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Map of major US cycling routes Best cities for winter biking World's most bike friendly cities “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.”- Ernest Hemingway NYC finds bike lanes speed up traffic 2016 Global bike riding not increasing 2015 Number of cyclists triples in NYC Transport for London says bicycles now make up one sixth of traffic in the centre of the capital The age group with the highest rate of bicycling is the 18-24 age group, but the 55+ age group is the one that has been increasing its rate fastest (by far), and it is quickly gaining ground on the young. 2014 More than 500 cities in 49 countries host advanced bike-sharing programs, with a combined fleet exceeding 500,000 bicycles according to Earth Policy Institute
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Ranking the US bikeshare systems Most bike friendly cities in the world 2016 Teens get a bike route in Nashville Germany's new highway for bikers and walkers Create your own ebike by changing the front wheel  Video: Four wheel covered bike Bike share found to slightly reduce traffic  10 ways to hang your bike on the wall like a work of art Bike thief explains the tricks London plans bike superhighway A bike pedal that keeps track of your bike An innovative new cycling accessory is in the works, for both standard bikes and ebikes, which promises to "enhance your biking experience," by using the power of your smartphone to manage and connect to a wide variety of applications and devices, right from your handlebars. 2014 A review of the ELF solar/human-powered hybrid velomobile The difference between a bike and a car Bike lanes pay for themselves and more According to Reuters, 20 of France’s companies and organizations have agreed to pay their employees 25 euro cents (about 34 cents in USD) for every kilometer cycled during the commute to and from work. Driver error contributes to way more deaths than cyclist error Want to teach you kids to ride a bike? In NYC bike coaches are only $90 an hour Netherlands' cycle paths began 100 years ago LA building bike friendly business
district More than 11,000 British cyclists were fined for riding on pavements and running red lights last year. Of these, more than 7,000 cyclists were fined for cycling on pavements while over 4,000 were caught jumping red lights and ignoring other road signs and markings. Bikes outselling cars in most European countries Bike lanes and black communities: resolving the conflicts DC's Capital Bikeshares now hitting 10,000 rides a day Slow bikers challenge the Spandex crowd How to set up your bike like a pro The one wheeler you won't fall off of TWO BICYCLE WONDERS OF THE WORLD Bikers make up a quarter of London's morning rush vehicles How to make a bike powered generator 22 cities have bike sharing programs Study: Bike lanes give big boost to local business 2012 Decline of the bike courier business Where bike riding is safest Bike sharing raises helmet issue Bikes get their own highways in Copenhagen Some car makers now creating electric bikes Republicans hate bicycles, too The Alliance for Biking and Walking says the top cities for these activities are, in order, Boston, Wahsington DC, San Francisco, Seattle and New York Baltimore to introduce bike sharing World's most bike friendly cities JAPANESE MOTORBIKE ALLOWS YOU TO POOP AS YOU GO A new University of Massachusetts study shows that bicycle lanes create 46 percent more jobs than car-only road projects. The study examined 58 infrastructure projects in 11 states, and found out that cycling projects create a total of 11.4 local jobs for each $1 million spent, while road-only projects generate just 7.8 jobs per $1 million. - Good Is Biker rush hour in Netherlands A public bike-share system in NYC has been a long time coming, but it's almost here: The city has announced a partnership with Alta Bike Share, the company that runs systems in DC, London, and Montreal. And now for the best news: There will initially be 10,000 bikes, at 600 stations around the city. Do it yourself bike repair kiosk Dutch bike path to be built on solar panels 2010 A NEW POLITICAL DIVIDE: DEMOCRATS LIKE BIKES; REPUBLICANS HATE THEM NEW SOLUTION TO THE BIKE HELMET PROBLEM GALLERY: DO IT YOURSELF BIKE TRAILERS FOLDING ELECTRIC BIKE YOU CAN TAKE ON SUBWAY WITH YOU NEW 50 POUND E-BIKE COULD MAKE AMERICAN MARKET A MINI BIKE GARAGE FOR COMMUTERS FOLDING ELECTRIC RENTAL BIKES FOR BUS STOPS INVENTOR'S BIKE FOLDS INTO ITS OWN WHEEL GALLERY: THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW A BIKE COULD CARRY MORE CYCLISTS MEAN FEWER ACCIDENTS Ecomodder - It may seem counterintuitive, but according to a recent report more cyclists on the road mean fewer accidents involving cyclists and motor vehicles. . . "It's a virtuous cycle," says Dr Julie Hatfield, an injury expert from University of New South Wales. "The likelihood that an individual cyclist will be struck by a motorist falls with increasing rate of bicycling in a community. And the safer cycling is perceived to be, the more people are prepared to cycle." Also, even more encouragingly, it doesn't seem that cycling infrastructure is responsible for the change: Experts say the effect
is independent of improvements in cycling-friendly laws such
as lower speed limits and better infrastructure, such as bike
paths. Research has revealed the safety-in-numbers impact for
cyclists in Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, 14 European
