BBC Click's Lara Lewington looks at some of the latest cycling technology.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and note down the different gadgets that are mentioned and what they do.
Cycle polo. Informal, urban, and as these people told me, still being made up as they go along. For these players, cycling isn’t just about sport. It is also their chosen method of transport every day. So who better to test the latest urban cycling tech with?
We managed to get our hands on some innovative devices at prototype stage, so designs and functionality aren’t perfected yet.
So I have a few toys here I would like to put to the test. First off (1) a backpack. As a cyclist, being seen and your intentions being known are vital. So these lights that can be worn on any backpack can help.
It feels like I'm wearing a day pack.
I believe you are about to turn right.
I know the control is working but I don’t know if that… both working. A battery half-way through could be my only way of indicating and I'm trusting that this is telling people where I’m going.
Perhaps these (2) gloves will fare better. So the idea is that you hold your hand up to indicate and as soon as you bring thumb and finger together, it points an arrow.
They look like decent gloves.
The thing I like about it is that it doesn’t stop you doing what you are taught to do but it accentuates it.
What did you think of the battery wearing them?
It's very simple to use, it looks like gloves. I have never indicated them and found people can’t see me.
For those cyclists who say it is everyone else on the road that is the problem, well here’s your chance to prove it or not. This (3) backlighting camera records into two-hour loops everything that is going on behind you. It has a 130 degree wide angle lens, five hours battery life and records two hours of timestamps footage. The recordings continually loop, overwriting earlier footage, so you always have your last two hours of video stored.
Would you actually use one of these cameras?
I'm not sure if I would feel the need to always feel behind myself. It doesn’t seem bright enough for me. It's only really bright if you are looking directly at it.
What is it?
I’m going to explain to you in a moment.
Even in fog, (4) this radar warns a rider of what is going on up to 140 metres behind them. As a speedy vehicle approaches, not only does the backlight flash to warn of the bicycle's presence but it warns the cyclist of a potential hazard via the light panel in front of them.
I would definitely pick that up.
Would you want to use it in the real world?
Probably not. It stops you thinking about looking behind you. You should always be making those checks behind you.
What's your view on it?
It’s kind of not as good as a mirror.
Bike theft is something technology is trying to fight as well. This (5) lock only works via your smartphone. Its embedded sensors can even alert you if someone is merely tampering with the bike. And GPS tracking means that if it does get taken, you should know where to find it.
Sometimes your phone runs out of batteries and I think I would be a little bit worried about that. Essentially, the most important thing about a bike lock is how easy it is to cut through.
Maybe you feel your bike could do a bit more for you like charge mobile phone. Let's look at what this does.
This (6) USB charger gets its power from peddling, allowing you to charge your devices whilst on the go.
More lapse, more lapse.
That is wicked!
What did you think?
I think this is a really cool thing. I think it's really useful, it doesn’t affect the functionality of the bicycle at all. You know, you’re doing hundreds of miles and you don’t necessarily have access to a PowerPoint.
And we’ve also got the element there where there’s a removable battery pack, giving somebody who doesn’t work in an office where you’ve got a computer, then that gives you a USB charger on the go as well.
Yeah, a think this is a great gadget.
Mixed reactions from our serious cyclists but it's not until the finished products are available that we will see if the occasional cyclists feel the same.
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Bicycles. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Bicycles. Mostrar todas las entradas
viernes, 3 de julio de 2015
lunes, 6 de abril de 2015
Cycling in the US from a Dutch perspective
Watch this video filmed in 2013 in Chicago, San Francisco, Davis (California) and the Lake Tahoe (Nevada) area where a Dutch cyclist analyses how different cycling is in the US compared to his home country.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 American cyclists dress differently.
2 Drivers cannot be trusted to play by the rules.
3 Cycling in US is mainly considered a leisure activity.
4 You are forty times more likely to have an accident as a cyclist in the US than in the Netherlands.
5 It's normal to see cyclists riding on the pavements.
6 The infrastructure for cyclists in US is limited.
7 Some cyclists are careless.
8 Bike lanes also have disadvantages.
9 Coloured bike lanes are no good.
10 US cyclists don't seem to respect bike signals.
11 You can park your bike on a bus if travelling on it.
12 The number of bike shops have decreased.
13 Share-bike systems are a good idea.
14 Seeing cyclists in ordinary clothes is a good sign.
Cycling in the U.S. is very different from the Netherlands. Not only the way people dress and behave, the type of bikes, but also the traffic in which they have to move around, the cause of all these differences. It takes courage to ride between motorized traffic like this. And you cannot trust drivers to play by the rules.
