Bikes as Transportation

20 miles of errands with an electric cargo bike

2010-06-20T13:37:08Z

Today's milestone was our first family trip to Lowe's by bike. While I have no special love for this big box store, it's sells some things we can't find elsewhere in town. It's also located on the farthest edge of Richmond, nestled next to a interstate exchange and the typical sprawl of chain businesses and parking lots that accompanies them.

None the less, we found routes there and back that involved minimal time of busy roads, arriving in 18 minutes*. In total, we rode about another 20 in-town miles today running typical errands. Again this seemed very reasonable on the electric cargo bike, and a workout on my fast recumbent to keep up.

]]> At this point we've ventured to all the furthest corners of Richmond that we commonly visit, and found that the "far away" places in town are easily reachable in about 15 minutes by electric cargo bike, with several prior challenges essentially eliminated-- It's finally easy to bring a child and cargo up hills and over a distance.

There are still some challenges that remain to eliminate our car for in-town trips, which are more cultural and personal than technical limitations, although our bike infrastructure could certainly stand to be improved.

A car is still the fastest option. Sometimes lack-of-planning or expectations leave room only for fastest possible option. In place like Amsterdam, a bike often is the fastest option. On personal level, this temptation will continue to exist unless we sell our personal car.
The car functions as 4,000 pound weatherproof suit: it's a solution for heavy rain, and extreme temperatures. It's one solution to our cultural expectation that we show up in the summer without sweating, and showing up in a rain storm without being wet.

Electric assist can eliminate sweating and rain gear is certainly an option in favor of a car-suit. But the car remains there as a temptation for an easy, if highly inefficient, solution to what should be considered a wardrobe problem.

Cultural norms and personal temptations will be moderated over time by the raising price of oil and growing awareness that we should conserve this resource for conditions where no reasonable alternatives are known.

Electric cargo bike recharging process and cost

2010-06-03T02:30:56Z

click photo to see charger, connector and battery highlighted on Flickr

A lot of people ask how the electric cargo bike charges, so I thought I would post a photo.

It’s essentially the same process you would use with rechargable digital camera batteries, only with a bigger battery and a bigger charger.

Our LiFePO4 battery is size of a miniture loaf of bread and can be easily unplugged from the bike and plugged into a charger. The claim is that this needs to be done every 15 to 35 miles. Based on our usage, it appears that it may be more like 30 to 50 miles. (Because we don’t always engage the electric assist).

It turned out I had a rather ideal situation in my garage, with a electrical outlet directly above where we usually park the bike. So, here you can see our charger mounted to a pole, and the battery is literally just “plugged in” with an XLR connector while still attached to the bike.

With this battery it’s also healthy for it to keep it fully charged, so we can simply plug it in when the last ride for the day is done. Because the range exceeds our daily needs, this process implies that the electric assist is always available when we need it.

In sum, it takes just seconds to charge at an estimated of cost of less than a penny per mile. By contrast, I once calculated the total cost of operating my wife’s station wagon. It worked out that to require about one hour of work for to pay for every one hour of driving the car. That’s not exactly efficient if you factor all the money-earning time into your True MPH for driving your car.

If you are curious about your own true average speed in your vehicle you can download a spreadsheet I made to calculate it for yourself.

For more stories and photos about our electric cargo bike, see the related photo set on Flickr.

Hauling a 32 foot ladder by bike

2010-05-31T19:47:34Z

This is Ron's solution for getting a 32 foot ladder home from the store.

The store is only about 2 miles away, and the ladder weighs only about 50
pounds, so using a using 4,000 car seems like a particularly inefficient
solution, assuming Ron had actually found vehicle he could use that was capable
of carrying such a long load.

One alternative would have been to have it delivered by truck for $60, adding
20% to the cost. He could have potentially strappped it to the top of a large
truck or van, which could have involved driving to the van location, driving
the van to the store, driving home, driving back to the van the location, and
driving back home again. The time involved in that process could easily take longer
than just riding to the store and back by bike.

By using this Bikes-at-Work trailer, Ron was able to efficiently accomplish the task and enjoy a nice ride as well. Since the ladder was not particularly heavy, it didn't require a great amount of effort to carry it on the trailer.

The Bikes-at-Work comes in three sections. Extra sections can be left at home
if you don't need them, and the axle location can changed to suit the task at hand.
Here we put the axle all the way at the rear of the 8 foot trailer so that it easily
balances the 16 foot load.

