In honor of Earth Day

Pretty much anyone involved with pedicabs agrees that it's a green industry. We tout rickshaws as earth-friendly, zero-emissions, human-powered, pedal-powered, environmental, ecological, low carbon footprint, and all those other buzz words popular in today's global warming lexicon.

In honor of Earth Day, here are a few statistics to reinforce the value of pedal cabs in your community.

60,000,000 - The number of plastic bottles thrown into U.S. landfills each day. It takes 1.5 million barrels of crude oil each year to produce these bottles - translating into enough fuel to run 100,000 cars for a year.

45,000,000 - The number of barrels of oil saved each year by using public transportation.

2,150,000 - The number of barrels of oil saved if 100,000 homes installed eco-friendly geothermal heating systems.

2,000 - The number of coal-fired power plants located in China. (One new power plant goes into operation every 4 to 7 days in China).

13 - The number of pounds a person would lose if they walked one half hour a day instead of riding or driving a motor vehicle. If every US citizen between the ages of 10 to 74 walked this equivalent each day rather than drive, our carbon dioxide emissions would be decreased by 64 million tons.

3,000,000,000 - Gallons of gas wasted each year due to traffic congestion. Since much pollution is caused while traffic is slowed or stalled due to congestion, many people mistakenly think that this pollution can be prevented by decreasing congestion. Unfortunately that doesn't work, as every attempt to facilitate traffic flow simply results in more traffic. More roads seem to lead to more cars on the roads.

117 - Bicycling is 117% more efficient than walking.

54 - Gallons of gas saved annually by using a bicycle to commute four days a week for four miles (each way). [That's approximately $190 US at today's gas prices]

30 - percent of morning traffic caused by parents dropping their kids off at school.

15 - In 2004, fewer than 15% of children and adolescents use active modes of transportation to or from school. In 1969, approximately half of all schoolchildren walked or bicycled to or from school, and 87% of those living within 1 mile of school walked or bicycled. (CDC report)

36 - Walking is 36 times more dangerous than driving, because Americans lack safe places to walk (e.g. trend towards fewer sidewalks and crosswalks). In 59% of cases for which information is available, pedestrians died in places where they could not find a crosswalk.

55 - On average, states spent just 55 cents per person of their federal transportation funds on pedestrian projects in the years studied, less than 1% of their total federal transportation dollars. Average spending on highways came to $72 per person.

100 - The number of bicycles that could be produced using the energy and resources needed to build one medium-sized car.

40 - Percentage of oil used daily in the U.S. by Cars and SUVs.

Resources:
cleanairsys.com
Bicycleuniverse.info
Scorecard.org

Eco-friendly vehicles crushed under motor wheels

India has missed a golden opportunity to promote human powered vehicles which would keep the cities clean and give gainful employment to millions.

Sudhirendar Sharma, the Ecological Foundation

India has missed a golden opportunity to promote human powered vehicles which would keep the cities clean and give gainful employment to millions.

Without doubt, there is space and scope for integrating the cycle rickshaw into the urban transport plan. Banning rickshaws on the pretext of congestion on city streets is unreasonable; cars and auto rickshaws owe much more to it.

Cycle rickshaws hold distinct advantage over motorised transport: these are non-polluting and non-violent form of public transport. They neither emit fumes nor ignite road rage! Unless public policy allows cycle rickshaws to negotiate their position, an opportunity to impact change in the city environment in light of ensuing climate change will be missed.

When improved cycle rickshaws, with speed gears and ergonomic design, were launched in Agra in 1997, the future of the poor man’s public transport had started looking up. Ten years later, the status of rickshaw is that of abject ridicule as many cities have banned the movement of this environment-friendly pedal-powered convenience from municipal limits.

While the historic Chandi Chowk in Delhi had banned the ubiquitous rickshaw following the High Court order five years ago (a petition challenging the order is at the Supreme Court), the adjoining satellite township of Noida has recently curtailed its movement from busy sections of this fast developing city.

By contrast, rickshaws are seen as symbols of the future in developed nations – an environment friendly means of transport. On New York’s fifth avenue people could be seen looking around for cycle rickshaws in the evenings. Elsewhere in North America and Europe, cycle rickshaws are finding favour with commuters.

