Bike helmet

Kids aren’t the only ones who flout bike safety because helmets just aren’t cool. Plenty of grownups go sans helmet, too, which is just downright dangerous, According to the Snell Memorial Foundation, a non-for-profit dedicated to promoting helmet safety, “Every year the estimated number of bicycling head injuries requiring hospitalization exceeds the total of all the head injury cases related to baseball, football, skateboards, kick scooters, horseback riding, snowboarding, ice hockey, in-line skating and lacrosse.”  To illustrate with numbers, in 2015 45,000 bicyclists were injured in traffic-related accidents, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Those are some strong arguments for wearing a helmet–no matter what age you are.

If you are still aren’t convinced enough to add a helmet to your cycling routine, consider Thousand Bike Helmets. For those who think most bike helmets look like props for a bad sci-fi movie from the 1980s, Thousand claims to make cool and stylish bike helmets. Their mission is actually threefold: help curb the impact of bike accidents, promote active and community living, and make quality gear without causing unnecessary harm to the planet.

While the designs are super cool, they also feature some important attributes as well. The helmets are CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) and CE (Conformité Européene) certified. For those concerned about having to carry around a bike helmet all day, Thousand helmets also come with a secret poplock that allows riders to leave helmets behind. The straps are made with vegan leather, a micro-fiber material made with the planet and animals in mind. And for anyone who hates those clip fasteners, Thousand helmets have a magnetic fastener that is pinch-free.

“We like to call our customers urban explorers; they want a helmet that  matches their lifestyle, ” says Thousand founder Gloria Hwang.

The special design features are all well and good, you are thinking, but what about the look of the helmets? Here are some of our favorite designs.

Bike Helmet Designs from Thousand Bike Helmets

1. Speedway Creme

One part Herbie the Lovebug and one part Steve McQueen. We love this retro-inspired helmet with racing stripes.

2. Nordic Wood

From the Epoch Collection, this helmet combines faux bois style with lightweight safety. What could be better?

3. Stay Gold

From the Premium Collection–vintage moto meets modern minimal.

4. Heritage Collection

A basic, ‘matches everything’ helmet available in black, white, and navy.

5. Willowbrook Mint

Another color from the Epoch Collection.

Related on EcoSalon

Cycle Chic: Stylish Bike Gear to Get You Pedaling in Style
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The post This Company Makes Bike Helmets So Chic (and Eco) You’ll Want to Sell Your Car and Bike Everywhere appeared first on EcoSalon.

American driving habits are changing, with more people choosing transportation alternatives that could mean we see fewer cars in the future. City policy makers across the country have taken notice and adopted transportation plans that make room for bikers, walkers, and transit users. Los Angeles made headlines recently for jumping on the bandwagon.

The new policy in Los Angeles, called Mobility Plan 2035, aims to improve safety for other modes of travel and reduce the number of drivers by adding “hundreds of miles of new bicycle lanes, bus-only lanes, and other road designs,” according to the LA Times.

Ken Bernstein, principal city planner for Los Angeles, said in an interview that the long-term plan “creates new choices for Los Angeles residents.”

“Transportation policies pursued in recent decades aren’t working,” he said. “We cannot build our way out of our mobility crisis any longer.”

American Car Culture is Changing

Millennials and those coming up behind them are less concerned with driving cars, research in LA shows. They put off getting a driver’s license for years and some have joined the crowd of bike commuters. Between 2000 and 2010, LA saw a 56 percent increase in the number of people biking to work.

After years of saying the number of drivers in the U.S. would rise dramatically, the Federal Highway Administration majorly adjusted its estimated trajectory in January, saying that, actually, the number of drivers will stay pretty flat over the next three decades.

The adjustment “is important because excessively high estimates of future driving volume get used to justify wasteful spending on new and wider highways,” according to Streets Blog USA.

For communities improving their policies, the standard seems to be “Complete Streets.”

Complete streets is a city planning philosophy that prioritizes roadways that are safe for people of all ages and abilities, balance the needs of all road users, and “support local land uses, economies, cultures, and natural environments,” according to the National Complete Streets Coalition.

That translates to roads that make room for your bike with more than just a symbol on the pavement. It also mentions longer walk signals and shorter crosswalks. No longer must you wait at the mercy of a car to cross the road. In 2013, Chicago established a “pedestrian first” hierarchy that says, “All transportation projects and programs, from scoping to maintenance, will favor pedestrians first, then transit riders, cyclists, and automobiles,” according to a city statement.

Across 30 states, 712 communities have complete streets policies.

By walking, biking, and bussing, creative travelers can reduce air pollution, cutting back on the environmental and health impacts attributed to driving.

In California, 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. Reducing smog could be as easy as walking or biking with your kids to the park or to the market – those little trips that take five minutes that wouldn’t be much worse if they took 15 and included some outdoor exercise.

Almost half of all trips in greater Los Angeles are less than 3 miles – within biking or walking distance. Currently, 84 percent of those trips are done by car, according to the city.

Walkers, Bikers Need Safer Streets

Opponents of the new plan in LA argue that there won’t be fewer cars in the future and reducing car lanes to add bike and bus lanes will create even more congestion for drivers.

“They feel that it is trying to force people to abandon the automobile,” Bernstein said. “That’s not the intention but that’s the perception.”

In reality, the city is trying to add choices “that don’t exist today,” he said.

But you can’t be expected to bike or walk if the streets aren’t safe, just like you don’t use the bus when it’s consistently late.

According to the LA Times, pedestrians represent only 10 percent of people involved in car crashes but more than 35 percent of overall road deaths in Los Angeles County between 2002 and 2013.

“Reducing all types of crashes, experts say, is possible if the city is willing to dramatically reshape streets by adding medians, widening sidewalks and putting in dedicated bus and bike lanes, at the expense of car lanes,” the Times reports.

Four U.S. cities are making major strides in protecting bikers at one of the most stressful points during an urban bike ride: intersections.

Just a few days before city officials passed the new plan in LA, Davis, California, opened the first protected intersection – a redesigned intersection that is hard to explain but apparently easy to use. The method is modeled after Dutch infrastructure.

Davis narrowly beat Austin, Texas, Salt Lake City, and Boston, which will open their own protected intersections soon.

Recent research by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities upholds the commonsense that more people are willing to bike in lanes that are separated from cars either by curbs, medians, or parked cars.

As cities of all sizes add infrastructure that makes biking, walking, and bussing a serious alternative to driving, we’ll see the effect of fewer cars on the road, less smog in the air, and healthier, happier people.

Related on Eco Salon

How Walkable is Your ‘Hood? 4 Benefits of Pedestrian-Friendly Communities

The Last Time Carbon Dioxide Levels Were This High, Humans Hadn’t Evolved

How Paris Reduced City Smog for One Day (and How You Can Reduce Air Pollution)

Bicycle photo from Shutterstock

The post U.S. Cities Embrace Transportation Alternatives, Imagine Fewer Cars in the Future appeared first on EcoSalon.

Riding bicycles: A life on two-wheels is a life well lived, not only for personal health reasons, but for your community and the environment.

With longer and warmer days, you have no excuse not to get on a bike. Need some inspiration? Here are 17 reasons riding bicycles is oh so good for you.

1. You don’t need a bicycle

Ok, so this one isn’t true for everyone, but if you live in a city with a bike share program than it is.

2. If you do need a bicycle, you get the joy of choosing a beautiful one

From vintage to new, there are a whole lot of gorgeous bikes out there. Consider this your excuse to do some good window bike shopping.

3. You get to work out without actually having to go work out

Cycling is essentially a daily dose of exercise for lazy people. Bored with the gym? Just start biking to work everyday. That daily action of pedaling is quite good for you, and you’re going somewhere in the process.

