This bizarre-looking bike went 127 miles per hour

Reblogged from Grist:

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In 1962, José Meiffret used this odd-looking bike to ride down the German Autobahn at an incredible, record-breaking 127 miles per hour. That gigantic gear had 130 teeth. The bike had wooden rims to keep it from overheating. It weighed 45 pounds. And it went fast. As. Hell.

Meiffert practiced a type of cycling called "motor-paced racing" in which, rather than riding with a group of other cyclists, the racer rides behind a motorcycle or a car equipped with a wind-screen.

Read more… 358 more words

I got excited when I caught a glimpse of this picture...Thinking that it was a geared flywheel that could transfer the energy in braking, into usable force for acceleration and/or adding to cruising speed. Alas it's just an insanely large chain-ring designed to demonstrate the size of the nuts carried by this French rider.

Bike Helmet Meets Airbag

The Hovding cycling bike helmet from DenmarkA couple of very clever Swedes have invented a new type of bicycle helmet that borrows from automotive airbag technology to offer urban cyclists abit more peace of mind. The Hovding is being presented as an ‘invisble bike helmet’ which can sense abnormal movement and inflate to protect the cyclists head in a collision. According to the images provided, it’s also being offered as a fashion accessory of sorts, since it boasts a variety of exterior linings to match any cycling outfit…Including dresses?

Seriously though. This innovative new bike helmet is being called a ‘collar’ and it boast some impressive features, including a USB port for charging and audible/visible indicators to let you know that it’s ready to protect. The USB port also allows the device to download ‘updates’ (if available) and for the on/off sounds to be changed. Notably, there is no MP3 player and headphone jack included for reasons that should be clearly obvious except for those few and incredibly foolish people who would cycle in traffic with the sounds of their surroundings blocked off by music in their ears.

In the case of a sudden accident, the Hovding is able to inflate in 0.1 seconds with a hood that would presumably provide more protection from low-lateral impacts that a normal bike helmet, and possibly even more protection from a forward impact – if indeed it holds enough transverse strength from front to back.  Its cold-gas inflater (helium-driven) assures that there’s not the same thermal reaction during inflation, but it’s also not clear how loud this sudden inflation is, nor if the risk of abrasions are a factor as well.

It appears that this is a one-time use product as well. Since the makers have included a ‘black box’ to record the sensor activity during deployment, and ask that the Hovding be returned to them (to help with further R&D) in exchange for a discount on a new Hovding in return. The manufacturer is clearly paying a great deal of attention to customer service, and fashion-photography in selling their product, however if the Hovding were to ever become available in North-America, it stands to reason that the consumers will also want to see more hard facts around the force of impact that this accessory can withstand before shelling out for this soft looking safety solution.

Any thoughts on what else we need to know about the Hovding?

The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

Questions and Concerns

  1. The scarf-like design is clearly better suited for cooler weather
    (could fabric inserts make this the ultimate winter biking scarf?
  2. What kind of hats would interfere with the function of this ‘helmet’?
    (Is it really suitable for winter riding then?)
  3. More?

Catch TTC – It doesn’t get any simpler

Catch Toronto's Transit with CatchTTC.comThere’s no longer any real need to resort to fancy smartphone apps or psychic devination, when it comes to catching the TTC here in Toronto, because beleaguered transit riders now have CatchTTC.com as an easy, one-stop location for their web browsers that will put the basic info at their fingertips. So what’s the catch?

There really isn’t one. This site is just a bare-bones scheduling service that let’s you pick favourite stops from all the TTC routes, and then just takes your current time to tell you when the next two arrivals will be. No dowloads, and no more searching through the maze of the TTC’s main website for route schedules.

Ad-Driven Transit Reforms?

If anything the TTC would be smart to spend a tiny fraction of its enormous budget (currently sucked up by management and personal) to just buy into this website now…While it’s still in it’s cheap infancy phase.
ie. Not showing much revenue from any ads that it will sure get clicks on as the layout and features improve themselves.

From there, this service could be easily improved upon by showing service disruptions and perhaps even optimized to offer tweetbacks of next arrivals to Twitter accounts that tweet a desire for info on their favourite #TTCstop…

In fact, if the TTC could figure out how to integrate that sort of service with forms of advertising that actually connected with riders during all of that blank-faced transit time, they could offer free Wi-Fi and have a real winner on their hands…and a much less disgrunteled ridership to boot!

