Why do the Milanese love cycling?
Because in Milan fuel costs 2 euros/litre and 1 litre of good wine can cost the same.

Italian cycling journalist Alberto Celani

Because cycling helped Milan get rid of Nazism; during WWII, many people rode their bikes to share information and food.

Because it’s part of our tradition: my grandpas only had their bikes to move around on and now we have one car-per-person.

Because Milan it’s flat and doesn’t rain as often in London.

Because Milan has been raised on bikes, by bike-users going to work in the big industries of the city from the small towns on the outskirts.

Because Milan is the city of Expo 2015 where “Feed the planet” is the main theme. How can we feed the planet if we keep on “eating” the air with our polluting cars?

Because you Aussies have huge roads and cities that are really far from each other while we have packed cities with smaller roads, which in many cases date to the era BC. The roads were used to defend against invaders, but now people invade the cities with their cars.

What is there not to like about cycling?
Because if you have a sexy bike, it can be stolen and resold in one of the huge second-hand markets on Sunday morning; and even if you don’t have a sexy bike, it can be stolen and resold in one of the huge second-hand markets on Sunday morning.

What is the Italian approach to cycle safety?
Safety is the biggest issue for cyclists, and it as always sad to read about crashes in our newspapers, especially when riders die.

Carly Hibberd was a 25-years old pro rider from Australia who died in a crash when training not far from Milan where she was living (for info on safe cycling initiatives, check out Amy Gillett Foundation online or on Twitter).

In Italy bike helmets are not compulsory, and neither is insurance. Even if you ride your bike without lights or a high-visibility jacket, the chance of getting fined is really low. This makes cyclists a danger to themselves and to drivers.

And lastly, any words on Cadel Evans?
You Aussie guys are fast on your bikes: Cadel Evans is a legend here in Europe, I hope you honour him every day you go out for training or even when just commuting. In the last two years two mighty Aussies have also won the Spring Classic Milan-San Remo race from the city to the sea: Matt Goss and Simon Gerrans from GreenEDGE.

Thanks Alberto!

Follow Alberto Celani’s tweets

We are passionate about bike safety and being riders ourselves we understand the issues and the dangers of riding with or without helmets – as we’ve previously outlined on this blog.

Mandatory helmets: wrong or right?

Our major objective in questioning the value of making helmets mandatory is to get more riders on the streets. In our view, helmet laws offer another impediment that stops many of people from riding bicycles that otherwise would.

We believe that getting more cyclists on the streets is the only way that will raise the level of awareness of drivers about the need to be bike aware and share the streets, as argued in this report. We feel this would be far more effective in making roads safer for cyclists than mandating the wearing of helmets.

Helmets at user discretion
The heart of the issue as we see it, is not about having the right to choose to wear helmets, but about what will have the greater impact on improving safety for everyone.

To date there has been scant hard evidence to show that helmet laws have had a positive impact on safety, as revealed in this Journal from the Royal Society of Medicine report on the effectiveness of cycle helmets and the ethics of legislation.

There is however evidence to show that following the introduction of the helmet laws that participation in cyclist numbers dropped significantly and has never really recovered.

Only now that the environmental and health benefits are being promoted and governments are taking active approaches to promote cycling as a way to reduce congestion are we seeing the much touted increase in cyclist numbers.

This increase, BTW, is still very low compared to most other Western countries, and are particularly low in NSW where any increase should be celebrated.

What do you think?
Over the last two weeks, we’ve raised the issue in the Sydney Cyclist forum, where our topic post attracted more than 1600 views over the week with 85 comments.

We’re also asking you to answer our Facebook poll.

We are still working out how best to work with the various groups out there who are pushing for change but we welcome all of your comments both positive and negative.

Read more
Do enforced bicycle helmet laws improve public health?

With special thanks to Julian Ferguson at the European Cyclists Federation
Email: j.ferguson@ecf.com

The park is an iconic destination for cyclists, offering unhindered riding in a relatively safe environment that is separated from cars.

Yet under the new plan, the Centennial Park could also become an ironic destination for cyclists too – and not in the Bondi Hipster sense of the word.

To wit: the fact the park is safe for cyclists, seems to be making it more dangerous for others….

All is revealed in Centennial Park Trust’s plan called the Grand Drive Safety Improvement Project.

