Beautifully done.

I’m sure I saw this at the Melbourne International Animation Festival 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 this one from Bristol [via London Cycling Diary], 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]

Tags: speedlink, bicycle, cycling, father and daughter, animation, adhd, photography competition, monash freeway, gardiners creek path, ground hugger, diy recumbent, plantlock

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[Video from Melbourne Cyclist]

It sounds like last weekend’s Eastlink Ride was tons o’ fun. Organisers only have one shot to get events like this right, and it sounds like it was something of a shemozzle.

Here’s another video of the ride (time lapse this time) picked up at A woman and a fixed wheel.

I share this secret

I Have a Secret:

But here’s the big secret: bike commuting is no sacrifice at all. As a matter of fact, I often feel a pang of guilt for doing it. It’s so much fun, and I derive so many benefits from it (health, wealth, serenity) that my subconscious mind assumes I must be cheating, that I must be doing something bordering on the unethical or illegal

But if having fun isn’t enough, here are 17 Reasons Why Bicycles Are the Most Popular Vehicle in the World Today.

Dave Moulton, Mythbuster

Dispelling the myth: cycling just ain’t as dangerous as people think.

Urban planning

• In SMH:

  When the Danish urban designer Thomas Ermacora sat down to study global bicycle culture, he began by making a world map of cycling capitals. Unfortunately, Australia didn’t make the grade.

  “Australia doesn’t really have a cycling city,” he says.

  According to Ermacora, whose love of bicycles began as a child, cycling cultures in cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam are multilayered. “Even if you threw money at making cycle lanes, it wouldn’t create a bike culture on its own,” he says. It’s a holistic approach that makes the difference, starting with encouraging children to ride, providing lanes for them when they are adults and making cycling attractive, he says.

• Frankston Council is planning “a comprehensive study of traffic, parking, pedestrian, cycling and public transport issues.”
• Cyclists want better South Rd deal in Adelaide.
• Blackburn resident calls for more bicycle funding

A considerable distance from my reality

I nearly fell of my chair when I saw this thread on bikejournal.com: “Anyone Packing Heat?”

Ive been tempted a few times but havent yet. But im curious anyone packing a pistol when they ride?

I.e a 22 compact, or snub 38? anything larger is too heavy for the jersey pockets.

Who-oa! That is so far from my reality—it’s never come within 100 miles of crossing my mind. I notice the thread has been closed—I guess he copped a bit of heat about that?

Listen to the music

The Bike Speaker lets you listen to your music and still hear the sound of traffic. Oh yeah, and you can put your keys in it too. [via bikejournal.com]

Vote 1 Audax Alpine Classic

From audax-oz:

The Alpine Classic has been nominated by a member of the public as a favourite Victorian tourism experience in the RACV on-line poll. The trick is to be included amongst the top 101 attractions.

We are currently listed at 311 with 2 votes, but it’s early days, the poll is open until mid August.

If you would like to get the Alpine ahead of the Abbotsford Convent and even the “Round the Bay Ride” visit www.racv.com.au and follow the link to “Victoria 101″ and cast your vote. Unlike the Federal election you can get family & friends to vote, or you can simply not vote at all.

Bike shop attitude

Seen in a SMH article:

I researched bikes at eight shops. If you end up bewildered by the choice, don’t follow my lead and ask: “What bike would you recommend for me?” I asked it once, and the reply was: “If you don’t mind me saying, that’s a stupid question.”

Actually, I do mind you saying. No, that’s not a stupid question, it’s a perfectly reasonable one, even though the author let the salesman off the hook:

The guy was right. How would he know my needs? The bike buyer’s first job is to decide on the use - commuting, racing, off-road mountaineering, touring or recreation.

And the salesperson’s first job is to help the potential buyer decide. If someone in a bike shop spoke to me like that, they wouldn’t see any more of my money. In fact, people in bike shops have spoken to me with similar attitude, and guess what? They haven’t seen any more of my money.

DIY

• Uglify your bike: looking crappy as a security device.
  [Thanks tom]
• Build your own wooden recumbent. Whoa!

  These bikes are simple to build, ordinary hand tools are all that is required. No welding and no chopped bike parts are needed. Only a single small machining task.

• The Brass Lion-Steampunk Recumbent, including brass lamps. This has to be seen to be believed.

Tags: speedlink, bicycle, cycling, eastlink ride, risk, danger, myth, urban planning, cycle culture, frankston, adelaide, blackburn, bike speaker, audax alpine classic, tourism, bike shop, bad attitude, ugly bike, diy, wooden recumbent, steampunk recumbent

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As I drew up behind him, I noticed it was no ordinary toy scooter—it was one serious sports vehicle, something a bit like this:

I dropped in beside him for a chat. I guessed he was getting his fitness up to speed for cross-country skiing but it turns out he’s a runner keeping up his training while protecting his back, and presumably his knees as well. (But he gave me points for recognising that it’s something that cross-country ski teams use to maintain fitness in the off-seasons.)

Sure, compared to a bike he wasn’t breaking any speed records but he was getting the workout that he wanted and he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

I don’t think I’m a convert but I still reckon that’s one cool bike—a utility cyclist might even want to grab one to use as a lightweight city bike.

