Monday, August 31, 2009

Crank UP! Bicycle Scavenger Hunt - Sept. 6

Bicycling to work, to school, to the store or even to a show in University Park is not only a great way to go green, it can be fun! As part of Akron Bicycle Week, University Park Alliance (UPA), The University of Akron Bike Club and the City of Akron are sponsoring two great events in University Park on Sunday Sept. 6 for residents, students and visitors with a keen sense of fun.

Crank UP! Bicycle Scavenger Hunt

Part road race, part scavenger hunt, cyclists will take to the streets of University Park for a rousing good time in the second annual "Amazing Race" style Crank UP! Bicycle Scavenger Hunt. Two groups of cyclists will race for a chance to win exceptional prizes. A long race will be offered for more adventurous cyclists, while those who prefer a more leisurely ride can choose a shorter race. Both races start at 4 p.m. at the University Park Cycle Shop, 160 Exchange St. in Akron and will conclude at University Park's Grace Park for the Crank UP! After Party.

Race tickets can be purchased for $5 in advance or $7 the day of the race at University Park Cycle Shop. Bikes are available for rental through the University Park Bicycle Shop. Helmets are required to race. Participants must be 18 or older and provide a driver's license to ride.

Crank UP! After Party Featuring a Free Concert by "Other Girls"

Organized by The University of Akron Cycle Club, the FREE Crank UP! After Party will feature the tight power pop of Audio Eagle Records artists "Other Girls," as well as food and exhibitors in a party-in-the-park celebration of cycling and other aspects of sustainable living. Starting at 6 p.m., visitors can check out the displays, listen to the band, eat great local food or just relax at Grace Park, located at the corner of North Prospect and Perkins St. UA student and Greek organizations will have the chance to test their athleticism, knowledge of the University Park neighborhood and especially their ability to withstand public humiliation as they participate in wild and crazy relay races on full-size tricycles to raise money for University Park neighborhood nonprofit organizations. Non-racers from across the city are encouraged to ride down to the Crank UP! After Party to welcome the racers and to enjoy the festivities.

For details about these and other Akron Bike Week events, visit www.akronbikeinfo.org, call 330-972-8859 or e-mail info@upakron.com.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Century Cycles Night Rides in Bicycling Magazine!

If you get Bicycling Magazine, turn to page 30 of the October 2009 issue to see Century Cycles in the national spotlight -- the section "Think Your Ride's Great?" is devoted to our very own Night Rides on the Towpath Trail! Click here to read it online. With a circulation of over 400,000, Bicycling Magazine is the leading cycling magazine in the United States.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Night Ride on the Towpath pictures - Aug. 28, 2009

The threat of rain (and even tornado warnings in some places) all over NE Ohio last night kept the usual Night Ride crowd away, but about 20 brave riders still showed up. We made it down to the Botzum Trailhead and stayed dry, but the downpours, along with a little lightning and thunder, came on our way back. Still, a pleasant summer evening ride was enjoyed by all; thanks to those who showed up!

Friday, August 28, 2009

A Shout-Out from that OTHER Steel City

A couple of weeks ago, a reporter named Rob Owen from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentioned us in their "Quick Getaway" column. Rob suggests that families in the 'burgh take the short 2-1/2 hour drive to the Cleveland/Akron area to try our bicycle rentals in Peninsula and take a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

You can see the story here on our web site. Thank you, Rob!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

How Not To Get Hit By Cars

Thanks to UrbanVelo and Bike-PGH for this information...

The home page of BicycleSafe.com is dedicated to a list of the top 10 situations in which car-bicycle collisions occur, and how to avoid them.

