This Week in Bike Reads

Behold, WABA’s weekly roundup of stories and commentary related to cycling, particularly in and around D.C.

The Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes looked just as great as Barack and Michelle Obama during the inauguration parade.

Bikes: officially meme-able Lance Armstrong isn’t the only news in the bike-racing world. British racer Nicole Cooke’s retirement statement is full of insightful commentary of what it was like to be a woman in a male-dominated sport; the cycling gender gap is an issue at all levels. But regardless of who’s in the saddle, Bikehugger says there’s a definable shift from the perception of bicycling as sport to a mode of transportation. We launched an app this week. It’s available for iPhone and Android, and we’re having a party to celebrate! A survey commissioned by Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club indicates that the “war on cars” isn’t as big of a deal as we’d like to think it is. Seattle residents like bike lanes, support taking space away from cars to build protected bike lanes, and have favorable feelings about cyclists. Sure, it was done in lefty Seattle, but the survey is a good indicator that the aggressive rhetoric may be no more than that. The Virginia senate passed a bill that will prohibit dooring of cyclists. If passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the governor, the bill will bring the Commonwealth up to speed with 40 states and D.C. The bill received a 23-17 vote despite the fact that a Norfolk columnist called it “asinine” and “embarrassing.” A men’s homeless shelter in Cleveland has gotten into the bicycle rack-manufacturing business, which satisfies the city’s need for more jobs and more bike racks. The League of American Bicyclists hosted a webinar on how to start and sustain a women’s bike club. Listen through for some voice-time from a Black Women Bike DC founder, Veronica O. Davis; BWBDC is now sponsored by WABA. Photo by Elvert Barnes