Drunk and in Charge of a Bicycle

Naomi Klein on Cop15

2009-12-16T10:27:00.004-05:00

A great interview with Naomi Klein on what's happening in Copenhagen and how it relates to Copenhagen's creepy efforts to brand and commodify the city.

Katherine Goldstein: You've written about how aggressive the Danish police have been towards mostly peaceful protesters thus far. On Saturday, 1,000 people were arrested, mostly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What's your reaction to this?
Naomi Klein: There are so many wonderful things about Copenhagen, like the biking culture and the wind power that I think a lot of us have been impressed with. But the city has invested a lot in the branding campaign of Copenhagen being Hopenhagen, and that their city can be a part of this historic agreement for the future. Because the city is so invested in this positive image, they are willing to act aggressively. But this is so much bigger than that. This is everyone's planet. What is happening in this conference -- there's more at stake than Copenhagen's image concerns. The police have arrested activists and organizers preemptively of tomorrow's march, like Tadzio Mueller. It's reckless to take leaders who are advocating non-violence out of the game the night before a protest.

Bicycle blocade

2009-12-16T09:16:00.003-05:00

Bicycle blocade

Originally uploaded by Henrik Digital

Removing the bikes

2009-12-16T09:12:00.003-05:00

Removing the bikes

Originally uploaded by Henrik Digital

Solidarity

2009-12-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

Solidaritet med de aktivister og demonstranter i København.

Solidarity with the activists and protestors in Copenhagen.

Repainting the Bike Lanes in Williamsburg

2009-12-09T11:09:00.003-05:00

Perhaps if the racoon-eyed-brats in Williamsburg didn't dress like a horrible disco accident...

...the hasidic community wouldn't have demanded the removal of the bike lanes. But, I respect both groups freedom to wear whatever they want - and the bike lanes won't go away so easily...

How to Neutralize your Airline Carbon Emissions

2009-10-19T10:07:00.002-04:00

It's actually easy, and free!

A cross country (USA) round-trip flight is about 890 kg of C02 per passenger. The average American's meat consumption contributes 1,360 kg of CO2 per year. So, for each flight cross country, go vegetarian for 8 months.

Danger! Kidnappings of Innocent Bicycles!

2009-09-16T11:52:00.006-04:00

The NYT reports on an increase in kids commuting to school by bicycle. I grew up riding my bicycle to school every day, as do many people all over the world, but in NYC, that's considered a bit strange for a kid. How strange? Well just take a look at the paranoid comments in response to the article:

"With the kidnappings of innocent children reported in the papers all the time, wouldn’t it be safer for all if they could just go back to past times and walk to a school in their own neighborhoods? "

"Great. Now you will have all these children riding bikes to school so that the crooks and thieves can beat up the kids and steal their bikes to buy crack!!

Or worse, you will have crazy NY drivers running these poor kids over as they ride through the crosswalks!!

It’s a great idea if you live in Iowa or Nebraska!

Not in NYC! This would be a bike thief’s trifecta!! Or worse, experience a sharp rise in vehicular homicide as these kids get run over by drunk and unattentive (cell phone and texting freaks) auto and truck drivers!!!

And this is why we pay the DOE employees a King’s ranson in salary to come with ideas that will place our school kids in avoidable, mortal and physical danger!!"

"...It is very common for children who go alone to end with criminals and molesters...."

"Will there be added funds given to each school where racks are installed for security to guard the racks?"

Criminals, Molesters, Helmets!

How to Kill Someone and Get Away with it

2009-09-16T11:45:00.002-04:00

Just go to Arizona and make sure your victim is riding a bicycle (in the bicycle lane) and then hit them with your car:

"...Jerome was killed on his bicycle Sept. 3, a month before his 85th birthday.

Jerome was about a mile from the home he shared with his brother when he was struck from behind by a Toyota Camry... Jerome, a cyclist for about 10 years, was in the bike lane wearing a helmet and reflective vest.

[The driver] who was not impaired, was cited for driving in the bike lane and for not giving a cyclist three feet of space, both civil violations. It’s unlikely he’ll face additional charges...

Erik Ryberg, a Tucson attorney who has represented cyclists for five years, says the tool is in place to criminally prosecute in such cases but nobody is willing to use it.

Ryberg says negligent homicide would be a reasonable charge but has never been applied when a cyclist has been killed by a driver.