The plan proposes up to two ‘cycle-friendly’ speed bumps would be installed on the hill on Grand Drive, as well as two crossings and a 20 km/h zone near the children’s bike track.

Concerns for cyclists
The proposal is causing angst in the cycling community. Many fear the measures will not only impact on the enjoyment of riding through the park, but be ineffective, and worse, create new dangers, such as from causing packs of cyclists to slow suddenly.

Cycling community leaders are riding associations are taking to the interwebs to vent their disapproval. Videos such as this one have sprung up, as has this Facebook page promoting the Centennial Park Cyclists Rights Ride this Thursday.

cyclingcentennial from Cycle Centennial on Vimeo.

Have your say
Deadlines for submissions against the proposal are due this Friday March 30, at 5pm.

People opposed to the plan are encouraged to send in letters, or at least emails, to the Parklands trust.

Email: info@centennialparklands.com.au
Post: Marked ‘Grand Drive Safety Project’ to Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, Locked Bag 15, Paddington NSW 2021

Need a hand writing your letter?
Cycling community leaders have been circulating a pro-forma letter that people can adapt. As follows:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I write to object to the proposal to install speed bumps on Grand Parade with the claimed aim of increasing safety around the area of the children’s cycling track.

This proposal will severely impact the ability of cyclist to enjoy one of the very rare facilities for relatively safe and continuous cycling in Sydney

I would suggest that if the Trusts aim is to truly improve safety then there are a number of other methods that would be much more effective. 

If your objective is solely to enhance the safety of parents and children who cross the road from their cars to the cycle track, then risk could be removed all-together if the facility was moved to any number of alternative spots on the inside of the Grand Drive.  At best, the speed bump proposal may only reduce the risk to children, but may increase the risk for cyclists and roller blader’s trying to negotiate the bumps.

If your objective is improve the safety of all park users, your discussion of the issue also refers to an increasing number of traffic incidents being reported.  While I do not have access to the data, it would be reasonable to assume that most of these incidents involve a car and a bicycle, and inevitably the cyclist comes off second best. 

In any safety discussion it is cars that present the overwhelming key risk, yet there would appear to be an unwarranted focus on cyclists and in particular group cyclists.  I do not believe that the incident data would show that cyclists are causing High and Medium level incidents.  Yet there is nothing in the proposal that aims to reduce the amount of car traffic through the park. 

If you truly want to adhere to your statement that ”safety is not negotiable”, then consideration should be given to reducing or even excluding car traffic from entering at the Randwick gates, or indeed the Southern half of the Grand Drive.

Yours faithfully,

XX

The campaign has already seen 30 odd cyclists fined in Sydney for helmet offences.

While we’re serious about cycle safety, we were amused to recognise one of our Chappelli classic single-speed bikes in the SMH’s photo.

Chappelli Cycles is a staunch advocate for bicycle safety in Australia. However, we believe this article raises interesting questions about the role of helmet laws in improving rider safety that merit wider debate in the community and government.

To gain wider publicity for this issue, we are offering to cover this bike rider’s fine…we just need your help in identifying who he is!!

If you know this rider, please contact us (tomandpablo@chappelli.com) or comment below. If you would like to see a rethink on helmet laws, feel free to post your comments on our Sydney Cyclist forum discussion as well.

Are you the mystery rider snapped in the SMH? (Photo: Lee Besford)

Typically these feature regular dudes sharing their joy in the ride – such as this Chappelli vid from last year (thanks again Lewis Farrar and Joy Collective) – or showing off some neat fixie tricks (Hello Macaframa!).

At the upper end, they becomes “films”, as characterised by their higher production values, link to a specialised bike company or brand, and voice-over commentary, such as this one of the Wolfpack Marathon Crash Race – strangely reminiscent of the ads Trevor Hendy used to do for organic Vita-Brits in the early 1990s!

A new genre is born
Well, as of this week, it appears there’s a new genre of video in town – ‘The fixie music video’.

Word of the Motherf*cking Bike song, by Sons of Science, has quickly spread, with the Huffington Post getting in on the ride with this report.

Check it out!

With close to 500,000 views already, it’s well on its way to establishing itself as a rival to this viral video by the Grand Spectacular from 2010 (8 million views and counting).

