The week’s top bike news from around the world, brought to you every Friday.
Local news
World’s longest trail completed
Western Australia’s Munda Biddi Trail which stretches 1,000km from Mundaring to Albany is now complete after more than 12 years of work and thanks the efforts of 600 Munda Biddi Trail Foundation members. To celebrate the trail opening in early April, 26 riders from around the nation were selected to ride the Welldrill Munda Biddi Epic 1000 – the first official end to end ride. They are scheduled to complete the inaugural ride this Sunday.
Queensland amends helmet laws
A new ruling by Transport Minister Scott Emerson will exempt male members of the Sikh faith from the state’s mandatory helmet law, as helmets cannot accommodate the turban they are required to wear. However, those seeking exemption from the law will have to demonstrate a long-standing commitment to their faith.
Are you covered?
While riding is generally safe, occasional accidents do happen and it’s important to make sure you and your bike are covered. The Sydney Morning Herald has compiled a list of bike insurance options, which includes memberships with bike advocacy organisations such as Bicycle Network and Bicycle NSW.
Melbourne gets lock savvy
To battle the problem of bike theft, Bicycle Network has teamed up with Victoria Police to run a month-long campaign speaking to riders on the streets of Melbourne about how best to secure their bikes and how to improve their chances of recovering their rides if they are stolen. Their advice is also published online.
International news
US woman helps Afghanistan’s women’s cycling team gear up
On a recent trip to Afghanistan, Shannon Galpin, a former Pilates-instructor and founder of not-for-profit organisation Mountain2Mountain, was surprised to find a group of 45 women had formed a national cycling team. However, because bike riding is considered an immoral activity for women, the team has very little resources. Determined to help the team succeed, Gaplin collected 40 duffle bags of tools and kit as well as bikes for the team and is now back in Afghanistan filming a short documentary about the team titled Afghan Cycles.
Five reasons young Americans are driving less
Driving rates are down 23.6% among young adults aged 16-34 in the US, and it’s not just because oil prices are high. Here’s five other reasons the younger generation in particular are choosing alternate forms of transport.
Bikes go up, cars go down
According to sales figures, care sales in Europe are down for January and February 2013 while bike sales are on the rise, so much so that there are almost two bikes sold for every car.
Health
Uni students take drinking to heart
Students who party hard at uni may be increasing their risk of heart failure in later life, as William Abraham, MD, Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Ohio State University Medical Centre explains: “Alcohol can be directly toxic to the heart and lead to weakening of the heart muscle and heart failure… Toxic manifestations take a while to show up in heart detection, but can be serious enough to require heart transplant.”
Video
Obama rides to purify water
President Obama saddled up at the White House Science Fair to test a bike-powered solution for purifying water in developing countries. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81fB7H0R94Y]
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