Thigh Bicycle Tattoos

Bicycle Tattoos - on thighs. Bicycles Create Change.com 9th August, 2018 — Source: Swoopsworld Pinterest)

Many cyclists are fanatical about bikes.

There are umpteen ways for bicycle enthusiasts to exhibit and share their love of bikes.

One of the most permanent commitments is to get it tattooed on your body.

I posted my first bicycle themed tattooed blog post here on bicycles create change back in August 2016, called Cycle Ink (Part 1).

I wanted to give a snapshot of the variety of bike tattoos and to showcase some of the standard and more unusual styles of bicycle tattoos around.

However, permanent tattoos are not everyone. So, my next bicycle tattoo blog post, was on Bicycle Temporary Tattoos (April 23rd, 2017).

Thigh Bicycle Tattoos

For this post, I wanted to see what kind of bicycle tattoos there are out there specifically on thighs.

I’ve seen a wonderful array of individual, quirky and incredible cycling tattoos over the years (go to a Singlespeed World Championship and you will know what I mean!) and I love how bold and unique they are.

I chose the tattoos below, not because they are the best looking tattoos, but because they show a good range of personalities and styles (both in riders and tattoos!).

I divided them up into 4 categories.

Here’s what I found….

1. For the fun of the ride

The first group of thigh bike tattoos include those that are fun, light, playful and a little bit sexy.

2. Colour and movement

Other people prefer some colour and movement in their tattoos.

3. Each part is a thing of beauty

Tattoos also celebrate the mechanical nature of ‘the parts of the greater whole’ and various types of bikes.

4. The hard truth about cycling power

For others, it is the raw pedal power that excites and motivates.

And there are many others!

Love them or hate them, tattoos are here to stay.

Some riders have bike tattoos and some riders don’t – maybe someone you ride with has one – but you just can’t see it.

So next time you are on a ride, keep your eyes open for a cycling tattoo gem and have a chat with someone who has their tattooed love of bicycles on display.

27/07/201830/07/2018

Bernard’s exploration of bicycles = Twende Social Innovation Center

A big thanks to Papa Al for passing on this inspiring story to share! NG.

There can be few better examples of where bicycles create more positive community change than through the bicycle work of Bernard Kiawia.

Bernard Kiwia started out as a bike mechanic in his home country of Tanzania.

While repairing bicycles, he began applying his skills to use pedal power to create products and tools that directly improve to the lives of people in his community.

In 2011, Bernard made a bicycle-powered cellphone charger (see below).

Since then, he has continued to invent.

Now, Bernard is called “the father of rural innovation” in Tanzania.

Bernard is now a well-respected social entrepreneur – and bikes still feature prominently in many of his new inventions.

His current work is now focused on applying his (and other people’s) mechanical and technical skills towards addressing manual labour and technology issues in his area.

Bernard's exploration of bicycles = Twende Social Innovation Center. Bicycles Create Change.com 27th July 2018. — Source: GCS: Episode 2 – Bike-Powered Cellphone Charger – Bernard Kiwia (Screenshot)

Bernard says:

What we want to show people is they have skills to make their own technology that they can afford, they can repair, they can find the spare parts that they need

With local people, their income is always small and the kind of machines you can buy in the shop are not made for these local people because they’re expensive. That’s why I’m focusing on local.

I create technologies because I realise it’s something that can help my family and the community.

Twende – Accelerating Social Innovation

Bernard established Twende, which is a community inventor’s workshop. Twende is a creative workspace for people to come and use tools, problem solve ideas and experiment with making prototypes.

In this way, Twende functions similarly to a Men’s Shed, as it is an open workspace that has tools, resources and people there to support projects.

It also runs three workshop streams

1. Creative Capacity Workshop -entry-level workshops for any level.

Affordable Flashlight (~6 hours)
Automatic Switch (~7 hours)
Solar-Powered Phone Charger (~10 hours)

2. Built It Workshops – mechanically-focused workshops which include:

Spirit Stove (~3 hours)
Bottle Opener (~2 hours)
Electronics Workshop for secondary schools
A few of the Build Its Workshops are also integrated into some schools electronics curriculum.

