BeWaterWise Rep said:
"Some excellent tips to conserve water here. Water sustains life, yet many parts of the world are facing a water shortage. It is time we re-looked a..." [read]
said:
"Its less about "hating the rich" and more about "greens" not accepting a classist vision/version of sustainability that certainly does not respect ..." [read]
Donald said:
"While the injection of sulfates into the atmosphere may REDUCE the effects of global warming there is a bad side to this idea. Did we not have a pr..." [read]
Roy G Biv said:
"To me, this represents the short-termism of so much environmental fundraising.
Yes, using Palin allows groups to more effectively milk the..." [read]
nuvi said:
"I wonder if these could be used to clean algal blooms, then we can make some fuel out of it...." [read]
SerendipiTea Australia said:
"It may interest you to know that SerendipiTea is now in Australia!
The demand and support has been so great that now we have now begun tradin..." [read]
The Secret Ingredient is Love
Our friends at Core77 know beautiful design, but they're really surpassed themselves with the Dutch Master super-duper-limited edition bike. The goal is to celebrate New York bike culture, and an heritage of local manufacturing. Only 25 Dutch Master bikes have been made, all hand built by in Brooklyn by KT Higgins. More details and photos below.
As noted before, Montreal has its own public bike-sharing programme, Bixi, which is proving to be a great success with 3,000 bicycles in 300 different locations.
But Montreal was already a cycling-friendly city, with the Bixis complementing an already energetic scene. Not that many people seem to wear helmets but the city's highly sophisticated system of 4 different kinds of bike lanes make cycling seem almost to be a safe and friendlier thing to do.
Annual Folding Bike Race Ready for Entrants
OK - I apologize for reusing the video from the 2007 event in Spain, but the 2008 Brompton World Championships seem to have been so much fun that nobody had the time to take a decent video. Nevertheless, the annual celebration of all things Brompton is back, and it's being held again at the Bike Blenheim Palace event on the 4th of October. (In case you are wondering, I suspect that this electric assist kit for the folding bike is probably not permitted). People had so much fun last year that the field has been extended to 600 riders on a first come, first serve basis. But be warned - there is a pretty strict (and unconventional!) dress code that must be adhered to.
Cyclists who own their own bikes carry a lot of paraphernalia; locks, helmets, sometimes reflective vests. But with a bike-sharing program like the Velib in Paris, what do you do with the stuff? We showed an attempt at a folding bike helmet earlier; it was developed for DOYOUVelo, a company that makes chic, reversable clothing that looks good on the street and looks loud on the bike.
When in France recently I rarely saw a bicycle helmet, ce n'est pas chic. But designers Caroline Journaux & Adrien Guerin are working on one that can fold up and be put away in your pocket or purse. That makes a lot of sense if you ride a Vélo bike in Paris, since you only have a bike when you need it and would otherwise be carrying a helmet around a lot. I don't know if it would pass a Snell test but I like the idea.
Most of us agree that cycling is one of the most eco-friendly and healthy ways of transportation, although it can also be dangerous, even if you use bike lanes. Motorbikes swishing past, doors opening, parked cars that need driving around into the car lanes, are but a few nasty surprises you can come across even if you stay on the bike path. Most people agree that bike lanes should be separated from traffic. To make sure traffic also respects those bike lanes, Spanish designer Curro Claret (whose Hat Light was one of the very early posts on TreeHugger) designed the ZEBRA bicycle lane divider, made from recycled plastic.
What a Concept! Bikes in Parks!
I was reading this post about how Copenhagen now allows cycling in parks, and it seemed like such a good and obvious idea, I wondered "why not everywhere?" Of course, some parks already allow it and even have bike paths, but in many parts of the world, you are supposed to actually walk your bike (though not everybody does it). What do you think? Should cities allow cycling in their parks?
"Surface is very smooth hydroisolation coating, so perfect for riding."
A lot of us treehuggers are cyclists, and I bet most of us have a dream place they wish they could ride in. For some, it might be the quiet Scottish countryside during the summer... and for others it might be the empty accumulation pool of a hydroelectric pumped storage power station!
I loved the idea of Lightlane when I wrote You Shall Have Bike Lanes Wherever You Go, but thought of it more as a conceptual project rather than a real product. No more; the response was so terrific that they are putting it into production....
In Rusay's vision, recycled-product bike bridges held up by "dirigibles" - via Design21.
It is an undisputed truth that the majority of American cities have incomplete bicycling infrastructures. This is perhaps especially true in Los Angeles, where 300+ sunny days annually should equal bike commute paradise. Designer Christopher Rusay hopes his design for an elevated lego-like cycleway, put together of recycled polyethylene pieces and recycled aluminum struts attached to existing lamp and electricity poles could help cities create and extend cyclist networks (and simultaneously, perhaps, reduce tension between autoworld and bikeworld). Solar-powered LED night lighting completes the eCycleway. Way out there? Absolutely. But also innovative and just plain wonderful to see designers thinking about this type of sustainable transport solutions....
