Bike to Work

May is National Bike Month, established in 1956 and sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, when many events are offered to showcase the benefits of biking. Bike to Work Week runs from May 11 to May 5, 2015, with Bike to Work Day on May 15 to highlight that biking is a viable transportation alternative.

Postcard US-1996944 to Germany shows a biker in Portland, Oregon, the most walking, biking, and public transit friendly city on the West Coast, according to Walk Score. Minneapolis, MN (Bike Score: 81.3), San Francisco, CA (Bike Score: 75.1); Portland, OR (Bike Score: 72.0); Denver, CO (Bike Score: 71.3); and Boston, MA (Bike Score: 70.3) are the top five most bike friendly cities in the U.S. In comparison, Las Vegas is unfortunately a car-dependent city, ranked 29th (Bike Score: 52.0) among the cities with 300,000 residents or more. An article from the Las Vegas Review Journal has listed 6 scariest things about riding a bike in Las Vegas.

Wuhan by Ferry

Postcard CN-1520549 from China shows people taking ferries to cross the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Wuhan (武汉), the capital of Hubei province and the most populous city in Central China, is located at the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers, consisting of the conglomeration of three cities, Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang.

Those three cities face each other across the rivers and are now linked by bridges, including one of the first modern bridges in China. Ferries were the only transportation to cross the rivers before the Wuhan Yangtze Great Bridge opened in 1957. Even after the Metro Line 2, the first Metro line crossing through Yangtze River, opened on December 28, 2012, ferries remain a best choice for going directly across the Yangtze River since it's inexpensive and quick, and you can take your bicycle to the ferry for a nominal fee.

In addition, it's a scenic ride to see the rivers and skylines of the three cities. Many ferry terminals for the more than dozen ferry lines are located by the Snake Hill in Wuchang where the Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼), a historic tower first built in 223 A.D., overlooking the Yangtze River.

Waiting

Another card from a small city was UA-836888 from Zhashkiv, Ukraine, a city with 15,853 residents in 2001. The bicycle was waiting for its owner to return. Where are they going next?