moorebicycles

Modern Dutch Bakfiets: Vrachtfiets!

2009-07-21T13:07:00.004+02:00

I came across an article in a TU Delft magazine showcasing the Vrachtfiets (cargo bicycle) and contacted the students (Louis, Onno, and Aurora) behind the project to see what they were up to. They kindly met with me and told me about their design. The are envisioning a small, human powered vehicle that students could use to move things around the city. Delft has a large student population and practically none of them own a car, but they do have to move from house to house, move project materials, and large quanities of beer. Onno specifically stated that he wanted a cargo bike capable of hauling something as large as a couch. Large bakfiets have traditionally beened used to do this kind of transportation in the Netherlands but they are in dire need of a modern design overhaul. They have been practically the same since before the world wars. They are bulkly and heavy, don't have proper gearing and handle like a monstrosity even when the box isn't filled with cargo.
The Vrachtfiets is a nice modernized design of the bakfiets where you an potentially use the power from two people at once. It is made from lightweight materials and components with modern vehicle suspension and drivetrain ideas incorporated. They plan to rent it out to students who need to move things around the city once their protoype has all the bugs worked out and hopefully open up to a larger market in the future.

A peak into Fietsfabriek Rotterdam

2009-07-20T14:53:00.003+02:00

I came across the Fietsfabriek store in Rotterdam when I was wandering around one day. The Fietsfabriek specializes in custom designed transport bicycles and tricycles. The have stores all over the Netherlands. I even saw a store in Berlin and they have recently opened shop in Chicago in the states.
What caught my eye the most at the store were all of the fun bike designs. This is a multicolored mini high wheeler.
This bakfiets was made to look a bit like a car.
They had a very cool bicycle workstand. I've never seen one quite like this. You walk under the arching beam to work on one side of the bikThis was some sort of advertsing bike. I think you cover the circular metal frames with posters of some sort. I suspect the wind may cause some problems.This is a line up of there normal men's and women's bikes bult for sturdiness and hauling capability.
Finally, they had a wicked tall bike on display with ape hangers and art panels.
Update: Today there was a nice article in the Expatica about De Fietsfabriek and their expansion to other countries.

Wheelchair upgrade

2009-07-20T14:24:00.000+02:00

I saw this nice handcycle wheelchair attachement at a festival in Rotterdam.

Ride with me, NYC

2009-07-19T11:44:00.005+02:00

A while back, I was introduced to Roos Stallinga. Roos was a Fulbright alumni to the States and lived in New York while she was there. As normal for the Dutch, she got a bicycle and explored the city. She loved it so much that she decided to do a book project on the subject. Her book will be a fun description of bike routes around the city showcasing cool spots to stop and hang out or get a coffee and snack. She calls it an "inspirational bike guide to New York City" and it will include interviews and plenty of her art work. I helped Roos spiff up her old Panasonic ten speed in Delft one chilly March afternoon so she could have a well oiled steed for her latest New York trip. You can find out more about her project at www.nycbikeprincess.com and check out here art and photography at www.roosart.nl.

deskfiets

2009-07-17T13:27:00.000+02:00

Nice use of a bakfiets for some furniture transportation in Delft.

Birds n Bikes

2009-07-17T13:24:00.000+02:00

Somehow a bicycle ended up in the Queen Beatrix's palace garden pond. The local resident bird was quite enamored with it. It looks a bit bird like, I guess.

Made it on Dutch TV

2009-07-16T22:19:00.001+02:00

The television show Noorderlicht Nieuws filmed us a couple of months ago to showcase our bicycle control research. We got a nice short spot this evening. You can watch the program here: http://player.omroep.nl/?aflID=9784966 Our section starts about a third of the way through. It is all in Dutch but still interesting to watch if you don't know the language.

Update: Now on YouTube

Bike scene Warsaw

2009-07-16T15:05:00.005+02:00

Warsaw is breeding a very visible alternative bike culture. I was lead to the Cykloza cafe in the center which is bike themed and hosts shows, movies, art, debates, etc. The serve vegan and fair trade food along with beer from a local microbrewery.
They also sell handmade bike courier bags and other local bicycle related items. Timebomb, the local bike courier company, sets up workshops in making the bike gear.Fixed gear bicycles are regularly parked outside and while I was there a crowd of polo players were gathering up their sticks for an afternoon game.
Good thing they keep some religious themes going in the cafe too. Bikes and religion just seem to belong together.
I liked this trophy kill hanging on the wall. I wonder what is used to kill a bicycle? Tacks in the road? The blue sticker on the right hand wall shows that Cykloza is part of the sustainable consumption network in Warsaw. My hosts are involved in a NGO called EFTE, which is focused on sustainable and ethical consumption in Warsaw. They work with local companies and help encourage them to use fair trade products. They helped produce a fantasitic guidebook for Warsaw called SpacerowniK and it is in Polish and English. It shows all the businesses in Warsaw that use sustainable consumption practices.
EFTE is also currently working on a bicycle related project in Ethopia. These are three of the volunteers showing off a banner advertising the progam. The banner was made from discarded plastic bags, melted togther into a colorful collage.The Elba Squat in Warsaw hosted the Bike Punk Fest 2009 about 3 days before I arrived. You can check out photos of the event on their blog. They also have a DIY bike repair shop where they build mutant bikes and such.

Warsaw Bicycle Infrastructure

2009-07-16T14:43:00.002+02:00

The Most Świętokrzyski is a bridge that spans the Vistula river and connects east and west Warsaw. It sports cars lanes in the center, bike and pedestrian lanes on each side of the bridge.

There are bicycle paths all along the west bank of the Vistula river, but the nearby high traffic road doesn't make for such a serene river ride experience.

Bicycle parking at the Warsaw Technical University didn't seem to easy to access. It even has a "No Bicycles" sign??
The Marszalkowka road in the center of the city was one of the few roads with bicycle facilities. There was a decent two-way bike path between the car lanes and pedestrian walkways. The crossings were well marked.
Bicycle parking at my host's apartment building.

Warsaw bicyclists

2009-07-16T14:28:00.003+02:00

Couple of bicyclists chillin near the old town square. Looking early eighties with there ten speeds.
Cruising on an 8 ball low rider.
Two recreational cyclists on the bike of choice (mountain) in Warsaw. My host, Kasia, is in the background pushing her 3 speed city bike.
This low riding guy is supposedly one of the organizers of the Warsaw critical mass. The Warsaw Critical Mass has showings of over a thousand people these days and is making a name for itself in the city. It seems to even have the support of Zieleone Mazowsze, the Polish Green Environment advocacy group.
A cycle rickshaw in the tourist center. Business seems slow, but at least you have a nice comfortable spot to read.
On the zebra crossing on a kids bike. Fashion statement?
Sidewalk, cell phone commuter.
Dapper lad on a nice city bike. Looks a little small though...
Crossing one of many tram tracks in the city.

Warsaw on two wheels

2009-07-16T12:36:00.003+02:00

I visited Warsaw a couple of weeks ago for a Multibody Dynamics conference. I luckily found a couchsurfing host that liked to ride bikes and I was able to get a glimpse into the emerging bicycle scene in the city. Cars definitely rule the city but there were all kinds of good signs for bicycling: segregated bike paths, fixed gear crowd, used bike stores, bicycle cafe, etc. Warsaw could definitely be transformed into a bike city of Eastern Europe with some strong advocacy and political will. The next few posts will show what I saw.

There was a wide assortment of riders. The geared up cyclists on mountain bikes were seen out in the roads with the cars and buses, but there were also some casual utilitarian cyclists around too. They seemed to stick to the sidewalks more often than not.
Cell phone + mountain bike.
Nice city cruiser.
Mountain bike on the bike path along Marszalkowska.
Beach cruiser with rear rack and front basket.

What happened at Bikes Not Cars?

2009-07-16T10:46:00.006+02:00

I wasn't able to make it to the Bike Not Cars Festival in Amsterdam a little over a week ago, but my roommate, Patrick, packed our tallbike, added a pirate flag and pedaled just over 60 kilometers to Amsterdam to participate in the weekend's festivities.
The first day was bike build and repair time. A graveyard of bikes was provided at a squatted workshop where welding machines and other tools were available for the creative mind.
This wicked bike made use of a motorcycle gas tank and a wheelbarrow to create a monstrous unicorn beast.
It is something about eyes and horns on the front of your ride that really look nice.Tallbikes were in high demand for the upcoming tallbike jousting competition.
Tallbikes are definitely the antithesis of fixies and these folks weren't afraid to remind everyone.
The festival included a fine Critical Mass of about 100 participants. Was this Amsterdam's first official Critical Mass? Patrick told me that people cheered them on more than getting pissed off. That's what I'd expect in a bike loving city like Amsterdam.

The festival ended with tallbike jousting and a cargo bike race.The cargo bikes were classic old large bakfiets and had two passengers and one driver. They had to pop water balloons on each lap.
Patrick tall bike jousting and other posts about the event.

IndyMedia's report.

All the photos were shot by Patrick.

Call A Bike

2009-07-14T16:45:00.000+02:00

This is the German Call A Bike outside the Berlin Ostbahnhof train station. These bikes can be left anywhere and you use your cellphone to pay and get the code for the electronic locks. They are available in several major German cities and there is a proposal for the system to be introduced to Arlington, Virginia.