“They reserve it for more serious cases of negligence than just driving,” he said."

Waste Not

2009-09-16T11:12:00.003-04:00

The installation "Projects 90: Song Dong" just closed at MOMA. Song Dong, a Beijing artist, worked collaboratively with his mother to sort out and display the stockpiles of potentially useful items she had been saving in her home.

While it's surprising to see that there weren't any bicycles in the collection there were some related supplies... Perhaps the bicycles of a Beijing household are too precious to give up?

Seat covers

Sturmey Archer Box

As a former gallery owner and an artist-against-the-art-world, I have some elaborate opinions on installations like this which would probably bore you all - so let's stick to how the public received it. Here are the comments I overheard as I walked around the exhibition:

"I don't know why, but this is special."

"I think the categorization helps too."

"I guess if you took everything out of our house..."

"The house must have been bigger than I thought."

"It's an art show."

"I feel like I've gotten my $5 worth already."

"That was a good MOMA-run."

NY400 Bike Share

2009-09-16T10:42:00.007-04:00

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Dutch arrival in what is now New York, the Consulate General of the Netherlands and some Dutch corporations held an event called "Holland on the Hudson" as part of the wider NY400 celebration. The Bike Share offered the free use of a Batavus bike for 6 hours.

I'm sure the native people of North America would have preferred neither, but I can't help thinking we would be better off today if we were still under Dutch rule.

About NY400:

"This year we celebrate 400 years of enduring friendship between the Netherlands and the United States. Four hundred years ago, a Dutch ship called the Half Moon guided to the shores of what is now New York City with Captain Henry Hudson at the helm. This led to the establishment of New Amsterdam and the New Netherland colony. Some 167 years later, in 1776, the Dutch were the first to salute the flag of the United States of America. NY400 celebrates the free spirit, openness, entrepreneurship and tolerance of those Dutch-American pioneers, and their continued relevance today and beyond."

Cyclists are not to blame - Or at least, rarely.

2009-08-25T12:30:00.001-04:00

Gregory sends us this article from treehugger.

"While there is a public perception that cyclists are usually the cause of accidents between cars and bikes, an analysis of Toronto police collision reports shows otherwise: The most common type of crash in this study involved a motorist entering an intersection and either failing to stop properly or proceeding before it was safe to do so. The second most common crash type involved a motorist overtaking unsafely. The third involved a motorist opening a door onto an oncoming cyclist. The study concluded that cyclists are the cause of less than 10 per cent of bike-car accidents in this study...." Read more

Bike Sharing Comes to New York

2009-08-04T09:36:00.002-04:00

if only for a few weekends....

NYC Bicycle Access/Parking Legislation Passes

2009-08-04T08:53:00.003-04:00

A while back, I posted about these two pieces of legislation - and now they've passed!

780 requires every parking garage that holds at least 100 cars provide spaces for bicycle parking as well. They must provide not less than 1 bicycle space for every 10 car spaces and the spaces must have secure racks for locking. You can read the full text here.

871 allows tenants of commercial buildings to request a "bicycle access plan" from the building owner. The submission of a request requires the building owner to either complete and implement an access plan or file for an exemption within 30 days. You can read the full text here.

These are really powerful pieces of legislation that could change the face of cycling in New York City and we're really glad to see they've passed.

Here's the update as received from the City Council:

August 3, 2009

Dear New Yorker,

Good news! Last week the New York City Council took steps toward creating a more sustainable transportation infrastructure in our city by passing two important pieces of legislation:

Intro. 0780-A (Koppell) - bicycle parking in garages and parking lots.
Intro. 0871-A (Yassky) - bicycle access in commercial buildings.

One of the main obstacles to bicycle commuting is the inability to park your bicycle in a secure location once you have arrived at work.

These bills address this problem by improving bicycle access in commercial buildings and creating thousands of bicycle parking spaces in city garages and parking lots. The legislation also encourages cycling by creating a bicycle commuting task force that will explore partnerships with private entities to build sheltered bicycle parking in public and/or private spaces. The task force will issue its report by December 31, 2010.

Together, these proposals will improve public health, reduce carbon emissions, and provide a more affordable option for New Yorker's daily commute.

If you would like additional information or have any questions about this new legislation, please contact Nick Rolf of the community outreach staff at (212) 442-5765. You may also e-mail him directly at nrolf@council.nyc.gov.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
New York City Council

G. Oliver Koppell
Council Member
New York City Council

David Yassky
Council Member
New York City Council

Hyelp!

