John Ewing
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avimentor.bsky.social
John Ewing
@avimentor.bsky.social
330 followers 140 following 650 posts
Cancer Survivor, Canophile, Active Transport Cyclist, retired Pilot/Flight Instructor/Pilot Examiner, Life-long Human, born at 314.8 ppm
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"Making peace with nature is the defining task of the 21st century."

Astrid Schomaker
Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
What I find most troubling is the fact that there appears to be a microfiche reader sitting on the table to the right and behind the bike.

Nothing says "cutting edge" like microfilm.
Who is this even for? That looks like a non-standard rear rack (wont accept standard panniers) appears to lack even a porter rack. For $4500?
Clearly this bike was designed for “avid cyclists.” 🙄
When dinosaurs roamed the earth & I worked in tech, a certain Computer Associates ate the company I worked for and 99.9% of the engineering staff were shown the door. Leveraging acquisition tax write-offs and milking legacy products kept CA alive for another 25 years.
Thanks for the heads up re UpScrolled! I'd been looking for a place to post visual stuff since leaving IG around two years ago.
Huge turnout in Albany, CA with lots of great signs, but this was my fav. #NoKings
As I've said before, riding the new CalTrain reminds one of Europe.

Riding BART is like being in high school detention.
For comparison, Caltrain's higher per-rider funding provides common amenities for regional service like on-train staff, trash cans, bathrooms, tables, wifi, etc.

We should fund BART to have standard amenities too, not ask nation's most efficient transit agency to "identify additional cost savings"
Reposted by John Ewing
Hard to find a more obvious example of the journalism adage “If someone says it’s raining outside and someone else says it isn’t, your job is not to quote them both, your job is to go outside.”
A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.
Reposted by John Ewing
“We assume that car use is an incompressible liquid that must be routed somewhere. But it’s more more like a gas that fills whatever space it is given.”

—Ian Lockwood, Harvard Loeb Fellow, transport planner.
The MTC website talks about how important the RSR Bridge Path is for the 500-mile San Francisco Bay Trail.

So that's why they are restricting access to the path, 4 days per week.

Makes perfect sense. No notes. 🙄

mtc.ca.gov/operations/p...
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Path
The bicycle and pedestrian path across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge creates a new route across the Bay and a vital link in the 500-mile San Francisco Bay Trail.
mtc.ca.gov
RSR Bridge Path Closures start on Monday 10/27/25.
Reposted by John Ewing
The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.
Remember riding the new A. Zuckermann Path, watching the old Bay Bridge being dismantled, & marveling: "We used to drive on THAT?"

I get the same uneasy feeling on the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge today.

Someone should be planning for a RSR Bridge replacement. Like, NOW.
Reposted by John Ewing
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
Found at my neighborhood bookstore.

Read for your Rights
Banned Books Week
Oct 5 - 11, 2025
A friend just send me this photo. Appears it was taken on Russell St at College Ave in Berkeley’s Elmwood neightborhood. Sorry I can’t give credit to the photographer.
Just a reminder that convenient bicycle parking on Solano Avenue is available AT NO CHARGE.

Also, you don’t need to provide any identifying information to park a bike there.
Won't someone please think of the drivers?
Here’s a map of the intersection with the strange slip-lane thingy circled in RED. Good location to implement a roundabout, methinks.
Hey #CityOfElCerrito,

Nearly hit by a speeding driver approaching an unusual & dangerous 5-way intersection at Ashbury/Ablemarle/Stockton while I was cycling to buy pet food. Why does this slip-lane thingy even exist? Just to expedite drivers entering the 7/11 parking lot?
Interesting that the road design seems to provide plenty of safe space fo parked cars and garbage/recycling bins. 🤦
It’s unthinkable that a driver would intentionally not yield, cut off peds/cyclists, close-pass, speed, but ANY OF US can exhibit this behavior when we’re under stress or pressure.

The main source of these external pressures for drivers?

Large-scale transportation by car is incredibly inefficient.
Jalopnik correctly identifies driver behavior as the hazard, but distracted driving is just 1 hazard.

Aviation has long recognized that EXTERNAL PRESSURES distort our ability to manage risk.

Here’s what it looks like for drivers:

STRESS -> FRUSTRATION -> IMPATIENCE -> ANGER -> RECKLESS BEHAVIOR
“In 2023, cars and their drivers killed 8,820 American pedestrians and bicyclists — 7,314 pedestrians and 1,166 cyclists. They injured another 136,281, an increase of over 5,300 injuries from 2022.”

Put the responsibility where it belongs. Via @jalopnik.bsky.social www.jalopnik.com/1979666/defe...
No, Defensive Walking Isn't The Solution For Road Deaths - Jalopnik
It's victim-blaming, it's bull, and it's not the solution we need.
www.jalopnik.com
Kudos to @berkeleyca.gov for creating this raised crossing at Franklin when the Ohlone Greenway near N Berkeley BART was repaved. All ped/bike crossings should be like this.
When my CalTrans safety concern ticket was closed, they provided an email address to use to contact someone directly, but that address is no longer valid. 🤦

I called CalTrans District 4 and left a VM. I think most people would just give up at this point, but not me! 🤣
I’d have to ask my cycling buddy who was in the lead. I couldn’t hear much due to the traffic noise. I just heard my buddy tell him “No bueno” ...
Reported to Safety Concern to CalTrans and their response:

"Your concern as reported to Caltrans has been reviewed and determined that no service request is needed for this location therefore, this ticket will be closed."

🤔
Nice day for a bike ride on the SF Bay Trail today, but CalTrans always seems to ensure cyclists don't have a moments peace.