March 22nd was World Water Day, a date set aside to acknowledge the importance of fresh drinking water. In reality, the amount of drinkable water available to all 6-7 billion people on earth is a minuscule. Only 75% of the world’s surface is water and only 2.59 % is fresh water. When you factor in how much is frozen in glaciers and icebergs it works out to somewhere less than 1 % accessible to everyday humans.
There’s a lot of talk about our carbon footprint but our water footprint is just as important.
Annie Leonard, of The Story of Stuff, released a video about the effects of of the bottle water process.
The thing that is most puzzling in the grand scope is that, as stated in a previous post, there are little things that could help even in a small way. Carrying a reusable water bottle rather than grabbing a plastic bottle (yes even the new post-consumer bottles) is a simple move.
When you learn how much waste actually goes into creating bottle for the little time it takes to get from our store to our trash perhaps you’ll rethink it.
Today kicks off the weekend long cycling festival courtesy of Ride Brooklyn. Tonight it starts with registering your bike (which is great in case of theft) and some basic maintenance. Check out this weekend if you have a chance.
All 2009 or older in stock bikes 20% off!
2010 bikes 10% off!
5% off plus free shipping on all special orders!
All snowboards and snowboard gear 30-50% off!
Indoor trainers 20% off!
30% off all cold weather cycling gear!
10% off everything else in the store!!!!!
As always 1 year free service and free fitting with all bikes!!
Schedule
Friday, March 19
Afternoon: Police from the 78th precinct will be on hand to register bikes.
6:00pm: Flat tire and minor maintenance clinic
Saturday, March 20
10:30am: Hayes Lord, Director of Bike Program at the Department of Transportation
12:00pm – 4:00pm: Transportation Alternatives on hand to pass out flyers, maps, answers and sign up new members.
1:00pm: Flat tire and minor maintenance clinic
6:00pm: Nutrition and Trigger Point therapy clinic sponsored by Clif Bar and Company
Sunday, March 21
9:00am: Family Ride through Prospect Park sponsored by Zigo. Call ahead to reserve a Zigo Leader demos for the ride!
1:00pm: Flat tire and minor maintenance clinic
2:00pm: Computrainer races and “Power House Competition”
Studies have shown that when bike safety is questionable there is a disparity between the number of women cycling and men cycling. The ration of men to women on U.S streets is 2:1 and it has been proven that when streets are safer the number of women biking increases. For example, in the Netherlands, where urban cycling is commonplace, the percentage of women on the rode is 55%.
Jan Garrard, of Deakin University, says, “If you want to know if an urban environment supports cycling, you can forget about all the detailed ‘bikeability indexes’—just measure the proportion of cyclists who are female.”
Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals are conducting a survey to determine why women cycle, why we don’t and what we need to get us and our younger counterparts on the road. Please participate in the 15 minute survey to let NYC know how to get more of us out on the streets biking and at home fixing our bikes.
usage: Four ads to appear in subways, bus shelters and phone kiosks, Bike Month calendar of events, internet usage. All usage will be strictly to promote cycling in New York City only.
why: This is a campaign to raise the awareness of cycling as a means of transport for commuters by demonstrating that it is fun, safe and easier than ever.
background: Bicycle commuting is on the rise in New York City, with a 26% increase in bicycle commuting from 2008-2009 alone. But cycling still only represents a small fraction of trips taken in New York City. The New York City Department of Transportation has an ambitious goal to double bike commuting from 2007 levels by 2012 and triple it by 2017. In order to do this the DOT has added over 250 miles of new bicycle lanes and routes over the past four years, including innovative new protected on-street bike lanes, hundreds of new bike racks, and helped to pass a bill that allows tenants to request indoor access for bikes in commercial office buildings.
Happy Spring Guys!….Alright well not quite but very very soon. We hope you haven’t forgotten us because we have not forgotten you.
We just had our group meeting and we’ve got some exciting things planned for this year. First, we want to welcome you to join us for our first group ride of 2010 on March 28th.
We’re opening this season with a nice simple ride around Prospect Park to ease us all back in after a cold winter and what I’m sure would have been a night of heavy drinking.
So once you’ve recovered from TMJing and dancing your little hearts out meet us across the street from Grand Army Plaza @ NOON in front of the Prospect Park Entrance. We’ll do a few laps and get the blood pumping.
At the end of our ride we’ll make our way over to Franklin Park Bar where we can order food and nurse hangovers or keep our buzz going with a little hair of the dog.
Let us know if you can make it by rsvp to this email address (dykesonbikecycles@gmail.com) and if, not, keep an eye out on ourfacebook page or this website for monthly events and other activities.
Be sure to tell all you dykey friends who may not be in the know!
The other day I saw someone in a matching jeans jacket and pants outfit.
They probably should have had this info.
From now until March 14th, The Gap is teaming up withcotton from blue to green to turn old pairs of jeans into insulation for houses. If you participate you’ll receive 30% off on a denim purchase from The Gap, Gap Kids, and Gap Baby.
The thing most frustrating about energy inefficiency is that, although, there are large scale actions that need to take place there are also little things that the average person can do that never happen. Whether or not you believe in global warming no one can ignore the wastefulness of modern culture and how that affects the ecosystem. These things will make themselves evident in an arena most easily affected; food & water. So to encourage small actions here is a video from the Surfrider Foundation, dedicated to keeping the oceans clean, to emphasize the point.
According to the World Watch institute, “In the United States, bottled water costs between $0.25 and $2 per bottle while tap water costs less than US$0.01.” Add a permanent water bottle to your collection and the results are too obvious to ignore.
Transportation Alternatives director, Paul White, challenges us to remember what the streets of NYC were like at the turn of the last century and what they could be again. In a new series by Street Films, White sits on the “park” left over on Park Avenue and highlights some history about the rise of urban planning and how that made way for more cars on the street.
Cars, realistically, can’t be completely eliminated. Realistically a lot of other things would have to change to encourage that. Part of the uphill battle for bike-advocacy is that a lot of other things in the periphery of cycling need to adapt to a bike culture. Despite the fact that nyc has made strides for bike (via more bike lanes) other cities are doing it way better than us right now.
It is nice to see that even in the early 1900s there were people fighting against the expansion of roads for cars. I mean really NYC is a walking city and the over-crowding that is so easy to complain about is also advantageous to our access of everything (generally).
What do you think? Will NYC ever be car-free enough that we’ll take notice?
They probably should have had this info.
