You said it, Jim!

You can purchase this comic at The Cincinnati Enquirer website.

I’m in love. I mean it. It’s the kind kind of relationship that requires lots of “ums” and “ahs” as I unsuccessfully attempt to provide some sort of rational explanation for such a kinship.

But I’m in love. I find myself often going to the Electra Bicycles website to look at their line of bikes, but most often I check out the Daisy (pictured).

I know this bike is not for me - that’s the thing. It’s too flowery to match my more hard-core riding style, but I am really attracted to it in some innate sense. I simply love commuting to work in that relaxed position that a cruiser affords. There is just nothing like it in the world.

What pleasure…

For all of the people of a more ‘flowery’ persuasion, this is a beautiful, head-turning bike (How many bikes on the road today have lime-green rims?).

You might have to special-order this one, so you might just want to make a deposit soon at your local Electra dealer. You’d be that much closer to your own chance at true love.

Photo Credit: Electra Bikes

Do you really need one more reason to start commuting to work on your bicycle? If so, read on.

On May 21st, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Bill of 2008 (H.R. 6049), which, among other things, extends a tax benefit to people who regularly commute by bicycle.

Basically, the tax benefit means that you can shave $20 per month that you commuted by bike off of your gross income when calculating taxes. In other words, it’s not very much in the big picture, BUT it is IN the picture!

Not that we are looking for handouts or anything. I mean, hey, I wish all of these special tax breaks would just go disappear off the face of the earth. But since that is not likely, I’ll take it!

I can only assume that this passed as a result of Portland, Oregon’s Representative Earl Blumenauer (D). It’s good when you have the right people in the right places…

Now get out there and earn your tax break!

Source: CCH.

The AP reports this morning that GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner said in a speech at their annual meeting today that GM is considering dropping production of the Hummer. Wow! What a startling chain of events this spring. I mean, this is mere conjecture, but if GM really does eliminate the Hummer from its lineup, that represents a major shift in American’s purchasing habits.

The really surprising thing to me is the way that gasoline prices have skyrocketed so quickly.

There are news reports every day about how bicycle sales are through the roof because of such high prices, as in here, here, and here.

So, as of today, bikes are in and hummers are out. Not a bad picture, from my perspective…

(Photo credit: Gary Malerba, AP)

Want to look sexy velocommuting? Check out Copenhagen Cycle Chic for some cool bike-purchasing ideas. Zakkaliciousness (thanks for the correction, JC) really knows what’s up when it comes to bicycle styles in Copenhagen AND there are lots of sexy velocommuters there that he has captured on film. (What a life!)

The blog is worth a quick glance just to get an idea of what it’s like to live in a place that really has biking at its core. Urban transport is really much more enjoyable (and quicker, apparently!) by bicycle. It is really a wonder that it’s just catching on in the States.

Here has an interesting perspective on how many gears are needed:

This is one issue that gets discussed quite often. Most bikes in Copenhagen have 3 gears. The most irritating sound I know is someone accelerating off the light in one gear and then clickclickclickclickclick, they hop past 78 gears to get to the one they want. Why not just buy a bike with the gears you need?

We often hear that three gears don’t fly in hilly cities. Then get five gears. The vast majority of cities in the world can be cycled daily in 3-5 gears. Whenever anybody says, “Yeah, but my city is REALLY hilly”, we just politely refer to European cities like Berne, Switzerland, where 25% of the population ride each day through a Alpen landscape. Or hilly Aarhus, Denmark’s second city, or Gothenburg, or Trondheim, Norway. 3-5 gears and off you go.

You said it!

Photo Credit: (Copenhagen Cycle Chic)

Jim Jordan and Pablo Alcala at the Lexington, Kentucky Herald-Leader have teamed up to post a story and accompanying video about Lexington resident Dan Dickinson’s bike ride to work.

Dickinson makes one very important insight: Don’t ride the big roads to work. (The smaller neighborhood streets are much more inviting and interesting anyway

Lexinggton is one city that has paid attention to its amazing level growth in recent years and has made significant strides towards making a compact, livable, sustainable community. Now that gas prices are going through the roof, I guess those dividends are paying off.

Here’s a tip of the old velocommuter chapeau to Dan and the Lexington Planning team!

Photo credit: Pablo Alcala, Herald-Leader.

The Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic has launched a bike sharing program. The program even has a great acronym! Gear up and Ride, or GEAR, is the brainchild of Dave Jasperson (pictured), Mayo’s coordinator for surgery and radiology in their Livewell Program.

The program is only in pilot phase at this time and there is no information about GEAR on Mayo’s website, the Rochester Post-Bulletin reports that numerous employees are supportive of the program.

Photo credit: Ken Klotzbach, Rochester Post-Bulletin

Yes, folks, it’s that time of year again. Time to dust off the commuter bicycle and ride to work. Riding a bicycle is an easy choice this Bike-to-Work Month, given the astronomical gasoline prices. I say, save your $5-10 gas money for a day’s commute and ride a bicycle. That way, you can really splurge at lunch time, when you need to fuel up for the way home. Hey, it’s no way to save money, but you could always let your Y membership lapse for the summer.

Remember, if you haven’t ridden a bicycle in traffic in a while, to take the lane if there is no bike path. Don’t ride too close to parked cars or the curb. By taking the whole lane, you avoid the mentality that drivers think there is room for a bicycle and a car in the lane, which is usually not true. If you feel bad making cars behind you go so slowly, pull over, stop, and let them pass.

If you do not have a mirror on your bike, remember that turning around to look at traffic behind you can be disorienting. Use caution looking behind when in traffic.

There is plenty more inspiration and information on velocommuter and elsewhere online. However, if you want a quick little reference book, try Rory McMullan’s “Biking to Work.”

~ms

So GM is NOT buying Specialized Bicycles after all. It is an excellent idea for an April Fool’s joke, however.

Now, just focusing on the core competencies of the two companies, one can see that such a match-up would be utter silliness, but that is why it was such a great April Fool’s joke (we admit that we fell for it hook, line, and sinker!). GM desperately needs to green its bottom line with something!

The fact is, there are a hundred reasons why GM and Specialized would make a terrible team, but how exactly are we going to get out of this mess anyhow? Try thinking outside the car!

Here’s an idea: leave your GM in the driveway and get a great workout while you ride your Specialized (or any of a number of different brand) bicycle to your job or school!

The K2 Easy Roller is another bicycle featuring Shimano’s Coasting System. It was recently featured in REI’s Spring Biking catalog. One feature of note is the Suntour Parallelogram Seatpost. This should help smooth out the ride and make it more enjoyable.

The K2 Easy Roller (Image courtesy of K2bikes.com)

This bicycle does not come with fenders, racks, or any of the other bells and whistles you might want from a commuter bike, but it is very simple and comfortable. If you are looking for a bicycle you can get on and ride with no previous experience, this is an excellent choice. Head over to your K2 bike dealer or REI and give one a test ride today. It lists for about $575.