Friday, October 30, 2009

Le bicycle, le bicycle!
















Hilariously ridiculous...ridiculously hilarious...but I just love this clip from the 1960's by Alex Marco called, what else, "The Bike".

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Boulder - Bike Friendly City Built Foot By Foot, not Mile by Mile


I wonder how long it will be before Sydney can produce a video like this one, from Boulder, USA. This Colorado town has miles of wonderful bike riding opportunities. Gary Lacy, former Boulder City Planner highlights the philosophy - "Build it foot by foot, not mile by mile". There's hope yet. Somehow I don't believe the ubiquitous Sydney one-finger salute - shared endearingly between cyclists and drivers - is used as widely in the progressive town of  Boulder. There are some great strategies here. Well worth watching in full!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Ride to Work Day - Dita Von Teese style


October 14th, 2009 was Australia's national Ride to Work day . I wonder if Dita Von Teese rode to work for this recent Harper's Bazaar shoot in Paris??

http://www.holymoly.com/celebrity-news/dita-von-teese-poses-bicycle-harpers-bazaar36589/page-1.html

Friday, October 9, 2009

Is Unicycling the New Black?


OK, so if two wheeler cycling and vintage-a-rama are all the rage right now, I reckon unicycling is the new black. No, no not just for the Leave it to Beaver types (as featured in this 1960s ad).  I did but notice a few at the Sydney Spring Cycle 2009. My observation...Who needs pilates and core muscle exercises when you know how to unicycle?

Now then, what can be more fun than unicycle HOCKEY! Here's a youtube link to some unicycle hockey at this year's Sydney Spring Cycle. Haven't tried it myself. Anyone...Anyone???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD595RESv4s

If you're interested, the Australian Unicycle Society has a 'wheely good' website (pardon the pun...theirs not mine ;-) ) with lots of facts for anyone interested in ditching a wheel. http://www.unicycling.org.au

It will only be a matter of time before the pennyfarthing makes a popularist comeback. A world where the Hummer and the pennyfarthing can co-exist? Hmmmm....

Monday, October 5, 2009

Tears in My Eyes: Sydney Spring Cycle 2009


5:30am Sunday morning, riding my bike up to the train station in the record September cold I thought to myself "Why am I doing this again?" I worked it out  by the time I found myself wizzing teary-eyed down Arthur Street North Sydney with Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour in full view. Not teary-eyed because of sadness. The wind got in my eyes, you know? 11,000 people participated in the Sydney Spring Cycle. It raised $80,000 for the Children's Oncology and MS Society. With the increased interest in cycling this figure is only set to rise in the future. But why does it take a 7am , once a year charity event to experience Sydney bike friendly streets and why don't these streets exist any other time? These events only mark the sadness for cycling enthusiasts in our fair city. Sadness that it will be a long time before urban cycling becomes safe enough to be considered as part of everyday transportation, as natural as walking. I've often thought that the key is to encourage more women to cycle. Scientific American pose a few interesting insights into this area. It's good to see, also, that an Australian, Deakin University's Jan Garrard is making ground in understanding these gender differences locally...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=getting-more-bicyclists-on-the-road