2009-07-29T09:18:00.005-04:00

Real People, Real Reviews? well, not really...

Let's say you're trying to find the best bicycle shop in your new neighborhood so you go over to Yelp and locate a shop around the corner. They've got glowing reviews about how great the shop is and how helpful and friendly they are....

So you go into the shop and they treat you like dirt. What could have happened? Well, it turns out that Yelp might have deleted the bad reviews from the listing.

I discovered this when one of my reviews was removed "because it is not relevant, specifically it falls outside of a normal consumer experience." Huh? Really? We provide free content to Yelp which they use to earn ad revenue and in turn they censor it?

Well, I posted about this on a certain social networking web site and my friend responded with even more shocking information:

"They actually pay certain "elite" reviewers to give good or bad reviews to places that have, or have not advertised with Yelp. Yelp representatives call restaurants to aggressively request advertising with them, basically insinuating that if they don't, Yelp will ensure only the negative reviews make it to the "relevant" list. check out http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/13/yelp_sales_pitch/"

So, I'm deleting my Yelp account and removing all 49 of my reviews. And I won't be trusting what I read on Yelp again. From now on, if I'm going to review something, I'll do it out here in the open network, not behind their gated community.

You can delete your Yelp account here. Got any great reviews you want to save? Put them on your blog instead or send them to me and I'll post them here.

Barcelona: Bicycle Test

2009-07-25T11:36:00.001-04:00

A simple question to test your Barcelona bicycle savvy. Which way should you ride in this lane, left to right or right to left? Leave your answer in the comments.

UPDATE

THE ANSWER IS... If you're in Barcelona you go whichever direction you want. But really, whoever designed these lanes intended you to go right to left, in other words the opposite of the direction this is pointing. Right before this, on the ground you'll see an arrow pointing to the left and as you bike along, you'll occasionally find these 'arrows' pointing in the opposite direction, and not always at an intersection.... so who knows what they were trying to do here. Barcelona's bike lanes are more like an obstacle course than a bicycle infrastructure.

Barcelona: Bicycle Culture?

2009-07-23T11:38:00.002-04:00

Barcelona has some amazing bicycle projects under way. The Bicing program offers bicycles to residents who sign up for the program. Once you're a member, you can grab a bicycle from any station and return to any other - and the program is popular! Everywhere you go, you'll see people riding the bicycles.

But where are they riding them? On the sidewalk, the wrong way on the street, the wrong way in the bicycle lane, through red lights, everywhere except where they would be if they had a strong cycling culture.

Barcelona also has a pretty extensive network of bicycle lanes and projected lanes. They run between many of the neighborhoods and connect to the beaches. In some places they are real bicycle lanes, separated from the cars by trees and curbs and with their own traffic signals.

But, in other places, the lanes are a mess. Sometimes they're blocked by something (as seen above, and for no reason, there were plenty of other places to put those benches). And often, the bicycle lane runs directly through the line of traffic into and out of the Metro stations. In one place, the bicycle lane is painted on the ground directly in front of the city bus map on the back of the bus shelter. So, anyone looking at the city bus maps along that route (at every station) is standing in the bicycle lane while doing it. The Metro station crossings are the most dangerous. Because the lane runs on the sidewalk directly beside the Metro entrance , it would be very easy to ride right into the Metro. Look away for a moment and you will either be crashing into a crowd exiting the Metro or crashing down the stairs into the Metro. This might be why you rarely see locals actually riding in the bicycle lanes.

Overall, Barcelona's bicycle lane system reminds me of New York. There are lanes all over the city, but they don't connect well, some of them are outright dangerous and everyone uses them improperly. The most popular activity in Barcelona seems to be riding the wrong way on the bicycle lane or riding in the pedestrian lane right next to the bicycle lane. Even when there is a lane running on both sides of the street.

Barcelona puts cars first, then scooters and motorcycles, then the Bus and Metro system, then pedestrians and bicycles are last. Everywhere we went, I saw the bicycle lane being used to store trash cans, park delivery trucks, and more. Bicycle lanes in Barcelona seem to be widely considered available space for anything but bicycles. And yet, it still often ranks with the worlds greatest bicycling cities.

