On the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, next year's crop of bicycles is being watered by Benjamin Banda.

Published July 1, 2009 by BBC News
By Kieron Humphrey

On the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, next year's crop of bicycles is being watered by Benjamin Banda.

"We planted this bamboo last year," he says, "and now the stems are taller than me. When it's ready we'll cut it, cure it and then turn it into frames."

Mr Banda, is the caretaker for Zambikes, a company set up by two Californians and two Zambians which aimed to build bikes tough enough to handle the local terrain.

Co-founder Vaughn Spethmann, 24, recalls how it all started with a game of football.

"We were here on a university field trip and we organized a match against some locals. Afterwards we asked them what they did, and they said: 'Nothing'. They didn't have jobs.

"So we decided to come up with a business which would be a source of employment and provide a useful product."

That product was the rugged, bright yellow Zambike, assembled at the firm's smart red-brick workshop set in sun-browned farmland.

Other projects followed as the mechanics' skills improved: a sturdy cargo bike, a bike trailer and a bike-drawn "zambulance", now in use at 10 clinics around Lusaka.

Good vibrations

Meanwhile Santa Cruz-based bike designer Craig Calfee was experimenting with bamboo as a material for bike frames.

His prototypes proved that the strength and lightness of the plant made it a great substitute for metal.

As a bonus it had excellent vibration-dampening properties, making it comfortable for riding over long distances.

It was eye-catching too - Mr Calfee's stand was besieged when he unveiled his first bamboo frame at a bike show.

Mr Calfee hatched a plan to manufacture the frames in developing countries, distribute them in the US and share the profits.

He had already set up a workshop in Accra, Ghana, and started looking for more bike producers, nicknamed "bambooseros".

The industry telegraph started humming and soon he was talking to Zambikes.

"We were so excited," says Mr Spethmann. "The thought of Zambian-made products being sold in the USA. That just doesn't happen."

There are many reasons why it's so unusual: capital is difficult to raise in Zambia; tools and raw materials - if available - are expensive; skilled labour is in short supply; and bureaucracy isn't.

In this context having a low-cost raw material on the doorstep is a godsend.

"And of course there's very little impact on the environment," says Dustin McBride, the other American on the Zambikes management team.

Growth market

Inside the workshop, bike mechanic Elastus Lemba is setting up treated bamboo pieces on a jig made from plumber's pipes and bicycle parts.

It looks low-tech, but that's intentional.

Mr Calfee wanted a production process that did not require sophisticated machinery.

With wood glue holding the frame in place, Mr Lemba binds the joints using sisal - tough cord made from plant fibre soaked in epoxy.

Hand-making the frames in this way takes at least a week.

After a final sanding and coat of varnish, each batch of bamboosero bikes will be shipped to the USA, tested, fitted with wheels, pedals, handlebars and brakes, and put on sale.

So will the bike be a success?

Mr Calfee thinks so, based on all the enquiries and advance orders he has received.

"Hundreds of people have asked when they can buy one. From a bike messenger who wants an affordable fixie to a wealthy collector who wants one from each bamboosero location."

He is convinced the price tag - $475 (£290) for road or mountain bike frames, and more than $900 (£550) for a finished bike - won't put people off.

"The only criticism I've had is that they might be too cheap.

"After all, buyers are helping to get self-sustaining businesses off the ground in developing economies, and they're getting a unique bike into the bargain."

The mood is optimistic at Zambikes too.

Operations co-ordinator Divilance Machilika, watches company cook Fabian Mumba taking a finished bamboo bike for a spin around the yard.

"I can see these selling well in America. They'll like them because they're natural," he says.

Mr Machilika lived in a tent on the site for a year while the workshop was being built.

A quick learner, he soon mastered construction skills and bike mechanics. Now he oversees day-to-day running of the workshop.

Benefit to the community

One of the founders, Mwewa Chikamba, says Mr Machilika is an example of what Zambikes wanted to achieve.

"It was never just about bikes. We wanted to give our workers practical skills and reward their dedication. We want to change lives," he says.

Assistance is also offered in the form of business coaching or discretionary loans - Mr Machilika used one such loan to buy a plot of land.

"I want to build three houses there. I'll use the rent money to start other businesses and employ people myself."

Instead of charging interest, Zambikes asks staff to demonstrate that the investment made in them is benefiting their community.

Perseverance and an innovative approach to product design and working practices have helped Zambikes put down strong roots.

