Bicycles belong on the Streets

source: puregraffiti.com

This post is a tribute to:

• the graffiti
• the bicycle and its rider
• the street artist

Bicycles belong out there on the streets and so do graffiti (Italian plural of graffito).  Only those that are willing to really be part of the culture and life of a city such as the bicyclist and the graffiti artist deserve to be recognized.

The city belongs to them.  The rest are only borrowers...shy expectators.  If you want to really be a part and contribute to the life and fabric of a place, then step on its streets, walk its paths, bike its trails, watch its art, smell its aromas, buy locally.

How can you call yourself a Bostonian if you don't know what Boston smells like? You should know what the manhole covers look like in your city; after all, you are paying for them. Taste your place, be part of it, leave a mark, feel its beat; every place has one.  I'll leave you with this collection of street art:  Hopefully your town has some interesting graffiti art like these:



Source: Adidas ad - Capetowndailyphoto.com



Source: Alttransport

Source: Amy Martino (Bicycles)

Source ofneto.com (anonimous)



By Arys.es



Source: bagabondjourney.com



Source: Flickr user David Drexler (Bicycle Man)



Source: nicomachus (bicycle stencil)

Source: flickrhivemind.net (Bikeshop in Denver)

Source: Unurth.com

By Caleb Loadbear sketch

Source: sergi10del77.blogspot Brasil

By Noah Hoose (Headless Horseman)

At: Joah's Raw Food (Bananawonder)

By Kosule Masuda

Source: Caroline Tucker - shazly.tumblr.com

Source: Street Art Utopia -  Stinkfish

Source: The Giant Blog

Source: throughthestreetsofanywhere.wordpress.com

Source: throughthestreetsofanywhere.wordpress.com

Source: treadlyandme.tumblr

Enjoy - -

Sustainable Streets by Janette Sadik-Khan

Transforming NYC Streets: A Conversation with Janette Sadik-Khan

by Clarence Eckerson, Jr. on October 22, 2008

Since taking over as New York City's Commissioner of the Department of Transportation in mid-2007, Janette Sadik-Khan has taken on the challenge of making NYC streets more bike & pedestrian friendly while emphasizing livable streets and re-orienting them to accommodate all modes. She and her staff have done it quickly with innovative concepts, thinking outside the box and drawing on successful street designs from around the world to come up with a NYC model that is already changing the way our city feels.

In our exclusive Streetfilms interview, she talks with The Open Planning Project's Executive Director, Mark Gorton, about some of the highlights her department has achieved in a very short period of time including a physically-separated bike lane on Ninth Avenue, multiple pedestrian plazas (including Madison Square and Broadway Boulevard), new efforts to boost efficiency and speeds on some bus routes, and the city's phenomenally successful, Ciclovia-style closure "Summer Streets".

Of Bicycles and Drug Money

Source: Cycling Inquisition blog

Recently the topic of Pablo Escobar has become to resurface with the opening of a new Colombian Soap Opera by its name: Pablo Escobar - El Patrón del Mal. or Pablo Escobar, the Lord of Evil.

Source: Crunchtees

Fewer people nowadays don't know who Escobar was, but for us Colombians that had to grow up with the cartel wars and thus with the bombings, the extravagant silliness, the news, the uncertainty and the inflation that drug money fueled, that name and the names of many other drug lords are latent in memory.  Pablo was definitely an icon.  You can ask around the world what his name means for them and you will hear dozens, maybe hundreds of different adjectives associated to it. For me, the name meant power, determination, suicide.  The picture above shows how this type of money permeated even the most noble of inventions.

Source: Cycling Inquisition blog



Bicycling and the races were not unaffected by the cartels. Not by his anyway. Pablo liked speed. All of his family liked the races; car races, horse races, flying, bike races and since his brother was into bicycles, Escobar saw it quite natural to just give his brother Roberto (osito) a bicycle? oh no... an entire bicycle factory. Bicicletas Ossito were the sponsors of bike tours around Colombia.  Made in Manizales, in the jurisdiction of Caldas, Ossitto made all kinds of bicycles, but was most notorious for its road bikes, which participated in some of the most important tours while riders such as Gonzalo Marín wore Jerseys and pants that advertised Pablo Escobar as a political figure.

Autos & Pista Magazine 1979



Escobar also donated money to launch athletes to the Tour de France, which reminds me of the Medici family and the sponsorships of artists during the Renascence in Italy. Perhaps car races were the most favored by El Patrón, but this didn't preclude the two to intermingle.  Several of Colombia's best professional cyclists found themselves associated to and victimized by the drug cartels.  Here are some of their names: Roberto Escobar (Pablo's brother), Gonzalo Marín, Alfonzo Flores, Armando Aristizabal, Juan Carlos Castillo, Rafael Tolosa.

