In addition to every post on this site, I am a freelance writer, editor and researcher. I've spent more than ten years in the book publishing space and six in the cycling (some of the quotes I've given to the news media, like in this USA Today story about e-books in 2013, tip my hand as to when the overlap in the two industries was taking place).
If you need help with any writing and communications needs or consulting on a project, please send an email to michaelknorris (at) gmail.com.
Select Stories from Blaze's Cycling Blog and Others
May 30, 2016
The Alameda: Are 'Transit Oriented Development' Neighborhoods Too Hot for Their Own Good?
Building residential areas near railway stations is the short version of 'Transit Oriented Development' but it can come with a downside when the result is high property values that displace residents.
April 11, 2016
Rattlesnakes & Traffic Safety
An unusual and potential dangerous encounter with wildlife in Santa Teresa County Park gets me to wondering about a phenomenon I call 'disproportionality of fear' and how it relates to traffic.
March 30, 2016
Road Dieting and You
Using miniatures to make a diagram and providing the real-life example of Willow Glen in San Jose, I talk about the need for communities to take space away from cars and give that space to cyclists.
March 10, 2016
A Work In Progress: The San Jose Bike Clinic
I check out the San Jose Bike Clinic - an effort created by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition to help the less fortunate stay rolling.
February 23, 2016
Three Places to Ride With a Date in the San Francisco Bay Area
When you're hard up for date ideas but know you both bike, there are several places one can go for a romantic or just plain beautiful ride together.
February 11, 2016
American Football, Biking and Lady Gaga: Riding on Super Bowl Day
Faced with a choice of watching Super Bowl 50 or riding my bike to Santa Clara close enough to hear Lady Gaga sing the national anthem, I opt for the second choice.
January 28, 2016
Biking in Yosemite. In Order to Save It.
I take a tiny folding bike to Yosemite National Park and discover astonishing beauty - but also the sad realization that cars in National Parks are slowly killing these places we love.
December 29, 2015
Top Ten Cycling Stories of 2015
Ten times during 2015 when a story - taking place in any part of the world - involved a bicycle in an impactful way.
December 5, 2015
Silicon Valley Cyclist: Finding the Maker Culture
I visit TechShop San Jose and discover the city's communal garage where things are vacuum-formed, 3D printed, TIG welded and sandblasted. And the people are nice too.
November 30, 2015
Please Share! Cyclists and Social Media
Connecting to new friends on social media is part of the process when you are settling in a new area. Can it help someone find a stolen bike?
November 4, 2015
Silicon Valley Cyclist: A Field Guide to Bay Area Bike Parking
Bicycle parking isn't physical infrastructure - it is language that communicates to cyclists whether or not they are welcome. Here are a few of the more creative ones I've found in Silicon Valley.
October 13, 2015
Silicon Valley Cyclist: Bikes on Trains
Writing about the culture shock that comes with moving from the Northeast - served by Metro North - to Silicon Valley. Turns out, California trains are much nicer to cyclists than the East Coast.
October 6, 2015
The First Six Places to Bike When You Move to a New City
Moving as an adult is very hard - something nobody tells you when you're a kid. Here are the six places you should ride first in order to mitigate your stress.
January 30, 2014
Why Atlanta Got What It Deserved
The city of Atlanta essentially shut down because of a rare snowstorm the last week of January, but the city's faith in the car culture coupled with an unwillingness to seriously invest in mass transit and other commuting alternatives is the root cause of the crisis.
January 8, 2014
Let's Build (And Keep) Bike Lanes in Stamford
My take on the January 7, 2014 hearing in Stamford where some residents of Washington Boulevard were asking for more on-street parking that would destroy a bike lane. It cleared up a few questions I had for myself when I wrote about this issue earlier.
December 11, 2013
Take the Stamford Share the Road Survey!
After building a survey to gather feedback on proposed bike lane and sharrow projects in Stamford, I invite cyclists and non-cyclists alike to take part.
December 2, 2013
Stamford's New Mayor & Cycling Leadership
I congratulate Democrat David Martin on being elected Stamford Mayor and tell him that while neither political party owns the issue of cycling infrastructure, he has a chance to lead it.
May 15, 2013
THE NOISE: The Best Reason to Bike to Work
Some people took advantage of Bike to Work Month for health or for the environment. Me, I did it to put a bigger buffer between myself and the next $500 bill repairing my car,
November 20, 2012
'Cycle Sunday' - The New Holiday Tradition
In holiday shopping terminology, we have Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Nobody claimed Sunday, so DIYBIKING.COM took dibs.
October 24, 2012
'Cycling' is Unimportant. Riding a Bike is.
I weigh in on how little I care about Lance Armstrong and talk about the real heroes of the cycling world.
September 21, 2012
The Stamford Garage: It's Not About the 'Five More Minutes' (Okay, Maybe Six)
Some cyclists want motorists to park their cars a quarter of a mile from the Stamford Train Station but forget that idea could backfire by putting more cars on the road.
July 17, 2012
Park This! Getting it Wrong on the 'Parking Problem' at Train Stations and Elsewhere
When riding my bike to and from jury duty in early 2012, I realized just how wrong the thought process usually is when people try to solve parking problems.
May 15, 2012
Why Bike to Work This Week? Donuts.
My first post for Stamford Patch - just in time for Bike to Work Week 2011 - shares the wisdom of rewarding yourself for biking to work, but there's more to the 'Donut Reward Theory' than meets the eye.
