Tag: bikes

  • Should helmets be compulsory?

    I thought I’d conduct a poll (see below) to see what readers of my blog think about legislation to make helmets compulsory. One of the things I like about living in York is that I don’t *have* to wear my helmet when I go cycling. I can just jump on my bike and dash out…

  • How the Dutch got their cycle paths

    A friend of mine shared this video with me which I found really interesting. It discusses the reasons why the Dutch have such brilliant cycling infrastructure today and you get to see some of it in action. I wish more countries would follow suit.

  • I have great legs!

    I have great legs. Is it a bit conceited of me to say this? I don’t know, but I do know that cycling around for a month on Busby (my bakfiets) has given me really great legs and I don’t ever want to say goodbye to them.  Why, oh why do the politicians of Auckland…

  • Le Tour de York

    The Tour de France in 2014 will start from North Yorkshire and the people of York are starting to get excited about this. When I first heard about it I was puzzled because I thought this famous French cycle race was always held in France. It is called the Tour de France after all. And…

  • Cycling makes me happy

    Something I knew all along turns out to have some evidence to back it up: cycling to work makes you happier. Urban Studies Ph.D candidate Oliver Smith surveyed 828 commuters in Portland Oregon to determine commuter well-being among different modes of transport including cycling, walking, bus, rail and car. Here’s what he found. I am…

  • Backwards reasoning

    George Monbiot wrote an article this week which has struck a chord with me called Backwards Reasoning. It is something we all do – reason backwards. If we’ve already made up our minds about something, then we reason with ourselves to justify that conclusion. If we don’t like a particular conclusion, we reject the premise.…

  • In praise of change

    I’m an impatient person. I also relish change. I’m not one of those people who fears it and who rejects everything new. Perhaps this is partly why I have no objections to implementing the changes needed to stem global warming and am perplexed why so many people fight against them. I read this great tweet…

  • How to save the world by bicycle

    I have a solution for all of society’s ills. It involves getting fat arses out of cars and onto bicycles. If I were Prime Minister, I’d redirect our colossal spending on roads and motorways to spending on cycling infrastructure instead. When I say cycling infrastructure, I don’t mean painted lines on roads or share-and-care footpaths,…