2011 EDITION An editorial project that brings together the most significant initiatives, organizations and riders that share our vision of cycling and life.
Cycling is not just a way of getting around, it is a way of getting together. People all around the world have combined their passion for cycling with a way they believe can make the world a better place. Whether the bike is a hobby, workplace or lifeline it represents the freedom to be oneself and to give that little bit more to others. We are proud to present the 2011 Worldwide Cycling Atlas, a collection of some of the most interesting bicycle-related initiatives from around the world. We know how inspirational the bicycle can be and share the same passion and vision with the community of riders worldwide.
Worldwide Cycling Atlas
14
16
01
06
08
01 Maya Pedal Asociaci贸n San Andr茅s Itzapa, Guatemala
04 Aeolian Ride Worldwide
07 The Bristol Bike Project Bristol, UK
02 Naked Bike Ride Cape Town, South Africa
05 BEN Namibia
08 Critical Mass New Zealand
03 Future Shock Bike Crew Queens, New York, USA
06 Biciacci贸n Quito, Ecuador
09 Dynamo DJ Bike Perugia, Italy
03
11 07
13 15
09 04 10
12
05
02
17
10 Follow the Women Middle East
13 Magnificent Revolution London, UK
11 Glasgow Bike Shed Glasgow, UK
14 Pedals for Progress New Jersey, USA
12 Handcycling Singapore Singapore
15 Re~Cycle Colchester, U.K.
16 The Pleasant Revolution Bicycle Music and Film Festival North San Juan, CA 17 World By Cycle Freshwater, Australia
Maya Pedal Asociación San Andrés Itzapa, Guatemala
Bicimáquinas In 1997, in San Andrés Itzapa in Guatemala, Maya Pedal Asociación began recycling scraps of bicycles into Bicimáquinas.
Photos and Story by Matteo de Mayda
Bicimáquinas are pedal-powered blenders, washing machines and threshing machines, that eliminate the need for fuel and electricity. Pumps are also possible, and are capable of extracting 30 liters of water per minute from 30-meter deep wells (electronic pumps reach just to 12 meters). The idea of these ingenious contraptions emerged from the desire to help the farming families of the San Andrés community. The issue that gave rise to Maya Pedal was the expense and shortage of electricity and fuel in the village. Carlos and Cesar, creators of Maya Pedal, have achieved an extraordinary result: a worthy project that does not pollute and is extremely fascinating in its involvement of volunteers from around the world who are building a fantastic pedal revolution. The bicimáquinas Bicilicuadora (Blender): A common kitchen blender adapted to a converted bicycle. Blends fruit-smoothies, vegetable purée and grain, as well as soaps and shampoos. Perfect for selling smoothies at the football field, festivals and parades. Spins up to 6400 rpm. Bicibomba (Water Pump): The pedalpowered water pump is capable of extracting 30 liters of water per minute from wells 30 meters deep. (electronic pumps reach only 12 meters). Bicidesgranadora (Mill/Corn Thresher): This bicycle machine is adapted to fit a handpowered grinding mill or a corn thresher. The Mill function has the capacity to mill 3 lbs. per minute of any type of grain. The most
common use is for milling yellow maize, soya beans and coffee. The Thresher is used postharvest and easily degrains 12 to 15 quintals (1 quintal = 100lbs.) per day and requires only one person to operate the machine. Bicidespulpadora de Cafe (Coffee Depulper) Removes the outer shell of the coffee bean allowing small-scale farmers to then roast their own beans in the sun. This machine has the capacity to process 7lbs per minute. San Andrés Itzapa A small community located in the mountain area in the center of Guatemala, 40 minutes by bicycle from the old capital Antigua, declared World Heritage by UNESCO. The village is surrounded by a thick, neat forest and the climate is called the “eternal spring”, ideal for flora and fauna. Indeed, families live mainly on the work in fields through the production of coffee, wheat, cotton and avocado. The inhabitants are called “Itzapecos” and they have red skin, straight hair and a wise look. The women wear colorful “cortes” (skirts) and dedicate themselves to the production and sale of tortillas in the streets, or they have a space at the market where they sell the produce of the fields. The men take care of the garden and wear shirts, sombreros and, even from a young age, they have a long machete hung from their belts. San Andrés and Guatemala are ranked among the 10 poorest places in the world, but the Itzapecos seem to pay little heed to this data, living with their ingenious machines in contagious serenity.
Interview Carlos Enrique Marroquí Machan Creator of Maya Pedal
My name is Carlos Enrique Marroquí Machan, I come from an indigenous family. I’ve always lived in San Andres Ixtapa, a village located 60 km from the capital city of Guatemala. As a boy, I was a witness to the Guatemala civil war, so I can say I had a hard childhood, but this violent and hostile context didn’t manage to harm my personal development and values. I began working as a mechanic in a garage and later, around 1997, I met a group of Canadians who were working in this area, giving support to the indigenous communities. They were focused on reconstructing the society, especially giving attention to the poorest families and the women who had many children: they needed advice to generate job opportunities. Lots of people had lost their houses and their jobs because of armed conflict. These organizations helped us to harmonize. Leaders were chosen to manage different projects inside the communities. The conditions of work were difficult in general, for example; grinding seeds with a hand mortar while holding a baby, or having to walk 6km to get water. This project has brought well-being to all the families. A well-being focused on what every person, every family needs. Do you like cars? I’ve liked cars since I was a child; the problem is the high pollution they generate. Before joining Maya Pedal, I was working as a bus driver. I loved traveling, discovering other places. I’m very fond of vehicles. But even though I liked that job, my dream and my need as a person, was to help our people and that’s how I started this project;
Sometimes they ask me, did you study engineering? Have you been to university? I answer: No. Only that God has given me the wisdom to make these machines and to be able to help people. After 8 years of working with Maya Pedal, my work speaks for itself, and different universities are interested in my creations. I have even trained qualified young students from the University of Hawaii, for example. I feel that it is my nature to help others. I am like that. How did the project come about? Do you have some interesting anecdotes to share with us? As I said before, we saw the civil war in our country. These circumstances pushed us to get together, to organize ourselves, summoning people for a social consensus among members and representatives of the communities. This revival of our social force, made us look for alternatives to every family’s experience, for every inhabitant. I might say the “Bici-máquinas” were born the day we visited the first family in the village of Bola de Oro. It was there that I implemented the first “Bici-máquina “; initially I thought it was funny. I felt I was a crazy inventor trying to build a machine out of nothing. I gave them a contraption made of a mill, a table and a bicycle. I was wearing traditional clothes and this was the real problem... these clothes are very wide and somewhat inconvenient to pedal the “Bici-máquinas”. Another problem was that American bicycles are very high and big and here the people are rather small. So we decided to modify them, assembling new mechanisms and adapting them to the size and needs of each person. Once some prototypes were finished,
the news spread among the locals and many people became interested in our inventions. Later volunteers and the organizations started coming and the recognition of our work followed. What are the pros and cons of Maya Pedal? Thank God, despite the drawbacks all these years have been great for us. Nowadays, people really trust the “bici-máquina”. We don’t need to advertise it, the “máquina” speaks for itself. The villagers come here because they know that our bicycles work and that they provide solutions without so much effort. The “bici-máquina” is somewhere between “handcraft” and “industry” because they don’t use fuel, but they are machines. The difficulties are related to getting the bicycles we recycle, and the taxes we have to pay. That is a big concern in Guatemala: even though we are an NGO trying to help the people, the government still doesn’t give us tax exemption, so we pay taxes as much as any private company does. Some years ago we had a bad experience with a container loaded with donated bicycles. They denied it entrance to the country, hinting at unfair competition to other bicycle companies in Guatemala. Our response has always been that we want to help the communities, the people from Guatemala; we are not a company... we don’t do business. Maya Pedal charges a minimal fee on the final price of manufacture of the “bicycle machine”. We must pay the taxes, for the electricity, the materials. The money we charge helps us with economic support to
work here; for example, in my case, like many other people who are working here, we have families to support. We are not selling the machines, we just charge the minimum for the manufacture in the final price of the “bici-máquinas” just to support Maya Pedal. Can you describe how the “bicycle-machine” is made? Take the “mill/threshing machine”. Our people used to shed the grain by hand: that takes a lot of time and physical effort. For example, to peel five 45-kilo bags in one day takes 8 hours of work. It was a hard and exhausting process. Some people used other methods: either “beating” the bags, or they used nails to shed the corn. So, we reinterpreted the manual knowhow adapting it to the bicycle, which turned out to be an effective “bici-molinodesgranadora”. To construct these machines, we use the frame of the bicycle, respecting its form and its internal angles, adding more pieces and tubes. We re-use as much as possible from the bicycle’s original structure: the gears, the handlebars, the wheels (if they are 20cm in diameter, since this is the measure that best fits Guatemalan people). We have adapted our “bici-máquinas” to different needs, sizes and ages; so they are suitable for both children and older people. We have even been asked to make exercise bicycles, for gymnastics; but we only make “productive” bicycle - machines; since, while using our bikes people benefit their home economy besides getting exercise.