The India Cycle Rickshaw Improvement Project, undertaken by the New York-based Institute for Transport and Development Policy (ITDP), was born out of the realisation that improving the design efficiency of human-powered public transport could be a win-win situation. From improving city environment to providing gainful employment, rickshaws could be a cheaper mode of public transport.

The ITDP designers had deployed a tubular body to reduce the rickshaw’s weight by 30 per cent; designed multi-gear system for easy pulling; and had created low height passenger friendly seating features.

All this, within the cost price of a traditional rickshaw – an estimated Rs 6,000.

Though several rickshaws plying across cities do resemble the improved version, the clones do not carry the essential elements of the design. Says designer Shreya Gadepalli, who had worked on the project, “… as the principal designer it does pain me to see that not all vehicles are as light, safe or comfortable as they could have been; features like multiple gears, which were seen as an extra cost, were done away with.”

With support from USAID, the India Project had contributed to improving rickshaws in many cities. However, the spread of the revolutionary design has ceased since the project came to a close in 2003.

Thanks to an indifferent policy environment and an irresolute rickshaw industry, the innovation aimed at benefiting as many as 4-5 million cycle rickshaws in India has literally been squandered. Against the powerful automobile industry, the unorganised human powered vehicle industry stands little chance to impact change. It is however another matter that the annual turnover by cycle rickshaws is worth Rs 1500 crore.

The modernization of cycle rickshaw in India has already proven to be a more cost effective way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions alongside securing better livelihoods for millions, at no extra burden to the state.
The launch of improved rickshaw in Agra was aimed at reducing harmful emissions from polluting auto rickshaws and cars from the periphery of the one of world’s seven wonders.

However, in the absence of political patronage the inherent potential of cycle rickshaws in generating elusive carbon credits for resource-crunched municipalities is being missed.

Earning carbon credits may not be far-fetched but the fact that rickshaws generate gainful employment for millions should be reason enough for developing countries to be empathetic towards it. The results of the revolutionary design changes had led to an appreciable increase in income for traditional rickshaw, from a low of Rs 75-80 to Rs 110-120 per day.

After deducting the rental costs, the previous earnings were only marginal higher. Interestingly, the new design gave the poor rickshaw drivers a chance to earn more by spending less energy. However, for manufacturers and contractors the enhanced income to poor rickshaw drivers has been of little consequence.

Dhaka's Rickshaws Under Threat

In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, most journeys are made on foot, and bicycle rickshaws are the main form of vehicular transport. Rickshaws are an efficient, non-polluting way to move around, and for many people without job skills, pulling a rickshaw is the only option other than begging or crime.

Under pressure from the World Bank, Dhaka City Corporation announced that from December 17 it plans to ban rickshaws and non-motorised transport from an important road in Dhaka - Mirpur Road from Russell Square to Azimpur. But this is only the test case in a much larger World Bank plan that would eliminate rickshaws from eight major roads (120 km) in this city of ten million people. Pushing rickshaws off the main roads would allow motor vehicles to become the dominant mode of vehicular transport in the city. At the same time, the World Bank is pressuring the Bangladeshi government to pass a law freeing the bank of legal liability for any harm that results from its policies.

Increasing limitations on rickshaws in Dhaka are causing untold hardship to the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society, reducing the mobility of the middle class (particularly women, children, and the elderly), and contributing to air pollution and motorisation. Meanwhile, roads that have completely banned non-motorised transport are still some of the worst affected by traffic jams.

World Carfree Network, concerned organisations in Bangladesh and around the world, and Dhaka's many rickshaw unions are all prepared for action to save the rickshaws. If the most vulnerable members of the population are to go hungry, it will not happen without a fight. Banning rickshaws and building highways while people face starvation is nothing short of a war on the poor.

Why Rickshaws should not be wiped out:

Rickshaws are in many ways the ideal form of transport: they provide door-to-door transport at all hours and in all weather, emit no fumes, create no noise pollution, use no fossil fuels, and employ large numbers of the poorest people.

It is not the rickshaws that are clogging the streets; it's the cars. In 1998, the less than 9% of vehicular transport by car required over 34% of road space, while the 54% travelling by rickshaw took up only 38% of road space. The solution is not to reduce rickshaw transport, but to prevent the growth of car use, by minimising the road space and parking space allocated to cars.

