The Life-Sized City Blog

What a mammoth task. I don't think I realised what I was getting into. I have waded my way through scores of research studies and surfed around the net under I was blue in the face. All while trying to make heads or tails of this Bike Helmet Hysteria. I don't know where to start regarding what I've found. I'd like to thank most everyone who commented on the first post . There were so many great links and sober, level-headed comments. It's a shame that the points of view of these sensible people are rarely heard in the debate. A few things are certain, however. I no longer have to jump to conclusions after reading the facts behind the issue. Now it's small step to clear-cut conclusions. Another certainty is that virtually every bike helmet advocacy group out there quote the same statistic like it was carved in stone. They repeat it endlessly, like a broken record. No advocates question it - it is merely The Truth. The statistic in question is that " cycle he

I just had to chuck this post up. I'm in the midst of reading reams of research studies and formulating a blog response to the world of bike helmet advocacy. Regarding the fear-mongering inherent in the whole debate, I was quite shocked to find this video. It's absolutely mad. It's from the Ride of Silence website. The Ride of Silence is apparently some kind of memorial event where cyclists honour cyclists who died over the past year with a tribute ride. Which sounds nice. They have a video on their website about last year's ride, where the ride went around a lake. Here's a link to the page - it opens in a new window and starts playing automatically . Here's what the speaker says: "This has grown way beyond anyone's dreams. No one ever saw this happening. South Africa, Scotland, England, Brazil, Greece... the list goes on and on. You'll be riding with them, 'cause there's still carnage goin' on out there on the roads. Someone's going

A bit of strangeness on this Thursday morning. Creative Director Yorgo Tloupas of Intersection Magazine had this bike made by Max Knight. Art meets bike. Quite the funky ensemble. It actually works, too, as you can see in the video below. Perfect for commuting distances of up to 4.5 metres: