Art, Apps, UCLA & the Civic Bicycle Commuting (BiCiC) project

Art, Apps, UCLA & the Civic Bicycle Commuting (BiCiC) project. Bicycles Create Change.com 18th August 2021.
Image: Fabian Wagmister

I first came across this story while scouring the internet for community-focused, bike-related, arts-based projects. This project caught my eye as it was initiated by a group of senior UCLA academics and I like the innovative use of technology to get more people engaged with bicycle commuting. Projects like this are inspiring not only in the end product, (more people on bikes), but also in the process (engaging arts-based participation in new and creative ways) and in bringing together a range of people (professors, artists, riders, and community members) who are passionate about bikes, sustainability, transport, healthy communities to create a more positive future for all. Below is an article published earlier this year in Transfer Magazine explaining the project in detail.

I love the idea of senior academics and professors being passionate about biking. Here’s to (hoping for) more projects (and academics) like this! Enjoy! NG.

Art, Apps, UCLA & the Civic Bicycle Commuting (BiCiC) project. Bicycles Create Change.com 18th August 2021.
Image: Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

For many Los Angeles residents, the daily commute is frustrating. A project by three UCLA faculty members aims to change that — especially for those who ride to work on two wheels — by creating bicycle “flows” that produce real-time digital art exhibitions throughout the city.

One of the project’s goals is to make cycling to work feel as accessible and safe as other modes of travel, so the professors envision groups, or flows, of cyclists that would be organized by a smartphone app. The app would encourage reluctant or inexperienced cyclists to participate by pointing them toward those flows, suggest routes that are optimized for enjoyability and safety over efficiency or speed, and enable participants to share their experiences.

Those experiences, in the form of text, photos, videos and other creative submissions, would feed directly into digital murals throughout Los Angeles. The murals would be located in community spaces and transportation hubs around the city — including, for example, a large interactive display at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, adjacent to Chinatown — elevating biking to work to a collective creative experience.

“We envision the cooperative bike flows as a type of performative media artwork that is shared live with all of Los Angeles in public spaces and on the internet,” said Fabian Wagmister, the project’s principal investigator and the founding director of the UCLA Center for Research in Engineering, Media and Performance, known as UCLA REMAP.

“By inviting communities to think about bicycle riding as a way to express themselves in the urban landscape, we can strengthen commuters’ ownership of the system and offer a deeper level of engagement in the future of the city.”

The project, called Civic Bicycle Commuting, or CiBiC, is co-led by Jeff Burke, co-director of REMAP and a UCLA professor-in-residence of theater, and Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, a distinguished professor of urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

The project already is gaining some traction: In February, the initiative received $50,000 in funding from the Civic Innovation Challenge, which is funded by the National Science Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. CiBiC is now in contention for an additional grant of up to $1 million, which the researchers would use to create a prototype of the project.

CiBiC’s art-led approach makes it somewhat of an anomaly among most of the competitors in its category, “communities and mobility” — most of the other proposals have origins in the STEM fields and social sciences.

To ensure the project incorporates the diverse experiences and needs of Los Angeles commuters, the researchers are soliciting input from Los Angeles neighborhood groups. Loukaitou-Sideris said the team will especially seek participation from low-income residents of Chinatown, Solano Canyon, Dogtown and Lincoln Heights.

“We want to hear from community groups and residents and understand how we can create something that is tailored to their needs,” she said.

The researchers also are collaborating with Eli Akira Kaufman, executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, who said the project could demonstrate how transformative bicycle culture could be in Los Angeles if bicyclists could help create infrastructure that reflected their needs.

“Instead of allowing the built environment to dictate the culture of bicycling in Los Angeles, we need to uplift the culture of bicycling to make sure the built environment is defined by the social infrastructure and the people who use it,” he said.

Aggregated data from the app could also eventually be used to influence Los Angeles’ long-term infrastructure planning.

And Wagmister said the project stands to both reflect and amplify the city’s creative spirit: “We want to create an alternative transportation system in Los Angeles, one that values our collective creative capacity to transform the city for all.”

Image courtesy of Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. This article was sourced from Transfer Magazine and was originally posted on the UCLA Newsroom.

Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project

Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
Matt Root and his two cargo bike under 95cm ‘city experts’. Image: Radio Adelaide.

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Matt Root, an avid bike rider and dad of two toddlers present a session called ‘Going Dutch, cargo bikes for kids’ – and it was really great!

