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Bike Love News #9 - August 14, 2022

I'm back from Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Here are a couple of pics for your entertainment...
We visited with my Mom. Hadn't seen her in 3 years! Yikes!
Saw the Grand Canyon. Really can't capture it in a picture.
My very patient family let me take a short run in Sedona (what a goof!)
I contemplated the meaning of life while floating in a pool. Thank you Budha.

So, no biking but lots of outdoor fun and recreation. Now, on to Bike Love News #9!

Iowa community partnership provides 100 kids with new bikes

via WHO13
A pretty neat way to send kids back to school. At the Bike Back to School event the Des Moines Street Collective gave away 100 bicycles to the first 100 kids in attendance that qualify for free and reduced meals in school. But wait it gets better! Blank Children’s Hospital helped provide each new bike owner with a helmet. Nice.
Got a street or area in your town that you think should be more bike friendly? Try to picture it in your mind? Or better yet, get a piece of AI to redesign it for you. Artist Zach Katz fed an AI system a Google Street View image of the block he lives on in Brooklyn, New York. He then selected the pavement and parked cars as aspects to remove and typed in how he’d like them replaced — by a “strikingly beautiful cobblestone European pedestrian promenade, with an ornate stone water fountain and children playing.” Within a few seconds, DALL-E had given him its take on the redesign. It looked pretty great.

A little design goes a long way.
Just adding a safety path can make a huge difference.

Retired man fixes thousands of bikes to donate to kids in need

I saw this around cycling Twitter this past week. Pretty cool story (and retirement aspiration if I'm being honest). This gent named Rich Bonanno fixes up old bikes in his home garage and then via his Rolling Wave Foundation gives the bikes to kids who can benefit from them. Very cool. Give the whole story a read.
via VancouverIsAwesome (it would seem to be true!)
Nerd Alert! Combining a love of science fiction and a love of bikes is about to send me over the edge! His videos are amazing! Check out his IG page to see bikes in all their sci-fi glory!


I mean, was there ever any doubt?
This might come in handy when picking our next place once we become empty nesters. (my efforts to to convince my wife to spend a year in Europe following bike races aren't going so well (shocker!) so this might be my next best chance). Zillow has now added a 'Bike Score' to help you assess how bike friendly your new neighborhood might be. 
Love the British spelling! Those folks do know how to get around on a bike. Sorry, I'm gonna cheat here and give you the six reasons - all of which are very good by the way.
  1. It's cheaper
  2. It's healthier (natch)
  3. It's quicker (surprised face emoji)
  4. It's time efficient (is that not the same thing?)
  5. It's better for the environment (thumbs up emoji)
  6. It's more fun

OK Livonia. I'll admit I never thought of you as a bike-friendly town (mostly think of you for I-275; sorry, I don't live nearby). On September 18 the fine folks of Livonia, MI will be hosting a bike ride to show off the area's parks, landmarks and neighborhoods. Proceeds will go toward the Livonia Kids and Families organization. People can register or sign up to volunteer at tourdelivonia.org. Count me in!







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