Cycling doesn't seem to be taken seriously. It's something children do, or those who haven't really grown up. And it's mainly seen as a leisure activity. People cycle on specific tracks and not to get from A to B. Others take their bikes on their car to get to some fun place where they can ride. Although I cannot believe riding here is really fun or safe at all. This situation makes clear why you are 30 times more likely to get injured as a cyclist in the U.S. than you are in the Netherlands. It gets even worse with a door zone of parked cars.
It is not so very different in the cities. It almost looks like these people are riding a race rather than going home after work. They're trying to outrun other traffic. It really seems like a chase. No wonder some choose to ride on the pavements or crosswalks. Even in places where the situation is different, where there is more cycling, and much more relaxed cycling, less racing, and more cycling from A to B for everyday purposes, and not as a sport.
Sometimes it almost looks Dutch, although the infra is very different. Even in Davis, California, I hardly saw any specific cycling infra. And that's probably why some people still choose to ride in Lycra and with helmets. No wonder, if your left turn looks like this. You have to cycle surrounded by motor traffic. Not everybody seems to care, though. But there's a lot of cycling here despite the infra, rather than because of it.
In other places, new cycle infra does seem to appear. And I don't mean share rows, which is just useless paint, and wears off pretty soon, too. Still paint, but a little better, are bike lanes popping up everywhere, but the big disadvantage of those lanes is demonstrated here, cars can invade them, and that was also not a good time to start driving again.
Colored bike lanes might be better respected. It sure seems to be more relaxed to ride here. It is even better without parked cars. Some physical protection, even though they're just plastic posts, is a further improvement.
Chicago goes yet a step further with a line of parked cars between track and roadway, but it is still not much more than paint. Curbs would make it prettier and less easy to reverse. I am no big fan of left-turn boxes, especially not when they're in the wrong location. It should have been positioned here.
Now this is more like it. Bike signals. The sign seems a bit too obvious in Dutch eyes, but that only shows how novel they are here. What is even better, the green cycle is different from that of turning motor traffic. Now that is good bike infra, but it is surprising that that explanation for motor traffic is also needed.
The bike counter in San Francisco is nice, to make cycling more visible, but good bicycle parking stands, like these in Davis, have a real purpose. Chicago has great racks in transit stations. Not heavily used yet, but that may come. Bikes on buses are only possible with low numbers of users, but it's good to have. I saw more bike shops that before, and that is also a good sign. Shared bikes may make cycling even more accessible to even more people. It's a good thing many cities in the U.S. are getting a shared bike system. It may change the type of cycling from this more racing type to a more relaxed variety with which more people can identify.
And bakfiets may be a step too far for most, but seeing more upright cyclists in ordinary clothes would be very positive. There could be a good future for cycling in the U.S
Key:
1T 2T 3T 4F 5T 6T 7T 8T 9F 10T 11T 12F 13T 14T
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 American cyclists dress differently.
2 Drivers cannot be trusted to play by the rules.
3 Cycling in US is mainly considered a leisure activity.
4 You are forty times more likely to have an accident as a cyclist in the US than in the Netherlands.
5 It's normal to see cyclists riding on the pavements.
6 The infrastructure for cyclists in US is limited.
7 Some cyclists are careless.
8 Bike lanes also have disadvantages.
9 Coloured bike lanes are no good.
10 US cyclists don't seem to respect bike signals.
11 You can park your bike on a bus if travelling on it.
12 The number of bike shops have decreased.
13 Share-bike systems are a good idea.
14 Seeing cyclists in ordinary clothes is a good sign.
Cycling in the U.S. is very different from the Netherlands. Not only the way people dress and behave, the type of bikes, but also the traffic in which they have to move around, the cause of all these differences. It takes courage to ride between motorized traffic like this. And you cannot trust drivers to play by the rules.
Cycling doesn't seem to be taken seriously. It's something children do, or those who haven't really grown up. And it's mainly seen as a leisure activity. People cycle on specific tracks and not to get from A to B. Others take their bikes on their car to get to some fun place where they can ride. Although I cannot believe riding here is really fun or safe at all. This situation makes clear why you are 30 times more likely to get injured as a cyclist in the U.S. than you are in the Netherlands. It gets even worse with a door zone of parked cars.
It is not so very different in the cities. It almost looks like these people are riding a race rather than going home after work. They're trying to outrun other traffic. It really seems like a chase. No wonder some choose to ride on the pavements or crosswalks. Even in places where the situation is different, where there is more cycling, and much more relaxed cycling, less racing, and more cycling from A to B for everyday purposes, and not as a sport.
