Ebikes are reversing the school drop-off and pick-up culture.
Phil just got his e-trike, in part, to pick up his 3rd grade grandson from school.
Instead of idling in his car in a long line, he's right up front in the fresh air, having conversations with other caregivers.
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Megan Ramey
@BIKABOUT
Safe Routes to School Manager 4 Hood River. Bike 
travel writer & map 
maker. Scheming on bike 
hostel in Columbia Gorge. 
Op-ed on ebikes and 
prices
travel writer & map maker. Scheming on bike hostel in Columbia Gorge. Op-ed on ebikes and pricesMegan Ramey’s Tweets
Moms: the indicator species for a healthy city.
When you see Mom and child biking side-by-side and smiling or talking, this indicates a great bikeway.
#HappyMothersDay
3 hour train 🚆 ride over 500 miles, from Paris to Provence.
Driving 🚗 would be 8 hours. European trains are the bomb.
"you're either a car or a bike, make up your mind!" shouted an "anonymous" man out of his car window.
He didn't suspect that I'd recognize his car as a neighbor and show up at his door to talk to him the next day.
This is one of the upsides of small town life.
22 minute bike ride on separated bikeways from our hotel to the airport.
Bonus: views of the Mediterranean Sea
Sorry San Diego, Nice France takes the trophy 🏆 for the most bikeable airport.
Nothing seduces the older men at the hardware store faster than parking a cargo bike with a Christmas 🎄 tree at the front door.
11 year #TreeByBike tradition intact
Eating at a food truck patio and asked a a guy to turn off his truck so I didn't have to smell his fumes while I ate.
This turned into a 4 strangers debating the law with me and "I was born and raised here, were you?"
Gas is still to cheap.
"Let me just go back to get the truck" -husband
Me: I got this. It's all in the rigging.
4 of 2X4x10"
3 of 2X4x8"
+ 1 of moody teenager
My trip to the lumberyard 🪚 made possible with an cargo bike.
Parents, play your cards right, and your 13 year old will valet you in a cargo bike versus you being their taxi driver.
3 people riding Urban Arrows lead 10,000 blocking traffic on the German Autobahn
shar.es/afv85w
I'm writing an op-ed on gas ⛽️ prices and e(cargo)bikes.
What are barriers or incentives?
1 - cost, ROI
2 - car replacement, kid hauling, carryshitolympics
3 - physical ability
4 - vulnerability, infrastructure, fear of cars
5 - storage
6 - fun, convenience
What am I missing?
👋I'm Megan and this is my husband, Kyle.
We are goofballs in #HoodRiver, pop. 8,000, and work our tails off to make streets safe with kid-centric infrastructure and bike education and he, to rehab donor bikes to families in need.
Be a goofball in rural America.
"Now I can pick you up from playdates!"
Says our 12 year old biking her Dad for the first time on Father's Day.
God, I love our
"DISMOUNT YOUR BIKE IN THE CROSSWALK!"
Angry man yelled at our bike club of girls crossing quickly bc a diff car was waiting for us.
He stopped and yelled when we were halfway across. I rode up to him and said, don't yell at kids. Not tolerating that aggression in small towns.
"Slowwwwest 🐢 race" teaches the 5th graders bike agility and control and they LOVE playing it.
Last one over the finish line (without putting a foot down) wins. 3 of them beat me!
Hell yes, I was serious when I offered my injured friend to be her pedicab for errands. I love my and cargo bikes.
Replying to
15 kids on a 6 foot strip of pavement while 60 feet sits unused next to it.
This is why the #biketrain is one of the best tools in advocacy because it shows how misaligned our priorities are and what needs to change.
"Open other streets permanently. Dynamite the asphalt, sod the land, plant trees and flowers, and do not look back." theatlantic.com/health/archive
"SO many people!"
Kids want to feel like they belong and bike 🚲 🚂 train makes that happen in Hood River, Oregon, pop. 8,000.
Watch the end when my guys get to rip down the whoop-dees 🙌
#walkandrolltoschoolday #bikebus
As someone who is an advocate for safe streets for kids to bike to school and also races in a events, I call on them to take responsibility for their words.
Magnus White was hit and killed by a person driving.
Learn from this and issue an apology and restatement.
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It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the news that 17-year-old Magnus White has passed away in a training accident.
Please read USA Cycling's statement in Memory of Magnus White: usacycling.org/article/in-mem
If there was a "sharrows are bullshit" contest, this would be top 5.
No greater power felt than driving the speed limit.
Hood River Bridge just lowered the speed limit from 25 to 15 and I thought the guy behind me was going to lose his mind that I was <gasp> following it.
