Who else benefits from the Dutch cycling infrastructure
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Cycling in the Rain, Utrecht (Netherlands)
Puncture: Wheels
There is a fact when riding a bike that is considered a handicap for some people and an opportunity for some others as these last put into practice what they have learned. Traditionally, this issue has been usually presented when riding on a surface clogged with tacks and crystals. Of course, I am referring to punctures.
Punctures constitute a headache for some cyclists. Putting aside how to repair them, which I will talk about in the future, this post is dedicated to wheels that are able to avoid them. You can find two solutions for them in the market: Flat tyre, and gel wheels.
On the one hand, the flat tyre makes impossible to puncture a wheel. The absence of air inside it allows you to ride on tacks without any problem. Moreover, most flat tyres are made with long-lasting materials as they work for thousand of kilometers. On the other hand, the gel wheels incorporate a gel material inside them. This material vulcanizes in contact with air, hence the puncture is automatically repaired. In fact, biker does not usually realize he or she has a puncture after finishing the ride. However, this wheel should be changed after a high number of punctures since the gel quantity reduces after every puncture.
Cycling in the snow, Den Bosch (Netherlands)
Junction design in the Netherlands
Furiosos ciclistas
Furiosos ciclistas (https://www.furiosos.cl, in Spanish) is a Chilean bike group that aims at promoting the bicycle use in the urban scenario. Bikeactivists compose it and fight for their legal and cultural recognition, increment in security when riding, teaching other stakeholders in the streets, improving human health, creation of bike infrastructures and crashes reduction.
They propose specific points to reach these targets: Planning, design and engineering, promotion and education. Why have they chosen bicycle as the ideal issue to manage them? Bikes are efficient, economic, environmentally friendly, accessible, allow progress towards human contact, and human health. Back in 1995, this group began as a yield to the dominant abuse of motor-based ways of transport, what they call Imperio Motorizado Sin Freno (Non-brake, motorized empire, in English). Notice the Chilean humor.
You can read posts and watch short videos about different aspects related with urban cyclist on its website. Subjects range from activities and highway education, to the Critical Mass and bike-tourism, including both national and international news as it comes to bikes.
Bicycle Parking Garage Beursplein Amsterdam
Inside The City Where Waymo Tests Self-Driving Vehicles
Mujeres bici-bles
Andrea María Navarrete is the founder of Mujeres Bici-bles, a bike women group with the aim to empower themselves. Mujeres Bici-bles is a Latin American social movement with headquarters in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Their main target is to help women to ride bikes in urban scenarios. Urban biking can be difficult for men, but it is more problematic for women specially in the patriarchal societies. Thanks to the mind of its founder, who is also a university teacher, urban cyclist and touring cyclist, this movement has quickly spread. They support other women who want to start riding a bike. For instance, in the Colombian cities of Bucaramanga and Salta, they have informal schools to teach more women pedaling.
OK, but what if I want to create a Mujeres Bici-bles group in my city? Well you can contact to Andrea María through [email protected] or Twitter (@MujeresBicicles).
She offers a talk, the group creation and, if future bikers want, interesting teachings about how to create the bike school for women in every city she travels. In return, Andrea María asks for help to move to another city and a place to spend a few days. Once the group is created, she proposes talks regarding genre perspective, and pedaling and mechanics workshops.