the Waltz of the Bikes

For more info see my blog. http://situp-cycle.com.
Visit my bicycle art web site. http://situp-bike-art.com.

Can you see yourself getting around your city on a bike? Maybe after seeing this film, you'll expand your ideas of what you and a bike could do together.

We could have a city bike culture like this one we see in Amsterdam, that is if we really wanted it.

How? 1. Restrict car access and slow all traffic down.
2. Favor bikes with safe paths, crossings and parking.
3,. Convince our existing cyclists that they don't have to dash around madly in Lycra, their heads down as if every ride was their last. They don't make it look inviting. if you want to train or race, do it elsewhere.

4. Favor the sit-up bikes you see in the Waltz because the stately posture they allow is safer and the bike itself more convenient for carrying things, Indeed the whole experience is just very enjoyable which is why the Dutch and the Danes choose bikes as transport

All the pains in the neck and shoulders, which many people imagine are inevitable on a bike, just don't happen with these bikes.

5. Make sure Bike Share schemes like the Velibs in Paris and the Bixis in Montreal arrive in our Australian cities.

These schemes are the best way to rapidly boost urban cycling since they make using a bike like this, (they are all sit--ups) completely hassle free.

So, see you on the streets of our reinvented city, hopefully !

In the meantime, the Giant Suede is a great sit-up bike which is not to pricey. For more on the Dutch way of riding, watch, Talking to David Hembrow. on my blog.

Thanks, by the way , to Violeta Brana-Lafourcade for her superb camera for this film and the one on David.
Mike Rubbo

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• dutch bikes
• cycling in amsterdam
• sit up bikes
• bike helmets
• cargo bikes
• david hembrow
• mike rubbo
• violeta brana lafourcade.
• comfortable bikes
• bike commuting
• cycling in Australia
• 'Australian
• cyclist

[bensy010]

Living in Aus, I have had the helmet safety message drummed into me my whole life (I'm 23) and I can't imagine riding without one.

I hope I never need it but I'm glad it's there just in case. They really aren't that bad.

You're riding a bike, it's not a fashion parade.

[MikeRubbo]

Well, Bensy, in a way it s a fashion parade. The dominant fashion here is Lycra, and the helmet with it's colors and slits, is very much part of the fashion look. The Europeans don't want to give their personalities over to the bike culture. They wear what they like, and because they've made it safe, they don't need helmets,

it would be nice to have that option. Mike

[andrew097]

Its about having the right gears.

What do you think about the bike industry not selling practical bikes at least in the English speaking world? Do you think that is part of the problem?

[MikeRubbo]

I think it's very complex.

Bike shops seem threatened by practical sit up bikes. Do they think they might suck buyers away from more lucrative high tech bikes?

Are sit up bikes a sort of flag, making a statement about themselves and their rider that's not appreciated by the sport cycle culture?

Are practical bikes and their riders saying: "I'm not into speed or sport, I'm just going somewhere. I'm not obsessed by this bike I'm on, I don't give it much thought, really,"

[alextact]

The first step, in my opinion, is to reverse the absurd helmet laws we have in this country. For anyone over the age of 16 at least. Second, reduce residential and CBD streets to 30km/h, and introduce severe penalties for anyone in a motor vehicle who deliberately attempts to intimidate a cyclist or pedestrian in any way shape or form. With such measures, cycling will be significantly more viable for commuters, so naturally upgright "commuter bikes" will start to appeal to more people :-)

[MewFushisDad]

What a wonderful people and culture.

Thank you for sharing this.

[EvendimataE]

when the girls are wearing skirt they have shorts under not just panty?

[TaoPiet]

Nice video. Music of Johann Straus expresses very well the turning movement of the bikes. It feels indeed as a kind of waltz movement.

[makeiteasyable]

lol, people love bikes well not all but mostly hehehe

[spoddog1]

my old bow frame uprights are my favorite bikes. im 53, been riding for over 40 years and i think helmet laws suck. wear one if you want but i would like the choise.

[cyclenut]

@MikeRubbo I ride a Dutch bike and am buying a bakfiets (3-wheeled) because I am obsessed about the bikes I ride. I like bikes that are care-free low maintenance and carry everything I need without a stinking metal box. My other 3 bikes aren't dutch, but the do show I'm obsessed with not owning a stupid smelly ugly metal box.

: )

[cyclenut]

Anybody else notice how poorly all the people dressed, and how un-happy they looked and how their faces were red from having to pedal their kids in those heavy cargo bikes.... : /

Why oh why was I born in a car-culture country....

Of my five bicycles, two are Dutch bikes... A regular and a cargo bike... Yes, I am a freak in the US of fat, but would just be another Dutch... If only I were Dutch...

[deezynar]

@bensy010

I've ridden over 50,000 miles in the US w/ out a helmet. I wear one now, but only because it makes my wife feel better.

If I ever land on my head, I'm sure I'll be glad for the protection.

[andrew097]

Last night I cycled without a helmet on one of these high Nellys I was going gently up a hill and a tall bloke out for a jog passed me out . So the top of his head was higher then mine while I was sitting on the bike. Should he be wearing a jogging helmet ?

[criticalviewer1959]

WONDERFUL atomosphere & bicycle town! Thanks

It's so easy to do everywhere - everyone can do it!

Meet some friends and go by bicycle through your town. If you see other bikers, talk to them; ask them to join for a while; give them an invitation to join you next time on a little journey.

Give no private contact; meet only by coincidence in action!

Come together, educate the people, discuss new ideas, stay in move and do something for your health collectively, and have fun! :-)) be critical mass!

[andrew097]

It really is only walking on two wheels

ps I bought one of those big plastic beer crate carries . Well its the best gizmo I have ever got suddenly you can carry anything with ease. Makes shopping ten times easier. really the family could go back to one car That would be some yearly saving.