Melbournism calls for Melbourne’s best cycling paths

What do they ride at Microsoft?

Apple’s campus bikes are classically minimal—a plain silver mixte, to be precise.

Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but if you think about it, this simple, classic bike seems like exactly the thing Apple would pick to get its employees around the campus. I wonder what Microsoft uses? Probably electric golf carts. Or even (shudder) Segways.

[thanks flipsockgrrl]

Once was car city

Detroit Bike City [Thanks tom]

Not quite bike city

Melbourne gains ‘bike city’ status. Oh, really?

Actually is bike city

NYTimes.com on The Dutch Way – Bicycles and Fresh Bread.

Number crunch

Mez Dispenser on checking the numbers on bike trips in Toronto—how did the city get it so wrong?

Design

• Plastic bike looks like a toy, but rides like the future [Thanks tom]
• Brian Cloyd’s Recumbent Trike impresses NASA [Thanks tom]
• Apparently Toyota is working on the bicycle of the future that shifts gears via brain waves. OK, cool idea and good on them, but I can’t see myself replacing reliable cable and levers any time in the foreseeable future.

Recognition

Dave Moulton on distinctive bike designs.

Retro

• In the Doone Valley by Frank Patterson [twitterer]
• Bicycles. Sears, Roebuck & Co. Advertising Booklet, 1914.
• The trend today is to BSA [twitterer]

You go girl

Bicycle Thief, Interrupted:

Some idiot has the brass balls to steal a bike in broad daylight. But Kristen Bell and her co-workers saw what was happening and sprung into action, taking revenge for theft victims everywhere.

[Thanks tom]

Light up those hoops

Project Aura: Bicycle Safety Lighting System [Thanks tom]

“These jeans hate me”

Commute by Bike on Levi’s Nerd-Repellent Commuter Jeans:

I’m working on finding out if Levi’s makes an uncool version of these pants, and if they do, I’ll review them sometime in the future — and I’ll find out if “higher back rise” means, “covers your butt crack.”

Park it there

Apple shaped multi-story bike park in Alphen aan de Rijn [Thanks tom]

Counterintuitive

New road sign: Lane Closed to Ease Congestion [twitterer]

Best advice ever

Keep calm and ride on.

Another way a bike is better

Simple way to cool down your car after it’s been baking in the sun.

Too much Tour de France is barely enough

• Dave Moulton calls it A Perfect Result.
• The Conversation on the science of the Tour de France time trial.
• I’ve really come to look forward to the Boston Globe’s two-part folio of shots from the Tour de France: Part 1 and Part 2.
  (Incidentally, if anyone ever tries to suggest that every single one of these riders isn’t an incredibly hard man, just point them this photo of Laurens ten Dam.)
• road.cc reminded me of the wonderful TdF film Vive le tour! Sure, you’ve probably seen it before but go and watch it again.
• And I just need to keep a bookmark of Senor Coconut – Tour de France for future reference.

Sadly, we need to keep it in perspective

Amy Gillett Foundation on a stark reminder of the dangers cyclists face on our roads:

As the nation celebrates Cadel Evans’ famous Tour De France victory, it is also a time to highlight the issues of safety for cyclists on our roads as we mourn the death of another cyclist on Beach Road in Melbourne last Friday.

Work it out

Triathleteurope on effective hour-long bike workouts:

Not everyone has the time to put in five-hour rides every week. Fortunately, there are a few hour-long sessions that you can do that are invaluable for developing your bike fitness.

Energy supply

Interesting article on Why do we get exhausted?

Futile

KarlOnSea on the futility of culture change through exhortation:

Supposedly, all we have to do to make the roads attractive to the 98% of the population who don’t ride bikes on a regular basis, is to change the behaviour of these drivers. Yeah. Like that’s going to happen by just asking drivers nicely to pay a lot more attention, and curb any aggressive tendencies they may have.

Apropos: Bike crashes in Queensland: cyclists most likely to be at fault. [twitterer]

And when cycling infrastructure is everywhere, you get installations like this. [twitterer]

Accessorise, dahling!

@noteon: “Finally, somebody makes an affordable saddle scrotum”.

Handlebar clearance

Heidi Swift suggests Don’t look down. Mmmmmokay!

The debate the just keeps on giving

Cycle helmets: safety essential or health risk?

Cycle helmets should not be made compulsory, according to medical experts. The surprise finding from a poll of readers of the British Medical Journal suggests there is no simple answer to improving cycling safety.

Back to the drawing board

Human Powered Cycles reports on a prototype utility bike:

Not long after we built the first prototype furniture removalist bike, we tried moving some wood. Well actually it was a few hundred kilograms of wood.