countries and 68 Californian cities. A NEW APPROACH TO MOTOR BIKING NEW WAY TO STOW YOUR BIKE IN RIVERSIDE, CA THE CASE FOR SEPARATED BIKE LANES THE PROS AND CONS OF ELECTRIC BIKES CHRISTOPHER CHERRY, LIVE SCIENCE - Electric bike users have taken Chinese cities by storm, quickly outnumbering the cars and in many cities, bicycles. Electric bikes range in style from traditional pedal bicycles powered by an electric motor to larger electric powered scooters. They are loosely restricted on speed and size, but given the same rights as bicycle users, operate in bicycle lanes, and do not require driver's licenses, vehicle registration or helmet use. Proponents would suggest that the e-bike phenomenon is a positive development; after all, e-bikes are quiet, non-polluting and provide more mobility than any other mode of transportation. Opponents charge that e-bikes are unsafe, increase congestion, and indirectly pollute the environment through increased power plant emissions and lead pollution from their heavy batteries. Several cities have attempted to, or successfully, banned electric bikes from roadways, including the mega-cities of Beijing and Guangzhou. Still, there has been little research on the true impacts of electric bikes in China. As a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, I began conducting research, which led to a dissertation, on quantifying the impacts of electric bikes in China. . . I found that electric bikes travel about 35 percent faster than bicycles and have a much larger range. In the city of Kunming, an electric bike can access 60 percent more jobs within 20 minutes than a traditional bicycle. Compared to a 30-40 minute bus ride, an electric bike rider can access three to six times the number of jobs. While this increase in mobility is remarkable, this mobility does come at a cost, namely increased lead pollution from battery use. Electric bikes use one car-sized lead acid battery per year. Each battery represents 30-40 percent of its lead content emitted to the environment in the production processes, resulting in about 3 kilograms of lead emitted per battery produced. When scaled up the 40 million electric bikes currently on the roads, this is an astonishing amount of lead emitted into the environment. This negative environmental impact is countered by other environmental benefits compared to most modes, including vastly reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Ultimately, the success or failure of electric bikes as a sustainable mode of transportation should be evaluated in the context of the extent to which they displace automobile. They certainly have fewer negative impacts than personal automobiles, but they currently displace mostly bus and bicycle users and only a small number of car users. 2007 NEW TRICYCLE GIVES BIKING A DIFFERENT FEEL TREE HUGGER - Mechanical Engineer Stephen Coates thought that traditional bikes has limitations when it came to balance, comfort, storage and joint-friendly leg action. He has developed the [three wheeled] hiker, and says that he "has done away with the inefficiencies of both traditional bicycles and recumbent bicycles - tricycles. For starters, the seat is at standard chair height and does not require a complicated movement to get onto and off of. The revolutionary tangent lever design abolishes circular pedal travel in favor of a simple leg extension for forward movement. Due to the versatility of this design, all that is required is a simple internal 3-speed hub to ensure optimal gearing with minimal changes. As for steering, all that's required is an intuitive lean, thanks to the new center-pivot steering ." http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/03/hiker_sitdown_t.php NORWAY'S BIKE LIFT TRAMPE, NORWAR - The inventor of the Bicycle Lift and the owner of the company Design Management, Jarle Wanvik, is a true bicycle enthusiast. He always finds an excuse for parking his car and using his bicycle instead. In daily transport to and from work, to the shopping center etc., it is uncomfortable to be too warm and sweaty. In 1992, Wanvik got luminous visions about a bicycle lift that could carry cyclists uphill. Inspired by the ski lift technology, he visualized a lift design by which the cyclists could be pushed uphill without having to descend the bicycle. Wanvik's home town is Trondheim, the third largest city of Norway, housing 150 000 inhabitants and 30,000 students. Trondheim is characterized by the old town center down by the seashore with a surrounding, terraced landscape formed back in the ice age. On the banks of these terraces, 100-300 m above sea level, we find most of the living areas, each of them with 20-30 000 inhabitants. On top of one of these terraces is the University of Trondheim. To increase the usage of bicycles in Trondheim, the Municipal of Trondheim has through the recent years invested in building multiple, connected bicycle roads. Due to topographical height differences, however, there is limited bicycle commuting to and from the town center. In job/school commuting or shopping the last thing you want to be is sweaty, and climbing the hills to the top of the terraces in Trondheim will guarantee copious amounts of perspiration. After having simulated the basic principle of the new product - pushing the cyclist by his backwardly stretched foot, the Public Roads Administration was convinced. In November 1992, Design Management AS was asked to deliver and install a prototype of the lift at Bakklandet, situated close to the town center and consisting of a commonly used hill leading to the university campus. Normally, there are 20-30,000 trips per year. 220,000 have taken Trampe since the installment in 1993. BIKE PORTLAND - Bob Crispin sent in these photos after seeing this wayward pedaler on the streets of Northeast Portland. Amazingly, the guy claims to have ridden this contraption all over the U.S. and down to Mexico. "He said his design was inspired by the moon rovers and the moon landing vehicle, the super structure and the shiny panels. The interior was sweet too, looked comfy, and had a map holder and lots of neat nooks and crannies to store stuff.". . . The craziest thing is that despite days of torrential rain, Bob said it was dry inside the cabin. MICHAEL BLUEJAY - I've moved several times entirely by bicycle. Usually I've used a Worksman trike pulling a large 4'x3' trailer. I've hauled huge things with the Worksman, including couches and washing machines. It's funny how people tell me, "Oh, I wish I'd known you were moving, I have a car." As though we could fit a couch or a washing machine in their car. With a large trailer, I'm actually more mobile than I would be with a passenger automobile. |