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Welcome! We cover bicycling as transportation,
with an emphasis on Austin, TX, USA. We don't cover biking for recreation, sport,
or charity.
Bicycle Austin is a volunteer project (not an organization) by Michael
Bluejay.
Advertising revenue supports local cycling advocacy.
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Email List &
Web Forum
The best way to stay on
top of what's going on is to sign up for the email list. Every
day the posts from the web forum get sent to the
email list, so by signing up for the email list you won't miss anything
-- you'll see all the email posts and all the web posts.
I'm asking people to voluntarily make
their posts on the web forum instead of the list.
Those posts will get automatically sent to the list anyway. And by
posting to the web forum, we can make our discussions easily readable
by any web surfer, not just to those on the members-only email list.
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Current discussions 
No bikes on Blake Manor? last post: 8/30 @ 18:27
Apologies in advance if this is the wrong section for this message. Mods feel free to relocate.
I was riding the Webberville-Manor loop,...
Anyone suggest a good wheelbuilder? last post: 8/30 @ 9:06
My commuter these days is a Bike Friday Tikit -- that's a folding bike with 16" wheels -- fitted with a SRAM iMotion 9 hub.
It's a huge...
Vote for my idea to make roads safer for cyclists! last post: 8/30 @ 8:17
Hello.
Please allow me to bring to your attention a new traffic safety idea
that can also help cyclists. This idea will be competing for ...
Drivers mores last post: 8/28 @ 19:41
According to OG2W the number of citations to motorists reached 675,000 for 2009 ()
Considering that the population in the metro area is...
F the F1 Proposal -- Austin's Newest Potential Boondoggle last post: 8/28 @ 5:12
Here is the latest threat to the Austin Way of Life, a proposed F1 track on the edge of town, paid for with a massive infusion of tax...
Austin Area Bicycle Thefts last post: 8/26 @ 17:36
Austin Police Department
Citizen Alert
Has your bike been stolen?
Austin Police North Bureau detectives are currently investigating...
Why U.S. rail sucks (in two graphs) last post: 8/26 @ 17:30
Grist has an article with two graphs that say it...
Capital Metro gutting bus service for awful commuter rail last post: 8/25 @ 17:00
Hey, y'all! Remember back in 2004, when I warned you that nobody would be riding the Red Line because of the shuttlebus problem?
It's ...
Pfluger Bridge / trail closing information last post: 8/25 @ 16:55
Lady Bird Hike and Bike Trail patrons will start to see signs at strategic locations on the trail starting August 25, 2010 alerting them...
Trail Maintenance? last post: 8/20 @ 12:32
The City of Austin Public Works Department, Neighborhood Connectivity Division would like your input on specific urban trails and/or trail...
Give 3 Feet, It's the LAW! last post: 8/19 @ 17:49
All,
Please check out our new "Give 3 Feet, It's the Law campaign." Thus far we have a CityView News segment and a link to more...
Passing laws - emergency vehicles compared to cyclists last post: 8/15 @ 17:29
Why is it illegal to give emergency vehicles "just" 20 feet, instead of 40 feet of room while passing on the highway (must move into left...
Speeding correlated with small penis size? last post: 8/14 @ 19:09
This page has some statistics about speeding, including the suggestion that speeding is correlated with small penis...
Route from Austin to SM last post: 8/14 @ 8:03
Hi all,
I'm planning to make a little bike journey from Austin to San Marcos and would like to know if anyone has done this and has a...
FOR SALE: Brand New Cannondale Quick CX FS - $950 OBO last post: 8/10 @ 16:04
Brand new 2010 Cannondale Quick CX FS Bike w/ 52 inch frame (Large). Won in the Bear Naked Granola sweepstakes, but I just bought a new...
Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 9 pm: YELLOW BIKE BENEFIT SHOW at RED 7 last post: 8/8 @ 19:18
Come out and support the Yellow Bike Project and enjoy some great live music. The show starts at 9 pm and will include The Sour Notes, The...
Joggers last post: 8/7 @ 14:24
Although this complaint is fairly minor, and it usually only happens on slow-moving roads like Duval, why do joggers consistently jog in...
Stolen Bike? last post: 8/6 @ 12:09
My bike was stolen from my apartment recently, so I've been watching craigslist to see if it shows up.
That post matches my bike...
Sat Aug 7, 1-10p: Hottest Day of The Year Ride: A Benefit for The LOBV last post: 8/4 @ 18:58
Event page:
RSVP: [url]http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133511656690847[/url]
LOBV E-Newsletter sign-up:...
Confirmed: UT will reimburse for bicycle rental expenses last post: 8/4 @ 14:16
I just got reimbursed for the expense of renting a bicycle while traveling overseas on business. I did so as an alternative to renting a...
Bicyclists cheated out of
bond money!
On March 7, 2006, Raul Alvarez asked the city to
reveal how the $150 million in city bond money for transportation
passed in 2000 (Proposition 1 back then) has been spent so far. I got
the results of his request in response to my own recent similar open
records request made to reveal how our bond money had been spent.
This bond money was supposed to be allocated in
portions at $15 million a year for ten years. So far $84 million has
been spent with $66 million in transportation bond authorization yet
remaining.
Guess where the first five years worth of
Austin bond money went? The first $67.2 million ALL went for SH 130
right of way, and not a penny for any of the the other things promised
to the bond voters on the ballot! Meanwhile those of us who live inside
Austin are additionally paying a lot for Williamson County toll roads,
like SH 130, via our Travis County property taxes.
