Category Archives: Opinion

Things are changing

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Moving on a bike is beneficial to you and people around you. It enhances your mood and indirectly your neighbors’ health since you do not produce pollution. These statements seem quite clear but incorporating them is quite difficult. This change can be produced by social pressure as it was done in the Netherlands in the 70’s, or by selecting the right persons in key positions. Some people were surprised in seeing the former London mayor Boris Johnson in the city metro some years ago. It appeared to them a leading figure could not use the public transport. Obviously, this is wrong. Going a step further, putting elected urban cyclists in the public institutions is specially advantageous. In Valencia both, the mayor and the sustainable mobility city councilman, have been practicing cycling for ages and even participating in demonstrations against deaths in car accidents. The new point of view regarding biking has allowed the city to overcome the pig-headedness of the former government and implemented mobility changes from the biker perspective, producing a tangible progress in sustainability. Although there is a way to achieve the total sustainability, a lot of cities and villages around the world are moving in the right direction step by step.

Bicycle innovations

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Although we don’t know for sure when the first ever bicycle was designed, it clearly goes back hundreds of years. Since its invention, the bicycle has undergone massive innovation yet there’s more on its way. Here are some of the new things you may find the next time you go to the store, but be careful, some of these new innovations may not be ideal:

The shaft-driven bicycle

Shaft drives operate at a very consistent rate of efficiency and performance, without adjustments or maintenance, though lower than that of a properly adjusted and lubricated chain.
shaft

The belt-driven bicycle

A belt-driven bicycle is a chainless bicycle that uses a toothed synchronous belt to transmit power from the pedals to the wheel. The application of belt drives to bicycles is growing due to the low maintenance and lubrication-free benefits.
belt

The hub gear

Hub gears are sealed within the hub, which protects them from water, grit, and impacts. Thus hub gears usually require less maintenance. Additionally, Hub gears can change gear ratios when the rear wheel is not rotating.
hub

Airless bicycle tires

You’ll never have a flat tire if you use airless bicycle tires. Also, whether solid or not, they obviously require less maintenance.

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The 5 minute super-tuneup

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Do you want to stop sweating while biking, avoid your chain getting stuck and bike nice and easy? Then you need the 5 minute super-tuneup!.

All you need is an air pump and bicycle chain lubricant, and here is how it goes:

  1. Pump air into your wheels until they’re 5-15psi bellow the maximum, which you can find written on your tires.
  2. On your handlebar, use the brake barrel adjuster to make sure your brakes work flawlessly (specially if you’re bound to bike in the rain). Tighten the adjuster locking ring after you’re done.
  3. Also on your handlebar, find your derailleur adjusters and, little by little, play with them until there’s no friction between your chain and the derailleur itself.
  4. Slightly lubricate your chain and let it dry for an hour or two.

Depending on how often you bike you, may want to do the 5 minute super-tuneup once or twice a month. Trust me, it’s really worth it! And if you want to know more, check this bicycle maintenance wikibook.

San Francisco’s Critical Mass

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I’ve only done it once, but it was a blast!. San Francisco’s Critical Mass begins at 5:30 on Justin Herman Plaza. There are hundreds of bikers dressed both formally and informally, and is escorted by the police for courtesy and security.

The environment is quite festive, I remember bikes covered with flowers, bubble making machines mounted on cars, music, bikes that look like a harley davidson, etc. Plus people kindly stop cars and make sure the mass is dense and gap less.

The ride itself is nice and slow, allowing for people of all ages to enjoy it while also paying a visit to SF’s interesting spots. Additionally, the hills and the dusk light makes for great pictures, not to mention visiting the seaside and the Palace of Fine Arts at night.

sfCriticalMass

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Seattle’s Critical Mass

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Seattle’s Critical Mass beings at 5:30ish at the Westlake Center. There, bikers socialize and, little by little, we ride in a big circle while also ringing our bells. At some random point, when most have joined, we depart without a planned destination.

Seattle’s Critical Mass always happens, rain or shine, although attendance greatly depends on the weather, ranging from tens to about a hundred. During these rides we try not to go through steep hills but sometimes there isn’t a more suitable options (or things are too chaotic to avoid them).

Still, you always get to meet people and discover interesting parts of the city. During my first Seattle’s Critical Mass I ended up on a birthday party on the other side of the city at 3am, but in other occasions we ended up riding around the International Fountain, visiting a p-path on the top of a building, and so on.

seattlesCriticalMass

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Bikes vs cars?

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There are two basic ways to cross a city on a bike. On the one hand, there is the officially preferred path which consists on a bike line commonly designed by non-cyclist technicians (we will deep in this issue in the future). On the other hand, some bikers are prone to share the pavement with cars without physical barriers.

This last point has to do with the lack of secure alternatives within the cities and it’s likely to create a clash between the long-time favored, polluter motor vehicles versus the green model of sustainable transport on a broad scale, although bikes have been with us for ages. This is precisely one of the fears of compulsive car drivers: losing privileges in favor of bicycles.

