ecoexplorer.co.uk

This is interesting…

The Guardian’s bike blog took a look at the Copenhagen Wheel yesterday. Bike blogger Adam Vaughan panned the idea but after falling in love with electric bikes this week I’d like to think it has potential. He also flagged up the most obvious problem - and the one that puts me off straight away - this design just screams “steal me”! This bike wouldn’t last a week in our dodgy old shed in Cov before getting nicked.

“Look! Is it a stockbroker? Is it a quantity surveyor? Is it a church warden? NO! It’s Bicycle Repair Man!”

London’s first roadside bicycle repair scheme was launched today and I’d like to think it’s a little something like this…

SE1-based Druid Cycles has a new team of trained mechanics with bike maintenance kits making their way round the capital - on bikes, naturally - repairing punctures and fixing skewiff brakes.

I can already hear the sneers from seasoned cyclists asking, “why can’t people fix their own punctures?” But bike maintenance was one of the few dark clouds that hung over cycling for me before I got my bike and while I’m just about confident fixing a puncture at home, I’m still more likely to just walk my bike home if I get lumbered with a problem while out and about. So if these guys encourage more people to give cycling a go, I think they’re doing a top job.

“Wherever bicycles are broken or menaced by international communism, bicycle repairman is ready!”

Award-winning Guardian journalist Paul Lewis came to Cov this weekend to hold an NUJ workshop in investigative journalism.

Paul won the 2009 Bevins Prize (aka the Rat Up A Drainpipe Award) and was a runner-up in last year’s Paul Foot Award for his investigation into the policing of the G20 protest in London and the infamous death of newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson. The Guardian was the only newspaper at the time to question the official police response that:

Paul has become an expert in working with “citizen journalists” and using video as evidence - and his investigation makes you wonder how many truths go untold when we accept press office statements at face value. (more…)

The Huffington Post has compiled a collection of outrageous eco-stunts including this advert from Plane Stupid.

Whatever you think (more…)