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Welcome to Velo Vision, the practical cycling magazine.Print edition: Subscribe and/or order sample copies, back issues, PDFs, T-shirts etc...here! Digital edition: details or subscribe! The current issue is Issue 37. The next issue is out in June 2010.
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Innovation and campaigningGocycle in the running for design award, the rowing car, pedalling for progress, winning people-power images and York's new Bike Hub. Sue Archer writes: Gocycle takes on the best in design Gocycle, the lightweight electric assist bike which we reviewed in Issue 34, has been nominated for the Brit Insurance Design of the Year Awards. The GoCycle features in the transport category, and is competing against other electric transport including cars, a motorbike and a plane. It's not the only bike in the running - Urbikes, a Spanish public bike-sharing scheme is also nominated in the transport section, while the Plantlock has been nominated in the Product category. The results will be announced on Thursday 4th March, (today!) on The Culture Show, BBC2 at 7pm. Row, row, row your car... Spotted on the Gizmag blog is the HumanCar, an electric vehicle charged by the occupants, via a rowing action. The inventor, Charles Greenwood, envisages dual purposes: cleaner, greener transport and improved fitness for the occupants - his wish for a full body workout is the reason he chose rowing over pedalling. The action charges the batteries, and the vehicle can be driven by one person if necessary. It can also be charged from the mains, and run entirely on stored energy if you're feeling tired. Steering is achieved via leaning on the seat, and if not limited by legislation, the HumanCar would be capable of up to 62 mph (100 kph). Once in full production, the price is expected to be around $15,500. You can see it in single pilot rowing action here: and to be more on-topic for VV, here's a video of the original fully human-powered version, as we mentioned some time ago: Pedalling for Progress Electric cars may be the way forward for some, but in many parts of the world just having access to a good old fashioned bicycle can be the difference between poverty and prosperity, as David Schweidenback explains in this Epoch Times article about his organisation, Pedals for Progress. P4P collect unwanted bikes and ship them to developing countries, where the ability to travel further to work or study can make a big difference to someone's life. And of course, it stops those bikes ending up in landfill. Winning images of people power The North American Alliance for Biking and Walking recently held a photo competition, on the theme of people powered transport, and this press release has the winning images in each category. Overall winner Todd Winters wins a 10 day bike tour in Tuscany, and a year's supply of Clif Bars. Selected winning pictures will apear in the March/April edition of Momentum magazine. New 'hub' for York Velo Vision's home city will soon have a new cycling facility, with the announcment of council funding for the conversion of a former electricity sub-station into a secure bike park, as reported in this York Press article. As well as secure parking, the Hub Station will house showers, a sales area, repair workshop and cafe, with the aim of encouraging more people to swap their cars for bikes when travelling into the city centre. The project will be run by Bike Rescue, who already restore and recycle donated bikes for sale to the public. Work on the old substation, which is conveniently placed on the riverside bike path, with easy access to the city and the railway station, will start soon, and it should open in early Autumn. Although the article suggests that this is national first, similar facilities do exist elsewhere, such as the Leicester Bike Park and the Cycle Parks in Cambridge. Posted on 4 March 2010 Your comments ...
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