Steven can plan

While you’re reading up on the 80+ comments on the story about some Seattle bike riders suing the city, I want to take this opportunity to again promote the Bikes and Transit group on Flickr. The group’s purpose is to document interactions between bicycle riders, bikes, and transit vehicles, both buses and trains. The definition of “interaction” is quite loose.

Photo from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition taken one 3rd Street during the May 24, 2010, Sunday Parkways.

Many times, bicycle riders are also transit users. If not, they’re riding in streets shared by streetcars, light rail, and buses. The pool of photos from around the world can help us learn about practices in other countries. Or we can find out that fat bike tires won’t fit in many bus-bike racks (see photo below).

Richard Masoner points out that 2.6 inch wide tires don’t fit into the bike rack on Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority buses, using the Sportworks Veloporter racks (common to bus operators across the United States).

Add your own photos! Or link me and I’ll invite your photos one by one.

Co-opting Austin’s marketing strategy, Portland also wants you to keep it weird (read the history of this slogan). If you haven’t yet, please peruse my 54 (so far!) photos I’ve uploaded from my trip to Portland, Oregon, in April this year.

A wall in Chinatown (yeah, Portland has a Chinatown) invites citizens and visitors alike.

Bicycling in Portland is so prevalent, you’ll see entire families on the streets riding their bikes to the park, to school, or shopping.

Check out Portland’s unique transportation facilities and improvements in my photoset, “Transportation in Portland.”

Did you know that people carry their kids, friends, spouses, and parents on bikes?

I carried my first passenger in April 2010 on my trip to Portland. I test rode a Yuba Mundo from Joe Bike in the SE Hawthorne neighborhood. But this photo shows a friend carrying ME on the bike.

I really want to carry someone. I told my sister that when I get a new cargo bike this year (either the Yuba Mundo or the WorkCycles Fr8) I will pick her up from her apartment and take her to school. It will be the most joyous occasion of 2010. Mikael at Copenhagenize talks about throwing his son’s bike on the front rack of his Velorbis when he goes to pick him up, so his son can ride home on his own.

This photo is so much fun, I printed it out and posted it on my refrigerator.

Passengers: the ultimate bike accessory. Want to see more photos? Marc at Amsterdamize has 260+ photos and videos in his Side Saddle set. Check the blog post about riding side saddle to get some tips.

It’s not the “Chicago Bike Path.” It’s not the “Lakefront Path.” It’s not the “Chicago Riverwalk.”

Those are all names that have appeared on Google Maps at some point to describe the 18-mile multi-use path along Lake Michigan in the city limits.

It’s the Lakefront Trail. And it’s pretty great. Most of the time. South of Solidarity Drive.*

It looks like this:

Burnham Harbor. My point and shoot camera, a Fuji F50fd, was recently damaged and the lens cover will not fully retract. It casts a shadow over wide angle shots. When zoomed, like in the photo below, the shadow disappears.

And this:

Can you name all the buildings?

*The Lakefront Trail is extremely congested starting near Museum Campus (especially when there are a lot of walkers and tourists that day), and has pinch points at Monroe, Grand and Illinois, Oak Street Beach, North Avenue Beach, and Belmont (those are the ones I remember, I rarely ride on the Lakefront Trail because of the insanity). No matter how many drawbacks I list, you can’t beat an open and unobstructed view of the city or the lake. Open this photo to see how many people are using it.

Me riding a bakfiets, the Dutch box bike.

Friends riding on and in a bakfiets. The bakfiets (whether two-wheeled, or three) can carry a whole lot more than a pannier or an adult. Read this post on Let’s Go Ride a Bike.

The most fashionable guy there.