Cycling on a Beach in a National Park

Cycling along a NSW National Parks beach, having a swim in winter. Pods of smiling Bottlenose dolphins are surfing together. A White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) is soaring overhead. Pied Oystercatchers (Haematopus longirostris) are wading in pairs looking for pipis (small bivalve molluscs) that have not been raided by humans as it is in a national park. When a person approaches them, the shy shorebirds make a loud whistling call and flee from their feeding grounds. The unusual thing was when approached by bike, they just continued going about their business. Nice to observe wildlife in their refuge for some time.

Flat Tire, Der Radwechsel, Bertolt Brecht

Der Radwechsel

 Ich sitze am Straßenhang.
Der Fahrer wechselt das Rad.
Ich bin nicht gerne, wo ich herkomme.
Ich bin nicht gerne, wo ich hinfahre.
Warum sehe ich den Radwechsel
mit Ungeduld?

Bertolt Brecht, Der Radwechsel, 1953 

B.B. patiently waiting amongst investor architecture

The Flat Tire

 I am sitting on the edge of the street.
The bicycle repair shop is changing the tire.
I don't like, where I come from.
I don't like, where I am going to.
Why do I view the changing of the tire
with impatience?

Bertolt Brecht, Change of Tire, 1953, (A very free fossil fuel-free translation)

How to fatten up by taking the car

A study "Showed that switching from private motor transport to active travel or public transport was associated with a significant reduction in BMI compared with continued private motor vehicle use.... Interventions to enable commuters to switch from private motor transport to more active modes of travel could contribute to reducing population mean BMI."

Meanwhile automobile dependent mobility in Australia has come to a standstill.
All major cities suffer from road congestion. "The report says car travel times in the most gridlocked parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra are expected to jump by at least 20 per cent if there no measures to boost capacity or curb demand." (source)

Australia being deficient in public transport, footpaths, cycle paths and walkable neighbourhoods will of course 'do more of the same' - build more gridlocks.

And the Australian obesity rates are climbing faster than anywhere else in the world... (source)

Impact of changes in mode of travel to work on changes in body mass index: evidence from the British Household Panel Survey,  Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health

Images:
Manly Beach, Sydney
Sculpture on road side, eu
Sawtell, NSW No bike paths, smelly cars

Putting Geelong on the Map with Hit and Run

The almost daily news in an automobile-centric country with motor enthusiasts:

"A hit-and-run that killed a cyclist near Geelong may have been deliberate, police have said, after they received numerous reports of cyclists being "stalked" in the area." (source)

Lanes before the motor car - Lake Constance

Constance has still a lot of lanes that are not suitable for fossil fuel powered vehicles. Walking or biking in the narrow lanes or around Lake Constance is very humane.

The mind of motorists

 

The mind of a motorist

 

Visible at night

A new reflective spray is being tested in England which makes bikes and their riders more visible at night. You can spray it on your bike and/or on your clothes. During the day you cannot see it but at night it glows white. Life paint is being developed by a car manufacturer to help prevent cyclists being killed by their cars.

The spray remains visible for a week and can be washed off your clothes.

It may also be of value for pedestrians who want to be visible to cars at night on the footpath.

Sprayed with life paint you can go out on foot or on your bike without wearing special clothes to make car drivers see you.

Keep it next to the front door along with your personal insecticide. One spray for the insects, one for the vehicles.

See the video here.
Images: Light pollution in Berlin

Bike Residence Berlin