His presenation focused on what life on a biek and in the city is like from the point of view of his two young sons. Perspectives like child-centred research and having chilldren activitely participating and informing research and policy is a key step in better redesigning more liveable cities for all.

Matt’s project resonated particpatually strongly with me given the background my West African bicycles-for-education PhD has incorporating children’s geographies and including youths as coresearchers, and the work of Dr Gina Porter and the Child Mobility project.

So I was most intrested to hear what emerrged from the two young experts (Matt’s two sons, aged 2 and 4) while Dad (Matt)* rigged on-board GoPro cameras to capture all the fun and sense of adventure.

In this session, we heard what the pre-schoolers liked and disliked about our streets from their unique vantage point (see below).

From this vantage, Matt draws out aspects of what new ideas we can learn from these young experts.

Below are a few of those insights. All images by Matt Root.

  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
  • Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.

After Matt’s presentation, I went looking for more information about this and was happy to see Victoria Local Goverance Association has a Child Friendly Cities and Community focus.

Matt was also interviewed by Radio Adelaide about this project and why he and his wife chose a cargo bike to transport their young family.

*Matt Root is a co-owner of Flyt transport planning consultancy based in Perth and he is focused on the planning of safe and convenient bicycle infrastructure across the city. Between 2018-2020 Matt led the State Government’s planning for Perth’s Long Term Cycle Network to accommodate the city’s population in 2050.

See more of Matt on Twitter: @FlytPlan.

Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
Image: Matt Root

Urban95 Project

Here’s some more info about Urban95 project in their own words:

From the front box of a cargo bike, how do our streets and

built environment look and feel to a 2 & 4-year-old?

The Urban95 initiative asks this simple question to leaders, planners, and designers.

Urban95 design principals focus on family-friendly urban planning and those designs can help us active transport professions in our work.

The Urban95 project has at its heart a focus on children-friendly cities and urban development.

Urban95 interventions help cities increase positive interactions between caregivers, babies and toddlers; increase access to — and use of — the services and amenities families need; and reduce stresses on caregivers. They are organised into two categories of policies and services:

  1. Family-friendly urban planning and design, including the planning, design and regulation of a city’s space, land use, infrastructure and services
  2. Healthy Environments for children, including improving air quality and access to nature

The Urban95 background states that more than a billion children live in cities, and rapid urbanisation means that number is growing. 

Babies, toddlers and caregivers experience the city in unique ways. 

They need safe, healthy environments, where crucial services are easily accessible, frequent, warm, responsive interactions with loving adults are possible, and safe, a stimulating physical environment to play in and explore abound.

Urban planning for those under 95cms: Dutch Cargo bikes, kids and the Urban95 project. 30th July 2021.
The City at Eye Level for Kids (Ebook pg 54 & 55).

The City at Eye Level for Kids

From Urban95 comes The City at Eye Level which, as their website explains, develops and shares knowledge about how to make urban development work at human scale.

A collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s Urban95 initiative, this – The City at Eye Level for Kids – book contains over 100 contributions from across the world on work to improve cities for children and the people who care for them.

It shares practices, lessons, perspectives and insights from 30 different countries around the world, that will be useful to urban planners, architects, politicians, developers, entrepreneurs and advocates for children and families.

Drum & Ba(da)ss on the bike: Public DJ (and mobile crowd) on two-wheels

Drum & Ba(da)ss on the bike: Public DJ (and mobile crowd) on two-wheels. 26th July 2021.
Dom Whiting (YouTube) Drum & Bass On The Bike 7 – Birmingham

One of the things I love about doing this blog is I get to share what makes me happy.

Many things make me happy, for example:

  • Riding bikes.
  • Exploring the places we live and work.
  • Making new friends and building community.
  • Sharing smiles and positive vibes.
  • Rocking tunes.

Combining all these elements into one event and it’s a dang good time!

That is why I loooovvveee bike raves!

If you don’t know what a bike rave is, check out the Melburn Pink Flamingo Bike Rave (2018) – which I attended in full costume while riding our BioBike Art Bike (a massive hit!) – and the Melbourne GOLD! Bike Rave (2019).

While COVID keeps many of us restricted, I’ve been getting my bike rave-ish fix from Dom Whiting’s Youtube channel Drum & Bass on the bike.

