<<<< - Mav&Jen_Europade - >>>>

AKI - Adnkronos international Indonesia: 'Green' cycling tour arrives in Bali ahead of climate change summit:

"The cycling tour, called 'Bicycle for Earth Goes to Bali' has been held to promote biking as an alternative means of transport that does not add to climate change. Along the 1447 kilometer long route from Jakarta to Bali, events have been held to inform the public about climate change and promote alternative solutions, and the team has attended political debates and other public events"

New bikes target mini riders � RapidCityJournal.com:

"McFarland, of Rapid City, is a mountain biker, motorcyclist and self-confessed tinkerer. Over the years, he has invented and marketed a number of devices, mostly notably the Thudbuster, a shock-absorber for bicycle seats. "

Climate change: "Carbon footprint" enters everyday vocabulary - Yahoo! News: "PARIS (AFP) -

Buying locally-produced fruit and veg, riding bikes or taking the train instead of using private cars, buying carbon offsets and staging carbon-neutral weddings: all are part of the climate-change awareness taking root in many countries."

Taking a bicycle on vacation without a support vehicle wasn't mentioned in this article but it is a big deal on this blog.

A bus emits between 10 and 20 times less CO2 than a car, and both are of course beaten for greenness by walking and cycling if distances permit.

Labels: bicycle, carbon, climate, SLOW_bicycling, sustainability

El Paso Times - Professor explores 'Latino-ization' on bicycle:

"Louis Mendoza, the chair of the department of Chicano studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, set out for a bicycle tour of the country in July, starting out of Santa Cruz, Calif., and going clockwise. He arrived in El Paso on Thanksgiving and left this morning. His goal is to gauge people's perspectives on what he calls the 'Latino-ization' of the United States. Just a month short of the end of his trip, Mendoza said that what struck him was th"

Labels: bicycle, El Paso, travel, Twin Cities

Labels: bicycle, BMX, creative, kid centered, OLPC

Beer after sport 'is good for the body' - Telegraph

"In a rare piece of good news for those who like a pint, Spanish researchers say beer can help someone who is dehydrated retain liquid better than water.

Prof Manuel Garzon, of Granada University, also claimed the bubbles in beer help to quench the thirst and that its carbohydrate content can help to replace lost calories. "

QUOTATION OF THE MONTH >>
__________________________

"Unlike the vacuum cleaner, the radio, or the bicycle, which retain
their use value when everyone has one, the car, like a villa by the
sea, is only desirable and useful insofar as the masses don't have
one. That is how in both conception and original purpose the car is a
luxury good. And the essence of luxury is that it cannot be
democratised. If everyone can have luxury, no one gets any advantages
from it. On the contrary, everyone diddles, cheats, and frustrates
everyone else, and is diddled, cheated, and frustrated in return."

-Andre Gorz, an Austrian and French philosopher, who recently passed
away. Read more about him in the special news section.
___________________________________

SPECIAL NEWS SECTION: OBITUARY >>
________________________________________

In Memory of Andre Gorz

Once called the "sharpest brain in Europe" by Jean-Paul Sartre, André
Gorz was an Austrian and French philosopher, journalist and political
theorist. He is primarily known for his writings on the themes of work
and political ecology, and for being a co-founder of the Nouvel
Observateur weekly. In the carfree movement, however, he is best known
for his essay "The Social Ideology of the Motorcar."

Gorz himself responded positively to a letter from Carbusters several
years ago, requesting permission to make the paper available on our
website, where it can now be found in several languages:
www.worldcarfree.net/resources/free.php. Gorz was also one of the few
socialist thinkers to embrace Ivan Illich's central argument in
"Energy and Equity", that the human and natural environments are both
degraded by increases in energy use and speed.(my emphasis added)



more

Labels: bicycle, carbon, RIDE SLOWLY, SLOW_bicycling

be different Brit destinations

There are many bicycle tourist opportunities just waiting to be discovered! Go for it on the slow ride!

Labels: bicycle, England, RIDE SLOWLY, slow movement

First Thai couple to ride around the globe


Bangkok Post : General news:

''Cycling around the world has always been my dream since I was a teen and won an AFS scholarship to the US. Scholarship recipients from different countries whom I met have inspired me to really want to see the world,'' said Wan."

Labels: ATW, bicycle, Bicycle Tourist Loop

"Biking is a great way to become intimate with a city and get excercise at the same time. There are many amazing cities for biking throughout the world - these gems allow you to explore the city at ease and safely. The 11 most accessible and bike friendly cities are listed below, but these are merely a sampling of the bike friendly paradises that exist throughout the world. (Please scroll to the end of the article for a look at the factors that went into determining this list.)"

Labels: bicycle, Bicycle Tourist Loop, RIDE SLOWLY, travel

Company News Story:

"'An important role of the bicycle, serving as a commuting means to students and workers, has disappeared since the late 1970s due to a sharp growth in domestic economy, national income and automobile use,' the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said in a statement released Monday. In order to get more people to ride bicycles on busy roads, the government said it would revise traffic laws to protect the rights of cyclists and increase bicycle roads."

It is time to look to someplace besides the US to figure out where the world is heading.

Driving the Portland economy with pedals and two wheels - International Herald Tribune:

"Yet in a city often uncomfortable with corporate gloss, what is most distinctive about the emerging cycling industry here is the growing number of smaller businesses, whether bike frame builders or clothing makers, that often extol recycling as much as cycling, sustainability as much as success.

, Birk said, the city is nurturing the cycling industry, and there are about 125 bike-related businesses in Portland, including companies that make bike racks, high-end components for racing bikes and aluminum for bikes mass-produced elsewhere. There are small operations that make cycling hats out of recycled fabric.

Lewis and Clark bike trail maps available- Columbian.com, Clark County, Washington

: "Backed by a National Park Service grant, a bicycling association is making available to bike shops, bike clubs and public libraries free copies of maps of the 4,675-mile Lewis and Clark Bicycle Trail from Hartford, Ill., to Astoria, Ore."

NPR : Vibrations Shown to Build Bone, Reduce Fat:

"'In my scientific heritage, I'm more of a bone head,' Rubin said. 'I study a bone disease called osteoporosis, or bone-wasting.'"

It looks like in addition to riding slowly, look for the bumpy parts,"Enjoy a slow and rejuvenating bicycle road.

Oh, when you ride and see some road grader or farm tractor tracks, don't avoid them, enjoy the gentle rumble in your hands and feet."

Labels: bicycle, freedom, fun, health

Vive la V�lorution: Paris Rental Bike Scheme Goes Global - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News:

"Chicago is interested, and so is Moscow. Geneva and Sydney are in negotiations, and the mayor of London has called by twice. All eyes are on Paris. But what is the big attraction? It's a brand new model of bicycle, one that can be seen teeming through the streets by the thousands, all the same chic silver-gray, with a dolphin-like design. And they are all rented.

Paris has suddenly become the world capital of bike rentals."

Responsible Travel, Tourism, Cultural Programs, Improving International Understanding:

"'The triple bottom line of responsible tourism is 3 E’s: environmental sustainability, engaging in the local economic, and enriching your life from the culture. Actually, it is about the same for all life.' David Mozer"

From Tourism, Eco-Tourism And Bicycle Tourism

"Activists who are interesting in changing tourism must first work to reshape the values -- from quantitative to qualitative -- that people use to measure their holidays.

Labels: bicycle, RIDE SLOWLY, sustainability, travel