What is this?

• It's a website (not an organization).
• I started it in 1995(!).  It is 30 years old!
• It won a “Best of Austin” award in the Austin Chronicle.
• It contains a wealth of both current and historical information.  I update content when readers supply the updated info, but I no longer seek out new information.

Michael Bluejay’s advocacy

I’m retired from bicycle advocacy except for keeping this website and its discussion forum going.  Below is the chronicling of my work.

Lest anyone think that I’m trying to take all the credit, I’m quick to acknowledge the awesome work of countless other local cycle advocates, including being the only one to both honor all of them in a dedicated list, and to document a detailed history of bike advocacy in Austin.

BicycleSafe.com

In 1998 I created this site with the flagship article, “How to Not Get Hit By Cars”.  It became immensely popular and was reprinted far and wide, including being a cover story in Carbusters magazine, a feature story in Australian Cyclist, and used in safety materials by governments and non-profit groups all over the world.  Fans also translated it into several different languages.  Of all the things I’ve done, I list this one first, because I hope it’s saved lives.

Car-Free for nearly 30 years

I walked the walk, or, uh, biked the bike.  Starting in 1987 I didn't own a car and my bike became my primary means of transportation for decades.  I didn’t get a car again until 2013 when my wife came home crying and shaking because the latest driver had tried to run her off the road.

Indirectly responsible for protected bike lanes?

I frequently tell anyone who will listen that late Coucilmember Chris Riley got the City to join the NACTO safety standards, which call for the signed pedestrian crossing and the protected bike lanes (separated from the car lanes with some kind of barrier), which is why you’ve seen them go up all over town starting in the 2020s, and as a result, he got more done than the rest of us advocates put together.

I saw Chris shortly before he died, and he astounded me by saying that this website in general and particularly the related email list with the spirited conversations between me, Mike Dahmus, and Patrick Goetz motivated him to get into bike advocacy, and that his life was better because of my efforts.  It was all I could do to sputter that it’s the other way around, I was visible as an advocate mostly because I was a loudmouth, but Riley actually Got Sh!t Done™.

But later I thought, if I take Riley at his word, then maybe without my site/email list he wouldn’t have run for City Council, or maybe he would have, but wouldn’t have pushed for the big bike/ped improvements that he actually did in this timeline.  I’ll never know for sure, but it’s possible that I indirectly helped Austin get protected bike lanes.  Since I have so few clear wins to claim from my advocacy history, I’ll have to hope so.

Here is the oldest post of Chris’ to the email list that I still have, from 1999.  And here’s the last post he made to the forum, in 2021.

Bicycle Austin website

I started it in 1995, and it’s the site that you’re reading now.  It was the very first bike advocacy website in Austin.  It’s also the second longest-running bike institution in Austin (right after Critical Mass, but before the Yellow Bike Project, which started in 1997).  Here’s more about the early history of the site.

But it wasn’t just early.  It’s also huge, with hundreds of pages (the Austin Chronicle called it “expansive”), and it covers all kids of stuff that nobody else does, such as the disparity in justice between drivers and cyclists and a history of bike advocacy in Austin.  I was gratified when it garnered a “Best of Austin” award in the Chronicle.

I still update the contents when readers report updated info, but in my retirement I no longer proactively seek out new info.  On occasion I publish a new article, and in keeping with my style, it’s something else that no one else has done, such as a chart and data showing the historical percentage of commuters in Austin who use a bike.

The Email List and the Web Forum

Leopoldo Rodriguez started an email list on a UT server in late 1993 or early 1994 for Critical Mass participants to discuss the ride.  This was invaluable because in the early days, riders were often subjected to harassment and arrest by the police.  When he retired from the list in 1998 I took over, and transformed it into a general bike discussion list, which boasted among its members City Councilmembers, city planning staff, and members of the Urban Transportation commission.  In 2008 I started a web forum, which operated side-by-side with the email list.  Since management of the list took time, in 2017 I made the list read-only, with new posts being made on the web forum, and flowing through to the email list.

Recognition for my work

I put in thousands of (unpaid) hours of advocacy work, but I won’t say it was a thankless task, because I got plenty of thanks.

• The Austin Chronicle referred to me as “a longtime champion of transportation biking and keeper of several expansive bike-related Web sites”. (11/6/2006) 
• Bike Texas presented me with an award for for Advancing Cycling in Austin.
• Members of the email list along with readers of the website and newsletter routinely sent in their praise, for example:  “Discovered and read your new media article, which indicates just how long it's been since I visited [the site]. Well done!  I truly admire your writing and perspective on the issues. Not only that, your efforts on the website provide a valuable history lesson for everyone in Austin. I'm blown away all over again." — Bob Farr
• The Austin Chronicle awarded a “Best of Austin” award for my website.  “Michael Bluejay is determined to save the world, one turn of the pedal at a time.  He does so quite effectively on his very thorough Web site, covering every cycling issue imaginable. The highlight is an excellent manual on bicycling safety.”
• When I wondered aloud on the forum whether I deserved the Bike Texas award, members came out of the woodwork to say that I did.  That, plus my sitting down to chronicle my efforts, made me reappraise that I guess I did do A Lot of Stuff.