Drum & Ba(da)ss on the bike: Public DJ (and mobile crowd) on two-wheels. 26th July 2021.
Dom Whiting YouTube

Dom is a (former) mechanic and (go)karter who lives in the UK.

Five months ago, Dom posted his first Drum & Bass on the bike video.

Dom has a DJ deck set up over the handlebars of his bike, then he turns on his speakers, streams his live set (including him talking on a mic), and cruises around his local surroundings.

He has ridden Cambridge, Uxbridge, Manchester, Marlos, Windsor, Cardiff, Brighton, and several other English cities.

And each time, he is being joined by more and more people for the party ride-along.

Events like this make me happy.

Drum & Ba(da)ss on the bike: Public DJ (and mobile crowd) on two-wheels. 26th July 2021.
*BOILER ROOM ON BIKES* Drum & Bass On The Bike 10 – LONDON CENTRAL

In a world that is increasingly divisive and exclusionary, having free, public events that people of all ages and stages can enjoy is critical.

While I acknowledge initiatives like this are not perfect and come with issues, I also appreciate the effort and work that goes into making these rides happen.

I love the grassroots, quasi-critical mass, flash mob, bicycle-focused, positive vibe of Dom’s rides.

Kids, families, dogs, and all kinds of people going for a ride together.

Yup – big smiles.

One of my favs is his start of the London Hyde Park Special.

This is one of his earlier ones. Just Dom…. going for a cruise.

I like the gentle lead-in (see video above) where he starts out by himself. He takes his time setting up his gear, he has a chat to a passer-by and then pushes off for an ‘off-the cuff’ roll around London.

A little further on, he chats to people in nearby cars while they are all waiting for the lights – such a contrast to other urban riders we are used to seeing, like teams of well-coordinated, weekend MAMILS or the dangerous antics of Terry Barensten’s hotliners.

I love the whole premise and appreciate the effort Dom has put into his bike.

And while history has shown that popular community bike events that start out organically invariably morph and change as demands, numbers, and challenges change – regardless of what or how this project changes in(to) in the future… I am just happy that at least just now… Dom and his DJ bike are somewhere out there spreading the happy community vibes on two wheels.

Ride on!

Drum & Ba(da)ss on the bike: Public DJ (and mobile crowd) on two-wheels. 26th July 2021.
Drum & Bass On The Bike 11 – Cambridge

Riding the Indian Pacific Wheel Race for CycleAbility

Riding the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride for CycleAbility.   Bicycles Create Change.com. 4th July 2021.
Image: The Seattle Times

Celebrating diversity in bike ridership is a key theme for this blog. This blog actively promotes a fuller range of rider experiences, alternative bike set ups, and projects and events that are inclusive of more-than-the-mainstream-norm kinds of bike riding. Sadly, many of these initiatives do not receive adequate attention and often remain invisible and un(der)recognised. Some examples are:

So I was delighted this year to see rider diversity being represented in one of my favorite annual bike events, the Indian Pacific Wheel Race.

The IndyPac (or IPWR) is an epic, unassisted 5, 550kms adventure ride going from Fremantle to the Sydney Opera House that few attempt. It is the most prestigious bike touring race in Australia. I got especially interested in IndyPac 2017 when my dear friend Jackie Bernardi rode it (only one of seven females). That was also the year the event was cut short after the tragic death of rider Mike Hall.

Each year since, I’ve kept my eye on the IndyPac.

This year, the story of Ed Birt (Chief Operating Officer for The Disability Trust) caught my eye as he was riding to raise funds and awareness for their CycleAbility program. Below is an article about Ed’s IPWR participation, which I found via The Disability Trust news.

There were many aspects of Ed’s approach to the IPWR that stood out for me (balls in just attempting the event itself, but also supporting a good cause, positive awareness raising for greater diversity in ridership, and more) was the terminology shift from Indian Pacific Wheel Race to Indian Pacific Wheel Ride employed in communicating his involvement. I appreciated the subtle vocab shift to focus more on participation as opposed to competition.

Riding the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride for CycleAbility.   Bicycles Create Change.com. 4th July 2021.
Ed Birt and bike. Image: The Disability Trust

With tenacity, tailwinds and a passion for cycling Ed Birt, Chief Operating Officer of The Disability Trust, has successfully completed the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride, a solo unsupported, 5,500km ride ocean-to-ocean across Australia.

