Posted by: vaidila

Bike lovers be ready: Tuesday is World Carfree Day. According to the World Carfree Network:

"Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighbourhood blocks to remind the world that we don't have to accept our car-dominated society.

But we do not want just one day of celebration and then a return to "normal" life. When people get out of their cars, they should stay out of their cars. It is up to us, it is up to our cities, and our governments to help create permanent change to benefit pedestrians, cyclists, and other people who do not drive cars."

The goal of the event isn't just to silence the streets and clean the air for a day, it's to bring attention to the kind of world we could live in.

Posted by: vaidila

Even if you haven't been there, you might have heard that Austin is great for bicycling. According to the bike gurus, the League of American Bicyclists, Austin is the only city in the whole state of Texas worthy enough to receive a ranking in their Bicycle Friendly Community program. (The City comes in as the 15th best U.S. city for bicycling, and for that it gets a silver badge.)

Well, we're hopeful that bike riding in the Lone Star state is going to get even better today as we launch Ride the City – Austin: www.ridethecity.com/austin. Put your hands together!

Posted by: vaidila

Here's an awesome contest, ideal for any urban bike rider: Pimp my green bike contest. The deadline's just been extended to Wed, June 24 (midnight). To enter you just have to sign up for a newsletter, send a pic and a story, and you can win this weird looking folding bike.

"All you have to do to win is provide us with photographic evidence of why you need this awesome bicycle - is your current ride a crusty old clunker? Is there a mammoth mountain of steps leading up to your 6th floor walkup apartment? Whatever the case, upload your photos after the jump and leave a comment explaining why we should pimp your eco-ride, and we'll be selecting one lucky winner to receive this beautiful limited edition Strida bicycle valued at $950!"

(Btw, this tip comes from one of my favorite blogs, Inhabitat, which is all about green design.)

Posted by: vaidila

This weekend is not only Memorial Day Weekend, it’s the beginning of Ride the City’s new version 2.0. That’s right. On Saturday, May 23rd at 2pm we're having a party at the Radegast to hang out with y’all, get your input, and give away prizes and gifts. (See this earlier blog post for details.) Btw, it’s worth it if only for good food & drink.

To highlight one new feature, see the picture above. The new version distinguishes which bike shops have rentals (R within the gear) from which businesses have no rentals (gear without an R). Also (but not in this image) are the businesses that have no bike repair, only bike rentals (R without a gear).

We hope this feature will allow you to find the business you need, without having to do your own sweaty research.

There are other updates, too. We'll go over them this weekend but if you can't make it, don't worry, we'll also walk through these in future posts.

We hope to see you at the Radegast.

Posted by: vaidila

Friday, May 15th, is National Bike to Work Day.

Started by the League of American Bicyclists in 1956, the event is part of bike month and helps to rally bicyclists to get out to commute. According to the League of American Bicyclists:

To participate in Bike to Work Day, bike to work! Check out Transportation Alternative’s calendar for local events, there’s a lot going on: