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The 6th Annual Greenway Sojourn
Benefiting: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Location: Maryland - Pennsylvania - Washington, DC -
The Facts: 8 days - Mountain Biking - 330 miles - 500 riders max
Description: The 6th Annual Greenway Sojourn, June 23-30, 2007, will lead cyclists on the ride of their lives on the longest, continuous multi-purpose trail in the country. After 20 years of trail building, the Great Allegheny Passage in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland will be completed in late 2006 and linked to the popular Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath, creating 315 miles of continuous trail connecting McKeesport near Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. Together these trails make up the spine of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.
Approved - Eastern County Pedestrian and Bicycle Access Plan
On November 6, 2006, the Baltimore County Council unanimously approved the Eastern County Pedestrian and Bicycle Access Plan as an amendment to the county's master plan. The adopted plan is available at:
http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/go/bikeped
The next phase of the plan will begin early in 2007. This second phase will encompass the first, second and fourth districts, and portions of the third district in the Owings Mills area. An advisory group will be formed to guide the planning process.
How to give up cycling
by Bob Williams Following the shocking revelation that heat generated by vigorous exercise is a major contributor to global warming, we are all having to reassess our own activities. It comes as a major surprise to many of us that storing energy in human fat is actually a valuable way of reducing our impact on the environment. Government may be introducing plans to extract this fat by large-scale liposuction programmes and storing it underground, but we all have a responsibility to reduce our participation in ecologically hazardous physical activity.
Pedestrian caution
Worse were Pucher's findings that per trip, American pedestrians are roughly three times more likely to be killed in traffic than German pedestrians -- and over six times more likely than Dutch pedestrians. For bicyclists, Americans are twice as likely to be killed as Germans and over three times as likely as Dutch cyclists. In Europe, people make 33 percent of their trips by foot or bicycle, compared with just 9.4 percent of Americans' trips.
Pucher said the extra activity had to be healthy, as life expectancy in the Netherlands and Germany is about two years longer than in the United States, and obesity rates are lower.
Why can these Europeans walk and bike more, and more safely, than Americans? It's not just travel distance -- 41 percent of U.S. trips are shorter than 2 miles, yet most are by car.
Instead, Pucher cited Dutch and German policies that encourage more sidewalks and bike paths; traffic-calming and auto-free zones in cities; extensive road-sharing education for drivers and cyclists; and pedestrian-friendly urban design.
Negligent driving + death = $1000 fine, max
Driving + drunk + killing = vehicular manslaughter. Driving + downloading cellphone ringtones + killing = improper lane usage. WTF?
- Fark.com
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"I am appalled by your conduct and the manner in which you have driven in the short time you've had a license," Klaus told Stark, who had three prior convictions since May 2005 one for disregarding a traffic light and two for speeding. The last speeding conviction came about five weeks before she hit Mr. Wilhelm.
State's Attorney Julia Rietz made the call not to lodge any more serious charge than improper lane usage against Stark, saying that the legal definition of recklessness, to sustain reckless homicide or reckless driving, did not fit her actions.
...
"Julia Rietz said it would be hard to prosecute 'willful and wanton' (behavior) and the driver could have 'no reasonable expectation of a bike on the side of the road,' yet every single time we visited the accident site we saw bikers and joggers in the area.
- The News Gazette
2006 Maryland Ozone Season
2006