Pedal Power // Current TV

Going green, on two wheels

After lagging behind Europe for years, US cities are finally becoming bike-friendly.

lecoke
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3 years ago
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The slow bicycle movement

We've had Slow Food, Slow Cities and even Slow Sex. So now, say hello to the... more

kristianbrodie
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3 years ago
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1 comment

Around the World on Two Wheels

This is my upcoming summer read.
Thought I'd share, looks fascinating and very inspiring.
Woman pedal power.
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..."She announced her arrival by sending telegrams or telegraph messages to newspapers and cycling clubs of upcoming towns. Indeed, she exemplified the “New Woman” in the best and worst ways possible."

AROUND THE WORLD IN TWO WHEELS: Annie Londonderry’s Extraordinary Ride, by Peter Zheutlin - - - -
Peter Zheutlin, Annie Londonderry’s great-great nephew, has written a masterful homage to his great-great aunt, while recounting the extraordinary “ride” of a remarkable woman.
Annie Cohen was born in Latvia in around 1870, and moved to Boston as a child. She married Max Kopchovsky in 1888 and had three children in the following four years. In 1894, presumably as part of a wager, she agreed to undertake a bicycle tour around the globe, following the example of Thomas Stevens who had made a similar trip a decade earlier. The details of the wager were either too vague or too detailed, depending on which story Annie decided to tell. Zheutlin even suggests that Annie herself may have invented the whole wager story to both rationalize and to sensationalize her voyage (after, of course, the famous wager of Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s 1872 novel, Around the World in 80 Days). According to Annie, the wager allowed her fifteen months to circle the globe and required that she earn her upkeep during the trip. Although not active in the women’s movement, Annie was surely sympathetic to the plight of the “New Woman,” much written about in the papers and the media in general in the 1890’s. As Zheutlin writes: “the bicycle represented to Annie a literal vehicle to the fame, freedom, and material wealth she so craved.”

In Chicago in late September, Annie realized that she would not have enough time to cross the Great Plains and the Rockies to catch her steamship in San Francisco, so she decided to reverse her itinerary by going back to the east coast and taking a boat to Europe.

Annie arrived in Le Havre on December 3, 1894. Although her trip in France started on a negative note: customs officials impounded her bike, her money was stolen and the French reporters wrote repeatedly that she was too muscular to be truly feminine and labeled her as belonging to the category of “neutered beings." Still, Annie claimed that her voyage through France became the highlight of her whole tour. Suffering cold weather and rain, Annie made it from Paris to Marseilles in two weeks, although she took the train for over two hundred kilometers before Lyon. In Marseilles she was given a hero’s welcome and a grand farewell as she sailed to Egypt and beyond.
- - click the link for the full review - - This is my upcoming summer read. Thought I'd share, looks fascinating and very... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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1 comment

The Trek stop: Bike meets vending machine

Sweet concept. Don't have to show my biceps (ahem..) when stopping for emergency... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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7 comments

Show your patriotism by declaring your independence from Oil on the 4th of July

The bike-minded folks in San Francisco are spearheading an effort to get Congress to... more

Julie_Soller
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3 years ago
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40 comments

Sisters bicycled from Seattle to San Francisco to raise money.

While some peeps complain about distances and gas prices, other go the distance and... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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2 comments

US cycling olympic team announced, and that includes BMX!

yes everyone, BMX - BICYCLE MOTOCROSS (BMX) west coasters reign this category, thank... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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4 comments

If The Persistence of Memory, was a bike

Dalí meets bike concept. would love to give these a try. - Im liking that... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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2 comments

Cycle Routes in Cornwall

Great article covering the cycle routes in Cornwall so you can enjoy your great day... more

willsemto
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3 years ago
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0 comments

Ghost Bikes

In New York City, every time a cyclist is killed, a bicycle painted white is locked to... more

sajh
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5 years ago
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24 comments

Commuters ditching cars for bikes, foot power

Considering that SF is 7x7, I never take for granted how close it is to get everywhere, even if it means showing off my super calves (ahem-) after those lovely hills. Happy biking to all! Although MUNI is okay in the city in comparison to other big metropolitan areas (soCal), once you get in the habit of riding and street route savvy, there is no comparison with the bus/metro system.