Barcelona: Budget Bikes & Juicy Jones

2009-07-23T09:52:00.009-04:00

While in Barcelona, we rented from Budget Bikes. They charge 16€ for a 24 hour rental and take a copy of the credit card info as a deposit, but they don't charge or authorize the deposit.

The Budget Bikes location on C/ Estruc. The other locations can be found here.

They offer theft insurance, but be aware that it only covers 300€ of the 400€ 'value' they claim for their bicycles - and the contract lets you know that the theft insurance does not cover the cost of the locks and a claim requires that a police report is filed and all keys to the bicycle are returned. We looked at Our Beautiful Parking as well but they charge about the same and ask for 100€ cash deposit.

While biking around Barcelona, take a break at the Juicy Jones on C/ Hospital. There are a few locations, but this one has the best interior space - and is in the more interesting El Raval Barrio.

They have great fresh juices (my choice is the mango, papaya, pineapple with lime) and a very affordable menu del día offering an outstanding veggie meal - your choice from 3 starters, 3 plates of the day and several desserts along with water or wine. The Thali is always good if you're craving Indian, but I suggest choosing one of the Spanish dishes instead.

Summer Essentials

2009-07-04T00:22:00.004-04:00

During the summer in NYC, we get a lot of visitors. Yes, human friends come to stay with us - but we also get insect friends wandering into the apartment. When it rains heavily, even more of them come inside. Any relaxed insect who wants to hang out in our place is welcome, but if they want to bite or they're big flying cockroaches (the large outdoor species are driven inside by the rain) we like to return them to nature (or Brooklyn as the case may be).

How do we do it? The Humane Bug Katcher. It's a great tool for gently collecting an insect friend and returning it outdoors. I used it 3 times last night - it's a great test of your ability to move slowly and carefully. Toss that swatter and try it! You'll feel so much better re-locating your insect friends.

Get yours here.

Buddha on a Bike

2009-07-03T15:28:00.004-04:00

My new favorite person who I've never met is Patrick Reynolds. He teaches meditation, yoga, fitness and happiness. I'm addicted to his yoga videos on youtube and his podcast with Gwen Bell Zen is Stupid.

Here's a great bike post from his blog:

What Riding a Bike in the City Can Teach You
One of my favorite things about living in Japan is not needing a car. I have never been interested in cars, and I don't really enjoy driving. Sometimes Japanese people will tell me that one of their hobbies is "driving", but for me speeding down an asphalt road in a big hunk of metal with other bigger hunks of metal just inches away also moving at high speeds, it's just not my idea of relaxing.

Instead, I ride my bicycle just about every day of the year. I can get to any part of the city in under a half hour on my bike, often faster than a car. And over time I've learned a lot from riding a bike. These lessons also apply to a well-lived life, and so I'll share them with you now!

Read more...

Is Reading the New York Times Bad for your Bones?

2009-07-01T14:30:00.005-04:00

This article in the New York Times is just silly. It's called "Is Bicycling Bad For Your Bones?" and asks:

"Is cycling bad for the bones? A number of intriguing studies published in the past 18 months...have raised that possibility..."

Um.... No, actually all the studies they talk about are looking at "competitive bike riders" and refer to riding a bicycle as an "endurance sport." I don't know anyone who rides a bicycle as an "endurance sport" and just about everyone I know rides a bicycle.

Finally, at the end, they concede "most recreational cyclists probably don’t need to worry too much about their bones. “The studies to date have looked primarily at racers,” Smathers says. “That’s a very specialized demographic."

So, what was all that alarmist nonsense at the beginning? Oh, I get it, they're trying to hook you into the article by scaring you. When did the New York Times start using tactics borrowed from the local 6 'clock news?

Vegan Saddles

2009-06-27T00:37:00.005-04:00

Cosmo writes:

"Hi,I am curious about your saddle. What kind of lepper saddle is it and are they easy to find. I am looking at getting a euro type bike and I know that many of them come with leather saddles. I will want to switch that out if that is what I get. Thanks.

I think it is awesome that you veganized your Velorbis. "

The plastic Lepper saddles are the "Comfotech" line. I would ask around and see if any of your bike shops can order Lepper saddles for you, I'm often surprised how many shops will special order something obscure. Even if the Lepper brand isn't available from your bike shop, there are many varieties of animal-free saddles available. Most seats sold in the US are non-leather.

Personally, I find a standard American gel comfort seat to be more comfortable than the Lepper Comfotech - but the Lepper is a more traditional style for a 'euro-bike.'