Like a ton of bricks

2010-05-23T00:38:05Z

Each 12 inch ceramic tile weighed 4 pounds and we needed 850 of them. That’s 3,400 lbs in tile alone. The floor project would also require about 12 bags of mortar at 50 pounds each. That brings the total weight of the project to 2 tons now— 4,000 pounds, before we even add the grout.

Of course, I calculated what it would take to carry all this on my bike. The tile alone would take 17 trips at 200 pounds per trip.

I decided cargo biking wasn’t practical for this job, but I still had the opportunity to have most of the material pass through my hands. I helped load and unload much of the 50 pounds bags of mortar, and two car-trailer loads of tile. By the end, I felt well acquinated with the full impact of 4,000 pounds. I could feel in my bones the amount of energy it took to move that material.

And for a least a moment, I appreciated cars for this. They were far better for carrying 2 tons of materials than a bike would be.

And that’s when it hit me like a ton of ceramic tile. The average American car weighs 2 tons.

]]> All this energy… all this effort required to move 4,000 pounds… all that energy is purchased and consumed every time a car is driven for any purpose. This near-miracle is being accomplished to visit the corner store and fetch a a single bag. So often, cars carry little more than a single passenger a short distance.

A vehicle like the Hummer takes the inefficiency of weight vs. cargo to dramatic proportions. The “light” H3 tips the scales at about 4,700 pounds for the weight of vehicle, yet has a payload of only 1,150 pounds. Compare that with a Yuba Mundo cargo bike— the bike weighs 55 pounds, but is rated to carry 440 pounds.

Is our energy crisis a crisis of supply or a crisis of inefficient demand? Any way I can slice and dice it, using a 4,000 lbs vehicle to transport a person and a small amount of cargo for less five miles is an highly inefficient way to accomplish the task.

My vote for the using the limited resource of oil is to conserve it for cases when no great substitute exists. Using 4,000 pound vehicle to move myself when I could be using a 40 pound vehicle is not one of those cases.

In future posts I’ll be writing more about how electric cargo bikes are a practical part of my car-replacement solution. Until then, I recommend Morgan Gidding’s writing on the topic “A Quiet Revolution in Bicycles: Recapturing a Role as Utilitarian People-Movers”, see part 1 and part 2. Our new electric Yuba Mundo is also covered more on Flickr.

video: 1,000 bananas on a Yuba Mundo cargo bike

2010-05-09T02:06:40Z

Recently Dave Deming put his Yuba Mundo cargo bike to the test by attempting to haul about 1,000 bananas on it— about 400 lbs of them.

The tagline for the Yuba Mundo bike is “affordable mobility”, which translates to a cargo bike that starts at $1100 and is built to haul 440 lbs of cargo.

]]> He concludes that this weight was about 100 pounds too much for him to carry. His conclusion mirrors what the Bikes-at-Work Trailer folks recommend. ( My personal record for cargo is about 225 pounds)

What Dave should have said is that 400 pounds is about 100 pounds too much to carry by bike unassisted. Adding electric assist to a bike is a practical way to extend the cargo capacity and range.

I keep hearing and stories about electric cargo bikes as minivan replacements. Here’s one example from Portland of a mom with her two kids and the groceries, cruising with a bike that’s upgraded with an XtraCycle longtail extension and Stokemonkey electric assist.

Aftering adding electric assist to a Yuba Mundo, it’s been used to haul three adults three plus an additional cargo trailer:

You can see an electric Yuba Mundo in action in brief clip about a bike-powered music festival:

Elise, who filmed the banana video is another cargo biking mother. She uses a Madsen to carry three children 6 miles home from day care. She describes the bike in the following video, (although it unfortunately includes no shots with the three kids).

The bike shop which sponsored the banana stunt, Cycle 9, happens to specialize in cargo bikes and electric upgrade kits. Their website is updated regularly with new video blog posts about related topics. Check out the Cycle 9 website if you interested to explore further.

fun and attractive helmet alternatives

2010-04-29T11:48:15Z

106:365 just a coupla nutcases, originally uploaded by julochka.

Having fun and attractive helmet options could help voluntary helmet use among yourself and your family.

Here are several alternatives to the standard recreational helmet design which may not be available in your local bike shop.

]]> Featured above are some helmet designs from Nutcase Helmets. They have a lot of fun designs to choose from with a multi-sport helmet design that doesn't scream "racer", for all of us who aren't. They are competively priced at about $50. If you are more of "plain colors" kind of person like I am, you may like their Colorama line.

Bern is another stylish helmet brand with street-style helmets that include options for matte colors, visors, and integrated winter hats. It appears that their helmet prices range are in the $50 to $100 range, although online shopping sites may turn up closeout deals for much less.