* * Share your commute distance, walking, daily riding, or weekend rides. (Mine is a daily pedaling session of approx. 8.5mi. round trip)**
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"You get a completely different impression of San Francisco on a bike," he said, "It's one of the best biking cities. There is nowhere you can't get to on a bike."

- -click on link for full article- -
In May, Blake Altshuler, 29, got rid of his car and joined the growing numbers of people who ride their bicycles to work. Mainly, he said, it was because of rising gas prices. His friend Dolly Totes, 25, who has been commuting by bike since she sold her car two years ago, said, "I couldn't afford it. I needed to pay my rent." It was partly gas and insurance, she said, but also all the parking tickets she kept amassing.

If you are already biking or walking to work - or are contemplating doing so - you aren't alone. According to a 2007 analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau, among large cities, San Francisco has the fifth-highest number of bike commuters and the third-highest number of people who walk to work. Also telling is that there were twice as many bikes as cars on Market Street during the morning commute on Bike to Work Day in June, a nearly 30 percent increase over last year, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

Cheryl Brinkman also became an almost daily bike commuter in the past year. She lives in the lower Haight and commutes 2 miles to her job as a product manager at McKesson Corp., in the Financial District. About her wardrobe, Brinkman said, "I've altered it for the better and only one thing that I don't wear now that I bike so much is long full skirts."

Helmet hair
On the days she rides her bike, Brinkman tucks her skirt into a band of elastic that she wraps around one thigh, a homemade garter belt solution, as it were. And, she said, "I always have a small binder clip in my handbag, as well, to keep wrap skirts or dresses closed while pedaling."
She brings her purse but eschews wearing a helmet - not because she fears having dreaded "helmet hair" upon arriving at her destination, but because she believes it gives her an advantage on the road.

Those who bicycle say they get benefits beyond just buffeting their budgets from gasoline prices.

"It's the fastest way to get to work. Compared to Muni, it takes half the time," said Tumlin. "I bike because I can change my route and stop off and run errands and see people along the way. It is great exercise and I find a significant difference in my productivity when I bike to work. I am smarter when I bike. I'm more patient when I bike."

"You get a completely different impression of San Francisco on a bike," he said, "It's one of the best biking cities. There is nowhere you can't get to on a bike."Considering that SF is 7x7, I never take for granted how close it is to get... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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40 comments

A new kind of housing cycle

The best bargain in real estate might just be how you find your house. With gas... more

1percent
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3 years ago
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4 comments

BikeTown Africa

The BikeTown Africa program donates bicycles to healthcare workers in rural Africa.

dmandel
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3 years ago
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6 comments

Portland Parkways

Last Sunday, part of Pedalpalooza, Portland closed down six miles of streets in the... more

benjaminV
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3 years ago
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3 comments

The Pub Crawler

For £450 to £1,500 you and 9 of your friends can rent this awesome pub on... more

critter
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4 years ago
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1 comment

Get away cars, bikes will take the road.

I grew up knowing that every Sunday the major roads in Bogota belong to bicyclist,... more

taniazapata
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3 years ago
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2 comments

The Fourth Leg of the Triathlon: Bike Transport

Im a triathlete (bike - coffee run - and espresso swim...) - so here are some good... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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0 comments

Obama pledges funding for cycling

woot woot! - Obama held a private, 20-minute meeting with members of the Bikes... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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20 comments

Mundo Utility Bicycle

If you've been following our previous videos, you know about the Down Low Glow... more

rockthebike
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3 years ago
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1 comment

Children's Hospital launches groundbreaking bike program

evenn if it takes saving you 4$ out of your wallet to feel happier pedaling, ride on!... more

meligrosa
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3 years ago
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1 comment

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