Meanwhile on the local Australian scene, self-professed Bondi hipsters “Dom and Adrian” also make a nod to fixie culture in this music video, which, they say “is all about trying to be healthy and maintaining a balanced social life in the big city”.


But wait, there’s more!
If joking around on a two-wheel fixed-gear isn’t enough, another video – seemingly from either Scotland or the Dark Star – proves that one-wheeled fixies, aka unicycles, can be just as useful when it comes to making a viral fixie music video.

Do you have any favourite fixie music videos to share?

The annual event promotes, among other causes celebres, the rights of cyclists to use the road safely, so it was lucky that everyone wore at the very least – or most – shoes and helmets.

Influx of crack on Smith Street (image via @Downesy)

Participant Sophie Aubrey wrote that bikers painted slogans on their bodies such as “’No emissions but my own’, ‘Burn fat, not oil’, ‘Now you see me,’ and ‘Bare for clean air’.”

Seniorita Taviesa shared her enthusiasm for the event on the event’s Facebook page, her only downer being “having to stop for press photos by pervy male photographers”.

And on that note, here is The Age’s slideshow of the event.

Sydney cycling crackdown
But if Melbourne cyclists had been getting their cracks out this week, all that Sydney riders were getting was a crackdown…

On Wednesday Sydney police fined nearly 30 cyclists for infringements including running red lights and not wearing helmets.

The operation came the same day as The Daily Telegraph reported that pro-bike mayor Clover Moore, whom Chappelli interviewed late last year, may lose her powers to extend bike lanes in Sydney’s CBD.

A Sydney Morning Herald column by Michael O’Reilly (follow him on Twitter) meanwhile observed that cycling in the city had grown by 34% over the past year, and called for politicians to embrace it.

Ms Moore said the council and government both shared an objective to see 80 per cent of commuters using public transport, and 10 per cent of all trips made on bicycles.

If you took a Chappelli fixie, or any other bike, on any of the seven Naked Bike Ride events held around Australia, feel free to share photos on our Facebook page.

London last week held a watershed debate in the House of Commons about cycle safety, the Guardian reported, adding that Wales is set to become the first country to make the maintenance of bike and pedestrian paths a legal obligation.

Cycling in Sweden - surprisingly safe

The London Times has done its part too, launching a cycle safety campaign (#cyclesafety on Twitter) prompted after one of its staff was seriously injured while riding to work.

The campaign includes an 8-point manifesto for cities to be made fit for bicycle riders. Among its top points:

1. Fitting trucks entering the city with sensors and safety bars to stop cyclists being thrown under the wheels
2. Fitting the 500 most-dangerous intersections with cycle priority traffic lights
3. An audit to find out how many British cyclists are killed or injured each year

Sweden sets a safe cycling example
The trend is by no means isolated in Britain. In Sweden, from where Chappelli Europe now sells our fixies and internal-hub geared bikes, the European Cyclists’ Federation recently spoke with MPs and politicians about the emergence of widespread political support for cycle safety initiatives.

“It would appear that a seismic shift has taken place in Sweden. Bicycles, often heralded as idealistic fodder of the centre-left, are now appealing to all political parties, classical liberals included,” ECF policy officer Martti Tulenheimo concluded after her visit.

Interestingly, helmet usage has so far not figured prominently in the UK or Swedish debates.

An article in the Dutch News perhaps provides some clues – clearly in Europe the general attitude towards helmets remains fairly sceptical.

If Australia had a bike safety manifesto, what would you like to include?

It started two weeks ago, when Fair Wheel Bikes posted a video of a carbon fibre racer – being used as a trials bike.

It proved more than capable of the stunts demanded as this video attests.

The only damage, reports Bike Radar, was “one pinch flat, a chipped fork (caused by the crash at the end of the video) and a couple of slightly bent chain-ring teeth.”

Well, if a carbon fibre racer can do tricks, why not a vintage women’s bicycle? Frenchman Mickael Dupont took up the challenge, modifying the bike only slightly after an initial mishap.

And while we don’t accept responsibility for any Chappelli riders who try a backflip on one of our three-speed internal hub women’s bikes, we completely condone this video of Mickael pulling one off.

Meanwhile the boffins at Converse have been finding new applications for fixie bicycles, taking ‘ride to work’ to a new level in the process.

