Community Building

Posted on 20. Aug, 2009 by Melanie Meyers.

At UtilityCyling.org, we think that the potential for using your bike is quite vast.  Of course, you can use a bike for transportation, you can use a bike to make deliveries, you can use a bike to provide a wide variety of services.  All of the aforementioned types of uses are relatively straightforward and tangible [...]

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Cycling Services

Posted on 10. Aug, 2009 by Melanie Meyers.

The next major category of utility cycling that we would like to examine is cycling services.  In our first post, we identified a number of different services that can easily be done via bicycle.  Among them:

Retail and Commercial Services
Emergency and Patrol Services
Land Services

For the time being, we have separated out the category of bicycle delivery [...]

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Delivery – And It’s By Bike!

Posted on 04. Aug, 2009 by Melanie Meyers.

In our first post, we identified the category of delivery as a major component of utility cycling.  In terms of bicycle deliveries, these subcategories initially came to our attention:

Couriers/ Messengers: Many cycling enthusiasts are somewhat enthralled with the elusive bicycle messenger, who zips through traffic bearing important documents, photos, objects, and anything else that cannot [...]

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The Logistics of Bicycle Commuting

Posted on 30. Jul, 2009 by Melanie Meyers.

The next piece of the bicycle commuting puzzle is logistical.  How are you going to get to where ever it is you plan to go?  What will you do with your bike when you get there?  These questions are liable to arise when you start to seriously consider the possibility of bicycle commuting.  But do [...]

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Starting With The Basics

Posted on 27. Jul, 2009 by Melanie Meyers.

Now that we know a bit more about the history and practice of commuting, it’s high time we get down and dirty and start talking about the different elements that make up the practice of bicycle commuting.  There are some really great resources of the web for bicycle commuters:  Commute By Bike, Bike Commuters, Paul [...]

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A Brief History of Commuting

Posted on 22. Jul, 2009 by Melanie Meyers.

Perhaps the most obvious category of utility cycling is transportation, and the most obvious category of transportation is commuting. Commuting refers to the practice of traveling between one’s place of residence and one’s place of work (be that a regular job site, a mobile job site, classes, etc.) on a regular basis. The [...]

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Transportation and the Bicycle

Posted on 17. Jul, 2009 by Melanie Meyers.

Transportation is a vital element of life.  Transportation is what allows people to accomplish a wide range of essential daily activities such as getting to work, picking up and dropping off kids, running errands, seeking medical care, and on and on.  Transportation provides the structure beneath the international economy, as goods and services are transported [...]

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A Bicycle Advocate’s Call to a Transportation Revolution

Posted on 14. Jul, 2009 by Josh Lipton.

A revolution in transportation solutions is gaining momentum.  This revolution is being necessitated by environmental, economical and political crisis and encouraged by rapid developments in technology.
As cyclists ride out into the crowded streets, we become central figures in the epic struggle of the transportation dilemma.  Riding our bicycles, we directly experience the intensity of the [...]

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The So-What? Factor

Posted on 02. Jul, 2009 by Melanie Meyers.

As we have seen previously, utility cycling is quite diverse as there are many categories and subcategories to the practice.  So it should come as no surprise that there are many aspects of life which could be improved by utility cycling.  To that end, it would be prudent to talk about the so-what? factor.  Why [...]

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