In the last year, for the first time, some of the
$150 million has been used for other purposes like widening roads (to
widen roads like one that leads to SH 130 for example), but not a
penny has yet been spent for the promised bike projects, although
$10 million was recently proposed in response to Alvarez's request
(with about $5 million so far for sidewalks). If you read the
Chronicle article, you will see that $20 million was being promised
for bike and ped projects just before the election. The exact ballot
language and more background on these bonds is below.
To me, this kind of tightly held information and
bait and switch bond stuff is proof of why we need to pass the Open
Government charter amendment, Prop 1.
-- Roger Baker, May 6, 2006
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Upcoming rides & events
Want to get your event listed
below? Just post
it on the web forum and it will show up here automatically 30
minutes later. Be sure to include the exact
date & time of your event in the
title, so that shows up too. Do NOT use
relative dates like "This Saturday" or "tonight" because your
post will still be here weeks from now, and at that time the reader
won't know which day you're referring to. (i.e., Do not write your post
as though everyone who reads it is reading it today.)
Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 9 pm: YELLOW BIKE BENEFIT SHOW at RED 7 (posted 8/8)
Sat Aug 7, 1-10p: Hottest Day of The Year Ride: A Benefit for The LOBV (posted 8/4)
World Naked Bike Ride!!! (posted 5/26)
LAB Public Art Dedication Ceremony & Ride - Sat., June 12th 8:30am-12n (posted 6/11)
Eastside Home Bike Tour this Sunday (posted 6/11)
World Naked Bike Ride -- June 12, 2010 - 7:00pm at Pease Park (posted 6/4)
Austin Bike Month Closing Celebration -- Sunday, June 6th, 2-8pm (posted 6/3)
Downtown Culture Cruise this Saturday, June 5 (posted 6/1)
Texas 4000 for Cancer - ATLAS Ride Saturday, June 5 8am (posted 5/15)
Race for Haiti-Saturday May 29th, 2010-8:00am-a bike amazing race (posted 5/22)
Site Updates:
- Endorsed Chris Riley for City Council.
- Overhauled the site design, putting the menus at
the top, and adding the most important resources and external sites to
a sidebar on every page.
- City to consider allowing cars to park in bike lanes on
Exposition.
- Added forum topics and events to the front page.
- Belatedly added Lance Armstrong's shop, Mellow
Johnny's, to the Bike Shops
page.
- Added a note about MN cops confiscating bikes of
kids without helmets, to the justice page.
Will they confiscate cars when drivers aren't buckled up?
- Updated "Who's usually at fault in car-bike
collisions" on the No Justice
page
- Added the 8/08 KEYE story which effectively blames cyclists for the
increase in car-bike collisions, with zero supporting
evidence
- Cyclist
solves her own hit and run.
- Added a new cycling injury lawyer to What to do if you're hit or harassed.
- Added a link to the 311 online form to the front page.
- Lubbock driver gets only probation for hit-and-run
killing of cyclist
- Updated the Austin
bike laws page
- Added a
PDF of "tickets" to put on cars parked in bike lanes.
- Added Quick Links to front page, updated govt. & city govt. pages
- Added historical info about the City's failure to spend
bike project money properly
- Linked to the "No justice" article
in the Austin Chronicle, from our No Justice
section
- Our Open
Letter to Dr. Crocker, who supports the helmet law
- Added The Peddler to the bike shops page
- Added a route from
Austin to Elgin
- The Yellow Bike Project launches an Austin
bike culture wiki
- Another drunk driver kills another cyclist
- Adult helmet law
probably dead
- Law professor faces
no penalty for intentionally hitting cyclist with her car
- Updated the City
Council page
- Hit-and-run case
in Garland, TX
- New helmet law being considered (see at right)
- Added our endorsements
for the May 2006 city council race
- Added details about cyclists being cheated out of
bond money (above)
- Driver who ran red light and hit two cyclists not ticketed.
- Created a new page about the ACA's advocacy on the
Shoal Creek bike lanes issue
- Two April car-bike
crashes, one fatal
- Added FrankenBike
to the events and used
bikes pages.
- Teenagers throwing
stuff at cyclists near Shoal Creek Blvd.
- Linked to a new
route for IBM to downtown.
- Council set to screw cyclists over Shoal Creek Blvd.
- Updated the list of bike
shops
- Looks like the Lamar
Bridge might get finished after all.
- Eric Anderson reports on cyclists' success in
mitigating the redesign fiasco on the Riverside Drive project (Jan. 2006)
- New update on how bike facilities were omitted in the
Riverside Drive
project
- Added
the law about administrative suspension of driver's license for DWI
offenses to the laws covering motorists
page
- Linked to a new, safer route to Bastrop on the Routes page
- Our endorsements
for City Council
- Added more to the never-ending Shoal Creek bike lanes debacle
- Added another North
Austin route
- Exemplary police
response to harassment of a cyclist
- North Austin
bike routes now has its own page. Plus added a couple of routes.
- Added Patrick Goetz's encouragement for cyclists to
be effective advocates by joining
the Urban Transportation Commission.
- Redesigned the site, nobody noticed.
- Added a failed
statewide helmet bill from 2003.
- Reader-recommended
locks
- Added a route
to Ben White and I-30
- The Lamar
Bike/Ped bridge might actually be finished
- Yet another hit & run
- Hit & Run on
Michael Passman
- May 19 newsletter posted
- Costs of car
ownership updated
- Map to San
Marcos
- Guide to Touring
- How to Rewire Christmas Lights to Run on Batteries
- Natural
gas buses may be no better than diesel
- An online store selling electric
scooters
- New section on bike
lanes
- More news about the Shoal Creek bike lanes mess
- Triggering
traffic signals
- Why is there no
justice?
- Keith Vick's fatal
collision
- TXDoT's 25-year
transpo plan
- Another North
Austin route
- Eric Anderon's status report of roadway projects
- Older updates....
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