Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Terminology Folly
Thank you Copenhagen Cycle Chic, a neat summary for those who have issues about people who ride a bicycle. Demystifying the terminology for drivers and shedding some real light on the elegance and reason why it makes sense to ride a bike, Terminology Folly is a must read.
The sister blog here, adds to the view with stats and facts and behind the scenes of riding a bike.
Ride a bike more and drive a car less often, the view from a bike can be fantastic.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Vale "Captain Bike"
World's most famous bike mechanic Sheldon Brown has passed away.Sheldon Brown died last night of a massive heart attack.
News is up carried on the Harris Cyclery web site , where he had worked.
His bike tech pages on the shop website are some of the bike world's most visited pages, linked from thousands of websites.
Sheldon will be sadly missed.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Australia Week 08 (Sam Kekovich)
Love it... serve lamb, serve flathead, serve beer, serve prawns, serve whiting...serve it up
Monday, December 24, 2007
NEW INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION SPOTLIGHTS ETHICS TO INCREASE CYCLING
Embracing ethics as the means for increasing bicycling
around the world, a new international organization, One Street, is
cultivating novel ground for the bicycle advocacy movement.
Through One Street's on-call support and web site, leaders learn how to present bicycling as a top solution for climate change, health crises, oil wars and deadly street designs that threaten people around the world.
Ethical management is blended with coaching and resources for campaign planning and communications.
These basic services are free to any leader of any
organization working to increase bicycling
- non-profit, for-profit, government, local, state, national and international. One Street's website offers free resources on ethics and management as well as common bicycling issues:
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Trexlertown Velodrome 1993. Stephen Pate Crash
Awesome racing at Lehigh, (watch this You Tube Video) stay with it till the final race is a show of guts and determination to not let the bastards beat you.
Track racing is awesome, try it, may cost you a bit of skin now and then, but the introduction to fear, elation, exhilaration, tactics, working with others and a shared cameraderie and building a huge appetite for pizza is living. It is often said cycling is the metphor for life... on the track that is too true!...
Monday, October 15, 2007
Brake on Clearway
The long awaited Bayside link to the existing Beach Rd early morn weekend clearway is on hold AGAIN!, Bayside leader reports that at last week's special meeting, Bayside councillors voted 5-2 to reject the proposal (and gave no reasons- and hid behind
Section 89(2) of the Local Government Act 1989 in a closed meeting - and it is dubious that s89(2) had any real bearing on any matter for discussion other than they could use it to to conceal and someone's dubious anti cycling agenda).
Section 89(2) of the Local Government Act 1989 in a closed meeting - and it is dubious that s89(2) had any real bearing on any matter for discussion other than they could use it to to conceal and someone's dubious anti cycling agenda).
This resolution is contrary to the strong support by the Consultative committee review panel to Council, their report is here in this agenda note from Council. It appears to have been totally ignored by this committee resolution to not have a trial. So much for experts and wider views. The trial was a strong necessity and widely supported by the community and the review panel.
It was a proposal for a trial. A sensible trial, to link up with Kingston and Port Phillip to make Beach Road safer for weekend early morning riders by removing parked cars in the left lane and lowering the need for riders to ride into the right lane and slow vehicles. Made pure common sense, when the numbers on the road riding approach 8, 000 in summer weekend mornings. But the Council fathers in their wisdom have pandered to their own parochialism and 20 or so locals who have moaned about having to move their spare SUV's and Boat trailers and construction trucks building new mansions off Beach Rd on weekends for 4 hours a day from 6am to 10am... poor bubbies. The local press hasnt helped by running a very negative campaign over the last year especially ignited by the death of James Gould( here is my comment on that death and the Coroners findings). However sad that was, it was avoidable and if anything lent massive weight to the need for greater safety on this the busiest cyling boulevarde in Melbourne , if not Australia on every weekend of the year.
Again the Leader headline didnt help with Anya Murray's (9th Oct) headline , another sensational grab of "Cyclists Demand" & "Weekend Clearway" etc), no the cyclists havnt demanded , they are making a positive suggestion for a trial, and, No, they dont want a weekend clearway, just a few hours each Sat and Sunday to assist the peak load and improve safety.
The sooner a trial is conducted the sooner sense will descend upon this situation. I feel the Council is scared it will be a runaway success and lead to massive attraction beyond the huge numbers we see on Beach Rd now, perhaps a case of too much success for local businesses means those councillors will lose their influence from their wealthy property developer friends and the rest of the locals will actually get better road conditions, safer roads, better lifestyle and a healthy respect for sharing the road for all moving traffic not the parked spare SUVs, boat trailers and building container obstructions that are the current danger.
Monday, October 08, 2007
THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT TAKES A STAND -- AGAINST CARS, FOR BIKES
THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT TAKES A STAND -- AGAINST CARS, FOR BIKES (from our friends across the ditch at CAN)
22 September 2007-
Dutch government has taken a trend to promote
eco-friendly cities a step further than its European neighbors by
announcing firm measures to discourage cars and driving.
The plan was outlined in the 2008 budget presented this week, and the
capital Amsterdam -- a leader in the drive -- and other Dutch cities
will use a "no car" day on Sunday, an annual event, to press home the
message.
In the traditional speech from the throne read out by Queen Beatrix, the
centre-left cabinet said it would raise taxes on diesel fuel and
vehicles using it. Laws are also being drawn up to make taxes dependent
on how much pollution a vehicle emits: the more polluting, the higher
the fee.
Unhappy, the Dutch car industry association RAi is trying to rally car
owners to protest plans, which are sure to have majority support in the
country's coalition system. RAi says the government measures will cost
drivers 500 million euros (700 million dollars) more per year.
But a number of cities, like Amsterdam, want even stricter action
against cars. Among these are Eindhoven, The Hague and Leiden which have
ignored drivers' complaints and joined Sunday's "no car" day.