2 trees 🎄, 1 bike. Why do people “need” cars again? #treebybike #ebikesarecheating #holidays #urbanarrow
Top 5 places kids want to ride their bikes to*:
1. Parks/playground
2. Friend's house
3. Library
4. Pool
5. Food/Retail - Dairy Queen, Starbucks, Subway, grocery, Walmart
* according to Kindergartners and 5th graders that I am teaching how to ride this week
Replying to
Hell, him just knowing that I know where he lives feels good.
25 years ago when I lived in Georgia, I was that angry driver. Everyone outside your car is something in your way, un-human.
I really hope I see him again and we can have a civil talk about the way he made me feel🧵
I ♥️ stair rails for bikes 🚲
American engineers, take note.
#wednesdaywonk
#kidfriendlycity
#bikeinfrastructure
One of her friends lives 1 mile from us, but the only way to get there is on Hwy 281.
With infra like this, it's no wonder perfectly capable tweens require their parents as taxi drivers in America.
Scarlett is my "no bad weather" girl. She shows up every week and we have little chats.
Every time I take these kids to school, we trade stories.
🚲🚂#biketrain is knitting the social fabric of our community back together.
#hoodriver
Chugging to school on the Bike 🚲🚂 Train.
I love to see the kids reclaiming their streets in #hoodriver
Don't finger wag teens riding ebikes on the sidewalk. Advocate for an infrastructure solution.
Hood River can't reprioritize a vehicle travel lane into a 2-way cycletrack fast enough.
#throttlekids
Replying to
I apologized again for disrupting her in the nicest way I could before leaving.
The guy is obviously mad at the world and it wasn't the closure I hoped for but at least he knows now that he lives in a community that has expectations...🧵
Texting, no mask, eating McDs while driving, doesn't use a turn signal, vocalizes frustration with other normally behaving drivers, and I can't tell you how many times I've woken up by the rumble strip. Unfit to drive, @FlixBus_USA
Replying to
My altercation was on a n'hood street that may benefit from a diverter, but traffic anger manages to creep in.
As people who walk or bike, we have to be psychiatrists or behavioral sociologists to weather these interactions and I feel ill-equipped but I'm trying. End 🧵
Never in my wildest dreams did I think a stock market site would approach me to write THE op-ed that my brain has been chewing on for 6 years.
Quote Tweet
OPINION: E-bikes are the most addictive, fun, transformative product on the market right now, which makes them incredibly effective as a car replacement, @BIKABOUT writes. trib.al/on3wfnj
Bike 🚲🚂 Train had 12 kids this morning.
5th grade is back to distance learning because of a Covid case. 5 bus route is also quarantined.
All the more reason to continue the train as a safe, normal way to get to school during this time of everyday change.
#saferoutestoschool
"this is my new car!"
Said by this single mother of 2 kids who needs it to ride to work.
I was so happy to find this sweet Gary Fisher donation bike for her.
#newbikeday #hoodriver
2 blocks long of JOY!
Bike Bus leaders from around the globe 🌎 got to ride with Barcelona's children to school in their #BiciBus this morning.
This sight should be how every town and city in the world starts their day. Volume 🔊up!
#bikebus #biketrain #barcelona
London's cycle highway 6 works like a champ in rush hour.
Passing 39 cars felt so good. Passing that bus of people sitting in traffic, not so much.
"Designing Streets for Kids"
10 actions:
1. think from 3' tall
2. ⬇️🚗
3. ⬆️🚌
4. Wide👨🦼🚶♀️sidewalks
5. Playspaces
6. Safe 🚲infra
7. Safe crossings
8. ⬇️mph by design
9. 🌳
10. 🚸🧒🏿👧🏾
Thanks to Annie Peyton of for the webinar! Free PDF of guide: globaldesigningcities.org/publication/de
Same bike train, 2 vibes
Through the neighborhood, the girls spread out and sing.
When we bike on the sidewalk, the fun stops and they have to ride single file to share with people walking. These kids need a dedicated cycletrack so badly.
#hoodriver
Replying to
And I didn't deserve to be talked to that way. We live in a small town and have to be kind to one another.
She said that he had "gotten hit by a bike"(?) as an excuse for the behavior. I told her I was not that person and would be more than happy to talk in person about it...🧵
Barcelona by bike, a 📷🧵
We had to check our 3 on and after tweaking some issues from baggage handling, we made our way onto the wrong train from the airport. Luckily, I figured it out quickly, we hopped off and biked to our flat in San Antoni.
1/n
Replying to
Jeez, sorry to leave y'all hanging.
I saw his blue car on a side street where he pulled out behind me. I remember being initially confused why he chose his driving route. I knew he must live in the neighborhood and it felt like a Sherlock moment to see my hunch materialize. 🧵
Anything is possible
This family of 5 is touring from Canada border to San Fran and camping along the way. I was blown. Away
Contrast these streets at night. Which is better for mental health and local business?
(Lt) 12th Street in #HoodRiver
(Rt) Delft 📷
The curse of a planner turns a glogg-fueled walk into a visioning exercise.