Sometimes it almost looks Dutch, although the infra is very different. Even in Davis, California, I hardly saw any specific cycling infra. And that's probably why some people still choose to ride in Lycra and with helmets. No wonder, if your left turn looks like this. You have to cycle surrounded by motor traffic. Not everybody seems to care, though. But there's a lot of cycling here despite the infra, rather than because of it.
In other places, new cycle infra does seem to appear. And I don't mean share rows, which is just useless paint, and wears off pretty soon, too. Still paint, but a little better, are bike lanes popping up everywhere, but the big disadvantage of those lanes is demonstrated here, cars can invade them, and that was also not a good time to start driving again.
Colored bike lanes might be better respected. It sure seems to be more relaxed to ride here. It is even better without parked cars. Some physical protection, even though they're just plastic posts, is a further improvement.
Chicago goes yet a step further with a line of parked cars between track and roadway, but it is still not much more than paint. Curbs would make it prettier and less easy to reverse. I am no big fan of left-turn boxes, especially not when they're in the wrong location. It should have been positioned here.
Now this is more like it. Bike signals. The sign seems a bit too obvious in Dutch eyes, but that only shows how novel they are here. What is even better, the green cycle is different from that of turning motor traffic. Now that is good bike infra, but it is surprising that that explanation for motor traffic is also needed.
The bike counter in San Francisco is nice, to make cycling more visible, but good bicycle parking stands, like these in Davis, have a real purpose. Chicago has great racks in transit stations. Not heavily used yet, but that may come. Bikes on buses are only possible with low numbers of users, but it's good to have. I saw more bike shops that before, and that is also a good sign. Shared bikes may make cycling even more accessible to even more people. It's a good thing many cities in the U.S. are getting a shared bike system. It may change the type of cycling from this more racing type to a more relaxed variety with which more people can identify.
And bakfiets may be a step too far for most, but seeing more upright cyclists in ordinary clothes would be very positive. There could be a good future for cycling in the U.S
Key:
1T 2T 3T 4F 5T 6T 7T 8T 9F 10T 11T 12F 13T 14T
jueves, 4 de septiembre de 2014
How to Catch a Bike Thief
Bike theft is a serious problem in San Francisco. Now the police are using every tool they have to deal with the problem.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
The activity is suitable for intermediate students.
1 What has been the increase in bike use in San Francisco between 2006 and 2013?
2 What does '4,000' refer to?
3 What device is installed in the bait bikes?
4 What is the aim of the stickers the police are giving away to bike owners?
5 How long has the anti-theft bike unit been operating for?
To check your answers, you can read the transcript below.
This is officer Mark Friedman from the San Francisco Police Department. He has a question for thieves.
Do you feel lucky, punk, do you?
Ok, especially for bike thieves.
Is this a bait bike?
Is it?
I don’t know, is it?
From Porland to New York bikes are big. Ridership here in San Francisco nearly doubled (1) between 2006 and 2013.
If we want people to get out and ride their bikes, they have to get out and ride without fear of them getting stolen.
But bike theft is also on the rise.
In 2012 it’s an estimate over 4,000 bikes were stolen (2) out of San Francisco.
As the Head of the Department Anti Theft Bike Unit, officer Friedman is using every tool he can to catch bike thieves, from posting locking tips on Twitter to putting loaded bait bikes on the street.
Is this one a bait bike? All of our bait bikes have GPS trackers (3) and if one of those bikes gets clipped, we are going to know about it, and we’re going to come after the person that took it.
Earlier this year officer Freeman and plain clothes police locked up this bait bike. It didn’t take long to lure potential criminals.
So, two people were interested in the bike almost immediately. At one point the lock was manipulated.
Moments later a suspect grabs the bike.
And there he goes… Oh, but look what happens next! Down goes the bike thief!
To get the bait bike message out, police are giving away these stickers that suggest that any bike could be loaded with a tracking device (4).
The whole idea is to let thieves know any bike at any time in the city of San Francisco could be one of our bait bikes, so if you steal a bike, you’d better believe we’re going to be coming for you.
And convicted bike thieves will likely end up on officer Friedman twitter feed.
I think shaming bike thieves is excellent. I’ll tweet mug shots to let people know that these people are stealing your bikes, these people are breaking into your homes. If you see these people, definitely call us because we’re going want to come talk to them.
The anti-bike theft unit is only a few months (5) into its operation, but officer Friedman says it is already making a dent.
Street level thefts in the last several weeks I know have been cut, so I’d like to think that’s attributed to the bike theft prevention programme and to the bait bike programme.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
The activity is suitable for intermediate students.
1 What has been the increase in bike use in San Francisco between 2006 and 2013?
2 What does '4,000' refer to?
3 What device is installed in the bait bikes?
4 What is the aim of the stickers the police are giving away to bike owners?
5 How long has the anti-theft bike unit been operating for?
To check your answers, you can read the transcript below.
This is officer Mark Friedman from the San Francisco Police Department. He has a question for thieves.
Do you feel lucky, punk, do you?
Ok, especially for bike thieves.
Is this a bait bike?
Is it?
I don’t know, is it?
From Porland to New York bikes are big. Ridership here in San Francisco nearly doubled (1) between 2006 and 2013.
If we want people to get out and ride their bikes, they have to get out and ride without fear of them getting stolen.
But bike theft is also on the rise.
In 2012 it’s an estimate over 4,000 bikes were stolen (2) out of San Francisco.
As the Head of the Department Anti Theft Bike Unit, officer Friedman is using every tool he can to catch bike thieves, from posting locking tips on Twitter to putting loaded bait bikes on the street.
Is this one a bait bike? All of our bait bikes have GPS trackers (3) and if one of those bikes gets clipped, we are going to know about it, and we’re going to come after the person that took it.
Earlier this year officer Freeman and plain clothes police locked up this bait bike. It didn’t take long to lure potential criminals.
So, two people were interested in the bike almost immediately. At one point the lock was manipulated.
Moments later a suspect grabs the bike.
And there he goes… Oh, but look what happens next! Down goes the bike thief!
To get the bait bike message out, police are giving away these stickers that suggest that any bike could be loaded with a tracking device (4).
The whole idea is to let thieves know any bike at any time in the city of San Francisco could be one of our bait bikes, so if you steal a bike, you’d better believe we’re going to be coming for you.
And convicted bike thieves will likely end up on officer Friedman twitter feed.
I think shaming bike thieves is excellent. I’ll tweet mug shots to let people know that these people are stealing your bikes, these people are breaking into your homes. If you see these people, definitely call us because we’re going want to come talk to them.
The anti-bike theft unit is only a few months (5) into its operation, but officer Friedman says it is already making a dent.
Street level thefts in the last several weeks I know have been cut, so I’d like to think that’s attributed to the bike theft prevention programme and to the bait bike programme.
martes, 20 de mayo de 2014
Madrid Teacher: Cycling cities
In our Madrid Teacher series, three teacher discuss the advantages, and some disadvantages of cycling.
Watch the video through to get the general picture of what they are talking about.
Watch the video again. This time pay attention to the following features of spoken English:
- Active listening to show the person who is talking that you're paying attention: yeah; that's nice; oh, yeah
- Use of so as a linking word to connect ideas.
- Showing agreement: Yeah, exactly; absolutely
- Making yourself clear: I mean
- Checking that your interlocutors have understood: you know
- Showing surprise: Really?
- Giving yourself thinking time while you're talking: you know
-Vague language: And things like that
It's over to you now. Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of cycling for you, of any other means of transport for that matter. Try and use some of the features of spoken English which have come up in the video.
Erm, at Christmas I was in Chicago, and we went to a sandwich shop…
Yeah.
And as I was sitting there, in front of the window, I kept watching the food delivery cyclists coming and going, grabbing food and going to someone’s home and then another person. And I just thought, what a great job to have when you’re young and studying and...
So they were delivering the food by bike to people’s houses?
By bicycle, yeah.
So people phoned..., it’s like a takeaway.
Yeah, exactly. It was a sandwich shop, but they, the delivery people, would put it, the sandwiches, on their backs in a little hot pack, and... I thought it was great.
That’s nice.
For me that would be horrible, no? I’m not so athletic. I mean, the last time, as far as a bicycle, I had a job, hopefully I still do, when I was fifteen. The job I had, I had to get there by bicycle. So it was eighteen miles, bicycling, and there was…
Uphill, both ways.
…absolutely. There was a strip where there were these mean farm dogs, and they would wait for me every morning. So during that section of course, I went really, really fast whenever the dogs came by,
Oh yeah.
I’d pick up my legs, you know...
Yeah, it’s nice when your cycling and some got a dog and they hold the dog because they know that quite often dogs chase cyclists.
Exactly.
When I was a little girl my parents had tandems. So I would go in the back of a tandem. And if there was, it was my job if a dog came to squirt water at it. So I don’t know why...
Does that work? Does that frighten the dog?
Yeah, they run away, yeah. They don’t generally like to be...