Age stops nothing

2009-07-14T16:36:00.000+02:00

Grandmas are out for a little shopping. Plenty of cargo space, looking pretty stylish and comfortable, and nice quality step through frame.

Multiple Uses

2009-07-14T16:34:00.000+02:00

Baby seats are nice cargo racks too.

Ultimate Flower Bike

2009-07-14T16:33:00.000+02:00

I saw this bike outside a cafe at the Nieuw Markt in Amsterdam. It is an electric assist bike and the guy that rides it wears traditional Dutch wooden shoes.

Dry seats

2009-06-26T15:37:00.000+02:00

Some companies advertise by printing tons of bicycle seat covers and putting them on bicycles in dense parking areas. In this case the company is advertising for student work opportunities and they were placed on bicycles around the TU Delft campus. If you don't mind being an advertiser for random companies it is an easy way to get a seat cover. They are quite handy in the Netherland's wet weather.

Grote bakfiets

2009-06-23T11:17:00.001+02:00

The Pirate Bar Squat in Schevinengen loaned us their huge Dutch cargo bike for the weekend so we could transport food and equipment for our art exhibition. Mark and I drove it about 20km out to a restaurant/food distribution center to see what we could glean from the unsellable food. We ended up with lots of great fruit (pineapples, mangoes, avocados, bananas, apples) and a mother load of cucumbers. We turned it into a really nice fruit salad for the expo.

The trike handles fairly well but the main issue is that is weighs a ton and only has one gear which is fixed. These bakfiets haven't really changed over the last 80 years or so. They are really calling for a modern redesign. Lighter components and materials with proper gearing would make this ride so much more pleasant.

Vacuum Rental

2009-06-23T11:06:00.000+02:00

Renting a super vacuum cleaner is no problem when you have a bike rack to carry it home on!

Velo-city presentations

2009-06-22T17:17:00.000+02:00

All of the presentations from the Velo-city conference in Brussels last month are now available online: http://www.velo-city2009.com/programme-en/plenaries-sessions.html. There are some excellent presentations and a wealth of knowledge from many different cities and organizations. Enjoy!

Row, row, row your b...bike!

2009-06-18T11:42:00.003+02:00

Yesterday I was able to try out a rowing bike for the first time. My professor introduced me to Wim Thijs, a brother of Derk Thijs who invented the rowingbike. Wim has an early model of which very few were produced. It is a long wheelbase version that is quite a bit different than the current production model.
After a little coaching I was off. It isn't too much different than controlling a recumbent, except the rythm of rowing takes a bit to get used to. I also had to figure out how not to use my legs for balancing.
It is a nice comfortable design and allows you to get a full body workout while riding. Turning it around takes a mighty big area though. There have also been the European Rowing Bike Championships for the past ten years where racers from around the world compete for the title with the next ones coming up in September.The mechanism is made up of a sliding pedal set on the main tube of the bicycle which is fed around a pulley to a chain on a normal multi-speed freewheel. The handle bars are also connected via a string and pulley to the pedal set. It is a nice design but the newer fully cable driven designs are supposedly much better.

De La Haye Bicycle Frame

2009-06-17T11:06:00.005+02:00

Check out what was dug up from the TU basement today. A De La Haye prototype frame it seems. De La Haye is French for The Hague. I don't know much about the frame yet, seems to be titanium with glued joints and these crazy steel tensile members for the top tube, down tube, chain stays and seat stays. I have a feeling that it wouldn't have much torsional stiffness. We will have to put some parts on it and give it a go. I will give some updates once I find a bit more info about the bike. For now, just check out the photos.

Bikes Not Cars Festival

2009-06-16T10:49:00.005+02:00

Looks like the bicycle rowdiness is also catching on in the Netherlands. A group of people are hosting the "Bikes Not Cars Festival" in a couple of weeks. Seems to be primarily a political action with various types of bike wars, except that they are also declaring war on cars. Critical mass, cargo bike races, and tall bike jousting will all be rolled up in the 3 day fun. Here is a brief schedule of events:

July 3rd-5th

Friday, ijsbaanpad 12, amsterdam
- opportunity fot those without a bike to fix one
- banner painting
in the evening soup and a band

saturday
- 14.00h critical mass, museum square, sith bikepolo and slowbiking on the way
- 19.00h ijsbaanpad, voku, folowed by bands:
de fatwas
de reclassering
hysteria
and one more band

sunday
- infomarket
- workshops
- cargo bike race
- tall bike jousting

Find out more information at:
http://bikesnotcars.wordpress.com/ and
http://www.myspace.com/destroycars

Kieran's new ride!

2009-06-15T15:32:00.000+02:00

My good friend, Ty, and his wife, Alexia, had a baby since I've been in the Netherlands. I really like the handlebar mounted seats for young children and thought that it would be a nice practical gift for the family. Many people use them here, especially in combination with a rear seat, but I have rarely seen them in the States. I have a feeling that people think it is dangerous to carry a young child on a bicycle back home but I figured Davis was the perfect place to introduce one. These are a few photos of Ty and Alexia with their boy, Kieran, on his new BoBike seat. I managed to pick one up for 20 euros on Marktplaats.nl (the Dutch Craigslist) which is well under the retail cost of about 70 euros. I found an extra mount so they could quickly hook him up to either mom or dad's bike.

Leisure ride on a rickshaw

2009-06-13T13:40:00.000+02:00

I came upon this guy on the way home from work. He had just pedaled from Rotterdam to Delft on his cycle-rickshaw. He removed the rear seats so it wouldn't be so much of a workout. Either way it is still a heavy beast but since it is flat here, not such a big deal.

Schoolverkeersexamen

2009-06-13T13:36:00.001+02:00

The summer has brought the bicycle training classes for children. Kids in the elementary to middle school range all don orange saftey vests with their own number and get practical instructions on safe and smart bicycling. This is one of the route signs for the class put up near my house.

2009-06-11T16:49:00.001+02:00

The beer bike cruising the streets of Delft. You can rent these from a tourist company in Delft: http://www.delftexpress.nl/. Is beer the next sustainable fuel??

Update: Just came across this article explaining how the beer bikes are a nuisance in Amsterdam and have been banned from some areas. The company owners do claim that only a sober person does the driving.

2009-05-25T10:55:00.000+02:00

The Netherlands post currently is running a cool bicycle stamp, a utilitarian bicycle with globes for wheels.

Velo-City 2009 Brussels

2009-05-20T13:11:00.020+02:00

I had the pleasure of attending the Velo-City 2009 conference in Brussels this past week. Velo-City has been the premier bicycle focused conference in Europe fro the past 30 or so years and is put on by the European Cyclists' Federation(ECF). This year's theme was Re-Cycling Cities and there were over 100 presentations ranging in topics from policy, education, marketing, parking, tourism, health, etc from bicycle activists, city planners, and politicians from around the world. With 800 participants I haven't ever been around so many like minded bicycle nuts and it was an excellent learning and networking opportunity.

Sam Adams, Mayor of Portland and a bicycling proponent, was one of the few notable people from the United States attending the conference. He was invited to speak at the opening session and really showed Europe that we aren't a lost cause in terms of cycling on the other side of the Atlantic. I also was able to talk to many people about all the the grassroots movements that are pushing bicycling more and more in the limelight back home. I hope that we can get some more representation from the America's at the next Velo-City.

The conference was packed full of fun events and activities. Tuesday evening we had a 700 to 900 participant critical mass style ride through Brussels to end the day.
Brussels is definitely a car dominated city and we had the auto traffic bunched up like sardines while we enjoyed the open space of the roads that we also have the right to share. The rain probably caused the mass to be smaller than it could have been. Last year in Brussels at the annual Dring Dring bicycle week (which was happening the same time as the conference) they had a mass of over 8,000. The Brussels police helped keep the roads clear for us and guided our wet contingent to a fine outdoor Belgium dinner: waffles, fries, and beer.
Brussels had the grand opening of the Villo bicycle share on Sunday the 17th and we were able to be the first test riders of the bicycles. The conference provided us with two types of loaner bicycles. The Villo bicycles that are almost identical to the Vélib’ bicycles in Paris except for having a 7 speed internal hub and being a bit lighter and a folding bicycle.
Thefolding bicycle was a commemorative 25 year anniversary ECF Dahon folding bicycle, which you could purchase for a reduced price at the end of the conference.
I tried out both of the bicycles and definitely preferred the Dahon even while riding over the many cobblestone roads around the city.

The second day of the conference we could choose to go to Ghent or Liège for an afternoon excursion where we could choose between many different cycle tours. I chose to go a tour in Ghent and learn about the city's student bicycle rental program, studentENmobiliteit, of which I will write more about in a later blog. The studentENmobiliteit group provided the group with around 300 bicycles for the day.
I met several people on the tour interested in various aspects of bike share programs. One of these was a Dutchman, Hans, from the Arnhem based company BikeDispenser. They have developed a bike rental facility that doesn't require a person to monitor it, stores the rental bicycles in a very dense fashion, and encloses the bikes to prevent vandalism from non-users. Hans also introduced me to the fine Belgian gueze beer which has a very unique sour taste.

