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Biking Brisbane - this is how we roll

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Mon, 26/07/2010 - 19:03

As we know, there are a million cycling blogs out there. As an ex-Brisneyland resident this one caught my eye, http://bikingbrisbane.com/, which I stumbled across via my old chums at Bicycle Queensland tweeting away. Winters up north are glorious - three months of clear blue skies and 20 degrees everyday, but I'd sure miss the Adelaide Hills. Enjoy. 

Glass Watch

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Sat, 24/07/2010 - 17:08

I had been waiting for the government to add to hospital watch, grocery watch, fuel watch and school watch but they have let me down. Anyway, take care coming down Cross road as there seems to be a higher than usual amount of glass in the bike lane. The bit just before Unley Road took care of a brand new Vittoria Corsa this morning. And a tip for young players - take a full CO2 canister with you, NOT the one you emptied last time. D'OH!

More Bicycle Friendly Motorways

Copenhagenize.com blog - Sat, 24/07/2010 - 00:42

I was on a photo shoot for the Danish Cancer Society a couple of weeks ago. Cycling along the old defences of Copenhagen, taking pictures of recreational bicycle infrastructure. The Cancer Society is focusing a lot on cycling and exercise as preventative measures against cancer in this sedentary world.

The route took me over a motorway section that I'd only ever driven over in a car. Sjællands Bridge, which is the main motorway if you're heading to Sweden from Denmark. Needless to say there is a wide cycle track over the bridge. There are fewer commuters on this route during the week, compared to parallel cycle tracks along other motorways leading into the city, but the weather was nice - 35 degrees - and there were many people going for bike rides.


On either side of the bridge the bike route runs parallel but more separated by trees - it's a motorway for god's sake, who wants to ride next to it? - but above is a lovely detail. There is an overpass leading bicycles and pedestrians over the motorway. It is wonderfully designed. A long, sweeping arc that makes it an easy climb for all the different kinds of people on bicycles who use it, including children.

Brilliant, people-friendly design detail. They could have just cut it short and made it a sharper, steeper turn up to the overpass. But they didn't.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

Hydration

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Sat, 24/07/2010 - 00:39

Just after some thoughts/opinions on hydration.  So far I have only been on some flat rides of around 50-70km.  Each time I have taken two bottles with me - 700ml of sports drink, and 650 ml of water - and by the time I finish my ride, both are either empty, or I will have a bit of water left.

To me this seems to be excessive for such a short ride in cool conditions, and am a little concerned that when it warms up I will be needing to refill along the way.  And riding in the hills wi

Modbury to Murray Bridge

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Fri, 23/07/2010 - 23:50

If the weathers fair I might be riding from Modbury to Murray Bridge next  Friday, stay overnight with outlaws and return on Saturday. I intend to ride up through Tea Tree Gully, Chain of Ponds, Birdwood, Palmer and Murray Bridge via the Palmer Murray Bridge road. I'm familiar with the roads and hills to Birdwood but Have never been on the Palmer Murray Bridge Road. Does anybody know this road and if they do is it a reasonable road for cycling.

Women on Track

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Fri, 23/07/2010 - 22:20

I've recently started track cycling at the Superdome's Friday Novice nights. Ive learnt lots and found it a great challenge. Being novice it was mostly fellas and kids (i never once saw another female) but i was happy to challenge myself.

It turns out that starting tomorrow (24th July) there will be a Women Only Session each Saturday 12-2.
http://www.sa.cycling.org.au/default.asp?Page=38498 for more info.

See…

Magpie alerts...

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Fri, 23/07/2010 - 20:14

Geeze, I think it's pretty early in the season...but ... I got zapped by a deadly serious bird at the top of Broughan Place this afternoon. I thought I'd been Yobbo-ed at first, maybe by a beer can ( extra light version), but by the second swoop, I realised I was intruding on some macho bird's space. By the time I cleared the Children's Playground on Le fever Tce, the bird had given up. I think I was lucky no-body in a car was tailgateing me at the time, ' cause I sure did wobble as I recover

London Bike Hire scheme

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Fri, 23/07/2010 - 17:33

London starts its bike hire scheme next week
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/has-boris-started-a-cycling-revolution-2033454.html
Does anyone know how with these schemes they  keep the bikes distributed roughly evenly across all the hire points ?  For example what happens if everyone cycles to work and then decides to tube…

Let that be a lesson to y'all!

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Fri, 23/07/2010 - 11:15

I've jiggered my back! And I knew I was going to jigger my back, because I was riding too much on the trainer, sitting up, no hands! And that always leads to a jiggered back. So don't do that!

Sigh! Stretching NSAIDS, glucosamine and stretching again and magnesium. Poop!

