The busycle is certainly one of a kind, but to ride it, you need to have lots of buddies.
It runs of course using pedal power. It may be kind of hard to use in the streets of Metro Manila though, as the heat will certainly affect you because of the slow speed it attains, unlike ordinary bikes where you get the benefit of the wind flowing against your entire body thus cooling you down.
It should be so much fun riding/pedaling and being seen in one.
Found this one in a Spanish website, www.sarda.es. This picture tells it all:
“Tranquilo cariño, no podrán robarnos la bici nueva, he comprado unos candados de seguridad a prueba de robos.”
Found this in thisislondon:
The cycling jacket with built-in brake lights and indicator.
This would be very useful for those who bike at night, like me. Hand signals or gestures that would indicate the course you want to take on the are quite useless at night. Motorist following a bike at during the dark hours often ignores or worst, do not see the biker at all. It’s every cyclist’s nightmare when drivers do this, either unknowingly or deliberately.
This jacket, invented by Michael Chen hopes to put an end to this. It has flashing indicators on the sleeves and brake lights in the back. A “tilt switch” activates indicators to flash when the biker raises his arm to give a hand signal. And a device called an “accelerometer” is used to turn an LED, woven into the jacket’s back, green when the rider is moving forward or red when he applies the brakes.
The inventor hopes to find a manufacturer to produce it on a mass scale.
Echoing the most common complaints of cyclists, London-based Mr Chen, 28, got the idea watching cyclists in the capital. He said: “There is a lot of hostility from bus and cab drivers towards cyclists.”Cyclists are brave. It is so dangerous without bike lanes. When I visited Korea last year, I noticed their cities had better bike lanes than London.”
British judges of the prestigious James Dyson design awards, have been impressed and chose Mr Chen for a first prize of £2,000.
As impressive and useful this jacket is though, I would have a hard time getting on for myself as Mr Chen hopes the jacket be on sale by Christmas, for about £100 or around Php 8,000.
I have always believed that cycling offers several benefits, not only for the individual person, but to the environment and to the society where the individual belongs. Health benefits stands out among these, followed by the lessening of man’s impact on the environment. Bikers get their dose of exercise while going to their destination, virtually multitasking, thus accomplishing more.
Those who advocate cycling have all the right reasons to do so. Pardon the bias but I am a cycling advocate. On the other hand, anti bike advocates would also present their own evidence to prove their point.
I just found this post from Bike Biz, dated August 22, 2005, presenting two opposing views of the benefits and risks involved in cycling. One part of the article cites a study by the British Heart Foundation that “cycling in cities is bad for your health” and goes on to say that cyclist should be as far as possible from congested roads. While I think it is logical to conclude that cycling in congested roads is bad for the cyclist, we have to qualify the situations that merit such conclusion. I have been biking to work for more than a year now and I would have perhaps, inhaled the equivalent of a ton of toxic fumes if I did not know better than to follow a smoke belcher direct behind. I would usually either give way and let the offending vehicle go so far ahead of me, or I would simply slow down or stop completely on the side to let the fumes go away. And why would I deliberately bike on major roads where those smoky monsters thrive, while I can go through the less traveled and less polluted side roads? It may take me a little longer to arrive at my destination but at least I protected myself and avoided a slow self destruction.
To present the more favorable (at least for me) argument, the article cited a response from CTC, Cyclist’s Touring Club, stating that “health gains from cycling far outweigh pollution risks.” According to CTC rebuttal of the BHF’s study:
“Other research shows that the air which cyclists breathe is a lot less polluted in the first place than that which accumulates inside a car. This is because cyclists are more likely to ride at the side of the road and to reach the front of stationary traffic queues, whereas vehicle occupants are more likely to be stuck behind the exhaust pipe of the vehicle in front of them. Hence vehicle occupants are exposed to air with pollutant concentrations 2-4 times higher than that breathed by vehicle occupants, depending on the type of pollutant.”
Banning cyclist from major roads in the guise of protecting them from harmful carbon emissions from motorized vehicles will not solve the current environmental crisis. This would only encourage more cars to be on the road. However no biker in his right mind would deliberately put himself/herself in harm’s way if he or she knew the risks. There are many ways to protect oneself from pollution, but no amount of protection would work if pollution becomes overwhelming and unstoppable.
Instead of relegating cyclist somewhere else, why not encourage more car owners to leave their cars behind and get on a bike? More bikes mean less pollution. Less pollution means healthier individuals.