Can you explain how the “Bomb-Bicycle” works? We build the bomb-bicycle with wooden valves and plastic wires. Every 40cm, we add one of these valves. Wood has the advantage of not expanding if in contact with water, it is a resistant and durable material. Then the bomb is completed by adding a tube that is sunk in the water. That’s how, through the energy of pedaling, water begins to circulate along the tube, rising up to the surface and providing water. Then we distribute the water towards different points of the house. All the materials that we use are recycled: for example, the wheel that turns the bomb has a 13”-diameter rim, from a small car, combined with a 16” wheel, as well as a sprocket wheel of two pieces that balances the weight of the water and the force of the feet. This system stops the water from returning if the person stops pedaling, and prevents injury; it is like an emergency system that makes the machine safer. Does Maya Pedal repair bicycles? Here we repair, cut, paint and do a little bit of everything. Also we help anyone who wants to build their own bicycle-machine, and we organize training courses for locals and foreigners who want to learn how to repair their bicycles. We are always available. Do you like being a volunteer? It’s hard to find the right words to describe what volunteering means to me. All the volunteers here are like my “family”; I don’t have preferences, no differences. All the volunteers are MY family. Some time ago I had the opportunity to visit an indigenous reserve in Arizona and that experience
marked me. When I came 40 volunteers were waiting for me, and I said to myself “wow.. what’s going on here!”. It was an amazing surprise to be welcomed by “my brothers”. That’s what I feel when the volunteers come to join us at Maya Pedal. This is not just an organization, and that’s why we call ourselves “the Maya Pedal Family”, because here we meet people from different parts of the world to share good and bad experiences. I think there should be no boundaries between cultures to get together, we are all the same, we are all human beings and we can help each other. How do the volunteers come? Each volunteer tells his friends and those friends tell other friends, so it’s like a chain. For example, today you come here, and meet us. Tomorrow you’ll tell another friend and he becomes a “potential” volunteer - it’s a chain. Life is a people-chain with the desire to collaborate. And then we have our website where people can contact us directly. How is it possible to collaborate with the project? We don’t receive any help from the government: our organization is sustained thanks to donations of second-hand bicycles and the help of the volunteers who provide us with tools and money. I am not a person who asks very often. I prefer to accept what you are willing to offer me; it’s the desire to help that counts. Sometimes the volunteers beg me “ask for more economic aid”, but that is not my way of living. Our priority is actually the bicycles: we need more bicycles to turn them into work-machines to continue our mission with Maya Pedal.
Who provides you with the materials you use? We have two sponsors from the United States. They send us used bicycles from Boston and Chicago; I have no words to thank them for what they do for us. A few years ago I had the opportunity to travel and got to know many of the volunteers who gather the bicycles and ship them. It is a very complex task, more than it seems. It would be great, though, to have more organizations helping us, so we can assist even more people with our project. How do you imagine the next 5 years of Maya Pedal? I hope that Maya Pedal continues to grow. We may not have more donations from our sponsors in the future because of the global economy and the way we are living. One of the main goals is that Maya Pedal can still exist without any external collaboration. Our second goal is to create a school of “Bicycle Technology” to organize workshops in different communities around Guatemala and to offer training to the foreign volunteers who want to join us, who would pay a small monthly fee that would help us maintain our project. “In this life nobody is born full of knowledge: we learn by living every day, experimenting. There is no sweetness without bitterness. In this life you have to make mistakes to learn the best way to solve problems”. These expressions give sense to my work. And to conclude this interview, I would like to give this message: “Let’s make planet Earth our church, and let’s nurture it like a religion”. Thank you.
Maya Pedal Asociaci贸n San Andr茅s Itzapa, Guatemala www.mayapedal.org
GUATEMALA
14mil. Population, total
116th HDI (Human Index Development)
51% Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line. (% of population)
71 Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
51% Population lives on less than $2 a day
First we cut the aloe, then we take off the skin we cut it into little pieces and we put it in the Bicilicuadora blender and we pedal! It makes the hair fresh and straight. This is the prepared shampoo. Aña Maria Guch President of “Women for Development in Action”
Bicimolino/Desgranadora de Maiz (Degrainer)
Bicibomba (Water Pump)
San AndrĂŠs Itzapa, Guatemala
Joey repairing a wheel
Anna and Mathias in the workshop
Volunteers: Anna Normandin (Arizona U.S.A.), Bruce Thomas (NEW ZEALAND), David Anhalt (Illinois - U.S.A.), Emily Linders (Missouri - U.S.A.), Gavin Betzelberger (Illinois - U.S.A.), Joey Binhammer (Oregon - U.S.A.), Matthias Weiss (AUSTRIA), Paul Joseph Park (Maryland - U.S.A.), Ryan Stimac (U.S.A.), Tzippora Rhodes (Illinois - U.S.A.), Vincent Levy (Oregon - U.S.A.)
Naked Bike Ride Cape Town, South Africa
As bare as you dare Since 2004, cities across the world have been experiencing the joy of the world’s largest naked cycling promoting event in the history of humanity.
Photos and Story by Laia Abrll
Last Sunday 11th March 2011, for the first time in Africa, a peaceful, imaginative and fun protest against oil dependency and car culture took place in Cape Town (SA). A celebration of both the bicycle and the power and individuality of the human body. A symbol of the vulnerability of the cyclist in traffic. The world’s biggest naked protest: 50+ cities and thousands of riders participated worldwide, including around 150 people in Cape Town. Riding in Cape Town The most-asked question by the crowd was: What to wear? The answer was: Do not fear! The World Naked Bike Ride dress code is “As Bare As You Dare”... How bare is that? How dare is that? It’s all up to you. You decide what you are comfortable with. Their statement was: It’s time to put a stop to the indecent exposure of people and the planet to cars and the pollution they create. We confront automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and exposing the vulnerability of cyclists and the perils pedestrians face on our streets, as well as the negative consequences of dependence on oil, and other forms of non-renewable energy.
The organization In the pictures, the event coordinators: Zoe Duby, 28, claims 3 nationalities: South African, Swazi and British, she works as a Social Sciences researcher in the field of Public Health and HIV. She is an outdoor, natural woman, and spends her free time rock climbing, surfing, trail running, cycling, doing yoga, creating art and growing vegetables! Andrew Wheeldon, 45, has dual nationality, South African and Australian. He works as a Managing Director of BEN (http://www. benbikes.org.za) and loves to spend his time riding his bike and exploring new places. Marcela Guerrero, from Colombia, works in a Fair Trade NGO. She arrived in South Africa many years ago, but came to Cape Town just one year ago. She loves traveling and art. Efua Prah, 27, from South Africa and Ghana, Doctorate Student in Medical Anthropology; also a teacher and the Director of Children’s Project (www.creativeducation.org). Backs In the pictures, many different environmentalists and peacemakers support the messages of the people attending the event. Some of them came from home with the slogans already painted and the body art made, others joined in with the initiative at the organizers’ command.
Interview Andrew Wheeldon Naked Ride Bike coordinator
I run an NGO in Cape Town called BEN*, which stands for Bicycle Empowerment Network. I started it back in 2002. What exactly is Bicycle Empowerment? We do training, mainly at schools. We also teach people how to maintain their bikes, how to repair punctures, how to make sure their brakes and the gears are working properly. Basically, that the bike is roadworthy and is not going to break down on them. Because what we’ve found a lot of the time is that something would go wrong with the bike, and people are put off cycling forever, because they think it’s inconvenient, not very reliable. I can’t be stuck trying to fix a puncture at the side of the road all the time. Or they don’t know how to do it, so we show them how easy it is to fix a puncture. And kids actually get very excited about it and see it as a new skill, it gives them a new sense of independence, and control, knowledge and power. What do you do in addition to providing lowcost bicycles? Just one part is the provision of the bikes; we do have bikes, and they are at the right price, they are low-cost. We can give you the skills so you feel comfortable and safe and so on. It’s one thing to teach the user, but it’s another to create bike lanes and to really make it safe. Because even the most skilled, experienced cyclist is at risk on these roads, because of the way people drive. How important is the environment? Sure, the other side of the coin is actually creating the environment. It’s one thing to teach the user, but it’s
another to create bike lanes and to really make it safe. It’s education on one hand, and building the environment on the other. Getting bicycle lanes and making the city safe. And that is a longer process. It’s quite quick and easy to go to schools, and do the training... Is there the political will to support cycling initiatives? Working with the city, and the provincial government, and the national government, and getting them to change policies and rebuild the city environment, is a much longer-term project. We’ve been doing it for 9 years now, and finally they’re showing it can happen, they are building bike lanes, etc. A couple of times I’ve met the national government, the national department of transport to look at policies for bicycles and I’ve advised them on what they need to do in terms of changing the law and setting out a new policy. And they’re starting now. National directors are now saying, ‘we do want to make cities safer, for all users of the city’. The mind of the city seems to be changing. as they’re aiming it towards the lowest common denominator. It’s for the person who maybe, perhaps is in a wheelchair. Let’s try to make the city accessible for them. What does that mean? It means ramps on all of the sidewalks, it means good pedestrian crossings, long signals so people in a wheelchair have enough time to cross the street, and so on. If you can create a city where the most at-risk (be it the poor, the disabled, or whatever) feel free and safe in the city, then you have created a democratic city. If the city is only free, accessible and nice for people with
expensive cars who can speed all over... You haven’t really done anything. What about the behavior of the average person? It takes a very considered education campaign. We’ve tried to get more into the learner-driver’s booklets. That’s where you can raise awareness about pedestrians and cyclists much more seriously. Because those are the people that get killed. If you bump into another car, yes there’s an insurance claim and possibly there’s an injury and so on. But for the most part the people who die on the roads of the world, are pedestrians and cyclists. Since the first documented car fatality in England in 1896, when a woman was crossing the road and was hit by a car... 150 years since then... 100 million people have died in car accidents, that’s more than all of the wars of the 20th century, all of the wars together. Is the environment becoming safer for nonmotorists? Many cities are starting to change their terminology, they’re not calling them traffic accidents. It was not a traffic accident, it was a crash. There’s no accident here. Occasionally there is an accident, but often people have the power to avoid it, to not drive into people, to prevent it. When I did an advanced driver’s test, 15 years ago, I remember the instructor saying to me ‘the only traffic accident that you can’t prevent is when you’re sitting in a traffic jam, surrounded by cars, and somebody hits you from the back, and you’ve got nowhere to go’. But any other instance, when you’ve got freedom of mobility you can avoid it.
