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Car Fasting is the New Fast Car

We've often wondered where the religious types were on intelligent transport. You'd think there would be enough inspiration in their books - Bible/Torah/Koran to support healthy, modern living. Yet it's not often you see churches and religious organistations coming out in support of liveable cities. So then our friend Paul in Vienna sent us a link to an intiative by the Catholic and Protestant churches of Austria. Car Fasting - or Autofasten , in German . A brilliant intiative to encourage people to go on a car fast and seek alternatives. Here's what I lamely translated from their website: Car Fasting is ... - An initiative to encourage a change of independent mobility between Ash Wednesday (13 Feb) to Holy Saturday (30 March). - Suggesting choosing available alternatives like rail, bus, bicycle, foot, car-pooling) in order to discover something new and to experiment. - Contributing to new experiences and to public health. - An opportunity to shape a bet...

Multi-faith Bicycles in Antwerp

What IS it about Antwerp? Like I've been blogging about, it's quite a suprising city on so many levels. Here's another example. While many "bicycle enthusiasts" get all neo-sanctimonious about bicycles, let's see how "religious enthusiasts" use the bicycle. Oh, wait... they use it just like any other Citizen Cyclist.  The Muslim community in the Borgerhout neighourhood of Antwerp arranged a bike ride. Participants paid €2 to take part and the proceeds went to a school project in Kebdana, a village in Northern Morocco. They also hoped to promote better bicycle facilities and parking, as well as bringing all the different people in the community together. The Fietsersbond donated two bikes to Kebdana and two others to teach new arrivals from Morocco how to cycle. My friend Stef, from the Belgian NGO Fietsersbond.be took these shots a few weeks back. The ride went past six different mosques and it was promoted by the imams - top photo. ...

The Church of Sit Up Cycling

A resident of Vancouver, Canada has started a new church. The Church of Sit Up Cycling. Cycling 'enthusiasts' have long exhibited a passion for their hobby or sport that resembles religious observance. Now the realm of worship has come to the aesthetic art and act of regular citizens riding upright bicycles. We like this theological uprighteousness. Reverend James Twowheeler is the 'nom de plume' of the church's founder. As stated on the church's website: Wearing their normal work and play clothes is an essential religious practice of members of the Church of Sit-Up Cycling. This may or may not include wearing plastic hats. Believers wholly endorse the use of such accident-preventing safety measures as lights, bells, height, strict compliance with traffic signals, a leisurely pace and the use of dedicated cycling streets and lanes. Reverend Twowheeler discovered a potential loophole in British Columbia's Motor Vehicle Act . British Columbia is one ...