What to do if you've been hit by a car:
  1. If you are in pain, stay put. Don’t try to move. You could end up injuring yourself even more.
  2. Call 9-1-1 or tell someone else to do it for you.
  3. Make sure to get the driver’s name, license plate, insurance info, and contact info. If there are any witnesses, get their names and contact info as well. Although you may be injured and incapacitated at the accident scene, that is your only chance to identify the motorist who hit you and the witness(es). After the ambulance takes you away, you will never get another chance to obtain this. It is not uncommon for the police officers to fail to get this information after the victim has left the scene. Ask someone to write down the tag number and their own information and give it to you, or put it in your pocket.
  4. Get a police report. Sometimes you may not feel pain until the next day and may need to see a doctor. Even if you don’t call 9-1-1, it’s important to get a police report. A police report can be filed at any time, even after the fact, and will be necessary if you need compensation for medical bills.
  5. Contact a lawyer.
  6. Contact your city councilperson and tell them your story and that you want safer cycling conditions in the city.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Pick a fight


Wanna make a difference in the fight against cancer? Former Century Cycles employee Rob Kollin, who is now an Agent Manager for AT&T, has formed a team to ride in Pelotonia, the first annual bike tour August 28 - August 30 from Columbus to Athens which directs 100% of every dollar raised to cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

Rob’s goal is to raise $4,000 and he sure could use your help. He’s also going to get a boost from Lance Armstrong, who is currently scheduled to ride in Pelotonia as well.

“I am riding 180 miles in Pelotonia so my daughter’s generation only learns about cancer in history books,” said Rob. To donate to Rob’s Pelotonia effort, click here. Rob says, “No amount is too small."

Need another good reason? The wife of popular bicycling blogger Fat Cyclist recently died of cancer. His heroic efforts in her memory are an inspiration to "Fight like Susan" and contribute to LiveStrong, Pelotonia, or your favorite cancer charity.

Night Ride on the Towpath, Friday August 28

There's a Night Ride on the Towpath Trail scheduled for this Friday, August 28, 2009. As usual, the ride starts at 8:00pm at our Century Cycles store in Peninsula.

After this one, only two more Night Rides are left for this season, on Saturday, September 19, and Friday, October 9. Click here for the full schedule and details.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

More Underground Railroad Bike Tourers


Meet Roberta and John Nielsen. They live in Santa Barbara, California. Every year they take a look at a map and decide where to take their next bicycle touring trip. This year, they decided to go to Rochester, New York, and follow the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route to Cincinnati, Ohio. This brought them past our Peninsula store yesterday, where we did some adjustment to John's bottom bracket. You can read tales of their past adventures on their blog at www.dogdander.com.

Monday, August 24, 2009

So Long and Good Luck, Ed!

Ed, one of our rental bike guys at the Century Cycles store in Peninsula, is heading back for another year at Ohio University. To celebrate his last day of the season today, the rest of us planned a little going-away gift for him:



Thanks to the Winking Lizard next door for the baking supplies!

Raleigh Sojourn Tourist Spotted on the Road

I was riding around the Richfield area with some friends yesterday morning, and came across this guy, who was taking a break on his way from Medina to Ashtabula, getting closer to the end of a bike trip from Sacramento, California to Boston, Massachusetts.


His name is Steve, and you can follow his progress on his blog at www.greatisland.net/blog/. He was riding a Raleigh Sojourn touring bike, which he said he's been loving. The only issue he had was having to have the bottom bracket replaced in Colorado; not a bad record for that many miles!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

STOMP Bicycle Adventure - Sept. 5, 2009


The STOMP Bicycle Adventure (Summit Tour of Metro Parks) is one of the largest cycling events in Northeast Ohio. Registration includes light breakfast, Fun Stops, SAG support, lunch and live music.

The ride begins and ends at Howe Meadow in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, at 4040 Riverview Rd, Peninsula, Ohio, 44264.

10-mile, 25-mile, and 63-mile options are available for riders of all ages and abilities.

This year's STOMP is on Saturday, September 5, 2009. Go to www.stompbikeride.com for more information and to register.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Human-Powered Monorail Race Track

This one comes to us via the Adventure Cycling Association's Bike Bits e-mail newsletter: An amusement park in New Zealand offers several adventure-oriented attractions, including this human-powered monorail race track, with a pedaling mechanism that works much like a bicycle. Check out this page for more pictures, plus a video of the ride in action!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Century Cycles on Ohio News Network


Jennifer Dugan of the Ohio News Network stopped by the Century Cycles store in Peninsula last week to do a report for their Discover Ohio travel series.

She talked to Kevin and a few local visitors about the surrounding Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Towpath Trail, our bicycle rentals, and the Bike Aboard program on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

Click here to read the report online and watch the video!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Brief Cleveland Cycling Survey

As long as you at least occasionally use a bicycle as transportation in the Cleveland area, you are very welcome and encouraged to participate in this survey!

