New Materialisms SIG: The Civilizing Process

In this session, we are truly transcending time, space, place and bodies as we explore the NM potentialities of reimagining an inspirational, yet relatively, unknown WWII story.

We are very excited to have guest presenter Jenny Ginsberg (University of La Trobe) presenting key insights of her recent Master’s research.

Jenny is putting together a PhD submission and is keen to discuss this opportunity with the SIG to garner some initial New Materialisms ideas and suggestions as a launching off point for this exciting next step.

…and yes, as you might have noticed from the similar surname, Jenny is my Mum!

This session’s provocation was:

What new possibilities might emerge from a New Materialist ‘return’ to the inspirational flight and return of the Danish Jews 1943-1945?

Title

The Civilizing Process: moving from sociological understandings to Posthumanist materialities.

Abstract

The genesis of this research lies in an extraordinary moment in history. It was one in which lives were saved; when courage, creativity and social cohesion combined and triumphed.

This research merges a fortuitous and rare meeting of a wartime story of escape and return. It is the story of the flight of the Danish Jews in 1943 and their return home in 1945. Nearly 8,000 Danish Jews escaped directly to Sweden while 470 were imprisoned in Theresienstadt (Terezin) concentration camp. This project traces the extraordinary and unparalleled rescue of those imprisoned in Terezin, as well as the survival of more than 95 percent of the Jewish population of Denmark – a remarkable achievement at the time that was unmatched by any other Nazi-occupied European country.

In her Master’s, Jenny used Norbert Elias’ concept of national habitus to foreground relational, long-term state formation processes as part of a theory of The Civilizing Process (Elias, 2000). Jenny’s project uniquely put to work national habitus to argue that the events of 1943 flight and the 1945 return, must be considered as an ‘entangled’ experience. This enables a close relational understanding of the significance of this point in time with(in) the inclusive and compassionate Danish national ‘habitus’ at that time. This project looks at the multiple figurations found in Danish society and the crucial role they played in the successful escape and return of the Danish Jews.

Of particular interest for the NM SIG is the recognition of the often overlooked and under-appreciated contribution of Danish women to the wider occupation historiography, which was largely written and curated by men. Jenny invites the SIG to engage in the yet-to-be-explored materialities of this story – such as the boats used in the escape, letters, clothing, symbolisms and defiant collective practices adopted by the Danes – and myriad other material-affective-discursive forces and most notably, those co-contributing to the unified and compassionate leadership and the sustained, collective response to the urgent needs of fleeing and captive Danes.

Some session snapshots

We had an amazing time! The warmup activities got us thinking beyond and making links that we were not able to arrive at individually. Jenny’ session was expertly put together and she is a highly engaging storyteller.

The rich materiality of this era gave us much to discuss and there were some great ideas on how Jenny could move forward using a posthumanism and/or New Materialist approaches.

Below are a few session highlights.

To start, we did a few collaborative thinking-writing activities. The first was a collaborative poll of keywords and ideas (see above). We then did a responsive, collaborative writing task using the chat box. That was great fun! Below is what we cocreated (names removed for privacy).

My 100-word worlding for this session

Jenny’s telling untold stories again. The WWII flight and return of Danish Jews. Snippets of materialities: no yellow stars, food parcels, clothes, boats, Red Cross visitations, propaganda films and the king defiantly riding his horse down Copenhagen’s main street. Ignoring German soldiers in bakeries. Leadership agreements. Unspeakable everpresent brutality. Inescapable – ineluctable. A nation-wide underground resistance: all locals were in on it. National Habitas. Protect all Danes. Homes preserved (not looted), goods boxed up, gardens watered for those ‘away’. Rescue missions, drunk signatures and white buses sweep for ‘others’. Secret fishing boat crossings. Flowers, chocolates and K1,000 compensation on return.

*Postscript: As of March 2022, Jenny was accepted to do this topic as her PhD.*

CONGRATS to Jenny….