What they do not see is that the more bikes in the streets, the better air we breath, not to mention the cuts in car accidents and their gravity, or the reduction in oil dependency among others. One of the easy-measured key indicators in the bad relation between cars and bikes is the number of horn hokes you hear when riding in a highway. Drivers who are aware of this issue respect cyclists as they feel us as part of the community and they could also be bikers themselves on the weekends. This synergistic model is what a lot of local governments are looking for. But dozens of years allowing everything car-related (including alarming dead figures in car accidents) is making this ideal coexistence tough. Nevertheless, important steps are being made towards the development of the bike movement and we thank them as part of the search of a better future.

Healing wounds

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During the 50s and the 60s things where wrong, really wrong, when it comes to transportation diversity. The car filled the gap of the American dream: a big house on the suburbs and a work downtown required a way of transportation suitable for very low density in an individualistic society. Long and wide roads were built, and enormous wounds in the form of highways divided entire cities.

Most people here in Seattle love Vancouver, Canada. People mention how beautiful and nice it feels and here is one key thing: it isn’t crossed by a highway in the way most American cities are. Having a highway-divided city has one potential advantage: fast commuting. However, every single day its capacity is exceeded and urban highways are full and slow at peak hour and when there is a big event. Moreover, the properties around it loose value since nobody wants to live next to a source of pollution and noise. Not to mention the fact that, if you have a business and you aren’t a big brand, nobody driving on a highway is going to see you and take a detour to stop by.

Luckily, though, the US has been healing these wounds. A clear example is San Francisco’s embarcadero area. Previously a noisy double decker freeway, the 1989 earthquake helped transform it into a beautiful open space that attracts a lot of tourists and locals.

embarcadero

A similar thing could be said about Boston’s Big Dig which, despite having some issues, managed to substitute a high density highway with a more pleasant open space and nature

bigDig

And it isn’t only roads, Chicago’s Millennium Park turned a bunch of railroads into one of the most popular spots in the city. And Barcelona’s railways were rebuild underground to improved the whole city.

And now, Seattle, what are you waiting for?.

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Valencia’s Critical Mass

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I am going to talk about the Critical Mass in Valencia (Spain) today. It starts at the Virgin square in downtown the first Friday of every month at 19:30, no matter if it is raining, the wind blows, is a holiday or the sun shines. This fact as well as the climatic variations in the four seasons make that the number of participants varies along the year, reaching the highest figures in spring, summer and the first months of autumn.

It is particularly interesting that the Critical Mass has no direction, neither organizers. This way it can end in the same place where it starts, the beach, the former riverbed, close villages and so on.

Regarding the bikers, everyone can participate in this ride from children to senior citizens since the reached velocities allows to enjoy it without even sweating. Sometimes politicians come such as Giuseppe Grezzi, the current Mobility Advisor who is making efforts in favor of sustainable mobility. Moreover, one can see strange bicycles like the bike-monsters, the “bici-gelat” (a horchata truck bike, being horchata a typical Valencian tiger nut milk drink) or the odd boat-bike which swings as it was a true boat. People in handbikes and skaters are also welcomed. To contribute to the festive ambient, participants dress up like in carnival from time to time.

As far as logistics issues are concerned, police closes the Critical Mass to calm traffic almost every time. Indeed, bikers close themselves perpendicular streets to where it passes chatting to car drivers to pacify them because not each and every driver is a good one. What is more, the Spanish legislation is partly unknown, specifically the point which indicates that a group of cyclists is treated as a sole unit referred to zebra crossings, stops, traffic lights, traffic circles… One important point constitutes the fact that the bus line is respected as it represents a path of sustainability.

Finally, it ends with a huge applause and the ride is a success due to the collaboration of all people involved.

Foto by Antuan Toledo

Foto by Antuan Toledo

The Critical Mass

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Let me start by the beginning. The grounds appeared in China as a consequence of a characteristic cyclist behavior. It consists in a cyclist waiting in an intersection until a group of bikers is created. Once they have the sufficient power and visibility, they can cross it and force the cars to stop. By the way, the name of “critical mass” is taken from this film.

Then, it jumped up into the U.S. and specifically to San Francisco as the first “official” Critical Mass. Here, the participants had to fight against the lack of understanding of local authorities and dramatic actions were even taken. The documentary We are traffic! shows those initial moments. As you can see, the atmosphere was committed with all the participants wanting to spend a good time while at the same time they defended claims such as a better world, pollution reduction, practicing more sport, reducing street accidents and so on.

Today it is celebrated in more than 300 cities worldwide once a month. The specific date varies between places and it is a good idea to contact with local bikers to join it. So remember, if you see suddenly cyclists on the street, let’s say dozens, hundreds or even thousands, you would be probably seeing the Critical Mass. It could also be possible that it did not still exist where you live. If this is the case, why don’t you start it?.