If you like to ride in more formal attire, perhaps an equestrian helmet is for you. They need to pass many of the same safety standards as bike helmets, and can be found through shopping searches for less than $50 dollars. See how Cedric rolls with an equestrian helmet.

If the gadget factor is more your thing, perhaps you'll like the more Star Trek look of a Lazer Urbanize helmet which includes an integrated visor and front and back LED lights built-into the helmet that can be popped out when you don't need them. Price with lights: about $100.

Finally, if anything which resembles a helmet wrinkles your nose, then perhaps a stealth helmet from Yakkay is for you. These helmets are designed to have actual hats worn over them. If you can pull it off like the models in their photos, people will only see that you have a stylish hat on, and won't there's actually a helmet underneath it.

As a final thought, consider having multiple helmets for different occassions. Choose a helmet for cold weather riding with fewer vents, or match a helmet with your mood our style.

The end goal: have more fun and ride more often. Enjoy!

Build a Better Block for $1000

2010-04-21T23:33:37Z

For less than $1,000, Oak Cliff performed a make-over of a city block, making it more walkable, bikable, enjoyable and prosperous. Here’s a “before” shot:

See the video for the result of the final transformation, complete with temporary businesses like a cafe, flower market, kid’s art studio and live music.

Visit the Streetsblog.net post for more information on this DIY street makeover.

Is this an event that could work in your town?

Bike/Walk improvements as a "Context Sensitive Solution"

2010-04-17T20:18:00Z

I’ve recently written about why INDOT should revise the plan for US 27. to follow Complete Streets principles.

I recently found another reason why INDOT should do this— because it would follows their own policy on Context Sensitive Solutions.

Ashley Hungate, an INDOT spokeswoman was quoted on a topic in a recent article by AARP, covering improvements needed elsewhere in the state to make Westfield, Indiana more bikeable, walking and livable. Here’s the quote:

INDOT strives to design its roadways for all users through its Context Sensitive Solutions policy, Hungate said. It uses community input to strike a balance between providing safe, cost-effective highways and protecting local values. “If we’re doing a project in a community, and they express opinions on what’s important to them, we try to accommodate them when appropriate and feasible,” Hungate said.

And “expressing opinions” is exactly what’s recently happened in Richmond. The City asked for a plan based on Complete Streets and over 100 people petitioned support for it.

I looked up the Context Sensitive Solutions program and found that “making streets more bikeable is often a goal of CSS projects”. CSS is also used to implement bike and pedestrian bridges like the Freeman Park / Oak Drive Connector which would truly be an improved and viable alternative to US 27 for non-motorized traffic.

With so many reasons to support Complete Streets in Richmond, I hope INDOT will respond soon to let us know that they will be following the new federal transportation policy as well as their own policies regarding accomodations for walking and biking.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T19:59:40Z

easter bike ride, originally uploaded by Mark Stosberg.

Couch hunting: riverside break

2010-03-27T18:40:18Z

Couch hunting: riverside break, originally uploaded by Mark Stosberg.

Another successful day of couch hunting.

I was unsure how I would load and unload this 225 pound waterlogged triple recliner by myself. But just at the right moments, friendly strangers showed up to help.

Highlights from the federal bike and pedestrian policy

2010-03-22T02:16:03Z

I’ve recently mentioned the summary of the current federal transportation policy for bicycling and pedestrian accomodation which was signed on March 10th, 2010.

The document is accessible and relatively brief. I recommend reading through it yourself, but have included below some key highlights I believe are of interest to those advocating for improvements for bicycling in federally funded projects (which includes many state projects).

]]> On application at the local level
The policy directs local governments, not just the states, to adopt similar policy statements:* *”The DOT encourages States, local governments, professional associations, community organizations, public transportation agencies, and other government agencies, to adopt similar policy statements on bicycle and pedestrian accommodation as an indication of their commitment to accommodating bicyclists and pedestrians as an integral element of the transportation system. In support of this commitment, transportation agencies and local communities should go beyond minimum design standards and requirements to create safe, attractive, sustainable, accessible, and convenient bicycling and walking networks.”

On considering waking and bicycle as equals:
As a recommended action: “…Consider walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes”

On being compatible with the Complete Streets movement:
The language used sounds very similar to what is promoted by the Complete Streets movement: “…Ensuring that there are transportation choices for people of all ages and abilities, especially children”.

On removing snow from sidewalks and shared-use paths:
“Current maintenance provisions require pedestrian facilities built with Federal funds to be maintained in the same manner as other roadway assets.”

On energy conservation:
The policy highlights that walking and bicycling “reduce vehicle emissions and fuel use” and directs the metropolitan planning process to “promote energy conservation”.

