Here is a roundup of several bike related news stories from the past week or so. Some are old but I found each one intriguing in its own way.
How bicycling will save the economy - As a student of economics* I find it interesting when someone makes a claim like that and then attempts to back it up with economic metrics. It's easy to agree with his assertion that not spending money on auto fuel/maintenance/insurance can be used in other ways in the local economy but the practicality of the idea of going car-less is limited in most suburban areas. I have been able to defer the cost of replacing my commuter car, our second car, but ultimately the convenience of having 2 cars will force
us to replace it rather than go to zero. In our area
the topography is not condusive to casual trips over 1 mile. Don't believe me? Check out my commute. His follow-up post is also interesting: Tearing down urban freeways to make room for a new bicycle economy
Daily Miler of the Week: Kris R. - Profile of a rider I know from work and his INSANE bike mileage: 13,000+ miles in 2010 alone. No, that's not a typo: he is up to 2503 already for 2011. Oh, and he also rode the 2009 Livestrong Challenge (100+ miles) on a fixie in a chicken suit. Those crazy Aussies! Here is a comparison: In 2010 my bike and car mileage totaled 8145, almost 5000 miles less.
Screwdriver powered vehicle EX - OK, it's not really a bicycle. It's more like an electric-driven trike since it has dual electric drills that power the rear wheel. I can't imagine that that position can be comfortable for any length of time. This coming from the guy that spends hours and hours sitting on a piece of plastic the size of a business envelope... }B^)
The EADS Airbike - This is totally cool even if the bike isn't all that attractive. Why is it cool? Because they essentially GREW the material instead of machining or molding the pieces. You gotta read it to understand it. This could revolutionize the manufacturing and design processes for many industries.
* I'm a math geek and I took some econ classes in college so that makes me a student of economics, right?