dagblog - Comments for "The Last Mile"

They have that too. I

Beetlejuice — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:33:40 +0000

They have that too. I normally ride along side the Kyllburg route in case something happens and I need to catch a ride back to my car. In fact, I can ride the bike to Kyllburg, catch the train to Trier then take the bike paths along the Mosel down to Cochem and back. And if I decide to call it a day, I can just hop the nearest train back to Trier and then the one home.

Here they have "Rails to

Donal — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:23:27 +0000

In reply to In Germany, many of the old

Here they have "Rails to Trails," but they are largely for recreational use.

In Germany, many of the old

Beetlejuice — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:15:38 +0000

In reply to The Last Mile

In Germany, many of the old train routes that have been disbanded are have been and are being converted into bike paths. And where the trians are still running, there are bike paths that run parallel. I use the one from Kyllberg to Gierolsten all the time. It's flat and scenic as well as a good workout...1 to 3 mile sprints between bergs with a +/- 1% to 2% grade. As for the open road, everyone gives you 3 or more feet of separation. That's because the Courts are a no nonsense type and read the letter of the law strictly. And penalities are severe so as to enforce the law will be obeyed regardless of the circumstance. By the same token, bicyclists follow the same rules as autos and can be fined for infractions as if they were an auto too.

Do we need high speed

kgb999 — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 17:44:12 +0000

In reply to The Last Mile

Do we need high speed everything?

New to America? Yes, yes we do. And chrome ... and racing stripes. I'm seeing multiple problems with these Chinese contraptions already.

I read that Smartbike only

Donal — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:29:02 +0000

In reply to Washington DC started a bike

I read that Smartbike only had ten stations and 120 bikes, and only managed one ride per bike per day. Capital BikeShare has 110 stations and 1100 bikes. I'm guessing there is a critical size to get people used to relying on the bikes.

Washington DC started a bike

jasonmillerdc — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:14:31 +0000

In reply to The Last Mile

Washington DC started a bike share program a year or two back. The first incarnation of the bikes were a huge a failure, though I am not sure why. The new ones are everywhere and are being used by tourists and local alike.

As DC's experience is replicated in other cities across the country, Nashville has started a pilot program that is a "rental" situation like DC, I feel like this could be a real movement for both getting around as well as our every-increasing health problems.

I love two bird, one stone solutions.

In Holland, which has to be

Peter Schwartz — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:10:18 +0000

In reply to The Last Mile

In Holland, which has to be the most bike-friendly country in the world, they have actually lanes separated by median strips for bikes. And the traffic lights have signals just for the bikers.

Yes, bikers need to obey the rules of the road. The regular breaking of these rules may be a holdover from a time when very few people rode bikes to get somewhere and weren't really a factor in the composition of "the traffic."