We were touring Italy last month checking out the urban biking scene in a range of cities. This makes for some interesting comparisons to the United States and leads us to this quiz:

What is the biggest difference in urban biking in Italy compared with the US?

1. Many Italian cities have retrofitted separate bike lanes in their cities.

2. Bicyclists can ride in bus lanes and on sidewalks without irritating pedestrians.

3. Bicyclists are not intimidated by cobblestone streets, streetcar tracks or rush hour traffic.

4. There are more older people than younger people riding bikes.

5. Helmets are rarely seen except on tourists.

6. Taxis, busses, trucks, and trams all seem to respect cyclists.

7. Bike Share programs are common even in smaller cities.

8. Lycra is not the prevalent dress code.

9. E-bikes are everywhere, and some are quite elegant.

10. There are more nuns riding bikes.

Ok, that was a fake quiz. All of the above are true. The biggest difference is that you see a lot more women riding than men. Mothers texting while riding, older women with groceries, younger women headed to work. They all seem to ride confidently making left hand turns in traffic and riding over rail lines, without looking stressed out. Perhaps this is what accounts for the seeming lack of road rage, the lower levels of testosterone on the streets?

What makes this all the more interesting is that the Italians love their cars (and speed) like almost no other nation on Earth. They have an illustrious tradition that ranges from common Fiats and Alfa Romeos to fancy Ferraris, Maseratis, Bugattis, and many other iconic cars. Car ownership per capita is much higher than any other major European country, despite the fact that they pay more for gas than any other European country (~ $10 a gallon). But they seem to get along on their city roads. Italians taught us to respect and enjoy pizza and pasta. Perhaps they can teach us how to respect and enjoy each other on the streets?

A few years ago, I participated in a National Quarterly Forum called the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, where designers and urbanists get together and share insights. I learned a lot there. In fact it was one of the events that inspired me to start PUBLIC.  At that time, the Mayors’ Institute on City Design was run by Jeff Speck, an architect, planner, author, and speaker.  We became friends. That’s the disclosure part of this newsletter.  So if I’m going to tout a book by a personal friend, there better be some pretty good reasons to recommend it. There are many.

First of all, it is quite simply one of the best books about our cities that I’ve ever come across. Secondly, Walkable City could just as easily be called Bikeable City as the same issues pertain.

If you take a copy of Jeff’s book to your local downtown area, situate yourself in a café or (weather permitting) on a bench somewhere and read the first 50 pages while periodically looking up and noticing what’s going on around you ­– the width of the sidewalks, the number of lanes in the street, the parking, the mix of stores and cafés, how fast the cars are going, how many people are on foot or bike – you’ll receive a unique and invaluable urbanist education. You will also be entertained. Jeff is witty, provocative, and appropriately irreverent.

There are many other excellent books that deal with urban issues from Lewis Mumford’s The City in History to Jane Jacobs to Donald Shoup’s The High Cost of Free Parking. These are all excellent and readable but they are lengthy tomes, and likely too much information for many people. Walkable City is a good, quick read. It’s fast-paced, clever, and alarming in parts. Jeff’s overall thesis is that improving our downtowns is as key to our society’s health and well-being as any other action we might embark upon. His insights will challenge liberals and conservatives alike. This is not a doomsday book, as Jeff has as many examples of positive developments as he does critiques. For instance, there is a provocative section on why much of suburbia might become the next slums, and why “white flight” to the suburbs is now turning into “bright flight” back to the cities by young, educated people.

There are thirty substantive reviews on Amazon where Jeff’s book has a 5 star rating (and a current price of $15.88). Here are a few snippets I have culled from the book.

“The real problem with cars is not that they do not get enough miles per gallon, it’s that they make it too easy for us to spread out (sprawl) and encourage forms of development that are inherently wasteful.” Hybrids are not the solution.

“The average American family spends $14K a year driving multiple cars, about 20% of its income. (This figure was 10% in the 1960’s).” For many working class families more money is spent on cars than on housing.