Alongside the conference there was a large expo center where different cities, groups and companies could show off their wares and information. Everyone seemed to be really excited about the CylcoCable, a sort of ski tow type device to help bicyclists get up steep hills. They actually have one installed in Trondheim, Norway and my friend from there told me she used to make a lot of money standing by the machine as a child teaching tourists how to use it. The key problem is that the user needs a lot of instruction as can been seen in some of these videos. Everyone I watched try it failed miserably several times before they managed to somewhat get up the incline.
There were some more impressive exhibits that didn't rely on people comically using an awkward machine to get them up a hill. The City of Copenhagen is hosting the 2010 Velo-City Global conference and they had a real chill booth to get everyone excited about it. Two friends, Mikael (Copenhagenize and CopenhagenCycleChic) and Henrik (Baisikeli), were helping hold down the fort and it was nice to meet up with them again after my trip to Copenhagen last year. They were even providing free coffee from a Ole's tricked out Sorte Jernhest.
The new Danish Cycling Embassy was setup beside them. They are a newly formed group that will be a center for bicycling related knowledge from Denmark. I managed to snag a Reelight from their display. I've been wanting one of these since I saw so many in use in Copenhagen because they are a truly solution to batteries and energy sucking generators, but as usual I am too cheap to buy one. My personal motto is "Patience is the key if you want it for free."

The À vélo citoyens exhibition had a booth too. I really dig this project. Their idea is to promote the use of bicycles by the users themselves. They take photographs of everyday people and their bicycles. The people's names are always included so you feel a connection with them. Check out their website for many amazing photos.
Hidden in the backroom were the folks that I had been looking for. Cyclo, a non-profit used bicycle shop that employs the unemployed to help reintroduce them to the working world, was totally my style. They had a ton of freak bikes for people to ride from a back-to-back tandem to one-to-one polo bikes to long Johns.
I visited their shop in the center of Brussels to catch the end of their movie night. They occupy an amazing old cinema and have transformed it into a great space for bike repair and fun. You can even schedule times to come and work on your bike DIY style.
The sessions on Thursday ended a little early due to a torrential downpour in Brussels. There was so much rain that the tunnels that provide access to the city flooded and traffic was insanely backed up all over the city. But it didn't slow us on bicycles down. It rained so much that the conference building's room decided it wasn't going to hold the weight of the water anymore and it just opened right up in the middle of a presentation. Too bad the expensive projector was right under the rain fall. The conference director had a mental breakdown crying and bashing her head against things. Good thing the plants got a bit of water in the whole process.
The conference closed the next day in the European Parliament where we got to sit in the seat of the European Union politicians and listen to mayors and politicians agree to do more for cycling. They even signed the Charter of Brussels committing to a 15% bicycle mode share by 2020, but too bad it was only a few cities in the European Union and some already have a mode share this high. How can we get more politicians to commit to things like this? You can see how excited I was during the signing but that may have just been due to having too much fun at the after party the night before.
Two final things that I wanted to mention were that the ECF endorses a campaign to help reduce the negative effects of helmet law and promotion. I can't imagine ever seeing a cyclist group do this in the States, but until we stop making cycling out to be a deathly, dangerous activity we are going to continue to keep a barrier up for new cyclists to join the ranks.
We also received an awesome book, The European Cycling Lexicon. This is a book full of bicycle related words and phrases in all 23 official languages of the EU. How cool!
I will end this with a quote from Guillaume Vanderstichelen, an advertising CEO that spoke on marketing the bicycle: "Stop defending the bicycle. Promote the bicycle!"

M-gineering

2009-04-29T15:55:00.004+02:00

I've inquired about custom Dutch frame builders several times since I've been here but have never gotten any good leads. This weekend I came across two custom M-gineering bikes on their way to Maastricht. The owners of the bikes, Hans and his wife, were own the train making their way to the beginning of the Pieterpad, an approximately 500km long bike route from the south of the Netherlands to the north. They pedal about 100kms a day and use Vrienden op de Fiets (Friends of the Bicycle), a connection group that provides low cost bed and breakfast to bicycle tourers around the Netherlands, to find a place to stay. The bicycles were custom fillet brazed steel Dutch touring frames with all the accessories. The sported Rohloff hubs with custom dropouts and an eccentric bottom bracket, Brooks saddles, Ortlieb panniers, hydraulic brakes, Schwalbe tires, and various electronic gadgetry. Check out photos of the build at Han's website. These bikes looked like fantastic rides and Hans even provided me with scans of the Pieterpad maps. Maybe this is the Netherlands tour route I've been fantasizing about.

Musical bikes in Maastricht

2009-04-29T14:56:00.008+02:00

I took a trip to Maastricht this past weekend with my roommates to got the Gypsy Festival at the Landbouwbelang, an enormous squatted agricultural warehouse along the Maas river. They call it a cultural freezone and we were definitely treated with big dose of culture. The Gypsy festival was a blast. The music show was definitely my style and the energy reminded me of shows back in California.
We also stayed at the ArtSpace Rondeel, another artists' haven in Maastricht. The main artist behind the Rondeel was Kaspar König. Kaspar is a man of many talents but he has a special affinity for bicycles. He's hosted a slow biking contest, recycles bikes parts into many useful things, makes patch kit bags from old fire hose, and he had some amazing musical art bicycles to show me.
The Space Bike uses the classic tin can telephone idea to make this bicycle sound as if it going as fast as a space ship. A spring is wound around the side of the rear hub and the vibrations are magnified by the attached tin can.

Kaspar's pump bike has a bellows under the seat that gets pumped as you bounce up and down on the saddle. The bellows feed air into the handlebar mounted melodica. The tune is governed by your pedaling bounce and the melody by you imagination.
This is an old exercise bike that has been modified to give you a little beat to go along with your pedaling. Kaspar mounted the fingers and electronics from a child's drum machine to the front fork. Magnets placed on the flywheel engage the finger switches as the wheel spins. The magnets can be arranged to make an infinite number of beats.The coolest bike Kaspar had was the guitar bike. He has a small amplifier and speaker mounted on the head tube and guitar strings stretched between the seat tube and head tube. A guitar pickup was mounted near the seat tube. You could pluck the guitar string, use the musical shifter knob as a pick/slide of sorts or even flex the frame for a whammy bar effect. He also mounted a couple of pickups on the rear triangle and the spokes of the rear wheel can be plucked for raindrop harp type of effect.

We are constantly trying to bring music into our critical mass rides and parades in California but our attention seems to focus on how to amplify an mp3 player. I think Kaspar's ideas could bring a whole new dimension to our rides.

Scenes from Delft

2009-03-24T10:42:00.003+01:00

Did someone die on the bike path!?
The fiets barges at work. These guys float around the canals in Delft once a year in the spring and collect about 400 bicycles, not to mention tons of shopping carts.
A custom recumbent trike called the Wind Cheetah. It was built by my neighbor Arnold who was an intern at Flevobike. It handled very nicely and was speedy.
The beginnings of a DIY bike repair shop...
Waiting at the canal bridges.
Delft Central Station packed with bicycles.
Loaded down after a bit of shopping.

Fossil fuelless world tour

2009-03-15T20:00:00.014+01:00

This past week I was fortunate to come across a bicyclist doing something that most of us would only dream about doing. I was invited by a friend to a community dinner in Amsterdam at the wonderful Casa Robino and she introduced me to a tall Wisconsin with a shaggy beard and bear hugs for all. Turns out the Wisconsin was on a trip around the world and doing it without burning a drop of fossil fuel. They both ended up spending a couple of days at my house as they passed through Delft on their way to Belgium by bicycle. I interviewed him one evening after eating homemade pizza and this is what he had to say:

Let's try this again Charlie. I want to hear exactly what you just said.

Right exactly what I said: Charles Ilsley Brigham IV. I am from a funky dance my parents did, no, no, I really represent Madison, Wisconsin. Next question.

What are you doing here?

Well, I came to the Netherlands as a major stopover on my world wide bicycle tour. I have dutch blood and that is another reason it is a big deal. It is the cycling center of the Universe in my opinion. In a broader perspective I wanted to see the world with my own eyes and be able to form intelligent opinions without assuming anything about what I've heard. I always thought it had to be by bicycle and thought I would aim high and go around the world. Well, I am still young. And even broader than that, I am trying to promote alternative modes of transportation and get people to ride their bicycles and leave their cars at home. By not riding in any motor vehicles, I am trying to reject the oil culture and western society's addiction to speed, convenience and the unnatural way that technologies sacrifice trust and community.

How do you think you can help encourage people not to use motor vehicles?

Nowadays you don' t need to know the person living next door to you because you can choose your own community. You can get in your car and drive to the next town and meet someone that you like better than your neighbor. So when there is a problem in your community you don' t have a relationship with your neighbor. Really, in the end, it is trust that is lost because everyone is moving so quickly. There is more personal choice with all this technological speed and convenience but it is at a sacrifice to trust and community.

Are you thinking about using any other forms of transportation?

Oh yeah, I don't want to be in a climate that uses a dog sled, but I would grab on to the fin of a porpoise or ride a camel or strap my stuff onto the back of a yak. Anything like that. Rowing across the ocean...I might do that if I really deem it is feasible. I am willing to risk my life by not throw it away.

What is the weirdest person you have met so far?

