#bikeschool: With a Little Help From Our Friends
For today’s #bikeschool post, we thought we’d touch on some of the thoughts our classmates have been having this week. This is a sampling of some of the #bikeschool tweets that have went out this past week. As always, the #bikeschool hashtag is pumping out incredible bikey goodness.
Toyota’s Mind Shifter – Tweeted by @GenaMazzeo
A story called “Shift gears on Toyota’s bike with your mind alone” appeared in the LA Times last week, and it definitely was something to catch attention of cyclists those at #bikeschool. Here’s a little excerpt from what they said in the story.
The helmet is stuffed with neurotransmitters that allow riders to shift gears “without using a single one of their appendages,” according to the bike’s webpage. Think “gear shift,” and that command is sent to an iPhone app, which in turn controls the bike and makes it obey your wishes.
So what do you think? Will something like this catch on? Let us know your thoughts.
Lemonade Stands – Tweeted by @NutritionNerd
I love to see such great advice being shared online and including the #bikeschool hashtag.
The Dutch Way – Tweeted by @JaneSomers
This was a nice pro-bike article that appeared in the NY Times, called “The Dutch Way – Bicycles and French Bread“. As you can see in this sample from the article, we can learn a lot from the Dutch….about cycling and life.
To give a small but telling example, pointed out to me by my friend Ruth Oldenziel, an expert on the history of technology at Eindhoven University, Dutch drivers are taught that when you are about to get out of the car, you reach for the door handle with your right hand — bringing your arm across your body to the door. This forces a driver to swivel shoulders and head, so that before opening the door you can see if there is a bike coming from behind. Likewise, every Dutch child has to pass a bicycle safety exam at school. The coexistence of different modes of travel is hard-wired into the culture.
This in turn relates to lots of other things — such as bread. How? Cyclists can’t carry six bags of groceries; bulk buying is almost nonexistent. Instead of shopping for a week, people stop at the market daily. So the need for processed loaves that will last for days is gone. A result: good bread.
The Best Advice – Tweeted by @jeremyridesbike
You just can’t beat this advice that was tweeted out by Jeremy last week. Thanks, Dude.
Keep all those great #bikeschool tweets coming and we’ll see you all at class each Thursday at 9PM EST.
The Toyota “mind shift” bike is very strange. I wonder what the bike does if you start having thoughts like “Screw this, I am tired”; “My legs hurt, when does this hill end”? Also, on a side note – didn’t Toyota have issues with cars that didn’t stop? Maybe they should focus on making sure that does not happen again instead of making mind reading bike helmets?
Yeah, it’s an interesting concept but I’m not sure how applicable this would be to cycling. I agree with what you said about their focus being on prevention.
Don’t really care for the idea of the “Mind Shifter”. A simple gear shift won’t cut it. Shift up, shift down, chain ring or cassette? If you’re working your way uphill and your thinking should I shift down or up now or give it a few more cranks? Which one of my moods will decide: the “I’m pooped, can’t take anymore” or “Push yourself”. Will the next generation of this pull a “Microsoft” and decide for you?
I’m not sure what to make of the Mind Shifter…..it’s very interesting, but strange.