Friday Notes: Bikes, Bikes, Bikes

If it’s April, it’s all about bikes.  The De Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) is on the schedule this weekend, but since I can’t be there (this time), I’ll focus on a few things closer to home:

The coming DC SmartBike program is getting some press.  It’s not going to be widely deployed enough to make it useful to me, but I’ll probably sign up anyway, in support of the concept.

It’s been a few weeks since the last report of a sexual assault on my local trails, so hopefully that’s the last of them.  I’m still not any less angry about it.  As I wrote over at WashCycle:

This pisses me off so much. I look at these trails with the same possessiveness that, well, probably a lot of you feel, also. They’re something I want everyone to enjoy, whether on a group ride or in the solitary circumstances of the early AM. And when I hear that some asshole is ruining it for everyone . . . gah. I suppose violence is not the answer, but it sure inspires that feeling.

There are some good comments on that thread – especially the ones pointing out that advising women not to ride alone is NOT an acceptable response.

People like their bike porn.  This post last week?  Is starting to move its way into the top search terms for this site.  Both depressing and heartening, at the same time.

Finally, don’t forget about CycleFest this weekend.   Really, I can’t emphasize enough what a friendly lot the organizers are.  If you’re at all interested in getting back on a bike, or onto a different kind of bike, come check it out.