounds Nice, but Will It Fly?

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

Today’s main local paper Austin American-Statesman had an article titled “Austin’s strategic mobility plan hits home stretch.”  It looks at ways to improve bike lanes, sidewalks, public transit and even roads so that people can move about the city better.  The deadline for answering a poll about the plan is Sunday, January 13th, so the update is welcome.  It also reveals some cracks in the fuselage.  planes, trains and automobiles

(Is anyone getting my Planes, Trains and Automobiles reference?  Hello, anyone?  We miss you, John Candy.)  Minor things like how will it be paid for, and will people agree to give up car lanes.  A Dude has some thoughts, so let’s take off, eh, hosers? Continue reading →

Safe Routes to School & The Dog That Nearly Ate Me. Oh, The Things I See Bicycling in Austin!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 16 Comments

A friend admitted the other day that she was enjoying walking more than bicycling around Austin lately.  That’s because she notices more things going slower on two feet than on two wheels.  I agreed that’s mostly true, but also said you still see some pretty cool stuff biking that you’d never notice whizzing by in a car.  Today was no exception, and a beautiful spring day to boot.  Please continue reading where it says Continue Reading!  (Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom — WordPress inserts extra white space I can’t get rid of sometimes.) Continue reading →