Slow bicycling groups and events allow people to socialize, exercise, and never worry about being left behind, reports Jennifer Levitz.
"Participants say slower riding is a backlash to today's hard-core fitness world, brimming with boot camps and mud runs. Molly Peterson, a 46-year-old librarian in Fairhope, Ala., said people in her tennis league were cursing and throwing rackets. 'It can be pretty ugly,' she says.
In 2011, she launched the Slow Bicycle Society on the Eastern Shore, an Alabama club with 100 members and a mission statement: 'No Spandex needed!' In Tennessee, the Murfreesboro Slow Ride Cyclists, which formed two months ago, calls itself 'a never-get-left-behind fun bicycling group' with 'baskets encouraged.'
'We're mostly focused on ringing our bells and waving at kids and just cruising around and chatting with the person closest to you in line,' says Sarah Murray, a 40-year-old manager for the city of Chicago who founded the Slow Bicycle Society in Chicago in 2009 and has watched membership grow to 300 from 15 people. She rides a three-speed upright."
FULL STORY: These Bikers Race for Last Place
CicLAvia Rides into South Los Angeles
CicLAvia, the Los Angeles open streets event, heads to South Los Angeles for the first time today. Sahra Sulaiman explains the communities preparedness leading up to this historic event.
Bourbon Street Could Be a Model for Pedestrian Spaces
The conversation around pedestrianizing public streets isn’t new — think Times Square. Could one of America’s oldest streets lead the way in a revival of the pedestrian mall?
NYC Officials Announce Broadway Pedestrianization Project
Two blocks of the marquee street will become mostly car-free public spaces.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research