TTC Toronto Transit Commission

Media Alert: Jenna Morrison’s stolen video

MEDIA ALERT:  

Desperately seeking the STOLEN video camera
and recording of dead cyclist,
Jenna Morrison & her son Lucas

WHAT: A video camera (Sony MiniDV TRV 900) containing the ONLY images of Jenna and her son Lucas dancing – The images are irreplaceable and of immense value to the family.

HOW: Repeat, re-tweet, or link to this info to spread the word.
ALSO: Keep your eyes open on Craigslist, Kijiji and pawnshops for a camera of this description. Remember that even ‘deleted’ files can be recovered if the memory wasn’t reformatted or recorded over.

WHY: This priceless family footage was to be used for the upcoming Dec 15th fundraiser, ”In Celebration of Jenna” at the Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. West
- all funds to go in trust for her son, Lucas.

WHERE: Stolen from an Acura TSX on Millwood Road, Toronto

WHEN: Nov. 27th – overnight B&E

WHO : Vehicle of family friend, Aron Slipacoff – robbed  Nov 27th

 PLEA:

” The tape (recording) is what is most important to us (as it contains irreplacable images)  - if anyone has any information, please call the Toronto Police Services at 416-808-2222, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or the Police at 53rd Division 416-808-5300″

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
Aron Slipacoff, family friend
aron@hooplacommunications.com
cell:   416.834.2766

Pass on this shortened URL:   http://wp.me/pMnHT-iJ

TWEET: Plz!Help find stolen camera w/the only known images of (dead cyclist) Jenna Morrison dancing w/her son Lucas http://wp.me/pMnHT-iJ

Special thanks to PC Tim Burrows on Facebook and Anotonia Zirbisias…
for helping get this write- up published in the Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/1094545–from-tragedy-to-disgust-video-of-dead-cyclist-stolen

Additional Coverage:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/11/30/toronto-morrison-tape.html

http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111130/111130_Morrison_Theft/20111130/?hub=CP24Home

 

Jenna Morrison RIP

What Will it Take: Jenna Morrison RIP

RIP Jenna Morrison

Jenna Morrison died on her way to pick up her 5 year-old son. His spiderman helmet was hanging from the handlebars of their tandem-bike that they were to ride away on together…

Instead, this vision of sustainable urban life and personal transportation turned to an instantly horrific tragedy – when the bike-for-two was crushed by the truck that took the life of a mother and her unborn child instead.

Yet life goes on, as some of us search for ways to bring meaning from such tragedy. Hopefully we can learn to see things abit more clearly on the road, before the impact of this moment subsides and we all return to our daily scramble through busy life in the city and the incident becomes just another fading memory.

So what are the crucial points that we can take from this, so that we can move forward with it all – with a renewed sense of safety and self-preservation?

As someone who has ridden one of those tandem (trail-a) bikes, I’ve also added my theory on a possible cause of this accident further below…Which anyone who rides these articulated/hinged bikes should take passing note of.

Read more

GO to Niagara…Ride the Falls by Bike!

 

Go Transit is MetrolynxSlowly but surely Metrolinx is becoming a household brand-name as it offers greater visibility for it’s exciting expansions of Ontario’s mass-transit infrastructure.  Through new services in it’s operational GO Transit division, which is already very well known to all Commuters here in Southern Ontario, Metrolinx is also making a big push to break away from the commuting pack into much more leisurely and adventurous modes of rail travel as well. Not only can GO Transit enthuse weekend sightseers, but it’s also purposely re-geared itself for the pleasures of cycling as well. Most obviously with the provision of specially equipped trains that can carry our bikes down to spectacular routes and scenery that surround Niagara Falls!

Niagara GoTrain Bike Racks 1 GO Transit now offers an additional trip on Friday evenings to facilitate longer weekend getaways both down to The Falls, as well as offering a quick weekend train trip in the opposite direction back into Toronto from the Niagara Peninsula. From June 24 to September 5th passengers can take their bikes along to tour The Falls and Vineyards of this famous wine-growing area at no extra charge! So let’s consider the new experiences that easy service opens up to even the most casual cycling enthusiast…

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Time to be Good to Yourself?

Time to Eat Yet?Allright…Our mandate here at Thumbshift might have started with Cycling and the Art of Maintaining Zen, but it soon spread out into all sorts of multi-modal transport ranging from Commuter Transit to piggy-backing on the TTC…and of course some of the messy politics and civics that go along with all that. So since it’s been a long road already, I’d like to pause to reflect and refresh ourselves abit with some healthy outlooks on fast foods and fluids. Ironically enough, before we consider the subtle details of healthy fast-food, let’s start with a quick review of a great little spot for French-Canadian style poutine right here in Toronto…A quick ride across Queen West.

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