Beauty and the Bike

Yes, yes, yes. Beauty and the Bike is the much anticipated documentary from, among others, the Darlington Cycling Campaign in the UK and it premieres on December 9th, 2009. Above is an 8 minute teaser/trailer.

The question leading to the making of the film is a simple one:

"Why do British girls stop cycling?"

"By simply asking this basic question, the film reveals the damage that has been done by 50 years of car-centric transport policies. Whilst we fill our lives with debates about risk assessment, cycle helmets, cycle training and marketing strategies to try to persuade people to cycle more, the basic barriers to cycling remain untouched - generous urban planning towards the car, and the resultant poor motorist behaviour towards cyclists. Is it any wonder that most people find cycling unattractive in the UK, but attractive in cycling-friendly towns and /cities? It's the infrastructure, stupid!""

The film follows two groups of young women from Darlington and Bremen, Germany. Between them, they discover what makes - and stops - teenage girls from cycling. The full DVD is available from www.bikebeauty.org.

Brilliant stuff. I'm looking forward to seeing the full version. Thanks to http://www.copenhagenize.com for this link

Cycling in the Netherlands

Gidday
Here is a greatvideo I found the other day that shows how different our roads could look in the morning on school days If we followed the Netherlands example of having great cycle infrastructure.
The Netherland government is taking it one step further and will soon ban cars from school zones completely during school hours.
The link to this story is here
http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2009/11/stopping-ban-by-schools.html
There is hope for a more sane world.

TRIATHLETES AT THE WORLDS PERTH 2009

Peter Sheridan, Ross Allen, Shaun Parkinson and Sylvia Dansie competed in the ITU Long Distance World Championships 2009. Conditions were not good, with 25 km/h winds, a 3km choppy swim in the Swan accompanied by lots of jellyfish. The bike ride of 80kms ranged from 45km/h with a tail wind to 20km/h into the wind. By the time they got to the run the wind had dropped and conditions were very hot, up to
34C but scenic. Finish times were Peter 5:58:23, Ross 6:06:55, Sylvia 6:00:17 and Shaun 5:01:32.

RIDE REPORT FOR THE MTB RIDE TO SLEAFORD 18TH OCTOBER

This ride was designed to suit riders of varying abilities. Thirteen riders took part including two first timers and an introduction of the club trailer to several members.

Rode out to the National Park entrance, with some opting to ride the Investigator trail. We regrouped and continued to the Conservation Park. The easy off road track around the Sleaford Mere was enjoyable and picturesque with the blue sky reflection on the water.

We soon arrived at our favourite destination, the club trailer. Dene had the kettles boiling, the chairs out and a great array of healthy snacks awaiting us.

Although the head wind home was a challenge for some, everyone opted to ride. This was a good effort for the newer riders and all are keen to go on another similar ride….later!

Night rides during December and January with Dene

Dene indicated he was interested in doing some night rides in December and January. Members if interested in joining Dene to contact him. He would be prepared to lead these rides when suitable nights happen. Thes are great fun and you need some lights with about 1 to 1.5 hours duration.