This short survey is being carried out as a part of a graduate research project at the Freie-Universität Berlin, Germany, that is investigating cycling in Cleveland and in Pittsburgh. The research is primarily concerned with factors that influence bicycle use in these cities, especially the role of advocacy and advocacy groups. If you have any questions or comments regarding this research, feel free to write an email to: gculver@zedat.fu-berlin.de

All responses are completely anonymous and no personal information is being collected.


Thank you very much for your interest and participation!

If you know others that use a bicycle in Cleveland, it would be greatly appreciated if you could send them the link and ask them to participate as well!

P.S. I contacted the cycling advocacy groups in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and they both assured me that the survey is legitimate. The Cleveland survey appears to be specific to just Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, so if you live in another NE Ohio county, there are no "other" options to select.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Used Rental Bikes for Sale


We will be replacing our fleet of rental bicycles in the Peninsula store at the end of this season, so we will be offering the old models for sale to the public.

We will have 37 '08 Raleigh Venture 4.0 bicycles for sale, with men's frame sizes of 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 inches, and women's frame sizes of 16 and 19 inches. We also have 4 '08 Raleigh Mountain Scout 24-inch wheeled kids' bikes, and 6 Electra Townie 3-speed comfort bikes (3 men's and 3 women's). The Venture 4.0 and Townie models will be sold for $225 each; the Mountain Scouts for $175 each. We will NOT be selling any of the rental tag-alongs or Burley trailers.

Used Rental Bike Purchase Procedure:
  1. Beginning on September 1, 2009, visit the Peninsula store. We will help you select the model and size of bike that you want.
  2. Place a non-refundable deposit of at least $75
    per bike.
  3. We will continue to rent the bicycles for the remainder of the season; exact timing will be dependent on the weather. After our final rentals, we will give every bike our standard full tune-up to be sure that each is in good working order.
  4. We will call each customer when their bikes are ready to be picked up, most likely around the beginning of December.
Availability of the used rental bikes is on a first-come, first served basis beginning on September 1.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Ride for Miles - Sept. 12, 2009

WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 2009 10:00am

WHERE: John Carroll University

WHAT: A fifteen-mile bike ride through University Heights, Shaker Heights, Beachwood, Pepper Pike, Gates Mills, and Mayfield Heights

WHY: The event honors Miles Coburn, a beloved biology professor at John Carroll University. The lifelong Clevelander was an expert on plant and animal life and and advocate for climate control. He was an avid cyclist, riding up to 5000 miles per year. The event raises money to support environmental education and bicycle safety.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Scenic police controlled route, colorful t-shirts, great refreshments, and music before and after the ride.

REGISTRATION: There is a $20 pre-registration fee or $22 the day of the event.

MORE INFO: www.rideformiles.org

Online registration at: http://tinyurl.com/rideformiles2009




Monday, August 17, 2009

Pedal to the Point Video

Congratulations to the many of you who rode in the MS150 Pedal to the Point this past weekend, and helped raise funds for a worthy cause. Thanks go to our expert mechanic Gary from the Peninsula store, who provided support on the course.

I took a few photos with my team during the ride on Saturday, and put them together in this video; I hope you enjoy it:



I did the "pseudo-century" route. Like many other people that day, I missed the not-very-prominently-marked turn-off for the optional century loop, and so just rode the 75 miles to Sandusky, then turned around, back-tracked 12.5 miles, then rode to Sandusky again!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Bike Akron

A new group Bike Akron and web site (www.bikeakron.org) has sprung up to promote cycling in and around the city of Akron, Ohio. It's not an officially organized club or advocacy group, but, in their own words, just "hopes to serve as an outlet to promote bikes as transportation in our fair city."

Check them out! Their web site is well-organized with lots of useful information for cyclists in any city.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Ride Life. Ride Giant. Like Dhani Jones!

Dhani Jones, Cincinnati Bengals Linebacker is featured in the September 2009 issue of Men’s Journal talking about “My Favorite Things.” Among them: a tarantula belt, 120-proof homemade vodka, “The Shawshank Redemption,” and his Giant Bowery ’72.

