Biking

A few years ago, I was wary of buying a bike: It was scary, I hadn't ridden a bike since I was a child AND I had no idea where to even start buying one! Luckily, two local guys knew there were people like me out there... and decided to cater to their needs. Jason Hoover and Sandeep Gopal started Edibikes with (Find out more about Edibikes & how the non-bikers can get in on the action too, after the jump!)

Looks like the city is continuing to "Unlitter Us!" - this time with damaged bikes clogging up the racks. The Philadelphia Streets Department announced that they're removing "abandoned' bicycles throughout Center City & surrounding areas starting in early summer.  "Abandoned bikes" are classified as: (find out more, after the jump!)

Woohoo! As we mentioned,the North-South Bike lanes are going in on 10th & 13th Streets in Philly from South to Market. Then, a bill was floating around City Council that they'd had to approve bike lanes - which would likely delay more lanes being put in. Good news! The Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition reported the Bike Lanes have been painted on 13th!! Check out the

Hipsters and athletes rejoice in harmony! What a difference a decade makes... Philadelphia went from America's Fattest City to the #1 Bike commuting! The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s report finds that Philadelphia has twice (per capita) as many bicycle commuters as any other big city in the US, increasing

OK, I'll admit it. I'm slowly turning into the 'green', earth-loving stereotype. While I try to keep my lecturing & whines to a minimum, I keep getting greener and greener since the start of Green Philly Blog. I'm 99% pescatarian. Finally, I bought a bike. So, readers. Please bear with me for a second, while I celebrate. There's a big announcement for people like me: Philly's going to add more bike lanes. WOOO-Hooo! :-) 2 North-south bike lanes a block apart are going

Through my Zipcar Low Car Diet experience, I met & connected with Jason Meinzer, COO & co-founder of Philadelphia-based CityRyde - the world's largest bike sharing consultancy. Europe has been using bike sharing programs for a while, and the US is rapidly catching on. Although Jason & co-founder/CEO Timothy Ericson saw the potential and began with the intention to be a bike sharing company, their focus shifted to consulting. CityRyde specializes in assisting bike sharing companies in the stages of planning to implementation, helping over 40 customers & 100+ companies since 2007. What IS a bike share?

It’s like getting back on a bike. After a few year hiatus, I finally took the plunge to go with 2 wheels. As author of Green Philly Blog, I feel as though I should have purchased a bike years ago. However, I stalled this decision based on my long commute to the suburbs, a naïve decision to purchase a new car after college (for the record, it has a low emissions rating) and the expense of owning a bike/living in the city using public transit instead. Since I’ve lived in the city, I’ve been able to get around sans car & bike on the weekends. After wanting to make the switch, choosing to participate in the low car diet finally put me over the edge to buy a bike. I visited a few shops, test rode a few bikes before settling on the one I called the One. It was quite an interesting process overall. I considered each type of bike for my decision, look at various prices and thought long and hard about what to ultimately select as my new wheels. For those who haven’t converted yet, biking in Philly is hotter now than ever. Spruce & Pine Streets have lanes devoted only to 2-wheeling citizens, the Bike coalition has many events , and Philadelphians recently participated in the Naked Bike Race to raise awareness of how much Bikes help the city and environment. For those who are thinking of buying a bike, here’s a few pieces of advice I picked up from my journey:

Over dinner last night, a friend told me that she recently started riding a bike around the city and is really enjoying it. Her new-found love affair with biking caught her off guard because she had always been intimidated by cyclists. Aren't they afraid of getting hit by crazy Philly drivers?!? But her fear has been conquered, "It's like you're in a video game! I can get everywhere in over half the time!" Her experience got me thinking that others who have decided biking as a form of transportation isn't for them may want to reconsider. Here's a few reasons why: