Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 8:51 pm
· Filed under news/events
Becycle Society Present:
The UK Premiere of the award-winning film documentary, ‘Veer’
as part of ‘Bike Night’ – A night of art, music and urban cycling culture at the skate park.
The evening also features visual art installations, local dj-sets and performances from BMXers. It is hoped that the evening will also act as an opportunity for people in the local area interested in cycling and art to network and hang-out. Entry is £5 and is open to all. All proceeds are used to help the Becycle project.
Veer explores the fast-growing bicycling culture by profiling five people whose lives are inextricably tied to cycling and bike-centric groups they belong to. The film follows these characters over the course of a year, offering a behind-the-scenes look at their personal struggles and triumphs. Veer examines what it means to be part of a community and how social movements are formed.
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 3:27 pm
· Filed under bikes
Being a fairly lazy sort of fellow i decided a couple of years ago to buy an electric bike.
I had a particularly good week at sea and after several bottles of wine at a friend’s house with an internet connection and pay pal i found myself the owner of an electric bike and a monster hangover.
The bike is great it’s an izip cruiser, it was the cheapest and coincidently funkeyst one they made. when the batteries are new and fully charged you can expect around 15 miles on the flat at a reasonable speed of between 10 and 15 mph. None of the figures quoted here have been tested in any way and are at best to be considered to be wildly inaccurate.
So it isnt particularly fast and it also doesnt have gears, this combined with a very heavy steel frame means that you cant really pedal it.
but thats ok because i dont.
pedal i mean.
not as a rule..
apart from up hill…
I figure if i have a motor its pointless to pedal unless i want to keep warm, otherwise i tend to spill too much beer and that as we all know can become tiresome aswell as expensive.
Soon i plan to fit another battery and a sub woofer to the bike giving me more
speed and greater range.
I absolutely love it and would recommend it to anyone, the forks and super fat bastard rated fully sprung seat make even the most cobbly of streets a total joy.
I have changed by bike only slightly by moving the batteries to a rather nice box on the back but apart from that it is pretty much standard.
I hope one day to put it on a train and come up to cruise the mean streets of Aberdeen (and to get danny and chriss to help me with a couple of things) soon.
Monday, October 19, 2009 at 8:32 am
· Filed under news/events
Tytti from “PELTONIEMI – MADE-TO-ORDER” (www.tyttipeltoniemi.com), a wee fashion and desgin shop up on Chattan Place, is promoting Becycle and the Becycle cause with these amazing handmade shopping bags. How cool is that? Go check out her fantastic shop if you are around – and give her a hug. (prints on the bags done by – who else? – Llyod).
Monday, October 19, 2009 at 7:57 am
· Filed under bikes
two pretty fixies near Belmont street - Sunday, Oct. 18th
In the past two years since I arrived, the number of fixed gear bikes up here on Aberdeen’s roads went from 1 to 100 and counting. We’ve been noticing a rapid increase in fixie riders and we’re hoping that we’ll have a meetup soon. There’s a forum we’ve been posting on if you want to join! http://www.londonfgss.com/thread20536-3.html
Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 10:35 pm
· Filed under blog
Fucking A! Finally, my old friend Ralle from Rapido – the bike courier I work for in Cologne – posted the first Rapido podcast mixtape with some of the good beats and tunes he used to play for us at work. Hope this becomes a regular!
Sergey Suokas – Morning Love
Greg Scrase – Koko (Runner18 Remix)
Florence and The Machine – You`ve Got the Love (The xx Remix)
The Family Simpson – My Funny Valentine
Daft Punk – Fragile Tron Legacy
Marlene Magnoli – Flatter Davon Kleiner Flattermann
Fingoonet – Bouddha Dub
Dave I.D. – X-F
Russian Circles – Malko
Jimi Tenor/Tony Allen – Selfish Gene
Hildegard Knef – Heute Morgen War Termin (Andreas Dorau Remix)
Karen O and the Kids – Hideaway
Paco del Stinko – Ring them Bells
Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 7:27 am
· Filed under blog
Aged 24, Alastair Humphreys left England to cycle round the world. His journey along the length of the Earth’s three great landmasses (Africa, the Americas, Eurasia) took more than 4 years to complete.
Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:45 am
· Filed under news/events
Hi all,
A warm welcome to all the new Becyclers of ’09, and of course to all of those re-offending! I hope you’ve all had a great summer and are ready to hit the books for the upcoming year. But when you’re not hitting the books we’ve got some pretty awesome events coming up for you guys to check out, where you can meet new faces and of course talk bikes!
First of all I want to invite all you guys to meeting this Friday the 9th of October in Taylor A31 from 18:00 to 20:00 where we’ll talk about the history of Becycle, our future projects and to find volunteers who are willing to help keep it alive. It’s a lot of work but at the same time it’s a lot fun, we really need your help and Becycle wouldn’t be possible without all the awesome ladies and gentlemen like you who help keep it running. We are also part of the uni’s volunteering awards scheme that you can sign up for if you feel the need to beef up your cv a bit! Other than that the meeting is a good chance to meet new faces and there will of course be snacks, drinks and a movie screening.
We also want to invite you all the Thursday night rides, another great chance to meet people and have fun on your bike. We meet at Elphinston hall on campus every second week at 21:00 and just cruise about Aberdeen. See our website for more details. It’s a nice way to explore the city and a good excuse for hitting the pub afterwards, but remember, a full set of lights is essential! On top of our fortnightly rides we’re planning a night of art, music and urban cycling culture at Transition Skate Park down at the beach where we will also be premiering the film Veer for the first time in Britain! http://veerthemovie.com/
Much love from your becycle founder and president,
Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 3:40 pm
· Filed under news/events
Morning! We’ll be up and running from Wednesday, September 30 , next week. We need to tidy up a little and get ourselves organised after a busy summer. If you’re up for volunteering and want to get involved in running the workshop and the bicycle lending please get in touch or watch out for the meeting that should be coming up soon (will be posted here). We really need YOU since the shop is getting increasingly busier and there is lots to do to keep the place rockin. GET INVOLVED!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at 11:57 am
· Filed under blog
Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman shows off his unique bike design which he not only says will be common in 20 years but is also theft-proof and features puncture-free tires. The futuristic-looking creation boasts a complete carbon fiber body with a built-in locking anti-theft mechanism which can only be activated by the touch of the bike owner’s fingerprints. Addition features include a calorie monitoring system, battery-powered assistance, and aforementioned puncture-free tires that have the ability to self-inflate.
Boardman had this to say:
“It could be built now if there was a will. All the technologies are already there, it’s just that nobody’s put them all together before.”
Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 6:25 am
· Filed under blog
It turns out that David Byrne has been riding his folding bike throughout the world and has been writing this contemplative little book about it.
“DB’s choice was initially made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation, exhilaration, and connection it provided. This point of view, from his bike seat, became his panoramic window on urban life, a magical way of opening one’s eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city’s geography and population.” >>Check out the book here<<
[Thanks Andrew for sending this in - all the way down from Edinburgh!]
Yuba was launched in 2006 to build and provide affordable mobility solutions with a particular emphasis on distributing them to those most in need. The founders of Yuba came together to advance economic and social development, to promote self-reliance, and to emphasize better environmental awareness and lifestyle choices – all through the use of bicycles.
Because bicycles are one of the most energy efficient, financially affordable, mechanically reliable, and environmentally friendly vehicles, we believe that a more bike-centric world makes for a better world, a more connected world.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 10:05 am
· Filed under blog
Probably my favourite DJ in the UK, Radio1’s Rob da Bank, hops on his bike to take us on a magical mystery tour through a cycling inspired mix featuring St Vincent, Boards of Canada, PJ Harvey and Kraftwerk. >>mp3 download here<<
(also check out Rob da Bank’s underground podcast on Sundaybest.net – some great stuff there!)
Thanks to Andrew for sending this in!
tracklist
Monday 27th July 2009
02:00 Autechre – ‘Bike’
Pink Floyd – ‘Bike’
Red Hot Chili Peppers – ‘Bicycle Song’
Kimya Dawson – ‘My Bike’
Para One – ‘Bike’
The Lovely Eggs – ‘I Wanna Fall Off My Bike Today’
Queen – ‘Bicycle Race’
Mum – ‘Slow Bicycle’
Max Miller – ‘Lets Have A Ride On Your Bicycle’
Shout Out Louds – ‘Bicycle’
Be Your Own Pet – ‘Bicycle Bicyle You Are My Bicycle’
Kraftwerk – ‘Aero Dynamik’
No Sports – ‘Tour De France’
Basskfraft – ‘Tour De France’
Senor Coconut – ‘Tour De France’
Telex – ‘Tour De France’
03:00
Marcel Duchamp – ‘Bicycle Wheel, New York 1951’
Gerald Adams – ‘A Bicycle Built for Two’
Television Personalities – ‘Bike’
Boards of Canada – ‘Happy Cycling’
PJ Harvey – ‘M-Bike’
Half Man Half Biscuit – ‘See That My Bikes Kept Clean’
Ed Harcourt – ‘Bike Ride’
Vera Lynn – ‘Riding My Bike’
St Vincent – ‘Bicycle’
Caroline – ‘Bicycle’
Tumble Tots – ‘Bicycle’
John Cale – ‘Bicycle’
Pumptown – ‘Bicycle’
Dukes of the Stratosphear – ‘Bike Ride to the Moon’
Parachute Express – ‘Bicycle’
ET Bicycle Chase
Ralph McTell – ‘Girl On A Bicycle’
Clouddead – ‘Physics Of A Bicycle’
This is The Kit – ‘With Her Wheels’
Bombay Bicycle Club – ‘Dust on the Ground’
Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 9:05 am
· Filed under blog, news/events
Ladies and Gentlemen: T-SHIRTS!!
Luckily, we got to know this cool fellow Lloyd a couple of weeks ago, an RGU arts student who has his own printing machines (I’d link your website here Lloyd – if it would be online already ;). He’ll do all our printing stuff in the future. So just email us for now if you want any quality printing done by Lloyd.
To start with then, he made us a couple of T-Shirts. We only have 5 left. They go for £10 each. So if you want one, hurry! we got them in grey, yellow and ochre . These are just some test samples though. Proper designs and a lot more shirts to follow soon. CHEERS Lloyd!
Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 11:40 am
· Filed under blog
You never forget how to ride a bicycle – and now a University of Aberdeen led team of neuroscientists has discovered why.
Their research, published this month in Nature Neuroscience, has identified a key nerve cell in the brain that controls the formation of memories for motor skills such as riding a bicycle, skiing or eating with chop sticks.
Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 7:52 am
· Filed under links
ABOUT “BICYCLING STREET SMARTS”
This compact tutorial, available as a 46-page booklet and this online version, will increase your safety and confidence while bicycling on any road, whether you are a beginner or an expert. http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm
http://yubaride.com
Probably my favourite DJ in the UK, Radio1’s Rob da Bank, hops on his bike to take us on a magical mystery tour through a cycling inspired mix featuring St Vincent, Boards of Canada, PJ Harvey and Kraftwerk.
