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".

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!

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

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....

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

Oh! That's a Tube!

So I asked Donna, our AustCycle instructor, "what does a tube actually look like out of the packet? Does it have a valve does it?"

I don't profess to be an expert but I'm learning and that's what the Aust Cycle Cycle Skills intiative is all about. http://www.austcycle.com.au

The afternoon started at 1.30pm at the C.A.R.E.S facility in St Peters. I was already feeling chuffed, having mastered attaching my new tow bar and bike rack to my car all by myself. By the end of the three hour session, the small group of 7 became familiar with another side of Sydney and another side of themselves. We discovered we could ride on tar road from the Inner West to the East without the fear of dreaded Sydney traffic and its ubiquitous one-finger salute. By far the SCARIEST traffic encountered on the day was on the short ride from the C.A.R.E.S. facility carpark to meet the group. One had to dodge the hundreds of little toddler tikes around the mock-mini-traffic playground and, let me tell you, those tikes weren't givin' way!

We also discovered a few maintenance and riding tips that made us all the more confident and enthusiastic to get out there again. A simple instruction, such as how to start, was really worthwhile. I was cycling up mountains in the Andes just two months ago and would have loved to know the proper way to start then. Seems obvious but how many of us stop and start properly? By the way, it's really hard to look chic and ride in the Andes, especially when you can't actually breathe.

Cycle Chic

Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone talks about Integrated Transport for a Connected City

Taken from City of Sydney, What's on newsletter:


16 September 2009 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM (Doors Open 6:00 PM)

From his groundbreaking congestion charge, to changing the way Londoners bought their tube tickets, Ken Livingstone took on the challenge of transforming London's outdated public transport system.

At this City Talk, the former Mayor of London talks to Sydney about greener, better and more accessible transport systems and how we must change the way we get around our cities to deliver a more sustainable future.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP will outline the Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan for integrated transport for Sydney and how the City is working with the State and Federal Governments to make it happen and to create new public spaces and calm, green streets for cyclists and pedestrians. The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government will provide the Federal perspective.

The speakers will then be joined in a panel discussion by Robert Whitehead, Director, Marketing & Newspaper Sales, The Sydney Morning Herald and Dr Garry Glazebrook, Senior Lecturer, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology, Sydney where they will discuss how a 'connected city' can be delivered to the future residents of Sydney.

City Talks are a series of free public presentations, presented by the City of Sydney and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Tickets are FREE, ESSENTIAL and available from Ticketmaster on 136 100 or online.

http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/City-Talks-2009-Integrated-Transport-For-A-Connected-City-tickets/artist/1355717


Cycle to City Talks - free bike parking located at Hyde Park North (adjacent to Elizabeth St, near Market St) available 6.00pm - 9.30pm