“My colleagues thought I was crazy. But ultimately they absolutely respect it because they would turn up to work all angry, being stuck in the car”

Stockholm School of Economics made this nice film about one of their students, Andrew. I totally agree with him that curiosity and questioning drive humanity forward. And what boost your thinking better than cycling? Many brainy and creative people have boosted their creativity by riding bikes. Siri Derkert, Albert Einstein and The Wright Brothers for example, came up with some of their greatest ideas while cycling. And I actually know what kind of awesome business idea Andrew’s got in mind..! Stay tuned.

P.S: Crazy is the new smart (and not even that crazy anymore).

There may be winter in Sweden - but the bicycle debate is HOTTER THAN EVER. Martin Emanuel, who recently published a book (his dissertation) on Stockholm’s cycle planning during the years 1930-1980, will speak TODAY (Feb the 5th) in Färgfabriken in Stockholm. Free entrance!

If you are around you should definitely go, this book is meant to be an awesome read, and to hear about it will be even better. I’m gutted that I won’t make it to this one.

When: February 5, 17.30–19.00
Where: Färgfabriken, Stora salen
Speaker: Martin Emanuel
Free entrance. The seminar has limited seating, rsvp to  Samfundet S:t Erik at samfundet.st.erik@telia.com

This seminair is part of the conference “Stockholm on the move”

READ MORE AT:

CANNOT ATTEND THIS DATE? HERE’S YOUR 2ND CHANCE:
A panel discussion on the same topic.

Where: Stockholms Stadsmuseum, Tessinsalen
When: February 7, 18:00.
Entrance fee?: 100 SEK. No rsvp needed, but limited seating.

Many cyclists and cycling advocates have been disappointed with cykelutredningen, the Swedish bicycle investigation conducted by the government. Not least have people been upset by the suggestion that when there is a bike path, cargo bikers will be allowed on the road, but not the fast cycling cyclists.

However… I started fantasizing about the scenario… And all of a sudden, this new suggestion sounds pretty cool. I mean, just imagine:

Hornsgatan, Stockholm’s most polluted street:

Or like here, at Kungsgatan, Uppsala’s most polluted street:

Extremely people friendly streets all of a sudden. I really like these pics, don’t you? (And how you like my photoshop skills, hehe?)

I mean, by this suggestion, cargo bikes could completely decide the traffic pace in the inner city, right? Cargo bikes could become the new ‘city car’ in just a couple of years. So after a bit of thinking, I was thinking this is probably the most progressive suggestion I’ve ever heard. 

The cargo bike could definitely be the christmas gift of the year.

© Put The Fun Between Your Legs

I’ve written about it before: Cargo bike owners are a bunch of happy people. Sweden are getting more and more of those on the streets, which Cycleville STHLM decided to capture. Grrreat initiative by Cycleville STHLM. All photos by Henrik Rådmark, and video by Jon Jogesjö.

Here’s the video that summarizes it all:

Find more photos at their Facebook page.

… And for some more inspiring posts on the cargo theme: click here.

xxx

New York is one of those huge cities that has had the guts make dramatic changes to their urban landscape in just a few years. Here’s an inspiring video about the transformation of Times Square, how they took space from the road to create bike lanes, and what the businesses and the people think about it.

Makes me think about streets like Hornsgatan and Sveavägen in Stockholm. Two streets where the car lanes are huge, there’s car parking on both sides, and the bike lanes are narrower than the cheapest IKEA-bed (in other words: not so comfy). Moreover, Hornsgatan is one of the most polluted streets in Europe - basically a cocktail of cancerogenic gases - and could need a bit of a remake, least to say. 

What are the decision makers waiting for in Stockholm? It’s about time to be a little progressive and not just build another road. Start making the Stockholm region less car dependent.Cause I’m telling you: Being listed as the most congested cities in Europe is not a compliment. (Not even London is on that chart.)