On Sunday, streets inside the ring road that circles Amsterdam will be
closed for incoming cars and open only to cyclists and pedestrians
between 9 am and 5 pm (0700 GMT to 1500 GMT).
The capital hopes to show out-of-towners that they can leave their cars
outside the city and travel in via public transport or taxis, which will
still be running Sunday.
Amsterdam, where half the residents do not even have a car, is also
hatching other plans to clean up the air and unblock congested roads,
including a tax on sports utility vehicles (SUVs), Jeeps and other big
cars that run on diesel fuel.
Parking meters will be connected to vehicle tax records and drivers will
have to punch in their license plate numbers. The price of a space will
be calculated on how much pollution the car creates.
"The technology is available," Tjeerd Herrema, an Amsterdam city council
member in charge of transport, told the Het Parool daily. He wants to
introduce the system in the course of next year.
To back the measures, Amsterdam will build large car parks inside the
city for residents and just outside the ring road for visitors, linked
to the city's "park-and-ride" public transport system. Plans call for
doubling spaces in the outside lots to 2,300. At the moment, visitors
pay 5.50 euros per day to park and get two free public transport
tickets, which the municipality wants to increase to five per car.
Inside Amsterdam it now costs 3.90 euros an hour to park in the city
centre from 7 am to midnight everyday, except Sunday morning during
church service hours, but prices are set to go up.
The city also wants to improve public transport and increase the number
of green spaces in the centre, and Herrema is pushing for trams and
buses -- which now stop around 1 am -- to run all night.
The move to go "greener" has seen several European cities like Paris and
Lyons in France, Barcelona, Geneva, Oslo, Stockholm and Vienna stock the
streets with city-owned bicycles for cheap rental -- a step behind
bike-friendly Netherlands which pioneered the idea of bicycle sharing in
the late 1960s.
But Amsterdam has not forgotten its numerous cyclists, who are almost as
much of a tourist attraction as the 17th-century canal houses. The city
is setting aside 70 million euros for the capital's bicycle riders over
the next four years to pay for improving bike lanes, creating more
bicycle parking spaces and cracking down on bicycle theft.
Across the Atlantic, it seems NYC is getting the message, they had lots of studies into the opportunities and plenty of clashes and evidence on Video of it and positive direction comments like this, and now finally mayor Bloomberg is taking some refreshing steps for the Big Apple, as reported here.
Meanwhile closer to home our urban areas in the expanding city catchment of Melbourne are doing scant little to help things as Crowlie so succinctly puts it
here!
Seems the local Melton Council thinks bikes are just for fun, that they are not worthy of inclusion in Council plans in any other way as legitimate transport choice, and thus ignores providing for cycling in its transport infrastructure plans in any thing other than a token way.
There is a myth, (debunked here) that bicycles are toys, and we grow out of them and drive vehicles for transport. This is rapidly being overcome by National governments like the dutch and major city governments, like NYC and in some ways Melbourne, but at a rural and smaller urban centre local government level, it is too often re-inforced because of small minds, closed attitudes and other personal agendas that just might mean someone has to take responsibility for spending some money or making a decision that may offend a few red-necked supporters.
It's about time some small minds woke up and took a whiff for the smell of the roses that could exist in the lives of people they claim to serve, not the exhaust fumes and angst they subject too many of those same people to now!
22 September 2007-
Dutch government has taken a trend to promote
eco-friendly cities a step further than its European neighbors by
announcing firm measures to discourage cars and driving.
The plan was outlined in the 2008 budget presented this week, and the
capital Amsterdam -- a leader in the drive -- and other Dutch cities
will use a "no car" day on Sunday, an annual event, to press home the
message.
In the traditional speech from the throne read out by Queen Beatrix, the
centre-left cabinet said it would raise taxes on diesel fuel and
vehicles using it. Laws are also being drawn up to make taxes dependent
on how much pollution a vehicle emits: the more polluting, the higher
the fee.
Unhappy, the Dutch car industry association RAi is trying to rally car
owners to protest plans, which are sure to have majority support in the
country's coalition system. RAi says the government measures will cost
drivers 500 million euros (700 million dollars) more per year.
But a number of cities, like Amsterdam, want even stricter action
against cars. Among these are Eindhoven, The Hague and Leiden which have
ignored drivers' complaints and joined Sunday's "no car" day.
On Sunday, streets inside the ring road that circles Amsterdam will be
closed for incoming cars and open only to cyclists and pedestrians
between 9 am and 5 pm (0700 GMT to 1500 GMT).
The capital hopes to show out-of-towners that they can leave their cars
outside the city and travel in via public transport or taxis, which will
still be running Sunday.
Amsterdam, where half the residents do not even have a car, is also
hatching other plans to clean up the air and unblock congested roads,
including a tax on sports utility vehicles (SUVs), Jeeps and other big
cars that run on diesel fuel.
Parking meters will be connected to vehicle tax records and drivers will
have to punch in their license plate numbers. The price of a space will
be calculated on how much pollution the car creates.
"The technology is available," Tjeerd Herrema, an Amsterdam city council
member in charge of transport, told the Het Parool daily. He wants to
introduce the system in the course of next year.
To back the measures, Amsterdam will build large car parks inside the
city for residents and just outside the ring road for visitors, linked
to the city's "park-and-ride" public transport system. Plans call for
doubling spaces in the outside lots to 2,300. At the moment, visitors
pay 5.50 euros per day to park and get two free public transport
tickets, which the municipality wants to increase to five per car.
Inside Amsterdam it now costs 3.90 euros an hour to park in the city
centre from 7 am to midnight everyday, except Sunday morning during
church service hours, but prices are set to go up.
The city also wants to improve public transport and increase the number
of green spaces in the centre, and Herrema is pushing for trams and
buses -- which now stop around 1 am -- to run all night.
The move to go "greener" has seen several European cities like Paris and
Lyons in France, Barcelona, Geneva, Oslo, Stockholm and Vienna stock the
streets with city-owned bicycles for cheap rental -- a step behind
bike-friendly Netherlands which pioneered the idea of bicycle sharing in
the late 1960s.
