Video | Utility Cycling

Mark Ronson Bike Song

Posted on 07. Sep, 2010 by Melanie Colavito.

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It’s always nice to see bicycles make their way into mainstream media and entertainment. Most recently, Mark Ronson, the famous English musician and producer, has released a bicycle riding-themed video and song. Enjoy!

Via Tucson Velo, Cyclelicio.us, and others.

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Ditch the Van Bike Tour

Posted on 03. Sep, 2010 by Melanie Colavito.

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I stumbled upon this great series of videos today about Ditch the Van Bike Tour. The third video in the series was posted a few days ago over at RocBike. According to the first chapter of the group’s story:

“The Ditch the Van Tour is an experiment in sustainability and community oriented music touring by bicycle. In this first chapter, film-maker Marty Benson introduces all the characters on the road.”

The videos follow Ben Sollee (cellist), Katie Benson (the brains), Jordon Ellis (the percussionist), and Marty Benson (the videographer) as they head out on a 1500+ self-supported bicycle and musical tour. Each member uses a variety of bike trailers, bike racks and bags, and more to haul the gear. My personal favorite is Katie’s Wandertec Bongo, produced by our very own Bike Shop Hub.

I am very excited about this discovery, as I am just gearing up to write a post about long distance utility cycling for our general bicycle transportation category. I’ll post the rest of the videos in the series as they appear. Enjoy.

Ditch the Van Bike Tour – Chapter 1 from marty benson on Vimeo.

Ditch the Van Bike Tour – Chapter 2 from marty benson on Vimeo.

Ditch The Van Bike Tour – Chapter 3 from marty benson on Vimeo.

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The Kebele Bike Workshop

Posted on 24. Aug, 2010 by Melanie Colavito.

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Here’s a nice, simple video about a the Kebele Bike Workshop, which uses second hand parts and volunteer time to keep people on their bikes and pedaling. Good stuff!

Via Treehugger and The Journey TV.

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Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge

Posted on 17. Aug, 2010 by Melanie Colavito.

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Clif Bar, the maker of delicious energy bars and more, is currently promoting the 2 Mile Challenge. The challenge? To make any trip of 2 miles or less by bicycle. Put those car keys away and grab the bike lock!

In order to participate, you select a team, for which you are riding to earn points, that will eventually be given a grant from Clif Bar to promote cycling. The teams include the Alliance for Biking and Walking, Trips for Kids, and the Alliance for Climate Education.

If you already replace most of your 2 miles or less trips with a bicycle rather than a car, you are a great candidate for the challenge. And if you are looking for a good way to start bike commuting, then here is the perfect opportunity to have some fun while you are doing it! There is nothing like a little competition to get people out of their cars and onto their bikes. Plus, it doesn’t matter how fast you go, as long as you go on the bike!

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peopleforbikes.org – Why I’m for Bikes

Posted on 15. Aug, 2010 by Stacey Moses.

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People for Bikes has a goal of collecting 1 million names to demonstrate to policy makers, the media and the general public that bicycling is a healthy, socially responsible and enjoyable transportation and recreation option. This video is a great representation of what peopleforbikes.org is seeking to promote: there is an endless list of reasons why people ride bikes, and they are all excellent reasons. Whether you’re a utility cyclist or a casual cruiser, better bicycling infrastructure, increased education and information, and a united voice among cyclist benefits all of us. Please take a minute and sign the pledge at peopleforbikes.org. It’s simple and quick, and every signature is critically important to ensuring that the cycling community is heard.

There are many other great resources and inspiring videos on peopleforbikes.org, so be sure to look around!

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DIY Streets in London

Posted on 12. Aug, 2010 by Melanie Colavito.

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Londeners are taking to the streets – literally – to transform streets at the individual level to walkable, bikeable, livable places. The effort is being lead by a nonprofit group in the UK called Sustrans, which is seeking to increase access to public spaces (not increase mobility per say), reduce the impacts of transportation, and generally make neighborhood and city streets more enjoyable places for people.

It is no secret that reducing speeds and opening up places throughout cities to pedestrians helps improve the general atmosphere, lifestyle, and economy in those places, so it is interesting to hear about it happening at the level of the individual street. The Sustrans group hopes to expand this to a larger scale with coming projects. Learn more in the video below via Streetfilms.

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Reduce Speeds and They Will Come

Posted on 09. Aug, 2010 by Melanie Colavito.

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Copenhagen is certainly one of the most popular cities about which to make videos and write blog posts when it comes to bicycle and pedestrian-friendliness. However, as the old adage goes, the sqeaky wheel gets the grease. So the more we talk about places like Copenhagen and what they have done there to change the citiscape to permit more walking, biking, and fraternizing amongst people, the more people will start to wonder why we don’t have that here in North America. And then maybe we will start to see a transformation here someday, as well.

That being said, please enjoy another great video from Streetfilms about Copenhagen’s transformation to a more people-oriented place.

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Open Data in Transit

Posted on 05. Aug, 2010 by Melanie Colavito.

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Streetfilms recently posted a new video called A Case for Open Data in Transit, which makes the case for having data about transit be free and open to the public, much like weather data is, in order to take advantage of the current capacities of Web 2.0. Basically, it boils down this: if transit data is free and open, developers can take the information and make some really cool apps for the general public to use the data. This is a good thing, because it encourages openness, transparency, and even a potentially more streamlined transportation system.

Although this video focuses specifically on data in transit, it has a lot of application to the world of utility cycling, as well. Many utility cyclists and bike commuters utilize public transit as part of their commute or as an alternative. Whatever the case, open data in transit can help utility cycling as well, because that data can be used to make more useful apps for cycling and walking.

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Copenhagen Through North American Eyes

Posted on 30. Jul, 2010 by Melanie Colavito.

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Streetfilms recently posted a new video about cycling in Copenhagen, which was filmed and created during the recent Velo-City Conference. The film features a lot of great footage of the cycling infrastructure in Copenhagen, as well as comments from a great number of cycling advocates and experts throughout the world. You can also check out this great write-up over at BikePortland.