Thanks to: Cycling Inquisiton and Carla Toscano's interview with Pablo Escobar

That Bicycle is two Tired :(

I decided to post a little something about the abuse that some bicycles receive especially in developing countries. This is one more time, proof and testimony of the nobelty of this simple invention. 

I do have a question for all of you out there and it is:  How much weight can a bicycle axle really take or rather, how much are the axles and the spokes designed to take. The ones you see here are really amazing, to say the least. 

According to How Stuff Works.com Safety is the primary reason for manufacturers to place a limit on how much weight each axle can carry. Overloading a vehicle of any kind -- including a trailer -- is dangerous. Heavy loads are always difficult to control on the road, but if that heavy load is unevenly distributed between the axles or even overloaded on one side of an axle, the problem will only be magnified. Here's just a sample of what can go wrong if, for example, too much weight is placed on the rear axle of a vehicle: The vehicle's overall handling will be greatly affected because the steering will be less responsive.

The vehicle's brake system will not be as effective, as the front brakes typically do the lion's share of the braking. The rear tires may not be able to handle the extra weight, potentially causing a blow out situation. Overloaded and overstressed components within the vehicle's rear suspension system could bend or even break, causing you to lose control on the road. As you can see, an assortment of problems can result from overloading. Again, for safety's sake, the GAW (Gross Axle Weight) should never surpass the GAWR on any vehicle.

 

Photo - Bogotabiciblog

 

Photo - Pavel Rahman AP



Cargo bikes, of course are designed for greater cargo capacity such as the one we see carrying loads of potatoes. Not only the axles and wheels in general, but also the frame.  After some research I found that bikes designed for cargo such as the Yuma or the Workmancycle can easily take between 350 and 450 pounds, but regular single use bikes should be comfortable with about 200-250 pounds.  

Photo - Bikehugger.com



 Take into account that even if your weight is only 150 pounds, the weight compounds with gravitational acceleration as you jump up and down when you encounter sidewalks or potholes, etc.





Bike Lanes, Not Mandatory Helmet Laws, Save Lives

How are oversize sodas and bike helmets alike?

According to a New York City official, they’re really not.

New York City Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson — an avid bicyclist — was at a press conference Thursday for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on super-sized, sugary sodas. He was asked why the mayor didn’t support mandatory bike helmet legislation for all riders (like the bill just introduced into New York’s City Council by council member David Greenfield.)

You can listen to Wolfson’s explanation below, or read his response.

Download MP3

“First of all, there’s no other major city in the country that has a mandatory bike helmet law, and there’s a reason why. The thing that actually saves the lives of cyclists is protecting them from drivers, which we have done more in this city than any other city in America. It’s why our fatalities are down in this city, accident fatalities are down to an all-time low. So we are making enormous progress in keeping cyclists alive. I understand there is a council person who has promulgated this. He is not a friend of bicyclists. He is against bike lanes. So I’m not going to take — and this administration is not going to take advice on protecting cyclists from somebody who has consistently been against the things that saves the lives of cyclists. As somebody who bikes to work nearly every day, I can tell you what saves the lives of cyclists. It’s separating cyclists from cars. And we’ve done more of that in this city than any other city in America. We’re going to keep doing that, we’re going to keep driving down fatalities, we’ve been successful at it. We’re not going to take advice from people who aren’t actually on the side of cyclist safety.”

Taken from transportationnation.org

Emergency Response - Bicycle to the Rescue

In subsequent posts will attempt to explain why, from my own point of view, the bicycle is the most noble invention.

Now I will leave you with yet another one of those fields in which most of us don't normally think of a bike as being part of, but once again, the bike comes to the rescue.

First I will introduce the bike ambulance. I have decided to introduce this kind of emergency vehicle first because it is my favorite. I favor the bike ambulance over any other because it allows full carriage of the patient, because it is being used in the most underdeveloped places, and because it does not utilize any expensive technology. The same old two wheels and a flat bed that hinges on to a regular bicycle.

Secondly we have the fire fighter bicycle. Would you ever think of a bicycle as a fire engine? Well, it is not really a fire engine, but it certainly carries the most necessary equipment to fire a fight such as the hose, two fire extinguishers, an ax and a fire fighter.  For some reason, I always imagined that the truck carried the water and all needed to suppress the fire, but that is seldom the case in the city. 

 These extra light emergency vehicles can perfectly terminate a automobile fire with one or both bottles.   The hose is probably not the longest, but it will provide plenty of help before more adequate help arrives.  One thing in particular that I like about this bike is that it even has a bell. How fancy can you get?

Finally, let us look at the paramedic bicycle.  Ahh how nice and how smooth.  This emergency response velo might be designed to cover small areas such as a sports arena, a beach, a park, a school, etc.  Whatever the area that you have designed a bicycle to cover, it is clear that we have seen them in action way far from their intended range.  I would think that the only possible limitation of the Emergency Response Bike (EMB) is speed.  Having said that, one of the advantages an EMB has over any other kind of emergency vehicle is accessibility. Not only for their lightness, but also for their size.