3. Advanced Offerings – requires some advanced skills and tools (like welding)

Drip Irrigation
Bicycle-Powered Maize Sheller

So far, over 800 local innovators have used Twende, of which most are secondary school students, small-holder farmers, women, and microentrepreneurs.

Bicycles are ubiquitous and versatile (especially as a means to produce energy-efficient power) so it is not surprising that they feature in many of Twende’s inventions.

The Twende innovation hub was established as a space to “collaborate with students and community members in Tanzania to identify their challenges and design & create their own solutions to their problems will contribute to a world with improved access to technologies that improve people’s lives, a stronger local economy, and a nation of innovators and problem-solvers.”

Hence, Twede teaches people how to create technologies that:

address their own needs.
utilize locally available materials,
are inexpensive and affordable,
are able to be repaired locally.
are designed with (not just for) communities & partners
…and they make some of their own inventions for use and sale as well

Twende is such an important grassroots social venture.

It fosters creative ingenuity, recycling, upskilling, empowers local skills, is cost-effective and addresses locally-identified issues – as well as providing a welcoming space for people to test mechanical and technical ideas that have an immediate positive impact.

And all this grew out of one man’s exploration of how a bike could make work and life better – awesome!

BBC News 1 images inlucded are still from the BBC video: Bernard Kiwia: Tanzania’s bicycle mechanic turned inventor.

23/07/201824/07/2018

Achieving a Major Bike Mode Shift in Vancouver – Dale Bracewell

Nina Ginsberg and Dale Bracewell (Manager of Transportation Planning. City of Vancouver, Canada).

Recently I attended a very interesting event hosted by BikePedTrans. It was a presentation by Dale Bracewell, Manager of Transportation Planning for the City of Vancouver.

For many years now, Vancouver, Melbourne and Vienna have been jostling for the top positions in the top 5 ‘World’s Most Livable City’ rankings.

Vancouver has a particular sustainable and social interaction angle for its urban improvements that has created incredible positive change towards biking and active transportation – to a point where Vancouver is an exemplary urban cycling role model almost without rival.

As a bike enthusiast, this is very exciting! I wanted to hear more!

So here’s a quick overview of Dale’s session. It was called ‘From a Trickle to a Stream: Achieving a Major Bike Mode Shift in Canada’.

Ambitious Plans: Achieving a Major Bike Mode Shift in Vancouver

In 1997, Vancouver’s Transportation Plan identified there would be no increase in road capacity for cars and that walking, cycling and transit would be prioritised.

It also set an active travel mode share target of 40% to be achieved by 2008.

Significant progress has since been achieved and the plan was updated in 2012 that increased the targets even more – to 66% of all travel to be via walking bike or PT transit by 2040.

Remarkably, Vancouver achieved these goals well ahead of time – whereby 50% of travel set for 2020 was actually achieved by 2015.

Implementation of an impressive protected bike lane network and an Active Transportation Promotion & Enabling Plan saw daily cycling trips in Vancouver increase to over 50% from 2013 to 2016.

Vancouver’s vision is to support happy and health living by inspiring and enabling people of all ages and abilities to walk or cycle as their prefered way of getting around Vancouver.

Vancouver’s mission is to be leaders and partners in creating and promoting a world-class Active Transporation network in Vancouver.

Vancouver is looking beyond transport and mobility as the foundation for their Active Transportation policy. Their focus addresses and prioritises other eco-socio-cultural dimensions of urban living, to include health, safety, accessibility, economy, public life, environment and resiliency.

Vancouver has 5 Key Cycling Directions:

Upgrade and expand the bike network with routes that are comfortable and convenient
Improve integration with other modes, including via public bike share
Provide secure and abundant paring and end-of-trip facilities
Focus on education and safety
Promote cycling as an everyday option

The implementation principles for Vancouver’s Active Transportation Promotion & Enabling Plan are:

Think Big Picture
Be Opportunistic
Work Together
Invest Wisely
Innovate
Learn and Adapt

Data and Monitoring is key to everything!

Monitoring is key to tracking changes, recording data and observing trends. It is also imperative as evidence to prove positive changes and to encourage (stubborn?) politicians and administrators to act on increasing active transportation.

