Video | Utility Cycling

NYC Bike Share

Posted on 15. Sep, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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New York City is joining the global bike share system movement in 2012 with the New York City Bike Share. The system will be quite extensive with 10,000 bikes at 600 different locations. As the system is being develop, you can help the NYC DOT decide where stations should be located by participating in the planning process. Streetfilms was on hand to hear the announcement by Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, which has a great deal of political support, and you can watch it below.

NYC Announces Bike Share from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

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Wine on Wheels

Posted on 14. Sep, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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Here’s a somewhat random video I found on YouTube for your Wednesday viewing pleasure. The video is from a local TV news station in the Raleigh, NC, area that features The Wine Feed. The Wine Feed is an online wine retailer that offers a bicycle delivery service, which brings wine directly to customers’ front doors for the additional small fee of a tip for the delivery rider. The wine is packed into coolers for the trip across town in a Burley Travoy. It’s a neat concept that integrates online businesses with local delivery methods…and wine. Enjoy!

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Pedal Portland

Posted on 08. Sep, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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Bike Portland posted a great article yesterday about a great business concept that just started up in Portland, OR, called Pedal Portland. The concept behind Pedal Portland is that you can hire a real-life riding partner to help make the transition to commuting by bike just that much easier. Kirk Paulsen, the brains behind the idea, only started riding himself a short while ago and recognizes that there are some challenges to starting up, but for Portland residents, he is there to help. He can be hired to help find bikes, get bikes in working order, identify a good route, and accompany you on your first rides. This is a great idea, as having someone who is familiar with transportation cycling and able to take the time to really help you start out can be priceless. Good luck, Pedal Portland!

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Martin Olav Sabo Bridge

Posted on 07. Sep, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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I haven’t yet had the opportunity to ride in all of the well-known cycling-friendly cities in the U.S. like Portland, NYC, and many others. However, I have been fortunate to be able to explore some of the great U.S. cycling cities in the Midwest like Madison and Minneapolis. Living in Tucson, AZ, which I generally think is a pretty darn good place to ride, I have been completely blown away by the bicycle infrastructure in Minneapolis each time I’ve been there. Geez, there are sections of the bike path that cross roads where drivers are required to stop and cyclists are not. Little features like that really go a long way in making a great cycling city. The new Martin Olav Sabo Bridge in Minneapolis is no different, and it’s amenities look to be great for cycling. And it sure is pretty, as well.

Martin Olav Sabo Bridge (Minneapolis) from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Via Streetfilms.

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Maya Pedal

Posted on 06. Sep, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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Some friends of mine are living in Guatemala for a good part of this year, and they have been enjoying getting around by bicycle with their son. They recently sent me an email to tell me about this great shop they stumbled upon called Maya Pedal. Maya Pedal takes old bikes donated from places like the U.S. and Canada and repurposes them into bicimaquinas (bicycle machines), which are pedal powered machines that can do anything from grind corn to help make shampoo, for people who don’t have electricity. You can learn more about Maya Pedal in the video below. The video is in Spanish, but even if you can’t understand the words, it’s beautiful to watch. Enjoy!

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Bicycling at the University of Arizona

Posted on 01. Sep, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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I recently had the opportunity to talk about cycling at the University of Arizona with Mike McKisson of TucsonVelo.com on Arizona Public Media. I definitely love cycling on and to the UA campus, and when I recently broke my arm, I thought to myself, “Gee, how am I going to get to campus now?” Anyhow, check out Mike and I sharing our thoughts on cycling at the UA, which was recently awarded a Silver level Bicycle Friendly University status by the League of American Cyclists.

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Career Courier Bike Messenger Documentary

Posted on 31. Aug, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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Cyclelicious posted up the trailer to the Career Courier Bike Messenger Documentary a few weeks ago, and I thought it would be worthwhile to share here at Utility Cycling. Bike messengers are definitely utility cyclists, and the documentary follows messengers who have been in their line of work for quite some time. I guess you could say they are lifelong utility cyclists. Enjoy!

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Capital Bikeshare Success Story

Posted on 30. Aug, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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It seems like every few weeks there is another bike share success story circulating around the web. Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C., which launched about a year ago, has also been a major success according to its many users. The film from Streetfilms below highlights some of the features of Capital Bikeshare, including a phone app to check bike availability and a van that moves bikes from full docks up to more empty docks throughout the day. Capital Bikeshare was also utilized during the recent earthquake on the east coast of the U.S., proving that the bicycle can be an extremely useful tool in case of emergency.

The Phenomenal Success of Capital Bikeshare from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

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Two Mornings

Posted on 26. Aug, 2011 by Melanie Colavito.

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Here’s a fun video for your Friday viewing pleasure. Which morning would you pick? I’ve recently been riding public transportation to and from school as I broke my arm, and I can’t wait to get back to the bicycle morning!