pc486

San Francisco's critical mass was successful to the point it almost doesn't exist anymore (it's not necessary anymore with better political engagement). I believe it was successful because it:

• started at the same location and time (once a month on a Friday)
• occurred during evening commute hours
• had no formal leadership
• no planned route until just before departure

This combination meant authorities had no ability to shut it down. What office could the raid? How could they bring a lawsuit?

Once a month on a Friday meant it didn't have to be about your commute. Rather you'd leave work and ride to the start point. It was a protest first and a utility second (though the route did start from the financial center of the city).

Take a look at bike parties if you're looking more for a community ride. They bring more of a general supportive base than as a protest.

Mozilla invented Rust to rewrite the rendering engine. Read the history of Servo and bring a tissue to cry into.

Parking regulations don't apply to public projects. Strong Towns well documents the problem with parking regulations as they are written and applied in practice. I highly recommend checking it out.

Underground spots are roughly 20 to 50 thousand dollars each. Surface lots are only a few thousand per spot.

Do you want to invest in my coffee shop idea? I need a few million dollars to build the required parking.

Bike lanes on roads are practically free. For example, when repainting the road after resurfacing maintenance. It doesn't take more paint to mark out a bike lane than it does for car parking.

Bike infrastructure at its core is a political issue. If you follow cyclist money, you'll soon find it spent on bicycle advocacy groups. It's the best bang-for-buck and addresses all the other barriers, like shop owners complaining about the free public parking they're not paying for.

Critical Mass was so successful in San Francisco that it almost doesn't exist anymore. These days discussions of bike lanes is more about what kind of lane rather than if bikes should even be allowed on the road.

https://www.kqed.org/news/11941576/the-night-that-changed-san-francisco-cycling-forever

The article says part of the plan is to use fine money as a way to inject cash into the bus system. That seems like a good idea, but I'd like a local's opinion! Is the bus system not working due to lack of routes? Long intervals? Something else?

Specifically 5, 10, and 15mhz AM. There are others, but you'll really hear NIST WWV/WWVH if you're in North America/Pacific.

I'm not car-free, but I do all my grocery shopping without a car. In fact, I'm at my local grocer as I type at 1.7 miles away taking 250 feet elevation gain and 210 feet loss. I understand your pain!

Here's why I still think a bike fits your situation. Namely an inexpensive folding bike with a front basket and rack.

Hills are conquered in the same way as a cart: walking uphill. Also known as "hike a bike." Folding bikes are usually also allowed on busses, so you could take a bus one way. You could time your departure to a bus schedule and shop knowing you don't have to rush or spend a long time at the store.

Folders can be brought inside and consume about the same space as a folding trailer.

My overall point is a folding bike is a trailer that you can ride downhill in. Electric would be a nice upgrade, but it's not necessary.

When cars are the only way to get to a bar or a friend's place, then you're going to get drunk drivers. Car dependency has a big hand in causing these deaths.

I have 1400 miles on my non-regen bike which has burned through three sets of pads (1.5 mm currently left). I'm slowly trying better/harder pads which won't eat rotors and don't cost as much. $25 every 500-ish miles isn't great (10k miles is $500 in pads) . Suggestions are welcome!

I think a key difference is my neighborhood is quite hilly. I've never smoked and glazed a set of pads before moving in. That was a quick learning experience for me.

I agree it doesn't make sense to pick regen for extending range. Just buy a bigger battery if that's the biggest issue, say a rarely used bike but long ranged when needed.

To me it's the brake pads that add up. Replacing two pairs of pads every few hundred miles is way more expensive than the system and any additional battery wear. $500 isn't that many sets of pads.

Considering I don't charge my batteries much beyond 80%, yeah, there's plenty of room to put that extra energy early in the ride. I'd rather charge a battery than to grind pads into dust.