…and a massive thank you for sharing her hard work and this most remarkable story.

Presenter Bio

Jenny Ginsberg is an educator of 40+ years, a social activist and an artist. She has taught at a range of Melbourne schools, including MLC as a leading teacher in gifted education and oral history. This September, Jenny is submitting her Master’s by Research (School of Social Sciences at La Trobe Uni, Melbourne) and is looking to undertake a PhD in 2022.

She aims to use the PhD to deepen and extend her Master’s project (see abstract below). Jenny’s research interests include the sociological theories of Norbert Elias, an emerging interest in Feminist New Materialisms, long-term historical/sociological processes, leadership, and the interconnectedness of all things.

As a mature-age researcher (74), she is growing old, with the emphasis on growing, and brings a wealth of knowledge and life experience to her work.

09/06/202130/09/2021

Utrecht train station: World’s largest bicycle park

A big thanks to long time reader Betty for recommending this story. Much appreciated Betty! Ride On! NG.

Previously, I posted on projects that support mass urban bike riding infrastructure, such as the automated ECOCycle bike storage facilities located at train stations in Japan (which has a retrieval time of 13 seconds!).

Everyone knows the Netherlands are trailblazers when it comes to bike riding.

Utrecht Central Train Station is a model example of how city planning and design can prioritise and integrate urban biking riding, walking and transportation.

This three-story bicycle park can store 12,656 bikes.

If you have not seen this building before – you need to check it out – it is AMAZING!

(*Apologies for the white space below. It is a tech gremlin I can’t debug!*)

Completed in 2019, this train station is now the world’s largest underground bicycle parking garage, overtaking Tokyo’s 9,000 former largest bike storage capacity.

Utrecht is a medieval city and this building is part of a forward-thinking approach to reducing congestion and pollution, promoting bike riding and making the city more sustainable.

A key feature is the ‘flow of bike riders’ – so you can ride your bike into and around the inside of the building. This means you can ride into the building, park your bike and be on a train in 5 mins or less.

Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.

Users ride-into and around the actual building from the street for direct access to bike storage.

The building also has a repair service and bicycle hire outlet.

A digital system guides cyclists to parking spots, to the quickest access to the train platforms, the main terminal building and public square. Paths are clearly signed and thoroughfare is managed to maximise ride-ability (‘flow’), ease, and safety for all users.

As well as ‘normal bike’ storage (which make up the bulk), there are special bays for modified bikes like Christianas, bikes with trailers or modifications and large cargo bikes.

The building is a landmark attraction in itself and is beautifully designed by Ector Hoogstad Archeitecten, who won an award for the design. There are lots of glass walls, skylights and staircases which maximise natural light inside the building.

I’m can’t wait to see more bike-centred buildings like these in the future!

All images and parts of this content sourced from De Zeen.com.

13/08/202013/10/2020

Dissident Bicycles (Part 2): Brag & Wikström’s ‘Retunity’

This August, we have a 5-part series written by Laura Fisher exploring how bicycles are used as a dissident object in contemporary art. The first post looked at the importance and impact of one of Ai Weiwei’s most iconic bicycle-based artworks ‘Forever’. In this second instalment, Laura looks at the refashioned (literally) ‘reversed engineered’ bike project entitled Returnity by German art duo Elin Wikström and Anna Brag. Enjoy! NG.

Dissident Bicycles (Part 2): Brag & Wikstrom's 'Retunity'. Bicycles Create Change.com 13th August 2020.

While Ai’s bicycles are polished and quiescent, many other artists have employed the bicycle’s movement to activate different kinds of individual and social behaviour. For example, in 1997, as part of the Skulptur Projecte in Münster, Germany, artists Elin Wikström and Anna Brag staged an event called Returnity.

They engineered nine bicycles to travel backwards when they were pedalled forwards, and equipped them with training wheels and a rear-view mirror.