What?
For me cycling is the best form of transport.
Really?
I don’t like cycling as a sport, but I... like, for me going from A to B and then back to A again by bike is best.
Yeah.
I used to live in erm, Bournemouth which is, it’s one of those cities in England that’s quite big. If you don’t have a bike and you don’t go get the bus you can walk, you know, it can take you a half an hour to walk into the centre and things like that. But on a bike it’s like five minutes.
Yeah.
That’s actually really good for parking.
My ideal is to live in a city that had bike lanes and…
Oh yeah, like Amsterdam.
Yeah.
Oh I love that city.
There are quite a few cities in England like Cambridge where they’re quite bike-friendly…
Yeah…
…they have bike cycle lanes and whenever they build new roads they always take that into consideration…
Yeah, separating it from the traffic,
Yeah.
Yeah, because there are some cities that it would be quite, like, scary actually to...
Yeah,
Absolutely.
Well when I lived in London I cycled a bit there, and they do have some bike lanes, and it’s becoming more bike friendly, but it’s…
It’s busy.
Yeah, it’s... dangerous sometimes.
But besides that, bicycling is really good for the environment,
Exactly.
That’s true, fewer cars.
Sweat, but, it’s good for you, more sweat but good for the environment.
It makes you healthy, and fit as well.
Absolutely.
Saving money on that gym.
Watch the video through to get the general picture of what they are talking about.
Watch the video again. This time pay attention to the following features of spoken English:
- Active listening to show the person who is talking that you're paying attention: yeah; that's nice; oh, yeah
- Use of so as a linking word to connect ideas.
- Showing agreement: Yeah, exactly; absolutely
- Making yourself clear: I mean
- Checking that your interlocutors have understood: you know
- Showing surprise: Really?
- Giving yourself thinking time while you're talking: you know
-Vague language: And things like that
It's over to you now. Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of cycling for you, of any other means of transport for that matter. Try and use some of the features of spoken English which have come up in the video.
Erm, at Christmas I was in Chicago, and we went to a sandwich shop…
Yeah.
And as I was sitting there, in front of the window, I kept watching the food delivery cyclists coming and going, grabbing food and going to someone’s home and then another person. And I just thought, what a great job to have when you’re young and studying and...
So they were delivering the food by bike to people’s houses?
By bicycle, yeah.
So people phoned..., it’s like a takeaway.
Yeah, exactly. It was a sandwich shop, but they, the delivery people, would put it, the sandwiches, on their backs in a little hot pack, and... I thought it was great.
That’s nice.
For me that would be horrible, no? I’m not so athletic. I mean, the last time, as far as a bicycle, I had a job, hopefully I still do, when I was fifteen. The job I had, I had to get there by bicycle. So it was eighteen miles, bicycling, and there was…
Uphill, both ways.
…absolutely. There was a strip where there were these mean farm dogs, and they would wait for me every morning. So during that section of course, I went really, really fast whenever the dogs came by,
Oh yeah.
I’d pick up my legs, you know...
Yeah, it’s nice when your cycling and some got a dog and they hold the dog because they know that quite often dogs chase cyclists.
Exactly.
When I was a little girl my parents had tandems. So I would go in the back of a tandem. And if there was, it was my job if a dog came to squirt water at it. So I don’t know why...
Does that work? Does that frighten the dog?
Yeah, they run away, yeah. They don’t generally like to be...
What?
For me cycling is the best form of transport.
Really?
I don’t like cycling as a sport, but I... like, for me going from A to B and then back to A again by bike is best.
Yeah.
I used to live in erm, Bournemouth which is, it’s one of those cities in England that’s quite big. If you don’t have a bike and you don’t go get the bus you can walk, you know, it can take you a half an hour to walk into the centre and things like that. But on a bike it’s like five minutes.
Yeah.
That’s actually really good for parking.
My ideal is to live in a city that had bike lanes and…
Oh yeah, like Amsterdam.
Yeah.
Oh I love that city.
There are quite a few cities in England like Cambridge where they’re quite bike-friendly…
Yeah…
…they have bike cycle lanes and whenever they build new roads they always take that into consideration…
Yeah, separating it from the traffic,
Yeah.
Yeah, because there are some cities that it would be quite, like, scary actually to...
Yeah,
Absolutely.
Well when I lived in London I cycled a bit there, and they do have some bike lanes, and it’s becoming more bike friendly, but it’s…
It’s busy.
Yeah, it’s... dangerous sometimes.
But besides that, bicycling is really good for the environment,
Exactly.
That’s true, fewer cars.
