Daniel Ho’s Musings

I’m really interested in checking out this charity a bit more. It looks like a cause worth supporting. Great idea…The Motorcycle Doctors.

Via Good Magazine

What good is a hospital if you can’t get to it? And what good are vaccines if they never reach the people who need them? For millions of Africans living in rural villages far from medical facilities and inaccessible to four-wheeled vehicles, isolation can lead to disease and death. Riders for Health, a U.K.-based organization with roots in the world of high-speed motorcycle racing, is determined to change that. The organization equips local health workers with motorcycles, trains them in extreme off-road riding, and supplies the parts, maintenance, and fuel.

Riders for Health operates national programs in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and The Gambia, and advises NGOs in Kenya and Tanzania. They are so effective—each rider can serve up to 20,000 people—that The Gambia has given RFH responsibility for all its health vehicles.

Sulayman Suso, a health worker in The Gambia’s Central River Region, refers to his cherry-red Yamaha AG100 motorbike as his second wife. When “she” is not feeling well, he says, his patients suffer. By keeping Suso’s second wife healthy, and by outfitting dozens of others like Suso, RFH hopes to extend health care beyond hospitals and clinics to the doorsteps of every Gambian—or any other African—in need.

A while ago, I got an “old school” Dutch bike for daily use. Its qualities include:

- Sturdy durable steel frame that can take the abuse of everyday city riding; stainless steel components that resist rusting even when kept outside all year;
- Fenders that keep dirty rain runoff from splashing on my pants or the telltale “racing stripe” of water and mud on my back
- Enclosed chain that lets me ride without specialty clothing AND keeps the chain clean and maintenance free;
- Great solid back cargo rack for hauling groceries and my briefcase;
- Permanently mounted dynamo powered lights so you can never forget to pack a headlight or recharge its batteries;
- 3 speed SRAM hub that lets me climb the hill home but still keeps things simple;
- Comfy springy leather seat;
- Integrated wheel lock for quick stops;
- Traditional Dutch bike styling is great too for bike nerds like me.

This bike is immensely practical for everyday use, but for the longest time, this style of bike was hard to obtain without directly importing from Europe. Why Europe? Well, in many parts of Europe, bikes are seen not only as sport and recreation, but also a valid means of transportation and produced for this need as well.

For the past few decades in North America, the bicycle has been marketed and sold as recreational toys or sports equipment. The market has been dominated by mountain bikes with a few road bikes thrown into the mix. Nothing against these bikes, but they just aren’t set up optimally for running errands or cruising around town.

Recently, I’ve been sensing a change the bikes that I’ve seen on the roads lately. It looks like people are coming to their senses and realizing they can use bicycles as transportation and don’t really need elaborate gearing systems to get to the office, grocery store, or meet up wtih friends.

There is also a change in fashion. Since the Kronan bikes from Sweden appeared and started showing up in stylish lifestyle magazines, a demand has been created for this style of bike that the bicycle industry is calling the “City Bike”

Sales of this style of bike is climbing. People are even dragging similar bicycles from the 70’s and before out of storage. Due to their simplicity, these bikes are being put back into service with only a minor tuneup and maybe a few parts. A good example of this are the 3 speed Raleighs. They are a very nicely built bike complete with fenders and chain guards. These old fashioned bicycles provide a lot of functionality with very little in the way of fussiness and maintenance.

This Wired article reporting on Interbike 2007 is saying:

Some people believe that, right now, a quiet revolution is taking place. In cities like London, San Francisco, Boston and New York, the ranks of bicycle riders are swelling with the rise of a new breed: the urban biker.

Traffic snarls, soaring gas prices and worries about global warming have prompted a big boost in cycling, affecting even places like Los Angeles — America’s freeway capital — that have traditionally given bicycles the cold shoulder.

“What’s really happened in the past year is a cultural shift,” says Monica Howe, 31-year-old outreach coordinator for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

At Interbike 2007, the bicycle industry’s giant annual trade show, the shift toward the urban rider is loudly evident. Fancy road and mountain bikes are clearly no longer king of the roost — or road. It’s the scads of fixed-gear, town, single-speed and other urban bicycles that are drawing the crowds.

So, everything old is new again. Dig that old grandpa bike out of storage and rethink the place of a bicycle in your life. Rather than a toy or a sport, it can be a very efficient way for you to get around town. A spot of exercise probably wouldn’t hurt either. You may be surprised how well it can work out for you!

In an IHT opinion piece written by the former president of the Czechoslovakia:

It is also obvious from published research that human activity is a cause of change; we just don’t know how big its specific contribution is.

Is it really necessary to know that to the last percentage point, though? By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren’t we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays?

…

The end of the world has been anticipated many times in the course of history and has never come, of course. And it won’t come this time either. We need not fear for our planet. It was here before us and most likely will be here after us. But that doesn’t mean that the human race is not at serious risk.

Read the full article here.

If you can’t bring me with you, this guy has it down…