Tag: commuting

Pull Into the Bike Parking Garage

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Biking to work is a challenge. You want a secure place to lock your bike, and sometimes you need a shower before going to the office or meeting. The city of Santa Monica in California is addressing the issue with a full-service bike parking center on the 3rd Street Promenade. The bike center is located in a storefront of a new mall in the area.

The Santa Monica Bike Center takes up 5,300 square feet. It has slots for bikes to be locked, showers, lockers and a self-service repair center. The center will also have attended valet parking for those shopping in the mall that want a little extra service. It’s reported the ground-level garage cost $2 million.

Cyclists will need to become members of the facility in order to use the amenities. Membership terms include daily, weekly and monthly rates.

Santa Monica Bike Center Official Website
[via Transportation Nation: PICS: Santa Monica, Calif. Opens Nation’s Largest Bike Parking Center]

Electric Commuter Bike Could be Game Changer Says Designer Gabriel Wartofsky

What is holding back bicycle commuting in the United States? Washington-born designer Gabriel Wartofsky has suggested that it is the lack of options available. To this end he has been working on an electric assist bike that could help users get to the nearest transit hub or final destination sweat-free, grease-free, and without a hassle.

Video after the jump

A Speedy Vest for Commuting

Commuting on a bicycle can be a great way to start the day and for many people it is also the only time to get some exercise. Unfortunately, commuting can also be a sketchy proposition depending on the route that  is used to get to work. When my wife and I lived in California I had a 50 mile round trip commute that took me over the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco. Fortunately for me, there were very few incidents that occurred, but occasionally there was the run-in with an inattentive driver or bus operator. Since those days, I have always been alert to new ideas regarding commuting. Recently one in particular caught my eye – the Speed Vest, which was profiled recently in Make magazine.

(Video after the jump)

Continue reading A Speedy Vest for Commuting

Google: Moving Sustainably for Commuting Employees

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt5sMxYMkGs&feature=player_embedded

Google has long been thought of as an innovator in the high tech industry, but most people who do not live in the San Francisco Bay Area are unaware that they are also innovators when it comes to their employees commuting to work. With 1000’s of employees, Google has grown what was a grassroots van pool in 2006 to a 70 vehicle fleet with 275 daily departures which can all be tracked online by the waiting employees. This program alone has reduced their yearly carbon dioxide emissions by 5,400 tons or the equivalent of almost 2,000 cars off of the road a day.

Realizing not everyone can or wants to take the shuttle, Google also encourages their employees to use other modes of transportation to commute to work. Along with reducing the carbon footprint and getting some exercise, employees who are part of the Self Powered Commute Program (ie. cyclists) also earn a charity credit for each day that they ride. In addition to encouraging employees to use alternative transportation to commute to work, Google also has 1,000’s of bicycles around that Mountain View campus that employees can use as needed.

Brendon Harrington, Transportation Operations Manager at Google, talks about alternative transportation and says that 40-percent of Google’s Mountain View employees commute via non-single car driving.

Though Google has not completely achieved the goal of being ‘carbon neutral’, they are making a valiant effort. What is your company doing?

Google Green Official Website

FX Offers New Way to Trek by Bike

There are bikes that are ideal for off-road adventures, and bikes that will get you going fast on the road. For everyone else Trek Bicycles has revamped its line of bestselling fitness riding-targeted FX bikes. These are aimed at commuters as well as modern fitness riders, and are built around the concept of the “the fastest way to fit.”

The team behind the FX line looked at the needs of urban commuters and causal suburban riders alike and assessed what was needed for those who don’t always tone Lycra yet mostly stick to the road. The result is a bike that borrows from Trek’s road heritage and technology, combined with an emphasis on comfort and all around practicality. The FX line features road bike compact double cranks, and a tapered E2 headtube on key models to provide lively ride quality while the refined rack and rim lock mounts make the bike even more practical for city and suburban riding. Continue reading FX Offers New Way to Trek by Bike

Cycling Shoes For City Slickers

If you’ve ever commuted by bicycle in the big city you know there are a few issues to overcome. The first is making sure you actually make it to work safely, the next is making sure you’re not a huge sweaty mess when you arrive, and finally be dressed in the proper clothing for a day at the office.

The latter can be addressed by leaving a pair of shoes at the office and wearing cycling shoes for the commute – but what happens when you think you have shoes at the office and don’t? This happened to me personally once, and I spent the day wearing cycling shoes. While a good look on the bike, these don’t exactly work well the rest of the day. But Italian bike maker Cinelli and skateboard clothing company DVS are teaming up to create a urban cycling shoes reports our friends at BikeRadar.

The shoes are based on the DVS Luster skate trainer and will be available in two versions. One will be based on the Cinelli Pro Best of Italo 79 road bike, whilt he other will be based on the Vigorelli track racer. Either way the upcoming Luster Cinelli, which will arrive stateside in July (MSRP $68), will reportedly feature a high-abrasion rubber sole, full grain leather upper, stiffeners to aid efficient pedalling, reflective detailing, and a hidden tongue panel that also serves as a lace protector. These shoes look like they’ll be good for urban commuting, and look good off the bike.

[Via BikeRadar.com: Cinelli release urban cycling shoe]

Cinelli Official Website

DVS Official Website

Koyono Pushes Biking to Work

As a former resident of New York City, I’ve had the occasion to be bike to work from time to time, and apart from the traffic, there are issues of staying clean and not showing up a big sweaty mess. Fortunately I had a place to change, and a safe place to stash my bike.

But one issue remained, if I had to bring work home – or ever needed to bring a laptop, it meant trouble. I was a commuter not a bike messenger, and thus I didn’t have the right gear. How the times have changed. Koyono is one of several retailers offering new bike friendly accessories.

We had seen some of the new offerings – such as Timbuk2’s line of cycle friendly bags – at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show. All this makes almost makes me wish I could commute to work (instead of being one of those work from home types), but only almost!

Check out the commuter friendly gear at Koyono.com