Vancouver’s monitoring program is impressive. Dale said a number of times that ‘you need to love the data!’. For example, evidence on the time spent sitting and being sedentary can be used to demonstrate causal impacts on health and physical activity outcomes. Dale also stressed the importance of female participation rates as an indicator of achievement of all ages design. Collect data and use it as evidence of success and to justify future initiatives.

What were some of the most interesting ideas?

Dale’s presentation was filled with interesting facts, ideas, learnings, suggestions and insights about Vancouver’s 2040 Transport Plan for biking. There was so much that was interesting, more than I can share here (contact Dale for more!). A quick review of some of the most interesting ideas include:

All ages and all abilities design – the end goal is for all Vancouver cycling infrastructure to all AAA standard. What a great idea!

Must have solid policy backing. Policy needs to recognise and drive issues that are broader than just mobility, for example, safety, health, accessibility, housing affordability, liveability and environment.
High-frequency mass transit is critical in shifting more locals towards using active transportation modes and away from private vehicles. To achieve this, having a minimum grid, forward-thinking strategic decision making and close consultations with stakeholders were key to building interest and momentum.
This presentation was the first time I heard the term ‘conversational bike lanes’ as a way to describe the width of a bike lane. This is used to describe how some bike lanes need to be wider in some places where two bike riders can ride alongside each other (to chat conversationally) as well as having room for one rider coming in the opposite direction (as opposed to just one bike width going both directions). What a lovely ‘social’ way of understanding bike lane usability.

It was inspiring to hear from Dale what could be achieved with political will and a clear strategic vision. What a brilliant model for other cities – a bikable city is achievable.

I am sure I was not the only one in the audience thinking why/how Brisbane could get to this same kind of state.

A trip to Vancouver anyone?

Achieving a Major Bike Mode Shift in Vancouver - Dale Bracewell's Presentation. Bicycles Create Change.com July 23rd 2018 — Twitter: @Dale_Bracewell

All images my own and/or from Dale Bracewell’s PPT presentation.

05/07/201810/07/2018

The Cyclo Knitter

Dutch cycling enthusiast and designer George Barratt-Jones has created a human-powered automated bicycle-knitting machine called the Cyclo Knitter.

The Cyclo Knitter is essentially a bicycle-powered loom that is activated by light exercise.

George’s modification of a standard bicycle attached to a wooden frame and loom is such that when a rider cycles, the automatic loom attached to it will knit a fully completed scarf in 5 mins.

To launch his invention, the Cyclo Knitter was installed on a Dutch railway platform – as homage to the original inspiration for the machine, which was how to use the spare time waiting for a train in a productive manner.

A train platform is also an ideal place to showcase the Cyclo Knitter given that many commuters are already waiting on the platform for trains to arrive, so they had a spare 5 mins – and the novelty bike was a welcomed curiosity.

Best of all, those who trialled it were also rewarded with their very own ‘bespoke’ cycle-made scarf (*Aww DAD!! Not in front of my friends!!*).

Design and functionality

The Cyclo Knitter is a remarkably neat and compact invention. It is functional, quirky and innovative and is also very beautifully crafted and skillfully designed.

The Cyclo Knitter is set-up so that when the pedals turn, the spinning front wheel powers a knitting machine placed on top of a wooden tower at the front of the bike. As the rider pedals, they can watch in real time, as the knitted fabric comes from the top of the tower and is woven into a brand-new custom-made scarf. Awesome!

When George set up the Cyclo Knitter, the sign alongside it read:

Bored? Cold? Create!

Genius!

Here’s a quick video of what happened on the train platform…

Cyclo Knitter by George Barratt-Jones from George Barratt-Jones on Vimeo.

Of his video, George states:

“Imagine it’s the midst of winter. You are cold and bored waiting for your train at the station. This pedal powered machine gets you warm by moving, you are making something while you wait and in the end, you are left with a free scarf! That you can decide to keep yourself or give to someone who needs it more. Its all about spreading joy and making those boring moments more fun.”

To see more of the Cyclo-knitter and how it was made – click here.

Why is it so good?

Go Dutch – lead the way!

It is great to see such an innovative design, fun and functionality coming together in this unique bicycle modification.

