Soup's on at 8pm, but the ride won't start until all are there, which probably won't be until 10:30-11.

Louisville has unleashed a series of Public Service Announcements striving for greater road safety. The three prongs of the safety campaign target motorists, cyclists, and walkers. The series has appeared most prominently on billboards and bus shelters. The three ads so far are the tip of the iceberg, there are more ads coming, and the message is up for debate. All of this is cause for celebration in the bike/ped world.

However, there is perhaps an issue with the message. The ads subtly discourage walking / biking and pay tribute to motorists.

Winter cyclist Barry Zalph rides his recumbent - photo credit john paul

Every year there's the day that seperates the casual cyclist from the hard core. That's the day you go for a ride and the wind chill makes you feel like you're being hit in the head by a hammer. This year, in Louisville, that day was Thanksgiving Day.

Bicycling street speeds don't slow down much in the winter, but the trips still take longer because it takes a few minutes to put on long underwear, heavy socks, trousers with ankle straps, several layers of shirt and jacket, baclava, and thick clumsy gloves. The short days mean that you're more likely to have to fiddle with lights and reflective vests, too. All this adds travel time.

This is San Francisco's Market Street in 1905, the dawn of the automotive age. The interplay between pedestrians, streetcars, wagons, and cars is amazing. As foreign as anything you'll see in another country.

hat tip INFRASTRUCTURIST

Update: A good time was had by all!

Don't miss out on the event of the century! The SECOND EVER Car-Free Happy Hour will be occurring next Tuesday, November 17, 2009, from 5:30 until 8PM at Third Avenue Cafe in Old Louisville! This will be the most exciting two and a half hours in the Louisville area's history.

Come join other peds, transit users, bicyclists, nerds, activists, neighbors, friends, community members, and maybe even mayoral candidates for scintillating (yes, I am a college grad) converstation and tasty vittles and bevs.

A participant in last month's Car-Free Happy Hour says: "It's stupendousness has doubled the price of awesomeness on the New York Stock Exchange."

ts stupendousness has doubled the price of awesomeness on the nyse!

So, there you have it folks. If you miss it, you will not be a square, you will be a rhombus.

Photo Dan Burden / PBIC

Live your ideals!

• Want to bike to work, but you don't want to do it alone? Ticket to Ride can find you a fellow commuter sharing a similar route.
• Are you an experienced bike commuter looking to share your know-how with others? Ticket to Ride needs to know about you.

Simply fill out this online form describing your commute at the Ticket to Ride site, then you'll get an email as soon as they match a fellow bike commuter with you. Simple!

Hat tip: KIPDA Horizons Newsletter

On the bike@cartky.org mailing list there's an amusing discussion on the proposition that bicycles should be unremarkable tools, like vacuum cleaners. Brent kicked it off with:

“Our relationship to the bicycle in Copenhagen is much like the vacuum cleaner. We don’t have five of them that we keep polished and well-oiled, there are no vacuum cleaner enthusiasts, we don’t go to a specialty shop to buy one or wear special clothes while we vacuum. The bicycle and the vacuum cleaner are just tools. One of them we clean our homes with, the other we use to transport ourselves around the city.”

http://bikeportland.org/2009/10/30/want-to-be-like-copenhagen-think-about-vacuum-cleaners-and-raging-bulls/

That precipitated three replies in October (David Jimmy Brent), and in November even more discussion ensued, eith Michael and Jim also weighing in.

How jaywalking can save your life and the planet.

Dan Burden / PBIC - note upright riding position, fenders, fat-n-stable tires

The generation that delivered the 10-speed is at it again. AARP bulletin writes:

Sixty-six year old Lucy Rigg McAdams "quickly found out what many other 50-plus Americans have been discovering -- the U.S. bike market is now catering to their wants and needs. Many older bicyclists aren't looking for sturdy mountain bikes designed for daredevils or racing styles for Lycra-clad hard bodies. Instead, they're interests are piqued by the newer, more comfortable models broadly referred to as 'lifestyle' bikes. Lifestyle bikes boast features like padded seats for a soft ride; lower, U-shaped crossbars for trouble-free mounting; low gears for easy pedaling; and a sturdy, upright frame for balance. And some, like Rigg McAdams' new $1,800 wheels, are power-assisted.