two for tuesday: mexico city and nyc bike share programs

SF has a bike share program, but it is nowhere to the extent that mexico city and the newly introduced new york city programs. the sf program has been discussed since before ade and meli started this blog, but we haven't seen much progress due to delays, politics, delays, delays and more delays.

well, in the meantime, mexico city introduced its ecobici in 2010. as regular readers know, i went to mexico city late last year, and my boyfriend and i were very excited to try it out. we didn't realize at the time that we needed to live in mexico city in order to use them. disappointed, yes, but we were pleased to see that the bikes were used often. we also saw trucks at night redistributing the bikes among various stations. not to mention physically separated bike lanes and a diverse bike community. there are group rides every day.





as you may also know, i lived in nyc for quite some time. 8 years to be exact. i rode my bike while i lived there, but i didn't ever consider it a viable transportation option since legendary stories of bikes being stolen are bountiful. bill cunningham has had a bike stolen 28 times (at least of the time of his documentary--hope that's it though)! so i rode, but just casually.

as has been plastered everywhere in the media lately, NYC introduced its own bike share this past monday. i wish nothing but the best for this program. since i've lived there, over 300 miles of bikes lanes have been introduced, and nyc streets are slowly changing in order to accommodate less cars, more bikes.



incidentally on my old evening commute, i would ride by a spin class and i would always glance in...but i digress.

bitchcakes, whose blog is sadly on infinite hiatus, is still on flickr and shared some pictures of her citibike trip.



that picture reminded me of the bike i rode in DC last year.



can't wait to see how this citibike share goes. if interenet pictures are any indication, this will be a well documented event.



i don't know what it is going to take for SF to finally introduce its own widespread bikeshare program. in the meantime, i know of some extra bikes for tourists and newbies to borrow. heh. or maybe it'll take going to mexico city and learning something about efficient public transportation and bike infrastructure...kinda like what city leaders are doing. hmm.

friday fun times: oakland's clitoral mass ride is tomorrow!

and to celebrate the ride (12pm in oakland, details here) we're gonna kick off this three day weekend with a trailer from one of the BADASS inspirations of the event, las ovarian psycos! they are doing community and bikes RIGHT.

The Ovarian Psycos (Official Trailer) - A feature documentary from ovarianpsycosmovie@gmail.com on Vimeo.

have a great weekend everyone. i'm sure i'll take a ton of pics on saturday. hope to see you there!

Arthursday: marie desbons

marie desbons is a french illustrator i found via pinterest. i spent some time looking at her work and i found it very fun, sort of a lighter hearted jamie zollars, or at least zollar's style of a few years ago.

desbons' light hearted color palette and whimsical scenes immediately draw you into her fantasy world, where you can lose yourself in her imagination for awhile.



i also like how the bike rider seems to be a recurring character.



you can see more for yourself on her blog (en français) or on facebook.




we kept the theme with a female artist as a slight nod to the clitoral mass rides that are happening this weekend in oakland and LA. there'll be more information about them tomorrow.

guest post: FAST - biking for change

the fine folks over at FAST - biking for change reached out to us and asked us if they could be a guest poster. we're never ones to say no to that, so here we go.

it's been awhile since we've heard of some animal activism other than my explanation to my new coworkers of why i've been vegetarian for 20 years every time we go out to lunch. here's for the next generation keeping that tradition strong of changing lives through biking.

FAST, or Five Activists Standing Together is a bicycle touring team that aims to bring the message of animal rights to the entire world through our advocacy tours. We distribute literature that brings light to the hidden horrors of modern day animal agriculture, and the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

Periodically during our travels, we hold a small street exhibit called “Change 4 Change”. Change 4 Change will explain our mission and hopefully help us acquire donations to fund our trips (i.e literature and food).
The team consists of five people: Kevin Cooney, John Jungenberg, Mary Jungenberg, Rachel Shippee and Jamie Jungenberg. The five friends decided to form FAST because they all share the same love of biking and activism.

We have completed one tour so far-we traveled from our homes in Northern Illinois, to Madison, Wisconsin, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and back. This trip was a tremendous success, and we were able to distribute 7,000 leaflets that promote veganism.

