World's 11 bike-friendliest cities

The list-loving folks at Virgin Vacations have ranked the world's 11 most bicycle friendly cities:

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands
2. Portland, Oregon, USA
3. Copenhagen, Denmark
4. Boulder, Colorado, USA
5. Davis, California, USA
6. Sandnes, Norway
7. Trondheim, Norway
8. San Francisco, California, USA
9. Berlin, Germany
10. Barcelona, Spain
11. Basel, Switzerland

The League of American Bicyclists explains why bicycle use should be encouraged:

• 40% of all trips are within two miles of the home
• 50% of the working population commutes five miles or less to work
• more than 82% of trips five miles or less are made by personal motor vehicle
• American households devote18% of every dollar spent on mobility
• 98% of which is for the purchase, operation, and maintenance of automobiles
• American families spend more on driving than health care, education or food
• more than one-third of the poorest families' income goes to transportation

Cities of the future

Some folks envision futuristic, urban utopias like this:

One city in Germany has taken a different approach.

win-win-win

Reuters discusses the best way to "strike a blow against rising transit fares, costly oil, global warming and obesity at one fell swoop."

"World's Naked Bike Ride"

50 cyclists rode through Melbourne, Australia, nekkid as jay birds.

"The Bicycle Diaries" on BBC radio

If you are able to listen to BBC radio, watch out for the upcoming Bicycle Diaries series:

With more than a billion models around the world, the bicycle has found a place in every society. Since its invention in 1817 people have redesigned and used the bike for hundreds of different purposes, from sporting events and policing the streets to sharpening knives and selling ice cream. This three part series illustrates how the bike is used today and what impact it has on people’s lives.

UPDATE: BBC is live online & available in Athens via XM Satellite Radio and SIRIUS satellite radio.
According to the BBC website, this show will air Fri 9:06 am with repeats at 11:06 am , 8:06 pm, and Sat 1:06 am, 4:06 am, and Sunday 7:06 pm.

Bikes in Africa

An interesting piece from The Economist on bicycle use and culture in Africa.

Thanks to Peter for the heads up.

Excerpts:

Groups of concerned cyclists in Europe and America have long shipped containers of used bikes to Africa but this bike aid has yet to roll into a movement with critical mass. Indeed, Africans tend to turn their back on bikes as soon as they can afford anything with an engine. The bike has suffered from the indifference of car-driving rulers. There are hardly any bike paths; few people campaign for pedalling. Cyclists rarely contribute to their own safety. Helmets and reflectors or lights at night are rare. Maintenance is invariably slapdash. Yet, with low purchase and running costs, the humble bike could be a key to mobilising rural Africans and unclogging the cities.

One problem is that few bikes are manufactured in Africa. Some charities customise bikes for rural health workers. A more ambitious plan, led by an American bike-maker, Craig Calfee, and a group of scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York, aims to introduce and sell bamboo bikes in Africa.

Downsides to cheap gas

Current gas prices are welcome relief from last summer's rapid spikes, but could the return to $2 gallons signal grim times ahead?

This story from Reuters points in that direction.
Excerpts:

Motorists must be glad the price of fuel is one thing they do not have to worry too much about as they face the worst recession since the 1930s, but cheap fuel is not good for anyone in the long run.

Global oil prices have collapsed since July, losing two thirds of their value from a peak of almost $150 a barrel and dragging fuel costs to their lowest levels for several years.

But while low energy costs come as welcome short-term relief to consumers and companies struggling with the financial and economic crisis, longer term they can be bad for everyone.

Low energy prices squeeze investment in the oil industry, reducing future supplies. They discourage energy saving and they destabilize countries dependent on oil exports, making oil in the future more likely to be expensive and even more volatile.

Perhaps most important of all, low energy prices stifle investment in alternative energy, deepening dependence on oil and other hydrocarbons and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

...
"In the longer term, today's oil price is too low to support much new supply and will slow the momentum toward alternative fuels, new technology and conservation."

No economic downturn for bicycle manufacturers

Today's AJC (print edition) has an opinion piece on the resilience of bicycle manufacturers in the face of widespread recession.
Excerpts:

Interestingly, one of the world industries seemingly not suffering in the current worldwide recession... is the bicycling business.

Top bicycle and bicycle parts makers in Taiwan and Japan are reporting steadily increasing revenues, despite the falling popularity around the world of the bicycle’s four-wheeled cousin.

And while I’m not quite sure that the data support any rush to judgment that commuters are peddling to work in greater numbers, we can at least feel confident that consumer spending on this basic commodity is steady.
...
Bicycles, then, seem to share an exalted status, along with certain foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and precious few others, as recession-proof commodities that investors can count as farsighted (read lucky) picks.

An amazing initiative in London

This news is the stuff of alt-trans advocates' dreams, especially here in the South.
Excerpt:

The Mayor of London today announced the most ambitious programme to transform walking and cycling in London’s history. The package of measures will create a new network of quick, simple, and safe routes for cyclists and pedestrians that will change the profile and priority of walking and cycling on London's streets.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said:

"The aim of this programme is nothing short of a cycling and walking transformation in London. We will spend something like £500 million over the next decade on cycling - the biggest investment in cycling in London's history, which will mean that thousands more Londoners can cycle in confidence, on routes that take them quickly and safely to where they want to go."

Wow. Dare to dream, Athens. Dare to dream...