Iowa Lawmakers Consider Bike Rider's License

So, it looks like Iowa is considering a bike riders license:

"A bill introduced Monday to the Iowa Legislature would require all bicyclists, adults and children, who ride on primary or secondary roads to have a bicyclist's license.

Under the proposed bill, the license would cost $10 and would be good for five years."

link to story

link to the bill

I'm pretty sure this license thing is partly in response to the Crawford county mess. $10 isn't that bad compared to what you have to pay for a car registration. I would probably pay it as long as I know that it truly goes to improve cycling. I just don't know if the true purpose is to improve cycling or discourage people from riding on county roads. What do you guys think?

Cheers!

VOLUNTEER PARTY!

WHEN: Friday, January 11th at 7:00 pm.

WHERE: At the Sanctuary.  (We might migrate to Sam's Pizza?)

WHY: Come raise a glass to celebrate the BL's great success in 2007 and to gear up for 2008!  Viva la BL!

From a summer long ago...

I'm not sure what this has to do with the BL, but... I found some long-lost pics from my summer cycling tour of Europe (1987) and thought I'd share one. The pic was taken late in the afternoon and I was just outside of a village on the Italian coast - somewhere between La Spezia and Genova. There was no road for cars into the village, only a train. I was riding along a path overlooking the shore. A few minutes after this picture was taken, I rode into the village. The approach was downhill through an archway that led to a stone courtyard next to the church. The local kids were in the middle of a soccer game in the courtyard when I came through the archway. I ended up in the middle of their match. I remember a seething assemblage of screaming ten year-olds shaking their little fists at me. While at the market, I met a German fellow who was vacationing and sampling the acclaimed local white wine grown on terraced vineyards along the coast. We made dinner, drank wine and camped on a scenic vista along the cliffs. The ride out the next day was over some pretty rough terrain. Anyway, it was a great summer adventure from long ago.

Wear your helmet

Just a quick public service announcement: Wear a helmet when cycling.

The city of Austin, TX recently completed a year long bicycle helmet study. "According to the data so far you're about 65 to 88-percent less likely to get a head injury if you're wearing a helmet while you're riding a bicycle."