News

8 Sep 2010

Scotland’s first public bike hire scheme that is backed by the Government was launched in Dumfries yesterday in a bid to mimic the success of similar initiatives across Europe.

Under the Bike2Go scheme, 30 bikes have been made available at nine automated docking stations around the town, which users can access on a 24-hour basis by entering a PIN and riding them away.

After a faltering start in the 1960s, bicycle-sharing schemes have enjoyed a comeback over the last five years as cities in Europe and North America have developed...

A couple of years ago Kristin Rule, alias 'The Unconventional Cellist' undertook a 20 week music tour, toting her cello on a motorbike with a solar trailer. With a new album recently released, she is soon to be touring again, but this time by bicycle accompanied by a solar-powered, electric-assist trailer.

The 30 watt solar photovoltaic panel on the 'Mechanarchy 'Watt-Bot' trailer stores electrical energy in a pair of 12 volt batteries. These provide up to three hours of electrically assisted riding for pedalling a cello laden Yuba Mundo up hills. The assistance offered by the...

Earlier this month, the New York City Department of Transportation announced plans to experiment with 20 mph zones -- replacing the city's default 30 mph speed limit in one pilot neighborhood. Whoever gets the first 20 mph treatment will see benefits that residents of British cities and towns have become increasingly familiar with in recent years.

In the UK, some 3 million people live in areas with 20 mph speed limits. The experience there shows that not only do slower speeds save lives, but lowering the limit to 20 mph improves the way local streets function in more ways than one....

Transport for London's new cycling adverts may have been expensive at nearly half a million pounds, but it's the advertising execs' vision of cycling that's rubbed me up the wrong way.

If you've been to a London cinema lately, you've probably seen Transport for London's (TfL) hip new cycling advert, replete with Mark Ronson soundtrack. It opens with a shot of the BT tower seen from Regents Park (presumably an ironic nod to the fact cycling is almost totally banned in the park aside from a tiny trial on the broad walk) before hopping on a sightseeing tour of London. A...

In 46 years of bike riding, Sue Abbott has never worn a helmet. So when the highway patrol pulled her over in country Scone and fined her for a no-helmet offence, she decided to fight.

The 50-year old mother of four has never been in trouble with the law, has never fallen from her bike, and thought it ridiculous she could not ride at 15km/h on a dedicated cycleway with an uncovered head.

A police video of the incident last year records the sergeant surmising ''it's a hair thing'', a view shared by many people when they first meet her.

But Ms Abbott says it's...

TNO Quality of Life, Leiden, The Netherlands. ingrid.hendriksen@tno.nl

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between commuter cycling and all-cause sickness absence, and the possible dose-response relationship between absenteeism and the distance, frequency and speed of commuter cycling.

METHOD: Cross-sectional data about cycling in 1236 Dutch employees were collected using a self-report questionnaire. Company absenteeism records were checked over a one-year period (May 2007-April 2008). Propensity scores were used to make groups comparable and to adjust for...

Can you advise me on this dilemma?
Wellington has bus only (bikes forbidden) and bus lanes (bikes ok).
A couple of bus lanes lead into traffic signals, where there is a 'B" green light, which operates before the green light for other parallel lanes.
If I find myself in the bus lane, can I go on the green B, or do I need to wait (with a line of buses behind me) for the general green?

Thanks

Cycling advocates are calling for a ceasefire in the latest skirmish between some drivers and cyclists.

A public dispute has been sparked by news of an Auckland cyclist who uses video cameras and lasers to track aggressive drivers.

TVNZ story here.

Cycling is a great way to get around, and an activity enjoyed by more than a million New Zealanders says Cycling Advocates' Network (CAN) spokesperson, Patrick Morgan.

Mr Morgan says, "While riding two abreast is legal, cyclists need to show courtesy to other road users. This means riding in single file on busy roads...

Aaron Oaten, the brain-damaged son of "the Helmet Lady" who furiously campaigned to make cycle helmets compulsory in New Zealand, has died at 37.

Mr Oaten passed away in Palmerston North's Arohanui Hospice on Saturday, after 24 years living as a tetraplegic, paralysed from the neck down after a bicycle accident in 1986.

Aaron, aged 12, was cycling to school when he was knocked from his 10-speed bike by a car on Pioneer Highway. The instant his head hit the concrete gutter, his life changed forever.

Aaron slipped into a coma. When he awoke eight months later, he...