I have posted some cycling related articles from arround the web that I though may be of interest to some of the people on this site, enjoy.
As America Implodes, The Bike Industry Booms
"The nation may be wracked by collapsing banks, foreclosed houses and a tanking economy, but there's no sign anything's amiss here at Interbike, the bike industry's annual trade show. In fact, it's party time as a perfect storm of eco-conscious consumerism, health-conscious lifestyles and wallet-sapping gas prices conspires to get people out of cars and onto bikes -- especially electric ones."
Video: Ultra-Customized Rwandan Bicycle Taxi
"Being a smart young businessman, Alphonse uses his unique bicycle to his advantage, getting extra business from young men who want to ride with him so they can listen to the beats along the way."
"A stripped down skeletal junk bike is painted white, chained to a post, and marked with sign, flowers and other memorial tributes."
Crunching Some Numbers on Paris Bike-Sharing Program
* Riders took 27.5 million trips in the first year.
* The current pace is about 120,000 trips per day.
* The program includes 20,600 bikes.
* The 1,450 self-service rental stations are available every 300 yards.
* The bikes are heavy and expensive — $3,460 and 50 lbs — built to withstand theft, mistreatment, and heavy riding.
* Nevertheless, 3,000 bikes have gone missing, about 15% of the total.
Bike, Meet the City. City, This is the Bike.
"What will bike-friendly cities look like ten years from now? As citizens around the world raise the demand for human-powered transportation infrastructure, major cities are starting to re-imagine their car-centric transportation models."
"The recent surge in gas prices and growing concern over carbon emissions have goosed efforts to increase bicycle ridership in metropolitan areas, but the U.S. still lags far behind Europe and Asia. A recent survey of worldwide trends in the Washington Post suggests that the reason is not, as is often assumed, some uniquely American pattern of land use. Although no single policy is a magic bullet, the overall prescription is clear: when bicycling becomes more convenient and driving more expensive, many people switch to bikes."
Donna Wynd on strict liability for drivers who hit cyclists
"We will create a legal presumption that, so long as a cyclist or pedestrian is observing all road rules and common courtesy, in a collision with a vehicle the motorist will be held responsible."
Bikers needs more infrastructure
"I have been reading all the debate on whether the Harbour Bridge should have a cycling lane. What staggers me is why it needs to cost so much! And why are we still debating it!
Why does anything that councils get involved with end up costing so much? Come on a creative engineer and builder- tell us how we could do it more simply."
"The city of Bodø in the County of Nordland in northern Norway wants to become a bicycle city. NPRA and the municipal of Bodø have suggested to build in a foot and bicycle path between the College of Higher Education and the city centre to make cycling easier and more attractive."
"These people are riding bicycles provided by Bicing, a nine-month-old service that bills itself as “your new public transport in Barcelona!” (I’m sure it sounds better in Spanish or Catalan; I’m reading the translated website). We wrote about Bicing shortly after it launched last March. Since then, the service has expanded dramatically -- from 100 bicycles at 14 bike stations around the city to more than 1,500 at 100 stations. The stations are so numerous, they're almost ubiquitous -- at least within the urban core you literally can't walk more than a half-dozen blocks without running into one."
"From Port Chalmers, to Caversham, to Portobello - the call for more cycle lanes is coming from all corners of the city. More people are turning to pedal power in the push to become more active and use more sustainable transport, but are local roading authorities keeping pace with the change?"
Nelson police keen to get pedalling
"Senior Sergeant Tony Bernards said four mountainbikes had been bought for use in the Nelson Bays police area, and the reaction from officers so far had been that they could not wait to take them out on the beat."
Ecoworldly’s Bicycling Series:
- Forget Sky-high Gas Prices, Biking Beats Them All! by Sam Aola Ooko
- UK: Bike Week 2008 by Pem Charnley
- Bicycle powered water pumps and filtration systems by Nayelli Gonzalez
- Italy’s Two-Wheeled Cities Speed Up Your Life Quality by Eva Pratesi
- In Chiang Mai, Social Attitudes Crush Bicycling Prospects by Masimba Biriwasha
- Google’s Sexy Bicycle Giveaways and Africa’s Versatile Bike Trucks by Sam Aola Ooko
- South Korean Bicycle Ninjas Do Battle Against Asthma by Gavin Hudson
- Of Course Cycling in Australia is Healthy, But What To Do With the Cars? by Ross Kendall
- Cheer up! Bicycling in Italy is a Daily Adventure by Eva Pratesi
- If You Want a Blissful Sex Life, Don’t Ride a Bike! by Sam Aola Ooko
- Bicycling in Peru: An Art of Adaptation by Levi Novey