A bicycle club was set up in a public park for three months, providing instructions to members of the public who attempted to ride the altered bicycles. In the end, over 2,000 people participated with about a quarter of these returning again and again to improve their skills.

These bicycles were a prop for heightening people’s spatial and sensory awareness. They also created an unusual social space. As Maria Lind remarked, it “was a playful test that referenced lifelong learning [and] connectivity in a globalised world” and an exercise in “radically rethinking and deliberately disorienting one’s naturalised behaviours”

Lind’s comments about Returnity are a reminder that the bicycle’s humility as a human scaled machine paradoxically gives it great power. Not only is it open to inexhaustible experimentation, it can engage the body and mind in such a way as to galvanise both personal autonomy and social affinity.

Laura Fisher is a post-doctoral research fellow at Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney. In October 2015 she co-curated Bespoke City with Sabrina Sokalik at UNSW Art & Design, a one night exhibition featuring over 20 practitioners celebrating the bicycle through interactive installations, sculpture, video, design innovation, fashion and craft. This event was part of Veloscape, an ongoing art–research project exploring the emotional and sensory dimensions of cycling in Sydney.

The contents of this post was written by Laura Fisher and first published online by Artlink (2015). Minor edits and hyperlinks added and footnotes removed to aid short-form continuity. Images from Artlink unless attributed.

16/03/202029/05/2020

Free Cycling Lessons Empower Immigrants in Finland

I always find it inspiring to see governments, councils and local community groups welcoming new arrivals and supporting them to access bicycles. Many locals take bike riding for granted and we often forget how empowering and significant riding a bicycle can be – especially for refugees. Previously on this blog, I’ve shared stories about how one former refugee’s life was transformed when a kindly local gave her a bike and then more widely, some considerations and biking activities held on World Refugee Day.

Bicycles transcend language, culture and personalities. Bikes are the perfect entry point for refugees to explore a new community in a cheap and familiar way that everyone understands.

For this post, we travel to Finland to look at the Immigrants on Bikes Project. This article is written by Federico Ferrara, the Project Manager for this initiative.

In February 2018, the Finnish Cyclist’s Federation (Pyöräliitto) started the Immigrants on Bike Project. It is funded by Finland’s state lottery and gambling monopoly for the next three years. The project aims to teach immigrants to cycle, which also promotes a green lifestyle change. The new cyclists benefit from increased mental and physical strength.

In the first 20 months of the project, the Finnish Cyclists’ Federation organized courses for beginner riders, basic cyclists and maintenance. On top of that, it offered short bike tours. So far, the initiative counted 65 courses, trained 330 new cyclists and 40 new cycling instructors. Twelve Finnish cities participate in the project.

In the beginner courses, participants learn to balance on a bicycle, to pedal, to use the brakes as well as the basics of controlling a bicycle. One group consists of four to five coaches and ten participants. Around 90% of the participants learned how to ride a bike successfully. Motivated by this great experience, they are eager to learn more. And the courses are equally enjoyable for coaches!

It’s wonderful to see such big changes! At first, the participants arrive stressed, insecure and afraid of riding a bike. But three hours after, they are already biking with a big wide smile and look happy. It’s incredible to see their transformation as they become empowered!” stated one coach.

The Finnish Cyclists’ Federation relies on a clear teaching methodology, proper equipment (smaller size bicycles, folding pedals etc.), motivation and well-trained coaches in a calm but easily accessible environment. It is important to create a safe space where new cyclists can overcome their fears in their own time.

Additionally, cooperation with NGOs and integration actors are crucial to reach people in need. The NGOs work with groups of people that have already spent time together. Therefore, they can come to the lessons together, which lowers the number of absences and creates a great group dynamic. This accelerates the learning process as trust has already been established beforehand. It also helps to overcome language and cultural barriers very easily found in groups that are so diverse.

Biking can have a positive influence on independence, empowerment, equality, mobility as well as physical and mental health. It’s something Europeans take mostly for granted, but the same doesn’t go for immigrants not used to good city infrastructure.

