January 12/10 18:42 pm - Cycling (in the) News

Posted by Editoress on 01/12/10
 

The bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created: Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon. ~Bill Strickland, The Quotable Cyclist


Club steps up effort to improve trail network
One sunny day in Penticton, you will be able to round up your kids and dog, throw on some runners or hop on your bike and enjoy a system of community trails, circulating from lake to lake and throughout the city.

That is, if Ben Minuk and the rest of the members of The Rotary Club of Penticton Skaha chapter have it their way.
Read more at Penticton Western News


Eagle Supports Top-Canadian Cyclo-Cross Racer
Eagle Professional Resources Inc. (Eagle) is proud to sponsor Conor O'Brien, a top-Canadian junior cyclo-cross competitor, as he represents Canada at two international events this month. The 17 year old Ottawa native will be travelling to the Netherlands and Czech Republic in January to compete on the world stage at the 2009-2010 Cyclo-Cross World Cup and the 2010 UCI Junior Cyclo-Cross World Championships, respectively.
Read more at Benzinga


Bike Skills Park Proposed for Princeton?
Riding a BMX bike or a mountain bike hard through tricky obstacles, crazy jumps and gnarly terrain is nothing new, but is a sport that has continued to gain popularity.
Read more at BC Local News


Don’t forget us, cyclists remind
A group of local cycling enthusiasts is gently reminding local government of the importance in budgeting for projects that encourage bicycle use.

The Cycling Public Advisory Committee has sent a letter to each of the Comox Valley governments, asking what kind of budget they intend to set aside to meet the goals of the Valley’s cycling master plan.
Read more at Comox Valley Record


A nod to trail builders
I am writing to thank Neil Judson for the excellent article about recreational trails and trail funding in the Dec. 11 Chief newspaper [Signs of change for local trails].

I wanted to add that in addition to all the great work by the Squamish Trails Society and the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association (SORCA), and the funding mentioned in the article (Signs of Change for Local Trails), there are other important contributors and funding that should be recognized.
Read more at The Chief


Bike riders take over anti-cyclist group on Facebook
The global online cycling community appears to have taken matters into its own hands after Facebook rejected calls to remove an anti-cyclist group that had attracted more than 33,000 fans on the social network.
Read more at Road.cc


Don't want to drive? Share a bike!
A pilot bicycle-sharing program in Silicon Valley will start in March, which feels like it's just around the corner for cycling advocate Joe Walton.

"I've been working on getting folks to pedal bikes for a long time," the Cupertino resident said. "I think we're on the right track
Read more at Mercury News


Danish Cycling Team Gets New Sponsor in SunGard
Danish cycling Team Saxo Bank says it has signed a one-year sponsorship deal with American software company SunGard.
Read more at NY Times


Urban Cyclist Spins Web Fame Into Career
Danny MacAskill is an urban cyclist and, to him, the street is a stage for amazing cycling acrobatics.

The 23-year-old from Skye has been perfecting his art ever since he was a child and always treated it as a hobby.

Then, earlier this year, he and his flatmate made a short film showing what Danny could do
Read more at Sky News


Brompton Bicycles: No danger of folding
One of the world’s most succesful folding bicycles, the Brompton, is experiencing a boom in sales as a younger and more fashion-conscious crowd catch the two-wheeled bug
Read more at DW World


Pedalaround
A bicycle commuter's essays, how-to tips, reflections, and observations.
Day 113 of My Car-Free Experiment – You Didn't Bike TODAY, Did You?
Read more at Blog


MIT’s SENSEable City Lab Brings Formula One Technology to Bicycles
During the climate conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday, MIT’s SENSEable City Laboratory announced a new project for bicycles that uses an energy recovery technology similar to a program used in Formula One racing.

The project, called the Copenhagen Wheel, is a regenerative brake that captures kinetic energy created under braking and stores the power in batteries for use later, similar to the KERS program used by some Formula One teams. The stored power is controlled by the bike’s operator, via a smart phone. When facing a climb (or when feeling tired or just lazy) the cyclist can release the energy to attain a limited power assist. The wheel can be retrofitted to any bike and - via the smart phone interface - also provides traffic and road conditions, exercise data and miles logged
Read more at WIRED


Education key to reversing trend in bicycle accidents
An alarming 21 percent increase in bicycle accidents showed up between 2007 to 2008, according to city statistics.

While the city doesn't yet have solid numbers on how many cyclists are on the streets each day, bicycle accidents account for about 5 percent of traffic accidents.
Read more at Press Telegram


Beijing to set bicycle lanes on roads following Paris example
In an age of "post-4 million vehicles," Beijing will follow the example of Paris in controlling urban traffic congestion and relieving traffic pressure by using the bicycle leasing industry.

Green Beijing Action Plan (between 2010 and 2012), which was approved by Beijing Municipal Standing Committee, revealed the idea of popularizing exclusive bicycle lanes on both sides of roads on December 22. 500 bicycle leasing sites will be established at subway stations and public hubs by 2012, providing 20,000 bicycles.
Read more at CCTV


Armstrong Reigned Supreme Amid Cycling's Tumult
By SAMUEL ABT

Remember how Shakespeare described Julius Caesar? “He doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus,” the Bard said through the voice of the assassin Cassius, “and we petty men walk under his huge legs.”

That appraisal equally fits Lance Armstrong, another gent who came, saw and conquered Gaul. In a tumultuous decade of drug suspicions and convictions, of splendid victories and lamentable setbacks, Armstrong reigned supreme in the narrow world of bicycle racing.
Read more at NY Times


From the land of dikes, advice on bikes
The city government will be investing $16 million in bike projects this year, up from $6.4 million last year.

Sadly for Ottawa's bicycle enthusiasts, the city government in question is the Dutch city of The Hague, not the one headquartered on Laurier Avenue West.
Read more at EMC Orleans


U.S. cities spur bike use for climate, health
Even when the strike ended and buses started running after a week, Tierno kept riding her bike, inspired by the discovery she could save time, money and, in her own small way, the planet, by using pedal power to get to work or school.
Read more at Reuters


My year as a woman in a city of bikes
Editorial
Read more at Bike Portland


‘Road tax for cyclists’ proposal kicks up stink, again
In the summer of 2009, a civil servant is believed to have added a line to the Scottish Government’s Cycling Action Plan for Scotland (CAPS) consultation document. This line – no doubt innocuous to the bright spark who inserted it – kicked off an almighty stink in the Scottish press and totally obscured the positives in the rest of the document, which was meant to be about finding ways of increasing cycle levels in Scotland.

The line in question was: “Should all road users pay road tax? If so, how much should it be for cyclists and how could it be enforced?”
Read more at I Pay Road Tax


Bikes get free train ride
For the rest of the year, cyclists can take their bikes on the S-train without being charged extra

National rail company DSB will increase inter-city ticket prices in December but has promised more special discount offers and is making it free to take a bike on the train in Copenhagen.
Read more at Copenhagen Post