BIKES vs CARS

Now this is a very, very important topic. How many more cars can this planet actually take? BIKES vs CARS is a film by Fredrik Gertten that will have its première showing on the 6th of March here in Sweden. (On the Folkets bio cinemas, in case you want to know.)

Watching the trailer both made us sad and gave us hope. Learning how the car industry destroyed public transport in Los Angeles, hearing Toronto's mayor Rob Ford explaining that roads aren't made for bicycles and if you ride your bicycles in the streets you will get hurt or die and that that is your own fault... But also learning that 40% of all commuters in Copenhagen do it by bike (40%!), seeing people protesting against the removal of bike lanes in Toronto...

In an ideal world (as we see it) this film wouldn't have had to be made at all, but seeing as things are as they are... This is a film that we will definitely go and see.

You can see the trailer here. And if you want to read more about Rob Ford and his war on bicycles (at least bike lanes), you can do it here.

We usually end with "Ride safe!" but today we end with a quote from the film:

"This is not a war. It's a city. We should live together in peace"

Ups and downs

Today we were shouted at, and probably insulted (we didn't really bother to stay and listen to it), just because one of us told a pedestrian that it wasn't a good idea to walk in the bike lane. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but weren't that surprised. The guy was in his late 20s, scruffily clad in a dirty jacket and sneakers, eating a cheap takeaway sandwich. We rang our bicycle bells, he kind of half-turned around but didn't move so we all had to sweep around him, to avoid hitting him. After the last one of us had told him that it really wasn't a good idea to walk in the bike lane he started shouting at us. Some people are just so rude.

But then, on our way home, we came across this sign from the City of Gothenburg

At least someone likes us bicyclists! What the sign says is:

AND THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE DONE (with the last "O" being the hole in the sign)

At the bicycle crossing Redbergsvägen street - Bauersgatan street we have adjusted the traffic signal so that you and all other bicyclists have fifty per cent shorter waiting time. For our task is to make all the city's passages welcoming enough to give you a reason to choose the bicycle more often.

If you are curious about all the bicycle efforts we have made the last year you will visit us at förlivochrörelse.se

Signed by the Traffic department at the City of Gothenburg

Good one! Thanks!

Örgryte and Gothenburg

At first today we just wanted to write about a new old bicycle club here in Gothenburg. We read about them in the newspaper today, and we say "new" because they started their activities just last year and we say "old" because the club was originally founded in 1913. Wow! That's a long history! The club is Örgryte Velocipedklubb, and you can read about them here. We noticed one thing, however. Örgryte is really close to where some of our club members (including yours truly) live, and we have to say one thing about their kits: They're really good looking

and quite similar to

Quite the coincidence!

But then, just an hour later we stumbled across something in our facebook feed. Yesterday the chairwoman of the Swedish parliament's Traffic committee, politician Karin Svensson Smith, and emeritus professor at the Department of Technology and Society at the Faculty of Engineering, LTH, at the University of Lund Christer Hydén had a discussion article published in the newspaper Göteborgsposten. The article didn't really say anything very provocative, you can read it here (Sori! Swedish only! But there's of course google translate...). They simply said that it would be good if bicyclists could ride their bikes in the car lanes, that more and more people are riding bikes today and that riding bikes is good, for a lot of reasons. There's really nothing wrong with that, is there? The most provocative part was maybe that they thought that bicyclists should be able to ride their bikes in the car lanes, but... Well, people do that already.

However, the newspaper's feature editor Malin Lernfelt seems to have went through the roof over this. We can honestly say that we don't like Malin Lernfelt. (Or rather we don't like her opinions. Maybe she's really nice if you know her personally, but we don't.) She hates new architecture. She's super conservative - she makes the Old Testament feel like rather progressive reading compared with some of the things she writes. And a couple of years ago she was all about home language teaching, because apparently she is married to a Finnish man and she wanted her children to learn Finnish in school. Except for the fact that the whole thing smelled of personal gain that's cool and all - usually it is easier to learn other languages if you have good knowledge of your own language, the language that is spoken in your home. She wrote a couple of articles about it, but then she went on national radio as a sort of spokeswoman for this and talked about "us", as in "we who have Finnish roots". That sent some of us through the roof. Some of the members of Ensliga Bergens cykelklubb have Finnish roots, but you don't Malin Lernfelt! You might be married to a Finnish man but that does not make you Finnish. You are not a spokeswoman for "us"!

