Slow Bicycle Inspiration

Slow Bicycles are nothing new. Period. It's interesting when you view this video from Copenhagen in 1937, above, and the one from Holland in the 1950's, below, that there is no bobbing movement when they're riding. No exertion. Just easy transport.

Consider the fact that the bicycles were massive and heavy back then, too.


The Slow Bicycle Movement. We never went away and now we're back.

Slow Bicycle Movement on Flickr

Finally.

I've started a group on Flickr for The Slow Bicycle Movement.
Get joined, get uploading.

Let's create a truly slow repository of images of people enjoying the ride.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/slowbicycle/

Slow Bicycle Rush Hour in La Rochelle, France

You don't get much more gloriously slow bicycle than this.
Bicycle rush hour in La Rochelle, France. The drawbridge was up and roughly 500 cyclists waited patiently for the bridge to go down.

Bicycle Bridges Slowly

I went for a slow ride over the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn and back over the Brooklyn Bridge. I wasn't alone in the Slowness.

Slow Bicycle Movement Hits the Velodrome... Slowly

I paid a visit to the Millenáris Velodrome in Budapest. Slowly. Demonstratively slow. Style over speed and all that.

Slow Skateboarding

More associated slowness from the Slow Bicycle Movement.

Slow Bicycle Race at AIT

This just in off the Slow Bicycle wire... The Asian Institute of Technology's Student Union hosted a Slow Bicycle Race on 05 September 2009. Just a couple of days ago.

Slow Bubble Blowing Society

Sorry. Another Slow film. Couldn't help myself.

The Slow Balloon Movement in Green Major

Another installment wherein I test the limits of slow.

Slow Bicycle Race at Tate Modern

Found this today. Nice and slow.

Slow Reading and Showering

The Slow Bicycle Movement is all about slow. How appropriate then is it that the founder engages in other slow activities. Including reading and showering.

2000 frames a second of pure slowness. The balloon popped so freakishly that I barely got wet. We filmed several popping balloons but this one was bizarre.

Polebrook Slow Bicycle Race

A friend in the UK sent me this link to a Slow Bicycle race in Polebrook.

Brilliant stuff. Slow Bicycle races used to be a standard event in country fairs all over the world.

The Winner of the Slow Bicycle Race

Thanks to Elle for this link to a book splendidly titled "The Winner of the Slow Bicycle Race", by Paul Krassner.
Available at Amazon.

Slow Bicycle Race Rules... Apparently.

Got this sent to me today. Rules for a Slow Bicycle Race from a university in Canada.

It's a physics experiment, but it's funny to see official rules. Marc and I certainly could have benefited from them.

Slow Bicycle Race
Objective: To ride a two-wheeled bicycle over a fixed course in the longest interval of time.
Participants: Teams of up to six.
Materials: The bicycle will be provided and will have the following specifications:

a. It will have only two rubber-tired pneumatic wheels in ground contact, which are coplanar in the plane of the frame when traveling forward in a normal fashion.
b. It will have steering capability in the normal fashion.
c. Tire prints of the bicycle will not exceed 8 cm in width and 20 cm in length when the student is on the bicycle.
d. Minimum wheel radius will be 15 cm
e. No part of the bicycle except the tires will touch the course.
f. The bicycle will have a single forward speed and a coaster brake activated by back pedaling.

Rules
1. The course will be 20 meters long and 0.75 meter wide.
2. The course will not be sloped.
3. The course will be marked.
4. Forward motion shall be provided by the muscles of the rider.
5. No part of the competitor's body may touch the ground.
6. The bicycle must maintain forward motion at all times.
7. The bicycle must remain within the boundaries of the course.
8. Each team will be allowed 2 attempts to complete the course.

Judging
Scoring: The longest time to complete the course will determine the team score. The longest time will receive 100 points. Each team's time will be scored by the ratio of its time to the winning time.

Carl Honore on Slowness

Journalist Carl Honore believes the Western world's emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there's a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives.
Via TED.com

Slow Bicycle Philosophy from 1892

“As a means of pleasure, cycling stands in the foremost rank, but in common with all the great pleasures, it may easily stand in the foremost in abuse. The desire to ride at an unreasonably high speed may become morbid…The ever lasting scorcher, bent like a hoop, and with sunken cheeks, ought to be quite sufficient warning against this abuse.”
Slow Bicycle Philosophy from 1892.
In the book "How to Bicycle" by L.F. Korns.
Via my mate Carlton over at Quickrelease.tv.

Really now, who wants to be called an everlasting scorcher riding at unreasonably high speed, bent over like a hoop [my mother taught me to sit up straight] and with sunken cheeks? Not me.

Slow Ride in Chicago!

This was posted on the Slow Bicycle Movement's Facebook page, so we thought we'd add it here for good measure.

The Slow Bicycle Society of Chicago [lovin' the name!] is hosting a Slow Ride.
Here's the info:

Bring yourself, your bicycle, your friends and their friends to the Slow Bicycle Society summer ride. We'll meet at Jane's Restaurant, where you can pick up a $10 boxed lunch prepared especially for our group. Select the option of vegetarian or carnivore and you'll get a sandwich, a side and a little something sweet. We'll depart from Jane's at 10:30 a.m. and ride to Lincoln Park, where we'll dine al fresco. Route specifics to follow. See you then!

Date: 11 July 2009
Time: 10:00 - 12:30
Location: Jane's Restaurant - Here's a map.
Street: 1655 W. Cortland (at Paulina)
Town/City: Chicago, IL

Slow Bicycle Race - Copenhagenize.com vs Amsterdamize.com

Copenhagenize.com vs Amsterdamize.com in the world's first Copenhagen Invitational Slow Bicycle Race.

New Orleans, Jazz and Slow Bicycles!

A Slow Bicycle Ride

Last summer saw the inaugural Slow Bicycle Ride here in Copenhagen. A group of people from several countries who, through the bicycle development organisation Baisikeli, went for a relaxing 'slow' through Copenhagen. An hour or so of bicycling and then back to Baisikeli for a little street party in the warm, dreamy Copenhagen summer evening.

There were locals and tourists alike in the bunch and it was a fine kick-off to the Slow Bicycle Movement.


Slow bicycling is a lifestyle in Copenhagen, where 500,000 people cycle each day to work or school. Interestingly, the average speed of this mass of two-wheeled humanity is 15.3 km/h. That's not decided by consensus or by implementation of speed limits. That is simply the organic speed that half a million people settle upon when given the chance.

For more on Copenhagen bicycle culture visit Copenhagenize.com and more a look at the fashionable combination of streetstyle and bicycles visit Copenhagen Cycle Chic.

For Slow Bicycle Merchandise there is always the online shop and everyone is welcome in the Facebook group, which is now rounding 1000 relaxed members.

Slow Christmas

With the inherent stress of the yule season, it's nice to know you can go slow when fetching the family yule tree. Here's yours truly heading home with the kids and the tree on the Long John.

Using a trailer is helpful, too, if the tree is rather tall.

Size doesn't matter, but Slow is important.

Classic Copenhagen transport. His wife and two kids were riding behind him on the bike lane.

Happy Slow New Year

A happy new year to everyone in the Slow Bicycle Movement. The blog is, indeed, slow, but there is loads of action over at the Facebook group. We're quickly approaching 1000 members.

I'll get the results of the voting on the slogan and manifesto up and running quicksmart.

Have a lovely 2009.