Monday Apr 7 2008
A friend of mine in Fort Collins told me about the then ew Fort Collins Bike Library, which opened over the weekend just in time for spring.
Fort Collins is one of the most bike friendly cities in Colorado - with many bike lanes and an educated and aware public when it comes to sharing the local roads. Thus making it easy to cycle for daily errands and transportation rather than just a recreational weekend ride.
Some European cities, including Paris, have made free bikes available for daily use with pick-up and return points in various parts of the city. The Fort Collins Bike Library, created by the city of Fort Collins with the assistance of the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-Op, is now doing the same thing on a smaller scale with their current fleet of 50 bikes.
Bike Library rents out bikes of all shapes and sizes for up to seven days, and plans to offer future tours around Fort Collins too.
This type of initiative should be commended and recognized by cities large and small. In an overall city budget this type of program costs next to nothing, and generates a more livable and active community.
They’re in Old Town Fort Collins at 19 Old Town Square, and a few blocks away on the west side of College at the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-Op - 222 La Porte.
More at fcbikelibrary.org and the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
Thanks to a streak of non icy and slushy days I’ve been enjoying 

From
Last week I had the chance to wander around the 



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Using a bicycle to get around has always been a bittersweet proposition in Southern California. Sure, it’s eco-friendly, an excellent cardio workout and a pleasant alternative to snail’s-pace public transportation, gridlocked freeways and king’s-ransom gas prices. The drawback is finding a convenient, theft-proof parking spot. “When you can find a safe parking spot on the street, it’s often 100 feet or more from your destination; and if there is secure bike parking, it’s usually behind the building near the weeds next to a trash dumpster,” says Russ Roca, a local photographer who doesn’t own a car and hauls up to 200 pounds of equipment on his bike’s trailer attachment. “Bike riders are treated like social pariahs and second-class citizens.”
COPENHAGEN — No one wears bike helmets here. They’re afraid they’ll mess up their hair. “I have a big head and I would look silly,” Mayor Klaus Bondam says.