The Finish sailboat captain who had gone around the world. At first he said he was going sailing for a while and kept going and going. He kept telling his wife that he was going to keep sailing for a while until three years later. She kept having him get crew even though he wanted to do it by himself. He was a fisherman first, an old salt fisherman sailor. He would eat the choicest part of the fish raw right after he cleaned it on the back of the boat. I've also met leprechauns...that's a tough question.

How many people where on the boat?

It was just the Finnish captain, myself and one other guy from Poland who had just flown over the ocean only to sail back because he wanted to be a yacht-master. Neither spoke much English and he wouldn't let me learn any finish. He didn't even want to teach me “good morning” in Finnish.

How long were you on the boat?

With that guy, it was one journey of three weeks, then a week on land and then another journey of ten days. So it was over a month. A forty foot boat...a small boat.

What was the craziest event so far?

Leaving the States after eating the final big American meal and releasing the American flag into the waves, saying “someday I will be back.” On par with that, landing in England after all that time at sea and finally being able to cycle and see the green trees and solid earth. That was pretty crazy. And then also Halloween critical mass in Ireland. Where they weren't really prepared for cyclists on the roads. We were getting all the cyclists to join us every where we went. Later I went into McDonalds just to cause trouble and was physically ejected.

Making America proud there.

Yeah.

What is your relationship with you bicycle?

Oh yes, the size of the seat post is just perfect for...just kidding, just kidding. I don't have name for my bike but it does have a personality. I don't want to get too attached to it because I am a mechanic and I have seen how bikes and parts just wear out. The bike frame has already broken in two places. It is possible it will break again and it won't be fixable. I don't want to be completely emotionally crushed by that. I am not attached to it necessarily but I do have a deep relationship with it where I can sense that infinitesimal space between the tire and tarmac. Whether it is too sharp of a turn or too fast or whether I am going to slide out. Handling the wheel wobble under weight especially if I have a full load of water. I am really used to that now. I really know how wide it is and high the pedal is. I know if can cycle with my tire right next to the curb and the pedal will still go. I ride the bike all day every day and it is nice to know the noises. There was a time when the front was making some kind of noise. This really subtle noise that I could only hear when there weren't any dogs barking nearby or any cars nearby or I wasn't in any gravel. But I heard it every once in a while so I stopped and checked and sure enough one of my bolts in the front rack had already fallen out. The and the other one was loose and if your front rack falls forward you are gonna eat it. So I'm in tune...in tune with the bike.

How would you define bicycle culture?

Well, you know before I left I would have said that it is people that see the truth and they know what is good for the earth and what is good for them. They know what is the right answer for transportation. And lots of cool things, bike culture, underground events, fixies and all that cool stuff. Promoting bicycle as an ecological things is definitely huge and not just for me. It is a part of the culture. But now that I have left, thinking on a more global scale, it is just a better, easier to manufacture form of transportation. In Amsterdam and Holland in general...or I'm thinking of Beijing and India. In a place like that the bicycle culture is the poor persons culture. They ride because it costs less energy, sure, but they are really doing because they don't have the money do buy something that costs more to manufacture. On a more global scale, people simply use it. People that have no idea about anything ecological whatsoever they rider their bike, which is great, because it is the most efficient vehicle on earth.

What has been the most pleasurable place to bicycle in?

Madison, Wisconsin. I just love Madison, Wisconsin. Pleasurable...Well it was really wet in the British Isles. It was really nice but so wet. Boy, I'd say up to this point it is a toss up between West Virginia and the Netherlands. West Virginia was nice, lots of hills. The Appalachian mountains, they call them mountains. “That was the mountain range?” But they were really just big hills. Not like huge things. It was just a riot. West Virginia is the redheaded step child of Virginia. I didn't have any problems. Really, it was just entertaining the whole time. The Netherlands...to get that headset adjustment and then go for a bike ride without being with with traffic at all. I've never experienced anything like it. As a cyclist I'd say the Netherlands probably beats West Virginia. But West Virginia was pretty fun.

What else do you find special about cycling in the Netherlands?

Well they have things that I have never seen, I might have imagined them in a dream or heard about them once, but everyday you see someone ride side-saddle on the back rack. That is just so common around here. I have never really seen anybody doing that at home. People pulling their luggage behind them. The cargo bikes. The way that people get out of way of bicycles. The bus drivers. The bus drivers from where I am from are the biggest hazard ever, but here you can trust that they are going to stop with enough room for you to go in front of them. And then being able to cycle 100 kilometers without a map. It is is amazing. The visibility that bicycles enjoy and also the network of bicycle routes that the Netherlands has are just unsurpassed.

Any closing remarks?

I don't think everyone can feasibly do what I am doing. If you want to do a world tour and see all the places in the world I am not sure that this is right for everyone. I am not trying to show that everyone can do what I am doing, but everyone can travel by bicycle. I am trying to do something so extreme that people who don't feel like they can do what I am doing may see me and they feel like they can ride fifteen miles to grandma's house for dinner instead of taking the car. They can do something smaller. I understand what I am doing is crazy and not for everyone, but really there is a solution in the world, out there, in the near future for less cars and more bikes. Leave your cars at home. Take your bicycle instead.

Charlie writes about his adventures at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/worldtour07.

Early morning sewer shower

2009-03-03T10:33:00.004+01:00

On my way to work this morning I was stopped at a small canal bridge with about 10 other bicyclists. We were all waiting for these two trucks to stop spraying water out of the sewers so we could pass. As soon as the water shower stopped the workers waved us on through where we pass in between their two trucks. I had to get off my bike and snap a photo because you would never see this in the States. If a construction crew is working they have to barricade half the street so they won't be held liable for pedestrians hit by debris and such. But here the hardly ever worry about this. You can walk up to the construction crews to get a close look and in this case ride your bicycle right through the middle of the work. This particular intersection sees hundreds of bicyclists each day and everyone seems to have no problem working together.
This is another construction photo from Rotterdam on some road construction on the Erasmus Bridge which features separated lanes for bikes, cars and trams. I liked this one because it shows one worker actually doing something while the rest sit around and watch. Some things are universal all around the world.

