Bakpao vendor Bali

While in Bali last week I saw several tricycle vendors.

Here's one of interest. The Bakpao cart.

BAKPAO (INDONESIAN STEAMED DUMPLING SNACK)

Bakpao vendor on Legian beach during Melasti ceremony March 2015

Time for a re-build

The Long bike is due for a major overhaul again, this time I don't know if I can save the frame.

The problem is that the thread in the frame where the bottom bracket screws in must be stripped. The bottom bracket has all but broken free of the frame but I cannot unscrew it.

I've looked around for a second hand replacement frame but haven't been able to find any suitable donor bikes. Mountain bikes these days seem to all come with suspension on the front, I need more rigidity.  If I can't re-tap the thread for the bottom bracket, I am really going to need a suitable steel frame with rigid forks to transfer the Xtracycle onto. I never thought they would have become so hard to find.

I don't intend to start this fix until about April or May when the weather improves but I sure hope I find a solution before then. I doubt I'll be satisfied with another frame so I'm starting to think I aught to ask around at some engineering places to see if it's possible to insert a sleeve and re-tap the thread.

Wooden cargo trike

Last week we visited Werribee zoo and saw this really interesting cargo trike.
I have no idea where it was made but it seems quite sturdy.

The frame is sculpted plywood with steel inserts for the dropouts, bottom bracket and various other moving parts.

 The Storage space in front is a plastic drum

Check the interesting location of gear selector.

Looking back - arrival of pedicabs in Darwin

Here's an article from the NT News dated 26th August 2011.

I found this amongst some newspaper cuttings and thought it worth posting for a look back on when pedicabs started operation in Darwin.

Stationary cyclo

I've driven past this becak many times over the past year or so. I'm not too sure how many of these there are lurking around Darwin town but I thought I'd better get a couple of shots, just in case it disappears.

Building Community Confidence

Consumer confidence....?!!! Apparently it's what the world economy is based on.
This post is absolutely nothing to do with 'Consumer Confidence' it's about building Community Confidence.

It's time we started!   

- Cycling without age -

A continuation from Syed Saiful Alam's previous post, originally published as a comment on 8th July 2012.

"Finally, are rickshaws an antiquated vehicle that should be relegated to the past, or instead a glowing emblem of modernity? The most modern, attractive, liveable cities are mostly in western Europe. A significant portion of trips in those cities – say, 30-50% or more – occurs by bicycle. European cities, as well as growing numbers of cities in Australia and North America, promote the bicycle in order to reduce traffic congestion, fumes, noise, and travel expense, and to increase the attractiveness and liveability of cities.

What after all is a rickshaw but a three-wheeled bicycle (imagine trying to cycle through Dhaka...no wonder people prefer rickshaws!). Given the related catastrophes of climate change, peak oil, obesity, and lack of physical activity, governments around the world are trying to get people out of their cars. It is the low-income cities of the world that are heading in the opposite direction, laying out the red carpet for cars while making life difficult and unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. Why are policymakers in Dhaka insistent on making things worse for the city rather than better? If we really want to reduce traffic congestion, we must do what city after city around the world has been forced to do: actively work to reduce travel by car and increase travel by other means.

Years ago, an international transport expert referred to Dhaka’s modal share as “enviable”: few cars and many rickshaws. Rather than appreciate what we had and work to make things even better, we are instead working to increase traffic congestion, noise, fumes, and expense, and to make moving about the city more difficult for the non-car-owning majority.

It is also interesting to note that the latest rickshaw bans occurred after government decisions to limit car use through a variety of measures. To the best of our knowledge, none of those measures have been implemented to date, while other measures to encourage car use continue. What was done instead, despite significant media attention over the last few years to the problem of private cars, was to ban rickshaws from various streets. Clearly the decision was based on prejudice, not any technical understanding of the situation. It allows the government to say that it is doing something to improve traffic, while only making matters worse, because politically it is difficult to put into places measures to reduce the vehicle preferred by a tiny portion of the most wealthy and powerful.

But it is wrong to believe that only rickshaw pullers are upset by the bans. Dhaka residents have long suffered for the various bans that have been put into place over the years: witness the long lines of people attempting to go to and from New Market by rickshaw, or the anger of women in focus groups discussing the rickshaw bans on Mirpur Road. Of course people want safe, convenient, comfortable transport. People also vote. It is not wise to anger the masses through such wrong-minded decisions.

It is time to raise our voices in support of smart traffic planning: to ensure that all people, not just those with a car, can move about safely and conveniently; that non-polluting modes are given priority; and that international experience in addressing traffic congestion is put to good use here. It is time to say no to further rickshaw bans, to overturn the recent ones, and to work together to make Dhaka a city in which people can move about safely, comfortably, and conveniently on foot, on 2- and 3-wheeled bicycles (rickshaws), and on public transport. We would all benefit from the improved air quality, safety, and convenience."

Syed Saiful Alam
Environmental Activist