Ed, a keen cyclist who recently celebrated his 50th birthday decided to undertake the personal challenge whilst on annual leave and use the experience to raise money to purchase bicycles, tricycles, recumbent bikes and frames to support The Disability Trust’s new CycleAbility program and other existing programs such as Vacation Care and Getaway Saturday.

The course does not follow the most direct route from coast to coast making it a truly memorable adventure through deserts, wine districts, rolling hills, winding coastal roads and tough alpine regions riding through the heart of Australia’s major cities. Starting at Freemantle Lighthouse at 6.22am on Saturday 20 March 2021, nine riders dipped their wheel in the Indian Ocean with the goal of being able to do the same in the Pacific Ocean once reaching Sydney.

After 23 days on the road Ed arrived at the steps of the Sydney Opera House on the 11th of April, cheered on by family, friends and supporters. He was the second rider to complete the challenge with only four completing the race with other participants retiring due to injury or bike issues.

“It’s just empowering to get from A to B under your own steam,” Mr Birt said. “It’s a big country and lots can happen, but I was pretty well-prepared. The bike performed really well,” Mr Birt said.

The highlight for Ed, as well as enjoying the beautiful countryside he travelled through, was the support and generosity of the people he met along the way. Avid “dot watchers”, people tracking the riders online, will often join the cyclists on their own bikes as they head through their towns, providing riders with refreshments or a place to rest.

“There were people who put me up in their homes, or truck drivers who stopped and made me a peanut butter and banana sandwich in the middle of the desert,” Mr Birt said.

Fundraising has surpassed his goal of $10,000 and is over $11,000 with The Figtree Lions Club and Resin Brewing also set to bolster the fundraising with charity events.

The CycleAbility program will be supporting independence, fitness and social inclusion through the use of bicycles as active transport. The program will provide skills, knowledge and safety in using bicycles and Wollongong’s cycling infrastructure.

The empowering CycleAbility program will be facilitated through The Disability Trust’s Sport and Recreation team and will run on the last Saturday of every month commencing 29 May 2021. The program will be run from The Disability Trust’s head office car park in Wollongong (5 Edney Lane Spring Hill) with a focus on

  • Fun
  • Skills development
  • Safety while riding
  • Bicycle maintenance and repair and
  • Getting to know the Wollongong Cycle network

100% of funds raised will go towards purchase of equipment for CycleAbility and other The Disability Trust programs.

Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling

Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.

Leo Rodgers is a man who loves to ride his bike.

Leo lives with his family in Tampa Bay (USA) and has become a well-known figure in the community bike scene as a hero for diversity and inclusion after having his left leg amputated following a motorbike accident 14 years ago.

After learning to walk again, he started riding a bike to get around. This soon became an integral part of his identity, mobility and independence.

Leo started getting involved in community bike rides (like critical mass and weekly social night events), then single speeds and fixies and this lead to racing track cycling – and then all kinds of riding.

What I love about Leo and his story is his how positive and relatable he is – he just loves riding his bike.

There is much to learn from Leo’s story about overcoming adversity, being open to trying new things, being bold and brave, perseverance, being true to yourself, leading through example, surrounding yourself with good people, and the profound ways bicycles can change people, break down barriers and transform lives.

I’ve been following Leo for a few years now. I dig his genuine passion for riding all types of bikes, being connected with community and how he stoked he gets sharing his passion with others.

It is just an added bonus that he has mad bike handling skills – endurance, skills, balance, speed, epic track standing prowess and the rest!

You can find heaps of online content about Leo – he’s been in news reports, blogs, articles, cycling documentaries and lots of YouTube videos (just type his name into the internet to see!) if you want to find out more about his story and adventures.

For background: His local paper the Tampa Bay Times published an article by Chris O’Donnell that chronicles his childhood and entry into the cycling world with a level of detail I had not see elsewhere.

On the bike: Peter Flax did a great article for Bicycling on Leo in May 2020 in which they go for a ride and talk about Leo’s cycling history, approach to riding (and life), successes and personal style to come through. (It is well worth the read.) Here’s a little of what Peter wrote about Leo’s bike affiliations

Leo isn’t in a bike tribe—he’s in all of them. He likes to go out at night in khaki shorts and smash it with a fixie crew and he likes to do hard paceline training rides with the local spandex roadies and he likes to go out for gravel epics with dudes who consume a lot of CBD chewies. He does alley cats and pub crawls and off-road centuries. He noodles around the waterfront on a tall bike he helped fabricate.