“In these cities, and in most of our nation, the car is no longer an instrument of freedom, but rather a bulky, expensive, and dangerous prosthetic device, a prerequisite to viable citizenship.”

“It would seem that only one thing is more destructive to the health of our downtowns than welcoming cars unconditionally and that is getting rid of them entirely.  The proper response to obesity is not to stop eating, and most stores need car traffic to survive.”

Most of us like driving but hate commuting. Some polls that show that “a 23-minute commute had the same effect on happiness as a 19 percent reduction in income” and another poll where “5 percent of respondents said that they would be willing to divorce their spouse if that meant they could stop commuting and work from home instead”.

We are the least active generation of Americans in history. “Increasingly, it is becoming clear that the American health-care crisis is largely an urban-design crisis, with walkability at the heart of the cure.”  We are fat because we sit in cars rather than walk.

Car crashes have killed 3.2 million Americans, considerably more than all of our wars combined.  It is the leading cause of death for all Americans between the ages of 1 and 34.

If you are book phobic, listen to Jeff on NPR Weekend Edition.

His website is also a Speck of Brilliance.

Rob is the Chief PUBLIC Servant. He founded PUBLIC because of his belief that well-designed PUBLIC spaces are the bedrock of civilization.

“We can live without it, we may live longer without it, and the doggie bag will survive just fine.”
-Mayor Bloomberg comparing plastic foam containers to lead paint.

We show love in many ways. This Valentines week, it’s mostly personal, private, and driven by commercial interests (like PUBLIC putting polka dot bikes on SALE!).  When I read in the New York Times that NYC Mayor Bloomberg was taking on the plastic-foam container industry, it reminded me of the exceptional civic love he’s shown for his city, especially for the health and well being of its residents and culture. He does truly embody the “I heart NY“ spirit that Milton Glaser so elegantly gave form to in this iconic logo.

Bloomberg’s other crusades of love have been in the news this past week, and predictably where he has been opposed by strong forces in political battles, many of which he may not win or that may be overturned when he departs office. His bike lanes initiatives made the news this week along with his smart taxi programs. Some of his courageous positions often contrast what we see in Washington, where love seems to be more easily purchased by lobbyists and where acts of genuine civic leadership take a backseat to personal interests.

It might be a stretch to think of any billionaire as a Cupid, but we hope that he can be a realistic role model for other politicians. And some his programs such as stop and frisk are controversial. But we hope that his heartfelt and genuine commitment can be a realistic role model for other politicians.

Rob is the Chief PUBLIC Servant. He founded PUBLIC because of his belief that well-designed PUBLIC spaces are the bedrock of civilization.

I received an email out of the blue last week from a childhood friend whom I had not heard from since 8th grade. The year was 1967.  We were mid-century modern kids growing up in suburban South Pasadena, right along the Pasadena Freeway (ostensibly the first freeway in the world). His note to me said: “Will never forget going to the beach with your mom in her Volvo.”

I don’t remember that specific beach trip, but I sure remember my Mom’s car: a 1967 Volvo P1800, a sexy red sports car that hauled ass with a “high tech” flip switch overdrive, an elegant dashboard, and a body shaped like a cute rocket. There were not a lot of Swedish cars on the road then, so it probably stood out like a yellow Tesla or Ferrari would today. My mom was a way-left Irish feminist college teacher, hardly a car buff, and had no interest in design or mechanics. To her, the Volvo was a statement of identity and freedom.

My response to Kent was: “I remember riding on the back of your Dad’s Matchless.”

The Matchless was a classic British motorcycle, and Kent’s Dad was a true car and motorcycle buff.  He was a middle class husband and father – not a collector – but the guy had a Jaguar XJ12, a 52 Ford and his wife drove a 58 Thunderbird. He also had several motorcycles.  I remember riding his Honda 50 on his front lawn, going dirt bike riding and flying down the Pasadena Freeway on the back of his Matchless. I don’t think we had even the concept of a helmet then. He gave Kent a 1962 Austin Mini 850 when he turned fifteen. These vehicles are all beloved classic mid century design on a par with Eames chairs or Schindler architecture.  The modern movement was in its infancy and Southern California was the epicenter. Gas was $0.31 a gallon. It was on.