Anyway, the title of Malin Lernfelt's reply was "Should the mamils be allowed to destroy the city?" and that kind of says it all. You can read it here, but take heed - if you like bicycles and riding bikes reading it might send you through the roof! She wrote that the article was "totally detached", put everyone who rides a bicycle tantamount to mamils, raged over the "aggressive anti-car politics", stated that everyone can't or doesn't want to ride their bikes several tens of kilometres dressed in lycra to work and then sit at their workplaces sweating and concluded that the best solution to all traffic related problems was to tell the bicyclists... sorry, the mamils, to slow down. Oh. My. God.

We guess that there's really no use in arguing with her, she seems... No, let's not go into that. We do have two questions, though:

1. How, exactly, are mamils destroying the city? Are they rubbing the city to pieces with their wheels? Are they secretly sneaking around in the night, hacking away pieces of the city? And if she means "destroying" figuratively, that it's more about the people who live in the city, then aren't mamils included, if they live in the city too?

2. Young mothers with child's seats on their bicycles who are leaving their children at the daycare centre on their way to work, old men who go shopping with a plastic bag hanging from the handlebars, children who ride their bikes to school... What about them? Why doesn't she mention them? Or are they really included in the mamils? Most of us, in Ensliga Bergens cykelklubb bicycling club don't wear lycra when we ride to work or school and we avoid sweating too much by taking our time. And of course it happens, we get late or something happens on the way there, but hey, is that really so bad? There are showers and washbasins (and washing machines) and you can bring along an extra shirt.

Calm down. Try riding your bike in the city to see what it's really like before you state how it is. And ride safe.

Wintertime riding (Winter's edge)

In wintertime we - most of us - ride our bikes less. This video wants to change that. Does it succeed? Well... judge for yourselves. Watch it here! (It's only 2:15 long.)

And as food for thought: Isn't it interesting how many directors, photographers and other people involved with images seem to prefer fixies? We suppose it's because the photogenicness of them. With as much as possible removed from the bikes, they become cleaner and as a consequence more attractive. At least, that's our theory.

Ride safe!

Been there, done that

A couple of days ago I spotted this bike. At first it looked like a pretty regular everyday bike, repainted, some new components, no luggage carrier... Upon closer inspection the shifter cable was mounted really weird - along the top tube instead of along the down tube (I guess it works, though), the paint was chipped and there were rust spots everywhere... and there was this gash in the seat stay.

Now I have been there. When I renovated Marisol I decided to saw off the welded lock, and I managed to saw a gash into the seat stay in the process. I was saved later on, fortunately. This gash, on this bike, might be less dangerous than the one I had on Marisol and I still used that bike. So maybe I shouldn't say anything. But you, bike owner, whoever you are... Be careful!

Ride safe, all of you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Or, as we say in Finland: Hyvää Ystävänpäivää, which translates to "Good Friends' Day". Traditionally a day when you tell your friends and your family that you appreciate them. That's all changing now... And we're in a romantic mode today so here you go:

(We borrowed this picture from Redbubble. Hope that's OK!)

Ride safe!

Unnamed - Peugeot Aubisque (1987-1989)

Some time ago I found a Peugeot Aubisque standing in a backyard.

(This is not the Peugeot Aubisque I found. This looks like a really happy example! I borrowed the picture from Australian Cycling Forums. I hope that's OK!)