Ah. Oops.

Cook now

TravellingTwo offers a free bicycle touring cookbook (from 1979):

There are hints on proportions (note that the book was aimed at groups of cyclists, so all recipes serve 10 people!), nutrition and how to carry tricky things, like sticky jars of honey.

Girls in the biz

Oregon Business reports from Interbike on why women lag in bike riding and business. [twitterer]

Jens says

The Jens Voigt Soundboard: ’nuff said!

The Pillars of French Cycling

Interesting film on the French bike industry, in two parts: Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.

And here’s part 2. [via Research Trailer Park]

Who needs a reason?

Ten things I’ve learned in six months of commuting by bicycle. [via RocBike.com]

Not wasting my time

Aerobic exercise ‘a waste of time’:

Millions of people who try to keep fit by jogging, cycling or going to the gym could be wasting their time, a study revealed today.

Well, I guess that depends what they want to get out of it.

“If a patient is not likely to benefit much from aerobic exercise, the physician could turn to other types of exercise or alternative therapies…Alternative types of exercise include anaerobic pursuits such as weightlifting, push-ups and pull-ups.

Yeah-no. I think I’ll stick to cycling, thanks all the same.

I would put it first

Apparently ‘The Rumour’ is the third most beautiful Dutch nude painting. The first two must have been amazing.

Gob-smacked

Gob-smacked is what I am at this:

Tyler Strandberg of Rocky Mount has a hard time getting her mind off her BlackBerry when she drives.

She has crashed three cars in the past three years.

Each time, she was distracted from her driving because she was typing text messages or talking on the phone.

“Sometimes I will zone out and forget I’m driving,” said Tyler, 23. “If I’m on the phone talking about something that takes up all my focus, I’m looking straight ahead – but not even seeing what’s there.”

[via How We Drive, twitterer]

Now if that doesn’t frighten the hell out of you, consider the possible outcomes.

Astounded

Likewise, I’m astounded at this one in the Lancashire Telegraph:

A road rage teenage driver repeatedly targeted a cyclist and left him fearing for his life.

Burnley Crown Court heard how unbeknown to Benjamin Harrison, 18, his victim was police inspector Martin Melvin.

Nine times he almost mowed down DI Melvin, aiming for him on the pavement, striking his handle-bars, forcing him off his bike into trees, threatening to kill him and hurling stones and coins at him.

When arrested, he asked “Can I not just apologise?” Yes, you should apologise and then they should ban you from driving for life—you have no business being in control of a motor vehicle. Check out the sentence:

…nine months in jail, suspended for two years, with 12 months supervision and 100 hours unpaid work. He was banned from driving for two years and must pay £750 costs.

[via road.cc]

Prescience

While touring New Zealand, a German cyclist blogged about trucking “beasts” days before she was killed by a truck.

Fritz goes over the hood

I just picked up the report that Yokota Fritz was recently hit by a car—another SMIDSY. Nice face gash, looks like all his teeth are still there—and glad to hear he’s otherwise OK.

Roads to justice

Traffic Injustice, Part II, a commentary on bicycling.com. Recommended read of the week.

Saddle saw

NancyBoy advises don’t confuse your chamois with your chainsaw.

Long load

Andy’s longbike is a tandem turned into a single-seater with a mega pannier rack: “The idea behind this bicycle was to afford myself trailer-like capacities, sans-trailer.” [via BikeHacks]

Engage!

Engage with the traffic—good advice, although it just seems like common human courtesy to me (true that’s something which is altogether uncommon). [twitterer]

Skid lid

Apparently cheap bike helmets offer the same protection as expensive ones. [via Research Trailer Park]

Hardly a surprising finding, as in most jurisdictions helmets need to comply with minimum standards. But it is interesting that, provided it’s properly fitted (and that’s the crucial point), an expensive helmet doesn’t provide more protection in proportion with its higher price. Expensive helmets do offer better ventilation, lighter weight, and better fitting options. But all else being equal, they probably aren’t any “safer”.

What energy food?

Mens Health has a Food Face-Off:

Powders, pills, bars, and bottles are convenient, but real food can be as good (or better) for pre-, post-, and mid-workout fuel and hydration.

[twitterer]

Meanwhile, in Utopia…

Cyclists call for ‘friendly’ roads:

Research findings out today have found most bicycle owners who do not to ride to work have nominated dangerous traffic conditions as the big deterrent.

[twitterer]

And likewise in Vancouver, “if riders don’t feel safe, they’ll leave bikes at home”.

Lanes

While I retain my bike lane agnosticism, it’s interesting to have a look at what bike lanes are like in other places.