But Amsterdam has not forgotten its numerous cyclists, who are almost as
much of a tourist attraction as the 17th-century canal houses. The city
is setting aside 70 million euros for the capital's bicycle riders over
the next four years to pay for improving bike lanes, creating more
bicycle parking spaces and cracking down on bicycle theft.
Across the Atlantic, it seems NYC is getting the message, they had lots of studies into the opportunities and plenty of clashes and evidence on Video of it and positive direction comments like this, and now finally mayor Bloomberg is taking some refreshing steps for the Big Apple, as reported here.
Meanwhile closer to home our urban areas in the expanding city catchment of Melbourne are doing scant little to help things as Crowlie so succinctly puts it
here!Seems the local Melton Council thinks bikes are just for fun, that they are not worthy of inclusion in Council plans in any other way as legitimate transport choice, and thus ignores providing for cycling in its transport infrastructure plans in any thing other than a token way.
There is a myth, (debunked here) that bicycles are toys, and we grow out of them and drive vehicles for transport. This is rapidly being overcome by National governments like the dutch and major city governments, like NYC and in some ways Melbourne, but at a rural and smaller urban centre local government level, it is too often re-inforced because of small minds, closed attitudes and other personal agendas that just might mean someone has to take responsibility for spending some money or making a decision that may offend a few red-necked supporters.
It's about time some small minds woke up and took a whiff for the smell of the roses that could exist in the lives of people they claim to serve, not the exhaust fumes and angst they subject too many of those same people to now!
Friday, September 28, 2007
The A, B, Cs of Health-How to Boost the Riding-Health Cycle
(Or, how to make the best of life's opportunities when the certainties of taxes and death are inevitable... )
Governments and Commerce don't seem to want to let go of their drive for profits and taxes, as they mean bigger business and bigger government.
So before they get too far ahead of themselves, (and the world just might take it all back and say sorry mankind you stuffed up ), we can say, meanwhile think about this...
Pharmaceuticals dont want to cure, they just want to "manage", Food producers dont want to produce traditionally healthy food for humans, they just want to maximise profit from poor substitutes that deliver huge profits from Human Interferred foods, (Bleached Wheat, GM modified, Highly refined Sugar, chemically extracted oils etc) , the lazy just want a pill to cure their obesity because Pharmaceuticals have one to exploit that!
Well we can do something about it, its called healthy choice.
Making healthy choices is expounded by many, but heeded only by those who have got the message, for the other's, well good luck.
Many of us have been sold the line that all can be cured by a pill. But really, that's a cop out if there ever was one. Pharmaceuticals have their place when life is seriously threatened in a triage sense, otherwise, we can do a lot more for ourselves, our planet and our future if we choose wisely when we have the ability to do so.
We can choose not to buy or consume Human Interferred Food, we can choose not to smoke, we can choose not to have dangerous sex, and we can choose to excercise.
I saw an excellent summary on how healthy excercise and food can combine to ensure the ABC's of life are maximised for our benefit.
It is Health: How to boost the riding-health cycle By Joe Beer - Check it out.
He talks about the building blocks of overall physical and mental outcomes, and that they build on each other. You need health to have fitness and you need fitness to have performance, simple as ABC. Bit what ABC's do you say?
The ABC's mentioned are, Absenteeism, Brain health and Coupling!
Whoah you say, WTF?, yep
A- Absenteeism, companies and employees alike benefit from a healthy work force... simple forget exploitation for profit, have healthier people working for you, they are happier, miss fewer days, your enterpise benefits in better productivity from absentee minimalisation and on-the-job application is maximised. Riding a bike is a way to achieve the ABC's of health , and great benefit to employees and employeers from raised fitness levels reduced absenteeism and it gives a dollar payback to companies on investment in bicycle facillities for employees.
B- Brain Health, it goes like this - 'anima sana in corpore sano' - that is, a healthy mind in a healthy body . The brain needs excercise, if you ride your bike, it will get both physical and mental excercise. Simplistic in itself, research establishes as fitness levels increase depression and mental illness reduce.
C- Coupling, ahem, ie couples who ride bikes are fitter and it is reflected in their relationship. Well one of the additional benefits of cycling is the tendency of it to help your spouse or partner also to become more active. Data shows that highly active older men are three times more likely to have a similarly active spouse. Married men and women tend to exercise more than those who are single. It is unclear if this phenomenon also applies to younger age groups, but a person who regularly makes time for exercise may show those around them how easily it can be dovetailed into the day (and night!).
Riding can make you a better worker, improve your mood and help to encourage those around you.
Get out and ride today - it does you and those around you a lot of good.
Governments and Commerce don't seem to want to let go of their drive for profits and taxes, as they mean bigger business and bigger government.
So before they get too far ahead of themselves, (and the world just might take it all back and say sorry mankind you stuffed up ), we can say, meanwhile think about this...
Pharmaceuticals dont want to cure, they just want to "manage", Food producers dont want to produce traditionally healthy food for humans, they just want to maximise profit from poor substitutes that deliver huge profits from Human Interferred foods, (Bleached Wheat, GM modified, Highly refined Sugar, chemically extracted oils etc) , the lazy just want a pill to cure their obesity because Pharmaceuticals have one to exploit that!
Well we can do something about it, its called healthy choice.
Making healthy choices is expounded by many, but heeded only by those who have got the message, for the other's, well good luck.
Many of us have been sold the line that all can be cured by a pill. But really, that's a cop out if there ever was one. Pharmaceuticals have their place when life is seriously threatened in a triage sense, otherwise, we can do a lot more for ourselves, our planet and our future if we choose wisely when we have the ability to do so.
We can choose not to buy or consume Human Interferred Food, we can choose not to smoke, we can choose not to have dangerous sex, and we can choose to excercise.
I saw an excellent summary on how healthy excercise and food can combine to ensure the ABC's of life are maximised for our benefit.
