I always believed living in the city was better for the community, but I never imagined how wasteful it is to live in suburban environments until I saw this image in paisajetransversal.org
Suburban arrogance
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Guess which color are bikeways in Seattle
Patterns are used all around public infrastructure to help us remembering what should we do. Therefore, using different materials, colors and designs prevents drivers from remembering to look for bikes. The Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands know this well, that’s why they always use the same color and shade, and they have a very limited number of designs. However, consistency seems to be impossible to find in Seattle because the city is rather focusing on expanding its cycling facilities instead.
Bicycle innovations
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bikes and obesity
Biking has been define as a good way of practicing aerobic sport. This type of exercise allows burning calories and avoids what the WHO has defined as the pandemic of the XXI century: Obesity. This disease provokes a lot of cardiovascular problems, among others. Its mechanism is simple, if you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Conversely, if you burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight. The fact of riding helps you to lose weight as well as to enjoy the environment and relax yourself. It also avoids injuries which can be produced in other aerobic sports like running. So it makes up for the sedentary life we live, the TV, seated or playing video games hours we spend.
Paint Allergy
Strange as it sounds, I often see people driving in the middle of a two way road. They can easily cause an accident, but they aren’t drunk or high. So what’s happening?. Simply put, the white lines that guide us in our journeys are not there, and this is often found around the city.
And the crazier thing is that in order to solve this issue all we need is some paint, to make sure our roads look like roads, instead of minimalist abstract paintings.
The 5 minute super-tuneup
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:
- Pump air into your wheels until they’re 5-15psi bellow the maximum, which you can find written on your tires.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Green is the wrong orange
Every couple of days I witness a biker or a walker on the brink of being run over by a car. How come?: Seattle’s orange traffic lights are green!.
Incredible as it sounds, Seattle gives green lights to cars turning into crosswalks which have a green light too, resulting in a very dangerous situation that could be solved easily by making sure cars are given an orange light when turning into crosswalks with a green one, like the rest of the civilized world does.
This is a simple fix that requires no additional infrastructure, so please, Seattle, fix it!.
Biking and health
Biking is considered a valuable sport since it protects your heart. This aerobic way of moving improves your health because it helps oxygenated blood to be pumped by the heart to deliver oxygen to the working muscles, mainly those in your lower part in your body. For this reason it forms part of the “cardio-sports” which improve your cardiovascular fitness. Another characteristic is that it benefices your muscle formation and toning. Also, by practicing it regularly your life-years are increased (wow!) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=10.1289/ehp.0901747) as well as you better your mental health (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17314466?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum) and your immune system (http://familyonbikes.org/blog/2011/06/the-health-benefits-of-cycling/). Moreover, you coordination improves as your are constantly moving both your legs and your hands. There is no need to spent hours and hours on the bike to feel its benefices, just a few minutes. Nevertheless, aerobic exercises such as biking can become anaerobic if performed at a too high intensity level.
How not to build a bike line
Bike lines constitute an easy and visible way to put on a brave face regarding green politics. This is clearly how non- or little-cyclist believe it. In real life, it is far more complicated. Bike lines produce a false feeling of security while riding, specially when it is shared with pedestrians. Accidents are produced by distractions or by their bad locations. For example, look at the point A in the next photo.
The fact of the small distance between the bike line and the wall, makes it perfectly possible to suffer an accident. This idea is reinforced if you take into account that the building at the right is a school and children run freely in working days.
Sometimes bike lines are given in to cars. In photo number 2, the bike line curves in an almost chaotic way in order to respect the parking car. Again, most cities are proned to cars, not to people.
Few times bike line colors confound cyclists, like in the case of photos 3 and 4, both corresponding to the same avenue and different pavements. Here, red and green are used instead of define a homogeneous color.
Photo 4 also shows obstacles and potholes make riding difficult. Constructing a bike line is much more than just painting lines in the pavement. Maintenance is needed and cases like photos 5 and 6 should be avoided.
Absurdities like photo 7 can make us thinking in another reason why bike line should be on highways, not on pavements. Here, people and bikes are virtually incompatible.
Moreover, curbs should be considered to facilitate an easy riding and avoid unnecessary jumps such as those in photo 8.
Finally, if you want a free ticket to the roller coaster, just ride in the photo 9, where there are three ups-and-downs to access to car parkings corresponding to points A, B and C.
San Francisco’s Critical Mass
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.
