A Siberian divers' club has marked the end of their diving season with an unusual competition: a cycling and skiing competition on the bottom of Russia's pristine Lake Baikal.
Lake Baikal is the world's deepest fresh-water lake, sometimes reaching a depth of over 4,000 metres. But the diving competition took place closer to the shore where the water was just three metres deep.
The economic benefits of environmentally smart cycle tourism can drive a recovery in provincial New Zealand and have the potential to double the amount tourists spend annually – from $320 million to $640 million, tourism leaders say.
At the Ecotourism 2010 conference in Rotorua this month, cycle tourism leaders explained the power of pedallers and applauded the injection of $9 million of the prime minister's $50m cycleway fund into "quick start" ventures that will see new multi-day routes operating this summer.
Hungarian bicycle designers have unveiled their new Stringbike in Padova, Italy. The design replaces the traditional chain with a symmetrical rope and pulley system, which they say is more efficient, makes for a more comfortable ride, and provides improved maneuverability around winding streets.
Bike a bit with Andy at Queen Elizabeth Park, Paekakariki on Sunday 3 Oct
Imagine a sanctuary for birds like Kapiti Island, 5500km away in the Pitcairn Islands. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has plans to eradicate rats from Henderson Island in 2011, but is short of funding. This project is a single effort that will provide lasting ecological benefits for thousands of years in the future by protecting a breeding ground. It only needs to be done once.
SYDNEY'S cycleways will save the city millions of dollars in travel time, pollution and fatalities over the next 30 years, a new report suggests.
Economists put a dollar value on factors surrounding the cycleways: Human life ($165,659 per year), health ($487 per year), and sitting in gridlock ($12.20 per hour). By crunching the numbers, top global economists AECOM found that over 30 years the paths would save Sydney $507 million - or 84c per kilometre.
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore
ON Sydney's annual Ride To Work Day next month, city workers will take to the cycleways and ride into the CBD dressed in their suits.
An increasing number of CEOs and their staff have taken up cycling since last year. One reason is the cycle network and the safety it provides.
Today is World Car Free Day. I met David, Liz and Richard in Island Bay and we teamed up to ride into town. Yvonne and Gilbert greeted us at the Basin Reserve with free chocolates (thanks Whittakers), then we headed for Civic Sq to meet the other grupettos, from Ngaio, Lyall Bay, Karori and all over. One superhero pedalled in from Waikanae. Crikey. Met a bunch of lovely people and some old friends. Thanks to the GW team and CAW volunteers. That’s how we roll.
A lot of Torontonians are wondering where they will move after the election in October, as the candidates race to the bottom to outdo each other in slashing services, getting rid of bike lanes, building underground highways that make Boston's Big Dig look small and cheap, and where the formerly leading candidate lost my vote with his rallying cry "Scarborough, not Copenhagen"! (Scarborough is a troubled, car-dominated suburb)
Designboom has been spoonfeeding out the short list in the Seoul Cycle Design Competition 2010 over the last few weeks. Some have been idiosyncratic and odd, but others, like this Bagbike from Francois Bernard, Sonja Breuninger and Marion Pinaffo makes a lot of sense.
When you first visit Copenhagen, the first thing you'll notice after being mesmerized by the sheer number of cyclists on the roads is the eclectic kinds of bikes, especially ones that carry groceries, baggage, furniture or other people & children. As Copenhagenize's Mikael Colville-Andersen happily points out: for many in his city, the cargo bike is equivalent to the SUV.