Hopefully you were spared the pain of reading the "vegan saddles" thread on bikeforums.net which is full of idiots writing "but the cow is already dead." If so, please whatever you do, don't google "vegan saddles."

Hey readers, what are your favorite non-animal saddles?

The Sanford Co-op in New Cross, South London

2009-06-22T07:55:00.021-04:00

Last week I visited a friend of mine, Luke, who lives in a co-op in New Cross, South London. The Sanford Co-op has been around since the early 1970s and is known for its sustainable energy use and communal atmosphere.

Up until last week everyone has claimed a bike parking space next to a tree, picnic table, or various other objects. There are almost 200 people living in the flats; most have bikes.
An architect Christos Choraitis designed this beautiful and smartly designed bike "shed" to house everyone's scattered bikes.

It is constructed out of re-used railway ties, perhaps referencing the industrial surroundings, and was built using co-op resident labor. (You can read about the planned design of this structure when it was reported in 2006). One can climb the outside and tend to the garden on top. Or, enter through the passcode-protected, swing-hinged door to access a bike.

The grand opening party was in full ride when I visited last Wednesday night and the "shed" makes for a natural gathering spot. We sat on top and enjoyed some sangria while others hung out by the vegetable/dip table set up inside. Luke and some others discovered the inside makes for a good climbing gym as well.

I was amazed by the co-op itself; not to mention Choraitis' design. The area surrounding the living spaces is full of gigantic plants, koi ponds and raised garden beds. The co-op was bought on the cheap due to the high levels of lead in the soil (thus the raised beds).

The houses each have their own flavor and design. The kitchens were recently refurbished and each house competed to design the best slate tile pattern. I was lucky enough to join in on the party that night and crash in one of the rooms. Everyone I met was varied in their interests and nationality. But, they all seemed to appreciate bikes, traveling and enjoying life. If I don't return to NYC it's because I moved in here.

The Best Bicycle in the World

2009-06-20T22:33:00.004-04:00

Cykelmageren (Without Title) 2009

What is the best bicycle manufactured today? Arrow? Cykelmageren?
My suspicion is that it's something that's a danish-japanese hybrid that I don't yet know about.

You all know about A.N.T.'s bikes - but in case anyone hasn't seen them yet - now you too can dream of having one, here you go!

Faux Environmentalists, Dead Goats and a Misused Bicycle

2009-06-20T01:07:00.010-04:00

Are you going to cut her throat, burn her and eat her?

This is the worst kind of faux environmentalism and it has to be exposed for what it is.

These people are roasting a dead goat using a bicycle powered spit. It's a horrifying use of a bicycle and contrary to everything we stand for. There is nothing 'green' about slaughtering animals (or any part of the animal food industry) - no matter how 'local' and 'small' it is.

There is no such thing as a 'free range' animal raised for slaughter. It's not 'free' unless it can leave without having its throat slit. A 'grass fed cow' is still terrified as its herded into a cage where its neck is sliced open as it drowns in its own blood, while other cows stand by and watch, waiting their turn to die.

Contrary to what hipsters would have you believe, eating 'local' bacon isn't any better than eating any other bacon - it's still a dead animal, an animal that was imprisoned for its whole life and then murdered. It's still the flesh of an intelligent, social being - a being capable of having relationships, of caring for children, a being that feels pain when its throat is slit and it's hung upside down with a hook in its leg.

A woman goes to jail for killing her puppy and making a belt out of it - but millions of animals are slaughtered to make your shoes, your belts, your burgers - and all of them have just as much right to live as that puppy.

I know, you might disagree. But here's the truth you'll eventually have to face: you're wrong. You're the person who said "as long as the slaves are comfortable and well fed and we let them have Sunday off to go to church, it's not so bad really, and after all, we can't release them, what would they do? how would they take care of themselves?" Those people were called welfarists and they just wanted to make the slaves living conditions better. When slavery ended, they suggested all slaves be sent to work-camps so they could be trained on how to work. The people who wanted to stop slavery were the abolitionists. Get on the right side of history, become an abolitionist today and refuse to support a culture that enslaves millions and murders them for the dinner table - just to satisfy the gluttonous appetite of America while the rest of the world starves.

Really, it's time to wake up.

"Questions in the Lot"

2009-06-17T00:38:00.003-04:00