“When you get students & parents out of their cars and out in the community, that is where the magic happens”
If a Portland PE teacher and a Hood River mom advocate can start a bike train-bus, you can, too.
📸
Article🔗 washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022
"I hope you don't have far to go!?" says loading service.
Me: I wish I had farther, only 1/4 mile.
The cargo bike makes picking up a vacuum steam cleaner, soil and plants easy. I can't tell you how much money and emotional stress this machine has saved us.
I am officially the first Safe Routes to School Manager for #HoodRiver County School District.
Been sitting on this news for a month and couldn't wait to share it. Contract is signed!
Moms organized in the 1970s leading to a culture of child friendly cities in The Netherlands.
Support Moms, they get shit done and make the 🌎 better.
📽️ on the Kindermoord movement: youtu.be/XuBdf9jYj7o
Color 📸 by
#HappyMotherDay
I was asked to help teach a migrant children's bike camp in The Dalles tomorrow and bring my bikes.
I said, hell yes.
"Ebikes are life changing!"
Said the teary eyed wife whose husband took this picture. They happened to be on their first #ebike ride ever when our group of local and state policymakers descended on them.
"I feel high, like I can breath for the first time in awhile," she said.
The bridge connecting the Going Neighborhood Greenway is one of our favorite unsung pieces of bike infrastructure in Portland.
Capturing it in a video by riding one handed is harder than it looks 😬
#bikeportland #portland
"I have never spent this type of money on myself. It's nicer than any car I've owned. But it will bring me joy and get the kids around." Amen, sister.
Meet the newest member of the #hoodriverminivan club.
#ecargobike
#xtracycle
Replying to
I told her what happened w/ him driving closely behind me on a neighborhood street on an icy day and then yelling at me. I explained he had every opportunity to alter his route so he wouldn't be stuck behind me.
I said I was their neighbor who lived 2 blocks away, a mother...🧵
Bikes, the best canvases for Halloween
👻🎃💀
Let's see your #halloweenbike #bikecostume!
📷 from #carfree Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA...as all streets should be for #Halloween
1st ❄️ snowy day for bike 🚲 🚂 train- 🤩 look at these rockstar girls!
We had a brief talk before the bike ride home about riding at "jogging speed", gradual braking and sweeping turns and they were like snow biking pros!
#winterbiking #saferoutestoschool #biketrain #hoodriver
All the hype and anecdotes are real.
I finally rode with and his squad of #BikeBus volunteers and students.
Takeaways:
1. Weather doesn't matter
2. Mascots are bonus. Phoebe 🐶 is 👌
3. Music 🎶 makes it
4. Little ones and their parents bring ❤️
Start one now!
Build a car-free trail and the bike tourism $ will come
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The Great Allegheny Passage created an economic impact in 2019 of more than $121 million along the trail, according to a new study completed by a Pittsburgh consulting firm. post-gazette.com/local/south/20
"Studies have shown that cyclists spend on average 3 times more than car drivers with local businesses, and that cycling infrastructure is correlated with higher retail sales."
Bike to School days are subversive advocacy for infrastructure and kid-centric city design.
These kids are riding in a vehicle travel lane that should be turned into a protected 2-way bikeway so they have a safe route to school.
#bikemonth
1st year in my job held many highlights but teaching 83 kids how to bike may top the list.
"why do you need a bike lane when no one bikes?" is the worst chicken-egg argument ever.
How many kids do we gotta pack on this sidewalk before they get us a bike lane?
If only there was underutilized space...
Our kids get to be kids on consolation sidewalks next to head-on traffic going 30+mph while city committees debate definition of traffic calming.
Almost ready to fix this overnight.
#biketrain #biketoschool #tacticalurbanism
"Reducing car dependency is not just a nice idea. It is essential for the survival of people and places around the world, which the recent IPCC report on climate impacts makes clear"
12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research:
theconversation.com/12-best-ways-t
Start a bike train, build a movement!
Grant officially submitted for Safe Routes to School Coordinator for #HoodRiver County to cover 8 schools🙌
We got 11 letters of support!
🙏City, County, Fire, Police, Healh, Parks, OSU, Anson's Bike Buddies, , MCEDD, PTO.
We took the bus and bike to get her tooth removed with anathesia.
Doctor wouldn't release her to me unless she was put on a car. They didn't tell me this ahead of time, citing "paperwork".
Has anyone taken someone home my transit under this condition?
2-way cycletracks like Naito are a gift to mother-daughters who need to catch up on their day on the way home.
We could ride side-by-side, interrupted for a half mile. She told me that she built bridge supports in LEGO cities camp.
Replying to
It reminds me of smoking and the social norm shift that happened in the 90s-2000s.
People are mystified that you would ever ask them not to pollute your air.