Back then cars were about sex, freedom, style, and independence. They were also about mobility and access. They were our social networking devices. They provided us with what teenagers and youth of today get from their Smartphones and the Web: connectivity.  But you can travel a lot farther, see more, and meet more people, with digital technology than you can with a car, and for a lot less money.

Fast-forward fifty years. Volvos are now about Safety, not Sex.  And we are faced with the problems and challenges that the car’s usurpation of much of our public space (and co-option of our lifestyle) has created.  In the 50’s suburban sprawl had not yet cast its spell all over America. Parking lots surrounded by chain link fences were not common in the hearts of cities.  Streetcar lines had not yet been ripped up by automobile companies. Regional shopping malls had not yet been created to lure people away from Main Street.  Traffic jams were the exception not the rule. We did not know anything about climate change or that cars would become (and still are) the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 34 and responsible for more deaths than all of our wars combined. And, to add insult to injury, cars would eventually all look about the same, getting big and boxy in shades of silver and black. We were asleep at the wheel while all this was going on.

It has not all been a one-way slide downwards since the 1960’s. When Kent and I were kids there was so much smog in LA that we were wheezing all through the summer. Lead was later removed from gas and the air quality improved dramatically. The environmental movement took shape.  A few mass transit systems, e.g. BART in the Bay Area, were funded. But it took decades before it occurred to us that we should try to make our cities amenable to us, not our cars.

Today, the “white flight” to the suburbs has been reversed with “bright flight” back to cities. Many Millennials and the youth are choosing to live without a dependence on cars and are exhibiting a true passion and connection for their communities.* Cities all round the world have radically improved their pedestrian infrastructure in the last few decades. Riding a bike has become mainstream in many cities.  The most recent email I’ve received from Kent is very hopeful:  “My daughter lives in downtown LA and rides her bike everywhere she needs to go.”

You are part of this change.  Thanks.

We have not come full circle, but we are making headway in many of our cities. And you are part of this progressive change. You have helped to make our cities more livable. You have also made us (PUBLIC) more livable – you have kept us in business into what is now our third year.  We feel lucky to be in a business that is predicated on positive social change and improved urban living and one that puts smiles on people’s faces. We hope that our bikes will bring you independence, connectivity, and some of the same sexiness and style that cars did half a century ago.

Thanks,

Rob

* To learn about this subject in detail from an expert, get Jeff Speck’s latest book Walkable City. Jeff is a leading spokesperson for more enlightened urban planning, the co-author of Suburban Nation, and witty and brilliant. We will have a review of this book next week.

Rob is the Chief PUBLIC Servant. He founded PUBLIC because of his belief that well-designed PUBLIC spaces are the bedrock of civilization.

Most of our customers make a personal choice to get around or commute by bicycle. But the growing number of groups, companies, and even neighborhoods that encourage people to rethink how they move around also inspires us. Bikes get us to smile, but they also serve a valuable social function.

All of the examples below share one common thread – the bicycle is a simple and cost-effective way to create connections between people and places, while also taking care of the environment.

Some museums, like Masschusetts Museum of Contemporary Art provide bikes for their visitors to connect the museum with the surrounding area. MASS MoCa Jodi Joseph sums it up: “What better way to see the area?  An hour or two on a MASS MoCA bike rental can bring you to three world-class art museums, while you take in stunning Berkshire views, tackle truly accessible urban and rural riding, and you get in some good exercise.  Everyone wins!”

Residential communities are taking bikes seriously as well. For example, Grow Community, a neighborhood on Bainbridge Island, Washington provides a fleet of PUBLIC bikes for residents. Grow Community leaders recognize that a healthy community has sustainable transportation options that are not entirely dependent motor vehicles.