This project taught me that knowing how to ride a bicycle can be of great importance for immigrants that didn’t learnt it in their childhood and can positively influence their integration process. Especially if the society that welcomes them also values cycling.

This article was first published in entirety by the European Cyclists Federation on 23 Oct 2019.

29/07/201922/08/2019

France: Cycling is now a legal right

As the administrator of this blog, I work hard to bring a range of bicycle-inspired news, initiatives, personalities, research and projects where bicycles create more positive social and environmental change. This means I get to read all manner of interesting (and unusual) material from all corners of the world. I love hearing about the various initiatives locally and globally that are working to get more people on bikes. Today, I saw the below article by Anna-Karina Reibold reporting on a recent French mobility law which enshrines cycling as a legal right. AWESOME!! This law signifies a major socio-cultural shift. Among other changes, it will legally require French companies with at least 50 employees to negotiate new measures to improve employee mobility, in particular by subsidising the use of cycling and other ‘green modes of transport’ for commuting. I love the direction the French are going with this! Let’s hope other counties will follow this progressive lead. Read for more details. Enjoy! NG.

Advocacy Success in France: Cycling Established as a Mode of Transport

Cycling and walking becomes a legal right in France!

After months of fierce debate, the French National Assembly approved the Mobility Orientation Law on June 18th, 2019.

The French Cycling Union (Fédération française des usagers de la bicyclette – FUB) was actively involved in the negotiation of the draft mobility bill and successfully advocated for the rights of cyclists. The FUB dedicated eight months to monitoring parliamentary sessions and working on possible amendments.

Agnès Laszczyk, Vice-President of the FUB in charge of lobbying, highlights: “The draft law on mobility is the very first time French MPs and senators have given cycling mobility the importance it deserves. More than 110 amendments tabled¹ in each house, i.e. 10% of all amendments tabled on the draft law, concerned cycling, with nearly all of FUB’s proposals (31 amendments in the Senate and 16 in the National Assembly) taken into account. Even more significant were the hours of heated debate during the sessions in favour of cycling.”

Creating Cultural Change – Making Cycling Safe and Accessible

Whilst this is essentially a symbolic progress, cycling will be enshrined in the Law, which will provide an excellent judicial pillar. Several changes that build on FUB recommendations can already be identified:

– The National Assembly adopted an official Learn to Ride (Savoir Rouler) educational program to “ensure that every child is able to ride a bike autonomously and safely in public spaces by the time he/she enters secondary school”. The FUB hopes that this will lead to a cultural change in daily mobility choices.However, this change will only be effective if measures are applied universally and made compulsory!

– A new sustainable mobility package has replaced the kilometre allowance (IKV) that could not be combined with other modes of transport. Employers are now able to introduce a fixed and combinable annual package. Figures of up to €400 (previously €200) will be tax-free.

– The maintenance and creation of new cycle routes will become compulsory with the renovation of roads. Over the course of seven years, €350 million, along with endowment funds of €100 million per year, will be allocated to cycling infrastructure projects. Additionally, discontinued cycling routes will become illegal!

– Another FUB advocacy accomplishment marks the introduction of mandatory bike marking, “Bicycode“. The resulting national database will come into force for new as well as second-hand bicycles in 2021. The FUB hopes to take this initiative a step further and inspire more European countries to adopt similar policies by introducing a continent-wide database.

Let’s Talk about the Bicycle

The FUB has been eager to capture the attention of the public eye and engage with citizens, MPs and the French government in debate.

The successes of the FUB in the development of the mobility law were advanced with the help of the “Parlons Vélo” campaign.

The campaign took force after the presidential and legislative elections in 2017, with the aim of engaging citizens and political leaders on cycling issues.

113,000 citizens were mobilised to participate in the French Bicycle Barometer.