In addition, there are many simple solutions that could benefit both the rickshaw-riding majority and the car-owning minority. Instead of banning rickshaws, the World Bank and local authorities could be (a.) providing dedicated lanes and cycle rickshaw stations that would prevent conflicts between modes, (b.) implementing a programme to help improve the quality of the rickshaws, (c.) supporting cycle rickshaw drivers with training, uniforms, tariff standardisation, etc., (d.) creating cycle lanes throughout the city, and (e.) supporting public transit through bus-only lanes, bus-only turns, etc.

Many rickshaw pullers fled from starvation in the villages. With exceptionally bad floods this year, many villages lack sufficient food and seeds. Cutting back on rickshaw income means directly attacking the ability of the poorest and most vulnerable to survive - not just the rickshaw pullers themselves, but the families and entire villages that they support.

The Mirpur Road is a disastrous choice for a rickshaw ban, as there are no alternate roads for rickshaws, and it is extremely difficult to walk on this road because of the prevalence of street vendors.

Accommodating the automobile over other modes is undemocratic, supporting a wealthy elite while the majority suffers. In the long run, even the rich will not benefit from rickshaw bans, as current policies will lead to more traffic jams, dirtier air and increased noise pollution.

World Bank policy in Dhaka is inconsistent with the spirit of the World Bank's urban transport strategy, Cities on the Move (2001), which is highly progressive and supportive of non-motorised transport.

Rickshaws are the main source of vehicular transport for the middle class. Since there are often not alternatives within their means, a rickshaw ban is a restriction of their freedom of movement, and therefore a violation of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (People Action Alert and World Carfree NetworK, The Bangladesh Observer, December 20, 2004)

Slick pedicab for the humble rickshaw

A slick, pedicab avatar for the humble rickshaw

Annu Anand

New Delhi, July 8, 2002

For 35-year-old Lalu Singh — a migrant from Bihar— pulling a cycle rickshaw these days is not a drudgery. On the other hand, he is very happy riding his rickshaw in the small lanes and residential colonies of East Delhi. The reason for this change is the new-style rickshaw that he has acquired. He feels it is very light compared to his old rickshaw and he does not have to apply much force to pull it. Passengers do not hesitate to sit in it because it always protects them from heat and rain, unlike the old-design rickshaw.

Lalu says the new rickshaw has changed his life. From somebody who used to hire a rickshaw daily, he has become the proud owner of a new rickshaw. He has recently bought it for Rs 4,000 and is paying the money in instalments. When the going is good he is able to earn as much as Rs 3,000.

Lalu is not alone in this silent change taking place in parts of Delhi and a few other Indian cities. The number of these new-age rickshaw pullers is increasing everyday as the technology of the new-design rickshaw is spreading fast.

Rupesh Kumar is another youngster pulling a rickshaw in the East Delhi residential area of Mayur Vihar. He has been driving this new mode of transportation for close to six months now. In fact, it is difficult to find an old-design rickshaw these days in this locality. Rupesh did not have money to buy a rickshaw so he takes one on hire everyday.

He has to pay Rs 25 to the owner of the rickshaw as hiring charges. He earns daily around Rs 100. The business has been brisk in the past few weeks, in view of the CNG crisis on Delhi roads.

While cycle rickshaws are not a novelty on Delhi roads, but what attracted people’s attention was this new-design cycle rickshaw – more comfortable and stylish. A number of these new rickshaws have been plying on the streets of Delhi for almost two years now. And their number is growing.

It is not just the new design. Almost, a silent revolution is taking place. For the ubiquitous rickshaw and the fate of the rickshaw puller has not changed in the past half a century. Now, thanks to a project conceived by the New York-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and the Asian Institute of Transport Development, the rickshaw has got a new lease of life. The project was initially funded by the US Agency for International Development. The implementation is being done by a Delhi-based NGO called Trichakra.

The traditional rickshaw is an inefficient piece of machinery. It puts a lot of stress on the rickshaw puller and saps away his energy in vain. The geometry of the structure is not suited to the Indian build. Keeping these shortcomings in mind, the design team led by Mr G. Shyam, an industrial designer at the Indian Institute of Technology,

New Delhi, made an attempt to improve the cycle rickshaw, with the objective to reduce the strain on the rickshaw puller through a multiple gearing system. The carriage has also been made lightweight.

But its light body is also posing problems for some rickshaw pullers. Moti Lal - a rickshaw puller in Patparganj - feels that the old rickshaw was better as it could carry more weight and odd-shaped objects. “Moreover, we cannot carry coolers, fridge or any other heavy things.

