Homeless encampment, major Japanese city, city center, down by the river:
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Note the bicycle parking area.
Cf. San Francisco homeless encampment, under Interstate I-80, Mile Zero:
Note identical blue tarps as in Japan, sourced from, for all I know, the same factory in China.
One group uses bikes to get around, like to work ‘n stuff.
The other will strip your bike of any parts not superglued on in a New York Minute, as soon as your back is turned.
Which group do you prefer?
It’s new. It’s the SFO FlyCycle SoBi program from Social Bicycles.
Here are some of the bikes parked at SFO these days…
…and here is a short video explaining the program. Note the drive shaft instead of a chain:
I’ll tell you, what Social Bicycles calls a headlight and a taillight aren’t all that bright.
And I’ll tell you, the helmet issue goes unaddressed.
And I’ll tell you, the reservation system looks cumbersome / unnecessary.
And how much this program costs us and how much it gets used, that’s also a mystery.
These bikes would get thrashed in San Francisco proper, say parked at 6th and Market, but they appear to be pretty safe in the San Francisco part of San Mateo County.
Ryan has a B.S. in Marketing from Penn State University and a Masters in Urban Planning from Hunter College. The bicycle has been his primary mode of transportation for the last four years, and bicycle advocacy has been both his passion and profession. Prior to developing SoBi, Ryan worked for the NYC Department of Transportation in the bicycle program. At the DOT, he sited bike racks, edited the bike map, conducted field research on bike facilities, and organized cycling promotions.
Nick is a designer and bike mechanic who loves how bicycles make life more efficient. He studied industrial design at Pratt Institute where he experimented with bicycles that were optimized for ‘non-cyclist’ commuters. Nick gets excited about using design to make urban infrastructure more sustainable, and creating objects that return a sense of wonder to everyday activities.
Marcin has 10 years of experience building websites, applications, and start-ups. He is currently founder and CEO of Leftbrain where he manages the 5 developers working for Social Bicycles. He oversees all software development including embedded Linux, Ruby on Rails, iOS, and Android.
Justin has a B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from UC Berkeley. In 2009, he received a number of grants to establish a bike share and bicycle shop at UC Berkeley. Justin has since been involved in planning, designing, implementing, and managing bike share systems around the country. Justin is excited by the opportunity to transform the urban landscape through bicycles.
Patrick is a LEED AP and has a Bachelor of Architecture from Drexel University in Philadelphia and a M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an experienced Project Manager and has managed complex design, construction, research and product development projects involving public and private partners. Patrick is passionate about empowering people to create dynamic and vibrant communities.
Which is probably true.
But the thing is I only left it there for two minutes
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After a brief examination of the doors of this obsolete newspaper pedmount, the bicycle thief ran off claiming that he wasn’t trying to steal this particular bike.
On it goes.
‘Cause by the time you hear about this opportunity from the MSM or a blog, it’ll be too late.
Now some people wanted to charge you for the chance to walk the bridge, but they ended up deciding to just require registration with no payment required.
C’mon, this thing is only two decades-plus late.
All the deets:
“We are excited to announce that registration for the Bay Bridge Walk will be FREE! Our next email will include more details on each event and registration dates.
Registration is required for all on-bridge activities and there will be limited capacity so sign up early!
Please tell your friends and family who wish to participate to visit baybridgecelebration.com and sign up for e-mail updates. You will be the first to hear when registration is open.
More details on the Bay Bridge Bike, Run & Walk coming soon!
-The Bay Bridge Celebration Team”
There’ll be plenty of space to roam:
See you there!
Memorable jacket:
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So instead of dialing 911, Japanese people dial 119?
DNKT
That’s exactly backwards.
[UPDATE: It's gone now, so I didn't get to see how it was picked clean.]
See? This stolen bike wasn’t totally stripped. Not on the first day, anyway.
Take a look, the junkies have left all sorts of easily-stealable parts.
995 Market at 6th:
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People, people, people! When will you learn that a U-lock is no defense?
I’ll tell you, the U-lock I use cost $15 (and it came with a cable as well.) It’s turbo light. Really, it’s feels like kind of a toy. But the junkies don’t know how to defeat it – they don’t even try.
Look, if you want to just park your ride on Market Street and walk away to do your bidness, you need, at the very least:
1. Locking wheel skewers;
2. A way to secure your saddle; and
3. Superglue installed in every hex bolt you can see
I’m going to see this now-abandoned white bike frame again today and all the rest of it will be gone, except for the chain and maybe the fork.
Now, was this bike “stolen?”
The SFPD would say no.
I say yes.
First, let’s review so-called BikeLaw:
“Pedestrians Always Have the Right of Way.”
Now take a look at what happened to Andrew Scal, the latest San Francisco pedestrian to get clobbered by a bike on Market Street:
“What It Looks Like to Get Hit By A Bike“
See? The poor guy had the right of way (per the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, anyway) and yet he got hit by a cyclist.
Oh well…
Hey, now let’s see what the SFBC has to say about speeding cyclist Chris Bucchere:
This is it, all of it, apparently.
(Like Voldemort, they dare not speak his name?)
I guess taxpayer-funded lobbying groups such as the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition don’t want to discuss off-message topics…
Oh well.
Thusly:
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The Wall, Sutter and Sansome, San Francisco, USA, 94104
Thought this unusual ride seen on the Hastings Cutoff route was a bicycle sidecar.
At first anyway.
See?
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Jitsu wa, Gentle Reader, it just the arm of an autumn sweater dragging along.
A mystery solved!
What’s this, a motorized bicycle?
I wouldn’t park this rig in Civic Center and just walk away, what with its exposed gasoline tank and whatnot, but that’s just me:
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