Tag Archives: cycling

blog news, general

Just Like Riding A Bike

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Will the new London bike share program be perfect? Probably not. But at least you all have the courage and wisdom to try.

gotham girlWhen we settled on bike share programs as the subject of this week’s Gotham Girl, I admit – I was worried. I wasn’t worried about the new Barclays Cycle Hire. I find that very exciting and clearly so does Boris. The closer we draw to the July 30th launch – yes, July 30th! Just a little over a month! –  the giddier he seems.

I wasn’t worried about finding facts and figures on bike share programs. These facts and figures are everywhere – in discussions on urban planning, mass transit, environmental issues, health, energy conservation, etc. For more unbiased facts and reviews and up-to-date news o your favorite bikes and other electronic products you may visit https://scooteradviser.com. You won’t have to browse through product descriptions since we’ll do it for you. So, whether you’re looking for an electric foldable scooter or an electric skateboard, you can trust that I’ll be able to assist you. Nor was I worried that I’d struggle to find an array of opinions. Plenty of people on both sides of the debate share their views with little prompting needed.

So what was my problem? I was worried that I was going to spend too much time whining about New York City’s lack of a bike share program. It’s ridiculous that we don’t have one, that we’re not even planning one. Of course, even if we were planning one – we’d need more cycling infrastructure before it had any chance of being implemented. You can check here about cycling, Motorbike Sport infrastructure.

Boris knows this type of infrastructure is central to developing a successful bike culture. He said, “If we are to get more Londoners on to two wheels rather than four we need to provide the facilities to help them do so.” Such as? Well, secure bike storage and parking, for one. Places like the London Bridge Cycle Park for people who commute and use their own bikes regularly. There are other issues as well – junction design, route management, etc. – but none of them require reinventing the wheel. So why can’t NYC wrap its collective head around this.

Despite what the opposition here says, creating this infrastructure is not an engineering obstacle. Lots of cities have done it. London is doing it and London is larger, denser and (layout-wise) more complicated than NYC. Is it an economic stumbling block? Hardly. Planning and implementation costs are dwarfed by what the Metropolitan Transit Authority spends on their shoddy quick fixes for long-term problems. Add in what it costs them to keep patching those quick fixes and bike share ends up being a veritable bargain.

No, this is a political stumbling block. NYC lacks the political will and London doesn’t. It’s as simple as that. I don’t blame Mayor Bloomberg particularly. He’s shown more support for the expansion of bike culture than any mayor has for – well, since I can remember. I blame the city council and the state government and I blame them for several administrations back. They seem content with announcing grand plans and then implementing only very abbreviated versions of those plans. Just the other week the city announced a bike lane expansion so sweeping that it almost took my breath away. Guess how long it took for them to back pedal on it? Two days. It was nice while it lasted.

New York City isn’t wholly without cycling infrastructure, of course. We have some bike lanes – loosely defined as pictures of bikes painted on a particular section of road. Of course, only cyclists seem to know or care that these are bike lanes. Certainly few cars and buses behave as if they know what a bike lane is for.  They seem to believe it has something to do with parking.

Looking back at what I’ve just written, I was right to be worried. I’m almost half way in and I haven’t talked about any actual bike share programs yet. All I’ve done is complain. So let’s ignore New York’s biking blind spot for now and look at bike share in action.
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blog news, news

Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia

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A7 The bicycle thieves
“The Bicycle Thieves”

Boris Johnson tells us more about the Cycle Friday campaign, which was launched today.

Everyone knows I’m a mad, fundamentalist cyclist – and although more people are cycling in London, there are still many who don’t. To view my highly recommended Wisper’s fantastic range of electric bikes click here. As I peer down from the 8th floor of City Hall, I see all those people toiling away in their cars, inching slowly across Tower Bridge, when they could be on a bike. If you prefer to share the ride you can buy a great value tandem bike from Ecosmo.