This design is comfortable only for passengers. Actually, we are in a loss”, he says.

With basic improvements in design, the project came up with several designs - Rani ki Palki, Udan Khatola, Raja ki Baggi, Vigyan ka Samadhan and 2001. Based on field experience and further research, two basic models have been commercialised - the Agra model and the Delhi model.

The former was first introduced in Agra where it has been a great success with tourists visiting the Taj Mahal. Today, about 800 of them are running in Agra, while another 400 are on the roads in the holy towns of Mathura and Vrindavan. Some 30 of the new rickshaws have been introduced in Bharatpur, where rickshaws are the only mode of transportation to take a tour of the famous bird sanctuary. In Delhi alone about 2,000 of these new rickshaws have been introduced. The process initially was slow because manufacturers have to be convinced first and then rickshaw pullers have to be educated. “Some of them did not want the gear system as they are not comfortable with it. So, we have supplied rickshaws without gears as well. We are also working with government agencies to help the rickshaw pullers to become owners of their vehicles”, says Mr Nalin Sinha, Project Manager of the cycle rickshaw project at Trichakra. The cost of the new rickshaw has come down to Rs 4,000, from the initial Rs 5,000. It will go down further as volumes pick up. Even at the present level,it compares well with the traditional rickshaw, which ranges between Rs 3,300 and Rs 3,800.

Mr Sinha says the new rickshaws are being introduced in Jaipur, Varanasi, Patna, Lucknow and Ranchi. More and more local manufacturers are showing interest. To avoid problems in transportation, a ready-to-assemble model is also being developed which can be easily transported. A school “bus” is also on the anvil. It will be capable of carrying at least 10 children comfortably.

The ITDP says the project has demonstrated that the superior vehicle could attract 19 per cent of its clients from highly polluting two-stroke engine vehicles.

Surveys with the new operators have demonstrated that the income of the cycle rickshaw pullers has increased by 20 per cent to 50 per cent because they are able to attract new passengers.

Unlike many transport sector interventions aimed only at improving the environment, this project did not pollute and also increased employment and income among the poor, while keeping the cost of the vehicle roughly constant. Close cooperation with the Indian bicycle industry, the tourism industry, and marketing and public relations experts were critical to the project’s success.

While the Indian project has now moved to commercialisation stage with the help of the private sector, designer G. Shyam is helping improve the rickshaw in Indonesia. The project at Jogjakarta, Indonesia, will try to replicate its success in partnership with Gadjah Mada University. The Indonesian designs, in order to respect cultural norms, will have to continue to seat passengers in the front. In many parts of Indonesia the cycle rickshaw, or becak, is tightly restricted by local government decrees and police harassment. In Jogjakarta the cultural traditions and tourism trade have led to a much more supportive environment for becak modernisation.

Worth1000: Rickshaws

At Worth1000.com, visitors are allowed to photoshop an image anyway they like, as creatively as they like. The original photo was of 2 velotaxis. Below is one of 38 entries. Check out the rest and choose your favorite!

Bicycles change lives

The tagline for World Bicycle Relief is "The Power of Bicycles" which is truly illustrated in this article posted at MSNBC about their work delivering bicycles to needy people in Zambia. In developed nations, we take so much for granted - like the bicycles most of us ride for fun or exercise.

World Bicycle Relief, the vision of F.K. Day of Chicago, is a stunningly simple idea.

It delivers tens of thousands of bicycles to the poorest people in the world. Why? Because simple transportation improves people’s lives more than you can imagine.

All of a sudden, a child can get to school, a parent can find work, and a rural medical worker can reach eight families with AIDS. Farmers can transport extra corn. A father can walk one hour a day instead of seven. Emergencies can be dealt with. Neighbors can get a message. Income increases. Nutrition improves. All because people have wheels, and they can move. Think what your life would be without your car, and you get the idea.

Read the complete article at MSNBC's Worldblog.

Find out more about World Bicycle Relief at their web site. While you're there, check out the page on the impact of bicycles. Did you know that over equal units of time, one can ride a bicycle 4 times the distance as one walking? Cool, huh?

Back in action

I'm sorry for my absence on the blog over the past several weeks. As some of you know, my elderly stepdad had been fighting a prolonged battle with lung cancer. I was the primary caregiver for both him and my mom.