4 years ago, I gave birth to Penelope and today was the first time that I've seen her since she was 2 weeks old and she's just learning how to ride a bike. ❤️ exploding
Surrogacy is a magical thing for both parties.
Rue Verdi in Nice, France was a traditional bike lane and now it's a meandering cycletrack with planters and hardscape to shield from vehicles.
I loved it. Does know it's story?
Replying to
I was riding home, dressed up from a M-D tea party with my daughter and I told her to go ahead home when I spotted the car.
Knocked on the door and I immediately felt bad because a lady was laying down watching TV. I knew it wasn't her, but she came to the door. 🧵
"thank you for starting this club. I love riding my bike in a group."
📽️reel from yesterday's #80sWalkRollClub.
Besides getting confronted by a "get off my lawn" lady and being flipped off by a driver, the kids had a really good time and it will only get better from here.
"As a #BikeBus community,
we demand that our local government prioritize urban space + resources for child friendly, healthy and safer streets."
Barcelona Declaration, Bike Bus Summit, 2023
Europe, here we come.
1st stop: London
Then: Paris, South of France, Nice and Barcelona.
#wanderbybike #bikabouteurope #bromptonfamily #brompton
What a kid friendly city looks like...
Kids riding the 🚲🚂 home from school and stopping at Little Libraries for books 📚
"'Did you ride your bike to school today?'
[3 out of 20 raise hands]
'Who doesn’t have a bike at home?'
Half the hands go up.
'If you learn to bike with me, I will get you a free bike.'
The youngsters gasp with excitement."
Article on my passion job->hoodriver.coop/news-releases/
I see your 30% students riding to school, , and raise you 50%!
Cascade Locks' Principal lead the 1st bike 🚲🚂 train to school and said over half of 90 students rode to school, 1.7 miles. Huge for a small town with little resources.
#WalkandRolltoSchoolDay
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Principal Adrienne of Cascade Locks, the highest low income rate of my school district, is leading one of the bike parades to school tomorrow.
I am in a puddle and can't wait to see photos.
HECK YES! $6 million for a safe, car-free route to the high school.
I can't express what winning this funding means for the students of #HoodRiver.
My daughter and her cohorts will be able to take a greenway to school, which will be huge for their well being.
0:08
Engineers, are parking stops okay to use for protected bikeways?
I was told by a supplier that they are not MUTCD compliant and I have seen them in multiple applications?
Photo of First St. NE in DC by
Replying to
She looked at me and smiled, I think bc I was dressed up and she wondered if I was a religious? It was a warm start.
I apologized for disrupting her and asked if she knew who the car belonged to. She said her boyfriend who was home and I assumed sleeping. 🧵
The Middle School teacher told a class in front of me that a leading cause of death for their age group was injuries from biking.
I looked at the CDC data...44 deaths from all-terrain vehicles, 7 from biking.
I broke them out of school!
After learning all the laws and etiquette of biking, the 5th graders and I took a spin around the Parkdale neighborhood.
Happy 🎂 to me. All I want is for kids in America to have School Streets.
😘 to my fellow Sag, , for the inspiration.
60 feet to cars, 8 for people.
This gorgeous bridge with epic views of Mount Adams, Hood and St Helens, has the skinniest sidewalk and the most bullshit of sharrows...in a vehicle lane with 50+mph speeds.
St. John's should repurpose one lane into a 2-way protected side path.
Tuileries street art tunnel is my favorite part of biking around Paris so far.
The live violinist 🎻 made it!
#parisbybike #bikabouteurope #publicart #StreetArt #Paris
368 kindergartners at 5 Hood River County schools got the chance to ride a bike this year.
Start 'em young!
Off to Eugene to be a fly on the wall for the Dutch Cycling Embassy #ThinkBike workshop.
Can’t wait to see my friends, and .
#bromptononboard #amtrak
Parkdale, Oregon, population 300, throws down the Earth 🌎 Week challenge!
80 kids experienced their 1st walking bus 🚌 or bike 🚲 🚂 train to school and I was blown away by the energy
📷🧵
Hey y'all, it's a #bikecostume 🎃🏴☠️👺 thread!
Drive-through haunted houses or trick-or-treating be damned, let's show everyone what creativity and #Halloween could be like in 2020
Yesterday - #HoodRiver Mayor Kate (L) joins our policymakers ebike ride
TODAY: Our Mayor Kate bought her first #ebike today from Jodie (R) at Oregon Ebikes after yesterday's policymakers ride!
These magical things are THE best tool for adapting to the #ClimateEmergency
Imagine trails like this connecting rural America
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Imagine cycle tracks like this connecting every town, city, village, train station and hospital in the UK
0:18
Got choked up giving this little girl a ride in today's kinder bike rodeo.
We thought she said, "all done" but she wanted to keep going and gave me a high five.