But in a business environment that leaves much to be desired, it is no surprise that they have not yet seen a profit.

If the bamboo bike shoots out of the shops as fast as Mr Calfee predicts, that may be about to change too.

Original Article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8125274.stm

The debate offers an interesting lens through which to look at the issue in San Francisco and to extrapolate to other cities across the country.

Published July 1, 2009 by Examiner.com
By David Herron

Bicycling is one of the greenest forms of transportation you could imagine.  Bicycles require minimal materials to build, require minimal space during use and other times, require minimum energy during use, and give riders exercise improving their health.   Yet bicyclists often have friction with car drivers and there is a competition in street use between mass transit, trucks, cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians.  The question is which of those transit modes deserve prominence?  The modern street grid often makes it difficult for pedestrians and bicyclists, both very green transportation, while car driving gets the preeminent position.  In San Francisco the Municipal Transportation Agency recently voted to adopt the 2009 Bicycle Plan, a long awaited five year master plan to improve bicycle safety and convenience in the near and long term.  

On July 1, 2009 KQED's Forum program discussed this plan, audio is embedded below.  The debate offers an interesting lens through which to look at the issue in San Francisco and to extrapolate to other cities across the country.

There is a hierarchy of transit modes with pedestrians at one end, and cars, trucks and mass transit at the other end.  The question is where do bicyclists fit within this hierarchy, and what is the relationship between the users of the different transportation modes.

The bike plan is intended to make San Francisco more bike friendly.  However a lawsuit was launched which delayed the plan for years, the suit demanded that required environmental impact studies be conducted.  One of the litigants, Rob Anderson, was on the program to state his objection to redesigning city streets for the benefit of a small minority.  HIs claim is that the real alternative to driving is mass transit.

That is one position to take, that bicyclists shouldn't be given any special priority and that perhaps some of the existing bicyclists should instead either be riding mass transit or driving.

The plan involves adding more bicycle lanes, adding special signal lights at some intersections for bicyclists, adding more bicycle racks around the city, and allowing bicycles better access to mass transit.  Another impact is loss of driving lanes, and loss of parking spaces.  The latter two obviously will affect car drivers and on-street transit.

This is another position to take, that bicycling is important enough an activity to support as official policy.

Bicycling has seen a large growth in San Francisco.  Judson True of the MTA claimed bicycling use has expanded by 42% over the last two years, and it's not just for exercise but also for daily transportation needs.

A stated target audience are the "latent cyclists" who want to ride, and before they do want to feel safer on the road.  Adding bicycle lanes and other improvements stands to improve the odds a latent cyclist will become an actual cyclist.

San Francisco is famous (rightly so) for steeply hilly streets.  Hills tall and steep enough to be a bicycling barrier, you may think.  The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has mapped out the safest and flattest routes through the city, and publishes a map of them.

A big issue regarding bicyclists is the ones who ignore the law, blow through intersections, ride the wrong way down the street, cross illegally, etc.  Bicyclists are subject to the normal rules of the road yet obviously some bicyclists ignore the law and do whatever it is they want.  It's irritating to others, it's unsafe, and it's clearly a subset of bicyclists who do this, tarnishing the law abiding bicyclists with their bad behavior.

The biggest safety problem faced by bicyclists is "the door zone".  On streets where cars are parked the door zone is those 2-3 feet where a suddenly opened door would strike a bicyclist.  Bicyclists need enough room along the street to avoid the door zone while remaining out of the regular traffic lanes.  However one infamous intersection was mentioned at Octavian and Market.  The Streetsblog San Francisco had this to say about a recent bicyclist crash: "As we've written many times, Market/Octavia is ground zero in the debate over bicycle safety in the city. The MTA now says at least 18 crashes have been reported at the intersection in the last three years between cyclists and drivers making illegal right turns onto Highway 101."

In Silicon Valley where this writer lives and bicycles the conditions are different.  The streets are less crowded and there are more bicycle lanes already existing.  The Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority publishes a Bikeways map showing relative safety of different streets around the county.  The most dangerous places shown on this map are next to highway interchange on/off ramps where bicycle and pedestrian access is tricky.

Bicyclists do belong on the road, this is the law all across the country.   Pragmatism though points to the relationship between users of different transportation modes and that not everybody agrees as to their relative importance.  As in any relationship talking to each other may help, or may not, but pragmatism says it's rather difficult to carry on a deep conversation with a car driver whizzing by at 35 miles per hour.  There we are, sharing the road, and unable to meaningfully discuss how best to do so.