The poor man’s taxi; not allowed to pass through major streets; a sweating smelly driver. All these describe the “trisikad”, “padyak” or simply pedicab. If you are used to riding your airconditioned car, then you wouldn’t be familiar with it. And if you have seen one of them, or noticed one while on the road, it is probably because it is causing traffic and making you late for your appointment. Very few car drivers would have kind words for them. You wouldn’t ride it even if it is the last means of conveyance available on earth.
The trisikad has other iterations, not here but brace yourself, in New York! Other cities have their own versions too. New Yorkers call them “bicytaxi“. It may look more comfortable, more pleasing to the eye, more stable and safe, but it has the same basic design principle: a three-wheeled human-powered vehicle.
It is quite expensive though. “Transportation costs for BicyTaxi are currently set at $1 per block with a $10 minimum per person in New York”, according to treehugger,where I got this post. Where we are, you could ride our “padyak” for as little as $.25, going for perhaps 3 or 5 kilometers. But beware of some drivers who are out to get more than the ride is worth. A friend, my wife and I went to Divisoria once to shop at 168. We chose to ride one of those padyak, hoping to get there faster because of the traffic. We did get to 168 sooner than had we taken the jeepney, but the fare , 80 pesos, the driver charged us was more like fare for a taxi. Our friend just chose to pay the fare to avoid any inconvenience.
To be in one is to get all the attention from all the people present, witnessing an event unfolding before their eyes, scrutinizing, labeling, digging into the life of the one in the spotlight. Would anyone deliberately put himself/herself in such a situation? I guess, we all have a streak of masochism in us, however remote or seemingly untraceable.
Now I am in such a situation, courtesy of bluepanjeet, who has taken it upon himself to tag and expose my inner thoughts to bloggers around the world. Am I willing to subject myself to your scrutinizing, labeling, and digging into my life, outside the biking world I have created for myself? I guess yes is my answer, just once, for this purpose.
Rules of the meme:
1. Create a post and entitle it “In the Spotlight”, just like this one.
2. Remember the culprit who tagged you and link back to him/her.
3. An important reminder: don’t just copy and paste these instructions, go and create your own. Why? Here is the explanation.
4. From the list of questions here, choose only those you feel would do justice to you as a writer.
5. Tag at least 5 people you want to make famous and put in the spotlight.
Here are the questions I chose to answer:
What makes your blog unique?
How I wish it was unique, in the sense that no other blog covers the same topic as I do. There are lots of cycling blogs in general out there, and lots of blogs dealing with bike to work, in particular. But indeed my blog is unique, in the sense that everything in it, except some of the announcements from other blogs that I posted of course, are personal experiences and thus, not duplicable by others. They are my unique take on the world of cycling and biking to work. They are like snapshots of everyday life, preserved in my pages, ready to be shared with others.
When did you start blogging?
I wanted to start blogging early last year. In fact, I started one in geocities, but after two posts, I lost interest. This one that I have now was started March 2007 ( I had to look at my blog’s archives to be certain).
Is this your first meme?
Not the first, per se. I created one but only as a personal note for myself. I did not do an open invitation nor tagged anyone to respond to it, although bluepanjeet, in his goodness, posted a comment on that post. And since he has tagged me for this one, I am doing this now. But, yes, this is my first.
What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?
My blog deals with biking advocacy, my experiences as a bike to work dude. I hope to show and make other people understand that biking is not a lowly form of transportation, that it is a noble way to move around the city. It is also my own way of contributing to the solution to stop environmental degradation instead of being part of the problem.
If you were stranded on a deserted island what three things would you want to have with you?
My bike, a bike pump, and a repair kit to fix the bike. Sounds like I am obsessed with biking, right?
Are you a spiritual person?
Do you mean if I think about my Creator, my Savior, the Spirit that guides my faith? In this sense, yes I am a spiritual person.
Here are the people I want to put into the spotlight:
http://pinkmonster.wordpress.com
http://pinoybikediaries.blogspot.com/
http://banggigay.wordpress.com/
From Greenpeace International:
We are on our way to becoming more aware of the crises that’s coming upon us. Climate change, worsening pollution in every major cities of the world, dwindling natural resources. All these and more are slowly affecting our lives. And if we choose not to do something now, our children will be the heirs to a wasteland that used to support the whole of humankind.
Greenpeace has initiated a challenge to the world: reduce our consumption of fossil fuels that lead to the alteration of global climate. The challenge is not only for governments, organizations and societies, but directed more to each of us as individuals.
