Kickbike Blog
Nonviolent Transportation
May 27, 2008
The idea of nonviolent transportation comes from
none other than my mom, who thought up the phrase just after starting to
kickbike for the first time. There is a popular book called Nonviolent
Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg. I highly recommend it
to anyone who communicates with other human beings. When I read the book
I realized that communication was like any other thing, in that there are
effective ways and ineffective ways to do it. I think Rosenberg has truly
discovered some amazing principles for effective communication which I
find have really worked for me in my life. Anyhow, back to nonviolent transportation.
Of course violent transportation refers to cars, which are "violent" in
a number of ways. They are violent to the environment by polluting the
air and contributing to global warming. They are violent when they crash
into things, and far too often into unprotected people like cyclists, pedestrians
and all types of other mobile humans, even possibly kickbikers. This is
actually one of the main reasons why I kickbike versus ride a bicycle.
I decided at some point that riding a regular bike
in traffic was too dangerous. I have had at least 10 friends who I personally
know who have been hit by cars while riding a bike in traffic. Two of
them are dead. One died just recently after being in a semi-coma for
over 3 years. My friends that died weren't wearing a helmet, and probably
would have walked away from their accidents had they been wearing a helmet.
(Three things I just don't get: not wearing a helmet, not wearing a seat
belt, and smoking — all easy things to avoid which may save your life.)
For me the risks are too great to ride in the street with lethal cars.
If it is possible that any given driver is either drunk, stoned, overtired,
or otherwise distracted, then I will assume that every car may at any
time veer out of its lane with no warning. I have actually been on the
freeway and seen a driver fall asleep at the wheel going 80 mph — scary!
The driver actually survived without a scratch, but he was lucky, very
lucky. Ok, moving on from this gloom and doom back to nonviolent transportation,
which for me means any form of transportation that does not endanger
the environment or your fellow human beings. Walking is of course the
oldest and most nonviolent of transportation I can think of, but riding
a kickbike I would have to say it next. Because what is kickbiking, but
walking with the addition of a couple of wheels, and brakes? I ride my
kickbike on the sidewalk — or the dedicated path for nonmotorized/nongeared
vehicles, one might call it, since scooters have just as much a right
to use the sidewalk as walkers do, at least here in NYC. Even though
I have heard of cases in which people were killed while walking
on the sidewalk by drivers that went off the road, I feel much safer
on the sidewalk than in the street by far.
author:
Riding in the Rain
April 1, 2008
April is finally here and so is the rain in New York
City. Since I use my kickbike for my primary source of transportation,
when it rains, I would still rather ride my kickbike than seek out alternatives;
however, I don't have mud guards on my bike normally. I don't see it to
be worth it since I only need them when it rains, and that would basically
be like always carrying around an open umbrella so that when it rains it
will already be covering your head. So what I need are some kind of easy
to attach or snap on guards that I can easily add to my kickbike when
it is raining, and then just as easily take off when the weather is
good. I have yet to come up with the perfect solution for this, but it
really can't be that hard. It's not like I am trying to find a battery
that will last a 100 years or anything. So far what I have done is to attach
the back wheel guard that comes with the kickbike with mini zip ties. This
just takes a couple of minutes and holds the guard in place just as well
as screws. When the weather improves then I simply cut them off. This is
of course a system that uses plastic in a nonreusable way so it's not
the way that I would like to do it in the end, but for now, mini zip
ties are not much waste compared to what is already being thrown away all
the time.
author:
Update on Riding on Sidewalks in NYC
March 23, 2008
I have been trying to find out whether riding on sidewalks in NYC is legal or not while riding a kickbike. I think I have finally found the answer, and it looks good for kickbike riders. A group called Bicycle Defense Fund in New York advocates on behalf of the rights of cyclist to ride on the streets of NY freely, to the full extent of the law. They post a list of relevant bicycle laws in which it states clearly.
"—AC §
19-176 Bicycle operation on sidewalks prohibited.
a. For purposes of this section:
(1) The term "bicycle" shall mean a two or three wheeled device
upon which a person or persons may ride, propelled by human power through
a belt, a chain or gears, with such wheels in a tandem or tricycle, except
that it shall not include such a device having solid tires and intended
for use only on a sidewalk by a child."
http://www.bicycledefensefund.org/bikelaw.html
I think the important part being "human power through
a belt, a chain or gears" which is clearly not the case with the kickbike.