Have motorists become more considerate? If you think carefully, and you drive defensively, and you leave big gaps between other vehicles and yourself you won’t be hit. I always try to drive defensively. So, particularly when I’m around pedestrians and cyclists, I leave a very wide gap, I overtake very slowly and carefully and I let them know that I’m there. I want them to know that I want to keep them safe. There’s not enough of that, there’s very aggressive driving on the roads of South Africa. Everyone is in a hurry, people don’t have patience, and even nice and non-aggressive people, put them behind the wheel of a car, and they become aggressive!! Suddenly they’ve got all this power and they want to use it!! Where do we start? The training we do at schools... I think kids love it. If they’ve been given the independence to get from home to school safely; and they can go after school to visit friends... It really makes the difference. Particularly if they are feeling trapped and unsafe, they’re always told by their parents ‘it’s dangerous out there’, ‘we’re the only ones who can take you wherever you want to go’. There is a sense of not living in a nice city. You’re living in a city that you can’t live in, that you can’t explore, that you don’t have enough independence in, that you feel trapped in. And we have to trust kids more, but we also have to create a safer environment for them. When you’re growing up as an 8, 9, 10-year old, gradually you should come more and more to feel safe and free and independent in your city. Not in a risky way, of course, but it’s a very important growth. I want to live in a city like that.
What’s happening in other countries? Well, I wanted to mention that from what we’ve seen in international research the more cyclists you have on the road, the safer it becomes for each of them, just in general terms. If you have 1% of cyclists in a city, that is a very unsafe situation for cyclists. If it goes, as in some Dutch or Danish cities, up to 25%, 35%, the statistics drop. Our cities are cardominant cities. Barcelona is starting to make a big difference with public bikes and bike lanes. You start with the bike lanes... in order to make the city safe, that’s gonna make the biggest jump forward. It’s the hardest thing to do, but you gotta make it more and more difficult for people to enter the city in a private car. Public transport is another thing. Private cars in a city... their days are numbered. They’re becoming Jurassic. We need to start with getting more bike lanes built, start slowly to make it more difficult for people to use their cars. So, is Europe leading the way? Well, there is Enrique Peñaloza, he was the mayor of Bogota (Colombia). His main thing was to design and build this beautiful bus lane, with buses going really efficiently and quickly, with hundreds of people on them, getting to work on time, virtually cost-free, no need to find any parking space, all smiling, making friends on the bus, talking to each other... and right next to them on the road all those miserable drivers sitting in their 45-minute long traffic jams, he says there’s nothing better. Slowly one by one, each of those drivers will start getting the bus. And the statistics show that around 40% of bus travelers used to be single-occupancy car drivers. And now they’re on the bus. That’s brilliant. Next to the bus lane you gotta have
another free lane with lots of little bikes going along... this quiet revolution of mobility, of people going along, all you can hear is the gears and bells. No pollution, no CO2, no grinding engines, gearboxes, tires squealing, nothing like that, just bikes going along quietly. What do you expect for tomorrow? We must get more and more people to start using bikes, and feel happy about it. As I said, taking back the city. It is about reclaiming the city. This is my city, I have the right to dress as I wish, and to ride my bike where I wish. And I demand that it is safe. My value in a democratic society is that I can do that. And I’m not gonna get arrested, or knocked over by a truck, or screamed at by someone. I have the right to express the freedom of my city. There are many ways in which we can get more people cycling and out of their cars, and just be more educated about the environment. So is raising awareness the key? Yes. People should know their car generates 150 grams/per km of carbon dioxide. And if you’re driving a huge SUV, 4x4, you’re producing 500 grams per km of CO2, that’s going into the air. This stuff is slowly making our health worse and worse, and it needs to be stopped. We need to show people clearly how they can make the difference by using bikes. Sometimes you need protest movements, you need World Naked Bike Rides, you need all kinds of organized events to capture the imagination of the public of the city. In different ways, to make them say ‘yeah, that’s something that I like’, ‘I’m joining that protest, that cause’ ‘I’m gonna do that. I’m gonna get on my bike, I’m gonna do this’.
*BEN’s main mission is to address poverty and mobility by promoting the bicycle in all its forms. BEN imports used bicycles from Europe, and distributes them to low income areas, trains the recipients of the bikes in safety and maintenance, establishes Bicycle Empowerment Centres and encourages cities to implement bicycle planning and infrastructure. They also help to plan events to promote the use of the bicycle as a form of mobility - also known as active transport. Through the creation of 14 Bicycling Empowerment Centres and the distribution of some 14000 new and used bikes, they are beginning to address job creation and access. Their training programs ensure that bike recipients are safe and in control of their bikes, mechanically and otherwise. The work they do in collaboration with the cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Tshwane is beginning to see the creation of environments that facilitate safe and secure bicycle travel. They trust this will continue long into the future, as they have not yet begun to make the difference, and tip the balance in favour of mass bicycle use, both in South Africa and beyond.
Naked Bike Ride Cape Town, South Africa www.wnbr.co.za
SOUTH AFRICA
49mil. Population, total
9 CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita)
10mil. Fatal car accidents each year
50% Cars on the road that are uninsured
40mil. People seriously injured by a car crash each year
I live for a greener world and a healthy lifestyle. The earth and all that it contains is sacred. I try and always do things that align with multiplying love, peace and balance. I enjoy being active as it raises my level of consciousness and awareness. Efua Prah Doctorate Student in Medical Anthropology Teacher and the Director of Children’s Project
Body painting for the demonstration to cover up a bit of her naked body and draw the attention of the citizens of Cape Town.
“i decided to come today because usually it’s almost impossible to get around Cape Town on a bike”. Naked Cyclist
Future Shock Bike Crew Queens, New York, USA
1,500 pounds of music Nicholas and Anil create a “stereo bike” a massive feat of speakers and sonic wiring the likes of which the world had never seen.
Photos and Story by Reed Young
Trinidad, Tobago, isn’t exactly a stone’s throw from New York City—and not just in terms of mileage. When it comes to culture, Caribbeans value the high and mighty, the loud and proud, especially when it comes to music. Whether in the car or on their feet, this community gives a whole new meaning to the term “surround sound.” The components and designers of the Future Shock Bike Crew in Queens, New York are Nicholas Ragbir (21 years old) , Jessica Ragbir (19 years old) and Anil Bhimraj (22 years old). Preparation in Queens Backed by the community (and a feature in The New York Times), Nicolas and Anil pursued their “bike dreams” even further. Piece by expensive piece, they built up their cycles with equipment purchased with afterschool jobs and allowances. This reached its apex with a custom chain ring designed to ease the weight of 1,500 pounds of gear, making it easy for riders to breeze through the hood blasting drum and bass lines. Several other custom stereo bikes followed, gaining them notoriety and, perhaps more importantly, a place in a society that can be less than friendly to those from the outside.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of Riding the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard
in Queens
When teenaged Nicolas Ragbir and Anil Bhimraj moved to Queens from Trinidad, they figured they’d bring a little hometown noise with them. Their neighborhood—known as Little Guyana now mainly populated by Caribbeans—is no stranger to loud music; the locals swear by their souped-up hydrolics and larger-than life sound systems. But in 2008, Nicholas and Anil took things to the next level, harnessing their roots to create a “stereo bike,” a massive feat of speakers and sonic wiring the likes of which the world had never seen. Neighbours Fred, 61, has lived over 40 years in Queens and remembers when it was a good neighborhood, safe enough to sleep in doorways without getting mugged. He loves the freedom of the US but thinks that young people today take it too far. He doesn’t like the noise level of today’s youths. Or their trouser-style. Sheila has lived in Queens for 20 years and for her the music on the streets can never be too loud. The only noise that bothers her is the sound of her neighbors complaining. She sees the young musicians as inventors with a great future and hopes they will never stop.
