Pedaling around Europe (in Japanese)

In the recent winter issue of the "europe" magazine, there was a short summary about bicycle culture and lifestyle in Europe, along with some links to interesting blogs dealing with the subject. Among others, we were mentioned too!

Cycling in Japan's "europe" magazine

The "europe" magazine is the official publication of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan and is published by its Press, Public and Cultural Affairs Section. The principal purpose of "europe" is to give information on all aspects of the European Union, in Japanese, to those interested in the European Union and EU-Japan relations. The magazine is published quarterly and is circulated widely among political, academic, media and business circles. If you're interested, you can read more on their website: Delegation of the European Union to Japan (home, in English) and EUROPE magazine.

Well, all the text is obviously in Japanese. The description of our blog should say something like:

The blog "Cycling is Good for You" is focused on expressing different views on cycling in everyday life across Europe. Young contributers from nordic Finland, continental Austria and sunny Spain post stories according to their cultural background and give diverse insights into biking related issues. Some of them have a professional background in traffic planning and provide technical insight while others relay careful observations from their streets. Thus a variety of personal stories and scientific issues are covered in an easily accessible manner. This provides a somewhat comprehensive insight in cycling culture and lifestyle in Europe. In keeping with the theme of the blog they make a point why and indeed how a bicycle is an ideal mode of transport, despite of or especially in today's bustling world.

We hope you agree :). Besides, "Cycling is Good for You" is more than one year old now. Thanks to my co-bloggers and to all of you for contributing and sharing your opinions. It's good to know different aspects to understand how bicycle culture is seen worldwide.

We also want to know what you like, don't like and if you have any special interests or wishes for the future. We don't make any promises, but we will certainly try to make you happy :).

COP15 and cycling

COP15, the Copenhagen climate change conference, is trying to find appropriate mitigation and adaptation goals and strategies against climate change. Cycling is a carbon-efficient means of transport that in many cases presents a true alternative to driving a car. Let's take a look at how cycling has been showing in the first week of Copenhagen climate negotiations.

Denmark is a country of utility cycling, which can be an inspiration to both the conference participants and internationally. In Copenhagen, 1/3 of commuters cycle to work or school, but the city goal is even higher. Copenhagen is aiming at becoming the cycling capital of the world and hopes to achieve the cycling commuter rate of 1/2 by 2015. That city knows how to set a positive example!

Bicyclist robbed bank

You won't believe it, but we had such a headline last week: "Radfahrer überfiel Bank".

So, what does this tell me? At first, it's strange. Why do they mention that it was a "cyclist". It's certainly not common to write headlines like "Pedestrian robbed bank", "Motorist robbed bank" or "Public transport user robbed bank". So, I find it kind of funny that they explicitly mention that in the headline, as if people riding bikes were generally criminals and could be identified by their use of a bicycle.

Secondly, it is of course absolutely eligible to use a bicycle as a get-away vehicle, and it's not the first time that people did actually get away because they were on a bike and the police was not. For that (and only that) reason I'm even tempted to sympathize with the bank robber as he was apparently pretty smart by choosing a bicycle. Well, it's time for the Austrian police to get on bikes too! Once I heard that some of them do, but I've never seen them in real life.

Cycle police in Japan, by Jonathan Fong