2011 Top Ten List

It’s that time of year; it’s time for an end-of-year Top Ten list.

Here we go:

#10. Attending the League of American Bicyclists’ Annual Summit in Washington, DC where I heard New York’s Janette Sadik-Khan introduce the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, but it was Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer who continues to echo in my ears, “You shouldn’t have to burn a gallon of gas to get a gallon of milk.” Earl’s also famous for saying, “Half of all car trips are within a 20 minute bike ride, and 25% of car trips are within a 20 minute walk.”

Janette and Earl with Andy Clarke

#9. Platinum Boulder. I spent Spring Break in Boulder; it was my first visit and I made the most of it. Besides 300 days of sunshine, this ultimate bike-friendly city has off-road bike paths that criss-cross the city and took me way out into the suburbs. My interview with Bikes Belong’s Tim Blumenthal has turned out to be one of the most popular.

#8. Boston Bike Ride. The day before the Angel Capital Association’s Annual Summit this Spring, I organized a bike ride around Cambridge and the historical sites of Boston. This modest little ride attracted bicycle enthusiasts from Auckland, London, Brussels, Melbourne, Philadelphia and several locals, too. It was a blustery, cold day that only got colder, but as the conference approaches for this Spring I’m hearing from many who are eager to do it again.

#7. Big rides. The 64-mile OC Gran Fondo turned into a 90-mile door-to-door outing. For me and riding buddy Dan Murphy it was a warm up for the ultimate ride, the 111-mile El Tour de Tucson on Nov 19th.

#6. Seattle, Palo Alto, San Francisco & Portland: I traveled up and down the coast to interview biking giants. Peter Lagerwey helped design Seattle’s Bicycle Master Plan. Joyride author and Alta Planning President Mia Birk did the same for Portland in the 90s. Palo Alto Bicycle’s Jeff Selzer and former Stanford Bike Planner John Ciccarelli entertained me on my last trip to the Bay area.

More to come…