When you sign up, Greenpeace will send you 7 challenges over 7 weeks. Each challenge will be something anyone can do, and comes with detailed advice (plus a chance to share your own ideas). They will also let you know about other ways you can help save our planet.
We want to know…
You can help us with your opinions: we’ve put together 15 questions to get a sense of what you, our active supporters, think about climate change and Greenpeace’s role in fighting it. A few minutes of your time answering these 15 questions could help a lot!
“Everyone’s talking about climate change. You’re doing something about it. “
Ever wonder how to dispose of those old and worn out bike parts? Here’s an idea: recycle!. This is not a new one of course, but with a bit of creativity and serendipity, you can create a new whole line of one-of-a-kind home furnishings. This is what bike furniture did.
Mismatched wheel sets, crooked handle bars, rusty seat posts, all of these can be converted to make chairs, tables, barstools and other curious accessories for daily living.
The old parts may have outlived their mountain biking usefulness, but certainly, with this new lease on life, those old parts may yet become part of our armchair biking adventures.
This could be a great Father’s Day gift to your biker dad, that is, if you could afford to import it.
Found through BoingBoing.
Ever heard of this buzzword: multitasking? In the business world, it means simultaneous handling of several tasks. Originally applied to computers, task refers to a program, and in multitasking, the CPU processes several programs at the same time.
According to Webopedia Computer Dictionary, there are two basic types of multitasking: preemptive and cooperative. In preemptive multitasking, the operating system parcels out CPU time slices to each program. In cooperative multitasking, each program can control the CPU for as long as it needs it. If a program is not using the CPU, however, it can allow another program to use it temporarily. Well, whatever…
Biking works in a similar fashion. It is preemptive because while biking your mind is divided into giving attention to several functions: your eyes take in visual clues on what you need to avoid hitting, what direction you need to steer the handlebar, when to press the break, either in panic or gradually. It is also cooperative since your whole body must work in unison: pedaling, balancing, and thinking about hurdling that last uphill climb or even wrangling with the idea that you could do a bunny hop to get over that log that is blocking your way.
These facts are evident whether you are riding in a trail, or doing an urban assault. Even weekend riders experience these as well as occasional bikers.The only ones spared of this phenomenon are the armchair bikers, who remain content in reading only the accounts of true blue bikers.
Consider this: you start from the foot of a mountain. Your biker buddies assure you that a trail, or a fire road, be it single track or one that can accommodate two or three riders abreast exist and is there actually in front of you. But for the life of you, you couldn’t find one. They insist however, that it is there because they have used the trail before. Your mind protests at the negative evidence that is presented to you but something somewhere deep inside of you is trying to convince your mind to agree. Two totally opposite functions running at the same time. Which side will win?
Finally you agree, in spite of the lack of visual evidence. You proceed to take the next step. Following your bike buddies, you carry your bike on you shoulders. Now, you realize that indeed there is a track beyond those tall weeds and grass! They were only blocking the view. You have hurdled your first multitasking thrill of biking. You have decided that indeed a track exist when no evidence of its existence was present. Now don’t you feel good?
Though there are many functions involved in multitasking, there is only one end in view. Productivity. Oh yes, biking is productive indeed! Isn’t it that when you work on your computer, like when you are typing a report or preparing a plan, you do research beforehand and you pool all the resources you have gathered into a coherent whole, ready for consumption by your audience, who could be your superiors or your colleagues? Once you have completed and finalized your work, you present it to them and they congratulate you for having done a wonderful job. Nice work, man!
In biking, you just don’t ride your bike and voila, you are already a biker! Of course not! You have to be prepared too. You must do some research and then some marketing. You must learn how to bike in the manner of your preferred riding style.
Mountain biking is different from road biking, as much as baking a cake is very different from preparing pancakes. (I’m good at one and terrible at the other, but that would be out of topic here.) And then there is the matter of the bike’s configuration itself. You wouldn’t bring a road bike up there to the mountains where only fire roads lead to the summit. You would be lining up yourself to a disaster if you did. On the other hand, an all purpose mountain bike can get you anywhere, only you would be riding the road not as fast as a roadie can. You have to be mentally prepared, meaning ready to assess all information, visual, mental, physical and even those that come as feedback from your bike, and process them to come up with an informed and correct decision in each turn or downhill stretch. Otherwise, you could end up using a crutch for the rest of your life. That is if you are lucky.
