Locoride

By Sarah Collerton @ ABC online

Two mates have found a novel way to make the most out of old rusting railway lines.

A few years ago Julio Mottola and Michael Albert hatched a plan to create a unique bike that could be ridden on rusting tracks.

Enter the "locobike" - two bicycles joined together with a solid aluminium frame with four little polyurethane wheels attached.

The wheels then lock the bicycles to the railway tracks and away you go.

Secret and illegal trials of the prototype, on the disused Casino to Murwillumbah rail line on the NSW north coast, were a success.

"It's a very safe and simple design and it's very easy to use," Mr Mottola says.

"It requires less muscle work than riding a bicycle on the road because the tyres sit on top of the rails so there's very little friction."

It took the pedaling pair two-and-a-half hours to locoride from Mullumbimby to Byron Bay.

"It was quite exciting because the country is amazing," Mr Albert, who lives in Melbourne but visits Byron Bay regularly, said.

"And we did raise a few eyebrows when people spotted us."

All aboard

Mr Albert says there is far more to their ambitious plans than just "skylarking"; The duo believes the locobike offers plenty of transport and tourism potential for the region.

And if all goes according to plan and their machine becomes legal to use on the tracks, they will hand over the locobike concept to the local council.

"It would be a real feather in the Byron district's cap" Mr Albert said.

"It could be a fantastic landmark of Byron Bay," Mr Mottola, who moved to the coastal town from Argentina eight years ago, said.

Both say inventing the locobike has nothing to do with finding fame and fortune.

"Nobody is going to make money," Mr Mottola said.

"Michael doesn't want to make any money, I don't want to make any money. We just know it's our idea and hope it will help the community."

Speed bump

But lantana growing throughout the region has currently stopped the prototype locobike in its tracks.

"The lantana's very thick and the locobike, being very lightweight, just can't get through it on the tracks," Mr Albert said.

But the pair have a way to stamp out the "filthy weed".

"It dawned on us that the locobike is perfect to clear all the lantana," Mr Albert said.

"The locobike will carry a load and you could put a basket in the middle and put your gardening gear in that.

"It's got wonderful potential for land care as well as for community groups."

And if the locobike gets that final tick of approval, the pair reckon the sky's the limit for their device.

"There's potential for it everywhere, even in third-world countries where the trains don't work and they've got unused rail lines," Mr Albert said.

Mr Mottola also spruiks the endless possibilities for doing the locomotive.

"You could even have honeymoon locobikes," he said.

Fibre Flare Bike light

Kunstrad EM 2009 Carla und Henriette Hochdorfer

Performance

In your dreams

From Cristobal

Happy Birthday TAP

There's always so much to do in a big city like Sydney, it's easy to miss out on things but last nights party at TAP Gallery was an event I wouldn't have missed for the World. Arriving in the upstairs gallery was like stepping back in time to the Bohemian 1920s. Poets poured out their passion, Peacock Fans unveiled tattoos and a naked man did paintings with his bum. There were even people in the audience wearing berets! The comedy acts were fantastic with lots of participation from the audience, I laughed till I cried.


Lesley Dimmick is the curator of Sydney's best underground gallery.
Pterodactyl Man performed comic haiku.

Maggie gave us two quintessentially Australian poems and sung "Summertime." She had a fabulous voice.


We were pleased to see the performance artists arriving by bicycle

Lesley enlisted the support of Kit to express her opinion on the Sydney Art Scene with some naked arse painting.

I went along with some of the SBAR crew as our Artwork "Bicycle Triptych" is on show in the 20th Birthday Exhibition downstairs, if you want to see it you had better be quick because there were a few people interested in purchasing it. We have set a pretty low price so it can't last long.


We've decided to start work on a new concept too, it will take a while to make it happen but we will let you know on here when it's ready. Here's a clue to the concept we are working on.

Some info about the Gallery

Tucked away in Darlinghurst is an artist-run gallery known as TAP. For the last 19 years many of Australia’s foremost artists, including Andrew Logan, Carlos Barrios, Mark Hanham and James Powditch have launched their exciting careers, with many more artists are preparing to exhibit in the future.

The TAP Gallery’s vision is a simple one, and that is to support Sydney’s arts scene by providing a workable and an affordable space for artists to exhibit. TAP supports all forms of art at a grassroots level making it a popular destination for artists and art lovers alike, which exemplifies TAP as credited with being voted the Best Art Gallery in Sydney for artworks under $5,000 in 2008.

TAP stages regular Art Prizes and group shows to give artists an opportunity to participate and be involved. Situated in close proximity to the CBD, TAP provides a flexible space with two levels, comprising different exhibition rooms. The gallery operates on a space hire basis, and includes a theatre showcasing the work of many fresh playwrights. Although TAP has over 900 sq metres of fantastic space, it can be adapted to any size with the use of movable walls to cope for smaller or larger shows.

TAP offers an opportunity for the community to meet artists, actors, film makers and playwrights. It is a well known meeting place which also has a café/bookshop for relaxation.

Come to this!

Merryn and I have an Artwork in this exhibition (bicycle themed!) love to see you there.

Textile Helm

Via Yanko Design

Helmet Laws

One of the great impediments to bringing in a public bike share/rental program here in sydney is our anti bicycle helmet laws. The Danish parliament has just overturned an attempt by some misguided politicians to bring in helmet laws in one of the World's safest cycling countries. This at a time when Danish people are getting fatter and cycling less! Bringing in helmet laws would make cycling seem dangerous and lots of people would stop riding. Luckily it got voted down.