It is Health: How to boost the riding-health cycle By Joe Beer - Check it out.
He talks about the building blocks of overall physical and mental outcomes, and that they build on each other. You need health to have fitness and you need fitness to have performance, simple as ABC. Bit what ABC's do you say?
The ABC's mentioned are, Absenteeism, Brain health and Coupling!
Whoah you say, WTF?, yep
A- Absenteeism, companies and employees alike benefit from a healthy work force... simple forget exploitation for profit, have healthier people working for you, they are happier, miss fewer days, your enterpise benefits in better productivity from absentee minimalisation and on-the-job application is maximised. Riding a bike is a way to achieve the ABC's of health , and great benefit to employees and employeers from raised fitness levels reduced absenteeism and it gives a dollar payback to companies on investment in bicycle facillities for employees.
B- Brain Health, it goes like this - 'anima sana in corpore sano' - that is, a healthy mind in a healthy body . The brain needs excercise, if you ride your bike, it will get both physical and mental excercise. Simplistic in itself, research establishes as fitness levels increase depression and mental illness reduce.
C- Coupling, ahem, ie couples who ride bikes are fitter and it is reflected in their relationship. Well one of the additional benefits of cycling is the tendency of it to help your spouse or partner also to become more active. Data shows that highly active older men are three times more likely to have a similarly active spouse. Married men and women tend to exercise more than those who are single. It is unclear if this phenomenon also applies to younger age groups, but a person who regularly makes time for exercise may show those around them how easily it can be dovetailed into the day (and night!).
Riding can make you a better worker, improve your mood and help to encourage those around you.
Get out and ride today - it does you and those around you a lot of good.
Friday, September 21, 2007
BENCHMARKING REPORT-Correlation- Cities with High rates of walking cycling and excercise have lowest rates of Obesity, Diabetes,& High Blood Pressure.
THUNDERHEAD ALLIANCE RELEASES FIRST BENCHMARKING REPORT
6 September 2007- Bicycling and Walking in the U.S., the Thunderhead
Alliance's first biennial Benchmarking Report released August 29th, clearly links the decline in bicycling and walking and the surge in numbers of adults and children who are obese. The report was released to Thunderhead's network of bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations and government officials throughout the country.
The report compares, for the first time ever, bicycling and walking
levels, investment in bicycling and walking, and public health. The
findings reveal major disparities between cycling and walking levels,
traffic fatalities, and federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects.
"Most public health advocates already preach the benefits of biking and
walking," said Sue Knaup, Thunderhead's executive director. "This report
clearly demonstrates that cities and states with the highest rates of
cycling and walking almost always have the lowest levels of obesity,
high blood pressure, and diabetes."
Knaup also noted that the data contained within the report can be very
useful for advocates working at local and regional levels. "If you've
ever stuttered when an official demanded data to back up your claims, or
wished for state-by-state data at your fingertips, the Benchmarking
Report delivers," she said.
The report provides detailed data and illustrations on bicycling and
walking in 50 states and the 50 most-populous cities. Measurements
include bicycle and pedestrian staffing, funding, written policies, and
bike-transit integration, among others.
Thunderhead has released the biennial Benchmarking Report along with a
template press release that can be modified for use at the local level.
To download the report visit:
For more information about Bicycling and Walking in the U.S., contact:
, or call 415-513-5281.
[from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the U.S. National Center for
Bicycling & Walking]
6 September 2007- Bicycling and Walking in the U.S., the Thunderhead
Alliance's first biennial Benchmarking Report released August 29th, clearly links the decline in bicycling and walking and the surge in numbers of adults and children who are obese. The report was released to Thunderhead's network of bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations and government officials throughout the country.
The report compares, for the first time ever, bicycling and walking
levels, investment in bicycling and walking, and public health. The
findings reveal major disparities between cycling and walking levels,
traffic fatalities, and federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects.
"Most public health advocates already preach the benefits of biking and
walking," said Sue Knaup, Thunderhead's executive director. "This report
clearly demonstrates that cities and states with the highest rates of
cycling and walking almost always have the lowest levels of obesity,
high blood pressure, and diabetes."
Knaup also noted that the data contained within the report can be very
useful for advocates working at local and regional levels. "If you've
ever stuttered when an official demanded data to back up your claims, or
wished for state-by-state data at your fingertips, the Benchmarking
Report delivers," she said.
The report provides detailed data and illustrations on bicycling and
walking in 50 states and the 50 most-populous cities. Measurements
include bicycle and pedestrian staffing, funding, written policies, and
bike-transit integration, among others.
Thunderhead has released the biennial Benchmarking Report along with a
template press release that can be modified for use at the local level.
To download the report visit:
For more information about Bicycling and Walking in the U.S., contact:
[from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the U.S. National Center for
Bicycling & Walking]
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Richard Dawkins - The Big Question: Why are we here?
Why are we here?...
according to the Dalai Lama our purpose is to be "Happy", I'm all for that, the underlying question of "why" has eluded theorists and philosophers for eons...but I say, what does it matter!!!. This is not a question it is a statement...it doesnt matter, because we ARE here!...