We love to see companies such as Clif Bar, Mozilla, AOL, Williams-Sonoma, Rackspace, and others provide our bikes for their employees. We produced custom bikes for Clif Bar’s 20th Anniversary giveaway to each employee. Mozilla offers fiery custom bikes for employees. Williams-Sonoma employees utilize our bikes to move between offices in San Francisco.  And many hotels, like Tribeca Grand Hotel on the Right Coast and Hotel Healdsburg on the Left Coast offer bikes for guests.

If you have other examples of enlightened groups and companies that are encouraging bicycling, please pass them onto us (or send us a photo as part of our contest). And please refer us to your company or any other groups that might be interested in the PUBLIC option.

Back by popular demand, we’re organizing another Women’s Bike Clinic – but in Oakland!

In 1-hour PUBLIC employee Jillian Betterly will teach you the basic mechanics of a bike. The purpose of this clinic is to help you understand basic mechanics of a bike with special emphasis on our PUBLIC bikes. Learn how your gearing works, how to change a flat, best ways to lock your bike, and basic troubleshooting of brakes, chain and shifters. After the 1-hour workshop, stay longer for Q&A. It’s optional to bring your PUBLIC bike or your own bike. Jillian will spend the hour doing a demo on a PUBLIC bike & then can spend some time after the Q&A helping individuals with their bikes.

Thursday, September 13 (OPEN)
6:30-8pm
205 Alice Street @ 2nd near Jack London Square

This free clinic is limited to 25 women participants. Please send email to rsvp@publicbikes.com to reserve your spot.

If you cannot attend, sign up for our newsletter to hear about future clinics.

The last weeks of summer bring excitement for new fall fashion. We are thrilled to see the fashion world highlighting bikes, and Vogue recently featured our PUBLIC M8 “Fashion Cycles: The Best Bikes – and the Pre-Fall Looks That Go With Them”. Elle Décor featured our PUBLIC D8 in “Roll Models”. It’s just one more positive sign that the US is embracing bikes for a range of everyday activities.

Katherine Bernard of Vogue guides you towards your bike style. “How will your fashion look on a cycle? Just as you might acquire pieces to complement a favorite new bag, it’s possible to build your ensemble around your bike.” Check out our gear selection to suit your style and spruce up your bike.

PUBLIC bikes are also featured this month in business publications. The Wall Street Journal recently featured Leah Shahum, our Executive Director of the San Francisco Bike Coalition in “Advocate’s Vision for a Bike Friendly City.” It’s a great interview as Leah is one of the most eloquent spokespeople for city biking, and we’re proud to see Leah featured on her orange PUBLIC M8 in national media.

Also check out yesterday’s NY Times article on the city’s support for bike lanes. We dig it.

We’re big fans of bike share programs. We believe that rising tides help all boats – and more people riding bikes, whether they’re using a bike share or riding their own personal bikes is good for everyone. As more people get on bikes, it raises awareness that biking can be a mainstream form of transportation for everyone. That’s good for all of us.

Given our name PUBLIC, one of the obvious questions we get is whether our company develops bikes for bike share programs. The answer is no and yes.

No, we don’t produce bikes for citywide bike share programs because those programs require an entirely different supportive infrastructure and business model. It’s like the difference between producing a tank and a car – very different type of vehicle, specifications and infrastructure required.

But yes, we do provide bikes for private bike share programs for companies and hotels. For example, Williams-Sonoma employees use PUBLIC bikes to get around their four different locations. Hotels such as Hotel Healdsburg, James Hotel Chicago, Tribeca Grand Hotel, and Mondrian SoHo provide PUBLIC bikes for their guests to ride.  Find out more details.

We also provide bikes for outstanding bike rental and tour companies such as Streets of San Francisco in Hayes Valley and San Francisco Bike Rentals near the Ferry Building and Upper Haight.