4. Bicycles make you look good

Seriously, is there anything more attractive than someone on a bicycle?

5. The government will pay you

Commute to work? You can get up to $20 a month for your bike-related expenses.

6. Riding bicycles will save you money

A daily round-trip commute of 10 miles saves you about $10… per day. And trading your car for a bicycle can save you up to $8,000 a year. Think of all the organic smoothies you could buy.

7. You actually inhale more bad air in your car than on your bike

So forget the “I don’t want to inhale exhaust” argument, because as it turns out drivers are more susceptible to all the bad things in the air than those on their bicycles.

8. You’ll immediately go up three levels in your “cool factor”

“I rode here” sounds so much better than “I sat in traffic for half an hour to get here.”

9. It gives you a new way to explore new places

Bikes and travel go hand in hand. In most major metropolises you can track down a bike tour; the perfect way to get to know a new city.

10. Cycling alleviates stress

Think of cycling as a daily form of meditation.

11. You don’t have to commit to biking far

40 percent of all trips by car are under 3 miles. That is totally bike-able.

12. Farmers market vegetables look better in a bike basket than in the trunk of your car

They were grown outside, don’t they at least deserve an invigorating ride home back to your kitchen? Consider yourself a culinary cyclist.

13. You lower your risk of breast cancer

It’s true, women who bike 30 minutes or more a day actually have a lower risk of breast cancer.

14. Cycling is an act of female empowerment

As Susan B. Anthony once said, “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”

15. Riding helps improve cycling infrastructure

If more people ride, more cities will be motivated to put in bike lanes and other infrastructure that helps support bike culture, so be a part of the solution.

16. Driving makes you fat

No really, it does. Cycling however, does not. But you will get stronger thighs and calves, and that’s nice.

17. It makes you smile

Get on a bicycle and see what I am talking about.

Related on EcoSalon

Plan a Great Biking Vacation: See the World on a Bike

Bikes Geared at Women – A Brooklyn Cycle Shop with Flair

10 Infographics on Bikes and Biking

Image: Anna Brones

The post 17 Reasons We Should All be Riding Bicycles appeared first on EcoSalon.

Stylish cycling gear that will keep you feeling safe and looking chic all summer long.

We’re all about alternative transportation here at EcoSalon, and summer is the perfect time to get out that bike and start pedaling around the streets. To help you do that in style, we’ve gathered some cycling gear that will keep you safe while still looking tres chic.

Nessa Dress by Edith A. Miller
There’s no reason you shouldn’t wear a dress just because you’re biking. Just make sure to choose a loose-fitting short one, so it’s comfortable and doesn’t run the risk of getting stuck in the gears. This classic striped dress by Edith A. Miller is ethically made in the USA, and we think it goes great with a bicycle.
$198, Juno & Jove

The Madera Helmet by Coyle
Based on a contemporary, skate-inspired helmet design, the Madera provides a great balance of coverage and visibility. Coyle helmets are made using patented technology that takes advantage of  the inherent structural properties that allow wood to absorb significant energy in the event of a significant impact, adding protective redundancy to the EPS foam or low density cork system that lies beneath. The all-natural materials resist the UV degradation that synthetic helmet materials are vulnerable to, which means you won’t need to replace a weather-worn and sunburned helmet every few years.
$375, Coyle

Blink Steady Rear Light
A good light is a must, especially when long summer days on the road turn into spontaneous picnics under the stars. Made from solid aluminum, the Blink Steady bike light turns on automatically and shuts off when you’re not riding. And you don’t have to remove it when you lock up because it’s secured by your seatpost.
$95, Blink Steady

Bike Strap-Downs by Walnut Studiolo
Let’s face it, we often end up carrying more stuff than we thought. When you’re on a bike, this can be a problem, unless you carry the right accessories with you. This set of bike strap-downs is a key tool for MacGyvering stuff onto your bike. Two buckling leather straps with eyelets running the length of it helps you strap down items of varying sizes to your bike rack. All of Studiolo’s beautiful bike accessories are made, by a couple, in their workshop in Portland, Oregon.
$38, Walnut Studiolo

Green Guru Cruiser Cooler Recycled Bike Tube Handlebar Bag
Think of the Cruiser Handlebar Bag as the missing glove compartment for your cruiser or commuter bike. It has room for all those essentials, like a just-in-case rainjacket, sunglasses and sunscreen for a hot spin to the beach, or cold beverages for a warm evening cruise. You can also take it off the bike and use it as a cooler. Made in the US from recycled or upcycled bike tubes and upcycled reflective mylar from compostable cup packaging
$44.95, Green Guru

Portland Design Works Sodapop Fenders
Made from 97% post-consumer recycled beverage bottles, these bike fenders will keep you clean and dry in any weather. They are designed to pop off your bike easily, should you want to remove them when the sun comes out. Thanks to clever hardware they fit most city and mountain bikes that have a hole in the fork crown.
$25, Portland Design Works

Recycled Innertube Stringer Cuff
The lightweight stringer cuff by Beatrice Holiday is made from soft recycled bike inner tubes, lightly sprinkled with metallic gold spray paint. Designer Holiday wants you to feel good knowing that this bracelet was made from heap of inner tubes that lay discarded outside a bike shop in Venice, CA. Now they can ride again, only on your arm instead.
$28, Etsy/Beatrice Holiday

Eastlake Recycled Tablet Sleeve
If you bring your reading tablet along for the ride, make sure it’s protected, in true biker style. This stylish, protective sleeve is constructed from recycled bicycle inner tubes, which gives it a durable, highly water-resistant exterior. It’s sized to be compatible with the iPad, but will fit other roughly 10” tablets as well.
$34, Alchemy Goods

AB Designs Leaf Earrings
You would never know at first glance, but these delicate leaf earrings are actually made from upcycled bike tubes. They’re carved by hand in Portland (by EcoSalon’s very own resident foodie Anna Brones) and look really great worn under a bike helmet!
$20, Etsy/AB Designs

The post Cycle Chic: Stylish Bike Gear to Get You Pedaling in Style appeared first on EcoSalon.

Life on two wheels.

Best friends Amanda Coen and Kestrel Jenkins on their bikes, awaiting the ferry’s arrival to take them to the Annual Polo Match on Governor’s Island. They happened to see Bill Cunningham just after this photo was taken. Amanda asked him if she could snap a shot of him and he obliged. Kestrel’s jaw was practically hitting the pavement in awe and after Cunningham snapped his own photo of her.

On the Move documents our life on two wheels. Have your own On the Move worthy photo? Send it our way! Email pictures to contact@ecosalon.com.

The post On the Move: New York City appeared first on EcoSalon.

Life on two wheels.

Elly Blue, cycling advocate, writer and woman behind Taking the Lane, rocks not only two wheels, but wheels that manage to pull a futon. When was the last time you put your bike to work like that?

On the Move documents our life on two wheels. Have your own On the Move worthy photo? Send it our way! Email pictures to contact@ecosalon.com.

Image: Neighborhood Notes

The post On the Move: Portland, Oregon appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now.

If you can’t take an actual vacation this summer, the next best thing is dreaming about one. This collection of map-inspired DIY art can help. [via Curbly]

All we want is food that isn’t dyed in chemicals or made by underpaid child laborers, and labeling that doesn’t confuse or mislead us. Is that too much to ask? [via Utne]

Believe it or not, increasing productivity can actually threaten the economy. Take that, over-achievers. [via The New York Times]

Orla Kiely for People Tree? We’ll take ten of everything, especially that adorable knee-length skirt. [via Fashion Me Green]

Ladies, it’s time to reclaim the bicycle. [via Momentum Mag]

Image: ManMade

The post Link Love: Map Art and Moderating Productivity appeared first on EcoSalon.

Two wheeled and ready for speed.

This week we celebrated both National Bike To Work Day, and the week before, National Bike Month (as we’ve done for years). We admit it – when it comes to the human-powered, pedal-driven single-track marvel known as the bicycle, we’re biased. But it’s not just about machine-worship. As these 6 stories from our archives demonstrate, bicycles can make our world a better place…

The goal for Asha 2012 is to provide bicycles to girls who have endured and transcended similar situations of slavery and abuse, in turn empowering them to take part in their communities, attend school and grow as strong women.

“We’ve found that girls tend to appreciate the bikes more and demonstrate greater maturity [owning the bicycles]. Women and girls deal endure and transcend tremendous abuse and unequal rights, especially in the developing world. We believe focusing on girls has the greatest overall impact on the community. We want to do everything we can to foster leadership and healing among heroic girls who’ve risen above challenging circumstances beyond their control,” says 88bikes co-founder Dan Austin.

88Bikes’ Asha 2012 Program: Empowering Girls With Bicycles

So why aren’t more of us riding? In many places, cycling for women is affected by a serious gender gap. But women have been riding through the ages, changing gender stereotypes along the way.

As Susan B. Anthony once said, “I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives a woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”

From the first woman to bicycle around the world, to using the bicycle to promote cultural change, biking has been an empowering tool for women throughout the ages. In honor of female cyclists, here’s a visual look at women on two wheels from the last century.

Cycle Chic: Female Cyclists Through The Ages

One way you’ve broken barriers is by mountain biking across dangerous regions of Afghanistan. Can you talk a bit about the cultural implications of an act like that?

Well, Afghanistan is one of the few places in the world where women are not allowed to ride bikes. Around the world the bike is used as an effective vehicle for social justice and it was frustrating to realize that it just wasn’t something we could utilize in rural communities for school transportation, or for midwives and teachers. After working in Afghanistan for a couple of years I realized that I was constantly challenging gender barriers as part of my daily routine. When I’m in Kabul I like to walk as much as I can and interact with the Afghans I met in a more natural way. I ride a motorcycle which I bought in Kabul to avoid the traffic snarls that congest the city at rush hour, thanks to the lawlessness that permeates the country it means that you can ride on the sidewalk, or weave backwards through oncoming traffic, it’s all about the shortcuts. Being a foreign woman means that I find myself in a unique position as a hybrid gender. Men that still treat Afghan women as second class citizens will treat me as an equal and let me challenge gender barriers like riding my mountain bike because they are curious or intrigued but not threatened. It’s a little thing, but I also wanted to show another side of Afghanistan, the beauty, the adventure, and the possibility that what was once a tourist destination, could perhaps be again in the future if peace was ever achieved.

We Heart Our Readers: Shannon Galpin, Mountain2Mountain

The new Google feature delivers information about bike trails that have no motor vehicles, and the streets and routes recommended for cyclists, avoiding motor vehicle traffic, and steep hills. So far, the green and bike loving blogosphere has reacted with mixed reviews, deeming Google Maps for Bikes a good start, but not quite there yet.

We hope that Google’s Bike Maps feature will encourage car commuters to go green and get fit. Biking where you might have driven before can prevent tons of carbon emissions each year, while burning hundreds of calories an hour.

Ecomeme: Cyclists Get Google Maps Love

…bikes tend to appendage themselves to the foyer – hopefully,one with exposed brick. If you fit the demographics jimmied above, your bike has prolly become as elemental to your décor as that aviator chair from Restoration Hardware. Speaking of prolly, the hub of bicycle porn Prolly Is Not Probably takes an optimistic view of the bicycle cum purse rack: “[there’s] nothing like pristine track bikes in pristine apartments.”

Correction: that is, if – and only if – your track bike is sexy. That goes for your dirt bike, too. Here are 20 hot wheels that could be for display only.

Fashionable Bikes You Can Also Use For Home Decor

In early October, 10 miles of roads in East Hollywood, Downtown L.A., East L.A. and in between were closed down for regular traffic. Instead of cars and SUVs, cyclists, skateboarders and pedestrians took over the streets for a day of clean, fossil fuel-free fun. An estimated 130,000 people hit the streets for this third edition of CicLAvia, which has become a day of celebration for Angelenos from all walks of life. Even the city’s Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, put on his helmet and pedaled along, calling the event a good break for a city that’s “addicted to the single-passenger automobile.” All along the now-expanded course was music, food and games, like dodge ball and street chess. That certainly sounds like more fun than being stuck in traffic behind an angry SUV driver, don’t you think?

CicLAvia Gives Bikes & People The Right Of Way For A Day

Images: ClickFlashPhotos/Nicki Varkevisser, 88bikes, Mountain2Mountain, Toronto History, Knife & Saw, CicLAvia and Pixel Addict.

The post From The Vault: Getting The World To Change Gear appeared first on EcoSalon.

These cycles will make your spokes spin.

May is National Bike Month, and as the weather warms up, there’s no better time to embrace life on two wheels. Not only is biking great for your health, it’s also an easy, empowering, and environmentally-friendly way to get around. Plus, nothing beats the thrill of pedaling to great music with the wind blowing through your hair, whether it’s in Brazil, Birmingham, or Black Rock City.

(above) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

Las Morlas, Cuba

Cologne, Germany

New York, New York, USA

Terni, Italy

Paris, France

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Montevideo, Uruguay

Leipzig, Germany

London, England

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Taipei, Taiwan

Brighton, England

Laguna Seca, California, USA

Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA

Portland, Oregon, USA

Vienna, Austria

Timisoara, Romania

Copenhagen, Denmark

Cascais, Portugal

Sydney, Australia

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Cologne, Germany

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Palo Alto, California, USA

Chézery-Forens, France

Antwerp, Netherlands

Minas Gerais, Brazil

Irwindale, California, USA

Portland, Oregon, USA

Washington, Pennsylvania, USA

The post National Bike Month: 40 Photos of Bikes From Around the World appeared first on EcoSalon.

Because legs look better on two wheels.

There’s no doubt about it, cycling is sexy.

It’s also healthy, eco friendly, empowering and fun. Whether you just love an afternoon riding in your sundress, or can’t get enough of the adrenaline that comes from racing, you know that life on two wheels does a body good. So if you’re trying to pick up a casual commuter or the more committed cyclist, these pick up lines will help you with your velo love.

1. I’m no hipster, but I’d ride a fixie for you.
2. Baby I noticed you have a new drive train… wanna test it out tonight?
3. Is that your kickstand, or are you just happy to see me?
4. You make my rain pants sweaty.
5. I’ve never seen a sleeker frame.
6. I would love to true your wheels.
7. When are we going to Amsterdam together?
8. This is just my commuter bike. How about I make you dinner and show you my other ones?
9. I bet we could do some good interval training together.
10. Want to plan a ride up [insert name of hill or mountain]. It feels great when you’re on top.
11. I’d buy a tandem just to ride with you.
12. I believe in riding with protection. [point to helmet]
13. Wanna come over and borrow my chain whip?
14. You know, I don’t need energy bars to keep me going.
15. Let’s watch the Tour de France together. We can live stream it in bed tomorrow morning.
16. Can I take you for a spin on my handlebars?
17. You’re so cute, you could be a feature on a Cycle Chic blog.
18. Can I make you a recovery drink? You’re going to need it.
19. Need a commuting partner? Because I am amazing in the bike lane.
20. I saw you getting dirty on the cyclocross course.
21. Want to lock our bikes together?
22. I’ll be your mechanic if you’ll be my ride.
23. Hey there, do you need to use my pump?
24. You make my spokes spin.
25. I love morning rides.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

20 Pick Up Lines for Knitters

50 Pick Up Lines for Foodies

Image: Anna Brones

The post 25 Pick Up Lines for Cyclists appeared first on EcoSalon.