I guess I will just keep riding and see what happens, but it looks like
I have the law on my side for riding my kickbike on the sidewalks.
author:
Virtual Kickbiking
March 18, 2008
Technology is a funny thing; it keeps on growing like
a weed. If you turn your back on it for a little while, you find that it
has grown into new areas that you never thought it would. Recently while
looking for a new kickbiking route, I clicked the little button for "street
views" on google maps and was surprised to see just how far they have
come. Virtually all of New York City, every street in Manhattan and the
larger streets in the other boroughs are covered. I found that a nice stretch
of my daily kickbike commute is covered, so I thought I would post a link
to it on the site as my virtual kickbike ride. Click here and kickbike
on the sidewalk down 5th ave. in Brooklyn from Sunset Park along historic
Greenwood cemetery. 
google: 5th Ave and 36th street Brooklyn NY
click on: street views
author:
NYC Kick Scooters Group
March 16, 2008
On Saturday morning I was happy to meet Dorlene
and her husband who head up the NYC Kick Scooters group, http://nyckickscooters.blogspot.com.
They meet every Saturday in Central Park to ride as a group, usually
the full park loop. We talked about kick scootering and kickbiking while riding.
One issue that I was interested in was whether kick scooters were permitted
on the sidewalks in NYC. I was happy to learn that she had actually contacted
someone at the NYC Department of Transportation. On her site she writes, "Molly
Gordy, a spokesperson for the NYC Department of Transportation, stated that
only Segways and electric or gas powered scooters are prohibited from sidewalks."
That still leaves the question of whether kickbikes are classified as scooters
or as bikes, but I would have to say that without
a form of enhanced motorized or geared-up speed it should be considered a scooter.
The kickbike by design is a scooter, and has no chain or gears and has all
the characteristics that make it sidewalk safe, like being able to come to
a stop and step off easily if necessary. I have been testing this theory myself
on both "no bike" paths in the park and on city sidewalks and so
far have not been stopped. Definitely bicycling on NY sidewalks is illegal
and I have heard of people getting tickets for doing so. We also talked about
the idea of promoting kickbiking and scootering, as we both felt that more
people could really benefit from the exercise, fun, and transportation. I have
heard the term active transportation used for any kind of transportation that
includes your body's movement, walking, bicycling, scootering, kickbiking,
etc. There may be possibilities to get scooters and kickbikes included in some
of the city and city groups who are dedicated to active transportation and
green initiatives.
author:
Kickbiking and Running Together
March 9, 2008
Over the weekend my wife and I went over to Prospect Park,
me on my Kickbike, and her running. It felt a bit like the scene in
Rocky where his trainer is riding the bike and the music is playing while
Rocky trains for his comeback. But it worked out great, because I was happy
to ride at a leisurely pace, and was able carry our bags.
Kickbiking is great for that reason. It is easy to carry a shoulder bag
or backpack on your back when riding the kickbike. I find that I don't
like running at the same pace as my wife and so this has been a problem
for us for years. We used to go out running together and I would feel bored
running slower than normal and she didn't much like me telling her all
the time to run faster.
But the kickbike is fine for me at any speed, so
now we can go out in the park together and both get some exercise. For
me I am pretty relaxed, so I can talk about stuff, and just take some
time to be together. I don't need to get a big workout when we are together
because I ride the bike every day, but on the way back she took the bus
and I rode home to Sunset Park. By the way, I got home about 5 minutes
before she did.
author:
Kickin'it in Brooklyn
March 7, 2008
I recently started kickbiking in Brooklyn, and some
in Manhattan. A usual day might be to ride about 1.5 miles from 45th
street to 18th street, where I have a work space. Sometimes I ride from
there over to Windsor Terrace up the hill on the south end of Prospect
Park to meet up with a friend of mine. From there back to my apartment
on 45th street I might go around the back side of Greenwood Cemetery
into Sunset Park. The total loop is about 6 miles. I find it to be a great
workout, as well as an efficient way to get around.
Everywhere I go I get comments about the bike. For most people it's the
first time they have ever seen a kickbike and I get a lot of curious looks,
and comments like, "Nice bike," "Cool, a scooter bike," "Beautiful
bike,"
and my favorite, "That's hot sh*t."
I have a bright red Sport Classic, and it really does look hot. I have also found that it can be ridden like a skateboard, with your feet both pointing sideways on the footboard, particularly on down hills. I hold the handle bar in my left hand only, and cruise down hills as if I am snow boarding or skateboarding. But unlike a skateboard I am not worried about flying off the bike if I hit a pebble.
I can already see the difference it has made in
my fitness level, which was basically exercising only every once in a
while. Now I get a good workout every day just by commuting on the
kickbike.
author:
Blog Links:
Int. Kicksled and Scooter
Assocation: www.iksaworld.com
www.scootblog.com
http://whatisee.org/mt/archives/entries/000233.html
Nice shot of a guy riding a kickbike in NYC to work
kickbike