Sweat, but, it’s good for you, more sweat but good for the environment.
It makes you healthy, and fit as well.
Absolutely.
Saving money on that gym.
jueves, 13 de febrero de 2014
David Byrne and his passion for bicycles and New York
David Byrne, former Talking Heads frontman, discusses his passion for bicycles and what he thinks New York City should do to become more bike friendly.
This is a New York Times video oldie I happened to have among my files, but it's good listening practice, although the clip isn't easy at all.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video clip and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1. David never wears a helmet when he cycles.
2. David is well-known in New York for defending the use of the bike.
3. David plans his routes depending on where the bike lanes are.
4. David himself has designed some of the bicycle racks in the city.
5. He has no time to enjoy the surroundings as he cycles.
6. He moved to New York in the 1970’s.
7. On his last tour the band had bikes available to cycle.
8. In Copenhagen, a third of the workforce cycles to work.
9. Towns in northern Italy are the least bike-friendly.
10. David feels a quick change in the city is happening.
So a lot of folks ask me if I wear a helmet. I have a really nice helmet and I do wear it if I'm in kind of parallel city traffic. But when I feel completely secure and pretty safe like here on the West Side, I don't feel the need, I don't feel like it’s…, I don't need to risk helmet hair.
To many New Yorkers this has become a common sight, David Byrne the musician, artist and former Talking Heads front man riding his bike through New York City.
It's hard for a lot of New Yorkers to remember what this area used to be like. It was a pretty much of a dark underbelly of downtown.
Byrne is of the city's most visible and vocal advocates of urban bicycling.
This city has gradually become more accommodating. They started adding like painted bike lanes. Now in the last few years the pace has really quickened. I plan my route from A to B based on where these bike lanes are.
Lately he is taking his advocacy to a new level , designing bike racks, promoting bike share programmes and pushing for more bike access in city streets.
Well as a commuter, right now I live in Midtown, on the Westside and I use the Hudson River bike path as a way of getting up and down town. How it feels to ride around in a city? It's just an exhilaration to get this kind of, very kind of nicely pace perspective of the city that I think because you're kind of gliding on wheels it feels kind of dreamy and. There is a sense of kind of floating through the landscape and watching it as it goes by. But you can stop at any moment if something catches your eye.
I started biking around Lower Side few years after I moved to New York. When I moved here in the mid-70's it was you know Gerald Ford to the city dropped dead. It was a city on its knees. But that's a lot of that has changed. It's viewed as the place to grow up and have a life and not a place just to quickly make some money and then escape to the suburbs as soon as you can.
The band I toured with, the band and the singers and dancers that I toured with last year we had 7 bikes on the road with us. They would fold up and go into the luggage compartment of the bus. Usually a few of us would go up and explore during the day.
In his new book called Bicycle Diaries, Byrne chronicles his experiences and musings riding in many of the world’s great cities.
Probably the most bike-friendly cities in the world aren't the ones you would expect. You would expect Amsterdam, Copenhagen, they are very bike-friendly, especially for their size. The ones that are incredibly bike-friendly are these Northern Italian towns, Ferrara, Modena. Those ones… it's almost like the whole, the whole center of the city is closed off. In the center you see like grandmas, beautiful women, kids, everybody is just biking around.
So what recommendations does a gracefully aging rock star have for his home city?
Bury the West Side Highway, put it underground. Put the highway underground if you want to keep the damn highway. More bike lanes in areas that aren't served, which means probably the East Side, there aren't many bike lanes say on… each village connecting each village to different…, there is a couple but not that many.
For a guy who has been biking here since the 1970's the pace of change in the city might seem slow but David Byrne seems to think that someday maybe we will get there.
Yeah, but little by little. It's not going to be something overnight.
Key:
1F 2T 3T 4T 5F 6T 7T 8F 9F 10F
This is a New York Times video oldie I happened to have among my files, but it's good listening practice, although the clip isn't easy at all.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video clip and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1. David never wears a helmet when he cycles.
2. David is well-known in New York for defending the use of the bike.
3. David plans his routes depending on where the bike lanes are.
4. David himself has designed some of the bicycle racks in the city.
5. He has no time to enjoy the surroundings as he cycles.
6. He moved to New York in the 1970’s.
7. On his last tour the band had bikes available to cycle.
8. In Copenhagen, a third of the workforce cycles to work.
9. Towns in northern Italy are the least bike-friendly.
10. David feels a quick change in the city is happening.
So a lot of folks ask me if I wear a helmet. I have a really nice helmet and I do wear it if I'm in kind of parallel city traffic. But when I feel completely secure and pretty safe like here on the West Side, I don't feel the need, I don't feel like it’s…, I don't need to risk helmet hair.