We are here , NOW, this is our time, just as when you were a child and you had a puppy and as you got older it aged and then it died, it was part of your life, you learnt from it about some of life's truths and maybe became a better person able to deal with your way of life and plan your future...that is it, we are here because?, we are...your dog was here because it was... and we will move on, then after us will come more of us or maybe fewer if we continue to either pollute this planet or some other change in the universe causes our planet to change such that our lifeforms cannot continue and humans become extinct ( if we dont relocate down a worm hole in time and space etc)... so we are here, "while we are here" is the better "expression" while we are here, we love, eat, laugh, think, cry, and propagate, sure some of us do more or less of these things, some do a lot more... but while we are here we can !
so all I say is let us all "can" away and enjoy our time, do what is good for you and us and our planet and ponder how important it is to have in our thoughts now, the future of our progeny and their progeny... the future of our human race and our world on this rock in time and space...
we are here becaue we are... face it... there is no other driving force, no other higher being that is responsible for it, but we can think...that is one truly amazing attribute of life that is amazing. In the words of the Moody Blues, "I think therefore I am...I think!"
woohoo, gotta love that.... we are here...lets love it some more and love one another a bit better...love our planet a bit better, love our fact of existence and love that we can ride bikes and breathe and eat,love and enjoy our lives...ahhh!, yes love that we can be HAPPY... the Dalai Lama got it right...
oh and if your arnt sure why we are here... check this clip out ... it might help you understand this question..it may not...but its part of the journey..ride on!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Technique: How to ride safer in the city
(a great piece from Bike Radar, with warmer weather coming downunder, its timely to repeat this for commuters and utility bicyclists - especially those in crowded Sydney... Stay Alert...Be Visible, Predictable and Legal)
Technique:
How to ride safer in the city
By Richard Peace
City Riding (Robert Smith)
Heavy urban traffic can seem like the most forbidding of environments for cyclists. But a few simple rules help make it safer: Stay alert, follow the traffic rules, stay alert, look out for HGVs and stay alert.
There's simply so much to look out for and quick decisions need to be made all the time as you fight your way through traffic. However, being aware and acting correctly in the circumstances you find yourself in will make light of most potential problems, from parked HGVs blocking your lane to pedestrians dashing into your path.
In fact, the traffic-clogged city can be where you most appreciate a bike, coasting past the rush hour traffic and dotting around town without having to worry about car parking fees and traffic wardens. To enjoy it you just need to Ride Right in the city...(read the rest here.......)
By Richard Peace
City Riding (Robert Smith)
Heavy urban traffic can seem like the most forbidding of environments for cyclists. But a few simple rules help make it safer: Stay alert, follow the traffic rules, stay alert, look out for HGVs and stay alert.
There's simply so much to look out for and quick decisions need to be made all the time as you fight your way through traffic. However, being aware and acting correctly in the circumstances you find yourself in will make light of most potential problems, from parked HGVs blocking your lane to pedestrians dashing into your path.
In fact, the traffic-clogged city can be where you most appreciate a bike, coasting past the rush hour traffic and dotting around town without having to worry about car parking fees and traffic wardens. To enjoy it you just need to Ride Right in the city...(read the rest here.......)
Thursday, September 13, 2007
[USA]Bicycle Intersection Safety Index research
(Pics added by me as I like them)Excellent summary by Forester on the US's the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) research, and its questionable suggestions and methodologies here.
I've reproduced it in its entirety, as it has its application in what not to do in other places where such research has yet to be undertaken or is currently under way, such as in Australia... take heed folks, the roadway is a dangerous place but it needn't be and it needn't be made more dangerous by beaurocratic incompetence.
Posted by: "John Forester" mailto:forester@johnforester.com?Subject=+Re%3ABicycle%20Intersection%20Safety%20Index%20researchbiketransengr
Wed Sep 12, 2007 5:52 pm (PST)
The FHWA has just released papers describing the research concerning the development of a method of estimating, or rating, the safety of an intersection for bicycle travel (and another for pedestrian travel also, bureaucratically lumping the two modes into the same classification).
These can be downloaded from the URLs listed:Final Report - <http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/pubs/06125/>http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/pubs/06125/ User Guide - <http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/pubs/06130/>http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/pubs/06130/TechBrief - <http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/pubs/06129/>http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/pubs/06129/
I have just read the bicycle sections of both the report of the research methods and the application manual.
My first reactions are as follows:
Research method
The authors propose to use the frequency of avoidance actions taken as a stand-in for the much less frequent collisions (collisions are a specific type of crash, the only type of crash being considered here), on the basis of observational practicality.
However, they do not, apparently, consider whose fault produced the need for the avoidance action.
Suppose we observe a cyclist running a stop sign and then weaving frantically to stay out of the way of the through traffic. There certainly was avoidance action by the cyclist. And, quite possibly, none by the motorists, who had insufficient time to take much avoidance action.
Such was the sequence of events when I attempted a left turn from a Palo Alto sidewalk bike path, miscalled a bike lane. Does the presence of avoidance action, in a typical stop signed intersection, taken by the cyclist indicate that the intersection is particularly dangerous? Or does it simply indicate incompetent behavior by the cyclist? So far as I can see, the research takes no notice of this issue.
The authors attempt to validate the connection between the frequency of observed avoidance actions and the subjective evaluations of many people viewing short sequences taken from the observational record, including bicycle activists, planners, engineers, and others.
Frankly, I question the competence of many of these people to make such an evaluation.
There was no indication of any standard of operation to be applied, and in the absence of such a standard the evaluation was purely subjective according to the biases of each evaluator, and we are familiar with many such biases.
Resulting Application Manual
The relevant pages are 11 - 18 of the Manual, in particular pg 11, which contains the Bike ISI models (through, right, left), with definitions of the variables.
The subsequent pages illustrate some of the variables.
Low score, 1, means safe; high score, 6, means dangerous.
Through travel ISI = 1.13 + 0.019 MAINADT + 0.815MAINHISPD + 0.650TURNVEH + 470(RTLANES*BL) + 0.023(CROSSADT*NOBL) + 0.428(SIGNAL*NOBL) + 0.200PARKING
Right turnISI = 1.02 + 0.027MAINADT + 0.519RTCROSS + 0.151CROSSLNS + 0.200PARKING
Left turnISI = 1.100 + 0.025MAINADT + 0.836BL + 0.484SIGNAL + 0.736(MAINHISPD*BL) + 0.380(LTCROSS*NOBL) + 0.200PARKING
Note specially, that TURNVEH refers only to vehicles that might make a right hook collision; RTCROSS applies only for a right turn from a left-side bikelane; others are almost self-explanatory.
Look at the peculiarities of these models.
For straight travel, signals have no effect on safety, except that if there is no bike lane they increase danger.