Original Article:
http://www.examiner.com/x-14333-Green-Transportation-Examiner~y2009m7d1-Do-bicyclists-belong-on-the-road--The-San-Francisco-2009-bicycle-plan

Kerri Martin of Ocean Grove is known as the "Bike Lady" to some in Asbury Park.

Published July 3, 2209 by APP.com
By SARAH WEBSTER

Kerri Martin of Ocean Grove is known as the "Bike Lady" to some in Asbury Park.

That's not only because she uses a bicycle, not a car, to commute to work. She's also known because she's turned her passion for bicycles into Community Cycling, her programs to educate children and teenagers and to foster camaraderie among other riders.

Martin, 37, offers two programs that teach Asbury Park youths job skills such as bicycle mechanics, the value of volunteerism and work ethics.

She meets with younger children at The Bike Church at Holy Spirit Church on Second Avenue from 4 to 7 p.m. on Mondays. She meets with high school students throughout the week after school or during the day in the summer at Second Life Bikes, her bicycle store at 701 Memorial Drive. In return for volunteering to repair bicycles, the youths earn a bicycle.

Martin's idea for the bike church came from a previous job. While living in Brooklyn prior to her move in 2003 to the Shore, Martin worked for Recycle-a-Bicycle in New York City. The program teaches youths bicycle mechanics and offers job and environmental training.

When Martin met the Rev. William McLaughlin in 2006 at Holy Spirit Church, she told him about her idea to salvage bicycles and educate children.

He liked the idea and told her she could use the church's basement, she said. Martin spent a summer cleaning out the basement, and The Bike Church was founded shortly afterword.

"One of the kids said to me right after we started, "Do bicycles have to go to church?' ' McLaughlin said.

" "No, but the bikes are at the church so you can come over and learn how to fix them and learn how to ride them safely,' " McLaughlin said he answered.

The Bike Church provides children with a good sense of doing something positive while keeping them off the streets, he said.

Martin also hosts a Road Bike Ride at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, open to anyone, leaving from Second Life Bikes. The ride started as a ladies' ride but transformed when men wanted to participate in it, Martin said. Riders sometimes travel as far as 30 to 35 miles during the event, she said.

"I always loved bikes," said Martin, holding a wrench as she sat outside her bike shop, repairing a bicycle with some volunteers.

"I moved to Germany when I was 22. The first thing I did when I got there was bought a bike. It was in such bad shape that I had to learn how to fix it before I knew how to speak German."

People ride bicycles everywhere in Germany, she said. Family members often travel with one another by bicycle and carry all kinds of belongings, she added.

"I don't have a car," Martin said, adding she gave up driving five years ago.

"I have many bikes and bikes that hold a lot of things. I have a trailer on my bike and a cargo bike that actually fits a person on the back. So, I never felt a need (for a car).

"I loved the idea of rescuing old bikes from the landfill and just giving them a new life," Martin said. "You can have a bicycle, but, if you don't know how to fix it, you're probably not going to go as far — or appreciate it as much."

Visit www.thebikechurch.org for more information on Kerri Martin and the Community Cycling Program.

Original Article:

http://www.app.com/article/20090703/ENT/907030329/1031/ENT/+Bike+Lady++turns+passion+for+bicycling+into+educating+kids

Not long ago, cycling enthusiasts took fixed-gear racing bikes out of velodromes and onto the streets, where they were a hit among bike messengers and hardcore urban cyclists.

Published July 2, 2009 by NYTimes.com : Freakonomics

Not long ago, cycling enthusiasts took fixed-gear racing bikes out of velodromes and onto the streets, where they were a hit among bike messengers and hardcore urban cyclists. The appeal had to do with the stripped-down simplicity of the bikes. A skillful rider could bring a “fixie” to a stop just by resisting the forward rotation of the pedals, which eliminated the need for hand brakes. In some circles, fixie became a byword for hipness in modern urban life. Then the bikes edged into the mainstream, and that’s when the trouble started — in Berlin, at least. Police, citing safety concerns, have started a crackdown on fixies. Considering, as Jonah Berger writes, that “cultural groups abandon a taste when outsiders adopt them,” will the fixie crackdown, by stunting the growth of the trend, only reinforce the bikes’ street cred among the faithful?

Original Article:

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/berlin-bans-brakeless-bikes/