This week’s round-up features Deliveroo analysis, good news for middle aged male cyclists, a heartwarming cycling scheme, calls to give cyclists more priority in road design, a look at some cycling inventions, and two Giro updates (one usual, one unusual).
The top image is a Deliveroo cyclist making his way through town, and is a nod to a conversation on Reddit discussing the behaviour of the company’s riders in various cities. As you may expect, opinions are varied:
What’s your experience with Deliveroo riders? Have you seen any break the rules? Or demonstrate particularly good cycling know-how?
You’re likely to be 5kg lighter than your counterparts who prioritise driving over cycling, according to a new study in The Lancet (one of the world’s most famous medical journals).
The scientists “aimed to examine the relation between active commuting and obesity in mid-life using objectively measured anthropometric data from UK Biobank” which, in plain English, means they asked a lot of people whether they commuted by bike and looked at their fitness.
It’ll make you smarter and happier too, according to an article we dug out on Bicycling.com which explored another scientific study. They found people scored higher on tests of memory, reasoning and planning after 30 minutes of riding.
In short, it will make you
A nice scheme in the Netherlands is attempting to integrate refugees by giving them access to bicycles.
The Guardian reports on the scheme, which is organised by Harten Voor Sport (Hearts for Sport) with the aim of helping immigrants integrate more effectively into their communities. This is especially noble work considering the dialogue surrounding immigration from some quarters
Anthony Albanese, the Australian shadow minister for infrastructure, transport and cities, is calling for a change in the way we think about cycling and walking provisions in city design.
In an opinion piece in the Guardian, he outlines his reasons for believing that cycling and walking should be among the first considerations in new infrastructure projects. He says that “if governments are smart, they do everything within their power to encourage people to cycle”, citing reduced traffic, improving health, and saving money (both in terms of infrastructure design and workplace productivity) as tangible benefits.
This sentiment marks a nice change from the previous cycling news we heard from Australia back in February that New South Wales was levying heavy and unpopular fines on cyclists. Keep it up Anthony! Here’s the man himself:
We found an interesting video this week:
It explores some recent innovations in cycling:
On the surface these all sound like great ideas, although a few of them have had major issues pointed out. The Grasp Lock, for example, is battery operated and there’s nothing to stop a thief unscrewing the battery cage and deactivating the lock. Or from damaging the biometric panel – theoretically preventing the owner from getting their bike back.
It’s interesting because cycling is ripe for innovation currently – apps and technological developments are a big opportunity for aspects of the bicycle to change and be improved, as these products demonstrate perfectly. The issues are a good reminder to not accept any new technology too quickly though – be vigilant!
Last week we covered stages 1-7 of the Giro. Here’s an update on what’s happened since:
Here are the highlights of the most recent stage 13:
This week’s top story is also Giro related: the event’s wolf-themed mascot has been banned from France on request of the country’s farmers.
They claim his entrance would be ‘pure provocation’, due to the larger than usual amount of attacks on livestock in recent months: “The display of such a mascot in the midst of our pastures, which is supported by most environmental groups, is pure provocation that is not humanly acceptable to the farmers. Farmers are tired of seeing the wolf only presented to public opinion as a nice soft toy.”
A delicate issue it seems!
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