On including trails in Transportation Improvement Plans (TIPs):
It says that transportation plans “…shall include …trails projects, pedestrian walkways; and bicycle facilities…”

On including bike/ped advocates in the planning process::
“The MPOs shall develop and use a documented participation plan that defines a process for providing…representatives of users of pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation facilities, and representatives of the disabled, and other interested parties with reasonable opportunities to be involved in the metropolitan planning process.” (MPO stands for “Metropolitan Planning Organization”. These were created to coordinate regional transportation planning in urban areas. You can see map of the MPOs for Indiana. Notably, Richmond is not listed as belonging to an MPO. I have not yet learned what alternate planning process is used for cities that don’t belong to MPOs.)

On not making things worse for nonmotorized users:
“The Secretary shall not approve any project or take any regulatory action under this title that will result in the severance of an existing major route or have significant adverse impact on the safety for nonmotorized transportation traffic”

On including biking and walking in bridge renovations:
“In any case where a highway bridge deck being replaced or rehabilitated with Federal financial participation is located on a highway on which bicycles are permitted to operate at each end of such bridge, and the Secretary determines that the safe accommodation of bicycles can be provided at reasonable cost as part of such replacement or rehabilitation, then such bridge shall be so replaced or rehabilitated as to provide such safe accommodations.” … Although this statutory requirement only mentions bicycles, DOT encourages States and local governments to apply this same policy to pedestrian facilities as well.”

On improving bike/ped facilities as a part of maintenance projects:
“Improving nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects: Many transportation agencies spend most of their transportation funding on maintenance rather than on constructing new facilities. Transportation agencies should find ways to make facility improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists during resurfacing and other maintenance projects.”

Couch Hunting: Rules of Engagement

2010-03-20T21:38:29Z

The rules of engagement are simple:

Cruise alleyways to find a suitable abandoned couch or other furniture, totaling 300 lbs or less.
Tie down acquired furniture to cargo trailer.
Proceed to city dump, choosing the flattest route possible. Ride onto the scales and get report of you total weight. Subtract the “tare weight” of the rider, bike and trailer. The final total is your score for the trip.

Steps 1 through 3 may be repeated to raise your total score for the day.

A second rider in bright attire is helpful to function as a flag vehicle, to alert traffic that there is a slow-moving 18 foot pedal-driven couchmobile up ahead.

A skillful flag vehicle may also be help to push the load up a hill, while steering with the other hand.

My total scale weight for this trip: 450. Final weight after subtracting the tare weight: About 150 lbs.

We spotted several more potential prey along the way. There will be plenty of good couch hunting this season.

Getting the most out of your DOT public involvement process

2010-03-20T13:30:03Z

Public roads should be for all users, serving this generation and the next.

Our recent Complete Streets campaign was a success in the sense that we were able to give feedback early enough in the process to make a difference.

Unfortunately, I owe this to a chance encounter in a grocery story, where someone mentioned the public hearing to me. As a leader of a local bike advocacy group, you would think it would be easy for me to be in the loop about major road projects so I could provide feedback on it. But since I’ve been in Richmond, I’ve seen two other major road projects begin construction before I even realized they were in the design phase.

If you’d like to better understand the “public involvement process” of INDOT or your state’s Department of Transportation, here’s what I’ve learned thus far.

]]> Learning the rules of engagement

A key step is to find your DOT’s “Public Involvement” policy. Here’s INDOT’s Public Involvement policy. I did a quick search to see if I could find Kentucky’s policy online as a test. It appears that this the Public Involvement page for for KYDOT.

If you can’t find your state’s online, you could always request it from them (since it’s a public document). Also, your state-level bike advocacy group may have it.

To find your state-level bike advocacy groups, you can try a state-wide search on the League’s Find-It search, or try the groups listed on the probicycle.com list, although it may be outdated.

Getting advance notice about state road projects

INDOT’s Public Involvement policy describes how it will be “proactive” and “innovative” and how they will maintain a database of stakeholders to keep in touch with. Based on this policy language, I would expect INDOT to make some effort to find local bike advocacy groups and notify them about road projects.