Sadly, he passed away at the end of July. His final weeks took much of my time and energy. Plus, making funeral arrangements and dealing with tons of paperwork for insurance, bank accounts, and such over the past few weeks, has left little time for blogging.

My apologies to all who regularly visit this blog to get information on the world of pedicabs. I'm back in action now, and I'll do my best over the next few days to catch up on the news.

Tez

p.s. If you'd like to read more about my ordeal, please visit my other blog, Teri's Brain.

Team Pedicab, Rounds 6-7 and Awards!!!

Good Day pedicabbers!

Well, it has been a long, almost grueling season. I won't lie, I am sort of glad the SMC is over. I am glad it is over because I was tired of trying to bounce back.

The last two races were the Pennsylvania Gulch Grind and the Breck Brawl. Both were technical courses, and the bike I rode was the Santa Cruz Superlight. Components were a bit heavy, but I liked the bike.

Brook ran away with the Beginner Women's field, and at this point, my feeling is that she has all but abandoned your blogger and the greatness of the pedicab for a (GASP!) relationship...

I finished at a strong #5 of 19, right above the 12 year old kid that ran away with a couple of Sport Races. So, I didn't get a nifty picture, but I will say I did get an awesome training beanie from a raffle.

I am at a point of new training and new take on biking season. I still have to decide what kind of frame to buy, and my two beefsteak bikes in the basement will be taken to the world of fixed gear and singlespeed-dom. I think they were great bikes as it went, but I need something that is newer and can take my abuse...especially if I am crashing the damn thing. My goal is to become more comfortable on the bike and next season, take the sport men category, by at least the top 3. I also intend to be doing some triathlon training and some randonee racing. I plan on buying some skate skis and have plans to be in better shape, have a more calm mind, and do some good racing in the next year. Any coaching tips would be helpful.

Project Rwanda has taken off. Stay tuned for some real action on it in the coming months. I am planning a bike ride, to encompass some real great terrain, and hopefully bring along a pedicab for greater exposure. I have people from Denver, California, and numerous folks trying to help me with some funding. I am utilizing the Rotary Clubs in Denver, and they are dead on for this project. Keep in touch with it, and really, if you want a sweet jersey, buy one. It goes to the Rwanda national cycling team!

Broncos season has started, which will give me ample time to get my muscles in shape for winter-tri season. I have learned some things about myself, my sales ability, and my determination in a small town, ready to kill my small business. At very least, mind your Pints and Quarts. It pays off in the end. Secondly, unless someone is really driven, don't let them ride your bike. It will be a drain on you and a drain on your resources to let them do so. The pedicab job isn't about a bike nor about making money...I take that back...But it is about uniqueness, resilience, and thoughtfulness in finding ways to do something not everyone can do. I hesitate to say that bike messengers have their little go-to social group. Pedicabbers are equally strong and more personable. Besides, would you say that hauling weight on a 34-15 is much better than hauling yourself on a 52-12? We may not have it completely right, but our 34-15 is making money...at the end of every little ride.

Thanks for your support.

beefsteak.

Team Pedicab, Rounds 3-4

Good Day pedicabbers!

We are now in full swing of summer, and we have a cab up in Breckenridge, elevation, 9,600 feet. We have been spending the week pedaling and working. My first two nights were pretty average, and it took me a few hours to figure out the flow of people. Lo and behold, I came out tonight and made a good enough sum taking 70 year old women up our hills. I also flagged a couple of local young bar-rats whom I know and so, I came away with more than I anticipated. We burn calories like its out of style, and throw a smile on, regardless. Weather has been pretty cooperative, and believe it or not, I will be taking on drivers this weekend, do try their hand at riding. This is tough riding, because it isn't like normal riding. You really have to use your exposure and offer the crazy free ride everyone talks about. Otherwise, you will sufficate.

Breckenridge: Where your banker is your Boy Scoutmaster, local mountain bike racer, rotarian, and not to mention favorite pedicab operator. Sometime I will have a couple of cabs running and main street will be begging for a ped mall, but right now, I am the bike-dork of sorts, riding people up those hills for a nice tip. This weekend will be the second telling weekend, and I think the late night will require some crazy spinning.

