The content ranges from cycling information with fashion style to poetry.

 

Sustrans, a 30 year-old nonprofit in the U.K. that advocates sustainable transportation, last week won The People’s £50 Million Lottery Giveaway. The purpose of the Giveaway is to fund projects which positively benefit “health, the environment, education and charitable purposes to improve communities and the lives of people most in need.” Citizens vote on the project they deem most worthy of the grant. Sustrans’ Connect2 project emerged triumphant, defeating three other finalists.

Connect2, as the name implies, aims to bring sustainable transportation links to communities throughout the U.K. The end result will be a national network of walking and cycling routes. Sustrans approximates that six million people live within a mile of the 79 different Connect2 projects.

 

This past summer, to encourage participation in the annual Bike-to-Work Week, riders received prizes through a raffle. One prize was two round-trip tickets on Frontier Airlines for travel within the continental United States.

Part of the reason to encourage bike commuting is the environmental benefits of getting cars off of the road. To reward these commuters with airline travel, our dirtiest travel method, seemed out of place to bike commuter Rick Fuller. In fact, he put up his own money to offset the carbon emissions of the winner’s plane travel to make his point.

 

My last post about U.P.S. drivers got me wondering: How plausible is it for people who lack superhuman strength to transport goods, in mass quantities, via bike? Come to find out, people are doing it in Portland, eschewing moving trucks for pedal-powered transit-to-and-from their new pad, with personal belongings in tow.

While we prefer bike messengers—or even carrier pigeons—to couriers that rely on cars and trucks, U.P.S. looks like the lesser of car-powered, package-delivering evils. (Something to keep in mind when shipping gifts during this consumer-driven, holiday season.) A recent article by the New York Times Magazine applauds U.P.S. for taking steps to make the business more eco-friendly, namely by changing delivery routes and eliminating extraneous turns.

For those who are too tired (or lazy) to pedal, or who are always rushing or running late, your prayers for a non-polluting, car-free commute may soon be answered. A Chinese company, Pearl Hydrogen, recently introduced a two-wheeled prototype that’s powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology, and runs about 15 mph at top speed.