Travel in Metro DC Snow

I took this photo yesterday in the Metro DC area. 

This brave–or should I say crazy–dude is bicycle riding in the snow.

Car is turning in front of him with the lights on.  

But the bike and rider has no lights or reflective material to speak of. 

Seems like a death wish or just plain stupid. 

Only more ridiculous thing I’ve seen with a bicycle recently is the rider plowing hard through a rain storm while holding an umbrella with one hand. 

Perhaps, there is a gene that makes people look for trouble in bad weather or is it the economy stupid (maybe sadly, the guy can’t afford a car or even an uber)?

Ride like the wind… 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

World’s Fastest Bicycle “Egg”

This human powered bicycle is so cool–and fast!

 

It is called the ETA (or “Banana Bike“) and is being designed by AeroVelo, University of Toronto engineering graduates and students.

 

These are the same folks that created the award-winning Atlas human-powered helicopter.

 

The ETA is expected to reach over 87 mph, thereby breaking the human-powered land speed record of 83.1 mph.

 

The bicycle mechanics are being enclosed in an egg-shaped aerodynamic shell and it will be powered by a single person doing the pedaling.

 

A combination of the movie Tron and the 1970’s sitcom Mork & Mindy, it offers the potential for an environmentally friendly way to get around town and some nice fat-burning exercise too. 😉

 

(Source Screenshot: here with attribution to BusinessWeek)

Death Biking

This was unbelievable–as I am climbing this very rocky hiking trail, out pops a bicyclist zooming down over the rocks.

I have seen people run the trail–crazy enough–and I always imagine someone falling on the sharp rocks and basically splitting their head open.

But this guy–and 2 more of his buddies followed–were actually mountain biking over these rocks.

I have no clue how they do it–although going down must be easier than going up.

When those wheels hit the rocks, you are taking your life in your hands that the bike doesn’t just smash into it and flip right over.

By the time, the 3rd guy was flying past, I saw that he had his butt raised off the bumpy ride and was sort of standing on the pedals trying to keep this thing from going down.

It is amazing to me the crazy, risky things that people do.

Is it for the thrill, the challenge, just to be cool, or what?

I can definitely see how you could get an adrenaline high from this, but it could just be the last fun you ever get.

Anyway, awesome ride for those that can stomach it. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Getting Around Town–Washington, D.C.

Well, here is to some old and new ways of getting around town in Washington D.C.

You sort of have to (safely) weave in and out between these to get to your meetings and events or hop on one to get there, perhaps, more quickly and enjoyably.

Anyway, as you can tell, D.C., like many a big city (ah, reminds me of the Big Apple) has many a colorful characters in the downtown.

It adds to the charm–sometimes–and can make for a nuisance at others.

But, it’s never quite boring.

Hope this gives a good flavor of what’s like to work, and play, in The Capital. 😉

(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)

The Motion Around Town

In the last couple of days, there’s been an influx of Segways and bikes spinning around Washington D.C.

It’s sort of nice to see the Summer influx of visitors to the capital and those who are taking some time off from work and school to enjoy the sights and sounds around town here.

The one lady with her arm up, looks like she’s asking a question, but I think she is actually a runner trying to get by the biker crowd–either that or she may be having a heck of a time trying to keep up with the group. 😉

Clean Water From A Bicycle

 

Love this product called The Aquaductfor helping people in developing countries get clean water. 

Using the power of pedaling, water that is loaded into the back of the bike is “cycled” through a filter and run into the clean container in the front. 

This can be done by actually riding the bike home with the water or refilling the clean container in stationary mode. 

The Aquaduct reminds me of some similar products that I saw and bloggedabout in July at a Peace Corps exhibit that used bicycles for shelling corn and charging cell phones. 

What’s great about The Aquaduct is that is a simple, all-in-one solution that transports, filters, and stores water–it was the winning entry (out of 102) in the Google Innovate or Diecompetition. 

For 1.1 billion people without clean water in the world, The Aquaduct solves the problem for transporting and sanitizing water. 

In Judaism, we say “Mayim Chaim”–that water is life, and this innovative pedal-powered transit and filtration machine can help bring life-saving water to the masses.

>Pedal to the Next Tech Level

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According to Wired Magazine (Sept. 2010), the concept design for this bike sits in the Milan Design Museum.

The bike is made almost entirely from carbon fiber and the pedals spin the main wheel that “generates a magnetic field and plenty of thigh-burning resistance.”

I”ll need to start saving up the $10,700 to own own of these beauties.

Technology speaking, I think the picture speaks a thousand words.

I love it!