BIKE SHARE

On Thursday, May 8 -- I speak to the Tri-County Chamber of Commerce about the Economic Benefits of Livable Communities and Hans van Naerssen addresses 'Removing Barriers and Building Connections.' On that same morning:

Pottstown is launching a bike sharing program!

http://bikepottstown.org



Of course, bike sharing isn't new or restricted to cities.

I fondly recall the months I spent in rural Blackwell, PA as a nanny. I could stroll along the country road (or hike one of the various walking paths along the mountain) to a small home where the owner operated a "bike share" of his own. On an honor system, renters could fill out a brief form and leave it and a small fee in a box hanging on the wrap around porch. Then renters choose one of the nice bikes just sitting for the taking and go for the day. Go where? The Rails-to-Trails that meanders along Pine Creek in the PA Grand Canyon. I was on one of those bikes the first time I saw a Bald Eagle fishing to feed her eaglets. The young eagles were in full view as well from that gorgeous, remote trail -- and from the comfort of my 'shared' bicycle.

In Washington DC during the National Bike Summit, I invited my friends to visit Blackwell to ride with me again this summer. If you haven't been to the PA Grand Canyon to canoe in Pine Creek or Bike the Rails-to-Trails, make sure you add it to your places to visit this year.


Residents in Washington DC have their own opportunity to 'bike share' this summer. Take a look: http://www.healthyreader.com/2008/04/28/dc-smartbike-european-style-bike-share-program/.

I'm just as eager to make a weekend visit to the city to bicycle the Capital. My one-time-around in the pedicab whet my appetite for more biking in our nation's cities. The experience -- relaxed and safe -- riding the pedicab (in the open air at a reasonable pace) was far more enjoyable than the "thrill-ride" of a taxicab just a few nights prior. As a tourist: a bicycle is definitely the way to experience a city.