But then, bike lanes are really just extra parking lanes aren’t they?

Analysis

Bicycle Analyzer:

Enter your bicycle’s gear values, pedaling cadence and wheel diameter and this program will calculate all your gear ratios and speeds, and analyze the design of your transmission.

Sucker

All you ever wanted to know (and possibly more than you wanted to know) about Chain-Suck.

Ride here (or perhaps not)

The 19 most complex and dangerous roads in the world.

Get out of the car, butterball!

Research has found that the fittest children are those who cycle to school:

In all cases, children who were driven to school had the lowest levels of physical fitness, being less fit than walkers, cyclists and even children who took the bus. Cyclists were also found to be more physically active at other times of day when compared to children using other transport modes.

Sad but true:

Although cyclists and car users were most different in terms of physical fitness, the distances they travelled to school were very similar. Cyclists rode for about 1.5 miles to school, and average car rides were about two miles. Half of these car journeys were less than two miles and 15 percent were less than a mile – both easily walkable or bikeable distances.

To speculate, parents of the the car-riding kids probably argue “but riding is dangerous!” Yeah, right. And type 2 diabetes is a picnic…

What was I thinking?

Back in January 2006:

• Wish I’d thought of this: photos of cycling commuters from an apartment window.
• Fatal Friday Syndrome: Figures highlighted by the Scottish Safety Camera Partnership suggested car accidents increased by nearly one-fifth on Friday afternoons.
• The “cycling is the new golf” thing (remember that?) appeared in the mainstream.
• Why cyclists prefer black knicks.

Rainy evening on Swanston Street

Après le Tour, waste

Mont Ventoux: 500,000 people, 20 tons of garbage, €20,000 clean-up bill=very, very ugly. [twitterer]

Le Tour 1940

The 1940 Tour de France—oh, har-de-har. [thanks SuperGran]

Recommended reading

This week’s recommended reading: The Culture of Speed vs the Culture of Trust.

Also picked up by city cycling.

Parking

The Logistics of Bicycle Commuting:

Depending on the bike you select for your commute, you may be comfortable locking it up outside at a standard bike rack (if there are any available), or you might want to take more precaution by finding a bike locker, bike parking facility, safe niche somewhere at your workplace to leave it for the day, or you might decide to utilize a more creative solution for parking.

Meanwhile Jan Chipchase speculates on the nature of late 21st Century Valet Parking:

Parking is a atoms-in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time kinda problem – how best to location shift the bicycle from [where you are now] to [where the bicycle needs to be to be sufficiently out of the way] whilst it is not needed to [where you are now] when you are ready to ride again?

What was I thinking?

August 2006 was nothing if not productive, including entries such as:

• Recommended reading on road safety

• The Hummer of Love (don’t miss some amusing comments there)

• Beware this human road hazard

• The bike as economic unit

Objectification

Bicycle Shaped Object:

This blog is an attempt to provide a realistic insight – good and bad – into what cheap bikes (aka “Bicycle Shaped Objects”) mean for customers, for cycling, for business and the environment.

What’s life like on the Asda el cheapo bike and similar?

In the beginning

Most common noob mistakes.

[And don't talk to me about stupid mistakes!]

Celebrity cyclists say

Me and my bike: Five famous enthusiasts tell us their cycling stories.

Bike Pr0n

Cycling Photography by VeloDramatic—yummy.

DIY

• Self-balancing electic unicycle—much cooler than a Segway!

• Bicycle Generator and USB Device Charger: “A bicycle-mounted system for generating electricity, storing it, and charging several USB devices, mainly an iPhone and a GPS tracking unit.”

All go car free

Seven car-free cities [twitterer]

It’s hard to believe that before the early 20th century, almost every city in the world was “car-free.” Zoom ahead 100 years later, and you have to do some real digging to escape the army of cars now clogging the planet’s roads and highways.

Put your back into it

Jetrike: “a front wheel drive (FWD) tilting delta trike design that features self-centering tilt geometry. Its tilting mechanism works independently from the steering. The idea is to use the riders weight to remain centered as the trike becomes stationary.”

Various motivations

Bike commuting by the numbers suggests a saving of nearly $5000 by selling the car and commuting by bike. That’s before forking over for a new bike. Oh yeah, and there’s other motivation as well:

What I always forget to mention when talking with people about commuting is this: there’s virtually nothing PG-rated I love to do more than ride a good bike.

Keepin’ it real

Why You Should be Riding Steel and not Carbon.

