World's Most Guilt-Free Vehicle?

I love headlines. They try to grab your attention in a short sentence, hoping you'll read the article. Sometimes they will stretch the truth, or make wild claims in order to suck you in.

Oh, really?

Reading the news feeds on the tablet this afternoon, I came across this article for a Solar Scooter.

I don't know about you, but I can think of a vehicle that is more guilt-free than a solar scooter...

Not only is this vehicle more guilt-free than a solar powered scooter, repeated use will make you feel better.

I'd like to see any scooter - solar powered or not do that.

Have a great weekend!

T-Shirt of the Day

If there is a more iconic image of a bicycle, I'm not sure what it would be.

I don't think there is an adult alive who hasn't seen this movie, and didn't dream of flying on their BMX bike when they were kids.

For today's T.S.O.D., I've found a few shirts that humorously skewer that image. (click on the commentary below each picture for a link to where you can buy the shirts)

C is for Cookie that is big enough for me!

Elliot looks like he has his basket full. (bonus points if you can name all of the E.T.'s)

How 'bout another iconic figure and his alien friend...

EeeeeeeeeeeTttttttttttttt!!!

I wonder if this would be considered "doping"?

All of these, and more, I found at Shirtoid.com

App of the Day: SpotCycle

Yesterday I talked about Salt Lake City’s new bike share, GreenBikeSLC.

Today, for the App of the Day, I want to introduce you to SpotCycle.

SpotCycle is a handy little app to have if you use a bike share system – and I mean almost any bike share system around the world. SpotCycle currently tracks bike share systems in 7 countries, and 23 US cities.

What do I mean by tracking? Well, imagine a scenario: You walk down to your nearest bike share station, only to find out that all the bikes are checked out from that station, or the station is currently off-line. To make matters worse, you don’t know where the next nearest station is, and you are already running late...

When you select a city, SpotCycle will tell you where the bike share stations are located, how many bikes are currently racked and how many free docks are available. You can list the 10 nearest stations by distance, number of bikes, free docks, or alphabetical. You can also view a GPS based map showing the stations with the number of bikes available at each one. You can set the refresh data rate from 15 seconds to manual.

Another nice feature of the app is a rental timer. Since most bike shares work on a 30 minute rental timer, you can set the timer on the app (it defaults to 25 minutes) so you can make sure you’re to a station before your time’s up.

You can also create a route, tag points of interest along your route, and share routes with others.

SpotCycle is available for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry mobile devices. Best of all, it's free!

Definitely a must-have if you use a bike share system.

GreenBikeSLC

Salt Lake City’s bike share program “GreenBikeSLC” has been in operation just over a month now.

For those of you who haven’t tried it yet, what’s stopping you? It’s great!

There, possibly the easiest review that I have ever posted. Thanks for reading!





What? I should talk more about the program and the bikes? Maybe include some pictures? Okay, whatever…

The GreenBikeSLC program is part of the B-Cycle bike sharing system, which is currently operating in 16 cities across the United States, with more coming soon. Salt Lake currently has 100 bicycles and 10 stations covering the core downtown area, as well as the intermodal hub.

The basic idea behind GreenBikeSLC – and any bike share program for that matter – is to use the bikes for short trips around town, cutting down on car trips and congestion in high density urban areas. You can check out a bike at one station, and return it to any other station, pick up another bike, etc… for as long as your membership is valid.

Speaking of memberships, there are 3 levels: 24 hour pass, 7-day, and annual memberships. The 24 hour pass and 7-day memberships are geared for those who may be visiting an area for a short period of time – such as on a vacation or business trip, where the annual membership is more for the person who works in the area. The cost of the memberships is $5 for the 24 hour, $15 for the 7-day, and $75 for the annual. Bonus! If you sign up for the annual membership, they give you a free Bern Watts helmet (custom screened in the GreenBike colorway – a $75 value)!

I’ve talked about the program and the memberships, but how easy is it to check out the bikes, and what about those bikes?