More info

• Kickbike Australia is the local importer (and source of photos of hot chicks and buff blokes with tight bums, presumably sculpted by scootering)
• A detailed review and comparison
• Check out the mad descending in this race footage
• Kickbike is the “World portal for the Kickbike scooters and Kickspark sleds”
• IKSA “the world organisation for footbike (scooter)-and kicksled sport”
• Kickbike America

Tags: kickbike, scooter, bicycle, cycling

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Ever since I first head of bike polo I’ve been mildly curious, without really being motivated to give it a bash. I guess I had the impression of bikes thundering around just like the horses do in…umm…horse polo and along with mallets flailing everywhere and balls rolling around, it just seemed like an accident waiting to happen.

So, in anticipation of some serious schadenfreude, of course we sat down to watch a chukka.

It turned out to be relatively sedate, not the crash and bash that I’d imagined—the worst we saw was a bike being dropped from time to time. I guess it takes a bit of coordination to get the bike going in the right direction, at the right pace and swing the mallet accurately. It must be more about timing than raw speed and aggro. With some training and experience, I suppose it would become a quite fast-paced game but with increasing pace would come increasing skill at avoiding trouble (or increasing skill at falling off).

I’m utterly unqualified to comment, other than to say that it did look like heaps of fun. I still think it’s a crazy idea but you never know, I might just get down there and give it a go myself—the next time I get one of those mythical “spare” Sunday afternoons.

They play down by the Exhibition Building every Sunday from 1pm, and the bloke that I spoke to on the sideline said that it’s mostly scratch games at the moment but they’re trying to get an organised competition going, which would be great.

Tags: bike polo, carlton gardens, melbourne

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“You bloody champion!” [1]

This old codger is getting around on a 56-year-old bike—but then he’s 92 himself.

In 2002, Mathes sent a photo of his bicycle to the Schwinn company.

“I told them, here’s a picture of my bike. It’s 50 years old and has maybe 35,000 miles on it. You can use it in your advertising no charge.

“They sent me back a pair of socks.”

[But did they use the photo?]

He says bicycling is about “the breeze in your face, the exercise, and the constant change of scenery.

“It’s the frosting on the cake. Plus it doesn’t wear out your knees and hips.”

[via RBR Newsletter]

“You bloody champion!” [2]

Riding to school since grade 4, now in year 8 and still not dead, Alex Morgan, 13, has claimed the first medal in Bicycle Victoria’s 500km gold medal challenge.

Alex registered with Bicycle Victoria on April 12 and completed the challenge on April 26. His longest ride was 88.53km around the Yarra Valley and his shortest was the 7km to school and back home.

Recommended reading and viewing

I’ve got two “…of the week” recommendations, both from Yellow Brick Road. Firstly, Adrian is doing some analysis on online comments following the recent crash in Sydney. It will be interesting to follow where that goes. Recommended (and occasionally nauseating) reading.

And then there’s Road Rage in Britain. I haven’t finished watching it myself yet, but the first few sections are pretty interesting. Recommended viewing.

Urban Planning

• Bikes ’sacrificed’ in Melbourne.
• Brisbane cyclists to benefit with network increase: “Brisbane City Council will fast-track the expansion of the city’s bikeway network and new paths after funding was quadrupled in yesterday’s budget.”
• Copenhagen-style bike lanes for Sydney—”the first of about 55 kilometres of new separated bike lanes across the council area.”
• And in Geelong “a shared walking and bicycle track across the front of [a new] 34-lot development would be funded by the developer”—all well and good, but it won’t be much use if it doesn’t connect to anything or go anywhere that anyone wants to go…

The buddy system goes online

comotivate “exists to positively change your physical and mental state by leveraging all that’s amazing about the human condition. Register your goal today, find someone with whom to comotivate and enjoy the power of collective endeavour.” Hmm, sounds like an interesting twist on social networking, especially if you’ve got a speed/distance/training target you want to hit but you don’t have a training partner.

Fold here

Retrofit Folding Handlebars reduces the width of a bike and provides a steering lock to help stop “the infuriating turning of the front wheel”. [Thanks tom]

Big deal

I know we live in a society where the arse-scratchings of every Z-list celebrity seems to be headline fodder for trash magazines and tabloids, so my overwhelming response to the news that Elle Macpherson rides her son home without a helmet was… <YAWN>. Big deal. Who cares? I’m sure she’s not the only helmet-less rider in Britain.

The only really interesting observation in the story was that “Elle was also the only mother smiling at the pick-up zone”, but the reporter attributes that to fashion-envy rather than the more likely explanation that Macpherson wasn’t battling London traffic congestion in an over-sized agricultural vehicle.

Sounds like Audax

Whittlesea rides the cycling trend.

Urban MTB

Stuck in town, far from the hills? Build your own mountain under the freeway (well, a mountain bike trail, at least).

Photo credit: “Cycle & Sacks” by Meanest Indian on Flickr

Tags: speedlink, bicycle, cycling, elderly, young, urban planning, cycling facilities, melbourne, brisbane, sydney, geelong, whittlesea, comotivate, folding handlebars, celebrity, mtb, urban spaces

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