It has a sleek design and aesthetic, but the whole assemblage also folds down into a convenient and portable flatpack item, which is ideal for moving between locations (see below).

It is wonderful to see such a refreshingly new utilisation a bicycle – and an approach that makes cycling AND knitting more interesting -and accessible – to the general public.

The added bonus of a free rider-made scarf is genius.

I hope we see more creative and community orientated bicycle projects like this in the future.

Image: Colossal

All images are still from the Vimeo video, except last two as indicated.

01/07/201810/07/2018

The Afghani teacher who bicycles books to rural villages

Image: From Now This/The Daily Motion (video still) — Image: Global Giving

Education in rural Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, only 28% of the entire Afghan population 15 years and older is literate and poverty has risen from 36 to 39%.

In Afghanistan, many children do not go to school. Literacy and school are especially limited in the rural areas, where distance and a lack of access and resources mean that education is unrealistic for many families who live in villages where the closest school is 3 hours away.

Education is paramount to reducing poverty and increasing quality of life.

One local, Saber Hosseini is trying to rectify this.

Every weekend, Saber loads up his ‘bicycle library’ and travels to six surrounding rural villages to share his library so that the locals (who have no access to books) can learn to read and have an opportunity to read.

Saber is a schoolteacher in Bamiyan in central Afghanistan. Bamiyan is one of the poorest provinces in Afghanistan, which continues to be hamstrung by conflict, poverty and instability.

Adding to this, Afghanistan has a mountainous geography and vast tracks of barren land, which make travel to school impossible. Even if travel was possible, so many schools were destroyed and education was so severely restricted, that rural children from remote villages were forced to drop out.

The Afghani teacher who bicycles books to rural villages

Saber has been riding his bicycle library since 2016. Saber bought his first 200 books with fundraising support from his friends and local literary circles.

Saber had to travel to the Iranian border to buy most of the books as previously, most publications, literature and books were essentially forbidden.

Over the years, Saber has been supported by friends and local volunteers – as well as people overseas. Now his library has 3,500 books and Saber has since been able to open the first ever public library in Bamiyan.

Reports are that literacy rates in the area are rising as a direct result of Saber’s bicycle library.

At the start, the books were simple, but now, more advanced titles have been added as local reading rates have improved.

The library is now so accepted and popular within these communities, that adults are coming to use the library and are borrowing advanced level children’s books.

Saber uses the opportunity to talk to the locals about peace, avoiding drugs, and being more understanding of different people’s beliefs, lifestyles, culture and choices.

The following story about Saber is from the Global Citizen: One time, Saber spoke to children about guns, and used the slogan:

“Say no to guns, Say yes to books.”

The next time he returned to the same village, the children collected all of their toy guns and handed them over to Saber.

This was a heartwarming gesture, but the kids wanted to bargain: they would forfeit their guns if they could be the first village in the next round of book deliveries so that they could get the first pick.

Saber has brought joy to many communities, but there are costs to his endeavor. He has received many threats and many have opposed his caring works.

Even still, Saber continues to make room for the opportunity to learn. A library is more than just a pile of books, it is also a community of individuals willing to learn and discuss and grow

“When I hand the books out to them, I can see their excitement and joy,” Hosseini said. “It is the joy of being able to learn. I am also inspired.”

Below is a video about Saber’s bicycle library.

High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistan

Saber’s efforts are particularly important given that illiteracy is a major issue in rural Afghanistan.

A recent Joint NGO Briefing Report of Girls Education in Afghanistan entitled High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistan reports that female education has faced significant obstacles in Afghanistan, yet there have been enormous gains since 2001. Under the Taliban, the majority of girls’ schools were closed and gross enrollment fell from 32% to just 6.4%.

The report also states that:

Female students have high aspirations for their educational achievement.
Many schools do not have the infrastructure needed to provide a quality education.
Poverty was seen as the single biggest obstacle to girls’ access to education. Poverty as a major barrier to girls attending school.
Poverty is also linked to early or forced marriage, which is an additional major obstacle to girls’ education.
The number of available female teachers is insufficient to meet demand.
Availability of education is insufficient to meet demand.
Distance, along with attendance in mixed classes or interaction with male teachers, becomes increasingly problematic as girls approach adolescence, when cultural norms regulating their behaviour become more restrictive.
Decision-making around whether or not girls go to school, and for how long, is complex and extremely varied from province to province and even household to household.

