Ever the eternal optimist, I have decided to start a movement. We'll start out slow & build steam & pretty soon the movement might even become an organization. We're going to be biking to work & helpin others to ride their bikes to work too. Now, I think we should all come together & accumulate these reduced emissions into some form of carbon credits that can be sold and have the proceeds turned toward providing accessible transportation to those in need. This is a special concern of mine, since my son has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy & it's hard for a family to afford special transportation. I'll be startin a web site soon to promote the movement, so stay tuned.

In Finland and Sweden (and a bunch of other European countries I haven't been to, I reckon) there are specified bicycle paths. Safer for the cyclists and auto drivers alike. In Finland's Lapland Provence they even plow the bicycle/walking paths, better than they do the roads, in my opinion. And people were still riding their bikes, even in sub freezing weather far above the Arctic Circle. When we were in Helsinki last year, we noticed that they have bicycle stations all over the city. For a couple of Euros you can access a bicycle. Bring it back to a designated station and you get your Euros back! Socialized cycling at its best! Not here in the good ol' "how can I squeeze more money out of" US(A)!

makes me think a little bit of that white bike of amsterdam

the idea in it's infancy?

The number of bikes in Amsterdam is amazing.......also many dykes (the kind that hold back the Zeider Zee) with bikes trails on top of them. A beautiful ride!

Welcome to the site! You have the same name as my dad Edward. Everyone calls him Ed...

Welcome to the site Ed. I was thinking about how much car junk is plugging up the air these days. Riding a bicycle is a great idea, though I have a peeve with bicycle riders. If they are going to ride in the road, they need follow the same laws the rest of the vehicles on the road do. Like if you come to a stop sign Stop, same with stop lights. And please wear a helmet, I met a person who did not wear a helmet and unfortunately for them became part of a car wreck.

Also, Finland has the record for highest speeding fine -- $200K for speeding -- fines are based partly on how fast the driver is going and partly on income -- and having watched far too many drivers endanger others with their self-centered recklessness, I am very pro-Finland.

http://www.nytickethelp.com/2009/10/27/ ... d-no-joke/

There's a lot of good stuff on these kinds of issues on http://www.livablestreets.com and its related sites (see top of page).

Biking's a pretty big deal in Portland...