Covered “No Justice” issues extensively

The case in which a drunk driver killed a cyclist and faced zero penalties was the primary motivator for getting me involved in bike activism.  I spent hundreds of hours researching and documenting the disparity in justice for drivers vs. cyclists, with at-fault drivers who hurt or killed cyclists facing little to no penalties, while cyclists frequently got arrested for minor traffic infractions.  I compiled this on on a special section of the website, No Justice for Cyclists.

I held authorities’ feet to the fire:  I noted in an interview with K-EYE that the police had been sitting on the case of the drunk driver who killed cyclist Tom Churchill for six months, saying only that the case was “under investigation”, while a driver who killed a police officer was charged immediately without a six-month investigation.  After the report aired, the police suddenly, magically finished their “investigation” and turned their file over to the DA’s office.

On another occasion I steered a Critical Mass ride to the convenience store owned by the driver in that case. (Chronicle 5/23/97) 

Made and hosted the very first website for the Yellow Bike Project

Here it is in all its 1999-2000 glory.  (The date code inside one of my files was Jan. 13, 1999.)

Kept cycling issues visible in city council elections

I interviewed and surveyed candidates for City Council about their support for bike issues, and issued endorsements.  My endorsement apparently mattered, as I remember one year the Mayor’s office calling me to ask for an endorsement for his re-election bid, before I’d even started that year’s survey process.  My activism on this issue began with grilling candidates on my radio show on KO.OP. (Chronicle, 5/23/97)  In future races I made formal survey questionnaires that I sent to all, and published their responses.  In one year, I spent hundreds of dollars on an ad in the Austin Chronicle to highlight the endorsements.  One reader wrote, ”I really like the interview questions you asked Alvarez and Quintanilla, great work on that,” and another said, “You,sir are a born political organizer. My fiancée and I did vote for Alvarez because of your endorsement.”

Advocated Critical Mass

I was pretty big into Critical Mass.

• One of the first riders in Austin, in 1993.
• Drummed up local interest by posted small fliers on bikes all around UT.
• Started a worldwide directory of every CM ride.  Chris Carlsson, the main organizer of the very first CM ride (San Francisco, 1992), thanked me in his book for that “awesome” website.
• 
• Invited by Carlsson to contribute to the book commemorating CM’s 10t birthday.  Read my bit at the book release in SF.
• After police arrested 250 riders on the July 1997 San Francisco CM ride, I made a pilgrimage to SF to ride in the August ride to show support, traveling with fellow local bikers Eric Anderson and Jerry Rogers.  (The July '97 ride made bike issues impossible to ignore, and the momentum led to the SF’s first comprehensive bike plan, including bike lanes and other accommodations).
• Rode CM rides in Austin, San Francisco, New York City, London, and Prague.
• Interviewed extensively about CM for the Bike Like U Mean It documentary.
• Helped the filmmakers get CM footage by carting them through the ride in my trailer.
• Was invited to contribute to the book commemorating the 10th anniversary of the first CM ride, and traveled to San Francisco to read an excerpt at the book release.
• Wrote an article for cyclists in cities that don’t have CM yet, “How to start a Critical Mass Ride”.
• Twice started a Courteous Mass ride to appeal to riders wary of confrontation with drivers.

Promoted the League of Bicycling Voters

I bought complimentary memberships in LoBV to the first twenty email list members who replied to a poll. (8/22/10) 

Moved big stuff by bike

I hauled big stuff like furniture by bike regularly to show it could be done.  A friend made a huge trailer and I also used a pedicab for that purpose.  Sometimes I’d haul a couch on a Critical Mass ride for the hell of it but it was hard to keep up.  I could also haul 4x8 sheets of plywood and drywall for remodeling purposes.  I remember one of the loaders at Home Depot marveling at my trailer setup, and my apparent health from hauling heavy stuff, remarking, “I think you’re a really sexy man!”

Radio show

I hosted “The Bicycle Lane” program on KO.OP radio from circa 1996-99.  The show was started by Tommy Eden circa 1995, but soon he insisted I take it over for some reason.  I reported on news and interviewed people like Rick Waring (the Coordinator of the city’s Bicycle Program), and the founders of the Yellow Bike Project when they were first getting started.  For the outro music, I used an obscure remix of Queen’s “Bicycle Race” song.

Donated over $1000 to Chris Riley’s council campaigns

I donated the maximum amount allowable by law ($350) in each of Chris Riley’s 2009 and 2014 runs for city council, which is over $1000 in 10/25 dollars.  My 2009 donation was mentioned in the Austin Monitor, and the 2014 donation was part of a matching-donations campaign that I offered.  That’s over $1000 in 10/25 dollars.

Bicycle Universe

Realizing that some of my articles were useful for cyclists beyond Austin (e.g., Car-Free Savings Calculator, national safety statistics), I spun them to a separate site, Bicycle Universe, in 2004.  By 2017 I hadn’t kept up with the site for several years and someone offered to buy it, so I sold it for $2000 and used the proceeds to buy a Pac-Man machine.  Part of the sales contract was that if the buyer ever unpublished my content, I had the right to republish it, and as of Dec. 2025 their site is down, so look for the return of the Car-Free Savings Calculator etc. soon!