To many New Yorkers this has become a common sight, David Byrne the musician, artist and former Talking Heads front man riding his bike through New York City.
It's hard for a lot of New Yorkers to remember what this area used to be like. It was a pretty much of a dark underbelly of downtown.
Byrne is of the city's most visible and vocal advocates of urban bicycling.
This city has gradually become more accommodating. They started adding like painted bike lanes. Now in the last few years the pace has really quickened. I plan my route from A to B based on where these bike lanes are.
Lately he is taking his advocacy to a new level , designing bike racks, promoting bike share programmes and pushing for more bike access in city streets.
Well as a commuter, right now I live in Midtown, on the Westside and I use the Hudson River bike path as a way of getting up and down town. How it feels to ride around in a city? It's just an exhilaration to get this kind of, very kind of nicely pace perspective of the city that I think because you're kind of gliding on wheels it feels kind of dreamy and. There is a sense of kind of floating through the landscape and watching it as it goes by. But you can stop at any moment if something catches your eye.
I started biking around Lower Side few years after I moved to New York. When I moved here in the mid-70's it was you know Gerald Ford to the city dropped dead. It was a city on its knees. But that's a lot of that has changed. It's viewed as the place to grow up and have a life and not a place just to quickly make some money and then escape to the suburbs as soon as you can.
The band I toured with, the band and the singers and dancers that I toured with last year we had 7 bikes on the road with us. They would fold up and go into the luggage compartment of the bus. Usually a few of us would go up and explore during the day.
In his new book called Bicycle Diaries, Byrne chronicles his experiences and musings riding in many of the world’s great cities.
Probably the most bike-friendly cities in the world aren't the ones you would expect. You would expect Amsterdam, Copenhagen, they are very bike-friendly, especially for their size. The ones that are incredibly bike-friendly are these Northern Italian towns, Ferrara, Modena. Those ones… it's almost like the whole, the whole center of the city is closed off. In the center you see like grandmas, beautiful women, kids, everybody is just biking around.
So what recommendations does a gracefully aging rock star have for his home city?
Bury the West Side Highway, put it underground. Put the highway underground if you want to keep the damn highway. More bike lanes in areas that aren't served, which means probably the East Side, there aren't many bike lanes say on… each village connecting each village to different…, there is a couple but not that many.
For a guy who has been biking here since the 1970's the pace of change in the city might seem slow but David Byrne seems to think that someday maybe we will get there.
Yeah, but little by little. It's not going to be something overnight.
Key:
1F 2T 3T 4T 5F 6T 7T 8F 9F 10F
viernes, 23 de agosto de 2013
New York's City Bike Share
New York's bike-share programme seems to be encountering some difficulties, as this New York Times video demonstrates.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
The activity is suitable for Intermediate 2 students.
1 Everybody is happy with the bike-share programme.
2 The programme has been running for two years now.
3 A user (Ivan Baker) says that he's having problems 40% or 50% he tries to get a bike.
4 Some of the problems seems to have to do with vandalism.
5 The instructions to borrow a bike are clear.
6 New Yorkers make more than 170,000 bike trips annually.
7 New Yorkers have a reputation for being patient.
It could be better if it works then I’d be on the bike now but…
Yeah, it doesn’t seem to work, maybe we have to find another station.
It’s been a rough road so far for New York City’s ambitious bike-share programme.
We’ve basically imported Europe’s most boring idea.
The programme started two weeks ago with the installation of 6,000 shiny blue bikes across more than 300 stations in New York City. But on Wednesday, a multi-bike trip from Brooklyn into mid-town Manhattan, with several stops at stations along the way, revealed some of the problems that have bedevilled riders and led to a flurry of complaints about a system some say was not ready for prime time.
It’s been my experience 40%, 50% some times on bad days don’t report that the bike has been returned or I can’t get a bike out. And it’s just not taking my card, before I had no problem at all, and I’ve been using it all around in Brooklyn, and yeah it looks like I’ll have to go to another station.
Just across the Brooklyn Bridge at City Hall. One of the city’s bike fixers was busy resetting the entire rack. Although almost every bike was fine someone had pushed every button signaling the need for repair.
I don’t know who is malicious. It could’ve been.
Soon after the station’s first customer arrived.
We are from Sweden, we arrived last Saturday and we’re going to be here for a week. We think like taking a bike for a tourist is really nice.
But things didn’t go as hoped.
Yeah, [it] doesn’t seem to work, maybe we have to find another station.
