Tour De Hometown

With Australian cyclist Cadell Evans winning the Tour de France this week, many people are going to be dusting off the old bicycle (or getting one for the first time) to experience the joy of bike riding.


So one of the newspapers did a helpful piece on some really good places to go for a ride. Places with nice scenery (though not exactly France) and most along bikeways, or roads with bike lanes. Each suggestion has its own map and, like the Tour de France, a terrain map to indicate the 'hillyness'.


OK, compared to "the Tour", the trips might be short, and the hills might be small, but for us mere mortals it's the closest we'll ever get :)

"Hokey Spokes"

"Probably be the most flamboyant bicycle accessory i've seen so far", i thought. (When a friend pointed these out to me).


The side-benefit of something so intensely eye-catching is surely an increased visibility for night-cycling ;)

Several small blades (about ruler-size) each attach to a spoke. Each blade runs a series of LED lights, creating these colourful patterns as the wheels rotate.

A Really Aggressive Driver

In the sidebar i list some reasons i like going car free. One that i don't often talk about is a semi-spiritual one. It's the strange effect whereby even quite relaxed people can turn into angry creatures - just by getting behind the wheel.

You may have seen this video on the news during the week.



On Tuesday it was posted online, in attempt to identify the driver. By Thursday the man had been charged.

Of course, it's incredibly unusual that it goes this far (hence it is on the news) but the underlying anger seems to be something all drivers have experienced. Personally, I don't like the feeling. It's much more enjoyable to sit and read a book on the train.

Tour De France / USA?

I thought this cartoon managed to be both funny and sad at the same time.

Are You Road-Right?

OK, so it might have been a few years since we got our driver's licence. Do we still know the road rules - especially as they apply to bicycles??


The Amy Gillett Foundation (whose video i showed you) have a Road-Right quiz. 10 multi-choice questions to see if you know what to do around bicycles.

Oh, and no pressure, but i got 10 out of 10. :)

A Metre Matters

I've noticed this great little announcement appearing on tv recently. It's by the Amy Gillett Foundation.

Night-time Riding

I can't believe it took me so long to discover the joy of riding at night (ie. to get bike lights). This evening i rode into the city for a 6pm function, with food and drink (which replenished me nicely).

A shorter ride into West End for 7.30pm was even more enjoyable as traffic had died down by then. And by 9.30ish (i'm guessing) i barely encountered a car on the ride back to the bikeway.

Two things i've learnt:
1. Riding is even more fun with a friend
2. A scarf is a great addition when riding in winter at night.
(fortunately, i did not have to learn that the hard way)
-----
ps. parking update...
City: 30 seconds from front door
West End: 5-10 seconds from front door

Pushy Pushbikers ;) ... (not)

Great satirical piece by Danny Katz, pretending to be the rant of an angry motorist, but actually showing the benefits of cycling (and perhaps how motorists could be more considerate). Here are some small excerpts:

Cyclists don't seem to care about road safety either. Sometimes when I open my driver's-side door without looking, a cyclist will ride up really close and try to rip off the door with their upper-body - I don't understand this extreme hostility towards us!

OK, maybe they're slightly more fit and healthy, but do they have to taunt us so cruelly by wiggling their sexy pert buttocks in our faces as they ride by? It just makes us feel insecure and unattractive, sitting in our cars, our arse-flab dribbling over the edge of the seat into the little gap where the handbrake is.

Pushy pushbikers: it's time they showed a little consideration for us poor victimised petrol-dependent parking-overcharged traffic-jammed ozone-depleting beanbag-bummed motorists.

Better than Google?

You know the situation. You've got an address, but wonder what the best route is - when you're riding your bike.

Up until now, the best way was to use GoogleMaps, and click on the 'walking' option. But now there's Cloudmade maps


Just click on Get Directions, select Cycling and then do a right click on your start point, and a right-click on your destination. The map shows you how to get from A to B - literally.


And for those who prefer written directions, that's there too.


Oh, and if you just have an address - and you don't know where it is - there's a Search the Map function. All in all, it seems like a very handy tool for bike riders :)

Cars Going Out Of Fashion?

This graph, showing the shrinking use of cars (in car kms per person) appeared in an article explaining the reasons people are using cars less.


The article suggests that we have found a better way to live. A way that doesn't involve spending hours in traffic, or having hefty petrol bills. We are apparently opting for smarter options, involving a combination of public transport, and doing things closer to home (so we can walk or ride).