Welcome to Velo Vision Issue Five, March 2002

TIME OUT

It�s hard to know what to make of projects like Velo Nova, described in our News section over the page. Is it a daft utopian ideal born of wishful thinking? Or a visionary idea which could become a showcase for pedal power?

As the consequences of messed-up priorities in contemporary transport planning become ever more obvious, all too often the humble yet oh-so-effective bicycle is still overlooked as a part of the solution. A high profile centre, supported by national and international bodies, could be a significant boost to the status of human power, the �forgotten energy�.

It could also become an embarrassing white elephant, a freak-show of the weird and wacky in pedal power. The eyecatching concept drawings probably give this impression to the more sceptical onlooker. They�re wonderfully inventive, but imagine them on a cold wet day with just a few bedraggled visitors...

But the purpose of Velo Nova is to be much more than a fun day out playing on silly bikes. It�s intended as a centre of cycle industry research and innovation, a resource for planners, companies and individuals trying to get into cycling, an educational centre and a forum for the exchange of ideas and inspiration. It goes beyond just cycling, too, looking at all sorts of sustainable transportation and human power.

If it can be all of these things, and also a great day out, wet or dry, then they�ll have done cycling a huge service. We wish the project well.

Peter Eland

PS Special thanks to everyone who resubscribed after our big renewal issue, Issue 4. Seems like most of you rather like the magazine, as we�ve had just a tiny dropout rate. Double thanks to all who scribbled kind words about the magazine on your renewal forms. To avoid too much self congratulation on the Letters page I�ve decided instead to put a selection of these comments on the testimonials page of www.velovision.co.uk, our website, where you�ll also find regular news updates to help bridge the gap between the quarterly magazines. You are also of course very welcome to use the free small ads facility on the website to sell or acquire bikes, bits of bikes or anything you fancy!

PETER ELAND

• Read the testimonials and reviews page.

• Search by subject or author in the index.

• And add your own comments in the guestbook!

Issue Five contents

Some of the articles are now available for you to download as PDF - if you don't already have the required (free) Acrobat Reader software for these you can get it here. Some of the colours look a bit vivid on some of these PDFs - it's better in print!

• 3 Contents and Editor's letter ( PDF, 289k)

• 4 News
  The Velo Nova project, Burrows' new folder, and much more.

• 10 Cool Cycling
  Human power takes one man from dead-end job to tropical paradise.

• 14 Innovate or die
  Bike companies have to take chances...or face the consequences.

• 16 You'll never ride alone
  One of the more bizarre cycling conversations.

• 18 A voyage into velomobilia
  Riding with the Quests, and an overview of the species

• 22 Wheeling the oils of war
  Marthaler meets Congo's cycling traders

• 24 Cannondale's cracker
  Testing the Cannondale Easy Rider recumbent

• 28 Mini Magic
  A budget folder faces our test

• 30 Centric or eccentric?
  A very different, perhaps better, childseat

• 32 On the beat ( PDF, 142k)
  Sheffield's hills are no problem for these police cyclists

• 34 Talking about Towing
  One man's experience of towing all sorts of stuff

• 38 Letters

• 42 You must be mad! ( PDF, 465k)
  A cycling challenge as a disabled rider tandem-trikes around Anglesey

• 47 Advertising
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