How #30DaysOfBiking Rolled in 2024

Research tells us that when we commit out loud in some way we’re more likely to follow through with whatever it is we’re trying to change. That’s certainly been true for me with bike challenges. Adding something like a blogging challenge or a daily…Continue Reading

Photo of two bikes unde ra tree. The one closest to the camera carriers two panniers, one turquoise and one black, on a back rack, and has a small paper license plate reading BARB with streamers. The other has a child seat on the back that sports a large bright yellow flower at the top of the seat back.

Earth Day Market Ride 2024

What a gorgeous day for the annual event! Unlike last year’s somewhat gray day, this year we got blue skies, sunshine, and warming temperatures. I kept up my streak for #30DaysOfBiking, which is rolling along nicely. People of all shapes and sizes…Continue Reading

Go Ahead. Make My Day.

This post isn’t about what you think it is. It has nothing to do with Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry, or hand guns. Or anime, for that matter, if you’re thinking of a different movie/TV reference. And it’s not about the…Continue Reading

Page from program labeled WOMAN OF THE YEAR. At left, photo of a smiling white woman with short blond hair wearing dark blue glasses, a light grey dress, and pearl earrings. Text: BARB CHAMBERLAIN, ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION DIVISION, WSDOT Barb Chamberlain is a tenacious champion of building pedestrian and bicyclist networks that serve all ages and abilities. As WSDOT's first-ever Active Transportation Division Director, she raises awareness about active transportation safety, equity, and accessibility across the state and at the national level. Barb led the development of WSDOT's award-winning Active Transportation Plan, which is grounded in equity analysis and serves as a decision-making tool for active transportation projects across the state. The effects of her leadership are seen in the historic levels of active transportation funding in the 2022 Move Ahead Washington package. Barb shares her wisdom and expertise through multiple national organizations, raising the bar for transportation plans, standards, guidelines, and professional practice.

A Thrilling Night

Tuesday night brought an incredible event I have to capture: The Women in Transportation Seminar Puget Sound chapter named me Woman of the Year! I want to share my comments from the stage, or at least the version I had…Continue Reading

Black and white photo of two black couples. The women wear white blouses with long sleeves and high necks and dark calf-length skirts. The men wear dark suits and flat caps. They're standing with four bicycles looking straight into the camera.

Bike Books I Recommend: Women on Wheels

Women’s emancipation* and the history of bicycling go hand in handlebars. I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many outstanding women leaders in the movements for better bicycling and safer streets; I just wish each and every one of them…Continue Reading

Photo taken looking into the sideview mirror of a car showing a sunset against a flat horizon.

How We Get Where We’re Going: Transportation Poems

I’m beginning to think I’m editing a poetry book, what with all these poems on transportation I’m collecting. The images of being on a journey, the physical acts involved with driving or riding a motorcycle, the human relationships and interactions…Continue Reading

Shared Streets: A Vision

Years ago in Spokane, I saw the future of bicycling and human-centered transportation on an outing with my family, and it looked great. Here’s what I saw: Where did I see this? Pattison’s North Skating Rink, during the free New…Continue Reading

Thank Heavens for Kind Strangers and Transit

Ride #1 of 2024: Sunny, happy, delightful. Ride #2 of 2024: The reason I’m glad Olympia has transit. A few days after ride #1 I set off in the sunshine for a trip to a meeting with Lee Lambert, executive director of Cascade Bicycle Club. The very…Continue Reading