Government Promising $1.3m for bike lanes this year. Is that all?

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Fri, 23/07/2010 - 11:06

News Release issued this morning by Transport Minister Patrick Conlon is promising to spend $1.3m on 29 bike lane projects this financial year.

http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/images/stories/mediareleasesJUL10/cyclingblackspots.pdf

Ride the Worlds..

Adelaide Cyclists discussions - Fri, 23/07/2010 - 00:22

Anyone doing this?

http://www.geelong.ridetheworlds.com.au/

Can't believe the bloody Victorians are charging $300 for a 2 hour ride around suburban Geelong! Sounds like a good event but no chance of getting the nod from the Minister of Finance (wife!) at that price...

Copenhagen Ferrari

Copenhagenize.com blog - Thu, 22/07/2010 - 21:44

Yes, yes, yes. We all know I like my cargo bike. And that I'm happy to blog about it. Especially now that I have a new red Bullitt. I couldn't resist this shot the other day. I rode past a Ferrari and thought I'd take a photo of the 21st Century version. Urban Manpower for Liveable Cities vs Horsepower for the sake of Horsepower. I love Larry vs Harry's new foldable racing seat on which the kids sit, and the new custom side panels.


I sold my white Bullitt to Mads, who runs Ekeko.dk - a sustainable development company that imports clothes from Bolivia. So the bicycle went to a great home.


There is goes. Just a metal construction with some rubber bits, but one that has served me well. And the latest text message from Mads reveals that he loves the bike.


A 'No Trucks' sign with an alternative in front makes much more sense.

It really is quite cool riding around the city on this bicycle. In the course of a day I'll end up talking to 5 or 10 people about it. From teenagers to elderly ladies. At stoplights or outside shops. I've never had a bicycle that generates so much conversation.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

Beach Sleep Bicycles

Copenhagenize.com blog - Wed, 21/07/2010 - 21:26

After a lovely day at the beach in the 30 degree weather, it was time to head home. The Mother of My Children had all the gear in her two-wheeler Christiania Bike and I had the kids on the Bullitt.


It was a long, lovely day and both of the kids faded quickly once onto the bike, lulled to sleep by the gorgeous movements of the bicycle.

Usually Felix stays awake and can hold Lulu up with his arm around her, but this time he snoozed. Lulu ended up in a rather funny - and uncomfortable - position. We stopped and I rearranged them.


I used the inflatable kickboard as a pillow and Lulu was happy to lean up against it. Felix could then use a pile of towels as a pillow.


Lulu couldn't get back to sleep (good thing, otherwise she'll be up all evening... :-) ) and this shot is one that warms my heart. Cycling home through Copenhagen in the evening light, staring down at my girl - her staring up at me. The beauty of the togetherness that the bicycle gives us all.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

Flea Market by Bicycle

Copenhagenize.com blog - Mon, 19/07/2010 - 21:22

Once a year my boy Felix has a stand at a kid's flea market and our cargo bike is an integral part of the transport and display. A couple of weeks ago we had a stand at a regular flea market, in order to free our lives and minds of 'old and useless stuff'.

The Mother of My Children has a two-wheeled Christiania cargo bike and, together with my Bullitt, we transported everything we needed, including a table and two children, by cargo bike. It took one extra trip where I zipped home to fetch a load but it was great to do it all on two wheels.

Here's our modest little stand. We actually got rid of most of the stuff, so the trip home was a breeze.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

Entertaining The Motorists

Copenhagenize.com blog - Sun, 18/07/2010 - 21:35

It was quite a nice sight. This chap, with his back to us, is a juggler. He was waiting at this busy intersection with his pins in the afternoon rush hour. Hundreds and hundreds of cyclists were on their way past, but he didn't bother with them.

Every time the light turned red he walked out into the zebra crossing and started juggling for the motorists waiting at the light.

He probably figured it was rather boring to be sitting in a car so a little entertainment - and a few coins earned - was a nice idea. He didn't make a lot of effort to earn money - he was incredibly relaxed about it. Just content to juggle.

He didn't perform for the cyclists and all the two-wheeled Copenhageners were rather unimpressed with his juggling, if they noticed him at all.

Nevertheless, a lovely little slice of streetlife.
Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

Disruptive Jan Gehl

Copenhagenize.com blog - Sat, 17/07/2010 - 17:37

If one didn't know better, one might think this was satire. A letter to the editor from Tasmania, Australia as posted on Healthy Transport Hobart.

Jan Gehl, respected urban planner and architect, apparently "swans around the world disrupting the fabric of unique socities with a cookie-cutter approach and wants to make them all look like Copenhagen and Amsterdam".