Their new ad shows what happens when a pack of fixed-gear bike riders stay late at the office. And they even remember to turn the lights out when they leave.

converse office fixie from Creambun on Vimeo.

Seen any great bike stunt videos recently? Share them on our Facebook page.

While Warnie wasn’t necessarily able to flesh out the reasons why his demand made good sense – at least, not in 140 characters – Fairfax’s Bruce Guthrie soon shed some light on it.

“That’s the root of the problem, isn’t it? That motorists, motorcyclists, truck drivers and just about any other road user you care to name has to fork out hundreds of dollars each year for the right to use our roads, but cyclists are not required to spend a penny, or be identified.”

“Well, no, Bruce,” was the resounding response of the Twitter-sphere, of concerned bicyclists, fixie groups and cycling bodies.

Paul Martin, a doctor, bike activist and member of Brisbane’s Bicycle User Group was just one who was quick to tell us the main arguments against registration that have recently been circulating on sites such as Alan Davies’ TheUrbanist on Crikey.

And more credit to Paul for doing it all in 140-character nuggets (in a response as classy, modern and simple as a one of our classic single speeds).

1) Won’t prevent law-breaking – doesn’t prevent motorists running reds, speeding, etc.

2) Registration is a tax on ‘road damage’ not a ticket to ‘own’ the roads. Bicycle rego would be about $1 per year.

3) Admin costs wouldn’t be covered by the registration costs (net loss)

4) How big would number plate have to be to be visible at a distance?

5) Personally, registration for motorists should be abolished. Costs should be added to fuel. more you drive, the more you pay

In Bruce’s defence he did make a pertinent point when he said: “Bicycle registration might at least begin to heal the rift between riders and motorists.” But then again, if fewer riders got hit by cars then that rift might also be smaller.

…And if you even wanted to know what Hitler might think of bike registration, the Weekly Cycle has the answer.

So what do you think – should bicycles be registered? Or is there a better way to ‘heal the rift’ between cyclists and riders?

What made those days memorable was the banners he inspired at games, which inevitably punned on his name or others in the team, ie:

Even books about Warne get in on the pun times

You’ve been WARNEd – Australia has declared WAUGH, we have a REIFFEL we’re PONTING at you…etc, etc

Or those that simply asked: Who ate all the pies?

Well good news for fans who miss those days because Shane Warne is back in the news, and sub-editors are having an oval-shaped field day.

The issue at hand is an ‘altercation’ – or an ‘acceleration into’ depending on who you believe – with Melbourne bicycle rider Mathew Hollingsworth on January 17.

@Warne888 immediately took to Twitter to vent about bicycles taking up road space and the manners of their riders. The incident giving him something else to talk about than Liz Hurley, budgie smugglers and his golf game.

Quicker than a Chappelli fixie, the rant triggered a bike chain of events that had headline-writers worldwide racing to combine cricket + cycling + description of what was actually happening.

The best/worst Warne vs cyclist puns

- After the event, The Age had: Warne, cyclist left in a spin

- Meanwhile, Fairfax stablemate the Sydney Morning Herald ran an opinion by ex-pro cyclist Bridie O’Donnell: Warne’s cycling spin falls short of his social responsibility‎ (O’Donnell expands on how this incident affected the wider cycling community in her blog.)

- The Northern Territory News also ran an opinion piece: Warnie puts bad spin on cycling

- Warne then demanded that cyclists have registration plates, prompting the SMH to run with: Warne’s bicycle rego demand belted for six

- And once the cyclist revealed his intention to sue, the SMH backed up with: Warne’s Twitter outburst drove cyclist to sue, laywer reveals (We’ll accept ‘drove’ here as being intentional.)

- For its part the 3AW blog went with Cyclist sues Shane Warne over run-in.

- News.com.au  did seemed overly subdued with this headline: “Cyclist wants Shane Warne to pay to avoid court after road-rage incident”. So we looked in the URL and were satisfied.

- Local news was also getting in on the act, the Peninsula Weekly trying:Campaigner gets on his bike for safer cycling

- And in case like the rest of us you’re wondering what’s going on in Lad Magazine Land, Zoo was also following a Warne story; albeit one of its own making entirely unrelated to the incident.

What are your suggestions for Warnie versus cyclist puns? Or do you find the whole incident just tiresome…