Battling peak hour fumes...

During the last Cycling in Singapore meetup in May, Chu Wa passed me his 'designed and made in Singapore' totobobo mask to try out while cycling.

In early July, I finally had the occasion to use it when I headed down for a gathering in Sengkang immediately after work. The totobobo mask is soft, light, has mainly reuseable parts, covers a variety of face-sizes and can be modified to custom-fit a person's face. Also cheap!

But is it meant for use while cycling? Chu Wa suggested I try it out to see for myself if was viable. Since my ride to Sengkang was a peak-hour ride, this was the time to see if the mask would make a difference.

Read "Filtering peak hour air (on a bicycle) (Otterman speaks, 04 Aug 2008) to find out how it turned out.

The African Cyclist

Read abut The African Cyclist - Zakayo Nderi and Samwel Mwangi have won the Alpe d'Huez.

Thanks to Marcus Ng for the alert - he highlights the project of two very special Singaporean film makers in his post, "Born to Cycle."

"...re-looking the humble bicycle as something for everyone." - Transport Minister Raymond Lim

"Sustainable if costs don’t tip the scales." Today Online, 29 Jul 2008. [WS Link]

"IN A picture-perfect Singapore, environmentally speaking, people would cycle not just to the nearest MRT station but between towns; all homes would use energy-saving appliances; buildings would be "green" and solar panels would power our lives.

...what kind of green initiatives would be worth going the distance for?

This is what the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development wants Singaporeans to think about and give their views on, with its launch of www.sustainablesingapore.gov.sg yesterday.

"One achievable goal, said Mr Lim, is re-looking the humble bicycle as something for everyone. To promote bicycles as a mode of transport between towns, more parking facilities could be added at MRT stations. “It’s a shift in the way we look at cycling,” he said."

See also: "Wanted: Public's ideas for a greener Singapore," by Tania Tan. The Straits Times, 29 Jul 2008.

"Enjoying Pulau Ubin on a bicycle"

Pedal Ubin Guides N. Sivasothi and Tan Kai-Xin have posted a simple webpage about preparing for a leisure cycling trip at Pulau Ubin. It's work in progress but answers basic queries like "where to go?" "what to see" and "how long will it take?"

See snipurl.com/rideubin

Park Connector Networks - Singeo provides Google Maps/Earth derivations

In my last post highlighting NParks new page for the Park Connector Networks, most savvy-users would have realised the lack of ability to manipulate manipulation teh maps significantly nor any linkage to Google Maps and the litany of advantages that provides including the ability to download data to Google Earth.

So I asked for help and SinGeo poked around and found the coordinates for the entire in the page source. Its something I have been using for park locations (see Habitatnews). In this case he grabbed the polylines and plotted them on both Google Maps and Google Earth - go fetch like I did. It will help with your own maps.

Do note that these park connector polylines were not new plots but a downlaod from NParks. This means its approximate for the most part. Do help to refine them if you can.

Park Connector Network - NParks webpage

The NParks webpage was revamped recently and the park connectors are found under the Visitor's Guide here.

It lacks a satellite view but at least its up there as a reference. In January, Singeo provided NParks map overlays on Google Earth which you can download. So who's is going to do the honours of plotting them all on Google Earth proper? Let me know!

Letter to Today: "what are we waiting for?"

Pedal Power

Letter from Kelvin Kwan Chee Hong. Today, 04 Jul 2008.

"NO ONE can dispute that the humble bicycle has a role in our transport system, both now and in the future. Thus, I would like to appeal to the Land Transport Authority and the Traffic Police to come up with clear strategies and rules to support this form of transportation, considering the energy crisis and the go-green movement.

For a start, a code for all cyclists using our roads should be immediately made available in booklet form and on the Internet. This would help everyone understand what is required and the penalties they would face, should they flout the laws of the road. Police officers should be seen actively enforcing the rules to inculcate discipline, and over time, achieve high conformance and order.

Surely it goes against existing traffic rules for cyclists to ride on pedestrian paths, but I have noticed that the police generally close one eye where these offenders are concerned. This only emboldens the cyclists, lulling them into believing that they have the right of way. As a result, they speed, ring their bells impatiently at senior citizens and brush against mothers with babies, or pedestrians carrying heavy bags. To make matters worse, these cyclists come from all directions, disregarding basic courtesy.

More and safer parking facilities for bicycles should be provided to stop indiscriminate parking and theft of parts. Where possible, bicycle lanes should be provided and schools should conduct cycling classes to promote good riding habits.

So, what are we waiting for?"