The World Bank’s 2017 Poverty Status Update Report on the socioeconomic progress in Afghanistan, indicates that the last 15 years of growth in Afghanistan is now being undermined by a recent rise in insecurity.

Let’s hope Saber keeps riding his bike, sharing books and helping others – and that his commitment inspires others to do the same.

All Images: Now This/The Daily Motion (video still) unless otherwise indicated.

10/06/201817/06/2018

Beat Plastic Pollution – on your bike

Plastic is a systemic global issue. As a local Morton Bay rider, I regularly see first-hand the terrible environmental and sealife impact of plastic pollution in our oceans and waterways.

I hope that cyclists and bike riders are active role models – both on AND off the bike – for their families, teams and communities of individuals who are taking positive steps to address the plastic pollution problem.

What do you do as a bike rider to promote a more sustainable, plastic-free future?

Beat Plastic Pollution on your bike! Bicycles Create Change.com 10th May, 2018 — Garbage covers the beach days after an extended storm hit the shoreline of Zouq Mosbeh, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on January 22, 2018. Environmentalists say the winter storm pushed a wave of trash onto Lebanese shores, stirring outrage over a waste-management crisis that has choked the country since 2015. Image: Hussein Malla- AP

Plastic pollution is a major social and environmental issue.

There is a growing global awareness of the collective action now needed to deal with the amount of plastic that already exists, and greater pressure for people to take more immediate and direct personal and community responsibility to reduce current single-use (and use in general) plastics.

This week was a perfect case in point, with two major international commemorative dates spotlighting the growing worldwide plastic issue.

June 5th was World Environment Day. The theme this year was ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. For me, the most compelling evidence for World Environment Day came from a series of photos curated by Alan Taylor, (some of which are shown here) which details the disturbing importance, scope and severity of impacts of plastics in various places around the world.

Then, a few days later, on June 8th, it was World Ocean Day. The focus was again was on plastics – but this time on preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for healthier oceans.

Beat Plastic Pollution – on your bike.

So what has plastics got to do with cycling and bike riding?

A few cyclists have really taken this issue to heart

In her article for Adventurers Against Plastic, Helen Taylor showcased a number of athlete/activists who are working to raise awareness and clean up of plastics. Of these, there are two cyclists from London who are combining their creativity, ingenuity and love of cycling to tackle the plastic issue head-on. Here is what Helen said about the two bike-inspired eco-projects:

1. Dave Cornthwaite.

Dave is the founder of London-based social enterprise SayYesMore, has organised a 1,000-mile community relay along England’s rivers and canals, where a different person each day will ride a specially-made aquatic bicycle whilst removing plastic rubbish from waterways.

He aims to remove one million pieces of rubbish in 25 counties engaging youth groups, schools, and local clean-up initiatives along the way and says: “All in all, not one group, individual or project can solve all aspects of the issue, but it takes a communal mindset to instigate change. Using an innovative adventure relay to get more people outside will help with this – ultimately if people don’t walk or paddle along rivers they don’t care about what’s going on there. If they see for themselves bottles and crisp packets floating alongside wildlife, they’re more likely to take action.”

2. Dhruv Boruah.

Dhruv is also using a quirky handmade bamboo waterbike to solve the plastic crisis at the source. As part of his Thames Project, Dhruv has been engaging the public in the issue by using his eye-catching waterbike contraption to collect plastic litter.

Dhruv realises that reactive cleaning isn’t the solution to the problem, but sees the project as an educational process: “Cleaning up is a good way of showing people what’s in the canal, it’s a good way to get people involved, when they come and see what’s in the canal they go back home and think twice – adventure activists need to go in and interact with local communities, engage with them and get them out in their spaces and on the waterways.”

Dhruv has also been lobbying policymakers – environmental charities, London councils and the Mayor of London’s office, the BBC, and large supermarket chains – to encourage them to change their single-use plastic habits, as well as promoting a circular economy.