Leo’s Instagram @slimone1000 show the range of events he is involved in and the types of bikes he rides: track cycling, fixi, tandem, urban commute, street/park, mountain-biking, bike packing, cruising with critical mass, his beloved blue and pink repainted singlespeed bombora, bike riding adventures, events, social meet ups, and good times with friends.

His Instagram motto is: ‘overcoming adversity through cycling’.

As Peter writes: ‘Without explicitly trying, Leo makes a powerful statement every time he pedals through his community.’

What an inspiration for his kids, for the biking community, and for us all.

  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.
  • Leo Rodgers: An inspiration for cycling. Bicycles Create Change.com. 14th June 2021.

All images are stills from Leo Rodgers is Unstoppable by Bicycling unless otherwise attributed.

Utrecht train station: World’s largest bicycle park

A big thanks to long time reader Betty for recommending this story. Much appreciated Betty! Ride On! NG.

Previously, I posted on projects that support mass urban bike riding infrastructure, such as the automated ECOCycle bike storage facilities located at train stations in Japan (which has a retrieval time of 13 seconds!).

Everyone knows the Netherlands are trailblazers when it comes to bike riding.

Utrecht Central Train Station is a model example of how city planning and design can prioritise and integrate urban biking riding, walking and transportation.

This three-story bicycle park can store 12,656 bikes.

If you have not seen this building before – you need to check it out – it is AMAZING!

(*Apologies for the white space below. It is a tech gremlin I can’t debug!*)

Completed in 2019, this train station is now the world’s largest underground bicycle parking garage, overtaking Tokyo’s 9,000 former largest bike storage capacity.

Utrecht is a medieval city and this building is part of a forward-thinking approach to reducing congestion and pollution, promoting bike riding and making the city more sustainable.

A key feature is the ‘flow of bike riders’ – so you can ride your bike into and around the inside of the building. This means you can ride into the building, park your bike and be on a train in 5 mins or less.

Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.

Users ride-into and around the actual building from the street for direct access to bike storage.

The building also has a repair service and bicycle hire outlet.

A digital system guides cyclists to parking spots, to the quickest access to the train platforms, the main terminal building and public square. Paths are clearly signed and thoroughfare is managed to maximise ride-ability (‘flow’), ease, and safety for all users.

As well as ‘normal bike’ storage (which make up the bulk), there are special bays for modified bikes like Christianas, bikes with trailers or modifications and large cargo bikes.

The building is a landmark attraction in itself and is beautifully designed by Ector Hoogstad Archeitecten, who won an award for the design. There are lots of glass walls, skylights and staircases which maximise natural light inside the building.

I’m can’t wait to see more bike-centred buildings like these in the future!

  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.
  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.
  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.
  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.
  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.
  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.
  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.
  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.
  • Utrecht train station: World's largest bicycle park. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th June 2021.

All images and parts of this content sourced from De Zeen.com.

@bikeart.gallery makes me happy

@bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
Image: @biciman_

I am recovering from a 3-week intensive marking bender.

My eyes are itchy, my lower back aches and my approachablity is incendiary.

A tight uni turnaround to mark 28 x 6,000-word research reports and 28 x 2,000-word workplace assessments (both Masters level and worth 80% of the total course!) PLUS 21 x 3,300-word undergrad mixed-method research reports (worth 50%). Epic!

I am grateful for the work. Like many others, I’ve had no uni teaching or lecturing for Trimeter 1 due to university COVID response measures. No sessional work, only marking. Thank goodness for my educational consultancy. Tough times.

The students worked hard and so did I. There’s a lot riding on these assessments – and I take the job seriously. I’m not the kind of academic who breezes over assessments and gives 3 comments like: good or need more work here and interesting point– what the hell kind of feedback is that? So unhelpful! I am NOT that kind of marker – I hate that shit! So, I put in the work and gave each assessment my full attention.

And now….I am tired.

When I feel like this, I need bike art.

It ALWAYS makes me feel better.

Last time I felt like this, I wrote how @Artcrank makes me happy.

Other bike-inspired artwork that helps are:

So in a similar mood for @Artcrank, I looked for a new source to lift the spirits and remind me of the creative playfulness betwixt bikes, community, action, spaces, materiality, bodies and brazenness.