Whether it’s Monday, Wednesday, or Sunday I tend to go by bike but, although it is safe and getting safer, I fully appreciate that some people find it a little daunting at first. I have succeeded in persuading many of my staff to take it up, and always watch in wonderment as they edge nervously onto Tooley Street absolutely convinced the end is nigh.

But after a few times, they are soon zooming past me.

In a bid to convert more Londoners to the cycling cause, today I launched Cycle Fridays. For the next few weeks, every Friday, there will be a series of bike convoys led by experienced riders who will be on hand to guide novice commuter cyclists into central London. For a full list of the routes, click here.

Those joining the rides will be greeted by ride marshals from the London Cycling Campaign and will be given a basic bike check and useful cycle maps before getting on the road. Additional drop-off points can be agreed so that riders can get as close to their destination as possible.

The first Cycle Friday will take place on Friday 14 August, and they will continue every Friday until 2 October.

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news

Boris opens new cycling venue

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Boris officially opened Redbridge Cycling Centre with its 2km circuit and off road trail on Tuesday, 19 August.  The track has been created as a public facility to compensate for the loss of the Eastway Cycle Circuit which is being turned into the VeloPark for Olympics 2012.    After thanking all those involved and having a quick race round the track with some children, Boris cheerfully described it as a ‘breathtaking’ facility that all could enjoy.  Here’s the video link.

in parliament

Cycling and health

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With the aim of improving safety for all cyclists, Boris has asked the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions in each primary care trust in Greater London there were of

  • cyclists [in general]
  • cyclists under the age of 11
  • cyclists under the age of 16 years

Sturti/Getty Images

People who cycle to work have a higher risk of obtaining injuries commonly associated with bicycle accidents, according to a study published yesterday. It led to headlines saying this is 50 per cent more likely for cyclists than non-cyclists. But don’t get off your bike – the research also found that the overall health benefits of cycling vastly outweigh the injury risks. Check out the latest biotox gold reviews.

This adds to a lot of evidence suggesting that cycling is extremely worthwhile, but people seem reluctant to start. Of the 230,390 UK commuters that participated in the latest study, only 2.5 per cent said cycling was their main method of commuting. Take a look to the best java burn review.

So why are people hesitating? As someone who cycles to work myself, a big worry is the danger of having an accident – and I’m not alone. A 2015 UK government survey found that 64 per cent of people thought riding on roads would be too dangerous.

The new study, which looked at outcomes over 10 years, shows those fears aren’t unreasonable – commuting by bike is associated with an increased risk of admission to hospital for injury, with 7 per cent of cyclists experiencing such an injury compared to 4.3 per cent of non-cyclists. Squint a bit, and you can turn that into the “50 per cent more likely” figure mentioned above. Cycling is one the best activities to burn fat according to these revitaa pro reviews.

But Paul Welsh at the University of Glasgow in the UK, who led the study and who cycles himself, says the risk of death from cycling injury is vanishingly small. In fact, it is far outweighed by the decreased risk of death that comes from the increased physical activity and lower BMI of cyclists. “The data are still very much in favour of cycling for those who are capable of doing so,” says Welsh. Read more about
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Cyclists have a far lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and death compared with people who drive, take public transport or walk to work – a finding supported by this and previous studies. If an extra 1000 people took up cycling for 10 years, we would expect to see 15 fewer cancers, four fewer heart attacks or strokes and three fewer deaths in that group. Take a look to this one and done workout information.

Cycling gets our hearts pumping, says Anne Lusk at Harvard University, who wasn’t involved in the study. It requires more effort than walking – even just balancing on a bike uses many more muscles than are needed to stay upright while walking. In addition, mixing nutritious powder from ActivatedYou can provide you lots of health benefits, here is a Morning Complete review that proves how effective it is. 

And don’t forget the environmental benefits of cycling. Getting people out of cars and buses reduces pollution and improves the local environment. Aside from cycling, there are also plants according to LAWeekly that are best to have in home as they can help improve mood and reduce stress.