And once you have learned the art of biking on a multitasking level, then you are ready to tackle your first real ride, whether you decide to go up and do mountain biking or go for an urban assault.
I mentioned bike configuration. Now, that’s where hardware multitasking comes in. Each part of the bike should correctly mesh with the other connected parts. The cranks and pedals, the chain and chain rings, the derailleurs, front and back , and the shifters, the brake pads, rotors and levers. They all should function as one perfectly synchronized whole. One malfunctioning part can bring the whole bike down, literally.
Biking will never be just a sport. As computers have dominated the corporate business world, so will bikes eventually will lord over mass transportation. When the price of gas becomes too high, less and less people will use their cars, or so I hope, and then we will see the rise of the bicycle not as a poor man’s transportation anymore, but a more environmentally and politically correct way to travel.
I went to the doctor this morning to have a much delayed physical check-up. This is a must if I am to continue my wanton biking ways, as I do have a heart condition to take care of. It has been this way since 2000, when I was first diagnosed with a coronary artery disease. In fact, as I have posted elsewhere, this is one of the compelling reasons why I took up biking as a sport.
Biking has helped me maintain my weight, which I have been struggling to control since the time I became conscious of my weight, and that would be during my early teens. It has also helped me keep my heart relatively healthy, even as I suffered a heart attack in August of 2004. In January of 2006, exactly on the day of my son’s 6th birthday, I had angioplasty.
This visit to the doctor was actually prompted by a sad news I read in the PCN forum, where a post mentioned a biker who suffered heart attack while biking uphill towards Antipolo, last Sunday, May 27. He was of the same age as me and had the same history of artery disease, according to one of his friends who posted on the forum.
This news prompted me to look at my condition again.
As you may have noted on my posts, here and here, during the last two weeks in my other blog, I have been going uphill mountain biking for two consecutive Saturdays. The first one was up in Montalban towards the Grotto of our Lady, going down to Wawa.
The second one was up to Licao Licao through Nabutas. I haven’t finished writing the account of this second trail ride, which in fact I did not finish entirely because I had to bail out of the last stage. I didn’t tell any of my biking buddies then, but the real reason for bailing out was I felt palpitations of the heart during the last uphill climb following a single track ride through a private farmlot, and this was a signal that I have been pushing myself close to my limits and I better stop.
I have also mentioned that my wife and kids were in the province and they came back the following day, Sunday, May 20. Ah, my free days were over, but oh well, those days were good while they lasted. LOL.
On days when I could not bike to work, I lift weights, just dumb bells with 10 pounds each. I do the usual curls and everything for around 3o minutes. I do it before my full breakfast of oatmeal with a sprinkling of cinammon ( a tip from fellow TOF marshall and a diabetic himself, named Eric Vergara). On this particular day, Tuesday May 22, I think I overdid it and I was unusually tired, panting and rushing my breath. Then there was this knot on the pit of my stomach, a tight feeling the was usually present only when I am stressed out specially in the office.
I did not mind it, as this has happened before and no untoward events followed. It would usually cease after relaxing and if it happened before a bike ride, it would be totally gone after the ride. I biked to work as usual that afternoon and as soon as I arrived at the office, the feeling was gone.
But at dinner time, just as I was about to go up to the second floor pantry, the tightness in my stomach returned. I wasn’t able to eat all my dinner because of it.
I went to the clinic to have myself examined by the doctor. He knew of my heart condition so after asking how I was feeling and taking my blood pressure, a very normal 110/80, he advised me to take motillium, a medicine for some stomach disorder. He further advised me to have my stomach checked by a gastroenterologist and go to my regular doctor at the Philippine Heart Center for my regular checkup. He gave me a prescription and some medicine and I felt better.
But I am like one of thousands of others who would only have the courage to go to the dentist when my tooth is aching and when it isn’t, well, forget about the dentist then, totally. It’s just the same this time, only it is about the heart and the stomach. Since I was feeling better already, I forgot about this doctor’s advise. Until I read last Sunday’s post about a biker dying of cardiac arrest on the road while biking.
And so this morning, I visited the doctor.
P.S. Since I have diabetes too, the doctor scheduled me for a blood test tomorrow morning. Included is FBS (fasting blood sugar) test which means I would have to fast for at least 12 hours (the site I linked to here says 8 hours only. I wonder why my doctor wants to prolong my agony?). In practice then, my last meal of the day would be at 7:30 tonight so I could have my blood extracted tomorrow, at the earliest at 7:30 am. I already feel hungry right now…
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