Malmö is a city of 300,000 just a short hop from Copenhagen but a city well worth visiting in its own right. Full of history, sports, museums, architecture and boasting its own token castle as well as a thriving theater scene, Malmö also hosts a booming bicycling culture that will give cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Stockholm a fierce bike ride for their money.

Malmö already has 255 miles (410 kilometers) of bicycle paths, outpacing Copenhagen’s network by a few miles. Bicycling has accelerated the past several years to the point at which 40 percent of all work related activities and 30 percent of all transports occurs via bicycles. Sensor systems at key intersections flip traffic signals to green if automobile traffic is light and a bicyclist approaches.

Now Sweden’s transportation authority has approved a four line bicycle superhighway (or a bicycle-bahn?) between Malmö and Lund, a nearby university town. The 10.5 mile link would be for the most part adjacent to rail tracks, feature exits but no intersections and offer wind protection from hedges. Bicycle service stations would also be included on this link. The proposed highway would also have links to bicycle and pedestrian paths to other towns in this southern tip of Sweden.

Article here.

–EBR

From the “Not all news is bad” Department, a great video taken from Cunningham’s piece in today’s NY Times (above), with Cunningham talking about Park Avenue’s weekly closures to motorized vehicles here.

–EBR

Keener Custom Cycle Works from Chris Wagganer on Vimeo.

Eleven years ago the machine in the above video was stolen, but I learned it has just resurfaced in Phoenix, and it’s designer/builder/rightful owner will be picking it up and bringing it home.

You might recognize one of his other designs here.

–EBR

Check out more photos at http://esensphotography.smugmug.com/Sports.

If you like this concept, be sure to thank and support BICAS and El Grupo.

But my friend Janine has lived several years there now car-free, and seems to be doing quite well. Her worst bike incident so far involved an encounter with a raccoon that dove suicidally into her spokes. Her commute takes her on a well-traveled greenway and she takes advantage of a car-sharing program. Although nothing like Portland, I saw quite a few people on bicycles. (Note: it was a beautiful day, the weekend, and one of the first really nice days Seattle had had in a while.)

But maybe most telling of all is that as we were sitting on the grass at Seattle Center, a fairly large group of naked people on bicycles began to assemble nearby. It turns out it was the staging area for one of Seattle’s World Naked Bike Rides!

And as far as I could tell, not a single person batted an eye. No one paid them any attention at all, really, assembling there by a fountain full of children playing in the water.

A sign of cultural advancement and consciousness we have not achieved here in Tucson.

EBR

Pair took arduous, 101-mile bike ride

June 11, 1912
With two well-punctured and badly battered bicycles, F.E.A. Kimball and Walter Lovejoy, themselves nearly exhausted after 25 hours of almost continuous travel, returned to Tucson Sunday night after having ridden … and walked from Tucson to Greaterville and back.

It was a trip of 101 miles over desert and mountain roads which so far as is known have never before been negotiated by bicyclists.

As a matter of fact, Kimball and Lovejoy found some of the mountain stretches more than the wheels could stand and where they couldn’t ride, they were forced to walk. They rode 76 miles going and coming and walked 25.
The two men left Tucson Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock. At 9 o’clock they (undecipherable) for the night, but having thoughtlessly left Tucson without their coats, they shivered around a big campfire in the cold of the hills until shortly after midnight and then took to the road again in self defense.

After a number of mishaps and losing much time through taking wrong roads at the un-signboarded junctions of two or more roads, they arrived in Greaterville late Sunday morning.

- Tucson Citizen

–Erik Ryberg

I’m very excited about the Ciclovia route this year. It goes down Meyer and to “restaurant row” in South Tucson. It’s a very good route with good pavement, no traffic, and lots of stuff to look at.

The bike ride is from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Start anywhere you like, go whichever direction you like, and have fun! The streets will be car-free and there will be events along the way.

More atwww.cicloviatucson.org.

There’s still time to sign up to volunteer, too — email Ann Chanecka at achanecka@pagnet.org.

I’ll be volunteering in the morning at Silverlake and 8th Avenue, so be sure to wave as you go by. See you there!

–Erik Ryberg

Hand-painted bike bells!

–EBR

Do I even need to say anything about this? The BICAS Art Auction is my No. 1 Favorite event of the year, and pieces like the one above by Troy Neiman are a big part of the reason. Yes that is a 100 lb chicken made almost entirely out of front derailleurs. And yes there will be more like it.

Anyway there is a preview show on Saturday night and the auction is Sunday from Nine PM to midnight. six to nine PM. It’s at the Old Market Inn at 403 N. 6th (pretty close to 6th Street and 6th Ave). This event, if you’ve never been, packs a real punch. There’s food, there’s music, there’s bikes, there’s puppet shows, and there’s lots and lots of people. And gobs of great holiday gift shopping opportunities too — everything from jewelry to photos, prints, sculpture, toys, and ingenious objects of indeterminate status. The show won’t disappoint. And of course, all proceeds go to BICAS.

I’ll see you there!

–Erik Ryberg