Plastic

Barbie as bike advocate [twitterer]

“For the ladies”

Hit The Road With Our Top 10 Fashionable Bikes Just For The Ladies [twitterer]

Contortionist

“The Contortionist bike is compact, bendy and oddly sexy, like an actual contortionist”. [twitterer]

Fold this

Click-Stand is the world’s only folding portable bicycle stand. Umm, yes—it is basically just a stick.

Shooting fish in a barrel

San Jose Mercury News reports that:

Bike to Work hosted its sixth annual Commuter Race on Tuesday…All the bikes beat the cars by a good 10-20 minutes during the treasure hunt-style race that began at the intersection of Front and Cooper streets, made stops at The Buttery on Soquel and Branciforte avenues and again at New Leaf Market on 41st Avenue before crossing the finish line at the tiki on the Capitola Esplanade.

Another “shock” result there. [via the cycling dude]

Cycling campaign

CNN tells of politcal campaigning in Afghanistan:

Every morning Sangin Mohammed Rahmani says goodbye to his wife, gets on his bicycle and sets out alone on a bumpy, unpaved Kabul road that he hopes will lead him to the presidency.

“This is going to be my vehicle to success,” he says, patting his bicycle, as he pushes it down a rutted, garbage-strewn street. “With my bicycle and my mobile phone, I can solve all the problems of the people.”

[twitterer]

Vacant expression

Human Powered Cycles is hiring:

Applicants must have a strong background and experience in the role of bicycle mechanic and the ability to work in a team. The position is primarily based in the workshop on servicing and repairs and setup of new/second hand bikes.

Applications close 12 August.

Fight like Susan

Fatty’s wife Susan died on 5 August. Thoughts and sympathy to her family and friends.

And I wouldn’t dare say that she lost.

So bad it’s good… [via The Bike Show]

Utility cycling

A quiet revolution in bicycles: Recapturing a role as utilitarian people-movers (part I) and (part II).

Pimped

• 14 Pimped Bikes. [twitterer]

• FAIYATORIKKUBOBU – Jet Power Bike—makes me wonder why anyone would want to put a jet between their thighs, but each to their own. [thanks tom]

• Shocker a chopper that “rocks and will for sure be an eye-catcher. Pure, simple and plain without much ado.” I kinda like it… [thanks tom]

• Bike/Eat/Sleep Decals—cute idea. [via Nine Mile Skid]

Danger!

The Dangers of Cycling, from The Lancet, 11 July 1896. [PDF]

Perspective

Do not, simply do not talk to me about supposedly “dangerous” or “scofflaw” cyclists while this sort of crap is going on: Dicing with death at dangerous railway level crossings. Watch the video—very scary. Darwin Award nominees abound.

Vocal bike shop

A few things from the bike shop—packed full of wonderfully grumpy quotes, for example:

So you want a bike that you can ride to work, goes really fast, is good for that triathlon you’re doing this summer (snicker), is good on trails and mud, and costs less than $300. Yeah. Listen, I want a car that can go 200 miles an hour, tow a boat, has room for five adults, is easy to parallel park but can carry plywood, gets 60mpg, and only costs $3,000. I also want a unicorn to blow me. What are we even talking about here? Oh yeah. Listen, bikes can be fast, light, cheap and comfortable. Pick two, and we’re all good.

[via About the bike]

Of course, there are always more sides to the story: Not knowing a Schraeder from a Presta shouldn’t make you feel like a bike tool. [via Melbourne Cyclist]

Car as oven

Car-baked chocolate chip cookies—remind me again why cars are so good… [via Lifehacker]

Bike-on-bike action for foldaway perverts

Will Self waxes lyrical on the Brompton bike. Dammit, now I’m lusting for a Brompton (well, even more than I did before…)

Nic says

Nic Dow on episode 42 of the YarraBUG Radio Show—around the 8-minute mark for intelligent comments on planning and implementing bike infrastructure.

Bikes beat golf carts

Zoo ditches golf carts for bicycles:

The idea came when Zoo Director David Tetzlaff brought his bike in to get around a little more quickly. The staff dug it, and before long they had made bicycles available and custom made trailers to haul animal food, supplies and tools around.

More in the Zoo’s press release

[via Mountain Biking]

And their rationale is…?

A county in the USA wants the authority to ban bicycles from its roads. I do not understand why they would want to do this. Even this report in the Columbine Courier doesn’t provide a compelling reason for such action. twitterer

What the…?

Swedish man attacked by tattooed girl gang! [twitterer]

Reflecting on rear view mirrors

Mirrors for bike:

Mirrors never really get pushed for cycling, but, they could be more useful than bell or even helmet. Of course, you could learn the art of looking over your shoulder. But, as I said, even for experienced riders this is not always so easy.

