1,000 miles by bike, foot, and kayak

A group of wildlife conservationists is trekking the length of Florida, and WUSF Radio in Tampa will report their progress weekly. Here's the latest report, from just off  Tamiami Trail.

Lebron James beats traffic on his bike

Smart guy, this! Lebron James biked to American Airlines Arena before yesterday's Miami Heat game, and an NBA video blogger did a short about it. Here's Lebron.

Time to register for your Homestead ride

The Greenway Bike Festival is coming up on Feb. 25-26 in Homestead. The fully-supported rides that Saturday will be on routes of 25 miles, 41 miles, or 62 miles, and there's a nice lunch at the finish in Homestead's historic downtown. You can register at active.com.

On Sunday, mountain bikers are invited to the Fat Tire Ride along the route of the planned Biscayne-Everglades Greenway, which eventually will connect our county's two national parks. Significant parts of this ride are on rough or rocky canal banks, where road bikes won't do well. There's no charge for this ride, but you should bring a tire kit and extra tube, plus extra water and any food you'll need. Starting point is the visitor center at Everglades National Park.

Transit tackles bike access on trains

Matthew Toro reports two tidbits on Transit Miami that should encourage bicyclists who use Metrorail. He says rail maintenance superintendent Jerry Blackman told the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee that transit is working out how to handle bikes throughout the trains once new cars are put into service, instead of only on the last car under present rules. Blackman also said that cars with bike accommodations inside will be marked on the outside to identify the cars. For details on this and more, click on Transit Miami.

You may recall that Transit promised, oh, five or six years ago, to require bike racks in the new cars when bids were sought. A builder for the new cars was chosen last year, but that choice hit an obstacle in federal procurement rules.

Toro, as a citizen member of the Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee, put forward several proposals in recent months for improved bike access on the trains. This generated a lot of comment and Transit seems to be taking the issue seriously. Thanks all around, everyone!

Poor urban design a threat to health

I hope you'll all catch a TV series called Designing Healthy Communities. It starts tonight at 10 on WLRN-17 in Miami and around the county. In the four-part series, Dr. Richard Jackson, a famed public health physician, investigates the link between urban sprawl and our country's epidemic of type 2 diabetes -- the type so closely related to sedentary lifestyles. He points to the redesign of Boulder, Colo., to encourage bicycling as an example of how better urban planning can prevent disease. Do watch! Then give us your feedback here.

Let's win a bikeway to Marlins Stadium

Change.org|Start an Online Petition »

There are three simple ways that local authorities could make access to Marlins Stadium easier and safer for all of us who walk or bike by choice or necessity. There's a petition in circulation to draw these ideas to the attention of our county and city commissioners. Check it out, won't you? Then please sign your name and tell your friends.

Mack rates in country's top 10 bicycle shops

Congratulations to Mary Jane, Manny and all the crew at Mack Cycle & Fitness, just rated among the top 10 bike shops in America by Complex magazine. Here's the magazine's blurb about this South Miami haven for casual and serious riders alike. In case you didn't know it, this shop is also a center of support for bicycle advocacy in South Florida and across the state. A case in point: their sponsorship of Green Mobility Network's bike valet at the big annual festivals at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.