Crossing traffic volume has an effect, which one would expect, except its effect occurs only when there is no bike lane, and is not cancelled by the presence of a traffic signal.
The presence of right-turn-only lanes increases the danger if there is a bike lane, but not in the absence of a bike lane.
When crossing an intersection without assigned priority, it is important to be able to view the crossing traffic, and that view is affected by the presence of parking on the cross street, yet PARKING fails to consider that.
We know that the most frequent motorist-caused car-bike collision is the motorist left turn, yet there is no variable for left-turning vehicles.
For right turn, the relevant variables are MAINADT, CROSSLNS, and PARKING. MAINADT is given 40% more weight than for through travel, which seems peculiar.
The number of through lanes on the cross street is given the high weight of 0.519, which seems counter to knowledge.
The right-turning cyclist is concerned not with the number of lanes, but with the traffic in the outside lane and its ability to move over to the next lane to its left.
If the number of lanes has any meaning, one would expect more lanes to decrease danger rather than decreasing it.
Furthermore, the right-turn ISI fails to consider the volume and speed of the traffic on the cross street, surely a valid variable.
For left turn, more peculiarities. Same direction motor traffic volume has an effect, and is noted. But the presence of a bike lane is given very high weight, 0.836, but the effect of a bike lane pertains only before any movements are made in preparation for the left turn.
Furthermore, the number of lanes to cross in preparation for the left turn is significant in the model only if there is no bike lane, whereas once the preparation has been started the bike lane is left behind and only the number of lanes to cross is significant.
Furthermore, the presence of a signal makes the left turn operation more dangerous.
And there is no allowance for the known safety feature when making a left turn of the presence of a protected left-turn signal phase.Given both the research methods and the results, I assign no credibility at all to this work.
That's not quite correct.
I assign negative credibility to this work, on the basis that it appears to be based on the actions and opinions of incompetent cyclists, further establishing that our highways should be designed for incompetent operation by cyclists.
John Forester, MS,
PEBicycle Transportation Engineer
7585 Church St.Lemon Grove, CA 91945-2306619-644-5481 http://www.johnforester.com/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Internet People! - The Meth Minute 39
neat, they are all here and they keep coming... is the power in the internet?, or the people using it, or the use itself?...one thing that is interestingly more obvious, when you want fact,truth or verification and less crud, you just may have to pay for it...otherwise, with the free stuff out there from all sources its more likely opinionated spin from overt and covert agenda's...and of little value to you in the end. Discernment is key... but if you seek some daily truths in your life ride a bike, that noble machine packs more truth about life for you than any news bulletin.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
How do you protest?
The rantings by substandard journalists at the Herald Sun recently have renewed the consistent feeling amongst utility bicyclists that the print media has a distinct anti cyclist bias and has a fixed long term agenda that runs counter to the ocasional motherhood style article they drop in to suggest that cycling is good for you, the environment, the economy and the world.
They want two bob each way obviously, but repeatedly trot out absurd contributions and rehash old news tainted with bias and rhetorical embellishment.
On the interweb forums there is comment on the need for a protest ride to urge the Herald Sun and its ilk to see the folly of its Bicyclist bashing ways.
For this to have any measure of success it would require a substantive movement to appear united.
I am not being negative, on the contrary the sentiment is correct, I firmly believe the print media repeatedly offers absurdly anti cyclist pieces, but let no one be under the impression that the bulk of society will support a protest either .
Why?, because too many of the general populace and those within the subordinate positions in industry , commerce and the media are too afraid of the power of others.
It is a rare household that doesnt have a bike, yes, and some even get ridden, some households use them as their primary means of utility transport, and as we are seeing , every year, more bikes are sold each year than cars.
OK, all that is clear, we, the riders know the benefits of cycling, we extoll them, we also know that governments all , state, federal, local also extoll the benefits of cycling, however, why is it that nothing concrete gets done to ensure the roads are safe for cycling and that the media isnt consistently supportive of those who ride beyond giving them an opportunity to bash, denigrate and incite against?.
Each year we have bicycle protests in the form of mass rides, monthly across the world there are various CM rides with differing results (eg: NYC Police see them as a political threat and control with a jack boot- Athens Georgia see it as a community festival of spirit and commensense transport alternatives, ( but theirs is also know as Courteous Mass) as opposed to the regular CM ride)
most others fall somewhere in between depending on local polictics).
Annually, worldwide, is the Ride of Silence (http://www.rideofsilence.org/), and these garner support from riders and sentiment from the media ( as it involves deaths in memoriam as its main theme ).
The Amy Gillett rides have strong support, again as these involve deaths and the riders supporting the notion of safer roads and that safer outcomes are possible from co-operation). Yet still the media trot out their regular anti cyclist stereotypical rhetoric.
Advocacy organisations like Wheels of Justice, (http://www.woj.com.au/)monitor this , keeping riders abreast of current
issues and worldwide utility cycling intiatives and news, positive and negative and give riders a forum and opportunity to comment, protest and garner support for lobbying and access to resources when individual rights are aggrieved, plus resources to write the letters to those who can carry influence or form policy. 
Bicycle Victoria is usually silent as is observed by its own forum readers and only succombs to agreement on the "naughty cyclist" statement and "tut tut"... it does little positive to bring the media into line, because it cannot. It has a need for the media in supporting promotion for its sponsors, it's public events and thus is compromised by its own policy and needs to survive.
Forums like this blog and those Webbased and Usenet forums such as aus.bicycle etc allow the converted to vent their spleen , and as we have seen recently, the media to "spy"and grab quote for out of context senasationalising in their own poorly crafted offerings. So what is the answer? 7 out of 9 want to form a protest ride... this needs to 7, 000 or better, 70, 000 to to have an impact beyond making us feel better.
BV claimed it had 40, 000 members (dubious claim and probably more likely the number of members ever in its whole history) it now publicly claims it has 20, 000 members, ( but even if it does, like the general population it will be hard pressed to get them motivated to form a protest ride, just like it is hard pressed to get a decent sample of members to vote at its board elections.)