People may ask us, "Why do you do all this just to save farmed animals?" Farmed animals are some of the most oppressed beings on the planet. Ten billion are killed each year for the meat, egg and dairy industries alone. They live in hellish conditions, forced into cages so small they can't even turn around, separated from their families, and deprived of everything that makes life worth living. We know that their lives are worth something, that they have the right to live peacefully and freely and to do as they wish. We have the utmost respect for all species of life.

Thanks to FAST for reaching out. Good luck and safe times on your travels. Be sure to check out their facebook page for more information.

Arthursday: Dr. Sketchy's 5th Annual Cute Girls on Bicycles

last week our friends over at dr. sketchy's SF version of their anti-art school had their 5(!!) annual cute girls on bicycles. dr. sketchy's hosts monthly events where they have a really fun themed live drawing get together. the month before this one featured luchadores. need i say any more?

all images link back to where i found them, via the individual artist. go forth and find out more about them!

bike to work day 2013

took some photos on the way to work today. energizer stations and bike counters oh my!



this guy recognized me from my organizing with SF bike party.


wrenching.


intersection of market and van ness


through the foggy (non-purple) haze, you can see SF's very own new bicycle counter.





this guy just wanted to be number 1000, but he was really one of the cheerleaders near the bike counter.



from standing near the bike counter, public bikes' dan and i both noticed that the counter seemed not to be very good at counting when groups of riders passed by the counter. it also doesn't count them if they are NOT in the bike lane. the sensor is just near the bike counter.



baby steps but BIG baby steps for SF's very own bicycle counter! happy bike to work day everyone.

video: bike to work week and oak street improvements

as i wrote on fb yesterday, there are some big changes on three mere blocks of san francisco's 7x7 slice of earth.

so excited to see this green paint going up on one of the more precarious streets to bike on in SF. it is basically a one way highway for cars that bring people from the west side of town to downtown and other actually designated freeways. bikes share three blocks of this stretch of road.

one of our "reporters on the scene" took some video during his commute to work. oak street is getting some improvements. the actual ride is a bit precarious due to the construction. but nothing totally out of the complete ordinary on a workday commute.



have you noticed any bikey improvements going on in anticipation of bike to work day? SF's bike to work day is tomorrow, THURSDAY, may 9. when is yours in your town? SF tends to be earlier than normal. other than that in these parts of the interwebs bike to work day is everyday, of course.

friday fun times: biking for worker's rights

i, unfortunately, was unable to participate in may day festivities/marches/protests this year as i have a new job. ironically. as such, didn't feel comfortable enough to take off. and also had a board meeting that night. one of my infamous 12-hour work days. i hope next year's may day will be different.

anyway, here are some bikey and work type things i saw on may day, which was wednesday.

saw a cyclist on her way back from a civic center demonstration. she gave me permission to take her picture.

over where the work is never done, the new job has quite the bike commuter area.



you could adjust your pedals, or your headset...?

happy friday everyone! we are experiencing some crazy warm weather here in northern california. some people are complaining it might be too hot to bike. NO WAY! hehe.

also... congrats to the golden state warriors for chomping down on some denver nuggets. they advance to the next round in the nba western conference playoffs. we'll have to see how they fare against my san antonio spurs!

Arthursday: dschwen

David Schwen is a Minneapolis based designer/illustrator type of person. I've been following him on instagram when I found out about his food pantone parings. And whaddya know? He has done some bikey designs too.

clitoral mass test ride

last sunday three of us from SF headed over to oakland to do a test ride for the oakland-clitoral mass ride that is coming up may 25th.

i wont spoil the route as of yet, but here are some pics from the test ride.

pretty day.




behind and over the head. trying to get the meta shot.


we are kid and trailer friendly. her trailer says for drivers to give her 3 feet and that sometimes she rides with a kid or a dog or beer, but just to "please don't hit me."



so ready to see what sort of community decides to show up and support women identified folks on may 25th! there are rumors that the ovarian psycos might come down from LA. that would be a dream come true!