Made a group-editable Austin Bike Calendar

In the 2000s I set up a page where any and all Austin bike groups could add their events to a one-stop shopping calendar.  When Google Calendar became a thing, I spearheaded a Google Calendar version. (forum post) 

Used a bike for anti-cult work

I’ve worn a lot of hats, not just bike activist, but anti-cult activist, exposing the mind-control cult that I was born into.  It made sense to me to combine my pro-bike and anti-cult passions, so when I was in NYC I rented a “billboard bike” (a pedicab retrofitted to display signage), had anti-cult banners printed, and rode it around Manhattan, including sometimes parking it right in front of the cult headquarters.

Publicized a driver who knocked over a Critical Mass rider

After a driver intentionally knocked over a Critical Mass rider, which could have killed him, cyclist Jeff Lazar shared his video of the incident with me.  He didn’t go to the newspapers, he didn’t go to the TV stations, he came to me, knowing I would handle it.  I did.  I first had to figure out how to get the footage from a videotape onto a computer, and then how to publish it to the web, since there were no web video standards in 2001.  (This predated YouTube by years.)  One witness wrote the Chronicle bizarrely defending the driver, and I was quick to follow up with my own later, pointing to the video, showing that the witness’ claims were pure B.S. (coverage) 

Founded “Courteous Mass”

A common refrain among some cyclists was that the reason they wouldn’t ride on Critical Mass was that the group often ran red lights and were sometimes confrontational with drivers.  As a result, I twice co-founded a “Courteous Mass” ride with a law-abiding, “play nice” theme, circa 1996 with Tommy Eden I think, and in 2001 with Charles McNeil.  The latter ride was listed in an official bicycle planning document of the city of New Orleans. (p. 190)  Each ride was short-lived; after the courteous rides were started, all the hordes who said that the impediment to riding was that CM wasn’t nice enough, were nowhere to be found.  (That would change a few years later with the emergence of the Thursday Social Ride.)

Hosted the first-ever list of events for Bike Month

Lots of what I did with this website was to publish stuff that nobody else was doing.  Towards that end, I published the only online list of events for the first-ever Bike Month in Austin. (1999)

Tried to make a “Superfriends” bike blog

I set up a bike blog with accounts for all the local advocacy groups and prominent activists, so our entire community could post everything all in the same place.  It would be like the Dream Team of Austin Biking, and who wouldn’t want to read it?  Unfortunately almost no one posted anything besides Rob D’Amico.  Here’s the archive. (2008-09) 

Other stuff

I rode a tandem with a blind cyclist (Jimmy Hudson), who had put out the call for cycling partners because he couldn’t ride solo.  I also ran a little blurb on this website advertising for other riding partners for him.

I wrote bike-related columns for Austin Cycling News and the Wheatsville Breeze.

I loaned money for medical expenses to my nextdoor neighbor Ed, who was hit-and-run'd while driving his pedicab.

I facilitated a meeting between the Yellow Bike Collective and the manager at YBP’s satellite shop at Wheatsville, since I was friendly with both sides so could be relatively neutral/unbiased.

CM book, reading

Chronology

1985:  Started bicycling in Austin

1987:  Went car-free

1993:  Joined Critical Mass on one of its first rides.  Joined the associated email list.  I would eventually become the list manager and transform it into the austin-bikes list.

1995:  Started the Bicycle Austin website, as an account on AOL.

1996:  Joined with others in protesting the helmet law.

1996-99:  Hosted The Bicycle Lane radio show on KO.OP.

1997-2004:  Published a popular email/web newsletter, and garnered over 1000 subscribers.  It started as “Bicycle News", becoming “Car-Free Austin”, and then finally “Car-Free World”.

2000:  Moved house entirely by bicycle, including the furniture, and up the hill on Dean Keaton.

2001:  Got Adventure Cycling to update its Southern Tier map with my route, so cross-country bicyclists could more easily go through Austin.

2001:  Published the video of a driver knocking over a Critical Mass driver, and had a letter published in the Chronicle about it.

2003:  Moved house entirely by bicycle again.  At my new place, bought a range/stove and moved it by bike.

2006:  Tried to get the City to ban parking in the bike lanes on Shoal Creek Blvd., but was unsuccessful.  (Some years later, the City did finally make the bike lanes car-free.)

2016:  Received an award from Bike Texas for Advancing Cycling in Austin.

2017:  Sold the Bicycle Universe website and used the proceeds to buy a Pac Mac machine.

2025:  Dusted the cobwebs off this website, made it mobile-friendly, fixed the dead links, updated the content.

Drivers are at fault in over 90% of car-bike collisions (source) and 90% of pedestrian deaths (source).

Upcoming rides & events

Want to get your event listed below? Just post it on the web forum and it will show up here automatically 30 minutes later. Be sure to include the exact date & time of your event in the title, so that shows up too. Do NOT use relative dates like "This Saturday" or "tonight" because your post will still be here weeks from now, and at that time the reader won't know which day you're referring to. (i.e., Do not write your post as though everyone who reads it is reading it today. )