Interview Anil Bhimraj Component and designer of the Future Bike Crew
My name is Anil Bhimraj. I’m from Trinidad and Tobago. I live in Queens, NY. And I’m part of the Future Shock Bike Crew, we do Stereo Bikes. It first began when I was in Trinidad and Tobago. I was going to school one day and I saw this kid riding a bike, and it had speakers on it, and it wasn’t much but... ok. I liked it, and I started doing it back home, and afterwards I came up here. One day I saw Nicholas, doing the same thing and we got together. Afterwards we started raising money every week, we got a little allowance, and we put it together to buy speakers, put it on our bikes. And we kept doing it every week and every other week, that little money we would make. We kept going and we made a big bike. And one day we got seen by the News, NY1, and they put us up in the newspapers and stuff. After that we started getting sponsors, by Pioneer and JL audio. After that we got bigger bikes and stuff. How many people are in your crew? My crew is 3 people, we have 2 boys and 1 girl. We needed a girl because we can’t have an all-boys-crew. Jessica, Nicholas and me. Jessica has a bike with lights and a little music on it. Nicholas has a bike with JL speakers on it. And we all love to ride around in the avenues. Relax and chill together. What is positive and negative about having this in Queens? I live in Queens, and a lot of people from around here are from the Caribbean, and they love music. So we don’t have a problem playing music around here. You know, you gotta respect the neighborhood. That’s the positive, that nobody complains. You don’t have police coming and bothering you, wanting to take stuff from you. And the
neighbors are really cool in my neighborhood around here. The negative is that the older people in the neighborhood can’t handle the noise, so we gotta keep it down, and they have a lot of people complaining, they wanna call the cops, they gonna take it and stuff. What other difficulties have you faced that have strengthened your group? One of the difficulties we had in the past, was an issue we had with a friend. They were really close friends... We spent a lot of money getting music, and one day they stole all the music from us. We were shocked. We didn’t know what to do. But then, through MTV we got sponsors, Pioneer and JL audio, because they saw what we were doing and they were interested in sponsoring us with music for us to go out there and show our stuff. They saw it like an art. Speakers on bikes was something new to them. They wanted to put it out there, so that people could see. And what’s the contribution of your group to society? Everyone in this neighborhood loves music. And I love music so much, since I was a kid I’ve always listened to music on cars and stuff... my dad’s car. So we ride around, play some music, everybody will be like “Oh, my God, a bike with music on it” they gonna come to you, look at it, take a lot of pictures and stuff. It’s like something new to them, like you invent something but it’s like an art. So they come up to take pictures, a lot of people. Explain the fund raising situation. Sponsors. Pioneer and JL sponsor us and sustain our audio. We were in so much hardship and couldn’t afford most of this stuff that they
decided to sponsor us with a lot of music, batteries and wires. And they funded it. They have to pay us a small amount, they ship it out to us... and the fundraising when we go out there, they send us out to show people what they can do with the music, how the music sounds, the quality. What do you do in return? And in return they want us to go out, support them. We make flyers and stuff about the JL speakers, how they sound. When we play the music when we’re out there, it sounds really loud compared to a car. So people are shocked, and they come to ask the model of the speaker, the name, what we make. And that’s why we actually are sponsored by JL, that’s how we contribute to them, and when they see that, they send us more music for us to show it out there. When they like what we do, if we go there and do a video and there’s a lot of people asking about JL speakers and stuff, and their products go on high demand, they are going to send us new manufactures, new amplifiers, new speakers to show it out there for people to see to buy. Do you like cars? Would you do the same in a car? I also do music in cars, but I don’t have a car. I have a bicycle right now and that’s enough for now. Later I’m gonna buy my own car. If I have a car I’m gonna put a lot of music, same as my bicycle. I will try to get sponsored by JL also to put a lot of music in it. Right now I’m just with my bike and it’s more like a hobby to me. I ride around, I get to chill with my friends. It keeps me out of trouble, I don’t go smoke I don’t go drink. I don’t get into troubles like that, with the cops and stuff.
You like Queens? I come from Trinidad and Tobago. The country didn’t have much work so we decided to come here for a better life. We came, we got a job. Actually I’ve had everything I wanted so far. And I’m trying to accomplish more in life, trying to get a better job. And in Queens, this area, gotta a lot of people from the Caribbean, so they don’t have a problem. You walk down the street and you always meet people you know. What’s the bike culture like in your country vs here? They’ve got stereo bikes back home but they’re not rideable like ours. They are loud, they are ridiculously loud. You can pop out your ears probably, I saw them on TV shows... But we get more sponsors here, and we can ride our bikes. Back home you don’t get in trouble for riding in the streets, the cops don’t do anything, nor the neighbors, everyone loves music there. You’re free back home. But here there’s a lot of laws, you can’t disobey the laws. And you don’t want to disrespect all the people living in the neighborhood. What do you do for more exposure than just riding in the neighborhood? Where do you go? We get sponsored by Levi’s, 55 Diesel and JL audio... they sent us out to Austin Texas for the Kanye West Concert, and we were the first DJs in front of everybody. They shot, they came up to take pictures. And after that Austin (Texas) show we went to California beach. We met a lot of people from MTV and stuff. It was a lot of fun meeting a lot of people out there. And after that we went to a lot of shows in Manhattan, bike festivals and stuff. We met a lot of people riding bikes
in races, and when we arrived they were like “wow”. They invited us to come back every other year, to join the festival, to play music and stuff. Repeat the whole story about the Kanye West concert. We get sponsored by Levi’s, 55 Diesel to go out to Austin Texas for the Kanye West Concert, to be the personal DJs at the entrance. They had, like, over 2,000 people in the line or more. Everyone who entered, they saw us and they were shocked to see music on a bicycle that was blasting out loud. People asked us our names, what company we were in. We told about Future Shock and gave out some business cards. We got a few calls from a lot of people, they want us to mount bikes for them, they’re in far distance now, but soon we’re gonna get to them. The concert was great, we didn’t get to meet Kanye West though. They paid for your bikes to be transferred there? They paid for everything, the tractor trailer that carried the bikes, hotels, exhibit rooms, we had the best treatment, like celebrities. It was the best ever. We were on the 20-somethingth floor with pools and stuff. Clothes, everything. They gave us over $1,000 in clothes, Levi’s and Diesel Explain more about the making of the bikes. The way we build the bikes, first you have to take a regular BUX bike. A heavy duty one. You gotta change the tires, put heavy duty tubes, you gotta change the crank shuffle, you gotta put a smaller one so you can pedal very easy. You gotta weld on support bars
at the side, then you gotta build speaker boxes. Then you go to the store, well, we get sponsored by JL audio so they give us the speakers. On my bike I have 8 of them. I put them on. You know, we run the wires with an amp, you have your head unit, Clarion, Pioneer, and you have your main speakers in front of your bike. How do you mount? The welding process... We add on extra trailers to the back, we add on two extra wheels, and we build a metal frame with 3 inch steel. We have to do welding to make it... to keep the bike straight and balanced, so when you ride it doesn’t break, so you gotta do proper welding and stuff. How was this story of the stereo bikes born? Whose idea was it? I don’t know whose idea it was back home, but when I came up here it didn’t come to me to do it here. But I saw Nicholas doing it, he was the first one to do the stereo bikes in NY... but he did them very small. So I said “you know what, we’re gonna start, we’re gonna build a bigger one” because I had seen one before. Nicholas used to get an allowance so he was the guy with the funding at that time, and I was the guy with the head, knowing what to do, engineering, wiring and stuff. So we started off, we started putting money together, funding into our bikes. We started making them bigger and bigger, every week. So it started through me and Nicholas in NY City. That’s all I know. Have you seen any other people in NY copying it? Well, I’ve seen a lot of people after we came out, then people started doing what we did.
It didn’t come to their minds before, they can do it but they can’t do it as good as that. I put a lot of potential into my bike. I took like a month doing my bike, my bike costs around $12,000, I put my savings, what I work into it. I get in trouble for spending so much money or staying so late in the garage, but you know it’s like a hobby to me. I love this, I love riding bikes. I will never give up my bike. Even when I have a car, I would never give it up. I’ll always have my bike with my music on it. How you deal with all the weight? I deal with the weight... well, I have amps and speakers, I have four batteries that weigh 100 pounds each, that’s like 400 pounds right there alone. So we put support metals around, and we put the wheels and for pedaling the bike you need a lot of strength. So I go to the gym maybe once or twice a week to keep my strength in my legs just to pedal these bikes. I gotta exercise a lot just to keep pedaling this bike. We ride like 20 blocks, maybe more than that sometimes, so you gotta keep up. You can’t be riding and be (breathes out)... blowing, you can just... you know. Tell me more about the welding process. You actually have to know how to do it because you could get blinded in this situation. I have a little training from my dad, and me and Nicholas we practise a lot on pieces of metal and then try it on our bikes and that’s how we made progress on it. And it actually holds out, actually 3-4 years that it’s holding out right now.
