Father and Daughter
Beautifully done.
I'm sure I saw this at the [Melbourne International Animation l][] a few years ago and I'm so glad I've found it again now (quite by accident, honest).
Ritalin or ride a bike?
Who'd have thought that a kid just needs to expend a bit of energy before sitting down at school?
Wanda Smith rides with their son William, 7, to Highlands Grove Elementary…
The bike riding served as a way to expend some of William's energy before the school day started. He previously attended private school and was accused of having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
After lots of money and testing, only to find that William was "all boy," Wanda Smith said she began walking, running and riding bikes to school with him to help burn some early-morning energy. Now he's a straight-A student who doesn't get in trouble.
Does that make cycling a viable alternative to Ritalin? I think the side-effects of cycling would stack-up a bit better (e.g. muscular thighs, increased cardiovascular capacity, reduced likelihood of diabetes…) [via Where The Bike Takes Me]
Click!
This one came around on the Yarra BUG newsletter: the City of Melbourne is running a photo competition for "images that represent the true character of cycling in Melbourne". Cool.
Unintended consequences
Having dealt with unintended consequences…
For all my derision, the last thing I'd want to do is discourage someone from riding a bike. If anything, I'd like to think I poke fun at the things that are actually barriers of entry to new cyclists, and not at new cyclists themselves.
…Bike Snob NYC addresses the obstacles to cycling.
Ranting bore
Normally I wouldn't bother responding to boring anti-cyclist rants [like one from Bristol][] [via [London Cycling y][]], but I noticed this blog "Bristol Traffic" posted on audax-oz. No further comment required.
Imagine this ~~road~~ bike path with an extra lane
"The Monash Freeway is gobbling up a section of the busiest bike path in Melbourne" according to a report in the Stonnington Leader. OK, it takes a while to get things like this into the local rag:
Freeway widening and the building of wetlands near Tooronga Village will close large sections of the Gardiners Creek bike path for more than a year.
And we're all well aware of the detours in place.
Bicycle Victoria facilities and development manager Jason den Hollander said the group was confident the Monash Alliance would re-build a superior track.
"It will be a short to medium-term pain for a long-term gain," Mr den Hollander said.
Time will tell.
DIY
Ground Hugger—"A Recumbent Bicycle You Build From Plans".
Security
"PlantLock frees up cluttered hallways and stairwells by offering a solid planter to lock your bike to."
Nice idea, but I'm not entirely convinced that it's entirely secure. Still I reckon it probably has its uses. [via metafilter]
Comments
Gasp Exercise for 30 minutes in the morning helps get metabolism going, increases concentration and helps lose weight! Also, exposure to sunlight that early good for regulation of metabolism and wanting to go to sleep at night! :) ... now if I can just get out of bed.
"Father and Daughter" made me cry. Curse you!
(OK, yes, it is beautifully done.)
Well flipsockgrrl, I'm glad it affected someone else the same way.
And (@ eccles) that really is a totally unremarkable discovery about a bit of light exercise, isn't it?