It was exposed to the weather, wind and snow, and it missed handlebars, saddle, derailleurs, chain and brakes. The wheels were bent, with broken spokes and the tires were flat. It looked really sad. But I thought that it was a shame that it should just stand there and become a wreck, since the frame was really nice. It was too big for me but I still decided to save it - I took it home and reported to the lost property office at the police that I had found it, and that I was keeping it in my place. A few days later I got a letter from the police, saying that they had registered the bike. Three months later - yesterday - I got another letter from the police, saying that no one had claimed it and now it's mine.

Aubisque is one of the great hills that occur in Tour de France (some years).

 I just love the 80's colour scheme!

The wheels were in such a bad state that they were unusable, but I have cleaned the frame + fork up and I still have the chainset, pedals and the saddle post. Stupidly enough I misplaced the headset, the bottom bracket and the crankset when I cleaned it up... New parts are available here, for about US$80 + shipping. So here's what's going to happen:

In some time I am going to order the parts, and then I will sell the bike for at least €71 (+ shipping). I will try to sell it at one of the bicycle second-hand markets here in Gothenburg, and there I will hopefully also have a special surprise... However, if you want to buy this frame + fork, the chainset, pedals and the saddle post now, as it is, before I have ordered the new parts that's possible too. Just give me a decent offer and you can have it.

The frame would, by my estimation, fit someone who is about 185 cm or taller. When I stood astraddle over it I had to stand on my toes to reach the ground, and I am 178 cm tall. If you're into fixies and are thinking about converting it, here's some inspiration.

Ride safe!

Exterminate the cars!

Some time ago I took a bike ride. Not far from home, along a huge motorway, someone creative had transformed an electrical enclosure to a matchbox. This particular matchbox - Solstickan

(We borrowed this image from Swedish Match. Hope that's OK!)

really is a Swedish classic. It's probably the most common and most widely known matchbox in Sweden, and parts of the profit made by the sales of it goes to the Solstickan charity foundation, which sponsors science and research in child diseases. Here, however...

the text reads "Sun please - Exterminate the cars". Have you heard about the Gothenburg (sense of) humour? No? Lucky you... It's a special form of humour, based on ambiguity of words and playing with that. More often than not the jokes are pretty far-fetched and simply not that funny. In this case "Plåna ut bilarna" which means "Exterminate the cars" is a play with the word "plån", which is the Swedish word for "striking surface (on a matchbox)".

Whatever. It's pretty well done, anyway. And about the message I really couldn't have agreed more. About ten minutes later all hell broke loose.

Not my most pleasant bicycle ride. But not that bad after all, because somehow just riding my bike makes me happy.

Ride safe!

Genius(es) of the day

I was on my way in to the town centre, riding on the bike lane. Now this bike lane is pretty good, almost one kilometre long, separated from the street/car lane and clearly marked so that pedestrians are aware of what is it and where it is. That's cool. But after a couple of hundred metres I spot a bicyclist on the other side of the street, on the car lane. Deliberately choosing not to use the bike lane. Some bicyclists do that, for many reasons. They are mostly (male) road cyclists and they want to "train on interaction with other vehicles", they think that the bike lanes are in a poor condition, that it is too troublesome to have to share the lane with slower bicyclists or whatever. I think it's pretty stupid, especially in the cities. If more people would use the bike lanes the city would construct more, right?

Anyways, this bicyclist is not a road bicyclist, she's riding an old "standard" lady's bicycle with panniers, sitting straight up. When she reaches the end of the street, where I have to ride out on the street and ride among the cars, buses and other motor vehicles, she chooses instead to ride up on the pavement. Among pedestrians, forcing them to move out of her way... Dude, what the hell?! It's no wonder that some people get angry at bicyclists when some of us act completely retarded.

However, I couldn't keep an eye on her all the way. There are many pedestrians crossing the bike lane without keeping an eye out for bicyclists, despite the fact that it is clearly marked. They simply walk out on the lane. Luckily, I am aware of it, I have a bicycle bell to make them aware that I am there and most people do move out of the way when they hear it. So when these two guys are on their way out on the bike lane I use the bell.

