Two Mornings
Two Mornings from Sierra Club National on Vimeo.
Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Options
In her Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Options for Commuters, Shreya Dave at MIT analyzed the complete life cycles of various modes of transportation to compare their environmental impacts.
As you’d expect, human powered forms of transportation are much less polluting than those involving fossil fuel. One surprise in the report is that the differences between walking, conventional bicycling, and e-assist bicycling are negligible. From the conclusion:
The results reported in the previous section show the significant environmental as well as economic (in terms of energy purchased) benefit of using human-powered forms of transportation. According to this study, walking, conventional bicycling and electric bicycling are release exactly the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions. While an electric bicycle consumes more energy (both to produce and to operate) and releases the associated greenhouse gases, a conventional bicycle requires the operator to work harder and breathe more heavily. In effect, the impact of the electric bicycle is entirely negligible. All forms of personal transport are at least three times better than any other form of commuter transport.
Read the report →
[via Slate]
Bicycle Commuter Profile: Paulo
Name: Paulo
Location: Vicenza – Italy
Started bike commuting: 2008
Commute distance (one way): 14 km
Describe your commute: I bike from home to work through residential and light industrial areas, about 90% in the bike lanes. It’s flat and also quite fast.
Describe your bike and accessories: Electra Ticino, Shimano 7v, blue – aluminum frame. A couple of light rear bags and a basket on the front. I exchanged the original saddle for a black Brooks B17.
What bit of advice would you like to share with new bike commuters?: Stop waiting for things to happen – go out and make them happen.
[Visit our Bicycle Commuter Profiles page to add your profile to the collection. —ed.]
The Peak of Man’s Attainments
While quietly and effortlessly cruising along on our weekend errand run this morning, we agreed that there is no better, more pleasant, or more efficient way to move about on this planet than the bicycle. Then the following quote from Elizabeth West came to mind.
When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man’s convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man’s brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.
Did you know that a gallon of gasoline contains the equivalent of approximately 28,900 food calories? If a person could drink gasoline, they could ride approximately 722 miles on a gallon (assuming 40 calories per mile). Not bad for a vehicle that also provides so much (priceless) pure joy!
Two Porteur Racks, One User’s Experiences
Pass & Stow (L), Nitto (R)
[The following guest post was written and photographed by our friend, Mel Hughes. —ed.]
By Mel Hughes
Nitto Mark’s Rack + Nitto PlatRack
My new Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen has given me too many opportunities to experiment and try to decide what types of racks and bags would best suit my needs. In particular, the front Porteur type racks were very attractive to me. My first addition was a Nitto Mark’s Rack. I found the design attractive but a bit small for the kind of things I wanted to carry back and forth to work, so I added a Nitto PlatRack extension to the Mark’s Rack to increase its carrying capacity. Both are constructed and finished in the high standard we all expect of Nitto. They are like chromo jewelry.
Nitto Mark’s Rack + Nitto PlatRack
The Mark’s/PlatRack combo gives the owner a lot of flexibility. The extra-wide platform (16″ x 9″) is great for baskets, bags, and especially for Rivendell’s Sackville SlickerSack (though it makes maneuvering the bike in tight quarters a little cumbersome). The PlatRack can be removed quickly, leaving the Mark’s Rack in place for smaller, lighter loads or small bags like the Rivendell Sackville Trunksacks or Nigel Smythe Li’l Loafers. The Mark’s Rack can even be installed in the rear, if needed. The SlickerSack and PlatRack were designed for each other, but I would have to secure yet another bag on top to carry my laptop and office stuff. And I am still undecided about the odd shape of the PlatRack; I suspect that owning a SlickerSack would certainly improve my impressions.
Nitto Detail
Pass & Stow
I had admired the Pass & Stow rack that Alan has used on several different bikes. It was a more classical shape built on a bit heavier frame than the Nittos. I also found that there were at least two bag makers who had designed and produced bags specifically to fit the Pass & Stow (Freight Baggage and Swift). After consulting with Matt Feeney, who is Pass & Stow, I ordered one of the new three-piece racks in silver.
Pass & Stow
When I received the Pass & Stow, my first impression was of the industrial strength quality of the components. The platform of the Pass & Stow is 11″ wide x 12″ long, a more traditional rectangular shape with a raised rear package rail that extends the full width of the rack. This shape and dimension makes it easy to secure all manner of things on the rack. The right front support tube of the Pass & Stow is pre-drilled for dynamo wiring and the light mount has its own support tube designed to accept an M6 fastener. Both drop-outs have an extra set of mounting holes for fender mounting, if needed.
Pass & Stow Front View
In use, I found the Pass & Stow to be a real work horse. Strapping a Wald basket on it, using a cargo net to hold my helicopter helmet bag, or packing a Freight Baggage or Swift bag with clothes and “stuff”, it carried my things effortlessly. The lack of adjustable rods makes it an extremely rigid rack with few critical parts to fail or be lost. I am really taken with the overall utility and strength of this rack.
Pass & Stow Detail
If you decide to buy a rack like this, be prepared to wait a bit as you are dealing with a custom steelworker. Having said that, one of the great benefits of choosing a piece of equipment like the Pass & Stow is the pleasure of dealing directly with a craftsman like Matt Feeney. He was extremely helpful and patient with my questions and additions.
Making an A.N.T.
Ant Bike Mike Makes an Antbike from zak lee on Vimeo.
Zak Lee created this excellent piece showing Mike Flanigan of Alternative Needs Transportation making a custom bicycle from start to finish.