Prove me wrong, let's do a ride, sure...but we need massive numbers to get the press to see the error of their ways, but you know something tells me it wont make a difference... !!
They ( The print Media) will still trot out their nonsensical inciting, their rants of journalistic gutter raking and lazy research, because they appeal to a readership that will not change its rednecked view easily and will also find comfort in their ignorance of matters commonsense, because they know no better, they and their readers don't want to make any change to that comfort zone of rednecked spin-out selfish "I'm all right jack bugger you" and "get out of my way" attitude. That is the spin that typifies the pitch of the Hun and The Terrorgraf and their ilk. I dont buy newpapers anymore, I make my protest by ignoring their daily paper consuming output of tree consumption. It isnt a green thing, its their content, it is biased, plain fact is hard to find amongst the spin and the opinionated twisted story line. If it is earth shattering and important it isnt going to come out in the print media first. Seriously do we really need to read in newspapers about the summation of every nuance of AFL, the ads for rip-off car sales or job ads that are non descript nonsense, maybe expensive real estate adds that promote agents first and vendors last?, because when you remove the opinionated story lines there is nothing else. Print media is a dinosaur, if believe we will see very little of it on our streets withing 5 years, on the contrary we will see many more bicycles on all our streets much sooner than that. The protest began when more than three centuries ago the French mathemetician Jacques Ozanam described the theoretical advantages of a "human powered carriage" in which on can drive one self wherever one pleases without horses, that ran on the will power of the operator and provided healthy excercise to boot. ( cf: "Récréations mathématiques et physiques" 1696 ).
This freedom is the very thing we see as the zest of cycling, however those who are ignorant of that zest's benefits see the obverse, they see it as the very threat to their agendas, their commercial influences and their power over your mind and your body. A little deep?, not really, think about it and you will see why the bicycle can be the dominant means of personal transport, physical excercise, healthy activity and mental therapy...all aspects others want to control for profit...with the bicycle they miss out... need we say more! Ride, be visible predictable and legal... and ride proudly, together the bicycle will always be there for you when the others have fallen by the wayside. In the meantime, sure let us have a ride, even many of them, but also let us all ride every day, everywhere we possibly can.
That is the protest that will carry more weight than a one off protest ride. Stop buying newspapers, write to them and tell them that, and spread the word to all your friends and within your networks, stop feeding this cancer on the butt of sensible tranport choices and commonsense human dignity.
There is no more noble invention than the bicycle, there can be more noble a persuit with it, than we ride it, more often with more friends and family and workmates. ... that is the purest protest
They want two bob each way obviously, but repeatedly trot out absurd contributions and rehash old news tainted with bias and rhetorical embellishment.
On the interweb forums there is comment on the need for a protest ride to urge the Herald Sun and its ilk to see the folly of its Bicyclist bashing ways.
For this to have any measure of success it would require a substantive movement to appear united.
I am not being negative, on the contrary the sentiment is correct, I firmly believe the print media repeatedly offers absurdly anti cyclist pieces, but let no one be under the impression that the bulk of society will support a protest either .
Why?, because too many of the general populace and those within the subordinate positions in industry , commerce and the media are too afraid of the power of others.
It is a rare household that doesnt have a bike, yes, and some even get ridden, some households use them as their primary means of utility transport, and as we are seeing , every year, more bikes are sold each year than cars.
OK, all that is clear, we, the riders know the benefits of cycling, we extoll them, we also know that governments all , state, federal, local also extoll the benefits of cycling, however, why is it that nothing concrete gets done to ensure the roads are safe for cycling and that the media isnt consistently supportive of those who ride beyond giving them an opportunity to bash, denigrate and incite against?.
Each year we have bicycle protests in the form of mass rides, monthly across the world there are various CM rides with differing results (eg: NYC Police see them as a political threat and control with a jack boot- Athens Georgia see it as a community festival of spirit and commensense transport alternatives, ( but theirs is also know as Courteous Mass) as opposed to the regular CM ride)
most others fall somewhere in between depending on local polictics).Annually, worldwide, is the Ride of Silence (http://www.rideofsilence.org/), and these garner support from riders and sentiment from the media ( as it involves deaths in memoriam as its main theme ).
The Amy Gillett rides have strong support, again as these involve deaths and the riders supporting the notion of safer roads and that safer outcomes are possible from co-operation). Yet still the media trot out their regular anti cyclist stereotypical rhetoric.
Advocacy organisations like Wheels of Justice, (http://www.woj.com.au/)monitor this , keeping riders abreast of current
issues and worldwide utility cycling intiatives and news, positive and negative and give riders a forum and opportunity to comment, protest and garner support for lobbying and access to resources when individual rights are aggrieved, plus resources to write the letters to those who can carry influence or form policy. 
Bicycle Victoria is usually silent as is observed by its own forum readers and only succombs to agreement on the "naughty cyclist" statement and "tut tut"... it does little positive to bring the media into line, because it cannot. It has a need for the media in supporting promotion for its sponsors, it's public events and thus is compromised by its own policy and needs to survive.
Forums like this blog and those Webbased and Usenet forums such as aus.bicycle etc allow the converted to vent their spleen , and as we have seen recently, the media to "spy"and grab quote for out of context senasationalising in their own poorly crafted offerings. So what is the answer? 7 out of 9 want to form a protest ride... this needs to 7, 000 or better, 70, 000 to to have an impact beyond making us feel better.
BV claimed it had 40, 000 members (dubious claim and probably more likely the number of members ever in its whole history) it now publicly claims it has 20, 000 members, ( but even if it does, like the general population it will be hard pressed to get them motivated to form a protest ride, just like it is hard pressed to get a decent sample of members to vote at its board elections.)
Prove me wrong, let's do a ride, sure...but we need massive numbers to get the press to see the error of their ways, but you know something tells me it wont make a difference... !!