"Oh. So we are riding bikes in the winter, are we?" one of the guys says angrily when I pass him. Now, how am I supposed to answer that?

A. "No, I sail boats in the winter."
B. "No, I am an optical illusion. Actually I don't even exist."
C. "What?! Is it winter?! Why haven't anyone told me that?!"

Some people...

(Picture borrowed from Chikashi Miyamoto. Hope that's OK!)

These bells come in silver too, and they are really great. This is my bicycle bell.

Obstacles, part 5

It's not that it happens at all. We understand, sometimes you are a little bit stressed, you just want to get your job done, and quickly too. Or you just weren't thinking. It's not that.

It's the pattern. Bicyclists have just as much right to their bike lanes, as pedestrians to the pavement and motorists to the roads. (Or car lanes, if you will.) Yet, the bike lanes are routinely blocked, by snow banks, parked lorries, work going on, motorists parking their cars on the lanes and so on.

What would happen if a bicycle blocked the road like this? What would happen if a bicyclist left their bike in the middle of the road, saying "Oh, I'll be done in a little while and then I'll move the bike. I can't park my bike in the middle of the bike lane, can I?"

The photos below were taken during a 20 minute bike ride through Gothenburg. Tell us there's not a pattern here.

 

Great job, mate! Now it's hard to use two of the cycle stands!
 

 Nice parking, dude! You managed to block the bike lane completely. Oh, and thanks for the packed snow, city of Gothenburg!

Yes, of course we see that you're moving. But why is it OK for you to block the bike lane completely? Give us a good reason why and we won't nag about it.

To all the bicyclists out there: Ride safe!

Bicycle wins!

To be honest, we don't like cars. Or rather, cars really bore us. Cars are an outdated, ecologically harmful, uneconomic and mostly downright stupid means of transport. Most times they are not beautiful to look at and car parks are even worse - in fact, pretty much any other use of a space is better and more beautiful than a car park. Cars also trap people inside them, where they communicate with rude gestures and shouting through opened windows. Cars somehow make people aggressive, scared and dangerous, especially for bicyclists. (Check out the links in our previous post.)

Despite this, sometimes we watch the car programme Top Gear. Why? Well, usually because there's not much else on TV when we eat in front of it. Top Gear is... crap. Really. They obsess over super expensive cars, anchorman Jeremy Clarkson acts like he is compensating and has the political views of a dinosaur with racist and homophobic opinions, they obsessively slur over bicycles, bicyclists and bicycling... The programme smells of male chauvinism and testosterone.

Anyway, not too long ago we saw the programme (series 10, episode 5) where the episode called "London Race" was - a race between car, bicycle, boat and public transport. The object was to travel from Kew, across London City, to London City Airport - a distance of about 27 kilometres - by bicycle, car, public transport or by boat. And we could note right here that the boat was a £52.000 racing boat, so that's really not an option for most people.

So what was the result of the race? The bicycle came first. Then came the boat, then public transport and the car came last. Bicycle: It doesn't cost you anything, you get exercise (maybe not so much fresh air when you ride through central London, though), you save time and you save the environment. Car: It costs a lot to have and to drive a car, you don't get any exercise, you lose time and you destroy the environment. Public transport is in the middle: It costs a bit, you get some exercise and you get to your destination in time if everything works. The real downside with public transport, the way we see it, is having to crowd with other people. (We're Nordic - we're not into that!) The upside is that while public transport also cause exhaust, it is less per person since you kind of "share it" with other people.

And all this, is also why we ride.

(Is this what you want the world to look like?)

(When public transport looks like this it is a very decent way of getting around. Metro do Porto, Portugal. Photo by Maria João Ruiz (who is not a member of Ensliga Bergens cykelklubb).)

Further reading on related subject:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2014/jan/13/jeremy-clarkson-cyclists-taking-the-lane

Ride safe, all of you!