French cities were ranked according to cycling-friendliness after inviting cyclists to share their feelings on bicycle use.

Encouraged by this momentum, the FUB is set to launch a second edition of the French Bicycle Barometer this September.

These results are expected to play a central role in the debates leading to the French municipal elections in March 2020.

The campaign has also inspired citizens to address the French government and MPs by sending them a postcard in support of pro-cycling amendments. This initiative counted over 100, 000 participants. Finally, an online tool, introduced by the FUB, allowed citizens to make their voices heard by giving feedback directly to their local MP, asking them to support or reject certain amendments.

The Revolution is on the move

Overall, the work of the FUB has had far-reaching impacts and sparked political interest, as it has illustrated the strong will of citizens to create favourable conditions for cycling. As Olivier Schneider, President of the FUB, notes:

“With, on the one hand, the quality of our 95-page white book of proposals on ‘”how to enhance the law to get France cycling’” and on the other hand the reach of our social media campaign (over 15 000 emails sent to MPs!), MPs that we came across were quick to tell us that they had “received FUB’s proposals and were looking at them closely”. Given the anonymity with which cycling as transport has been considered throughout the years, this feels like an exciting and promising development!”

For example, Elisabeth Borne, who has recently taken the position of Minister for Ecological and Solidary Transition, is now very much aware of the potential that cycling holds. “Mentalities have changed” says Agnès Laszczyk.

“Many efforts remain necessary to reach the levels of European cycling leaders, but the revolution is on the move”.

More information on this subject click here for the press release.

This article was first published 29th July 2019 on ECF by Ann-Karina Reibold.

22/01/201918/02/2019

Epic Bikes Rides of the World

If you can’t actually be out riding your bike, then reading about cycling and planning your next trip is the next best thing.

Book and bikes are a regular theme at BCC.

We have previously featured schoolteacher Saber Hosseini who cycles his home-made library to far-flung rural Afghani villages so locals there who have no access to books can learn to read, the whimsical children’s storybook Along a Long Road, book, how bicycles can be promoted in local libraries and BCC’s own project A bike in my life – Recycled Dreams Community Storybook.

This week, I picked up a copy of Lonely Planet’s Epic Bike Ride of the World.

This book details 200 of arguably ‘the best places in the world to ride a bike’. The book is a colorfully illustrated hardback and is a delight to read.

It was published in 2016, so is still pretty current, although I’d love to hear how they decided on what rides to include and what to leave out.

Epic Bikes Rides of the World. Bicycles Create Change.com. 22nd Jan, 2019.

Key Features

The book is divided into continents chapters. This means you can quickly find what you are looking for and get info on exactly what you’re interested in.
Each entry has a visual grading: green for ‘easy’, blue for ‘harder’ and red for ‘epic’.
It covers all types of cycling: individual, family, sightseeing, road, mountain biking, bikepacking, urban rides and a heap of ideas for those into epic off-track adventuring. off the beaten track.
Each ride is accompanied by awesome scenic photos and a map. There are also toolkit and advice boxes to help with the practicalities of planning that particular trip.
The photos are ohhhh, sooo very motivating. I like how they include not just cycling and scenery, but also lifestyle, people, culture and travel vignettes that really showcase the uniqueness of riding in the region.
The locations included show judicious selection. What wonderful geographic spread: Moab, California, Canada, India Himalayas, NZ, Vietnam, Norway, Argentina, Japan, Denmark, Wales, Thailand, Australia … and heaps of other places. Impressive!
At the end of each section (which is more descriptive), there is a short factual ‘more like this’ section, which includes suggestions for other rides elsewhere in the style of that ride – what a great idea!

It was really inspiring reading this book. I’ve definitely added a few more thumbtacks into my bikepacking map of the world!

And it’s not just me who liked it. Ed Wright from Roadcycling.co.nz gave it a rave review as well.

This book won the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 and was the winner in Favorite Travel Guide category.