Je suis un vélo

2009-02-14T22:36:00.023+01:00

I had the pleasure of visiting France for my second time this year, but this time to the massive and beautiful capital city, Paris. I was pleased to find the bicycle revolution making great strides in the City of Lights. Bicycling through Paris was sketchy at some times due to the heavy traffic and the small amount of separated bike paths, but I always felt safer than in most of the US cities I have cycled through. Drivers generally seemed to be quite aware and respectful of the bicyclists and this is probably because cycling is being promoted in many ways including new infrastructure and the best bike share program in the world.
It was February and the snow was lighting dancing from the sky during the few days that I was visiting but there were still plenty of people biking about in the wintry weather. This mother is pushing off with her bundled up child on the rear. Both have helmets and the mother is seen wearing a safety vest. Paris's car traffic is fast paced and cars are definitely the dominant force, so I can understand why more safety equipment was seen around the city.
Not everyone is concerned with all the extra safety gear though. This woman is definitely showing the cycle chic in her with this really cool multi-colored coat and handbag in the front basket.
Many businesses seemed to have adopted pedal powered delivery. I saw a fair amount of cargo utility bikes and trikes at various shops. The yellow bike is used to haul around cleaning supplies for a janitorial type business and the red Christiania front loading trike is used to deliver foods from this supermarket.There were also plenty of bicycle cops to be seen, especially cruising around touristy areas. These cops arrived near this intersection just in time to bust this car for blocking the bicycle lane. The owner ran outside in the middle of the ticket writing process, but I don't think he was able to talk his way out of it.
Most of the time we were riding with traffic around Paris but there were a significant amount of bike lanes. It seems that all of the dedicated bus/taxi lanes are also for bicycle use. This system seems to work pretty well. You get to stay out of the clogged car traffic and cruise by mostly unhindered in the wide bus lanes. Buses are definitely a little scary to deal with when you come upon them, but it seems that the drivers are well aware of the bicycles and give them the right-of-way. I felt very comfortable in this "wide" bike lane. This one was a bit weird though, as you can see we are now driving on the left side of the road, which isn't the norm in Europe.Along major arteries there were also separated bike paths. These were typically between on street parking and pedestrian walkways and were well marked. The lanes are a bit narrow and definitely not designed for side by side riding like it is here in the Netherlands, but they are wide enough to overtake someone with a kindly bell warning beforehand.At intersections the separated bike paths had either sharrows and a bike symbol as shown here or a checkered green pattern to let everyone know that this is the bicycle area. At the intersections the bicyclists are expected to follow the pedestrian signals for when to cross.This marked lane borders the river Seine and gives a beautiful view to the splendor of the river and the famous places like the Notre Dame that line its banks.Some of the lanes were obviously added as an after thought. This one weirdly snakes around the scooter parking, of which there is a lot of. Scooters are a super popular means of transportation but fortunately they are not allowed on the bicycle lanes. I find them quite annoying and dangerous in the Netherlands because they are allowed to join the bicyclists on the cycle paths. The travel much faster than the cyclists and spew awful fumes everywhere.
Here is a bicycle box which allows bicyclists to proceed through the intersection before the cars. It allows for the bicyclists to become visible to all of the car traffic and make much safer left turns.
But, by far, the most exciting thing I found about bicycling in Paris was the Vélib bicycle share program. This program makes the huge city so unbelievably accessible at such a low cost. Using the bicycles is much faster than the other public transport options and allows you to experience the city above ground and outside where you can engage with the surroundings. I believe that about half of the bicyclists I observed cruising the streets of Paris were using the Vélib bicycles. The Vélib system was introduced in mid 2007 and has been a great success with over 20,000 bicycles spread throughout 1,500 stations that are placed every 300 meters (328 yards) around the city. I was very pleased with almost every aspect of the system and hope that this model is used in many more cities to come.
The Vélib bicycle is a sturdy steed, built to withstand a lot of riding and abuse. It includes an adjustable seat, double fenders, stout double kickstand, dual hub brakes, front mounted basket, three speed internal gearing, dynamo powered LED lights, and a bell. They are designed such that the components are hard to remove and it is not easy to carry too much extra weight, such as a human.The stations typically have around twenty spaces for bicycles. This one has been installed in place of on street car parking. It cost us 1 euro per day as long as we returned the bicycles to a station within 30 minutes from the time it was checked out. This was never a problem because the stations are so abundant. The program is primarily financed by an advertising company that receives exclusive rights to about 1,500 billboards around the city in return for running things.The system was very easy to use. Every station has an electronic kiosk where you use your credit card to purchase a daily, weekly, or yearly pass. A registration number is printed and you create a pin number to access the bicycles. The passes can also be attached to Paris's universal travel pass and the bikes can be directly checked out from the individual stands. The kiosk offers instructions in French, German, Spanish and English including live customer support via the microphone and speakers in the kiosk. We had an error with one of our returned bicycles and I couldn't believe that we received personal, live customer support at the kiosk. Our problem was quickly and easily resolved.
Each bicycle is attached to an electronic locking system. This one has had its cover vandalized and the network connections are shown inside. You have to slide the custom lock into the post (sometimes a bit tricky) and make sure that the you here a beep and the light becomes green.
When you want to leave the bicycle unattended a cable lock is used to attached the bike to something solid. Once the lock is engaged a key is removed and you can return to the bike later.It is necessary to give the bicycles a good looking over before you unlock it from the stand. The bikes may have a flat, bad brakes, or any number of problems as seen here. This wasn't typically the case. Most bikes were rideable and we always found at least one bike that was fully functional. There have been some recent reports that the amount of vandalized and stolen bikes is making the system unsustainable, but this has also been refuted as a ploy by the overseeing marketing company to get more money. The bicycles are easily trackable and you get charged 150 euros if you don't reutrn a bike, so I am not sure how so many are stolen.
The bicycles are constanly collected for repairs and distribution. This is key to the success of the program because the bikes see a lot of use and repairs are inevitable. The bikes tend to cluster around more popular and easy to get to destinations (i.e. at the bottom of hills).These custom trucks are used to transport the bicycles around the city.Overall, I thought the Vélib system was incredible and and really hope that we see more of these popping up around the world. Gavin Newsom recently announced that San Francisco will start a pilot bike share program, but he needs to take more note of Paris's model. A meager 50 bikes in San Francisco will make the program look somewhat worthless to the public. A much larger infrastructure setup will be needed to make the program successful.

I've put together a short video of my friend, Matt, and me biking around Paris. It shows off some of the infrastructure, the traffic and scenes of the city.

Bicycle dynamics

2009-02-01T16:57:00.008+01:00

The Fulbright commission did not send me to the Netherlands only to wander around and see all the fun bicycle stuff. I am supposed to being doing some "high level" PhD science too. I work at the Technical University in Delft at the Bicycle Dynamics Lab. I work with my professor, Arend Schwab, and his PhD student, Jodi Kooijman, who are two of the few people in the world interested in bicycle dynamics. It turns out that the bicycle is quite a robust dynamics and control problem. We are trying to understand the fundamental motion of the bicycle and the rider, how a person controls a bicycle (in a mathematical way), and how changes in bicycle design affect the fundamental dynamics, in particular how can a bicycle be designed with good handling and ease of control in mind. We are currently in the middle of some fun experimentation to help validate all of our mathematical models.When I arrived, Jodi was well into building a data acquisition system that could be moved from bicycle to bicycle. This is what we ended up with after some machining, soldering and foam padding. The bicycle is equipped with angle and rate sensors, a wireless data acquisition system, and a video camera set up to view the riders' movements.We had to measure the physical properties of the bicycle components and this shows an experiment in which the moment of inertia can be measured by swinging the bike frame like a pendulum and timing the period of oscillation.Our bike lab attracts many visitors that want us to help them fix their bicycle. This guy wanted to straighten his valve stems so his valve stem blinky lights would look correct. His method of shifting the tire around the wheel was to beat a pair of pliers with a hammer. I let him struggle a bit before I showed him an easier way.
We have used the instrumented bicycles to measure what goes on while we ride around town, but most of our experiments have been on a big 3 by 5 meter treadmill at the faculty of Human Movement Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. This huge treadmill provides a controlled environment to do our tests.This is Jodi testing the uncontrolled bicycle to see at what speed it becomes stable. Bicycles are typically stable (won't fall over) above a critical speed around 7 or 8 mph.

We then strap ourselves into a safety harness and measure the dynamics of the bicycle being controlled by a rider. One of the interesting things we found during our first tests was that a person may use a lot of lateral leg motion to help balance the bicycle at low speeds. We are currently working on some new experiments that will hopefully tell us a little more about why we do this and how effective it is.This is what is supposed to happen if we happen to fall off the bicycle, but I imagine that we'd be more tangled in the bicycle if something really went wrong.
When we get back to Delft we spend a lot of time looking at the video and data to see what actually went on. I developed this little computer program to make it easier to view the data.
Our latest experiments use motion capture to record the motion of both the rider and the bicycle. We stick about 30 electronic markers all over the rider, Jodi in this case, and the bicycle. Special cameras pick up the radio frequencies of the markers and record the three dimensional motion. We can then use this to statistically compare what motions riders use at different speeds.Here is Jodi pumping at 18+ mph with most of the markers labeled in green. The following video gives an idea what's going on, but the marker detection is all invisible.

Canal bikes

2009-01-25T23:03:00.006+01:00

This photo I randomly found on flickr gave me one more reason to be excited about spring, besides the weather. Supposedly all of the municipalities that have canals send out bargages to collect tons of bicycles that have managed to end up in the canals. This barge in Delft has collected quite a few from the depths. The canals are fairly shallow and the bicycles can cause damage to the boats, so the city has to do something about them. They also are a hazard if you actually would want to swim in the canals, but I think that only happens when the fraternity kids get drunk and brave.
The question remains: How do the bicycles end up in the canals? This bike and pedestrian ferry has nice side rails to help keep bikes out of the canal but that isn't always the case. Here in Delft, which is quite the college town, I think many of them end up in the canals as a practical joke. Drunk kids like to see how big of a splash they can make on the way home from the bar. I suspect they fall into the canals by accident too. The canal "banks", if that is what you call them, typically don't have railings and I have felt that my bike might go in on a number of occasions, not to mention myself. I have a bet going with myself that I will end up in a canal before I leave the Netherlands, and not because I jumped in on purpose.
I've spotted a few bicycles that have been pulled out of the canals around Delft. They are usually look quite ancient from a combination of dirt, rust, and plant growth. Quite the art piece.

How about those Dutch minivans?

2009-01-18T15:47:00.008+01:00

The minivan and SUV have not really caught on here in the Netherlands as the coolest choice for kid transportation but there are all sorts of clever ways to carry multiple kids on a bicycle. Probably 90 percent of the cargo bikes here are primarily for transporting kids to and from school, football practice, dance class, etc. The most typical and economical method of carrying children are the rack mounted and handlebar mounted seats as seen on this woman's bicycle. Windshields are usually installed on the front to give a little protection from wind. It is much colder on a bicycle in the winter when you are not warming yourself by pedaling.
One of my favorite rear rack seats is this woven basket. The child sits side saddle and fit's comfortably in the cozy basket. This bicycle is also equipped with a heavy duty front rack for cargo and a child's seat. Perfect for running errands with the kids.Folding bikes can even be equipped with seats. This one has a purple child's seat safely tucked in between dad's legs, but it isn't as good of a perch for trying to see Sinterklaas's arrival. For tight fits like this one there is a cool product called the MoedersTuur that gives you a bit more room for the front mounted seats. It is especially handy for pregnant women.Sinterklaas's arrival is the perfect opportunity to see every type of child carrying device that exists in the Netherlands. It is the only way to get tons of kids to one spot efficiently and safely. Plus you get to see thousands of children dressed up as Zwarte Piet. This grandpa has a little Piet on the rear and a little Sinterklaas on the front of his classic Dutch bicycle. This little girl wants to be just like mom, so she strapped a plastic chair on the back of her bicycle so she can safely carry her baby doll around Amsterdam.There is a whole range of products to carry the children as they get bigger. Trailer bikes are used some, but not as often as seen on bikes in the states. They allow the child to feel like they are riding and contributing to the transportation effort. Even if the child can ride a bicycle on their own they may not be able to keep up during normal cycling. The trailer bike keeps them a fixed safe distance from mom or dad. This one has a rack mount hitch so the rear rack seat can still be used.I thought this was a clever product. It allows you to transform any children's bike into a trailer bike. It is called a Follow Me and gives you the choice to let your child ride by themselves or with you.If the kids seats and trailer bikes are the minivans of the Dutch then the bakfiets are the SUVs of the Netherlands. Bakfiets are a bit of an investment and typically it is the more well-to-do moms and dads that get them. I think it has a similar status as an SUV gives a soccer mom in the states. There are many popular two wheel and three wheel versions. Here, dad is sipping on his juice box while he pedals his Christiania trike through Den Haag.
This father prefers the classic two wheel bakfiets from bakfiets.nl. The child even opted for a matching hat.
Here is a stylish young mom driving her two kids around in a 't Mannetje tricycle.
This woman is making her way down the sidewalk in Delft with a Danish Nihola trike.
The bakfiets also have accesories that allow a baby carrier to easily be secured to the box. This guy didn't understand why I was taking a photo of him. I probably should have told him what was up.
The trio-bike is a cool kid carrier that transforms into a push cart and normal bicycle plus it comes with a wicked shark mouth paint job so the kid's feel like they are in a fighter jet.
With all these cool methods of transporting kids by bikes, it is no wonder that SUVs aren't filling up the streets and polluting the air here. The good thing is that all of the manufacturers of these products are exporting them to the states. It is mostly on a small scale now but definitely growing.