Such bicycle projects are admirable.

But not all cyclists need to go to such lengths to take action.

I like to think that my fellow cyclists make their own regular and impactful contributions to improving the environment and reduce plastic waste.

This may be making your own power snacks that forge the copious amounts of packaging used in gel packs, to picking up pieces of rubbish during a ride where possible and putting them in the bin at the cafe at the end of a ride. Seemingly small actions like these are not only needed and necessary, but also demonstrate that cyclists are taking definitive action to reduce plastic pollution.

So next time you are out riding, think about one easy step you are comfortable that will help to reduce plastic dependency and that shows cyclists and bike riders actively care for our beautiful environs.

May all your rides be plastic reduced!

All Images sourced from Adventure Uncovered, Canal Boat.com & The Atlantic

05/06/201814/06/2018

Happy World Bicycle Day 2018

Happy Inaugural World Bicycle Day 2018!!

I hope you, your bike and your riding mates had a great day yesterday.

I had an awesome time riding Leki ALL DAY!

Leki and I cruised around our local neighbourhood, caught up with friends, locals and other riders. In fact, I rode so much that I ended up loosing my voice and was quite tender the next day. Success!

Ride more, be happy, get fit, enjoy the outdoors and build positive community!

World Bicycle Day 2018

According to the UN, the aim of World Bicycle Day (WBD) is to :

devote particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programmes;
encourage improvements in road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, in particular through policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases;
encourage stakeholders to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace;
Encourages the adoption of best practices and means to promote the bicycle among all members of society, and in this regard welcomes initiatives to organize bicycle rides at the national and local levels as a means of strengthening physical and mental health and well-being and developing a culture of cycling in society.

A lone bicyclist speeds through traffic on a busy street in Brooklyn, New York, USA. UN Photo/Andre Istria Source: UN Photo/Andre Istria

There were many events locally and internationally celebrated World Bicycle Day.

Below are three places – one in Australia (Adelaide, South Australia) and two international (India and Denmark), that caught my eye this year.

RADelaide (Adelaide, South Australia).

I have a particular place in my heart for biking and Adelaide. It is a city that has an unwaviering passion for cycling – as well as being stunningly beautiful and having some of the freindliest locals I’ve met (and all of them were bike crazy!)

The last time I was in Adelaide, was to attended the 2017 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference, where I also presented a session called Creating Memorable Community Bike Projects.

So I was interested to see what Adelaide did for WBD 2018.

The Port Adelaide Bicycle Users Group (PortBUG), celebrated World Bike Day 2018 with a BISA/Bike SA Community Ride from Victoria Park to Elder Park. This event had several hundred bicyclists turned up all ready to celebrate in style as you can see below…

India

India is an important place to include for World Bicycle Day (June 3rd) as it is also the official host for World Environment Day (6th June).

In India, it was the politicians getting involved to celebrate World Bicycle Day.

In New Dehli, Vice President Naidu (below on the bike) said that “cycling is the best and cheapest form of exercise to keep ourselves healthy and people must be encouraged to adopt such environment-friendly mode of transport.”

One of the local newspapers, the Daily Kiran reported that VP Naidu addressed “a gathering of cyclists and environmentalists after inaugurating the Bicycle Rally and NDMC’s Smart Cycle Station for Public Bike Sharing on the occasion.

He said that the campaign to promote the use of bicycle must be taken up on a sustained basis and it should not be confined to a ritualistic exercise on the World Bicycle Day”.

Denmark

Copenhagen and Amsterdam are well known for consistently being the top two cities in the world for cycling. Both capital cities are considered to be the benchmark that other places look to for ways to improve urban cycling planning, infrastructure and participation.

This fun fact-filled video released for World Bicycle Day 2018 by Visit Demark servers not only as an inspiration to aspire towards, but also as a wonderful promotion for the best that urban cycling can offer. Here’s to hoping…(*sigh*)!

However you chose to celebrate it

I hope you had a fun first ever World Bicycle Day!

Viva la Bici! Happy riding all!

30/05/201814/10/2018

Bicycles and the Stargazing World Record

Regular readers of this blog know that I have a particular love of the night sky. Each night before bed, I take my dog Zoe for a walk under the heavens to get my daily/nightly quota of starlight.

