So far, the weather this spring has brought us all sorts of dashed hopes, with warm, “normal” days immediately followed by chilly, windy, rainy weeks. Whereas the beginning of this week had many stripping off their winter layers and getting out of the house to enjoy temperatures above 60 and sunshine, the end of the [...]

This past Monday, the first doping scandal of the 2011 Tour de France was announced. Russian rider Alexandr Kolobnev tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (used to mask other doping agents) and has since voluntarily left the race while his urine is tested for further substances. Professional cyclists have been using performance-enhancing drugs for decades. [...]

The "Inventions" section of the December 27th, 1919, issue of Scientific American featured a new model of the bicycle invented by Mr. C. H. Clark that seemed rather strange to those who saw it debut at the six-day bicycle race in New York City. Onlookers "were astonished one day at the appearance on the track [...]

Okay, sure — you could buy a Smart car, and it costs $13,000 just to drive it home, plus no matter how cute it is it’s still burning gas and if you want to go to a gig with your guitar and your girlfriend, one of them is going to be uncomfortable. Or you could [...]

Research, as ever, tells us what we already know. Eric Jaffe, of Atlantic Cities, cites new research in Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, by Ralph Buehler of Virginia Tech. The shocking revelation? After you ride a bicycle, it’s nice to take a shower. I don’t mean to sound snide. The research is good and sensible [...]

After a half-century of brutal urban renewal, sidewalkless cul de sacs, and unwalkable sprawl, planners all over the world have turned towards what was left out of planning for decades: community. Whether it’s planning approaches like Complete Streets or assessment methods like walkability scores, communities have learned that people want to interact with their surroundings [...]

Okay, I have to be honest with you. I love a city, and a downtown with walkways and tunnels and bus stops that tell me where my buses are via GPS and everything else, but sometimes you can just have more connectivity than you need. Remember the internet-connected toaster, that singed the weather forecast into [...]