And this time, I found Global @bikeart.gallery on Instagram.

@bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
Image: @bikeart.gallery

@bikeart.gallery makes me happy

Here is a 100-word worlding I wrote after seeing @bikeart.gallery for the first time.

I love bikeart, too.

Eyes itchy, shoulders aching and approachablity is incendiary. Time for bike art. @bikeart.gallery – newly discovered on Instagram. Stickers, prints, icons, charcoals, photos, cartoons, designs, and paper cuts. I love bikes and I love art, too. Some super progressive bikeart, others not so. Hypersexualized disembodied females with-on bikes (really? still?!) – cringe-worthy. Elsewhere, I marvel at super spunky rider couples, surreal adventure rides, fantastical bici creaturing, and cheeky postmodern velo classical reinterpretations. A few memes. Close-ups, portraits and movement. Audaciousness. Lego, flames, tattoos, air travel, and (Fr)eddie Merxc(ury). @jctdesign’s spontaneous napkin doodle ‘unplug and ride your bike’ is good advice.

  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bi@bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.keart.gallery makes me happy
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.
  • @bikeart.gallery makes me happy. Bicycles Create Change.com. 30th April 2021.

A ‘mind-reading’ e-bike

‘Thought control’ bicycle for spinal injury rehab. Bicycles Create Change.com 16th July, 2019.

Innovative technology is increasingly being applied to bike riding to address some very pressing issues, such as increasing bike participation and rider safety.

Previously I’ve posted on the pioneering work of Griffith researchers working on the world’s first ‘thought-control’ bicycle for spinal injury rehab (see more here). This story details Dr. Dinesh Palipana who is a Griffith University medical graduate. Dinesh became a quadriplegic after a car accident partway through his medical degree. Despite this, Dinesh completed his degree and has since been collaborating with a Griffith research team on the world’s-first integrated neuro-musculoskeletal rehabilitation recline bike that will enable quadriplegics to use ‘thought control’ to ride a specially adapted bike. This project uses ground-breaking 3D computer-simulated biomechanical model, connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to capture Dinesh’s brainwaves that then stimulates movement that not only push the pedals for him but also helps revitalise is neuro pathways for eventually recovery.

I recently came across an article written last year by Timna Jacks for the Sydney Morning Herald that looked at a ‘mind-reading- bicycle designed to save lives by improving riders’ safety. I was particularly curious about this article as the researchers were using e-bikes in this case Timna makes links with the unprecedented surge in bike use due to COVID-19 – something we have all noticed. So, if you missed this article, I’ve included it in full below.

A ‘mind-reading’ e-bike. Bicycles Create Change.com. 22nd April 2021.

The ‘mind-reading’ bicycle that could save lives

Cycling in Melbourne might seem a dangerous game, but what if the bike was so intuitive that it could detect when you were in danger and manoeuvre you to safety?

Researchers at Monash University, IBM Australia and the University of Southampton in the UK have invented an e-bicycle which they claim can “read” people’s minds and detect when a cyclist is in danger.

The electroencephalogram-supported e-bike prototype, built by the researchers over more than a year, scans the electrical activity in the cyclist’s brain to detect the nature of the rider’s field of view.

An EEG electrode cap measuring electrical signals in the cyclist’s occipital lobe, the visual processing area of the brain, feeds into a small computer in their backpack, which converts the signals from brain activity to instructions for the bike’s engine.

A ‘mind-reading’ e-bike. Bicycles Create Change.com. 22nd April 2021.

If the rider’s peripheral vision is narrow – a neurological response when a cyclist detects a danger ahead such as a car cutting them off or an obstruction to a bike path – the bike’s accelerator halts. The cyclist can still move forward by pushing the pedals, albeit more slowly.

Conversely, if the rider has a wide peripheral vision because there is no threat in sight, the bike accelerates.

Changes in peripheral awareness are often linked to a person’s awareness of their surroundings, and their physical performance and co-ordination.

Researchers at Monash, IBM and University of Southampton Josh Andres said cycling accidents often occurred at intersections where cyclists needed a heightened awareness of their environment.

He wanted to find a technology that gave riders extra time in critical situations, but instead of outsourcing this skill, he wanted to build a technology that helped riders connect more with their bodies.