Here are some ways you can plug into your state DOT’s public involvement process:

Encourage them to pro-actively contact you. If your state policy has wording like INDOT’s, then you can contact them to to suggest they follow their own policy. Let them know that according to their own policy, it would be reasonable for them to notify local bike advocacy groups about road projects in their area. If the bike group can’t be found through a quick internet search, then the local city’s or the state-level bike advocacy groups likely can easily identify them. INDOT already notifies groups and agencies about air quality, water quality, hazarderous materials, historic homes and social justice concerns. It’s reasonable to point that it seems a bit curious to skip over notifying some groups are actually focused on using roads for transportation . For a truly pro-active and innovative approach, state DOTs could use a web-based database that allowed you to sign up for project notices based on your location and other criteria. Open source software for the project could be shared between the states to minimize the cost. (Compared to the cost of a road project, it’s an inexpensive solution). The more feedback the DOTs get about their public involvement process, the more likely they are to change.
Find out about every project INDOT’s policy includes a clause that allows any group to sign up on a list so that they get all notices about state road projects. You could take this route, although the amount of projects that don’t apply to you could be overwhelming. I have not yet done this.
Ask your City our State bike advocacy group to notify you. City’s are already on the list of organizations that get early notifications about road projects. If you are on good terms with your City, you can ask them to pass along details of any upcoming road project. If that’s not feasible, you can ask a state-level bike advocacy group to take on the job of receiving all of the state road notices, and then notifying local bike advocacy groups when matching projects are announced. Not all state-level groups may have the resources to do this.

Access to design drawings and documents

This idea comes from a practicing traffic engineer in Illinois:

DOTs could release their design drawings in Google Earth format. Having easier access to the designs they want the public to comment on would make more accessible. Mention on the public record that it would benefit the process if environmental documents could be available as PDFs, and design drawings available in Google Earth (the KML file format).

Federal involvement

INDOT’s document is peppered with mentions of federal involvement in the process behind the scenes— the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Notice that it’s the FHWA that grants the “final location approval”, not INDOT.

So, make a point to let your DOT know that your project should follow the federal guidelines for bicycle and pedestrian accomodation. I’ve quoted the relevant federal policy recently, but it bears repeating:

The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide — including health, safety, environmental, transportation, and quality of life — transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.

Every state DOT should be incorporating this policy into their projects.

Don’t let formality stop you

When it was time for our community to take action, our local bike advocacy group had yet to achieve non-profit status. For that matter, we haven’t had a physical meeting in months. Still, in just about two days times we were able to reach thousands of people and collects over a hundred signatures on a petition supporting our city’s request for a new direction. Now there are many options of for using social media to spread the word: e-mail, twitter, Facebook, blogs, and old-fashioned networking.

In a future post I’ll share more details our recent campaign put together these details to petition INDOT.

Richmond to INDOT: Make U.S. 27 a Complete Street

2010-03-16T01:49:10Z

On Friday Mayor Sally Hutton sent in the City’s official public response to INDOT’s proposed renovation of U.S 27. This phase of development starts near the Whitewater River near the Old Reid Hospitals and continues south through town. On behalf of the City, she asked INDOT for a new proposal, one based on Complete Streets principles that produce streets that work for everyone including pedestrians and cyclists. A new proposal could address serious concerns with the current proposal which would speed up traffic as it enters downtown, as well as leaving a major gap in our recommended bike route network.

The City’s response turns to be directly in line with a new policy released by the United States Department of Transportation on March 11th.

Here’s an excerpt from the new federal transportation policy:

“The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide — including health, safety, environmental, transportation, and quality of life — transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.”

Although the City of Richmond and the Federal Government are on the same page this, we still need public support to bring this message to INDOT so they can revise the design.

Please visit this petition by March 18th to view the City’s full response to INDOT as well as signing the petition of support:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/complete-streets-richmond-indiana

]]> I will compile the final petition result into my own public comment.

Thank you, and please spread the word!

( Interested in more details about the new federal transportation policy? Here’s the full text and more coverage on the new policies )

Slideshow to Introduce Complete Streets

2010-03-15T12:14:18Z

In my last post, I mentioned the Complete Streets concept. For a quick visual introduction I recommend leafing through the Complete Streets introduction slideshow:

Complete Streets

Here’s a PDF of the Complete Streets intro slideshow hosted by Madison County, Indiana where a Complete Streets resolution has already been passed. You can read more about Madison County’s Complete Streets efforts if you’d like. And if you like the presentation above and what to remix it for your community, you are welcome to do so with attribution to Complete Streets. The original PowerPoint for the files are here.

If you’d like a rather technical argument for the approach, I enjoyed reading Eric Dumbaugh’s research on the safety of livable streets published in the Journal of the American Planning Association.

]]> And for something more in the rant style, I’ll leave you with this TED presentation by James H Kunstler. He argues against surburban sprawl and the roads that go with them, in favor Main Street-styled streets that he describes as “places worth carrying about”. (beware: contains some strong language).