So many bikes, so little space

2009-01-14T11:26:00.016+01:00

There are supposedly 1.11 bicycles per person in the Netherlands. That means there are around 18 million bikes lying around somewhere in the country. And the country is pretty tiny. So where do people put all of the bicycles? The Dutch like organization so there are many clever ways to handle bike parking, but there always never seems to be enough spaces, especially at the train stations. There are also hundreds of rack designs from poles to wheel slots to handlebar grabbers to art racks. Having secure racks to chain your bicycle to is quite important here because bicycle theft is so rampant. In Amsterdam it has been estimated that your bike has a 16% chance of being stolen and this is a big discouragement to bicyclists. Here are a few things that I've noticed about bicycle parking.
One typical parking place are the railings over canal bridges. They provide a place to lean and secure your bike. These are quite abundant in many cities, especially Amsterdam. If the Netherlands were any thing like the States in terms of safety and liability there would also be railings lining every single canal. But the Dutch seem to trust their people to use common sense and not fall in the canals at any unguarded area. This shot also shows the typical architecture in Amsterdam and some very cool greenhouseboats (super compound) lining the canal.
If there are not any railings or poles bicycles tend to congregate in mass. Good thing that Dutch bikes are always well equipped with many accessories including sturdy kickstands. This bakfiets has a nice double kickstand for easy parking.
Signposts are also always a popular makeshift bicycle rack everywhere in the world. This one was used while the person took a stroll around the Grote Plas (a lake in Delft) on a fine autumn afternoon.
The bicycle parking in front of my building at school doesn't nearly have enough racks for all of the students' bicycles. Once the racks are full the students line the bikes up in rows and often they succumb to the domino effect.
But there are places around Delft that do have plenty of bicycle parking and a lot of the newer infrastructure utilizes these nifty bike rack designs. They have a place for your front bicycle wheel, a center post to attach the bicycle to so it is secured and can't be knocked over, and the bikes are staggered vertically such that the handlebars don't crash into each other. This allows many more bikes to be parked in the same amount of space and it is still relatively easy to retrieve your bicycle when things are crowded.
Old style racks like this one that was drug up from the depths of the canal are used less and less. They still allow for compact parking but wheels are easily bent and there is no easy way to secure your bike. They also slide around when there are only a few bikes in them and apparently into the canals.
Other types of designed parking include simple wheel stands like the ones in front of this Lidl supermarket. These aren't that great of a design because the bikes can still tip over easily, there is no where to lock and wheels can be bent...probably why the bikes here aren't placed in them.
There are even oddities like small rings attached to walls so you can connect your lock.
And fully covered, locked bike pods on the sidewalks.
The construction crew repairing this sidewalk didn't bother to remove the bicycle from this U style rack before they ripped it out of the ground. I am sure this is a common issue they have to deal with and they will remount the rack and bicycle when they are finished.

The places that always are in need of the largest bicycle parking facilities are the train stations. Only folding bikes are allowed on the trains (without a fee) so you must leave you bicycle outside of the station. There are typically outside bike racks, sometime covered parking and even guarded indoor parking for a fee, but it is still hard to find a good parking place.
The Delft train station has several parking areas. This is a area in the front with racks. Whenever I go to the station it is tough to keep my eyes out of the hundreds of bicycles.The Hague central station is even more impressive. It looks like a sea of bicycles and this isn't even a third of them. They also have really nice covered bicycle parking. The following photo is of an empty area by the bus depot that is either newly constructed or not being used for some reason (cost?). It is loaded with double-decker bike parking. The top rows slide down easily thanks to small air dampers for easy loading and unloading of your bicycle.Amsterdam is the grand daddy of all the parking structures. This triple deck bicycle parking facility is actually only a temporary solution to bicycle parking at central station. It holds about 2ooo bicycles while construction is done on the station. Plans are to have new facilities by 2012 that will accommodate at least 10,000 bicycles.An old docked ferry at the rear of the station has even been transformed into bicycle parking while the construction is going on. It is complete with double deck parking and a cool "bicycling in Amsterdam" mural painted on the side.Bicycle parking will hopefully continue to be an issue that planners and designers have to deal with, the more bikes the better. Bicycle parking has always been a popular design task for architecture and industrial design students and professionals. Some new designs can be seen in the New York DOT rack design competition that occurred last year.

Here are a few other shots of bike parking from around Europe:
A bike cage complete with kids bikes and seats in Berlin.

Widened sidewalks on the Nørrebrogade in Copenhagen complete with lots of new bike parking.A DIY bicycle rack in Christiania, Denmark made from old frames.And finally a cute triplet wheel rack installed on the side of my friend, Dina's, farm house in Gärsnäs, Sweden.

Bikevertising

2009-01-06T10:48:00.004+01:00

Bicycles can be parked be parked almost anywhere and definitely in high traffic areas like the train station. Some bright marketing folks realized this and the fact that a bicycle can be a rolling billboard. I've seen many different techniques of advertising with a bicycle, from a small shop setting up a cool bike at the corner to big corporate entities giving out free bicycles that are plastered with their logo.
This is a bicycle that is kept outside a flower shop in Delft to help attract customers. The Dutch are quite fond of their flowers and many people adorn their bicycle with them for fun too.

Here is a Babboe bakfiets at the Utrecht train station (boxbike) telling the world that their bike was rated well on the consumer products television show, Kassa. Arend, my professor on the left, Jodi, my labmate on the right, and I had the pleasure to test many bakfiets designs on the television show just a week or so before we saw these advertisements.A fleet of ING bank adverstisement bicycles being delivered to TU Delft employees and students. These bikes are sold at unrealistically low prices if the owner agrees to never remove a large ING sign from between frame tubes (not attached yet in the photo). A long john loaded with cheese and an advert for Kassland (Cheese Country), a cheese store in Amsterdam.A bicycle chained to the bridge railing over a canal in Delft advertising for a ceramics shop. A garland has been added for extra spice.Chris Beer's cargo bicycle shop in The Hague is easily found by his strategically placed sign in a classic Dutch bakfiets.A directional sign to help find the Animation Nation gallery in Rotterdam. Simply attach a sign to the top tube and park it where ever you like.
Bikevertising is also popular in some of the other countries I've visited. Subway sandwich shops (another American fastfood chain that has invaded Europe) are all over Berlin, Germany and they fitting bikes with pictures of their subs.
Sneakerspot sells hip shoes and clothing in Berlin and they are making that known by painting bicycles, attaching an advertisement with a photo of a scantily clad woman and telling you to get your "new shit at Sneakerspot."
An advertisment for a bicycle rental shop in Berlin.
This bicycle in Berlin has a full blown menu attached to it. Too bad you can't order there too.
Nihola, in Copenhagen, Denmark has a special model of their cargo tricycle for advertising. Posterbike helps you get your advertisement bike setup but I am still not sure how you see over the giant tube.

Bicycling: Danish Style

2008-12-28T17:55:00.023+01:00

I decided to head north for my holiday break and check out the other European bicycle Mecca, Copenhagen. I am very glad that I went because I'd been missing "bicycle culture" as we know it back in the states. Holland treats their bicycle as such ordinary things. There are very few freak bikes, bike parties, messengers, alleycats, and very little style connecting the bicycle and rider, but Copenhagen was amazingly refreshing and I felt like I was in San Francisco again. For the Danes, the bicycle was more than a slow, beat-up, squeaky machine to get from point A to B. The people in Denmark had an amazing variety of bicycles to fit with each and every type of person and they have a city government that puts bicycle transportation at the forefront.
I didn't have any real connections in Copenhagen so I contacted the author of the Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic blogs, Mikael Colville-Andersen, which I have been following since I moved to Europe. Mikael was very gracious. He gave my friend, Eric, and I a bicycle tour around the city highlighting the transportation infrastructure the first day we arrived. I've included the basic tour and various other bicycle land marks on the following map.