Team Pedicab is hurting right now. Between climbing crazy mountains, wrecking our favorite beefsteak bike, and gnarling ourselves on course to the point of tears, we are regrouping. Brook is taking 1st in the women's beginner division, which means she will need to buck up and move to sport. Yours is learning the power of humility. Most recent race was the time trial where I missed my start and rode a 30 lb bike. I am working on changing and financing a frame, which will give me a better advantage. I am test-riding different bikes. Bike last week was the Kona Kikapu Deluxe, this week will be the Santa Cruz Blur or Superlight. The local bro-discount may apply, and I just hope to hit a good race Wednesday-- one that I know I can climb and hang with some of my nemeses.

With that, peeps, rebuilding is where I am. It is not about the bike, much like it is not about the pedicab. The bike is the means, not the end. I know I like bikes, I know I like to race, but now, it is about having fun. I am set on having fun. Ultimately, my stitches, were humbling, but the bike gods hit me harder on the Firecracker 50. Bike broke 5 times and it learned me a valuable lesson- love the bike, don't love the race.

On another, more charitable front, the Summit County Rotaract group is trying to get something going with Project Rwanda. It is looking like September, and we are working on raising monies for some bike tools for the coffee bikes, posted in a previous post. I have had contact with a famous name in components- but he plugged me into a couple of people who just love bikes and love to ride- not to race. We are trying to make some money for a cool international project-- Thanks for the heads up on the project, BIG TREE! Keep in touch about this, and Mountain Pedicab Company will continue to fit here somewhere.

Additionally, I found some time to climb Longs Peak, a fourteener, actually, under the auspices of Mountain Pedicab Company. We hiked this one. Ben, our Front-Ranger was present and a little height averse. I was smiling the entire way. We made it to the top without event or problem, other than a knotted stomach, and a new respect for granite slabs. Later on this day, we did ride, for some time, albeit whipped. I mean whipped. Imagine a stairstep for 12 hours. Then imagine hauling drunks around. Google Longs Peak, and you may get an idea of what an undertaking this was. We started at 2am, reached the summit at 9, back down by 3. Not the winners, but still Alpinists all the same. It was rewarding, but still tiring. Try it!

Any of your comments on the Mountain Pedicab front are appreciated!

http://www.mavsports.com
http://www.coffeebike.com
http://www.projectrwanda.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longs_Peak

Yours, without pictures, right now, but some good links!

beefsteak

Word of the day

TheFreeDictionary.com's word of the day today is...

ped·i·cab
n. A small three-wheeled vehicle having a seat, pedals, and handlebars in front for the operator and a usually hooded cab in back for passengers.

pedicab - a tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling); used in the Orient for transporting passengers for hire; "boys who once pulled rickshaws now pedal pedicabs"
cycle rickshaw
tricycle, trike, velocipede - a vehicle with three wheels that is moved by foot pedals

(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language)

Happy Independence Day from Cayman

I wanted to pass on these well wishes from our pedicab brother Brian in Cayman.

Hi to my fellow Pedicabbers.
Hope you all have a safe Holiday and hope you are all riding your butts off on a pedicab.
I just had two more bikes shipped to Cayman.
I had no one to ride for a while, so I brought in workers from the Philippines.
My web site will be fully up shortly and will have links to you all.
Take care and god bless the Pedicab world.

Brian

Brian A Barnes & Co. Ltd.
Wheels PediCab Service
Cayman Cayman Islands

Talk about your daily grind . . .

Hey all you pedicab drivers out there. . . When you think you've got it rough, remember that it could always be worse. You could be on a wooden bike in Rwanda. Try taking one of these to your next bike race.

Imagine what it takes to push a 50 pound wooden bike with a load of 300 pounds of coffee cherries 5 to 10 kilometers to the washing station? It takes a determination born out of suffering.

Now I don't mean to get preachy, but damn! Imagine the effort, even with the new Coffee Bike, to get this product to market. Everyday, we go to the grocery store where we find a dazzling selection to choose from. We walk out with our purchases in a nice little "paper or plastic?" bag, never really considering the work that went into getting it to our table.

So here's your chance to show a little gratitude and solidarity while supporting a worthwhile bike-related endeavor. Buy some coffee, sponsor the team, or order a cool t-shirt.

Wooden Bike Coffee from Project Rwanda.

Catching up now

I've been negligent in my duties as lead-blogger. However, I'm happy that my counterparts have picked up and carried on in my absence. Now I've got a lot to get caught up on, so watch for a barrage of posts over the next couple of days.

Go Team Pedicab! Keep those updates coming!

