Causeway alert -- Tuttle and Rickenbacker

Look out for an unusual number of bicyclists this Sunday on the Rickenbacker Causeway and, believe it or not, the Julia Tuttle Causeway. They'll be riding in the Live Long Live Strong ride, a metric century to benefit Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.

Whirly bike light seeks funding

Charting the growth in bicycle commuting

Like many in Miami, a writer for the Cities blog at The Atlantic noticed signs of an increase in commuting by bike. He turned to Census data to test his impression and found startling growth in the Northwest -- and a surprising decline in Miami. Here's the article: Is Bicycle Commuting Really Catching On?
I'm not sure how reliable these charts are. The problem is the underlying data. The baseline numbers come from the 2000 census and the comparisons from the American Community Survey, taken during 2005-2009. In the latter study, however, a commuter trip is attributed to bicycling only if that's the dominant mode used. Someone who bikes to work two days a week and takes the bus three days will show as a bus rider, not as 2/5 of a bike commuter. And someone who bikes to the train is not counted as a cyclist unless the daily bike ride is longer than the train ride. The numbers are further explored by the League of American Bicyclists, right here.

Air study suggests back streets safer

A medical study out of Great Britain finds that bicycle commuters collect more junk in their lungs than other people do. That's a good argument for choosing side streets, and not the thoroughfares, as you select your route. The study -- so far quite limited in scope -- is reported in The Atlantic, under the term Biker's Lung .

Cast a vote for bike advocacy

Local bike-walk advocates Green Mobility Network are in a dash for cash on a new small-gift website, microist. Between now and noon on Thursday, your vote could send a few bucks toward the education and advocacy that Green Mobility members and volunteers carry out on your behalf all year round. Want to know more about Green Mobility? Check 'em out here.

Bike-friendly ratings notice Miami

Collin Worth

The City of Miami won honorable mention Wednesday in the latest Bicycle-Friendly Community ratings by the League of American Bicyclists. It's welcome recognition of the work begun under ex-Mayor Manny Diaz and continued under Mayor Tomas Regalado. Both mayors and their associates have a right to feel good about this.   That goes double for bike coordinator Collin Worth, in the city's Capital Improvements Department. So tell 'em, when you see 'em, "Way to go!" For more about the national recognition, click here.

Road closures available online

A rolling salute to Florida Department of Transportation's District 6 office, which has just launched an online database of road closures for Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.  I found it quite user-friendly and expect to refer to it often. Nice that the various entries tell us when the work's supposed to be finished.

Short course to safer cycling

A new Traffic Skills for Bicyclists class is opening up this Sunday at Tropical Park. It's a course devised by the League of American Bicyclists and taught by League-certified instructors. Here's the League's course description:

Become a safer and more confident bicyclist by learning how to drive your bike correctly. This class covers traffic law, bike equipment and other gear, fixing a flat, injury prevention, accident prevention, on-bike skills practice and road ride. It's open to adults and to children over 14 years.

David Henderson, the Miami-Dade bike coordinator, says the class size is limited and you must register in advance. You also have to finish a four-hour online class.  To register or ask questions, write to davidh@miamidade.gov.

Race series includes Homestead, Miami, Coral Gables

Bill Bone Pro Am racing resumes on Saturday at Homestead, with time trials beginning at noon Saturday at the Homestead Miami Speedway (click for map) and circuit racing all day Sunday at Homestead Air Reserve Park. For registration information visit the Bill Bone site.

The fall series also includes a criterium in downtown Miami on Oct. 22 and one in Coral Gables on Oct 23 -- the latter part of Coral Gables Bike Day.

Bike advocate settles in Central Florida

FBA executive director Tim Bustos is profiled this weekend in the Daytona Beach News-Journal. A sample comment:

"Bicyclists and pedestrians are like the canary in the coal mine. If
there's a bicycle problem, it means there's a pedestrian problem. It
means there's a traffic problem."

For the full article, click here.

Let's recover art of the group ride

Thanks to local rider Lady Di for bringing this timely post to our attention: http://carolinacyclingnews.com/2011/09/01/lost-art-of-the-group-ride/