Now I appreciate good satire and even, rumour has it, enjoy producing it. So often, however, the best satire can be mined from real situations.

A new building is pictured and the title suggests that it is the latest example of a pile of poo to which flocks of "sweaty, lycra-clad cyclists" will swarm.

I'm quite used to getting dissed round about the internet but dissing Jan Gehl is downright silly.

Healthy Transport Hobart has a good post about it on their blog.

Thanks to Liam Healthy Transport Hobart for the link. Liam and a colleague from Hobart will be at my talk at the State of Design Festival in Melbourne next week. Looking forward!Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

North American Eyes on Copenhagen

Copenhagenize.com blog - Fri, 16/07/2010 - 08:09

Not much to say about this. Brilliant work from Clarence at StreetFilms.org.

Let his film inspire.

North American traffic planners and bicycle advocates talk about their impressions of the world's cycling capital: Copenhagen.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

Finding Parking at the Beach

Copenhagenize.com blog - Thu, 15/07/2010 - 23:29

This is universal. Who hasn't spent time crawling along, looking for parking at the beach on hot summer days? Temperatures hovering at 35 degrees and all you want is to hit the water, but first... where to park?

Here's a post from last summer about the amazing amount of bicycles at one of the main beaches in Copenhagen. And an earlier post about bicycle parking at the beach.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

North Korean Anti-Bicycle Campaign

Copenhagenize.com blog - Thu, 15/07/2010 - 18:47

Copenhagenize has recieved a leaked public service film from behind the fortified borders of North Korea that provides insight into the classic manipulative nature of a well-oiled propaganda machine.

Above is a classic Communist propaganda film from North Korea showing the typical use of children in emotional propaganda praising the State and The Great Leader, yada yada. Using children is a classic - and quite regrettable - tactic in such countries. The Soviets were also well versed in using children to promote their ideology, as were most Communist states.


Here is the leaked video that Copenhagenize recieved. It hails from the northern province of Northern Yoo Lan, far from the capital. An agricultural area with an adbundance of tractors and a tradition for using vehicles more than in the populated cities.

Their dialect is difficult to interpret but we've learned that the propaganda film is the intiative of the People's Committee for Glorious Promotion of Farm Vehicles and Safety, started by the Communal Fathers Committee of the capital of Northern Yoo Lan, Aal Bor.

The Communal Fathers view the bicycle as a threat to the glorious progress of their vehicle culture and are trying to restrict the usage of the machine through this constructed fear campaign. Encouraging people to instead stimulate the struggling economy by using vehicles to get around. To get to their communal workplaces or even to transport themselves to their People's Center for Glorious Secular Societal Togetherness - Yoosk Seng Atoys Laya, as it is called in their dialect.

Using children to promote ideology is something that we here in the West find somewhat disgusting. Children as weapons in a self-serving emotional propaganda campaign should not be tolerated and Copenhagenize hopes that an offical letter of complaint is sent to the Communal Fathers Committee. As per usual with such propaganda, there is very little science involved. That would just clutter up the Glorious Message with common sense and rationality. Two societal qualities not tolerated in such societies.


Here is a previous propaganda film from the Communal Fathers of Aal Bor, in Norther Yoo Lan. Like most of their campaigns, they have the blessing of the National Bureau for Traffic Manipulation and Fearspeak - Fa Ken Wang Kaas and the People's Committee for Elderly Persons in Wooly Socks and Sandals, Soo Kal Yelm.

Despite the secretive nature of North Korea, the Communal Fathers have, through third party contacts, negotiated a rare trade agreement with a Western company in the interest of further developing their Glorious Farm Vehicle & Safety Five Year Plan. According to observers, the People's Commune of Aal Bor will send all the now unused bicycles to Great Britian. In exchange for a massive shipment of these Safety Devices to be placed on the heads of the children of Aal Bor at all times. Adorned with the appropriate slogans and graphics that accompany such projects.

A shocking and frightening peek into the inner workings of North Korean society. Thank Odin I live in a region with strong Social-Democratic traditions and a cultural history involving rational thought.

Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.

Walk the Walk

Copenhagenize.com blog - Tue, 13/07/2010 - 07:49

I've seen this sticker up at train stations. It reads, quite simply and to the point, "Walk your bicycle on the platform"

They could have added a 'please' or a 'would you mind terribly...' but the graphic design helps soften the tone. A bit of Cycle Chic feel to it, but she must be holding that male city bike for her boyfriend who had to pop into the bathroom before the train came.

In three and half years of documenting this bicycle culture lark I've only ever seen one person riding on a train platform so I really can't imagine that it's a problem. The one I saw is right here:

And that makes the act of platform riding look lovely.Copenhagenize the planet. And have a lovely day.