No screaming allowed on the Screamer

Ride the Screamer! (But no shrieking please)

Neighbors’ complaints spur amusement park to institute a no-noise rule

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - No screaming on the Screamer!

A suburban amusement park has gotten so many complaints from neighbors about bloodcurdling screams that it has instituted a no-shrieking rule for its scary new thrill ride, the Scandia Screamer, a gigantic, windmill-like contraption that sends people plunging 16 stories to Earth at nearly 60 mph.

Riders who let out a screech — or just about any other noise — are pulled off and sent to the back of the line.

As passengers are strapped into the two metal baskets, the operator recites this warning: "We are required to remove you from this ride if you make any noise. If you feel you might make a noise, please cover your mouth tightly with you hand, like this (The operator then covers mouth with hand). If we hear any noise through your hand, we will remove you from the ride. So please remain silent and enjoy the Screamer."

Read the rest of the story at MSNBC...

Cinderella

One of the attendees at the Weekend Intensive shared this story with us, and I just had to pass it along to you...

I had a couple of girls in my pedicab one evening. It was obvious that they'd been drinking and were pretty wasted by the time I picked them up. My expert pedicab driving skills so impressed one of the girls that she just had to call her dad to tell him what she and her friend were up to. However, she had a tough time explaining exactly what sort of vehicle she was riding in. After struggling for a few minutes to drunkenly describe a pedicab on the phone to dad, I overheard her say, "Picture Cinderella on her way to to the ball... well, I'm in the pumpkin part."

Does that make pedicab operators fairy godmothers? And are pedicab drivers a bunch of mice?

Thanks for the giggle Warren. Best of luck in CT.

Pedicabs do it in a shopping center

What an excellent use of pedicabs!
I'm not sure where this takes place. If anyone knows, please add to the comments.

Bad Blogger!

I've been neglecting my duties as a blogger the last couple weeks. I've been so busy with other projects that I just haven't had time to keep up on everything. So I've instructed my dogs to keep and eye on me until I get caught up. If I stop typing, they're to growl and snarl at me, and if I get up for more than 5 minutes at a time, they're to bite my leg and drag me back to my computer.

Good dogs. Bad blogger.

7 Steps to a Bicycle-Friendly Workplace

Since so many pedicab drivers are bicycle enthusiasts, I thought I'd pass along this article from Bicycle Colorado.

With close to 1.5 million bicyclists in Colorado, chances are that bicycling is important to many of your organization’s co-workers and customers. That means making your business more bicycle-friendly may help increase customer loyalty and employee satisfaction. Here are some easy ways to do so:

1. Encourage your co-workers to bicycle to work as a way to promote health, decrease turnover, and relieve crowded parking lots
   
2. Post a bike map with local bicycling routes in office break areas or near the main entrance to highlight good routes near your office
   
3. Add one or two bicycle racks in highly visible areas just outside the main entrance, ideally in a covered area
   
4. Add a sign near the front door saying “We’re a bicycle-friendly business. We encourage our customers and employees to bicycle here.”
   
5. Boost visibility for your business by sponsoring a local bicycling event, club, or team
   
6. Choose at least one bicycling event each year to encourage customers, co-workers, vendors, and neighbors to participate as a fun way to strengthen customer loyalty and build goodwill
   
7. Encourage your employer and co-workers to join Bicycle Colorado and your local bicycling advocacy group to help build a more bicycle-friendly Colorado

Pedicab Operators Weekend in April

Don't miss Big Tree Pedicab Management's first weekend training session this year. The Pedicab Operators Weekend Intensive is scheduled for April 13-15 in Denver, Colorado, USA. Check out the web site at www.bigtreepedicab.com for more information. We'd love to see you there!

If you want to know more about running a successful pedicab operation, you want to talk to the team from Big Tree Pedicab Management, managers of Mile High Pedicabs. We bring experience in business, cycling, coaching and training to the second oldest continually operating pedicab fleet in the United States.

We will discuss issues around business structure, limiting liability and risk, tax concerns, working with municipalities and venues, managing and tracking assets, potential income streams, recruiting and training successful drivers, negotiating with advertisers, and promoting and marketing your business. We also have great sample documents in the binder you receive!

Unhappy cabbie in Perth

Uh oh! Looks like cabbies in Perth, Australia are unhappy with pedicabs now. "Waaaa... They're stealing my fares!" Read the blog post on Bytes from the Backseat.