Video | Utility Cycling

Bikes, Cockroaches, and Hurricanes

Posted on 05. Nov, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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Hurricane Sandy, which hit parts of the eastern U.S. hard last week, has been getting a lot of attention on the web. Sandy has had a lot of impacts, but it has most notably brought more attention to two things that don’t often get attention outside of certain circles: bikes and climate change. Now, the latter is complicated and messy, so I won’t discuss it much here, suffice it to say that Sandy has made a lot of people think a little harder about what climate change might look like. The first item – bikes – have also been getting a lot of post-Sandy press, especially with the flooded subways, crowded streets, gas rationing, and power outages in places like New York and New Jersey. Indeed, bikes have been likened to the “cockroaches” of transportation, of disaster, of the apocalypse, what-have-you. To that end, I wanted to do a little montage of some of the interesting videos of post-Sandy bike use.

There’s no doubt that bikes are pretty resilient and useful in disaster situations, but you would think that knee-deep water would provide a limitation for even the bravest cockroach cyclist. Not so for filmaker Casey Neistat, who braved the streets of Lower Manhattan on bike to capture some amazing footage of the flooding.

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Bike Boxes

Posted on 30. Oct, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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Bike boxes are popping up on streets across world. A bike box is simply a colored area at an intersection that is meant for cyclists to pull into while waiting for a red light to turn green. Bike boxes are meant to increase the visibility of cyclists to motorists, as well as provide clear instructions for cyclists about where to safely wait for traffic. For the most part, they are quite easy to use once you know what to do when you get to one. Fortunately, the folks at the City of Edmonton in Canada have created a useful PSA or how-to video for motorists and cyclists. Bonus – it has lego characters and lego bikes! You can also check out an older Streetfilms video on How to Use a Bike Bike, as well.

Via Cyclelicio.us.

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Vancouver Cycling

Posted on 25. Oct, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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I’ve always wanted to visit Vancouver, and this Streetfilms video about how the city is working to improve bicycling infrastructure makes me want to go there even more. The video documents a number of different improvements that are being made to the cycling experience in Vancouver. I especially like the separated bike lanes and the “green carpets” which help both cyclists and motorists be more aware of how the infrastructure works and encourages them to share the road. The riding along the sea wall doesn’t look too shabby either! Enjoy.

Vancouver’s Velo Vision: Safe Biking for All Ages from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

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Mamachari Bicycles

Posted on 23. Oct, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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The video below has a scene I can’t imagine seeing in the U.S. – unless, of course, you switched out the bikes for SUV’s. It’s an incredible example of family cycling at its best. The video highlights the use of bikes in Japan called mamacharis, which are bicycles used to carry children and goods around town. Cyclelicio.us has a useful post explaining how they got their name and how they are used in Japan. I also recommend that you visit the blog Mama Bicycle to check out some really interesting posts from Shuichi, who is a father that uses a mamachari as a primary source of transportation with his kids. In the meantime, check out a ton of mamacharis in action below. Enjoy!

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Bike Tourism for Small Town America

Posted on 16. Oct, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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The folks at the Path Less Pedaled just released a great video on how the bicycle can help to boost local economies in rural America. They should know, as they sold all of their possessions a few years ago and set out by bike across the U.S. visiting lots of small towns along the way. I was excited to host them for a few nights here in Tucson in 2010, and since then they have traveled the U.S. and New Zealand by bike, all the while supporting small towns along the way! They are the ultimate long distance utility cyclists and experts in bicycle travel! Check it out.

How Bicycles Can Save Small Town America – PathLessPedaled.com from Russ Roca on Vimeo.

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Velo

Posted on 09. Oct, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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Sometimes you just need to play with shapes and turn them into different kinds of bikes. That is exactly what this great bicycle animation called Velo by Motionlab does. I discovered it over at Bike Hugger. It’s a perfect video for one of those days when you just need something short, simple, and sweet. Enjoy.

VELO from MOTIONLAB on Vimeo.

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Pro Walk Pro Bike 2012

Posted on 04. Oct, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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We recently posted a video about the first annual National Women’s Bike Summit, which was held as part of the Pro Walk Pro Bike 2012 conference. This video focuses on the Pro Walk Pro Bike conference and illustrates some of the main themes from the event. Streetfilms was there to document the response from conference participants who are focusing on ways to help boost projects for walking and biking with public resources. There seems to be great momentum behind efforts to encourage complete streets through walking, cycling, and public transportation. These efforts make our communities better for everyone!

Shifting into High Gear at Pro Walk Pro Bike 2012 from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

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Don’t Take Out a Cyclist

Posted on 30. Sep, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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Streetfilms recently featured a public safety announcement encouraging drivers and passengers in cars to look out for cyclists when they open their doors. As part of the LOOK! campaign, which is aimed at distracted drivers, the video features lots of people getting out of their cars in New York City, and well, you guessed it, if people are distracted when they get out of their cars, it’s only a matter of time before a cyclist gets doored. Anyhow, the video is quite clever, and I think it’s message will be pretty successful. Check it out.

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Bike-Powered Piano Folk Rock Tour

Posted on 27. Sep, 2012 by Melanie Colavito.

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Music and bikes are always a great combination, in my opinion, so I love a good cross-country music tour by bike. Singer-songwriter Stephan Nance is doing just that, and he’s helping youth out along the way. In order to enable him to haul his 70lb keyboard around by bike (read: obtain a Surly Big Dummy), he’s launched a Kickstarter Project to fund the tour and make a webumentary (now that’s a new term to me). Stephan and his friend Rebecca will be working with local groups associated with the Safe Schools Coalition, Gay-Straight Alliances, and Safe Routes to Schools along the way through group rides and music events. And hey, they’ll even be making Tucson their last stop! Learn more about the tour below, and watch the whole video to hear his catchy tune about a bike-car “interaction”.