And while we’re on the subject, try the pocket-sized, clip-on, rear-view mirror [twitterer]

Third and final warning

Hal grades your bike locking 3: The final warning!

Just let it slide

When it comes to aggro on the road, it’s probably best to let it slide. Note the video linked at the end: True Confession: Bike Rage.

Will need a lot of bikes

Hybrid Squared: Ingenious energy-generating bike rental system:

Designer Chiyu Chen has conceived of an ingenious transit system that encourages the use of sustainable transportation by crediting people for renting and riding bicycles. His Hybrid2 system consists of a fleet of rentable bicycles that are capable of generating and storing kinetic energy, which is then used to power the city’s hybrid electric buses. Simply rent a bike, charge it up with kinetic energy from pedal power, and then return it to a kiosk – the station feeds energy into the city’s smart grid, and you receive a credit towards your next bus pass!

See also Chiyu Chen‘s video demonstration of Hybrid2.

Editorial comment from tom: “it will never work”.

You can diagnose a stroke

Three simple tests anyone can administer can help diagnose the occurrence of a stroke. Important note: these signs are sufficient but not necessary—someone can still be having a stroke even if they pass these three simple tests.

For the detail-oriented, here’s an article on Stroke at MedicineNet.com.

Tour de France

• Bicycle Radio collect some TdF highlights from Phil and Paul [MP3]. [via Audax-Oz and A Woman and a Fixed Wheel]

• Twitter takes the Tour de France on new course.

Grinding gears

The nerds’ nerds at The Age Education supplement reckon the TdF is “the ideal time to discuss gear ratios”. Simple article and I think I get it but I’m still not ready for Sheldon Brown’s Gain Ratio. I’ve promised myself that one day I’ll understand it.

Put down that phone

Drivers and legislators dismiss cellphone risks

Pump up that phone

Five iPhone apps that replace bike hardware

Now they’re thinking

Billed as “the thinking cyclist’s ACE”, the Semaine Fédérale program is offering a two-day variation on Audax Australia’s new 250km Alpine Classic Extreme: the Alpine Raid. That’s 111km Bright to Omeo via Mt Hotham on the first day, then 139km Omeo to Bright via Falls Creek on the second.

Art lane

Bike Lane Impressionist Art:

how can you satisfy your cravings for impressionist art? The answer . . . is probably right beneath your bike’s wheels, in the shape of the amazing variety of impressionist drawings of bikes that councils all over the world use to mark bike lanes.

Slow bikes win

Fixed-gear rider or granny-bike dawdler: who will win the race?.

On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with using the daily commute as training.

Blog

More blogs with irresitible names:

• Girls gone riding

• Candy Cranks—chicks that spin around the globe

• Nine Mile Skid

[twitterer]

City cycling

How to bicycle safely in the city [twitterer]

Hauling cargo

There are utility cargo bikes, like the Madsen or the Mundo, and then there are utility cargo bikes!

Designs

• The “Pilen concept is a race bike inspired by early Le Mans style, the concept is supposed to create a sentimental bond with the user and also give them the same feeling as if they were driving a sports car.”

• The Prelude incorporates visibility lighting into the bike’s frame. [twitterer]

• Transformer Bike: is it an upright or is it a ‘bent? [thanks tom]

• 20 of the Freakiest Custom Bikes on the Road. [Thanks tom]

Gadgets

• VeloComputer uses a mobile phone as a cycling computer.

• Nice flaps: Honjo-Koken mudguards.

• Is this PVC and Milk Basket Bike Basket taking the milk crate thing just a bit too seriously?

• QWERTY handlebar grip. I wonder if you can get it the Dvorak layout for the geeks? [thanks flipsockgrrl]

Yehuda awakes

"’Yeduha Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery’ returns June 17". Woohoo!

Breakaway sprints not allowed

According to Telegraph.co.uk

Close to 200 prisoners will take to the open roads as they cycle around France [this] month in the first penal version of the Tour de France, though they will be accompanied by scores of guards on bicycles…

“It’s a kind of escape for us, a chance to break away from the daily reality of prison,” said Daniel, a 48-year-old prisoner in the western city of Nantes, at the official launch of the event…

“This project aims to help these men re-integrate into society by fostering values like effort, teamwork and self-esteem,” said Sylvie Marion of the prison authority.

Avoiding trouble

Check the sixth, seventh and eighth photos in this photo set from the 2009 Clarendon Cup—how does rider no. 163 stay out of trouble?

Oh yeah, and there are some really exciting shots there.

Inviting trouble

There goes this nutter with his jet-powered bike again…

Another beauty contest I didn’t win

Top 50 cycling blogs. Dang, I must’ve come in at number 51…or not.