The car is still the king (and expensive)

An article in Knack caused me some frowning. Some quotes…

‘The general impression is that problems caused by personal mobility -e.g. pollution and traffic jams- will be solved by governments or car brands, not by change in our individual habits.’

‘Measurements to discourage car possession and car use or discussions to make car use a lot more expansive are welcomed negatively.’

‘The consumer aspects that the advantages of cars (ease of use, flexibility and reliability) will be respected and that the government engages an efficient and pragmatic mobility policy.’

Ok, I might be a stupid biker, but to start with: it is each individual who has a choice and I see a lot of alternatives for car use in most of the cases around me. Just get honest with yourself instead of passing the hot potato to someone else…

 

Slim your bike

I’m convinced that the future of housing is compact and city-based. It’s not always so easy to combine this idea with my other conviction that the future of transport is peddle based.

Small inventions like the Flipcrown can made things possible… The Flipcrown slims a standard bike to a width of just 10cm! This makes it easy to stall in tight spaces of even hang it on walls…

 

Tesla

I’ve been looking at the Tesla videos during the last couple of days. I must admit I’m impressed by the design, the technology (the battery swap!), the safety and the modern day i-approach of a car. But I also think: okay it’s probably the best electric car in the world, but it’s still a car. It still has 4 wheels and takes some square meters to get it stalled, it will most of the time transport 1 or 2 people, it will also cause traffic jams or accidents, it still uses (hopefully green) energy and will keep users attached to their old, non self-sufficient, unhealthy way of transport.

Step I: Do what we can

There’s often criticism, e.g. the column of Jean-Marie De Decker in Knack,  concerning the environmental effect of eating meat and burning oil derivatives. Despite all the scientific proof, in my opinion we must do what we can easily do as individuals.

We’re really not gonna die eating meat only once a week. Instead, make that ones a week event a thru feast by eating the best meat available instead of the cheap, mass produced clutter you otherwise would eat all week long.

The same with the transport modes. Looking for alternative and eco-friendly transport modes really will not harm you. Instead, you could notice that e.g. on public transport you’ll find time to read or think and by using a bike you burn calories and get a better overall shape.

A small step, right there between everyones ears could make a huge difference…  That is, at least in my head…

Cycle Marketing

This is a particular type of marketing I strongly believe in: show on billboards in a positive vibe what is possible with peddle power. I first saw it in Copenhagen, these posters saying something like: hi my name is X, I’m a X, I’m X years old and and cycle X km to work every day. The other day I saw a similar example in Antwerp saying: ‘From now on I’ll use my bike to get to school. And you?’

 

 

Little fun in an Apple Store

Ok, it’s a bit childish. But I couldn’t let go the chance of displaying my own business website on the new iMac 5K. Now I know for sure that my site is more or less 5K ready. Whew…

Snow Tunnel

Riding bikes through a self made snow tunnel? Huge fun!

The story behind the story is another tale. While clearing snow on a car parking at Wellington Station, the contributors of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority blocked a bike path. The result? A giant pile of snow. To get through, bikers had to dug there own passage. Huge fun! But logic?

20 Reasons to love cycling

Just came across these very sensible things about cycling…

New Parking System

The city of Antwerp is putting to service a new parking system. An investment of 3 000 000 EUR over the next 10 years will help motorists to get into town and park their car as easy as possible. For me this is a double anachronism. As a city you need systems to keep motorists out of city centers and if you want a system, why invest in programmable road signs when you have apps on smartphones also getting the job done?

 

54 000 EUR Speeding Ticket

Finish inhabitant Reima Kuisla received a very unpleasantly surprise: a 54 000 EUR penalty for driving 23 km/h to fast. The enormity of the fine is possible because of the Finnish law that uses the yearly income to define the penalty for traffic violations. In this case it was 1/120th of the 6 500 000 EUR Mr. Kuisla earns every dozen months. Sounds like a fair system to me. Traffic fines may hurt equal to everyone. Stick to the road traffic rules is a cheeky, but cheap advise…