So do yourself a favor – next time you’re in a library or bookshop, see if you can grab a copy of this book and check it out.

I guarantee, if you are a bike rider of any type, you will not be disappointed!

All images: Epic Bikes Rides of the World

31/07/201821/08/2018

Estimating the Cycling Economy in Europe

Many of us who ride know the inherent positive health, economic and environmental benefits of biking.

But it is always reassuring to have the hard facts to back it up at the next dinner party you go to…so here is some ripper data from the EU you can wave under the noses of any annoying your non-riders who pooh-pooh cycling’s economic contributions to society.

Estimating the Cycling Economy in Europe

A report entitled The Cycling Economy in Europe was produced in 2013 by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF).

The ECF is a preeminent cycling advocacy group, whose work centres around progressing cycling via a range of themes including economic, policy, tourism, health and environment, technology and safety and infrastructure to name a few.

This report is interesting because from what it looks like, it was the first European attempt (definitely ECF’s first calculation) to monetise the internal and external benefits that come cycling in the EU-27 (EU 2007-2013 when it had 27 member states).

Download the report here: ECF Economic Benefits of cycling in EU-27.pdf

This report was based on:

Health benefits of cycling
Congestion-easing due to cycle use
Fuel savings due to cycle use
Reduced CO2 emissions due to cycle use
Reduced air pollution due to cycle use
Reduced noise pollution due to cycle use.

The ECF calculates the annual economic benefit of cycling in the EU-27 to be at least € 205 bn.

Report Highlights

Here are a few highlights from the report as outlined in a presentation by Chloe Mispelon (ECF):

Current economic benefits of cycling are huge (over 500 billion € for the EU 28, more than 1000€ per inhabitant each year)
The economic potential is important as cycling modal share today is way below its mid XXth century levels in most EU countries.
Cycling economic benefits are spread over a wide range of fields making the case for cross-sectoral strategies on cycling at local, national or EU level
Lack of data prevents research to explore many other cycling related economic benefits

This report is ECF’s second calculation of the internal and external benefits of cycling linked to the current level of cycling in the EU-28. It is an extended and updated version of the first report published in 2013. The calculations have been updated with the latest available figures; in some cases, the methodologies for calculating the benefits have been refined taking into account the feedback received; and more benefits have been added in a systematic way.

So what are the estimates?

Summing up the calculated and estimated benefits of cycling in all these sectors, ECF arrives at the following aggregate figures:

The present report clearly shows that the benefits of cycling occur not only in specific, isolated fields like transport or environmental policy, but in many other areas where the EU has competences as well, like industrial policy, employment, health and social policy.

An integrated EU cycling strategy that includes these fields and considers cycling in all relevant policy areas will therefore enable the whole EU to reap these benefits in the future, including the countries which currently have low rates of cycling.

In some areas, ECF identified benefits of cycling but were not able to give any calculation or estimation yet.

More qualitative and quantitative research is needed in those fields to quantify these benefit.

The aim of this report is therefore also to encourage further research on the subject in order to draw a more precise picture of the economic benefits of cycling in the future.

All images and data in this post come from ECF or the ECF”s Economic Benefits of Cycling in EU-27 Report.

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.

22/01/201824/01/2018

World first announced this week: Hydrogen-powered Bikes

This guest blog post is by Greg Beach, who earlier this week reported on the official announcement of the World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Bicycle. Two months ago, DesignBoom reported on this design, however, it was not officially announced until this week that Pragma’s ALPHA hydrogen-powered bicycles have been manufactured and are set to become commercially available in the near future. It will be very interesting to see what impacts and reaction this new announcement will have on cycling communities and city bike share initiatives. NG.

World first announced this week: Hydrogen-powered Bikes

Pragma Industries just became the first company to launch a hydrogen-powered bicycle for commercial and municipal purposes. Based in Biarritz, France, the company has already secured 60 orders for the hydrogen bikes from French municipalities such as Saint Lo, Cherbourg, Chambery and Bayonne.