Image: Original Beans
A few months ago I posted about Original Beans and the true cost of chocolate. The company is has committed to planting a tree in the country of origin for every bar sold. And now, Original Beans is celebrating a partnership with mountain biking legend Hans Rey's Wheels4Life foundation, that will allow cacao farmers in the Congo much needed mobility. ...
Video via Russ Roca @ BikeCommuters.com.
You would think that car drivers would be happy that cyclists reduce the number of vehicles they have to grapple with, but it just ain't so. The more bikes on the road, the safer it is for cyclists, but also the more an "us versus them" situation that builds up between car drivers and bicyclists, and also it must be said, between scofflaw cyclists going too fast and hapless pedestrians. The result of this pressure is seen in Boulder County, Colorado, where anti-cycle activists are planning to blockade a portion of the Sunrise Century ride using their cars as the obstructionist devices; meanwhile in Long Beach the first bright green sharrows have some residents up in arms (the video shows an irate citizen starting the bike/car 'dialogue') and lastly, nearly four years of anti-cycling activism in San Francisco comes to a head today....
Image credit: Transport for LondonLondon's transportation authority tries fashion design
In the US this might awaken the age-old debate about the proper role of government, but back over in 'socialist' Europe, Transport for London (TfL), the authority responsible for running the capital's transportation system (including a whole bunch of fancy new hybrid buses), is not averse to doing what it can to make cycling easier - and that apparently includes fashion design (we can't all bike naked!). OK, so the designs above aren't exactly at the cutting edge of cat-walk fashion - but they are also not ridiculous lycra outfits in neon colors. And let's face it - if the brief was to design practical, comfortable bike clothing for urban commuters, we'd hardly want them to go too cutting edge. There are others out there, however, who are less afraid to make a statement. ...
When we reviewed a Pacific’s Terra electric bike recently, one of the commenters said, “Not very attractive but a cool idea. I'd get one if it was a bit more stylish.” We wonder if the GoCycle caught her eye? If not then she might be tempted by the Elmoto HR2, a German made electric bike, that has a range of about 65 -70 km and can be charged (with their supercharger) in just 4 hours....
The small print: "Enjoy your invisible shite ass bikes" via infomatique @ flickr.
Cities continue lining up to ease transport congestion and get people bike riding via a bike share program: Melbourne is looking to put in 600 bikes by next summer (though helmet laws may discourage riders), and San Francisco is still expecting to get a bike share program this year. But poor Dublin has been waiting awhile for JCDecaux to get its bike share together - nearly three years in the making, the 450-bike program now due in September has taken so long that bemsed Dubliners have put together their own protest stickers. ...
You might recall us mentioning how in the latest issue of Wend magazine, they not only asked if wave farms might attract sharks, but also gave over their Platform section to F.K. Day, President of the World Bicycle Relief . WBR are the guys who are on a mission to see 50,000 bicycles donated to Asian and African countries, alongside 450 locals trained as bike mechanics.
Anyhow to help them along their way, Wend magazine recently threw a Bicycle Bash, including a table tennis tournament, to raise a penny or two for the cause. They enlisted the assistance of a veritable Who’s Who of eco outdoor and cycling companies, most of who have previously graced the pixels of TreeHugger. ...
Image credit: GoCycleGoCycle Electric Bike Turns Heads in London
Lloyd got all excited about the GoCycle electric bike a couple of months ago, suggesting that it might just be the electric assist bike we've all been waiting for. But can it live up to expectations? The Times newspaper had already reviewed the GoCycle favorably, and now The Guardian weighs in with its own verdict. Click below the fold for the scoop on a machine that may change the image of electric bikes for good.
...
Photo via midnightridazz.
This new 30-page booklet, Bicycle Lifestyle Guide, takes just an hour to read, and it is an inspiring and cheerful general audience guide to urban biking from the non-profit C.I.C.L.E. organization. If you thought bike commuting just wasn't possible for you, the BLG just might change your mind. What is great about the booklet, in addition to the lively, varied graphics, is that the BLG isn't preachy. It doesn't exhort you to fully embrace the bike commuting lifestyle, or necessarily give up your other forms of commuter transportation, or feel guilty when you leave the bike at home. ...
Photo: CopenhagenizeIt Also Doubles as an Air Pump
The city of Copenhagen, Denmark, our Best of Green 2009 winner for "Best City To Be a Cyclist In", has installed what I think is a totally awesome cyclist counter ("cykelbarometer") in front of city hall (it also has an air pump if you need to inflate your bike's tires). The two numbers on the counter are "total number today" and "total number this year so far", according to our friend Mikeal from Copenhagenize. The city will give a Biomega bike to cyclist number 500,000, and since there are about 12,000 cyclists that pass by on a week day (about 25k both ways), it shouldn't take too long for that number to be reached. Read on for more details and another photo....
