Wednesday 24 February 2010

Velo Taxi

Election times have come in the Netherlands. First, on the 3rd of march we will have the municipality elections. Second, as our government has just fallen, we will have national elections in June.
The different parties have started campaigning. Some of them are making use of 'velo taxis' to promote themselves and 'seduce' potential voters. Not difficult to guess which party will have my vote ;-)
The taxi, by the way, can transport 2 adults and 2 children. And it is definitely cheaper, cleaner and probably faster than most other taxi's within the city.






For videos:

Sunday 21 February 2010

Trike

Today's bike (or trike?). Encountered in Burgers Zoo (Arnhem).

Saturday 20 February 2010

Starting young


As you can see you can already start 'cycling' quite young. This is my eldest daughter at about 20months. Having great fun and reaching high speeds on her Wishbonebike.

http://www.buywishbonebikes.co.uk/

Monday 15 February 2010

Aerobikes

The ultimate proof that bicycles really are multifunctional vehicles!
Thanks to Fernando from Portugal for these pictures.


On the origin of bicis



The bicycle has been one of the most fascinating inventions by man. It is known for its agility and practicality and has been improved drastically since the time it was invented. Today, bicycles are used for transportation, recreation and commuting purposes. The earliest bicycle to be invented was during early 19th century. At that time, the bicycle was a crude structure, with no rubber tyres, no proper saddle, paddles or even brakes for that matter!

Multiple innovators contributed to the history of the bicycle by developing precursor human-powered vehicles. The documented ancestors of today's modern bicycle were known as draisines, hobby horses, or push bikes (and modern bicycles are sometimes still called push bikes outside of North America). Being the first human means of transport to make use of the two-wheeler principle, the draisine (or Laufmaschine, "running machine"), invented by the German Baron Karl von Drais, is regarded as the forerunner of the modern bicycle. It was introduced by Drais to the public in Mannheim in summer 1817 and in Paris in 1818.[3] Its rider sat astride a wooden frame supported by two in-line wheels and pushed the vehicle along with his/her feet while steering the front wheel.

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/history-of-bicycle-2059.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle

Our folding bikes

Our foldable bikes in Berlin during a city trip, autumn 2009

My own bike

My own bike in the Alentejo, Portugal



And in the Pyrenees

A Bicicletada



The 'Bicicletada' is a movement started in 1998 in San Fransico with spread out to Brazil, Portugal and recently Mocambique. Inspired in the Critical Mass, where cyclists join to claim their space in the streets. The principal objectives of the Bicicletada are to promote the use of the bicycle as a means of transport, to create favorable conditions for the use of this vehicle and to turn the system of transport into a more ecological and sustainable system, first of all in the urban environment.
For more information:
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicicletada
http://www.bicicletada.org/tiki-index.php

Where there is a will, there should be a cycle lane

Berlin 2009

This picture was taken at the Stasi Museum, reflecting a world of (eco)resistance in the DDR period.