Just up the street at Hudson and Reed bike-share, users were greeted with the blank screen. The entire station, it seemed, was without power. The bike-share I-phone app directed users to the same station, suggesting everything was just fine. Of course, despite these problems, the systems seem to work fine for many.
It’s a…but it was flawless… I loved it.
It’s been acceptable for me. I haven’t had any problems with bad kiosks or those sort of things so far.
Others just found it confusing.
Did it give me the code for the bike that I was supposed to get, or did it me give the code that I have to enter somewhere, or do I dip my card.
So far the City says more than 170,000 trips have been taken with annual memberships surpassing 36,000
I look at this as a big quality of life enhancer, yeah.
The biggest problem encountered on this day was at Grand Central Station. One of the system’s largest which was entirely shut down.
I’ve had two trips already where I was charged 45 hours because I thought it had taken and then someone took it out, and took it around for two days. They cleared the charge but it’s crazy, all these stations are down.
The bike-share programme is clearly going through growing pains and city officials, who would not go on camera said in an email statement that this was an adjustment period. New Yorkers, for the most part, seem enthusiastic, and while not always the most patient people in the world, seem willing for now to give the programme a chance.
I don’t want to think like this is a terrible programme. It’s the best thing I think has happened to the city and I’ve been living here for thirty years.
This is Erik Olsen reporting for The New York Times.
Key:
1F 2F 3T 4T 5F 6F 7F
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
The activity is suitable for Intermediate 2 students.
1 Everybody is happy with the bike-share programme.
2 The programme has been running for two years now.
3 A user (Ivan Baker) says that he's having problems 40% or 50% he tries to get a bike.
4 Some of the problems seems to have to do with vandalism.
5 The instructions to borrow a bike are clear.
6 New Yorkers make more than 170,000 bike trips annually.
7 New Yorkers have a reputation for being patient.
It could be better if it works then I’d be on the bike now but…
Yeah, it doesn’t seem to work, maybe we have to find another station.
It’s been a rough road so far for New York City’s ambitious bike-share programme.
We’ve basically imported Europe’s most boring idea.
The programme started two weeks ago with the installation of 6,000 shiny blue bikes across more than 300 stations in New York City. But on Wednesday, a multi-bike trip from Brooklyn into mid-town Manhattan, with several stops at stations along the way, revealed some of the problems that have bedevilled riders and led to a flurry of complaints about a system some say was not ready for prime time.
It’s been my experience 40%, 50% some times on bad days don’t report that the bike has been returned or I can’t get a bike out. And it’s just not taking my card, before I had no problem at all, and I’ve been using it all around in Brooklyn, and yeah it looks like I’ll have to go to another station.
Just across the Brooklyn Bridge at City Hall. One of the city’s bike fixers was busy resetting the entire rack. Although almost every bike was fine someone had pushed every button signaling the need for repair.
I don’t know who is malicious. It could’ve been.
Soon after the station’s first customer arrived.
We are from Sweden, we arrived last Saturday and we’re going to be here for a week. We think like taking a bike for a tourist is really nice.
But things didn’t go as hoped.
Yeah, [it] doesn’t seem to work, maybe we have to find another station.
Just up the street at Hudson and Reed bike-share, users were greeted with the blank screen. The entire station, it seemed, was without power. The bike-share I-phone app directed users to the same station, suggesting everything was just fine. Of course, despite these problems, the systems seem to work fine for many.
It’s a…but it was flawless… I loved it.
It’s been acceptable for me. I haven’t had any problems with bad kiosks or those sort of things so far.
Others just found it confusing.
Did it give me the code for the bike that I was supposed to get, or did it me give the code that I have to enter somewhere, or do I dip my card.
So far the City says more than 170,000 trips have been taken with annual memberships surpassing 36,000
I look at this as a big quality of life enhancer, yeah.
The biggest problem encountered on this day was at Grand Central Station. One of the system’s largest which was entirely shut down.
I’ve had two trips already where I was charged 45 hours because I thought it had taken and then someone took it out, and took it around for two days. They cleared the charge but it’s crazy, all these stations are down.
The bike-share programme is clearly going through growing pains and city officials, who would not go on camera said in an email statement that this was an adjustment period. New Yorkers, for the most part, seem enthusiastic, and while not always the most patient people in the world, seem willing for now to give the programme a chance.
I don’t want to think like this is a terrible programme. It’s the best thing I think has happened to the city and I’ve been living here for thirty years.
This is Erik Olsen reporting for The New York Times.
Key:
1F 2F 3T 4T 5F 6F 7F
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