Columbus Rides Bikes!

1 People don’t often realize it, but the design of every high-end bicycle is shaped, one way or another, by the governing body of bike racing, the Union Cycliste Internationale. This is what bikes might look like if their rulebook didn’t exist.  The UCI has a  famously  stringent set of rules about the design of bikes used in basically any bike race: two same-sized wheels, limits on aerodynamics and frame shape, for example. Those limits are ostensibly in place for safety, but really to make bike racing about the humans, not the machine. [Keep reading at Gizmodo]

Big Run Cross 2015 from Kathy Koontz on Vimeo .

World's first real constructible rides from infento on Vimeo .

[Kickstarter]

Action: Mark Beaumont said more needs to be done for those who cycle for fun   Rex Lycra-clad “weekend warriors” are deterring new cyclists from the sport, according to world record-breaking long distance rider Mark Beaumont. Those who take cycling too seriously and think that it is all about competition can be intimidating, especially for women, said Mr Beaumont, who is also a broadcaster and adventurer. The 32-year-old said more needed to be done to persuade people that cycling could be “just a bit of fun” and was not a sport dominated by so-called Mamils (middle-aged men in Lycra). His comments came as thousands prepared to watch some of the world’s top riders compete in the final leg of the Tour of Britain in central London on Sunday. [Keep reading at Standard News]

Meet the newest member of the Early Rider family. It”s the first and only ride on in the world that is able to help young children (ages 1-2) to make the connection between their senses (vision, pressure, equilibrium…) and their motor system. Some might call it balance but it’s really more about the co ordination of our muscles in response to what we see and feel. The reason it’s so important – is that this is the age when we’re first making this connection as well as when we’re most open to experiential learning. The reason is never been achieved before is that it requires a ride on that’s unstable (so the child is required to effect some control – like with a bike) but at the same time safe (unlike a bicycle) and this is the tricky bit. The key is that the product is based upon spheres – it’s based upon the fundamental principle that a ball able to move freely will just relocate, it’s not tippy like a wheel. And so by replacing wheels with a certain arrangement of spheres we’...

The Los Angeles City Council has approved a new transportation plan that will add hundreds of miles of bicycle lanes, bus-only lanes and pedestrian safety features.   LOS ANGELES — This city of fast cars and endless freeways is preparing to do what not long ago would have been unthinkable: sacrificing car lanes to make way for bikes and buses. The City Council has approved a far-reaching transportation plan that would reshape the streetscape over the next 20 years, adding hundreds of miles of bicycle lanes, bus-only lanes and pedestrian safety features as part of an effort to nudge drivers out from behind the wheel. Not surprisingly, in the unofficial traffic congestion capital of the country, the plan has set off fears of apocalyptic gridlock. “What they’re trying to do is make congestion so bad, you’ll have to get out of your car,” said James O’Sullivan, a founder of Fix the City, a group that is planning a lawsuit to stop the plan. “But what are you going to do...

In Gear: Richmond Cycles and Road Holland Is There from Road Holland on Vimeo . [Read more at Road Holland]

Two years ago, an average neighborhood in the South Korean city of Suwon embarked on a radical experiment: For one month, the neighborhood suddenly got rid of every car. Called the Ecomobility Festival, it was created as a way to help the city move much more quickly to a low-carbon future by helping citizens get a visceral sense of how that future could look. "Usually in planning you do a computer simulation—an artificial picture of the future, and maybe a PowerPoint presentation," says Konrad Otto-Zimmermann, creative director at  The Urban Idea , who helped mastermind the festival. "We're doing it in a different way: in a real city, with real people, in real time. It's like a piece of theater where the neighborhood is a stage." [Keep reading at FastCoexist]

  High vis is a vexed subject for cyclists. Photograph: Arthur Meyerson/Corbis A couple of years ago I  took a condensed version of the training programme for cycle officers with London's City police , a process which began with my instructor following me to assess my riding as we pedalled through the busy streets. His verdict? Mainly fine, barring what he insisted on terming a "mistake" - that even in early afternoon on a bright April day I was not wearing some sort of high-visibility waistcoat or jacket. High vis is a vexed subject for cyclists. Probably only helmets and light jumping cause more arguments. Ultimately, of course, what you wear on your bike is personal choice. Full Lycra gimp garb? Office clothes?  Nothing at all ? Go right ahead. Nonetheless, the debate merits an airing, for two reasons. [Keep reading at The Guardian]

 ‘As a female cyclist, you are all too often the target of a particularly unsavoury male aggression.’ Photograph: Steve Vidler/Alamy Wednesday 26 August 2015  07.45 EDT Last modified on Wednesday 26 August 2015  19.01 EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Shares 8065 Comments 1,416   Save for later “Please don’t try and knock me off.” It’s not exactly the rallying cry of Henry V. And yet, a  video released yesterday  by London Metropolitan police showing a woman getting pushed off her bike by a pedestrian in a grey hoodie after uttering these words has acted as a balefire to cyclists and their would-be murderers across the internet. “Not justifying violence but as a London pedestrian who sees ignorant cyclists like this every day, I understand the rage,” commented  @OffencePolice on Twitter . “I would have bitten her finger off,” added...

crashnotaccident.com An "accident" is, by definition, unintentional. We accidentally drop dinner plates, or send e-mails before we're done writing them. The word also suggests something of the unforeseen — an event that couldn't have been anticipated, for which no one can be blamed. That second connotation is what irks transportation advocates who want to change how we talk about traffic collisions. When one vehicle careens into another or rounds a corner into a pedestrian — call it a "crash," they say, not an "accident." [Keep reading at Washington Post]

The feds say there’s no excuse not to use federal funding on designs like protected bike lanes. The Federal Highway Administration wants to clear the air: Yes, state and local transportation agencies should use federal money to construct high-quality biking and walking infrastructure. State and local DOTs deploy an array of excuses to avoid building designs like protected bike lanes. “It’s not in the manual” is a favorite. So is “the feds won’t fund that.” Whether these excuses are cynical or sincere, FHWA wants you to know that they’re bogus. Last week, the agency released a “clarifying”  document  that shoots down, on the record, some of the common refrains people hear from their DOT when they ask for safer street designs. This is a good document to print out and take to the next public meeting where you expect a transportation engineer might try the old “my-hands-are-tied” routine. Here are the seven things FHWA...

Imagine any big city anywhere in the world without traffic just for a day. Now, if that city were Paris, imagine further the photographic possibilities, not to mention the visual, auditory and olfactory potential. Imagine no more because on September 27th, that’s just what Paris is going to do:  “Une Journée Sans Voiture”  – A Day Without Car, for the first time in the city’s history. City Hall calls it “a crazy gamble, but achievable.” No motorized vehicle, with a few exceptions like ambulances, will be allowed to drive the streets. As Mayor Anne Hidalgo  announced in March : “Paris will be completely transformed for a day. This is an opportunity for Parisians and tourists to enjoy the city without noise, pollution and therefore without stress.” The Champs-Élysées as it, and many other streets, will be on September 27th.          Photo: Paris City Hall [Keep reading at Forbes]