View Larger Map
Mikael recommended Baisikeli Bike Rental to us so we could get a couple of Danish bikes for the week. Henrik, one of the co-owners, hooked us up with a Christiania cargo trike, classically Danish, and a nice three speed two wheeler. We also hung out in his cozy shop and chatted about the Baisikeli, swahili for "bike", business model over a cup of tea. Henrik and his partner Niels decided to start sending used bicycles to Tanzania to help distribute inexpensive but quality bicycles into Africa. They soon realized that they needed to find a way to finance things because shipping costs doubled after having to go through all the African bureaucracy. So they purchase new quality bicycles in Denmark and make the money back on them by renting them for about two years. The "used" bikes are then packed into a container and shipped to Africa where they are repaired by locals and sold. They have further plans to support a workshop that will produce various cargo bicycles for the African market.
During the bicycle tour we got a good overview of the cities infrastructure. Separate bicycle lanes accompanied every major street, bicycle paths crisscrossed the city and lined the water ways. Most of the city heart is reachable without having to mingle with auto traffic. Intersections are controlled with bicycle specific lights and bright blue paint to designated the bicycle crossings. The streets were quite wide compared to other old European cities and I felt that there where more cars than in the Netherlands, but the separate paths still provided a feeling of safety because you didn't have to worry about the car traffic except at intersections.
One of Copenhagens most recent achievements in infrastructure changes was diverting car traffic from away from Nørrebrogade. This street is a major artery for bicycle and bus traffic. They widened the bicycle lanes, constructed loading islands for bus passengers so they wouldn't be dropped off directly in bicycle traffic, banned delivery vehicles from stopping outside of designated loading zones on side streets, and diverted car traffic to neighboring streets. Bicycle parking was increased and the traffic lights were programmed such that if a cyclist rides at 20 km/h then they always get a green light. The city planners did all these things to make it more comformtable, easier, and practical to bicycle rather than using other modes of transportation, but not without complaints from many of the businesses. The majority of the business along Nørrebrogade have yellow signs in their windows saying that the decreased car traffic will hurt their businesses.
As I browsed through the thousands of bikes parked around the city I got the feeling that the bicycles were in much better shape than the ones I typically see parked at the train stations in the Netherlands. I saw more variety of bikes and they were speedier, sportier versions with straight handlebars and thin tires. The Copenhageners definitely liked to move fast on their bikes and were always flying by me on my Christiania cargo trike. Even some of the Danish cargo bikes could haul ass. We visited both Larry vs. Harry and Nihola, creators of a fast lightweight cargo bike and trike respectively. Nihola has a model perfect for a beer keg. People seemed to prefer backpacks over panniers and baskets and very few people used their rear rack to transport friends around.
Another unusual bicycle that is prominent in Copenhagen is the Pederson. They were all over Freetown Christiania and I spotted them various times around the rest of the city too. I saw tandems, children's sized, a tricked out fixed gear version and a custom made "gun" Pederson style bike.
The Danish postal carriers even had custom postal bicycles, short johns, that could haul some serious mail. The bags were very accessible and the rolling kickstand let them easy push the bikes along the sidewalks.I was told several times that bicycle theft wasn't as rampant as it is in Holland. This probably allows a person in Copenhagen to invest more in a nice bicycle, since they don't have to worry about theft as much. I hardly ever saw the beat up spray painted junker bike. It made me happy to see that people took more pride in their daily transport machines. I noticed a different style of wheel lock here too. I'm still not a big fan of these though, the spokes are to easily damaged.Bike parking was plentiful but with so many bikes you still see giant piles every once in a while. The city tags abandoned bikes with little spoke tags that break when the bicycle rolls away to help clear the racks of the rusty steeds. Baisikeli is taking full advantage of this and sending them to Africa for a second life.
I was blown away with everything bicycle I saw in the short five days we spent in Copenhagen. The city government is putting in tons of money and resources to make this one of the best places to bicycle on the planet and I really felt a unique culture connected to bicycles, although the Danes probably wouldn't call it "culture". I hope to go back in the summer and experience the droves of cyclists on a warm day and check out the city's free bike system. The final two photos are of one of the encouraging bicycle counters in the city and a child pedaling his first trike in his customary winter jumpsuit.

Check out A Billion Bikes take on bicycling in Copenhagen and Copenhagenize for more stats and info. More of my photos are on my Picasa photo page. I've also made a short, rather poor, video of us biking around Copenhagen.

Trouble walking? Then bicycle!

2008-12-14T22:49:00.001+01:00

I've been really amazed at the amount of elderly people that use a bicycle as regular transportation. Actually, 24% of local trips of people 65 and older are made by bicycle in the Netherlands! That is a bit hard to believe because I can imagine very few people I know over 65 back home that would even attempt to ride a bicycle at that age. This man riding on his rear rack (the seat is missing), proves that they still ride and are quite spry!
It also seems that the elderly in the Netherlands still enjoy massive bike rides and gatherings for fun...Dutch Elderly Critical Mass??
That impressive statistic and the many elderly that I see riding everyday blows my mind, but what has amazed me even more is how many people that have difficulty walking still get on the bicycle (or other pedal powered vehicles) to get around. I recently came across an article and video about Jetta Klijnsma, the new deputy social affairs minister of the Netherlands, that shows how important the Dutch feel their bicycle commutes are. Jetta was born with a congenital defect to her legs and has to use a walker to get around. This does not stop her from riding her bike to work everyday though. Each morning her bicycle chauffeur, Rob Schrooder, pulls up to the front of her house on a tandem, straps Jetta's walker to the rear rack and they ride to work. Jetta chooses to ride the bicycle instead of in a car because it keeps her fit, especially since sitting in the office and meetings all day provide no activity.

I've seen many people with canes strapped to their bicycles and even a few walkers. It makes sense though, because cycling does not create an impact each stroke as walking and running do. It must be easier on weaker legs. They following photos are of a man and woman I see around Delft occasionally. They ride around town on a recumbent tricycle and the woman keeps her walker strapped to the back!

Bicycle Exhibit at the Designhuis, Eindhoven

2008-12-07T16:03:00.007+01:00

The Designhuis in Eindhoven put on a wonderful 100 day long exhibit about the bicycle from June to October. I was fortunate enough to get to visit the exhibit not too long after I arrived in the Netherlands. Jodi, my labmate, and I made the trek southeast to check things out. The Designhuis is a relatively new museum in Eindhoven, opening in 2007. They are located in an old courthouse next to the town hall and was brought to life by the Design Academy, Eindhoven. The bicycle exhibit showcased over a hundred different bicycles, ranging from velomobiles and cargobikes to track racers and art bikes. They also had a series of presentations from bicycle designers throughout the summer. There were a lot of interesting designs, including shaft and belt drives, row bikes and sail bikes. The exhibit seemed to showcase many oddities. As usual many of these bicycle designs have been introduced in the past already, but newer manufacturing processes and materials may make some of the designs more practical. I've included some photos and descriptions of some of the designs that I found most interesting. You can see a slideshow of these and more at my picasa page.
The Sandwich Bike, designed by Pieter Janssen from Design Amsterdam and Basten Leijh from Bleijh concepts & design, was inspired by flat packed furniture sold in stores such as IKEA. The bicycle is made from wooden sheets and came back flat into a box for easy shipping. The bicycle is assembled by the purchaser with a single tool. Pieter and Basten had both the first and third worlds in mind when designing the bicycle and wanted it to be a very functional yet inexpensive bicycle appropriate for any environment.
Basten Leijh also designed Giant's Downtown. Giant is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer based in Taiwan and you typically don't expect too many unusual designs to make it into production from the big companies, but I've now seen quite a few of these bicycles around Holland. The bike was designed to be a utilitarian bicycle for the city that addresses theft, durability, cargo transport, and parking issues. The bicycle has two locks: one that prevents the rear wheel from rolling and the other that is a bar style lock that doubles as the bicycle's handlebars. Furthermore, if the double locks fail, the bikes are so unusual looking that thieves may not be so apt to steal them. The bicycle is narrow due to the removable handlebars and folding pedals allowing for the bike to fit into tighter parking spaces. A front loading cargo rack attached to the rear frame provides space for luggage and a headlamp is built into the main frame tube/front rack support.
Firemen don't need their giant trucks anymore, they can ride the Firebike designed by Roel van Heur. This bike sports two rear mounted fire extinguishers that flip down for easy removal and a first aid kit strapped under the top tube. It even comes in fire truck red.
The Kid Balance provides a great way for a child to learn to ride a bicycle. First the child uses the bicycle in scooter form (as shown). They can learn to balance the bike without having to worry about pedaling. As soon as they have gotten the hang of the scooter, the parents don't have to go out an purchase a whole new bike. The Kid Balance's frame flips over and a crank-set is attached under the seat, transforming it into a pedal bike.
This classy bike rack features a built in air pump. It is called the Heklucht and was designed by Jeroen Bruls and Krijn Christiaansen. It has won a public space design award and even comes in polished stainless steel.
Jodi and I had a fun time with Atomic Sport's Cybex SQRL funcycle. The Designhuis had a few set out for people to try and we rode them all over the ground floor. These seem to fall in line with all the other odd knockoffs of standard kids toys (i.e. waveboard, heelys, snakeboards, etc). This is actually a three wheel cycle. The front two wheels are mounted to a free swinging caster and you steer the vehicle by leaning your body. It takes a few minutes to get comfortable with the steering method but once you catch on it is fairly easy to maneuver and can really cut some tight corners.
This design is an attempt at forgoing the trunk rack and attaching the bicycle directly to a ball hitch that many vehicles already have. The bicycle has a built in ball hitch receiver by the bottom bracket. Additionally, the bicycle frame folds just above the crank so that the wheels will not drag the ground as the car is driving.
Heavy haulers always get my attention and I've noticed quite a few of these bikes riding around town. Dutch ID, a cargo bike manufacturer in the Netherlands, produces this model. The Double Dutch has two large cargo racks and nice frame lines. The frame is made from aluminum and is supposedly lighter than other similar designs but still plenty strong. They have a 3 speed internal hub on the rear.
Bakfiets (box bikes) are one of my favorite cycles that I see cruising the cobblestone streets of Holland. Gazelle, one of the Netherlands oldest bicycle manufacturers, recently produced their version of a bakfiets and got a spot in the Designhuis exhibit. The Cabby may be the first design that doesn't have some sort of hard (wood or plastic) box and reminds me of Burley's style. Bicycles such as these are typically loaded up with children on the way to daycare, but they can also be seen hauling non-living cargo. Gazelle took home a 2008 Dutch Design Award for the Cabby.
Van Raam specializes in designing bicycles for people with disabilities. This model, the O-Pair 2, allows the user to transport an adult sized person around on the front of the tricycle. When you reach your destination, the rear frame detaches and the front converts into a wheelchair.
Besides the many featured bicycles, they're were some accessory exhibits also. My favorite was the bell wall. There were at least a hundred bell designs arranged on the wall and each one had it's one special sound. The bell wall accompanied the room with the childrens' bikes, but I held myself back and didn't ring every single one.