Future Shock Bike Crew Queens, New York, USA
U.S.A.
307million Population, total
7,9million Total U.S. immigrant population last year
1 in 3 Illegal immigrants
67% Internet users who download music without caring about copyright laws
We had nothing to do and we always loved riding bikes and listening to music. We love music so much that we decided to put it on our bikes. Nicholas Ragbir, 21 Co-founder of Future Shock Bike Crew
Anil Bhimraj, 22 From Trinidad Tobago Co-founder of Future Shock Bike Crew
Jessica Ragbir,19 From Trinidad Tobago
It’s 40 years later now and I know that this loud music disturbs lots of people. But it seems that part of their culture is not to complain. Fred Beondo, 61 Angry Neighbour
Selected Initiatives
Aeolian Ride Worldwide BEN Namibia Biciacci贸n Quito, Ecuador The Bristol Bike Project Bristol, UK Critical Mass New Zealand Dynamo DJ Bike Perugia, Italy Follow the Women Reading, UK Glasgow Bike Shed Glasgow, UK HandCycling Singapore Singapore Magnificent Revolution London, UK Pedals for Progress New Jersey, USA Re~Cycle Colchester, U.K. The Pleasant Revolution Bicycle Music and Film Festival North San Juan, CA World By Cycle Freshwater, Australia
Aeolian Ride Worldwide www.aeolian-ride.info
The Aeolian Ride is 52 people in wind-inflated-suits riding bicycles through cities around the world. Inspired by a love for bikes, city cruising, critical mass, costumes, sillyness + things that inflate, Aeolian ride is a free, mass participatory event with a sense of humor. It excites those riding as well as delights those watching, all the while transforming the landscape into a playground of wind-filled shapes. The 52 suits were handmade from ripstop nylon. The 3 different styles of suits were designed to inflate while riding at low speeds. Coming soon: Aeolian Ride Rainbow Edition for kids. Aeolian ride recently received a grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council to make colorful Aeolian Ride costumes for kids. The first Aeolian Ride Rainbow Editition will be in Brooklyn, New York date and location to be announced.
BEN Namibia www.benbikes.org.za
BEN Namibia produces bicycle-pulled ambulances for use by HIV/AIDS Home Based Care (HBC) workers, HIV/AIDS self help projects, communities, clinics, and hospitals in rural Namibia. BEN Namibia’s work delivering bicycles to home-based care volunteers in the North has demonstrated that there is an enormous need for emergency transport solutions for the care of people living with HIV/AIDS. In other African countries where bicycle ambulances are in use, there have been increases in access to health care and marked declines in infant and maternal mortality rates. Because the ambulances are used through HIV/AIDS HBC networks, a high percentage of HIV/AIDS-related transports is anticipated. BEN Namibia is addressing the need for data on the transport of HIV/AIDS patients.
Biciacción Quito Isla Isabela 368 e Isla floreana Ecuador
Biciacción is a Non-Governmental Organization created in 2003, made up of young urban cyclists whose mission is to promote and create new ways of mobility, through the use of the bicycle as a means of transport, sports and recreation.
www.biciaccion.org
+Bicis -Smog is important because it shows that small actions can make important changes. Quito City is increasingly polluted and the use of the car is ever-growing. Biciaccion is thought to be Ecuador’s leading promoter of bicycle use.
The Bristol Bike Project Bristol, U.K. www.thebristolbikeproject.org
The Bristol BIke Project is the city’s biggest Community Bike Project, repairing and relocating unwanted bicycles. It aims to help people from all walks of life get out on two wheels and for that to be an inclusive and empowering experience. Through weekly workshops, ‘free’ bicycles to members of underprivileged and marginalised groups that would not otherwise have the opportunity to own one are provided. The Project combines a surplus of unwanted bikes (most of which are otherwise destined for landfill), volunteers of all abilities, who are able to develop their mechanical skills within a supportive and safe environment and marginalized people within the community in need of affordable and sustainable transportation. It’s a welcoming and inclusive community-based Project, encouraging skill-sharing, promoting sustainability and helping people help themselves.
Critical Mass New Zealand www.criticalmass.org.nz
Critical Mass is a spontaneous, leaderless bicycle ride that occurs on the last Friday of every month in almost every major city in the world. It is regarded by many participants as celebrations of selfpowered transportation as opposed to a protest or organized demonstration. The purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and travelling en masse through the city streets. While the original ride in San Francisco started to draw attention to how unfriendly the city was to cyclists, the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it one specific goal.
Follow the Women Middle East www.followthewomen.com
Follow the Women’s – The Pedal for Peace in the Middle East program brings together women from all over the world to partake in an experience like no other. Women participate for different reasons, but all leave with a greater understanding of the region and its problems and with the desire to promote peace. Many of the women who take part in the rides have never ridden a bicycle before, much less taken part in an organised action, but they pedal away the miles together to promote peace and make the world sit up and take notice. Hundreds of women cycling together through the Middle East is quite a spectacle and one which attracts a great deal of interest from the world’s media.
Glasgow Bike Shed 197 London Road, Glasgow, G40 1PB www.glasgowbikeshed.org
Glasgow Bike Shed it’s a Community Social Enterprise based in Glasgow, Scotland run by volunteers that recycles bicycles from a variety of local sources and promotes safe cycling in the city. Refurbished donated bikes and re-usable parts are reconditioned and sold in the shop. All other parts such as steel, aluminum, alloys, rubber etc are dismantled for scrap and recycled. The profit gained from selling reconditioned bikes enables them to offer various services to promote bicycle use in the city. They offer bicycle-related training such as, bike maintenance and cycle training. The workshop space is made available to customers two days a week for visits and to use the tools to repair their own bikes under the supervision of mechanics. The project is committed to promoting cycling and re- cycling in Glasgow.
Dynamo DJ Bike Italy www.dynamodjbike.com
THE BEST SOUND COMES FROM THE FEET! Three elements that apparently have nothing in common with each other, but combined together, dynamo, DJ and bike, become an original roadshow performance, designed and created by “Leo Beccafichi Fresco”, Producer and Sound Engineer from Citta di Castello. It is simply an installation that combines one’s emotional side with one’s physical side. The best sounds from DJ Fresco broadcast through pedals. That’s right: a bike is connected to a dynamo. Just pedal and generate electricity, thus feeding the DJ console. In an environmentally-correct form for an eco-friendly sound.
Handcycling Singapore Singapore www.handcycling.sg
The Handcycling Association Singapore has a mission to transform Handcycling into an established sport for disabled athletes and to develop Handcycling for all as a recreational, rehabilitative and competitive sport. The HAS’ aims are: · to raise awareness of Handcycling as a sport that can enrich lives and help improve the overall physical and mental health of people with disabilities. · to create an interactive and supportive environment for participants with or without disabilities to share their life experiences. · actively promote grassroots development and community outreach programs, thereby providing the disabled community with a platform for social interaction with peers through Handcycling. · to develop Handcycling as a larger part of the local, regional, national, and global cycling community eventually developing an elite Handcycling team to compete with the best in the world and eventually to qualify for the Paralympics.
Magnificent Revolution Hackney City Farm 1a Goldsmiths Row, London E2 8QA magnificentrevolution.org
Magnificent Revolution (MR) is a bicycle arts and ecology project based in London, UK. Made up of artists, musicians, designers, ecologists, and engineers, MR has flourished into a crossdisciplinary organisation working in education, ecology, engineering, design, art, music and film. MR has been running since the summer of 2007 when they first built a bicycle-powered cinema at the Big Chill Festival. MR is aimed at helping people understand their energy use, its links with power production and climate change. They guide people towards positive solutions and transition to low carbon lifestyles. MR uses bicycle power generators as educational tools in schools, colleges and communities. They help people to understand energy in an enjoyable and engaging way. MR also equips people with the knowledge and skills needed to actively participate in building a sustainable world by teaching them how to build their own miniature power stations.
Pedals for Progress PO Box, 312 High Bridge NJ 08829-0312 U.S.A. www.p4p.org
Pedals for Progress is a non-profit corporation based in Central New Jersey that collects and distributes used bicycles to Third World countries. P4P collects 4,000 to 7,000 bicycles annually and transfers this material wealth to those more needy. To date, more than 129,000 have been shipped to 37 developing countries in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and now Southeast Asia. In these countries the bikes are reconditioned by partner agencies and distributed at low cost to poor working adults. These bikes provide them with reliable transportation for commuting to work, transporting produce to market, accessing health care, going to school and other services. Steady employment for these adults is vital to the development and success of these economies and individuals personally.
Pleasant Revolution Bicycle Music and Film Festival
The Ginger Ninjas, creators of the Pleasant Revolution Bicycle Music Festival Tour, and the South Yuba River Citizens League, creators of the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, are teaming up to create a series of approximately 16 music/film festivals and 80 shows at schools and clubs down the U.S. West Coast in the summer and fall of 2011.
California, U.S.A.
The festivals will be both delivered and powered by bicycle, as the Ginger Ninjas and supporting acts cycle down the coast toting all their instruments and a human-powered-sound and -projection system.
www.pleasantrevolution.net
Re~Cycle Unit A Global Park Moorside (off East Street) Colchester Essex CO1 2TJ U.K. www.re-cycle.org
Transport and development go hand-in-hand. Virtually everything traded, must be transported, and almost everyone needs wheels to get to work or school. Simple, affordable transport generates wealth in developing countries, as well as saving lots of time and back-breaking work. In Britain, millions of bikes are thrown away or lie unused in sheds, whilst many people in Africa have no access to transport of any kind. People spend hours each day walking to collect water, firewood or access health care, school and employment. A bicycle lightens this burden and dramatically improves their wellbeing as well as work and education opportunities, bringing social change. A bicycle cuts travel time to a fraction and can carry passengers and heavy loads. Bikes give families the extra time to earn, learn and enjoy life. Re~Cycle has sent nearly 40,000 to Africa since 1998.
World Bicycle Relief Chicago, U.S.A. www.worldbicyclerelief.org
Since 2005 World Bicycle Relief has supplied more than 80,000 bikes to poverty relief and disaster recovery initiatives around the world. Bicycles have the ability to dramatically increase the distance an individual can travel, as well as his/her carrying capacity, all while greatly reducing travel time compared to walking. Through the Power of Bicycles, WBR has provided simple, sustainable transportation that has improved the health, education, and economic situation of those in need. World Bicycle Relief’s mission is to provide people in need with access to independence and livelihood through the Power of Bicycles. WBR was founded in 2005 as a result of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. After witnessing the horrific images on television, F.K. Day felt that he had to help. Having years of experience in the bike industry, he quickly realized the value of a bicycle to those who lack basic infrastructure.
Initiatives Index Our research has revealed many bicycle-related initiatives and individuals around the globe.
350.org
Africycle
Riding a bicycle is one of the best ways to cut carbon, build a movement, and have fun while doing it. Here are three bikerelated initiatives that 350.org is currently involved with: Moving Planet is a global mobilization that everyone can get involved with a single day to move beyond fossil fuels. Climate Ride West is a 5-day, 320-mile charitable bike ride throughout California. The 2-Mile Challenge is a mission to avoid 100,000 car trips by biking instead of driving.
Africycle is working to create sustained, responsible development in Africa. Stimulated by the support of Canadians, Africycle’s model of development utilizes a holistic strategy to benefit communities as a collective, leveraging the greatest outcome from all resources - money, time and people.
USA
www.350.org
A
Aeolian Ride Worldwide The Aeolian Ride is 52 people in wind-inflated-suits riding bicycles through cities around the world. Is a free, mass participatory event with a sense of humor. It excites those riding as well as delights those watching, all the while transforming the landscape into a playground of wind-filled shapes.
Canada & Africa
www.africycle.org
Alliance for Biking & Walking Washington, USA
The Alliance for Biking & Walking is the North American coalition of grassroots bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations. It unites advocacy leaders to help them become more effective by sharing best practices and innovations, strengthening organizations through resource sharing and training opportunities. Alliance organizations are working together to transform communities into great places to bike and walk. peoplepoweredmovement.org
www.aeolian-ride.info
African Bicycle Network
Kenya
The goal is to get more African citizens cycling and wanting to cycle, to form more interest/social groups more often and for more reasons in order to meet many of Africa’s challenges. www.africanbicyclenetwork.org
Ann Wilson UK
Ann Wilson is an inspirational British female cyclist who set off in July 2009 on a Round the World Bike ride aged 59. Her cycling adventure began in 2007 when a friend inspired her by giving her the book “A Bike Ride” by another amazing female cyclist Anne Mustoe. www.crazyguyonabike.com
Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Wisconsin, USA
The mission of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals is to increase the pedestrian and bicycle profession and its influence by facilitating the exchange of professional and technical knowledge, elevating practitioners’ skills and defining the field. www.apbp.org
Austin Cycling Association Texas, USA
The ACA is dedicated to furthering bicycle access, safety, education, and enjoyment in Central Texas by sponsoring weekly bike rides, training, informational programs and an annual charity bike ride; the Armadillo Hill Country Classic (AHCC). www.austincycling.org
B
Bamboo Bike Project
Bay Area Bicycle Coalition
The Bicycle Association of Great Britain
The purpose of the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition (BABC) is to promote safe and enjoyable bicycling for everyday transportation and recreation.
The objective of Bike Hub is to generate funds from within the cycle industry to support the future of cycling in the UK.
San Francisco, USA
www.bayareabikes.org
BEN
Namibia BEN Namibia produces bicyclepulled ambulances for use by HIV/AIDS Home Based Care (HBC) workers, HIV/AIDS self help projects, communities, clinics, and hospitals in rural Namibia.
www.bamboobike.org
www.ba-gb.com
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Pennsylvania, USA
Promoting bicycling as a healthy, low-cost, and environmentallyfriendly form of transportation and recreation. www.bicyclecoalition.org
www.benbikes.org.za
Bicycle Film Festival Better Life Cycle UK & Worldwide
The Better Life Cycle has a simple goal: to give some of the world’s most disadvantaged children a better life. Dan Harrison set off from London in August 2009 and will be joined by several friends en route.
New York, USA & Worldwide The Bicycle Film Festival has been a major catalyst for the urban bike movement, one of the most powerful and culturally relevant forces of the last decade. The BFF is sure to carry this momentum into the next decade. www.bicyclefilmfestival.com
www.betterlifecycle.com
Bicycle Kitchen
USA & Ghana
The Bamboo Bike Project is a project by scientists and engineers at the Earth Institute, Columbia University that aims to examine the feasibility of implementing bicycles made of bamboo as a sustainable form of transportation in Africa.
UK
Biciacción
Quito, Ecuador Biciacción is a Non-Governmental Organization created in 2003, made up of young urban cyclists whose mission is to promote and create new ways of mobility, through the use of the bicycle as a means of transport, sports and recreation. www.biciaccion.org
Los Angeles, USA
Its mission is to promote the bicycle as a fun, safe, and accessible form of transportation, to foster healthy urban communities, and to provide a welcoming space to learn about building maintaining, and riding bicycles. www.bicyclekitchen.com
B.I.K.E
provide a voice for bicyclists in Maryland.
The Bristol Bike Project
B.I.K.E. (Bicycles and Ideas for Kids’ Empowerment) was formed January 10, 1995 for the purpose of providing opportunities and options for inner-city, at-risk children. The goal is to provide personal, athletic and academic success through the medium of bicycles. The bicycle is a tool to encourage children to chase after all kinds of dreams. It draws out the children’s strength and courage, and challenges their fear.
www.bikemd.org
The Bristol BIke Project is the city’s biggest Community Bike Project, repairing and relocating unwanted bicycles. It’s a welcoming and inclusive community-based Project, encouraging skill-sharing, promoting sustainability and helping people help themselves.
USA
www.kidsofbike.org
BikeABQ
New Mexico, USA The mission of BikeABQ is to increase the number of bicyclists in Albuquerque for transportation, health, and recreation. It provides education, advocates for the rights of cyclists, and works to create and preserve safe biking environments. www.bikeabq.org
Bike Fort Collins Colorado, USA
Bike Fort Collins has been involved with and continues to create new bicycle programs to encourage safe and enjoyable cycling in the Fort Collins community. www.bikefortcollins.org
Bike Maryland Maryland, USA
The mission is to encourage and promote bicycling, increase safety, improve conditions, and
Bike Walk Virginia Virginia, USA
A non-profit organization working to inspire more human-powered recreation and transportation on bike and foot.
Bristol, UK
www.thebristolbikeproject.org
www.bikewalkvirginia.org
Bikes For The World Austria
Assists poor people overseas to become more productive through providing affordable bicycles for personal transport to work, school, and health services. www.bikesfortheworld.org
British Columbia Cycling Coalition Canada
The purpose of the BCCC is to represent the interests of cyclists provincially and to secure their recognition in policy and programs affecting transportational cycling. www.bccc.bc.ca
Bikes Not Bombs Chicago, USA
Bikes Not Bombs promotes bicycle technology as a concrete alternative to war and environmental destruction. www.bikesnotbombs.org
Bike Walk Mississippi Mississipi, USA
BTT Sords Spain
Is a group of deaf friends with great love of biking, the world of nature and mountain biking. www.bttsords.org
C
Bike Walk Mississippi (BWM), serves as the only statewide bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization in Mississippi.
California Bicycle Coalition
www.bikewalkmississippi.org
Creating safe, healthy and livable communities by promoting bicycling for transportation and recreation.
California, USA
www.calbike.org
Coalition of Arizona Bicyclist Arizona, USA
The mission of the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists is to promote efforts that improve bicycle usage and safety within the state of Arizona by addressing law enforcement and transportation engineering issues through education, outreach and advocacy programs thereby enhancing the role of bicycling in local, county and statewide transportation plans. www.cazbike.org
A mass of cyclists converge in a pre-arranged location to ride through the streets of the city. www.criticalmass.org.nz
USA
Design bicycle trailers that are strong and versatile enough to transport the cargo that you would use a car for and are simple and inexpensive to build; distribute the designs for trailers widely and free of charge; keep the costs and complexity to a minimum; the trailer costs $30 in parts and can be built in 5 to 12 hours with only hand tools like a hacksaw and file and an oxy-acetylene torch; decrease dependence on automobiles by making affordable cargo bicycle trailers available as a viable alternative.
Dynamo DJ Bike Italy
CTC has been protecting and promoting the rights of cyclists since 1878.
An original roadshow performance, designed and created by Leo Beccafichi. A bike is connected to a dynamo. Just pedal and generate electricity, thus feeding the DJ console.
www.ctc.org.uk
www.dynamodjbike.com
CTC UK
Cycle Chic
Denmark & Worldwide
Community Bike Cart Design
D
Cycle Chic began when journalist, film director and photographer Mikael Colville-Andersen decided to put a growing number of his photos about Copenhagen’s bicycle culture into one place on the internet. www.copenhagencyclechic.com
Cycling Out of Poverty Rwanda
Cycling out of Poverty supports and promotes bicycle entrepreneurship in Africa and aims to improve access to essential services like education, water and health care by making bicycles accessable.
bikecart.pedalpeople.com
www.cyclingoutofpoverty.com
Critical Mass
Cycling PEI
Worldwide
Canada
Critical Mass had its start in 1992 in the United States, in the city of San Francisco, California. Today, CM is a global event held in over 300 major cities around the world, usually on the last Friday of every month.
Cycling PEI provides education and leadership that contributes to a vibrant and healthy cycling experience on Prince Edward Island. www.cpei.ca
E
European Cyclists’ Federation Belgium
The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) is pledged to ensure that bicycle use achieves its fullest potential so as to bring about sustainable mobility and public well-being. www.ecf.com
F
Family on Bikes Worldwide
The Vogel family (Nancy, John and twin brothers Davy and Daryl) spent nearly three years cycling south from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and reached Ushuaia, Argentina. The boys are now Guinness World Record holders as the youngest people to cycle the length of the Americas. www.familyonbikes.org
Follow the Women Middle East
The Pedal for Peace in the Middle East program brings together women from all over the world to partake in an experience like no other. Women participate for different reasons, but all leave with a greater understanding of the region and its problems and with the desire to promote peace. www.followthewomen.com
G
Glasgow Bike Shed Glasgow, UK
Glasgow Bike Shed it’s a Community Social Enterprise based in Glasgow, Scotland run by volunteers that recycles bicycles from a variety of local sources and promotes safe cycling in the city. www.glasgowbikeshed.org
Fundación También Spain
For adapted cycling and understanding the different ways bicycles or tricycles can be adapted for and by a person with a disability for greater comfort and independence. www.tambien.org
Fun Zim Ride Zimbabwe
A dad of three is saddling up for a cycle ride across one of the world’s most volatile countries... dressed as a clown. Richard Pantlin is going to Zimbabwe to raise money for charity, but also believes it can help change people’s perception of the trouble hit corner of Africa. www.funzimride.co.uk
Future Shock Bike Crew Queens, New York, USA
Nicholas and Anil create a “stereo bike” a massive feat of speakers and sonic wiring the likes of which the world had never seen.
Global Wheeling Foundation South Africa
The Global Wheeling Foundation is a South Africa-based Non Profit Organization whose vision is to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged youths in the townships and small communities of South Africa and its surroundings through environmental education and bicycle empowerment. www.globalwheeling.org
Green Mobility Network
Miami, USA
To make Miami-Dade County a healthier, more livable community, Green Mobility Network uses education, events, and information to promote transit use, bicycling, running and walking for daily transportation, leisure and fitness. www.greenmobilitynetwork.org
Handcycling Singapore Singapore
Theassociation has a mission to transform Handcycling into an established sport for disabled athletes and to develop Handcycling for all as a recreational, rehabilitative and competitive sport. www.handcycling.sg
H
Hardcourt Bike Polo USA
Doug keeps hardcourtbikepolo. com as a way to share his thoughts about, and photos of, the sport that he loves. www.hardcourtbikepolo.com
Heinz Stücke Germany
Stücke has travelled more than half a million kilometers (355,000 miles) on his bicycle since 1962. He was registered as the most travelled man in history in the Guinness Book of Records. www.heinzstucke.com
The Hungry Cyclist UK & Worldwide
Tom Kevill-Davies loves riding his bicycle and eating. It really is that simple. As a journalist, author and photographer he cycles to wherever he can find good, well prepared, locally produced, fresh and traditional food before eating it and writing about it. www.thehungrycyclist.com
I
Interface for Cycling Expertise Holland
I-CE’s mission is to support the development of sustainable urban and transport planning. I-CE capitalises on the rich Dutch culture on cycling inclusive planning. www.i-ce.nl
ITDP
Worldwide The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy works with cities worldwide to bring about sustainable transport solutions that cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of urban life www.itdp.org
J
Japan Cycling Navigator Japan
We as the group of individuals who enjoy cycling more than anything else wished to provide a place where cyclists from the world share their experiences and knowledge in order for those who speak different languages and are accustomed to different rules and practices enjoy cycling in Japan. www.japancycling.org
Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association
League of Bicycling Voters
JORBA is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving off road cyclists as a member of equal standing within the trail user community.
The League of Bicycling Voters was established as a Texas nonprofit to promote safe bicycling in the greater Austin area. It also has been the chief opponent of mandatory bicycle helmet laws for adults.
New Jersey, USA
www.jorba.org
Tecas, USA
www.lobv.org
José Luis García Ginard Spain
José Luis has a profound bilateral deafness. The world has become a place for him to discover, learn and explore, without barriers, accompanied by a great deal of enthusiasm and conviction that traveling will promote another way of living, that of silence.
League of Michigan Bicyclists Michigan, USA
Promoting bicycling and the safety of bicyclists on the roadways of Michigan since 1981. www.lmb.org
www.rutasdelsilencio.com
Livestrong L
Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition Nevada, USA
A non-profit corporation organized to help build a more bicycle-friendly Lake Tahoe and a World-class cycling destination.
Texas, USA
With Team LIVESTRONG you can walk, run, ride or tri in the fight against cancer. Team LIVESTRONG will participate in 17 major athletic events around the world, host four events in the United States and once again serve as a proud charity partner in the World Marathon Majors. www.livestrong.org
www.tahoebike.org
League Illinois Bicyclists Illinois, USA
The League is the statewide advocate for all Illinois bicyclists, promoting bicycle access, education, and safety. www.bikelib.org
Livable City
San Francisco, USA To create a balanced transportation system and promote complementary land use that supports a safer, healthier and more accessible San Francisco for everyone. www.livablecity.org
London Cycling Campaign UK
An 11,000-strong membership charity that makes sure that everyone who cycles, or wants to cycle, has a voice in Greater London. www.lcc.org.uk
statewide, not-for-profit, membership organization that advocates advancement of bicycling access, safety and education in Missouri. www.mobikefed.org
Mountain Trails Foundation Utha, USA
M
Magnificent Revolution London, UK
Made up of artists, musicians, designers, ecologists, and engineers, MR has flourished into a cross-disciplinary organization. MR is aimed at helping people understand their energy use, its links with power production and climate change. They guide people towards positive solutions and transition to low carbon lifestyles. magnificentrevolution.org
Maya Pedal Asociación San Andrés Itzapa, Guatemala
In Guatemala, Maya Pedal Asociación began recycling scraps of bicycles into Bicimáquinas, pedal-powered blenders, washing machines and threshing machines, eliminating the need for fuel and electricity. www.mayapedal.org
Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation Missouri, USA
The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation is a
Promoting & preserving trail access for all non-motorized users. www.mountaintrails.org
New York Bicycling Coalition New York, USA
NYBC provides a voice for New York State’s bicyclists and represents the interests of all bicyclists – commuters, tour riders, off road bikers, racers and so on. www.nybc.net
P
Partners for Active Living South Carolina, USA
N
Naked Bike Ride Worldwide
Since 2004, cities across the world have been experiencing the joy of the world’s largest naked cycling promoting event in the history of humanity. A celebration of both the bicycle and the power and individuality of the human body. A symbol of the vulnerability of the cyclist in traffic. www.wnbr.co.za
Napa Valley Vine Trail Napa Valley, USA
Is a group of volunteers that have come together to build a countywide walking and biking trail from Napa to Calistoga. www.vinetrail.org
Partners for Active Living seeks to make Spartanburg County, South Carolina a healthy, more livable community by promoting walking, bicycling, and physical activity as a part of everyday life. www.active-living.org
Pedals for Progress New Jersey, USA
Pedals for Progress is a non-profit corporation based in Central New Jersey that collects and distributes used bicycles to Third World countries. P4P collects 4,000 to 7,000 bicycles annually and transfers this material wealth to those more needy. www.p4p.org
PedNet Coalition Missouri, USA
PedNet consists of more than 6,000 children and adults, businesses and nonprofits, schools, university departments, and government agencies dedicated to creating
and promoting the use of a pedestrian and pedaling network throughout Columbia. www.pednet.org
Prescott Alternative Transportation Arizona, USA
Phoenix Bikes empowers youth to become social entrepreneurs through direct participation in a financially and environmentally sustainable non-profit bike shop that serves the community.
PAT works with the area’s governmental agencies, citizen volunteers and many organizations towards a future Prescott area where the citizens have real choices in transportation, where developers and community leaders spend just as much time incorporating bicycle and pedestrian facilities as they do parking lots, where public transit is a given.
www.phoenixbikes.org
www.prescottbikeped.org
Phoenix Bikes Phoenix, USA
Re~Cycle has sent nearly 40,000 to Africa since 1998. www.re-cycle.org
Repérages Vélo France
Since 2001, Reparages is an integration project which aims to recycle bicycles. The site allows those who are temporarily unemployed workers to find the way to work while receiving coaching to achieve their career or to confront their personal problems. www.reperagesvelo.org
Pleasant Revolution Bicycle Music and Film Festival California, USA
A series of approximately 16 music/film festivals and 80 shows at schools and clubs down the U.S. West Coast. The festivals will be both delivered and powered by bicycle, as the Ginger Ninjas and supporting acts cycle down the coast toting all their instruments and a human-powered-sound and projection system. www.pleasantrevolution.net
Project Rwanda Rwanda
Project Rwanda is committed to furthering the economic development of Rwanda through initiatives based on the bicycle as a tool and symbol of hope. The goal is to use the bike to help boost the Rwandan economy as well as re-brand Rwanda as a beautiful and safe place to do business and visit freely. www.projectrwanda.org
R
Richmond Spokes California, USA
Richmond Spokes empowers, engages, and employs youth through cycling and green industries that benefit the local community. By creating a new youth cycling industry which embodies youth skills development and green entrepreneurship, Richmond Spokes guides each participant to improve their life and the health of the local and global environment. www.richmondspokes.org
Proyecto Buena Esperanza Spain & Africa
Initiative to travel around Africa by bike to investigate and experience new tools and methods of working and communicating. All actions are based on Social Theatre. www.buenaesperanza.es
Re~Cycle
Colchester, UK People in Africa have no access to transport of any kind. People spend hours each day walking to collect water, firewood or access health care, school and employment. A bicycle lightens this burden and dramatically improves their wellbeing as well as work and education opportunities, bringing social change.
Ride 4 a Woman Uganda
To economically and socially empower local women in the closest communities surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. www.ride4awoman.org
S
Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates Sacramento, USA
SABA represents bicyclists. The aim is more and safer trips by bike. The vision: bicycling for everyday transportation is common it is safe, convenient and desirable. www.sacbike.org
San Diego County Bicycle Coalition San Diego, USA
A non-profit organization dedicated to making bicycling better in San Diego. This is done through educational programs, promoting awareness of bicyclists and bicycling issues, reviewing infrastructure improvements, and acting as a voice for bicyclists to elected officials and decision makers throughout San Diego region. www.sdcbc.org
Safe Routes to School National Partnership USA
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s mission is to advocate for safe walking and bicycling to and from schools, and in daily life, to improve the health and well-being of America’s children and to foster the creation of livable, sustainable communities. www.saferoutespartnership.org
The School Food Tour USA
The School Food Tour is a 6,000+ mile self-supported bicycle tour that will promote healthy eating and cycling for both transportation and recreation.
Salt Lake City, USA
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. www.slcbikecollective.org
www.sustrans.org.uk
Suwannee Bicycle Association Florida, USA
The Suwannee Bicycle Association is a non-profit, membership organization formed to promote environmental awareness and family fitness through bicycling and other outdoor activities in the Suwannee River region. www.suwanneebike.org
www.schoolfoodtour.org
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition San Francisco, USA
Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective
travel on foot, by bike or public transport for more of the journeys we make every day. It works with families, communities, policy-makers and partner organizations so that people are able to choose healthier, cleaner and cheaper journeys, with better places and spaces to move through and live in.
The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition promotes bicycling for transportation and recreation and works to educate the community about bicycle safety and the benefits of cycling, including good health and protecting the environment.
T
Team Green Britain Bike Week UK
Team Green Britain Bike Week is the UK’s biggest mass participation cycling event from families, schools and companies, to seasoned cyclists and those who have never cycled before.
www.bikesonoma.org
www.bikeweek.org.uk
Sustrans
Technology for the Poor
Sustrans makes smarter travel choices possible, desirable and inevitable. It’s a leading UK charity enabling people to
Technology for the Poor’s mission is to develop, innovate and disseminate sustainable technologies to the poor.
UK
USA
The philosophy is that of George Washington Carver, an African American scientist who taught sustainable agriculture to poor farmers. www.technologyforthepoor.com
Tyler Hamilton Foundation USA
Since 2003 the Tyler Hamilton Foundation has taken riders of all abilities up and over peaks like the Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Col St. Bernard, the Fedia and the Stelvio. Able-bodied participants have found themselves challenged to new heights riding alongside cyclists diagnosed with MS as well as other diseases. www.tylerhamilton.com
U
Urban Bike Project of Wilmington
V
Village Bicycle Project Africa
Village Bicycle Project makes the difference for tens of thousands of Africans. Its successful program supplies bikes, spare parts and tools. It also trains owners empowering whole communities by including women and girls in bicycle education. In Africa, a bicycle can take a person from poverty to prosperity. www.villagebicycleproject.org
W
www.urbanbikeproject.org
UWABA Dar es Salaam Cycling Community
Wheels 4 Life USA
Wheels4Life is a non-profit charity, that provides free bicycles for people in need of transportation in Third World countries. www.wheels4life.org
Wheels to Africa Virginia, USA
Wheels to Africa is a non-profit organization whose principal purpose is to work with local youth, ages 10-18, to organize local bike collections and send the donated bikes to communities in Africa. www.wheels-to-africa.org
Tanzania
An NGO made up of cyclists campaigning for better and safer road conditions for cyclists and providing cycle safety education www.uwaba.or.tz
www.worldbicyclerelief.org
The World by Bike Worldwide
Many dreams could come true if we only would believe in them. Around the world on a bicycle is a project that has as target to cross the five continents traveling through more than 100 countries. It has the final goal to document the different cultures and their ways of life. www.theworldbybike.com
Delaware, USA
A non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the community’s needs by educating and promoting cycling as a safe, practical, cost-efficient mode of transportation.
and disaster recovery initiatives around the world. WBR was founded in 2005 as a result of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.
World Bicycle Relief Chicago, USA
Since 2005 World Bicycle Relief has supplied more than 80,000 bikes to poverty relief
World by Cycle Worldwide
The World By Cycle project is a bicycle circumnavigation of the world, partnering with organizations to offer Adventure Learning programs for primaryschool aged children. www.worldbycycle.info
PRODUCED & CURATED BY
www.kerrigans-way.com www.macrame.tv Concept & Creative Direction Fabio Fedrigo Art Direction Darío Plée Graphic Design Lorena Scarpatti Matteo de Mayda Copywriting Goran Mimica Selle Royal Marketing Manager Matteo Paccagnella PHOTOS AND STORIES Naked Bike Ride Laia Abril, Spain www.laiaabril.com
COLLABORATORS Veronica Bergamini Mike Depasquale Salvador J. Perez Jaka Vinsek THANKS TO Anil Bhimraj, John Darroch, Zoe Duby, Aña Maria Guch, Marcela Borland, Funny Cyclist, Bob Giddens, Grizzzzlyadam, Katie Guerrero, Mali and Dusty photography, Carlos Enrique Marroquin, Asteris Masouras, Pinkevy, Efua Prah, Jessica Ragbir, Nicholas Ragbir, Andrew Wheeldon, César Rubelcy, Alan (Fred) Pipes, Molina Zamora. PRINT Grafiche Peruzzo Worldwide Cycling Atlas is a Selle Royal Support Cyclists’ Editorial Project.
Maya Pedal Asociación Matteo de Mayda, Italy www.matteodemayda.com Future Shock Bike Crew Reed Young, USA www.reedyoung.com ONLINE Video Editor Pablo Pastor, Argentina www.pablopastor.com Music J. W. Castaño Montoya, Colombia cargocollective.com/jwcm Web Flavio Vianello, Italy be.net/flaviovianello
Selle Royal SpA Via Vittorio Emnuele, 119 36050 Pozzoleone (VI) Italy Ph. +39 0444 461100 Fax +39 0444 462025 mail@selleroyal.com www.selleroyal.com © 2011 All rights reserved.
Cycling is a mindset, a way to understand life and to live it. It means feeling free to choose whatever you want to do even when you are not. It means being an optimistic spirit, enjoying your beliefs. With this in mind, we in Selle Royal want to pay tribute to all those with the passion for riding. This worldwide map reflects the most significant initiatives, organizations and riders that share our vision of cycling and life. Whether you are part of an organization that promotes cycling in your community, or you are part of a ride to combat a disease, or you just have fun sitting every day on those two wheels that have changed the way you understand life, we want to hear from you.