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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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Recent | Prior to 10/03

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.

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

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)

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Cheapest Airfares. I actually hope you won't fly, because of the pollution it causes. But making this site was my way to get your attention for that message. If you're going to fly anyway, see my top 10 tips for finding cheap airfare, a comparison of the different search engines, and which site to use in which situations.

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