What makes drivers angry?

A ranking of 45 objectionable behaviors of road users, 4 of those relate to cyclists:
* Cyclists who fail to use appropriate lights at night
* Cyclists who 'run' red traffic lights
* Cyclists who fail to wear helmets
* Cyclists who blatantly disobey road rules, e.g., 'running' red lights, failing to wear helmets, failing to use appropriate lights at night


Some interesting tidbits:
- Heavy vehicle operators are the most annoyed by cyclists, and motorcyclists are the least bothered -- even less than other cyclists. Motorcyclists are particularly not bothered by cyclists who don't wear helmets.
- Drivers over 35 are much more annoyed by cyclists than younger drivers. The annoyance is pretty level until age 35, but increases steadily with age thereafter. Older drivers are particularly bothered by cyclists without lights.

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The Car on Trial

From CBC:

This Canadian on-line radio show puts the car on trial with facts and figures from both Canada and the United States. (In two parts under a half hour each.)

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Mail from Baltimore Spokes

Since it looks like my postings are getting a bit more diverse I thought I would remind everyone that has a login account you can select which topics you are interested in. So if you are just interested in the Biking in Baltimore topic then you have an option to get notifications on just that topic.

After logging in select Preferences in the User Function box on the left and then in the Emailed Topics box just select the topics you are interested in.

And conversely you can create an account (see above) and get daily notifications in the topics of interest.
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Velodrome Proposed in Baltimore City

From the Daily Record:

<img width="108" height="73" align="left" src="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/images/articles/20061128182246218_1.jpg" alt="">As if his plan to turn an industrial waterfront in Southwest Baltimore into a &quot;second downtown&quot; was not grand enough, developer Patrick Turner thinks a new velodrome would be the perfect capstone to that project.

If Turner has his way, however, Baltimore will get one. He wants to build a velodrome as part of the massive project he is planning on the shores of the Middle Branch, a finger of the Patapsco River just two miles south of the Inner Harbor. A velodrome is an arena with banked tracks made specifically for bicycle racing, best known for its function in Olympic contests. Amateurs can ride public tracks for recreational purposes, but relatively few such arenas exist in the United States.

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The ribbon cutting Allegheny Highlands trail

For those of you who enjoy trail riding a note of importance. In Cumberland on Dec 14th at 1:00 PM the Allegheny Highlands trail of Maryland will open the last like of trail between Cumbland and Pittsburgh. The ribbon cutting by the Gov Erlich will complete this 335 mile trail from DC to PIttsburgh.
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Environmentalists Hope for Gains Under Next Md. Governor

By KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press Writer

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Environmental groups poured thousands of dollars and worked the phones to help get Democrat Martin O'Malley elected governor. Now they're looking for Maryland's next governor to steer changes in how the state approaches growth, Chesapeake Bay restoration and other environmental concerns.

Betsy Johnson, chairwoman of the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, said her group sent 17,000 newsletters to state members backing O'Malley, who defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich. Sierra Club volunteers canvassed the state rallying support for O'Malley and helped staff phone banks for the Democrat. So, as the Baltimore mayor prepares a course for the next four years, Johnson said, he'd be wise to consider the help he got from environmental activists.

&quot;We would like a governor who actually supports us,&quot; Johnson said.

The wish list for environmentalists is long, and not all agree what the priorities should be. But there was consensus from environmental activists and an O'Malley spokesman that the next four years will likely see a new emphasis on reducing sprawl, preserving undeveloped land and reducing carbon emissions in an attempt to address global warming.

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