This e-bike, named Ena, would provide a feedback loop for cyclists, enabling them to improve their peripheral vision.

“This is a problem right now. Many of the technologies we are building are teaching us how to outsource how we feel, whereas we should try to be more in touch with our bodies, more in tune with our bodies,” Mr Andres said.

He has previously built e-bikes that connect the bike’s motor to traffic light signals and instruct the cyclist to speed up or slow down.

Monash University researcher Floyd Mueller said the new bike was aimed at boosting people’s confidence in cycling, allowing them to feel in control.

A ‘mind-reading’ e-bike. Bicycles Create Change.com. 22nd April 2021.

“We know from good cyclists that they talk about how they become one with the bike … what this technology allows is for the cyclist to be an extension of their body. The bike knows when the cyclist is in danger or having fun without being explicitly told.”

Cycling is having an unprecedented surge in popularity because of the COVID-19 lockdown. A Bicycle Network count of 8800 riders on April 25 showed the number had increased by 270 per cent compared with November last year.

But Uber this week confirmed that its shared e-bike outfit Jump would be taken over by Lime and pulled off Melbourne’s streets, in line with similar moves overseas.

The program launched in early March and paused three weeks later as COVID-19 lockdowns began.

It is understood the decision was made in the face of financial strain wrought by the virus, with the company reportedly expected to lay off more than 100 Australian employees as part of its major global job cuts.

‘Ride Nation’: Australian national bike education program for schools

'Ride Nation': Australian national bike education program for schools. Bicycles Create Change.com. 18th April 2021.

Not many people know about Ride Nation. Ride Nation is a national Australian school-based bike education program designed to get more students on bikes.

Ride Nation is pitched to schools as being ‘a fun and interactive learning experience that teaches young people to develop their riding skills and confidence – supporting kids in their independence and giving parents peace of mind.’

Ride Nation is also a wonderful exemplar of a comprehensive and well-thought bike education program that could be implemented more widely, or modified for different contexts.

The focus of Ride Nation is to improve engagement with physical activity and sport with bicycle riding. The aim here is to shift generational beliefs and behaviours from sedentary and inactive to be more active, happier and healthier. By working in schools, Sport Australia is using bike riding programs to reinforce and emphasise a healthy lifestyle, fundamental movement skills, environmental awareness and physical literacy – all of which are important skills for transitioning through life and into adulthood.

'Ride Nation': Australian national bike education program for schools. Bicycles Create Change.com. 18th April 2021.

This program not only promotes regular and safe use bicycle riding for students, but also have a robust focus on building the skills and professional development of teachers and adults too. For example, they offer Cycling Australia School Teachers (CAST) and Introductory Skills Instructor (ISI) accredited programs.

Ride Nation website has heaps of links for all levels, types and styles of bike riding. There are links to clubs and providers a coaches community and a finder network.

There is also a Ride Nation blog, which is regularly updated stories of local families riding, ideas on where to go and other useful information.

The Ride Nation website has a ‘download zone’ where you can get free resources to get kids started with bike riding, a good load of teacher resources to help extend learnings from the courses, and coach resources to help assist with connecting and delivering these programs. These resources are well worth a look for anyone who has young kids learning to ride.

'Ride Nation': Australian national bike education program for schools. Bicycles Create Change.com. 18th April 2021.

Ride Nation in-school bike progams develop key skills such as:

Movement and mobility skills

This program is 6 x 1-hour sessions. The focus here is on foundational bike handling skills. Using a game-sense/experience approach students are able to practice: riding in a straight line, riding through a salem course, riding slowly and in control, emergency braking, scanning (looking) left and right, standing and pedalling, and precision braking.

Confidence and hazard perception

This program develops rider situational awareness and response to the moving environment. This program has a mix of classroom content and riding activities so student-riders can understand, identify and respond to different hazards, such as bike control skills, precision maneuvering, signalling, scanning traffic/hazards, hazard perception, and entering roadways.

Exploring places

Where the previous sessions have a focus on road safety and skills, these final two sessions, Explore Places focus on riding opportunities in local communities. The core competencies in this module are: safe route planning and risk assessment, riding in groups, riding of active transportation and riding with other roads users.

I’d love to see Ride Nation being enshrined in the national curriculum of all Australian schools – after all, riding a bike is an essential life skill everyone should learn!

If you haven’t heard of Ride Nation before – check it out.