While the bikes are currently too expensive for the commercial market, costs are expected to eventually drop from 7,500 euros to 5,000 euros, and charging stations cost about 30,000 euros.

While Pragma is not the only company interested in hydrogen-powered bicycles, they have taken production of such vehicles the farthest — so far.

“Many others have made hydrogen bike prototypes, but we are the first to move to series production,” Pragma founder and chief executive Pierre Forte told Reuters.

Pragma’s Alpha bike is able to travel a distance of 100 kilometers (62 miles) on a two-liter (0.5 gallon) tank of hydrogen.

Although the range is similar to that of a typical electric bike, the recharge time is significantly reduced from hours for a traditional e-bike to merely minutes for the Alpha hydrogen-powered bike.

Pragma offers two types of recharging stations: one that uses hydrolysis of water to generate hydrogen fuel on-site, and another, more affordable station that relies on tanks of already prepared hydrogen fuel.

Due to the high cost, Pragma is currently marketing its bikes to larger commercial and municipal operations such as bike-rental operators, delivery companies, and municipal or corporate bicycle fleets.

After producing 100 such bikes last year, Pragma hopes to sell 150 this year to organizations in places such as Norway, the United States, Spain, Italy and Germany.

In addition to developing a bike that is capable of turning water into fuel without the need of a charging station, the company plans to massively expand into the retail market within the next few years.

World first announced this week: Hydrogen-powered Bikes - Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Jan 2018

This news was reported world-wide through the major news outlets, so unsurprisingly, most of the reporting on this innovation appears to be based on the same publicity brief with articles repeating pretty much the same info. However, there were a few articles that supplied a little more detail about the bike, how it looks and it’s specifications (like this Reuters article).

Images and original article published in Inhabitat 17/1/2018.

17/05/201720/05/2017

Tirana Gay (P)ride March

Happy International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia!!!

Officially today is the actual day of celebration (17th May), however there have been a wide range of events happening worldwide for the whole week.

Of particular interest to lovers of life on two-wheels is the Tirana Gay (P)ride March in Albania.

Source: Watermark Online

Tirana Gay (P)ride March

The Tirana Gay (P)ride March was first initiated in 2006 has been gaining significant participation and coverage over the last couple of years and is fast becoming one of the most colourful, cultural community-driven events in the Albanian calendar.

This story is great for a number of reasons. Aside from being an awesome international event addition for this weeks general celebrations, it is also great as Albania doesn’t usually make headlines (at least not enough for positive reasons). Also, most people do not usually associate progressive, fun, international bicycle-inspired community demonstrations for gay rights to come out of small Southeastern former Eastern Bloc European nation. But there you go!

So kudos to the Albanians for being such a wonderful and supportive international example.

(Queensland take note!!)

A dual protest for 2017

This year was an extra special event. To mark the international festival, participants in Tirana’s Gay (P)ride Parade rode bikes for one cause, whilst elsewhere in the city two hours earlier (yet overlapping), another protest was being held in response to the country’s political opposition. The city was inundated with bikers strewn in multi-colored costumes with balloons, flags and pennants flapping the wind as they rode past a protest tent erected in front of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s office to raise awareness and support to pressure the current Albanian government to extend their 2009 anti-discriminatory laws to legalise same-sex marriage and also to recognise trans-gender citizens.

People taking to the streets to protest is not new, but the inclusion of highly decorated bicycles adds an extra element of personality, intimacy, community and creativity which is hard to beat and difficult to ignore.

Best of luck Tirana …our bicycles are with you!!

We hope you have a fun and successful ride to celebrate your 2017 IDAHOT!

Source: Fox News

Below is a 7 minute video of the 2017 Tirana IDAHOT (P)ride March.

More details:

Official International website.

IDAHOT Facebook Page

Twitter: @may17IDAHOT

Official hashtag #IDAHOT2017