Might make you smile...via canofjuice @ flickr.
America's most aggressive drivers are in New York...that's now official. But Missouri must have its fair share, too. From the Cyclelicious blog we found a link to news that Columbia City has passed an ordinance making it a misdemeanor to harass a cyclist. The Columbia City council heard from 'a steady succession' of cyclists that had been harassed, including a bike shop owner who was pistol-whipped, before unanimously passing the ordinance, according to KansasCity.com. New York, are you listening? ...
Warren recently highlighted a pretty cool looking bicycle shelter that incorporates a changing room and a solar-powered shower, pointing out that the design takes aim at an oft-heard response to the question of "why don't you bike to work?" What I want to know: Would you be more inclined to bike to work if you had the chance to shower once you arrived? Is that what's holding you back?
...
It’s a shame we missed this for the recent Ride To Work week. Because it directly answers the main concerns people have about commuting on bicycles, namely arriving at work sweaty from exercise or wet from rainy weather. Business partners Tim Ceolin (Masters in Architecture student) and Mark Rossiter (business graduate) established Penny Farthings Pushbikes to design and develop bike parking stations. And specifically the Green Pod, a solar-powered bike storage unit that also sports change rooms, showers, a self-cleaning device and use of recycled water....
Photo courtesy of Brian Mcallister
Cykel is a plug-in electric bike sharing system designed for a wide range of users and topographies. The concept was inspired by the popular bike share programs found throughout Europe.
It functions on either pedal-power or fully as an electric bike, which opens up transportation to wide range of users. It's especially appealing for cities with more difficult topographies like San Francisco.
...
Photo by Richard Gwin, courtesy of LJWorld.com
Bob Frederick, a former player, basketball coach, and bike helmet advocate at Kansas University who also worked as athletic director for 14 years, died Friday night at the age of 69 as a result of injuries incurred from a bike accident. Frederick hit a pothole, went over the bars, and suffered traumatic head injuries....
The World Naked Bike Ride has spread to 100 cities and will happen rain or shine in the Northern Hemisphere starting today, in cities ranging from Drumheller in Alberta to Zaragoza, Spain. What's startling about seeing photos from WNBR rides is that with the body paints and other decorative touches, the cyclists themselves look more vulnerable than va-va-voom, which is the entire point of the ride. But Boulder police just don't approve - they've warned that they will now enforce indecent exposure laws for any riders not "covering their genitals." And guess what? According to law, the Colorado Daily reports, women or men can ride topless, but no one can ride bottomless. To add injury to insult, the article says convicted individuals must then register as sex offenders!...
The Tube, London's subway system, is on strike. And cyclists are taking to the roads in an attempt to get to work on time. But many are new and nervous and the jammed roads are far from safe.
So the London Cycling Campaign has organised a "Bike Tube". In five different locations around town, cyclists can "buddy-up" and join an organised ride into town with other more experienced cyclists. In addition, thousands of cycling maps are being distributed and an extra 1,000 cycle parking spaces will be provided around the city....
Matthew Modine via guest of a guest
As our Matthew noted earlier, Matthew Modine is the founder of Bicycle For a Day and an enthusiastic cyclist. As I have noted earlier, there is some evidence that mandatory bicycle helmet rules may actually do more harm than good because people hate them so much that they don't ride. So there is a case to be made that it should be a matter of personal choice and education rather than legislation.
But if you are founder of a bike promotion organization, should you not try to set an example? And should you not have better logic than this?
...
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the weekly archive if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.
on 07. 9.09
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Cycling may be safer than gardening, but what about sheep herding? Image credit: Sami
Cyclists find safety in numbers
Lloyd has noted before that it is 
I loved the idea of Lightlane when I wrote 
In Rusay's vision, recycled-product bike bridges held up by "dirigibles" - via 
Image: Original Beans
A few months ago I posted about 
Image credit: Transport for London
London's transportation authority tries fashion design
In the US this might awaken the age-old debate about the proper role of government, but back over in 'socialist' Europe, Transport for London (TfL), the authority responsible for running the capital's transportation system (including a whole bunch of fancy new 
When we reviewed a 
The small print: "Enjoy your invisible shite ass bikes" via 
You might recall us mentioning how in the 
Image credit: 
Photo via 
Photo: 
Warren recently highlighted a pretty cool looking 
It’s a shame we missed this for the recent Ride To Work week. Because it directly answers the main concerns people have about commuting on bicycles, namely arriving at work sweaty from exercise or wet from rainy weather. Business partners Tim Ceolin (Masters in Architecture student) and Mark Rossiter (business graduate) established 
Photo courtesy of Brian Mcallister
Cykel is a plug-in 
The Tube, 
Matthew Modine via guest of a guest
As our 