They ( The print Media) will still trot out their nonsensical inciting, their rants of journalistic gutter raking and lazy research, because they appeal to a readership that will not change its rednecked view easily and will also find comfort in their ignorance of matters commonsense, because they know no better, they and their readers don't want to make any change to that comfort zone of rednecked spin-out selfish "I'm all right jack bugger you" and "get out of my way" attitude. That is the spin that typifies the pitch of the Hun and The Terrorgraf and their ilk. I dont buy newpapers anymore, I make my protest by ignoring their daily paper consuming output of tree consumption. It isnt a green thing, its their content, it is biased, plain fact is hard to find amongst the spin and the opinionated twisted story line. If it is earth shattering and important it isnt going to come out in the print media first. Seriously do we really need to read in newspapers about the summation of every nuance of AFL, the ads for rip-off car sales or job ads that are non descript nonsense, maybe expensive real estate adds that promote agents first and vendors last?, because when you remove the opinionated story lines there is nothing else. Print media is a dinosaur, if believe we will see very little of it on our streets withing 5 years, on the contrary we will see many more bicycles on all our streets much sooner than that. The protest began when more than three centuries ago the French mathemetician Jacques Ozanam described the theoretical advantages of a "human powered carriage" in which on can drive one self wherever one pleases without horses, that ran on the will power of the operator and provided healthy excercise to boot. ( cf: "Récréations mathématiques et physiques" 1696 ).
This freedom is the very thing we see as the zest of cycling, however those who are ignorant of that zest's benefits see the obverse, they see it as the very threat to their agendas, their commercial influences and their power over your mind and your body. A little deep?, not really, think about it and you will see why the bicycle can be the dominant means of personal transport, physical excercise, healthy activity and mental therapy...all aspects others want to control for profit...with the bicycle they miss out... need we say more! Ride, be visible predictable and legal... and ride proudly, together the bicycle will always be there for you when the others have fallen by the wayside. In the meantime, sure let us have a ride, even many of them, but also let us all ride every day, everywhere we possibly can.
That is the protest that will carry more weight than a one off protest ride. Stop buying newspapers, write to them and tell them that, and spread the word to all your friends and within your networks, stop feeding this cancer on the butt of sensible tranport choices and commonsense human dignity.
There is no more noble invention than the bicycle, there can be more noble a persuit with it, than we ride it, more often with more friends and family and workmates. ... that is the purest protest
Friday, September 07, 2007
Getting Fixed
from Bicycling.com videos, getting the low down and the hi fives on Fixed gear Bikes, its not just a messenger thing, it's pure cycling, but you have to have the skill set and its a steep learning curve, if you are a trackie, you have a head start, but riding fixed onroad needs smarts & alerts !!
Monday, September 03, 2007
Tour De France 2007 - Round Up
A brief and succinct summary of this years Tour de France, relive it anytime. Cadel is King in my book... an awesome ride when no one wants anything of you other than to beat you!.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Moderate exercise works as well as strenuous workouts
Moderate exercise works as well as strenuous workouts
By JOE MILLER McClatchy Newspapers
Published: Monday, August 27, 2007
RALEIGH, N.C. - Bike shop owner Kevin Coggins wasn't surprised by a study released this month by the Duke University Medical Center, which showed that not only is moderate exercise good, in some instances it may be even better than more vigorous workouts. His cash register has been telling him as much for the past two years.
In the '90s, everyone wanted a mountain bike to go powering through forests on narrow trails, bunny-hopping downed logs and grinding through gardens of rock.
During Lance Armstrong's reign over the Tour de France, from 1999 to 2005, everyone wanted to capture the road bike experience, pedaling for miles and miles.
What's selling today?
Hybrids, that mix of road and mountain bike made for a more recreational, "round-the-neighborhood-and-down-the-greenway-with-the-kids experience".
By JOE MILLER McClatchy Newspapers
Published: Monday, August 27, 2007
RALEIGH, N.C. - Bike shop owner Kevin Coggins wasn't surprised by a study released this month by the Duke University Medical Center, which showed that not only is moderate exercise good, in some instances it may be even better than more vigorous workouts. His cash register has been telling him as much for the past two years.
In the '90s, everyone wanted a mountain bike to go powering through forests on narrow trails, bunny-hopping downed logs and grinding through gardens of rock.
During Lance Armstrong's reign over the Tour de France, from 1999 to 2005, everyone wanted to capture the road bike experience, pedaling for miles and miles.
What's selling today?
Hybrids, that mix of road and mountain bike made for a more recreational, "round-the-neighborhood-and-down-the-greenway-with-the-kids experience".
"Moderate exercise is as good as strenuous exercise," says Coggins, who once raced bikes and has owned The Spin Cycle in Cary, N.C., since the mid-1990s. "I totally agree with that."
So does a portion of the study by researchers at Duke, who found that low-intensity exercise "dramatically lowered" triglyceride levels. Trigly-cerides are those pesky particles that lug fat around the body. Reducing their numbers can reduce the risk of both heart disease and diabetes.
The Duke study joins a growing body of evidence suggesting that you don't have to ride 2,200 miles around France to enjoy good health. Regular rides through the neighborhood will do just fine....read the rest of the article here
So does a portion of the study by researchers at Duke, who found that low-intensity exercise "dramatically lowered" triglyceride levels. Trigly-cerides are those pesky particles that lug fat around the body. Reducing their numbers can reduce the risk of both heart disease and diabetes.
The Duke study joins a growing body of evidence suggesting that you don't have to ride 2,200 miles around France to enjoy good health. Regular rides through the neighborhood will do just fine....read the rest of the article here
Monday, August 27, 2007
SET FREE (The One Days HK 1 of 3)
Lamma Island is a tranquil place in Hong Kong, if you ever get there ( 40mins in ferry from Central to Yung Shue Wan -Banyan Tree Bay)), stop for some green tea or dofu fan at a daipai dong on the way to the Power Station Beach... this small clip is just that, with a message about life and play we need to heed occasionally ..
enjoy this and enjoy life.
cheers all
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