The system is very straight forward. Each station has a computer kiosk attached to it. If you are getting a 24 hour pass, or 7 day membership, you follow the on-screen instructions, slide your credit card, and select your bike. The dock holding your bike will start beeping, and will release your bike for use. When you are finished, just rack your bike in an open dock at any station. If you want to check out another bike, simply swipe the same credit card, and select another bike. If you have an annual membership*, getting a bike is even easier. You are mailed a membership card about a week after you sign up. To check out a bike, you simply select a bike, press the button on the dock next to your bike. Place your card on the dock over the RF sensor, and the dock will beep and release your bike.

*Another feature of the annual membership, you can track the number of miles ridden (each bike has a hidden gps sensor), carbon offset, calories burned, and money saved (compared to driving and parking downtown).

What if you go over the 30 minutes? Run! They will hunt you down and… just kidding! If you go over, you will be charged for the additional time. It is $2 for the next 30 minutes, and $5 for each half-hour after that. Again, the service is for short trips. It can get expensive if you keep the bike out longer.

The bikes…

What can you say about the bikes? They are perfectly suited for their job. Heavy, 3-speed cruiser bikes with a step-thru frame, front basket, fenders, and skirt guard. They also have an attached cable lock if you have to temporarily stop somewhere and there isn’t a station nearby. You aren’t going to be winning any sprints on one of these bikes. The only complaint that I have, is that they need to put a cup holder in the basket.

mmm... lunch!

some times you have to get creative...

The GreenBikeSLC program launched on April 8. During the first month of operation, there have been 160+ people who have purchased annual memberships, and 900+ daily/weekly members. All together, there has been more than 3,300 trips taken. According to Phil Sarnoff, the program manager, that has far exceeded their expectations.

Looking at the numbers, and the fact that at several times I have encountered stations without any bikes, it sounds like the program is working. Like I said at the start of this post, If you haven’t tried it yet, what’s stopping you? It’s great!

Bicycle Benefits Update and "Field Test"

I wanted to give an update on Friday’s post. After I emailed the folks over at Bicycle Benefits, I received a couple of emails back from Tim. He wanted to know where I went to look for the stickers, and to let me know of some other locations nearby that still had some stickers. He also said that he would be dropping off some stickers at SLC Bicycle Co.

I went back today, and sure enough, they had a fresh supply of stickers. I was told that within 30 minutes of my visit on Friday, they were resupplied. Pretty speedy service, if you ask me!

Now that I had my sticker, I figured that I needed to give it a “field test”. I picked one of the participating downtown restaurants – Bruges Waffles & Frites – and headed out on a GreenBike to pick up some yummy Belgian style frites (I’ve been told by a friend who lived in Belgium for two years that this is the only place she has found in the US with authentic frites).

Mmm! Frites!

Apparently, the actual statue of this little guy - Manneken Pis - is the most photographed statue in Europe

I showed the girl my helmet, and she took 10% off of my bill. She mentioned that hardly anyone uses the Bicycle Benefits stickers.

Granted, 10% off of your bill isn’t a huge amount, but hey, every little bit helps.

It's Like it was Meant to Be...

Today I had an epiphany. It wasn't as painful as it sounds.

What are two things that would be great together – aside from the obvious answer of frozen banana slices and dark chocolate?

Yummy, but absolutely not worth the price.

Bike Share and Bicycle Benefits!

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There are a couple of reasons that this is a potential match made in two-wheeled heaven: Most of the participating Bicycle Benefits locations (at least here in SLC) are in the downtown area – the same area that the GreenBikeSLC stations are located. And, if you purchase the annual membership, they give you a free helmet – You’re supposed to put the Bicycle Benefits sticker on your helmet.

See! It’s like it was meant to be!

Only one problem…

I went over to my favorite downtown local bike shop that is a participant in the Bicycle Benefits program, and they told me that they are out of the stickers, and have been for a while. They also said that someone else had been in recently to get a sticker (apparently, inspiration didn’t strike me first), and that person couldn’t find any stickers anywhere in the city.

I was going to put a public call-out to the Bicycle Benefits people to get some stickers back in stock, but I just got an email from them saying that they are working on reviving the program in SLC. So soon, you will be able to ride a bike share bike to your favorite downtown establishment, present your helmet, and enjoy a discount. Sounds perfect to me!

btw... I'll be writing about the GreenBikeSLC system sometime next week.

May is Bike Month

Happy Bike Month, ya'll!

Let's start it off with this video from People for Bikes: