Cycling Tips & Stories

Researchers in Japan did a large study of elderly people living in urban areas. They found that "the probability of five year survival of the senior citizens studied increased in accordance with the space for taking a stroll near the residence, parks and tree lined streets near the residence, and their preference to continue to live in their current community."

"Living in areas with walkable green spaces positively influenced the longevity of urban senior citizens independent of their age, sex, marital status, baseline functional status, and socioeconomic status." To put it plainly: greenspace benefits everyone, rich or poor, male or female, married or unmarried, healthy or sick.

"Greenery filled public areas that are nearby and easy to walk in should be further emphasised in urban planning for the development and re-development of densely populated areas in a megacity."

It's difficult to argue that greenspace and walking space is a "frill" when it contributes to a longer, healthier life!

The research was published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. permanent link to article: "The importance of walkable green spaces in cities"
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/27/2003 08:40:00 PM |comment on this article

Want to encourage your co-workers to walk and bicycle more?

During the week of May 19-23, 2003, MARC will team up with Kansas City Corporate Challenge to organize the first annual Bicycle and Pedestrian Commuter Challenge (BPCC)--a free, region-wide event open to all residents--in an effort to promote clean air and healthy lifestyles while reducing traffic congestion.

The idea is to leave your car at home for one week and bike or walk to work, keeping track of miles along the way.

The BPCC event is very simple—participants will walk or bike to work during the week of May 19–23, 2003.

Each team captain will record and report the miles walked or biked by members of the team. Individuals will do the same. If commuters wish to combine biking and walking with transit, each mile bused will count as one quarter of a mile walked.

To register, or for more information, contact Aaron Bartlett, Bike/Ped Transportation Planner, Mid-America Regional Council, abartlett@marc.org, 816/474-4240.

All commuters must by signed up by May 12th, 2003.

Companies and individuals in these counties are eligible to participate:
* Missouri - Cass, Clay Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray
* Kansas - Atchinson, Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Wyandotte

MARC has produced a printable PDF flier about the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commuter Challenge that you can post or distribute to your fellow employees. permanent link to article: "BPCC: A fun way to help promote walking/biking in your KC-area workplace"
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/23/2003 09:18:00 AM |comment on this article

Today's Sun-News has a long and interesting story about cyclist Ed Chasteen, who is planning to ride 10,000 miles this year:

While wrestling in those days with suicidal thoughts, Chasteen said he found his son's old bicycle in the garage. At that point, he said he thought someone spoke: "The thought was so clear and insistent I thought it was audible - 'Get on that bike and ride!'"

Chasteen, then 45, had not been on a bicycle since the age of 12. But the words sounded like a command and Chasteen obeyed.

"I began to ride that bike to class and to church. Then came another audible thought: 'Ride your bicycle across America.' Three more years passed. Then I rode from Orlando to Seattle to L.A.," Chasteen said.

The 5,126-mile journey took 105 days, and he made it "alone and without money, asking for a sandwich, a drink of water, a bed for the night," Chasteen said.

The Kansas City Star has also covered Chasteen's quest to ride 10,000 in a year. The Star points out that Chasteen has had multiple sclerosis since 1981, and started riding as a way to combat the effects of the disease. "The more I ride, the better my health becomes," Chasteen says. "Bike riding is the only medicine I take for my MS."

Chasteen is organizing a century ride on May 31st to help him towards his goal of raising $100,000 towards MS this year. permanent link to article: "KC-area cyclist will ride 10,000 miles this year"
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/18/2003 12:43:00 PM |comment on this article

A human-powered bus has been spotted on the streets of Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

The bus holds 32 pedallers, the driver, and a guide. It weighs 2500 kg (about 5500 lbs), and goes about about 12 MPH. permanent link to article: "Human-powered bus"
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/16/2003 02:29:00 PM |comment on this article

With gas prices going up (some are suggesting they'll rise above $2/gallon this spring), at least one KC-area mass media outlet reports that someone, somewhere got so desperate that they actually considered buying and riding a bicycle instead of driving.

We'll know it's really bad when they stop talking and start riding . . . permanent link to article: "Things must be getting bad out there . . . "
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/13/2003 12:40:00 PM |comment on this article

This week's Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske has an interesting history of cases involving the cyclist's right to travel.

One of the strongest affirmations of the bicyclist's right to travel came from the Kansas Supreme Court in 1890. This opinion threw out a law passed by a city in Kansas, banning bicycle riding in the city:

Each citizen has the absolute right to choose for himself the mode of conveyance he desires, whether it be by wagon or carriage, by horse, motor or electric car, or by bicycle. The right of the people to the use of the public streets of a city is so well established and so universally recognized in this country that it has become a part of the alphabet of fundamental rights. permanent link to article: "Your right to travel by bicycle"
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/13/2003 12:23:00 PM |comment on this article

A recent study shows how regular exercise can have positive effects on brain function. From a press release by Illinois scientists involved in the research:

Three key areas of the brain adversely affected by aging show the greatest benefit when a person stays physically fit. The proof, scientists say, is visible in the brain scans of 55 volunteers over age 55.

A new study in the February issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences . . . is the first to show -- using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging -- anatomical differences in gray and white matter between physically fit and less fit aging humans. Gray matter consists of thin layers of tissue of cell bodies such as neurons and support cells that are critically involved in learning and memory. White matter is the myelin sheath containing the nerve fibers that transmit signals throughout the brain. As people age, especially after age 30, these tissues shrink in a pattern closely matched by declines in cognitive performance, Kramer said. . . .

Women on estrogen replacement therapy benefited [from exercise] more than women not on it.

Other main conclusions from the meta-analysis:
* Exercise programs involving both aerobic exercise and strength training produced better results on cognitive abilities than either one alone.
* Older adults benefit more than younger adults do, possibly, Kramer said, because older adults have more to gain as age-related declines become more prevalent.
* More than 30 minutes of exercise per session produce the greatest benefit, a finding consistent with many existing guidelines for adults.

"These intriguing data suggest there may be one more possible benefitfrom regular exercise," said Molly V. Wagster, program director for the Neuropsychology of Aging, Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging Program of the NIA, which supported the work.

See the entire press release here . . . permanent link to article: "Study confirms link between exercise and changes in brain"
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/03/2003 05:53:00 PM |comment on this article

Cyclist John O. Andersen suggests "organic exercise"--using human power to accomplish everyday activities--as an optimal way to re-connect with yourself and your community:

It's about the exercise you get while working, or traveling under your own steam to get somewhere. It's not exercise as an end unto itself, but as a means to something else.

It could be walking to the store, and bringing your groceries home in a cart. It could mean cycling to your friend's house. It might include walking to school. It could mean mowing your lawn with a push mower instead of a gas mower. It could involve doing a home project with hand tools instead of power tools.

It's all about getting your exercise just doing the things you would do anyway.

permanent link to article: "John O. Andersen on "Organic Exercise""
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/03/2003 05:17:00 PM |comment on this article

Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch had an article about bicycle-mounted guides who help make downtown St. Louis a friendlier place:

With a warm hat and layers of clothing beneath his gold-and-black uniform, James Wentz spends much of his time nowadays pedaling his bicycle around downtown St. Louis. He says it's the best job he's had, single-digit temperatures notwithstanding. . . .

Wentz, 31, is part of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership's newest band of smiling, helpful guides that began roaming the streets and sidewalks of downtown at the end of last year.

permanent link to article: "Bicycle guides in downtown St. Louis"
posted by Brent Hugh at 2/02/2003 05:57:00 PM |comment on this article