cycling

Urban Biking's Next Generation: 5 Snazzy Innovations

Britain is agog over Conservative leader David Cameron riding without a bicycle helmet. According to This is London,

New York City agreed Tuesday to pay tens of thousands of dollars to five cyclists who filed a lawsuit saying they were harassed during the monthly cycling group-ride Critical Mass — including one man seen on videotape being shoved off his bicycle by an officer.

On the 31/03/10, British professional racing cyclist Alan Bate will begin a dramatic attempt to sensationally lower the Round the World Cycling Record to just 99 days. This punishing schedule has been widely ridiculed as “impossible”. Mark Beaumont set a fantastic Guinness record of 195 days for the 18,000 miles. This record was broken twice last year and now stands at 165 days (to be ratified by Guinness) His birth date is 01/04/65. So, at 45 years of age on the first of April, he is twice that of the current record holder.

Motor vehicles generate a lot of pollution, with far-reaching health effects. In New Zealand, vehicle emissions have been blamed for ~400 premature deaths every year (see Fisher et al 2002 for more details). Many would-be cyclists are put off by the prospect of being exposed to all those traffic fumes, while still others don face-masks when riding. So is it really that bad to cycle in such environments?

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While we were down in Washington, DC for the National Bike Summit, Streetfilms got the chance to check out some of the innovative bike infrastructure. Tops on our list: the city's first protected, contraflow lane for bicyclists. The district DOT has redesigned 15th Street NW between U Street and Massachusetts Avenue to accommodate two-way bike traffic on a one-way street.

Here's a campaign to build a constituency for the biking agenda.

We ride for different reasons, but we are united by our shared passion for bikes. Now is the time to for all of us to come together with one strong voice—and bring about a better future for biking.

Check out the latest video below from peopleforbikes.org, tell us why you ride, and urge your friends and fellow bike riders to do the same.

Elizabeth from StreetFilms went to the 10th National Bike Summit in Washington DC with her camera, and the video below is the result. It's great to hear from so many people and organisations working hard to fix the transportation sector, a crucial piece of the puzzle if we are to move to a more sustainable society. It can't be done without some policy changes, so we need effective lobbying if cyclists are to get their fair share of infrastructure and legislative protection.

What is Sustrans' vision for getting around for local journeys that make up so much of our travelling life?  What would our communities look and feel like if we were able to double the number of local journeys being made in ways that benefit our health and the environment?

Since 1997 L'Eroica in Italy has attracted cycling enthusiasts from around the world keen to brush the dust off their pre-1987 bikes and take part in a 150km ride over the "strade bianche" (white gravelled roads) in celebration of the great tradition of cycling from over the past 100 years. With authenticity at its heart, the bikes used and the ride feature only those elements deemed "classic" - shifters mounted on the downtube, as opposed to the handlebars, woolen jerseys and cycling shorts, traditional Italian cuisine and wine. See the video below: