Author Archives: jsallen

About jsallen

John S. Allen is the author or co-author of numerous publications about bicycling including Bicycling Street Smarts, which has been adopted as the bicycle driver's manual in several US states. He has been active with the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition since 1978 and served as a member of the board of Directors of the League of American Bicyclists from 2003 through 2009.

Protected?

Posted on July 13, 2017 by jsallen

The cyclist’s comment on this Youtube video: “This is why turn signals are important. Had she used a turn signal, I would have stayed back and let her turn. But because she didn’t use one, I assumed she was going … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycle facilities, Cycle tracks, Sidepaths | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PeopleforBikes Interprets Boulder Data

Posted on June 17, 2017 by jsallen

Here’s a quick review of an article by Michael Andersen of the PeopleforBikes Green Lane Project about the City of Boulder, Colorado’s removing what he calls a “protected bike lane”. I prefer to call it at barrier-separated on-street bikeway, avoiding … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycle facilities, Bicycling, Cycle tracks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Alice Swanson fatality, a right hook

Posted on June 6, 2017 by jsallen

Here is the intersection in Washington, DC, where cyclist Alice Swanson was killed by a right-turning garbage truck. The Street View is from 2009, as close as Google gets to the year of the crash (2008). The big cross street … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycle facilities, Bicycling, Bike lanes, Crashes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Daytime running, nighttime blinding

Posted on May 29, 2017 by jsallen

Here’s a sign I just noticed for the first time, on the Minuteman bikeway, outside Boston. Until LED lights went on steroids, who would have ever thought that this would be a problem? But then, unregulated industry is ever willing … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Laws, lighting | Leave a comment

Everyone thinks of changing the world…

Posted on May 12, 2017 by jsallen

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, nobody thinks of changing himself.” — Leo Tolstoy 3 PM yesterday, I was bicycling on a 2-lane street in Wellesley, Massachusetts when a school bus coming the opposite way stopped a few hundred feet … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | 1 Comment

Toronto incident used to slam shared-lane markings

Posted on May 7, 2017 by jsallen

A podcast and Web page slam shared-lane markings as an inferior type of bicycle infrastructure. In it, an animated GIF shows a bicycle courier being forced off the street by a taxi driver. Hey, about that animated GIF: the cyclist … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | 17 Comments

NYPD confiscates e-bikes.

Posted on March 24, 2017 by jsallen

This post is in response to an article by New York City reporter Vince Barone about the city’s police department confiscating electrically-assisted bicycles. The article is here. I also sent the comments below to Mr. Barone in an e-mail. Vince … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Equipment, New York City | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

I get a hug during CyclingSavvy instructor training.

Posted on March 21, 2017 by jsallen

I have operated my bicycle essentially as a driver since 1978, when I read an early edition of John Forester’s book Effective Cycling. Since 1982, I’ve been an Effective Cycling Instructor, then League Cycling Instructor, in the League of American … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The “Dutch Reach”

Posted on February 3, 2017 by jsallen

I have sent the following message to Dr. Michael Charney, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, promoter of the “Dutch Reach”. The “Dutch Reach” is motorists’ opening the driver’s side door with the opposite hand, so they must look back for bicyclists riding … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Bike lanes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Self-balancing motorcycle

Posted on January 9, 2017 by jsallen

Road and Track magazine has reported on a self-balancing motorcycle from Honda. How does the motorcycle balance itself? As shown in videos with the Road and Track article, the front fork is hinged so the front wheel can move forward, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycling, Equipment, robotics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment