The Monday Roundup
Posted by Elly Blue (Columnist) on August 15th, 2011 at 9:12 am
[Publisher's note: Thanks to the non-profit Community Vision and their annual Harvest Century (October 8th) for support of the Monday Roundup! - JM.]
Here's the bike news from around the world that caught my eye this week:
- The ban on bicycling in the casino town of Black Hawk, Colorado is now headed to that state's Supreme Court.
- In preparation for a bike sharing system in Tel Aviv, Israel has adjusted its helmet law so that adults may legally ride helmetless in cities.
- A woman in Harare, Zimbabwe starts riding a bike, and shares her thoughts. "I was no longer a hostage to religion, tradition or men. I was free. On my bicycle I felt like I was in a room of my own."
- It's unclear if we really needed an in-depth look into the carbon footprint of bicycle transportation, but here one is anyway.
- The department of transportation in Michigan has a popular program called Training Wheels that puts public officials and traffic engineers on bikes to get a sense of what the state's roads are like on two wheels.
- In Wichita, Kansas, steps toward bike friendly infrastructure are being celebrated.
- In NYC, a poll ranks different mode users for politeness, with not entirely unsurprising results.
- An interview with a Washington, D.C. cab driver who prefers to get around by bicycle when she's not on the clock.
- Tragic events in Montreal lead to reflections on traffic signal timing: "You can't ask people to respect a red light when they have to wait more than a minute in minus-15-degree weather."
- Tearjerker of the week: In Scotland, a family asks that funeral guests come kitted out in cycling gear to their 75 year old mother's funeral to celebrate her love of bikes and show that they aren't deterred from riding.
- Where are all the bicycle-riding movie protagonists and bike-positive pop song lyrics, muses a blogger.
- A student is working on flywheel technology to power bicycles, with the hopes of eventually applying it to cars.
- Video of the week: The trailer for Bikelordz a feature film about BMX culture in Ghana.
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on carbon, the numbers are useful, but the simple fact we knew all along, have always known, is that a bike wins on the energy front. Heck it even wins over walking if you don't include the materials....
RecommendedI'm not sure knowing that it is 10 or 100 or
oops. or 1000 times better than a bus/car/Hummer is crucial but it may persuade someone?
RecommendedI'm hoping to see briandavispdx @ "Half the Fun" get Lady Gaga to do her "wild rebellion against helmet laws" song and video... that should be awesome crazy!
RecommendedRegarding carbon footprint, this EcoVelo post seems more apropos: Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Options
RecommendedAwesome video, Bikelordz, a good event to support, too
Recommendedvia Austin on Two Wheels, a very insightful conference presentation by Mikael Colville Andersen at Copenhagenize. He looks at how bicycle industry messaging often sends a message that is contradictory to the goal of getting more people on bikes.
Recommendedhttp://austinontwowheels.org/2011/08/12/friday-film-fun-selling-cycling-as-part-of-the-good-life-with-mikael-colville-andersen/