The United Kingdom's National Cyclists Organisation, succeeded in lobbying against a similar law and published a brochure that they sent to politicians in which they wrote 7 reasons to oppose a child helmet law:

1. The principal threats to children's lives are obesity, heart disease and other illnesses resulting in large part from inactivity. Cycling has a key role to play in preventing these illnesses. Less cycling through a helmet law would aggravate the situation.
2. Cycling is a healthy activity, and the likelihood of serious head injury is widely exaggerated.
3. Cycling becomes safer the more people do it. Encouraging cycling is by far the most effective way of reducing risk of injury.
4. Helmet promotion deters cycling and leads to poorer health.
5. The benefits of helmets are greatly over-stated.
6. Many other everyday activities could benefit more from helmet-wearing than cycling.
7. A helmet law would make it a crime for children to take part in a health giving activity.

Via Copenhagen

Driver sought after two cyclists knocked down

Police are seeking a motorist who knocked down two women cyclists in Sydney this morning.

Police say the women, both aged 42, were hit from behind while riding south on South Dowling Street near Todman Avenue at Kensington about 6am (AEST) on Sunday.

The male motorist stopped and told the injured pair he would get an ambulance, but didn't return.

Other motorists stopped to help the women, who were treated by paramedics and taken to St Vincent's Hospital.

One suffered soft tissue damage and the other a suspected fractured elbow.

Investigators are looking for a man aged in his mid-50s, possibly of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, with dark hair and wearing a dark-coloured jumper or vest.

"He was driving a small white car, possibly Corolla-style with four doors," police said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Japanese Cycling Talent

From various photographers, if you'd like a link from a photo you took please let me know.

Submission from Our Reporter in Alice Springs

Here's the Alice Springs Unicyclist! No doubt he's some sort of regular identity-about-town. Here he was cycling East (where, I hear, may creative folk live). The previous day I saw him cycle across the Todd River Bridge, but the impressive thing was he was ON THE RAILING! The railing in question (between the road and the footpath) had a flat top which seemed about 8 inches wide at most. As an occasional unicyclist, the street riding I could handle (and I could take those important calls in transit), but I wouldn't be up for the railing stunt! No sirree!

Cheers,

Cazzbo

www.cazzbo.com

Possum run down by painted bicycle

From Cazzbo's Mum

Best invention ever

Today I was helping daughter number two with her homework assignment. She had to write about her favourite machine and how it worked. Naturally we chose the bicycle!
Here is her finished assignment:

Then later I was checking my Facebook and saw this great link from my friend Gilbert.

Bicycle chosen as best invention

Prof Wolff's praise for the bike won over listeners

The humble bicycle has won a UK national survey of people's favourite inventions.

Listeners to BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme were invited to vote in an online poll looking at the most significant innovations since 1800.

It was an easy victory for the bicycle which won more than half of the vote.

The transistor came second with 8% of the vote, and the electro-magnetic induction ring - the means to harness electricity - came third.

Interplanetary travel

Despite their ubiquity, computers gained just 6% of the vote and the internet trailed behind with only 4% of all votes cast. There were more than 4,500 votes cast in total.

People chose the bicycle for its simplicity of design, universal use, and because it is an ecologically sound means of transport.

TOP 10 INVENTIONS Bicycle - 59% Transistor - 8% Electro-magnetic induction ring - 8% Computer - 6% Germ theory of infection - 5% Radio - 5% Internet - 4% Internal combustion engine - 3% Nuclear power - 1% Communications satellite - 1%

The survey also asked participants which innovation they would most like to disinvent.

GM foods came top of this poll with 26% of the vote, followed by nuclear power with 19%.

By contrast, the technology most would like to see invented was an Aids vaccine.

Alas, plans to ship long-suffering commuters to distant planets may need to be put on hold with only 15% voting for an interplanetary commuting transport system.

Half voted water treatment and supply systems as the technology to bring most benefit to society.

Another 23% thought that vaccinations deserved the honour.

Each of the technologies were nominated by a different expert, including writer Sir Arthur C Clarke, cloning expert Professor Ian Wilmut, and Professor Heinz Wolff.

Prof Wolff's praise of the bicycle held the most sway with voters which will come as a disappointment to Lord Alec Broers, this year's Reith lecturer.

His series of lectures - Triumph of Technology - prompted the vote.

In the first of his talks, he expressed surprise at the results of a similar survey.

It too ranked the bicycle above scientific breakthroughs such as electricity generation, the jet engine, the discovery of DNA and the invention of vaccinations.

Here are three more reasons that bikes are better

Bicycles don't damage the road

Bicycles don't get stuck in traffic

And this one, well it speaks for itself I guess

Here's a relevant comic sent in by Christa

Share the road!

From Rod

A taste of the toast

A Taste of The Toast from Michael on Vimeo.

Official: Cycling makes you 39% less likely to die

New research from the University of Sydney has indicated that more needs to be done to encourage safe cycling in Australia.

The results, published recently in the Medical Journal of Australia, show that despite the overwhelming health benefits associated with cycling, a dominant car culture and concerns about safety risks prevent many Australians from commuting by bicycle.

The findings come in response to a recent report into Victorian cycling injuries, which found that the number of cyclists treated for injuries has increased by 76 per cent over the past five years.

Conducted by Adrian Bauman and Chris Rissel of the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, the study compared Australian cycling conditions with overseas examples to highlight the many areas in which local cycling infrastructure needs updating.

Previous international studies have observed a 39 percent reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality over 15 years in those that cycled to work each day. Commuting by bicycle also has mental health benefits and reduces cardiovascular risk, with lower rates of obesity occurring in regions with high cycling rates.

While there are currently more people cycling in Australia than five years ago, with an estimated one million new bicycles sold each year, many avoid commuting by bike as a result of the perceived risks involved.

The study advocates better cycling facilities, the provision of separated bike paths and cycle lanes, lower driver speeds, and integrating cycling into public transport systems to encourage more Australians to access the health and ecological benefits of commuting by bicycle.