For me, this is as equally important as the recommended necessity of daytime sunlight.

This blog has posted on a range of fun (and often unexpected) ways that bicycles and our solar system are connected.

For example:

Stargazing World Record

This week was a very special week for those who love the cosmos.

On Wednesday 23rd May, Australia attempted to break the current Guinness World Record attempt for the most people stargazing at the one time.

And it as successful!

Final figures are still yet to be released, but so far it is confirmed that from over 250 registered locations, around 40,000 people joined in the 2018 attempt, which trumps the old record of 7,960 from 37 sites set in 2015.

There were many ‘stargazing parties’ across Australia and you needed to have been registered to have been ‘counted’ in the attempt. Brisbane had a massive contingency on the night in the heart of town – and it was great to see so many locals out to support it.

So, in celebration of this amazing feat – here’s a quick look at one way that bicycles are used in space.

Cycling onboard the International Space Station

Astronauts’ bodies have to withstand a zero-gravity environment. While in space, they often lose between 1 to 2 percent of their bone mass each month, so they have to exercise regularly to keep tone and mass.

On the International Space Station, astronauts are advised to exercise between 90 to 120 minutes every 24 hours (more than on Earth) to maintain fitness in zero-gravity. In order to achieve this, cycling is one of the most popular exercise choices for astronauts.

The astronauts use a purpose space-built stationary bicycle to use. The video below features Astronaut Doug Wheelock explaining the features and equipment used for cycling while on board the International Space Station. (Forward the video to 4’30” if you want to skip the explanation and go straight to the cycle harness demo. NG).

And a few other random ways bicycles and space come together…

25/05/201814/06/2018

Mountain biking – Kampala, Uganda

To give balance to the last post (which was about the challenges facing cyclists in Kampala), this post focuses on some of the more positive aspects fo cycling in Kampala: its burgeoning local MTB scene.

This is a great story to share for a number of reasons.

It shows the increasing popularity of cycling in general, as well as the diversity in riding styles and codes.

It also serves to remind us that ‘Africa’ is not one single homogenous entity; that each region, country and city in Africa has its own unique culture, interests, practices and lifestyle differences, while also showing how multidimensional cycling is in Kampala.

Unsurprisingly, juxtaposed with some seriously dangerous areas for cyclists in Kampala, there are also equally amazing places to ride.

And finally, it is awesome to see strong support for more female riders.

Mountain biking is not usually the first thing most western people would associate with Kampala.

Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly popular in the area, mainly due to the efforts of (the seemingly inexhaustible) Kampala Cycling Club.

Kampala Cycling Club

I really like the Kampala Cycling Club’s approach.

The KCC claim that bike messagers are “the fastest couriers in Africa” and offer a full day Kampala Experience for tourists.

As a club, they are proactive, inclusive and forward-thinking.

For example, here is their training schedule:

I really like their rules for joining the club (take heed other clubs!).

Kampala Cycling Club

The Kampala Cycling Club has been involved in a range of events have that have significantly raised the profile and participation of cycling.

Two such events are…

1. Tour de Feminine

This year, from 24-26^th January, was the first ever “Tour de Feminine”.
This tour was formatted so that females could participate in either a competitive and recreation capacity.

To date, there is not much information about this event. I could only find a few registration details and a few photos on the Kampala Cycling Club Facebook page (see below).

Despite being a small ride (well it is the first time!), I was still keen to find out more and see what the event format, experience and outcomes were.

So I contacted the organisers – and hope to get more details soon.

I will keep you posted!

2. Red Dirt MTB Festival

The Red Dirt Mountainbike Festival was held on May 4th, 5th and 6th 2018.

The event FB page states “Uganda has so much to offer for the off-road cyclists. There are a zillion unexplored virgin singletracks in unique locations surrounded by beautiful nature and wildlife. We think it’s the best-kept secret and the closest thing to heaven for the outdoor athlete.

This awesome weekend will be stuffed with bicycle-related activities and other outdoor events for both young and old, fit or unfit, beginner or expert, national or international. Activities that will be organized are: nightrides, mountain bike clinics, mechanical workshops, family rides, BBQ, quiz night, movies, bonfires.