If you have kids in school or are a teacher – consider getting your school involved.

It is never too early to be safe and confident on a bike!

Happy riding all!

'Ride Nation': Australian national bike education program for schools. Bicycles Create Change.com. 18th April 2021.

All images from Ride Nation

Bikes and Sport-for-development (S4D)

Bikes and Sport-for-development. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th April 2021.

My PhD looks at how bicycles feature in West African girls’ access to secondary education.

This means I read widely about gender, geography, aid and development, education, mobility and innovative research methods.

I’ve been reviewing what has been done so far to help girls get to and from schools on bikes – and this has to lead me to Sport-for-development literature. Which I love!

The field of sport-for-development (S4D) has received significant attention in the last 10 years, legitimizing it as a recognized and critical new genre of scholarship and praxis. The focus of S4D is to engage disadvantaged people and communities in physical activity projects with an overarching aim of achieving various social, cultural, physical, economic, or health outcomes.

Where at the beginning of the 21st century it was difficult to find projects that use sport or physical activity as a specific vehicle for positive change, the number of S4D initiatives that aim to make a difference has grown substantially. One explanation for this escalation is the strong political support for a movement that combines sports associations, aid agencies, development bodies, sponsoring organisations, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)under a single umbrella.

An example of this is my project, which showcases how for the last decade, the collaboration of NGO Village Bicycle Project (my research partner organization) with Stylish Karim Kamara has helped progress local individuals, schools, community groups and education/health organisations by supplying bicycles and bike riding services.

Bikes and Sport-for-development. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th April 2021.

A lovely moment of (research) providence

Often in research, what is being worked on is removed and abstracted from the goings-on in ‘the real-world’.

But not for me this week! This week I had a lovely moment of research providence!

I am currently reading a book on S4D (see image above) which details programs like Football for Peace in the Middle East, Ganar and Deportes para la Vida in the Caribbean, Soldados Nunca Mais which rehabilitates and retrains Brasilian child soldiers using sport, Pacifica Wokabot Jalens (team-based step challenges) programs and other EduSport initiatives.

And it just so happened that my reading of this book coincided with the UN International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP 2021) which was on the 6th of April.

So this made what I am working on even more real and meaningful.

Bikes and Sport-for-development. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th April 2021.

What is the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace?

Here are some great IDSDP resources and information.

Here’s some background from the UN explaining IDSDP 2021.

In recognition of the positive contribution that sport can have on the realization of sustainable development and on the advancement of human rights, 6 April was proclaimed the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly in its resolution 67/296 in 2013.

Theme: International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) 2021

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 2021 there is an opportunity to recognize the role that sport plays in communities, in individuals’ lives, in building resilience and in the recovery from the pandemic through online and social media activity in the lead up to and on the Day.

The Department of Global Communications, in collaboration with DESA, WHO and the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Sport for Sustainable Development in New York – Qatar and Monaco – have developed social media and online messaging around the theme of recovery from the pandemic, the importance of equity in that recovery, and what is necessary to build back better for a more resilient and equitable world.

Sport can cross boundaries, defy stereotypes, improve our physical and emotional health, and inspire hope across nations, but we will only be able to get back to this, if we recover better and help end the pandemic by helping ensure everyone is protected from COVID-19 Using the hashtags #SportDay and #OnlyTogether, interested UN entities and external organizations will be able to tailor the theme to closely fit their own specific mandates and activities to demonstrate how sport and physical activity can help build back better and stronger as society begins to reopen and recover, once the pandemic ends.

Sporting analogies, such as “achieving success through teamwork,” and “using a level playing field” can also be incorporated to deliver the important equity and resilience messaging, and sports personalities and organizations can help promote. Teamwork is essential to building back better.

So, let’s help end the pandemic by ensuring everyone is protected from COVID-19. Let’s level the playing field and recover better. #OnlyTogether will we play again.

Bikes and Sport-for-development. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th April 2021.

Objectives

The 2021 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace aims to:

– Reaffirm the place of sport in the recovery from the pandemic and beyond
– Foster equity, solidarity, community and team spirit in response to the pandemic
– Encourage healthy habits through physical activity and building emotional wellbeing
– and inspire hope through sporting analogies.

These are the hashtags for the International Day of Sport this year: #SportDay #OnlyTogether

Bikes and Sport-for-development. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th April 2021.
Image: UN