spanish zebras

these zebra bike lane dividers are made from reclaimed tires and plastics. They are designed by Spanish designer Curro Claret and is the winner of the 2009 award in Design for Recycling, organised by the Catalan government.

{via treehugger}

Bike Only Roads

Max Fisher has a great article in the Atlantic today about bike-only roads.

Top Shop Bicycle Club

Kate Moss's top shop isn't a place I shop, but I'm completely curious about the Top Shop Bicycle Club.

From Tennis Ball Yellow to Green & Ivory Metal

100 year anniversary collaboration:

Fred Perry + Vespa

via swipelife

Minimal Protection

Maison Martin Margiela has teamed up with Les Ateliers Ruby Paris (featured earlier this winter) to produce a new line of moto helmets. MMM took on this design challenge in celebration of its 20th birthday. The helmet obliquely traces the history of the past 20 years and is covered in the signature shade of imperfect white. 

via yatzer

....bikes!

I learned about these clever carrier bikes by trioBike about two years ago. They are a traditional city bike that has an integrated carrier attachment (for kiddos, groceries, admirers, etc.). Not cheap but damn ingenious. 

 

This video shows how it works.

More bikes!

My sweet friend Maury sent me a link to this awesome bike by Cynthia Rowley - featured on apartment therapy

I don't have any babes yet - but how awesome to take a ride with the whole passel in-tow.

Bike Crush

...dear Madsen,

i think I love you.
see the video & blog

Train Romance

Very romantic new advertising campaign by {Chanel}. Film takes place on the elegant Orient Express train starring Audrey Tautou and a delicious seducer.

Headgear Style

Wow. These spectacular helmets from Les Ateliers Ruby make me miss my scootie! Designed by Parisian Jerome Coste who saw the need for stylish and effective head protection after suffering six head injuries himself. 

These helmets meet all the requirements for motorcycle crash helmets and are designed with ultra-luxurious materials and style. The detailing, colors, motifs, high-quality finishing and unexpected touches make this a top choice for head protection. 

bon voyage detail inside helmet

What's more, Coste and his team collaborate with artists and stores to promote and diversify their line's offerings and market. These blue ones are available at Colette. 

Sense and Sophistication: (*hopefully) coming to an airline near you

I think a great way to combat the distasteful tasks of modern air travel would be to up the design and sophistication quotient on the entire in-flight experience. I remember collecting soaps and playing cards from my early flights as a wee traveller. Where did all of those charming bits of airline loot & booty run off to?

I found these exquisite El Al Israel Airlines playing cards on grain edit. Created by Israeli artist and designer Jean David.

Look at the interesting face card designs; the joker is a riot and the deck design itself is so amazing.

Berlin's Environmental Zone

Since the start of the year, drivers to the inner city of Berlin - the 88-square kilometer area inside the subway 'ring' - must display badges to show their cars meet new rules for particulate and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions. Cars without badges are subject to the not-too hefty ticket price of 40 Euros (US$58) and a penalty point on the errant driver's license. Police say they will go easy on delinquents in the first couple of months. Altogether about 1.7 million older diesel cars and gas cars without catalytic converters will be too polluting to meet the new emission requirements and are thus banned from the heart of Berlin as well as Cologne and Hanover. Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Munich as well as 14 other cities will all deploy the system later this year.





In Berlin's 'green' zone, eventually only cars with a green badge will be able to pass go. In 2010 the emissions law will be further tightened, and only 'green badge' cars will be able to go into the inner city zones. Perhaps the measure will put even more Berliners on their bikes and help the city reach its goal of 15 percent of city traffic made up on cyclists.
Via Berlin.de

Bike Nation - Can the US do IT?

Congressman Earl Blumenauer was in Portland this week to kickstart a fundraising campaign for his re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
{via Bike Portland}

In recent weeks, the media has taken note of Blumenauer’s rising position of influence in the halls of Congress and his reputation as the “bike guy” on Capitol Hill.

“It’s about changing land-use patterns so you don’t have to burn a gallon of gas to buy a gallon of milk.”

Much of his talk focused on the example Portland is setting for the entire nation. He called Portland, “the epicenter of an American cycling revolution.” He spoke about our campaign to establish a network of bike friendly streets and said, “families cycling on bicycle boulevards are an indicator species of a livable community.”

He also rallied the troops and spoke of the critical importance of a “citizen infrastructure…the people who’ve decided that they’re going to make a difference.” Blumenauer wants to, “make the cycling community a powerful political force”. He said that if one million “cycling fanatics” around the country could get together than it would have “a transformational effect on politics.”

(Anyone up for organizing a One Million Man (and Woman) Ride to Washington?)

Here’s what Blumenauer said about the climate change crisis:

“We’ve got about 10 years to turn around the global warming equation. We’ve got an 80% reduction by 2050, which means we’ve got to get started on it now; it’s energy, it’s transportation, and it’s land use, and the bicycle is something that can bring people together that can make a difference in a hurry, and start changing the way we that regard how we work with one another, how we deal with natural resources, how we live a little lighter on the planet. So this isn’t just about bicycle advocacy, this is about saving the world, and healing the political process.”

Blumenauer also stressed the importance of taking advantage of the current political climate in Washington:

“We’re going into a three year window of opportunity that is unparalleled. We have 378 days until there is a new administration, and in that period of time, we’re going to be setting the table legislatively and politically.”

Blumenauer said that he guarantees that no matter who the next president is, “he or she will be much more receptive to what we’re trying to do, without question.”

As for the recently defeated Bike Commuter Benefit, Blumenauer was upbeat and spoke of a silver lining,

“We got a bike commuter benefit through the House twice this year…it was the Republican road block in the Senate that knocked it out, but we’re going to get there. We’ve now got people in the House Ways and Means Committee that agree it makes sense…and the good news of them knocking it out is that we’re going to be able to raise it when it gets back in, it’s going to be a bigger number. It’s the sort of thing that will level the playing field. We don’t even have to level the playing field, but if we just don’t tilt it quite so much against cyclists and pedestrians I think it will make a huge difference.”

And on the next Transportation Bill, which is up again in the next Congress, Blumenauer said the cycling stars are coming into alignment with Jim Oberstar — the “#1 cycling advocate who’s ever served in Congress” — is in line to become chair of the House Transportation Committee.

Blumenauer said Oberstar’s leadership of that committee will be “transformational” and “profound”. He also said that Oberstar is convinced that what Portland has done with cycling, transit and land use is “part of what’s going to save America.”

Blumenauer also noted that the chair of the House Subcommittee on Transportation will be Oregon’s other bike-friendly congressman, Peter DeFazio.

But Blumenauer also warned of some storm clouds ahead. He said the Transportation Fund is going into deficit next year for the first time in history and that he “wants to make sure we don’t have to have a food fight for table scraps over transportation.”

Blumenauer seemed to pin much hope on a grassroots, citizen-led movement for bikes. He closed his talk by saying,

We’ve got to transform this into a national movement. We’re making progress, we’ve got a great opportunity, but it’s going to be tough sledding because there’s lots of competition and we’ve got some significant hurdles to overcome.