We’ve been following the development of bike share programs around the world for many years. We’re delighted to see American cities such as Washington, DC, Chattanooga, and New York City follow the lead of world-class cities like Montreal, London, and Paris in implementing bike share programs. In the next year or so our very own San Francisco will hopefully launch its own bike share program.

Are you a member of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition?

As many of you know, we founded PUBLIC with the belief that bicycles are an important part of a healthy, livable community. Good design, when applied to a bicycle, can inspire more people to get on bikes. But the best way to encourage more people to get around by bicycle is to make our city streets more accessible and safer for the everyday bicyclist.

Kudos to the SF Bicycle Coalition for transforming many streets in San Francisco into safe places for bikes, including The Wiggle, Market Street, and Valencia Street. Look at some of the work they are currently doing with Connecting the City. This is why PUBLIC supports the 12,000+ member SF Bicycle Coalition  – and why we’re participating in the Ultimate Bike Shop Challenge with other local bike stores to see who can sell the most SF Bicycle Coalition memberships during the month of July.

If you’re already a member of SF Bicycle, thank you for investing in an organization that works to connect the city with safe, comfortable bikeways.

If you’re not a SF Bicycle Coalition member yet, you can join now for $35. Your membership will get you the Urban Bicyclists’ Survival Kit, a one-year subscription of SF Bicycle Coalition”s Tube Times newsletter, free bike trailer rentals, free admission to select events, and discounts at many local establishments – and you’ll help PUBLIC win the Ultimate Bike Shop Challenge!

Seven Hells of San Francisco Bike Ride

On July 21 join fellow masochists on this ride over some of the steepest hills in the city. Two years ago a PUBLIC team member rode the Seven Hells ride on a PUBLIC M8 – and climbed 25-30% degree hills without walking. It was tough but it proved that you can climb just about any hill in the city on a PUBLIC. Read more about the Seven Hells ride. RSVP here.

Improve Market Street

Most of us ride on Market Street. To make Market Street into a world-class boulevard, the city needs to make the street more bicycle, pedestrian, and transit friendly. We encourage you to attend upcoming community meetings about Market Street’s future.

What’s the coolest thing a company can do for its employees? Often companies recognize hard working employees with monthly awards or free parking spaces. Other companies provide free lunches, extra days of vacation, or casual Fridays. Bay Area company Clif Bar took it up a big notch. They gave ALL of their employees a free custom bike inscribed with the individual’s name and the date they started working for the company. It was one of the greatest acts of corporate generosity for employees we have heard of and PUBLIC was proud to play a part.

Last December we started working on a special project called “Project Kickstand” for our friends at Clif Bar. Clif Bar Co-CEOs Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford wanted to surprise each of their 300+ employees with a custom PUBLIC bike as part of the company’s 20th Anniversary.

See more photos in our Clif Bar 20th Anniversary Facebook album.

We took our PUBLIC V3 and painted it Clif Bar red with matching rims and rear racks, and added a Clif Bar logo head badge and message “Born on a Bike – Kitchen Crafted – Family & Employee Owned” on the frame. Each bike has a custom decal with the employee’s name and year they started working at Clif Bar.

Our PUBLIC team secretly delivered these bikes to a warehouse next to Clif Bar’s Emeryville headquarters. It was our privilege to bear witness to the surprise. Gary and Kit led the hundreds of employees around the block to the secret warehouse. After the doors opened, they invited their employees to a find a custom-made bike with their name on it.

As you can imagine, the scene was utter disbelief, joy, giddiness, and many tears. A Clif Bar employee captured raw footage of the experience.

We’re very proud (thrilled) to have produced and delivered these bikes for Clif Bar, a company  that we’ve long admired for putting community, people, and sustainability at the forefront of building a successful business.

Congratulations Gary, Kit, and the entire Clif Bar family.

We’re proud to add Clif Bar to our growing list of companies that have provided PUBLIC bikes for employees to use, including Williams-Sonoma, Mozilla, Square, AOL, PeopleBrowsr, Rackspace, and others.