Everyday Rider

A call to (both) arms By Elly Blue Right there at the party, next to the snack table, my friend Austin made his declaration: It is only proper to signal your right turn with your right arm. When you’re turning left, you stick your left arm straight out to your left side to signal. When [...]

By Elly Blue One rainy February morning in downtown Portland, I ran into an office building to deliver something. When I came back out ten minutes later, my heart skipped a beat. My bike was leaning against a street sign pole, unlocked and carefree. I checked my backpack—there was my lock. Sigh. I got lucky [...]

Tags: commuting

How to give advice on the roll One day, a decade ago, I was riding my bicycle over one of the bridges across the river in the center of Portland when some guy started yelling and pointing at me in a demanding, aggressive way. I was confused and annoyed. I was working hard to pedal [...]

Tags: advocacy, etiquette, transportation cycling

Ride group aims to strengthen Detroit and its citizens By Elly Blue Kimike Clark bought her bicycle half an hour before her first bike ride on a Sunday morning in August, 2012. “I had no idea what was in store,” she wrote later in a touching testimonial. “All I knew was it seemed like fun.” [...]

Do the health risks of cycling outweigh the benefits? By Elly Blue I just turned 35. It’s a milestone year, though not one that’s usually celebrated. You see, 34 is the last year since infancy that an American’s most likely cause of death is a car crash. But before you fellow 30-somethings start celebrating, sorry, [...]

The secret to riding a bicycle in high heels is that there is no secret By Elly Blue I occasionally hear the concern that a shoe with an elevated or spiky heel somehow poses a particular challenge or danger when bicycling. If you share this concern, I am sorry to disappoint you, but riding in [...]

Tags: clothing, commuting

If we all have good options, we all win By Elly Blue Like a lot of people, I have a fast bike and a slow bike. I choose totally different streets to ride them on. Luckily, in Portland, Oregon, I have the choice. The main purpose of the fast bike, a light road bike custom [...]

After a monthlong journey into the hell of the everyday driver, I can’t wait to get back in the saddle By Elly Blue I’ve been on tour all May, speaking about bikes and selling books. We hit 27 cities in a month, and it’s been amazing and whirlwind. The one problem: We’re doing it in [...]

Tags: commuting

Four things any person can do to boost bicycling By Elly Blue I’m nearing the end of a speaking tour, traveling the Northeast and Midwest and talking with people about the economics of bicycling. I hear a lot of questions that have a similar theme: What can we, as ordinary people, do to get more [...]

Tags: advocacy

You’ll benefit, even if you already own a city bike By Elly Blue You know what’s transforming cities into two-wheeled havens faster than any kind of infrastructure, organized ride, advocacy effort, or bike gadget? Bike sharing. I’m writing this in a coffee shop in Washington, DC, right down the street from one of the city’s [...]

Tags: bike share, commuting