Somehow this scheme in Minnesota seems way more fun than London’s Barclay Bikes, even though it looks like they are exactly the same make and model of hire bike: https://www.niceridemn.org/

I did go to Transport for London’s website to see if they had a snappy little film clip, but they didn’t. However Barclays Cycle’s Channel did: http://www.youtube.com/user/BarclaysCycle#p/a/u/2/BJvDJM8FB1k

Two dates for your diary if you’re an eco warrior; September 22nd which is Green Travel Day and Moving Planet Day on 24th September.  On Green Travel Day there will be a selection of eco-friendly stalls in the Royal Square from 07.30am onwards. More at www.ec-jersey.com

Moving Planet Day is happening around the world, this year its focus is cycling. If you miss Green Travel Day, you could maybe do something on the 24^th September, although there does not appear to be much happening in the Channel Islands. http://www.moving-planet.org/

Do you remember a piece that I posted last year about the guy hoping for a world record on an all wood bike?

Great news! On Thursday 18^th August, with triathlete James Tully in the saddle, the bike achieved a new world record of 11.25MPH. The new record was made at Quibell Park Velodrome in Scunthorpe. Michael Thompson, who built the bike, said that he felt that with a longer runway, ideally 500 metres, it could go faster.

Here’s some YouTube footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7gfm0f2yyGY

It’s out in the papers and on TV, cycling is growing, so says a report just published by the London School of Economics and sponsored by Sky and British Cycling. The report was written by Dr.Alexander Grous, himself a keen cyclist. Among the figures that the report puts forth is that cycling generated over £500million in wages for the 23,000 people involved in the bike trade. 3.7 million bikes were sold, as were £853 million of accessories.

Here’s the full report: http://corporate.sky.com/documents/pdf/press_releases/2011/the_british_cycling_economy

Although the exact details are shrouded in mystery, HTC, the smart phone manufacturer and Giant, the cycle manufacturer, have joined forces in July to produce an e-bike that will use a smart phone as a multimedia trip computer. As well as all the regular speed and distance features, the smart phone will act as a GPS and also a heart rate monitor.

Using a smart phone is not that new, last year Daimler had an e-bike out that used an iPhone for checking battery power, speed and also navigation.

Here’s a simple scheme for bike hire that does not need expensive docking stations or the technology that goes with it. Created by students at the University of Maryland, it uses mobile phone technology to control the dispatch and collection of its fleet of free hire bikes for students on campus. Doing away with the complex infrastructure that is used by systems like Barclays Bikes, makes this a viable proposition, and both the system and its founders go from strength to strength. http://webikedoyou.com/

Following on from the news that cycling is booming in Britain comes this story from Halfords who run a Cycle to Work scheme for its customers. Their press release reports that in June, Marshal Aerospace in Cambridge had 63 of its employees join the scheme, the highest number since the scheme was launched two years ago. In total 275 of Marshall Aerospace’s staff have signed up to the Cycle to Work scheme. This represents around 17% of the workforce.

Employees pay for their bikes over 18 months, funding the cost  by paying from their salary before tax and National Insurance are paid. For higher rate taxpayers this can mean a 52% saving on the normal shop price, while basic rate taxpayers will save around 40%. http://www.cycle2work.info/

Note this scheme is not available in Jersey.

Arthur Lamy is a freelance tourist guide and writer specialising in cycling: www.arthurthebluebadgeguide.com