“I always ride my fixed gear Giant Bowery ’72 to practice. It’s all about being outside in the elements and clearing your head. All of my teammates used to make fun of me. One guy challenged me that I wouldn’t do it in cold weather. I proved him wrong.”

We reported last fall that Dhani was riding a fixed-gear Surly to practice. Why the switch? I don't know, but I'll be the last person to criticize anyone for having more than one bike...

Friday, August 14, 2009

Our August 2009 eNewsletter


The latest edition of the Century Cycles eNewsletter is just hitting the airwaves now. If you did not receive it in your Inbox, click here to read it online.







In this issue:
  • Back-to-School Checklist
  • HOT PRODUCTS - Cherry Bomb and Super Flash Taillights
  • TechTalk: All About Fenders
  • 5 Questions: Sharon Constantino
  • Used Rental Bikes for Sale
If you'd like to sign up to receive your own copy in the future, or to catch up on past editions, go to our eNewsletter Archive web page.

Staff Profile: Sharon Constantino


When most people think of bicycle store employees, they think of bike mechanics who keep the wheels spinning or salespeople who help us find the right ride. But a bike store would grind to a halt without the expertise of people like Sharon Constantino, Century Cycles’ office manager. Based in Peninsula, Sharon takes care of all the financial paperwork for all three stores - paying bills, reconciling accounts, and managing payroll and benefits for over 30 employees - all in less than 20 hours per week. She lives in Solon with her husband, Mark, and their sons, Evan (age 11) and Reid (age 8).

Q. How long have you been working for Century Cycles?

A. In June I celebrated my 5-year anniversary. I started at the Solon store, after I answered an ad for a bookkeeper in the Solon Valley Times. When Solon closed, I was transferred to the Peninsula store. My commute to work went from 3 miles to 18 miles, but I don’t really mind because I love Peninsula and the people I work with. Plus I love that the train goes right by my office!

Q. Have you always been a bicyclist?

A. I have. I’m really proud that both my sons learned to ride bikes before they were three years old and without training wheels.

Q. How many bikes do you own?

A. I have just one, a Raleigh Route 66 flat bar road bike. If I had more time to ride, I’d maybe get a really nice road bike. Or maybe I’d get an Electra or one of those around-town bikes, for when Solon becomes more bike-friendly. They are working on it, putting in bike paths and trying to connect them.

Q. What do you like to do when you’re not working at Century Cycles?

A. I like to spend time with my kids. I’m involved in their school through the PTA. I also like to read, and hang out with my friends and husband.

Q. Any piece of cycling advice you regularly offer up?

A. Suck it up and wear the bike shorts. People get self-conscious and don’t want to wear them. I tell them they make your life so much easier - and more comfortable.


Q. What’s your favorite place to ride?

A. The Towpath Trail. It sounds boring, but it’s just so peaceful.

Q. What was your first bike?

A. I got a shiny red Schwinn for my 5th birthday. It had training wheels and my dad taught me how to ride.

Q. What are some of your most memorable bike rides?

A. I’ve done the MS 150 five times. Before we had kids, Mark and I also did bike-camping trips to False Cape State Park near Virginia Beach. No cars are allowed, so you have to either walk or ride a bike in, carrying everything in and out. We biked in three times and that was a lot of fun.

Q. After a long bike ride on the Towpath Trail, what beer do you order at the Winking Lizard?

A. Presently a Bud Light Lime is my favorite. I love it!

TechTalk: All About Fenders

For years, fenders were not considered "cool" on bikes used by "serious" cyclists. However, with the increasing popularity of bike commuting in the past couple of years, fenders have redeemed themselves and become a must-have item on bikes used for practical transportation. A good pair of fenders helps to keeps the muck off of your bike, and yourself, when the weather turns sour and you've still got to ride no matter what. Many people use a rear cargo rack on their bike, which can provide some of the benefits of a fender, keeping some of the road splash-up from reaching your backside. However, you'll still get some splash from the rear surface of the tire that will make its way up and around the cargo rack. Plus, as the tire rolls forward, it will throw water, dirt, and mud onto the middle section of your bike frame, crankset, pedals, and front derailleur, not to mention your pant legs and shoes. What do you need to know when selecting fenders? What makes one fender better than another? Let's start by describing the most basic fenders, and work our way up the fender food chain from there. The most basic front fender is called a down tube fender, and it just straps onto the down tube of your bike frame. These fenders are fairly inexpensive (under $10), and work on just about any bike, and some people even make their own versions using a piece of an old pop bottle and a pair of zip ties. This type of fender keeps some of the spray from the front wheel off of you and your bike, but if you steer to the left or right any significant amount, the spray can go around the fender.