Photo: Palatine.il.us1

An ambulance bicycle or bicycle ambulance (however you want it) can provide the same care a motorized ambulance can. In England this kind of ambulances are equiped with just the same things you will find in a truck fitted for an ambulance. According to the BBC News, in Cambridge:

"The yellow and green mountain bike should be with a patient within minutes, dealing with all the same emergencies as regular ambulances. Equipment on the bike includes oxygen and a defibrillator, together with blue flashing lights and a siren.

Photo: 3Dcarshows.com


The East of England Ambulance Service said the scheme was to be piloted from 17 October for three months.  Darren Rutterford, head of the Cycle Response Unit for the East of England Ambulance Service said: "Cambridge, being a small but densely populated city visited by huge numbers of students, shoppers and tourists, seemed to be the ideal place to base a bike. "Parks, shopping centres, pedestrian areas and heavy traffic are all difficult for traditional ambulances to reach but will become easily accessed with this new scheme."



Thanks to: utilitycycling.org, bikeportland.com, firefighternation.com, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, timespanner.blogspot.com, guardian.co.uk blog, 3Dcarshows.com, bikehugger.com

Chevy Campaign vs Bicycle Campaign

I am translating the meaning of these side by side ads. The first one is a Chevy advertisement in South America that attempts to put bicycles down. The second one actually uses the first one to reverse the message. Here it is

Now I am on a bike but...

With ChevyPlan I will have my

Chevrolet 0 Km. from $248,926





vs

BiciPlan

Decongesting the streets for free.

To see more, take your bike and pedal

(the images of this ad are real)

Yes, now I drive a car, but...

It is faster on a bike, you have more fun, and you laugh at the congestion
Paying $0

Program yourself with intelligence. Move without stress, without debts, without Chevrolet or any other.

Taken from http://www.mikesbogotablog.blogspot.com

How the Dutch Got their Cycle Paths

Let's Do the Numbers

I saw this compilation of interesting data at the March/April's edition of AFAR magazine, then I went a little farther and to the sources. I found so much information that I decided to compose several posts in coming weeks because you should have some of this information not only on biking, but also on walking. They go parallel to each other. Biking and walking share the infrastructure more than motor vehicles and pedestrians/bikes.

Enjoy.

The Military Bicycle

 

US Army Signal Corps



 First I will start with the old, then the new. I am sure there are so many companies in every country making bicycles for the military, but the concept of using them during the first and second World Wars is new to me. I have found two places in particular that have kept good track of the history of the bicycle during the wars and those are:

The BSA Museum and The Liberator.  I have decided to include them because these offer the most comprehensive collection of photography and narratives regarding the bicycle that carried the troops during the war.   There would not be enough room here to post all the pictures of bikes at war, but I can give you the links and so you can go to town. This first picture is from The Liberator, which offers a quite impressive collection of WWII Army bicycles. We can learn some historical facts from these websites while we enjoy the pictures.  Also if you have the time, this blog will take you around other military cool-looking vehicles such as the legendary Jeep, airplanes, motorcycles, etc. The Liberator, unlike our second guest, The BSA Museum, includes a collection of simply Army vehicles. The BSA Museum focuses only on their own brand. Remarkable in the sense that they have been making military bicycles for way more than 100 years.

"BSA was formed in 1861 and the company was finally sold in 1957 to Tube Investments. They were there at the beginning of bicycle production, and played a major part in their manufacture when Great Britain was the world’s leading producer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars. BSA bicycles are still made in India. BSA started out as gun makers and, through government contracts, helped defend the British Empire through the Boer War and two world wars. It’s interesting that the company name still exists …as BSA Guns Ltd."

In later posts we will discuss various folding bike mechanisms that I find to be the product of a lot of ingenuity and engineering and they come precisely from these old bike makers. But before we say good night, we'll leave you with the newest in military biking in the USA. With you, the Paratrooper: Well, this is a folding bike and frankly, to me it seems a little too much technology for what it will end up accomplishing. I have always thought that a bike is just that, a bike.  There is not a pressing need for all the bells and whistles that they put on them nowadays. I of course, appreciate all the rust free modern features that we can get today in the market plus the gears and precision of modern bikes, but trust me folks, today's wars are not fought on the ground as they used to. If a soldier needs a bike is not to go to the front and kill a bunch of people while supporting his bayonet on the handlebars. 

Copenhagencyclechic.com





The military bike of today will mostly carry soldiers and small equipment across the military base. Some airfields are so vast that it would take you all day to go back and forth from the hangar to the aircraft by foot and a van for that is some times too much. That's where the military bicycle comes in handy, but then again, any bicycle can do that. That's the beauty of this humble invention - It is itself in any situation.  Enjoy and please send your comments.

Ah, also, visit the Female Cycle page for photos of women bikers during war.