Check out more pictures and descriptions of the exhibits on my picasa photo page. I will leave you with my Designhuis inspired bicycle design:

Bicycle Postman

2008-11-29T16:45:00.004+01:00

Bicycles are not only for personal transport and many businesses in the Netherlands utilize the bicycle to transport goods. One of the first uses that I picked up on was mail delivery. The Dutch postal service, TNT Post, delivers quite a lot of its mail by a network of bicycle mail carriers. DHL is also operating bicycle couriers that connect to floating distribution centers in Amsterdam. I was hoping to get a little more insight into how bicycles are used to distribute mail here and I fortunately met Rob de Echte ("Rob the True" in English) one evening at a student house cafeteria I've been frequenting. Rob is a graduate of TU Delft in industrial design who has worked as a part-time postman for TNT for about 10 years in Delft. Rob agreed to take me out with him one day on a route and to answer all of my burning questions about the life of a bicycle postman in the Netherlands.
TNT primarily uses bicycles to distribute mail on the local level (about 80% by bicycle, 15% by motorized scooter, and 5% by car). It depends on the distance traveled to which type of vehicle is used. Small distribution centers are arranged throughout the country to facilitate delivery by bicycle. These may be larger buildings or strategically placed locked trailers full of mail. The bicycles travel well under 10 kilometers (6 miles) on their daily rounds. For Rob, his day starts by pedaling to the main distribution center in Delft where he picks up presorted bags of mail to load into his bicycle. Rob works 20 hours a week as a postman and spends about half the time outside on his bicycle delivering mail. The other time is spend sorting and preparing for deliveries. Rob chose a day in which he was only going to do mail delivery so I could see the ins and outs of what goes on.
We began the day at the distribution center with our bikes ready to go. TNT has a large covered bicycle and scooter parking area for the many vehicles that are used. At the loading dock entrance of the building I was greeted by the fastest opening air solenoid powered door that I have ever encountered. I then got a brief look at the sorting room where many people were filling the thousands of bins full of the day's mail. While we waited for Rob's mail bags to be prepared I spoke with the Delft delivery team coach who provided me with an overview of how bicycles are utilized by TNT. He even mentioned that TNT was even looking into custom designed cargo bikes for mail delivery. Before I knew it, Rob's mail was ready and we headed out to the bicycle to load up.
My first questions for Rob were about his bicycle. I was very curious to see whether he used a cargo bicycle and what types of carrying devices he used. It turns out that TNT does not provide a bicycle for the mail carriers. Rob has been through three bicycles in the past ten years. The first of which were normal secondhand Dutch bicycles. His current bicycle which he has been riding for seven years now was bought new and is a heavier duty bicycle with heavy gage spokes and a double top tube reinforced frame. TNT does work out deals for their bicycle carriers so they can purchase bicycles and get a tax break on the cost. Rob took advantage of this when he purchased this bicycle. The bicycle postmen typically carry two bags on the rear rack rated for a total of 40 kilos (88 lbs) of carry capacity. These bags are designed for TNT, hold the standard mail bag inside, and are used on other vehicles such as the walking pushcarts and scooters. The bags are waterproof, bright orange, and have reflective silver color as well. Rob's tells me that the colors are simply the logo colors of TNT and not designed specifically for safety except for the small strips of reflective material. The bags mount to the standard rear rack which has been reinforced with TNT's rack guards. These prevent the bags and the bikes from harming each other. This is all the equipment that most postmen use to carry post by bike, although Rob has a custom rubber band tie down on the top of his rear rack to attach extras and he has had a front rack in the past when he was required to deliver larger packages.
The Netherlands is not known for its amazing climate and the postal carriers have to deal with all types of weather. TNT provides several pieces of gear to help keep warm in the cold and dry in the rain. Rob's coat is a warm winter weather coat, full of pockets for carrying odd pieces of mail, has some reflective material, and the lining can be detached as a warmer weather jacket. He also carries a small messenger style waterproof bag that he uses to carry his rain gear. The messenger bag is small and the size discourages mail carriers from carrying large amounts of post on their backs instead in the bike panniers. Rob doesn't like the messenger bag and typically doesn't use it because it always falls off his shoulder when he leans forward to put mail in a mail slot. He does use the rain gear though, even though the pants hardly keep the rain out. The pants have a flap of sorts that is supposed to keep the rain off your feet, but he typically has to wear a boot like shoe to keep his feet somewhat dry. Rob doesn't mind being outside on a daily basis in the cold weather but when it is combined with the rain and the North Sea winds he'd rather be inside sipping a warm cup of coffee. He says it's no use in waiting the rain out because you may have to wait around all day and he usually never checks the weather reports before he goes out for delivery.
When asked if the many bicycle paths and lanes are advantageous for his profession, Rob said that many times the bicycle routes are simply the quickest way to get from one place to another and that the cars have to typically go a more roundabout way. He doesn't really think about the safety that the paths may provide and couldn't really think of any serious accidents that any of his fellow postman have had on bicycles while working. He did recall when he slipped up in the snow once in the past 10 years when he was going too fast. The weight of the mail gave him enough momentum to have a nice long slide. He has to share some roads with cars but these roads typically have very little traffic and Rob doesn't feel any need to wear an "uncomfortable" helmet. On really rare occasions in the winter, he may have to deliver at night when lights are needed and he prefers his dynamo powered lights over any battery, rechargeable or not, powered ones because it never creates any toxic waste.

Along with being a very safe job, Rob believes that bicycling for a living keeps him in shape. He doesn't feel as if bicycling riding is a very fatiguing or laborious, except maybe in heavy winds, but carrying large bundles of post in his arms wears him out some days. He even commented that you can tell that the scooter drivers tend to be plumper than the bicycle postman. The Dutch eat more carbs (lots of bread) than any American but don't have an obesity problem like we do, maybe the bicycle contributes to that...
The safe environment may also be attributed to the abundance of traffic rules and regulations of which bicycles are supposed to also obey. Postmen spend much of their time bicycling on sidewalks, which is illegal for regular cyclists, but it is tacitly accepted by the authorities. He also runs some of the more worthless stop lights on occasion that don't seem to serve any function. This seems universal for bicyclists in all countries.

After a fun morning of bicycling around Delft's neighborhoods, watching ecstatic dogs jump for the mail, and dodging cats' claws slashing from the mail slot, Rob took me to visit one of his co-workers, Joke Weekhout, that uses a new bicycle trailer that converts to a walking cart specifically designed for TNT. Three standard postal panniers mount to the trailer. It can be connected to a ball hitch on the seat post of a bicycle for longer distances and can be detached and converted to a walking push cart. A third wheel with foot brake flips down for stability when walking. This was a perfect example of a really well designed trailer and it allows the postman to carry at least 60 kilos (132 lb) of mail without having to return to the distribution centers. The trailers can even be attached to scooters and mopeds for longer travel distance. These trailers also offer a bit more mobility than a large tricycle or cargo bicycle. Check out the Dutch design company, Flex, for more great designs for mail carriers.
Seeing these great designs and the fact that mail can easy be delivered by human power all of the Netherlands makes me wonder why the mail carriers in the states drive around our neighborhoods. There are many densely populated areas in the U.S. that could take advantage of the cost savings, environmental benefits, and the health benefits by delivering mail by bicycle. I am glad TNT and DHL are utilizing this sustainable way of transporting goods and mail. With that in mind, I'd like to think Rob and TNT Post for giving me their time and letting me get a glimpse of their lives and profession.