Another simple kind of front fender bolts or clamps to the underside of the front fork crown. Depending on the type and size of the clamp, they attach easily to most road bikes and mountain bikes with rigid or suspension forks. They provide a little more protection compared to a down tube fender, and they work with your steering. These typically sell for $15-$20.
The Zefal Swan front fender
A similar and simple type of rear fender can be clamped to your seatpost. These give a little more protection than the rear cargo rack, but don't solve the problem of the splash coming from the rear wheel onto the area around your feet. These fenders go for about $15-$20 each.
The Zefal Swan rear seatpost fender
Bettter fenders come in a matching front and rear set. A basic clip-on fender set can be bought for under $20. These provide better protection than the front and rear fender styles shown above, but they tend to wobble a lot while you are riding, which can even make them rub against your tires.
The Planet Bike Clip-On fender set
The best option for durability and protection from the elements is a pair of full-coverage fenders. On a standard full-coverage fender set, the front fender will bolt to the fork crown, and also to the bottom of the fork eyelets using a pair of long metal struts. The rear fender will bolt to the frame in three places: the chainstay bridge (the part of your frame just in front of the rear wheel), the seatstay bridge, and the eyelets on the frame near the rear hub. A decent set of full-coverage fenders will run you about $40 or more.
The Planet Bike Hardcore full-coverage fenders
A rear full-coverage fender completely encloses the upper half of the wheel, giving you the maximum protection from splashes coming from both directions on the rear wheel. The front full-coverage fender comes halfway down the back side of the front wheel, and extends a few inches in front of the fork. Some will have mud flaps on the ends for additional protection. On the even better models, the mud flaps are held in place with two bolts or rivets each (instead of one), preventing the mud flap from shifting out of position. Most full-coverage fenders are made of plastic (usually black; sometimes silver) with steel mounting hardware. The better ones have stainless steel hardware. Some higher-end models are made with plastic-coated aluminum. You can even order custom-made all-aluminum, all-stainless, and even wooden fenders, in a wide array of colors, if money is no object. To use a standard full-coverage fender set, your bike must have the necessary mounting eyelets on the frame and fork that were mentioned above. Or, if you're willing to do some experimenting and jury-rigging, you can use a set of rubber-coated metal clamps that can be found in any hardware store. In either case, there unfortunately is no such thing as a "universal fit." Any fender installation is a time-consuming trial-and-error process, and there's no guarantee that any particular fenders will work on a specific bike until you just try it. When selecting a full-coverage fender set, you'll need to select the proper size fenders based on the diameter and width of your tires. Most fender sets come in a 26-inch size (with about 60mm width) for most mountain bikes, and 700C/27-inch size for road, hybrid, and touring bikes. The road bike variety may come in a narrower width (about 35mm) for racing tires, and wider for hybrid and touring tires (about 42mm). Some manufacturers have also designed a 29er mountain bike specific version, which are about 65mm wide. A couple of companies make clip-on semi-full-coverage fender sets that work well on road bikes that do not have eyelets. The nice thing about these is that they install on and off quickly, so that you can leave them off of your nice lightweight road racing bike, but put them on for training rides when a spell of bad weather is expected.
The Planet Bike Speedez Quick-On fender set
For unique bicycle designs, such as Electra Townie cruisers, Giant Suede cruisers, and recumbent bikes, you may need to find fender sets that are specifically made by the manufacturer for the model of bicycle. Whatever your bad-weather protection needs are, stop into your nearest Century Cycles store and let our experts help you make the best choice for your bike and riding conditions.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Karl and Todd's Excellent Adventure

We've been posting photos and reports of all of the people that have stopped into our stores in the middle of their bicycle touring trips lately. The season is winding down, and we're seeing a little less touring traffic now, but we can finally report on a local group that, instead of passing through, have started here in NE Ohio and are heading across the country on their bikes.

