Category Archives: News

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Instructor, News

REPLY REQUESTED – California Bicycle Summit

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We have been invited to present at the California Bicycle Summit in Sacramento in the first week in October!

I need volunteers to attend the conference with me! We’ll drive up on Thursday morning (10/5) and spend the day at the conference. In the evening, there is a dance party at — wait for it — the California State Railroad Museum that evening, but we’ll only stay for that if everyone wants to.

SO this means that you might need to miss a Thursday class, but you get an opportunity to share your ideas with bike advocates from around California!

You don’t have to give a speech or TED talk or anything — we’ll make some posters and share them, kind of as described here:

I am not going to post a video of what a dance party for bike advocates at a railroad museum might look like. It’s not gonna be pretty.

Email me with questions (or post a comment below).

Instructor, News

Spike in Pedestrian Deaths

Use Caution!

A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association shows a continued rise in pedestrian injuries and deaths as a result of traffic collisions.

While total traffic deaths have increased slightly (after falling for years due to increased safety requirements for autos), pedestrian deaths have increased 25% since 2010, with the highest increase rate (11%) in 2016.

More than 700 pedestrians were killed in California in 2016.

My home state (Delaware) had the highest per capita death rate for pedestrians: 3.38 deaths per 100,000…. 🙁

One explanation offered by the report: “A more recent factor contributing to the increase in pedestrian fatalities may be the growing use of smart phones by all road users, which can be a signicant source of distraction for both drivers and pedestrians.”

You can read the full report here: http://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2017-03/2017ped_FINAL_4.pdf

The story in the SF Chron: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-No-1-in-U-S-study-showing-spike-in-11040076.php

 

Instructor, News, speakingofbicycles

A Post about a Bicycle

Write a blog post about a bike you own or have owned
(or wanted to own). Include some visual element
in your post (photo, drawing, graph, chart, map…).

Like this one:

In a barn sale in rural Ohio, my mother found a rusty Frankenstein of a bike: two frames and some iron pipe welded together in a frightening heap. She bought it for $20. I managed to get it to San Francisco & fix it up. I don’t get to ride it much because I live in a hilly area and it’s almost impossible to ride this thing on a hill (up or down).

There is a “tall bike” subculture in the US and around the world, usually centered in urban areas, so it was a surprise that this bike came from a very rural area. Also, it appears to have been constructed 30 or 40 years ago, which is before the current tall bike subculture really got going.

Unfortunately, this bike has a design flaw that can cause the handlebars to detach unexpectedly from the front wheel. Although the bike isn’t super duper tall, this experience is nonetheless unsettling. If I can figure out how to fix this problem, I’ll bring the bike to campus one of these days.

PS. YouTube video of the tallest bike I know of:

 

Instructor, News, speakingofbicycles

Reflection and Self-Assessment

Reflection is a crucial component of any learning task. We have good evidence that if you reflect on a task after completing it (rather than immediately rushing to the next task), you will learn more, learn deeper, retain learning longer, and be better able to apply what you learned to future situations.

Self-assessment is related to reflection. Humans are generally not good at self-assessment: often, people either overestimate or underestimate their ability. But improvement depends on accurate self-assessment. When you write this self-assessment, it helps us figure out if you and I agree on your performance.

As a way to get started in your thinking, consider the following questions. In a blog post of 150-500 words, reflect on your own performance in your S1 presentation.

  • What is one thing that you did well in this presentation?
  • What is one thing that you would have liked to do better, and why?
  • Do you feel that you conveyed the information to the audience or made the impact you wanted to make?
  • How did you feel about your delivery?
  • Did working on this presentation help you learn about credibility (your own and that of others)?
  • Do you feel that you learned about the ethics of public speaking?
  • Think about how you will plan, prepare, and deliver future presentations. Do you think you’ll do anything differently? If so, what and why? If not, why not?
Instructor, News, speakingofbicycles

Expedition: the Legendary Rockville Cyclocross Series

On Sunday, February 12, we’ll head to the nearby Rockville Cyclocross series.

This is a friendly and low-key event, and probably the best possible place to enter your first bike race! (Strictly voluntary, of course.)

We will be accompanied by members of the USF Cycling Club and learn a bit about the club.

Sunday, February 12
Depart Koret parking lot at 7:30 am sharp.
Return to USF at approximately 12:30 or 1 pm.
CONTACT ME TO RSVP — space is limited to 9 people

Bring:

  • warm clothes & layers –it’s outdoors and the East Bay is generally chillier than SF this time of year
  • water bottle

If you want to race, bring:

  • clothes that you don’t mind getting VERY MUDDY
  • a second set of clothes to change into after the race

More about the series:

California’s Rockville Bike Winter Cyclocross Series: Cyclocross Like It Used to Be

Norcal Cyclocross Season Continues Through February in Rockville, Ends with Relays and BBQ