However, our biggest event will be organized on Sunday and will be an official MTB race in collaboration with Uganda Cycling Association.

This all will take place just a 15-minute boat ride away from busy Kampala, right in the middle of nature where the air is till fresh and the grass still green.”

The Red Dirt Facebook page has more details and info.

Prize money was awarded to both women’s and men’s podiums:

1st – 300.000 SHX
2nd – 150.000 SHX
3rd – 50.000 SHX

It looked like they had a great turn out – and a great time!!

Yesterday a highlight recap video was released (see below).

I love that MTB and cycling are so universal.

Congratulations to all the organisers, supporters, riders and locals who made these (and many others we have yet to hear about) happen.

It makes me very happy to know that these kind of events are happening and that they are increasing in popularity and participation.

Great work all!

Images from Kampala Cycling Club Facebook Page, Red Dirt Mountainbike Festival and Shotz By My.

15/05/201807/08/2018

Official: World Bicycle Day

Finally!

Happy news for cyclists – a few weeks go in Brussels, the UN declared:

June 3rd is World Bicycle Day!

Previously, countries have independently self-initiated a day to celebrate the humble bicycle, but following a passionate and very well researched campaign lead by the World Cycling Alliance (WCA) and the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), on 12th April, 2018, at the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly, full consensus and support of the 193 UN member states was reached.

This is a great win for cycling, bicycles and riding worldwide.

Just in the nick of time – June 3rd is fast approaching!

I am actually surprised that it took so long for the UN to recognise the significant value and positive impacts that bicycles have in relation to progressing local and global economic, environmental, health and sustainability priorities. Especially considering some of the other ‘International Day of the …’ that have been officially recognised by the UN for a long time.

This means International World Bicycle Day can join the ranks in the global event calendar alongside other not to be missed dates like:

Jan 7th – International Programmer’s Day
April 18th – International Day for Monuments and Sites
May 2nd – World Tuna Day
June 16th – International Day of Family Remittances
Sept 30th – World Translation Day
Nov 21st – World Television Day

Yup – the bicycle is now up there with only the best!

How did it happen?

It took two and half years of persistent advocacy headed up by the WCA and the ECF and the production of a report detailing how amazing bicycles are.

Bike Europe reported that “We are extremely happy with this declaration,” said Dr Bernhard Ensink, Secretary General of the World Cycling Alliance (WCA) and the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) who campaigned for a UN-designated World Bicycle Day since 2016.

“Cycling is a source for social, economic and environmental benefits – and it is bringing people together. This UN declaration is an acknowledgement of the contribution of cycling to the sustainable development goals.”

Sustainability

WCA and ECF delivered a document to the UN in 2015 in which it is shown that cycling delivers directly on at least 12 of the 17 sustainable development goals, titled ‘Cycling Delivers on the Global Goals!’.

The declaration invites all Member States and relevant stakeholders to celebrate and promote awareness of the World Bicycle Day. The declaration encourages Member States to devote particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programs.

H.E. Ambassador, Aksoltan Ataeva, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations, introduced the draft resolution, co-sponsored by 56 countries, to the General Assembly for the vote.

Cycling Delivers on the Global Goals

The Cycling Delivers on the Global Goals report is a very thoughtful, infromative and easy read.

It highlights main areas where bicycles contribute significantly to progressing Global Sustainable Development Goals.

Download a copy here: Cycling Delivers on the Global Goals

The European Cyclists Federation state that: the Global Goals, as stipulated in the preamble of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), seek to realize the human rights of all. Cycling is already delivering on these goals worldwide, and this is a good reason to invest more in cycling. Making transportation more sustainable is of critical importance for humanity and the planet.

Moreover, active mobility is a human right on all scales – including the right to cycle. Governments at all levels should provide safe access to public space, protect those that walk and cycle, and ensure – through mobility – equal participation in society.

Hooray!

Bicycles really do create change!

Viva la Bici!

Put this auspicious date in your diary.

Time to organise something awesome on two wheels for June 3rd to celebrate! See you there!!

All images: Cycling Delivers on the Global Goals Report (2016)