Karl and Todd, who describe themselves as "two stupid vegan pussies packing everything on bicycles for a self-sustained journey from Akron, Ohio to San Francisco," left from Cuyahoga Falls this past Satuday, August 8. They are riding a pair of Surly Long Haul Trucker bicycles that they bought from the Century Cycles store in Peninsula.

You can follow their misadventures, from the ups (home-brewed beer in Columbus) to the downs (skunk pilfering their food at a campground), on their blog at:

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Vintage Bianchi Milano

Many things that get dug out of peoples' garages should perhaps have stayed there. Not so with this 1959 Bianchi Milano 3-speed that a customer brought into the Century Cycles store in Peninsula to have us get it into riding shape. It is in amazingly good condition, needing only tires and a couple of cables to fix it up.

It was made in Italy, but the design seems more inspired by the English-made Raleighs of the same era.

It was a shame to have to get rid of the Pirelli tires that were on it (from your Ferrari to your bicycle!). When Derrick pulled the old tubes out, here's what he found; made by Firestone in the good ol' US of A, something you haven't seen in about 30 years:


Saturday, August 8, 2009

The Night Ride is still on!

It has been raining most of the day, but it has cleared up in the past hour or so. Tonight's Night Ride on the Towpath Trail is still on! The ride starts at 8pm at our Peninsula store. The trail will be very sloppy, so fenders and expendable clothing are a good idea...

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Night Ride on the Towpath this Saturday, August 8

Our next Night Ride on the Towpath Trail is this Saturday, August 8, 2009. The rides starts at 8pm at our Peninsula store. For more details, go to: www.centurycycles.com/for/nightrides

Here are some photos (thanks to Doug Charnock) of the riders during our last Night Ride on July 25:

Canadian Cycle-Tourers Stop in Peninsula


The latest group of bicycle tourists to stop by the Peninsula Century Cycles store yesterday were Malcolm (left, in white) and Brian (right, in red). They hail from Ottawa, Cananda. They started their trip by flying out to Vancouver, and pedaled over the border into Washington state on June 28. They hoped to reach the Pennsylvania border last night, and plan to continue to Maine during the next week or two.

You can check out their (not very frequently updated) travel journal at:
http://cadence9t.wordpress.com

Peninsula received another special visitor yesterday:


Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Raleigh Talus 5.0 Preview

The 2010 model year bicycles are already starting to arrive. Yesterday, Sean, our Raleigh sales rep, stopped by to show us a sample of the new Raleigh Talus 5.0 mountain bike. The Talus series takes the place of the the mountain bikes known as Mojaves in previous years.


The Talus 5.0 falls in the middle of the sport hardtail mountain bike category, at $549.99. You can pay less for a mountain bike, but you wouldn't want to look at any less for a bike headed for real off-road mountain biking. The parts spec is solid entry-level, with a 24-speed Shimano Alivio drive train, Hayes mechanical disc brakes, and a Spinner front suspension fork with 100mm of travel.


Where the Talus 5.0 really steps it up a notch is in the looks department. The custom-butted Atomic 13 aluminum frame is finished in a gleaming white, with red pinstripes and faux-carbon swooshes. Add matching red rims, red quick-release seat post collar, and top it off with a matching white saddle, and you've got an eye-catcher with the looks of a bike twice the price.

Sean models the Talus 5.0 with his official matching company-issue footwear.

Doug takes the Raleigh Talus 5.0 for a spin

Monday, August 3, 2009

Happy 2nd Birthday, Velib!

Velib, the bicycle-sharing program in the city of Paris, France, celebrates its second anniversary this month. The word Velib (pronounced VAY-leeb), comes from combining "velo," the French word for bicycle, and "liberte," or freedom. The program has been very popular, with surveys showing 94% of Parisians judging it to be a success. It has not been without problems, however; mainly, a high rate of vandalism. Inexplicably, a similar bike-sharing program in the French city of Lyon has not had such a problem. You can read and/or listen to more details in this story from today's Morning Edition program on National Public Radio: