A view from the cycle path: Mike Rubbo's Film

Saturday, 26 December 2009

Mike Rubbo's Film

The renowned Australian film director, Mike Rubbo, recently made a film about cycling in the Netherlands which features me. It's rather unusual to be the subject of a film in this way, and I've resisted putting it on my own blog, not because I don't like the film, but because it seems a bit conceited for me to do so. However, Mike kept asking me to put it up, and here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

In the film I make reference to a Dutch study relating cost savings by employers to commuter cycling. There are quite a lot of shots of one of the cycle paths by a canal here in Assen, and then some of streets in Amsterdam.

Also, the film includes clips of a film showing cycling in the Netherlands in the 1950s and refers to reliable everyday bikes, the important features of which I covered a few months back.

What I'm riding at the start of the film is a Sinner Mango Velomobile. This is not only is very fast indeed, but also comfortable, and it has the fully enclosed chain, reliable brakes and puncture resistant tyres essential to make for reliable everyday transport. Oh, and we could have adjusted it to fit Violeta properly...

Mike's own blog can be found at www.situp-cycle.com. It includes many other videos which he's made, including interviews with other people such as Mikael from the Copenhagenize blog, a cycling doctor in Australia and Sue Abbott who has achieved some fame due to fighting the helmet laws in Australia.

Mike Rubbo also has been busy making bicycle art. Kindly he sent us an example which you can see here. Please visit Mike's website for more information. The video was shot for Mike by Violeta Brana-Lafourcade.

Two years after this video was shot, the cycle-path along the canal was resurfaced and improved.

8 comments:

Matt said...: You don't come across conceited at all. Not in it, and not for putting it up.

It's a nice film, and you smile a lot. And it's got bikes...

My time in Melbourne for 10 weeks as a pedestrian in 2008 (I went there for work, and I quit my job to escape) was a time I remember of terrible traffic and crowded trains. An urban situation that only bikes could redeem.; 26 December 2009 at 18:58
Anonymous said...: yeah, i loved it as well. I dont understand why you didnt put it up before, you do al your other movies with you as the "star" camera man.; 27 December 2009 at 00:20
Unknown said...: A very nice film indeed David. No need to be shy about it at all. (Although I fully understand that!) Of course your enthusiasm is always present in every piece you write, but to actually see you all smiles and twinkling eyes is very inspiring.

It's just a pity Mike didn't know that saying Assen is in Holland is a bit like saying Edinburgh is in England. But we'll forgive him that little mistake ;-); 27 December 2009 at 00:41
Anonymous said...: Nice to see you in front of the camera

and I particularly like the bit where you say 'people cycle because it is nice'

:); 28 December 2009 at 21:30
Anonymous said...: Nice film, David. I too love the twinkly eyes (you look like a man who has found Nirvana :-)

One thing, though... We Dutch don't cycle because cycling is nice, we cycle because it is safe, convenient and above all CHEAP!!

If we had to go through all kinds of rigmarole to get on a bike, or had to detour twenty miles to get to the shops, we wouldn't cycle as much. If we had felt unsafe on our roads, we wouldn't cycle as much. And if we had to PAY for the privilige of cycling, we wouldn't cycle at ALL.

It's the principle of the 'statiegeld' bottle all over again. If you appeal to people's 'better nature' to recycle beer bottles, the streets will be littered with glass, but tell them they will recieve a small amount of money and hey presto, everybody will carry their beer bottles to the bottlebank. Once you have their pursestrings you have their minds.

If you want people to cycle more and drive less, make cycling easier, safer and cheaper than driving a car and people will cycle.

That cycling is also nice is, of course, a bonus...

Marion; 29 December 2009 at 00:01
David Hembrow said...: Marion, I think you give the low cost of cycling far too much credit. It's equally inexpensive to cycle in any country. However, in the absence of the conditions which make cycling safe, convenient and simply "nice", most people never cycle. The economic imperative isn't enough when it feels like death is nearby. Subjective safety is perhaps the most important thing.; 30 December 2009 at 09:10
marcel beekmans said...: nice story

greeting quet131 from amsterdam

marcel; 30 December 2009 at 20:39
David J said...: I'm glad you posted it, I may never have seen any of the film otherwise.
Not a hint of conceipt in that video.

I like the comments about having a nice time. Although I have to travel on busy roads to get to work I much prefer to just amble along and quite agree with your comments about choice of bike. I've managed to accumulate a few bikes now since my needs are variable and there's nothing like having the right bike for the job. Fortunately or unfortunately people here in Australia seem to sacrifice quality for price and throw out well made 30 year old bikes for a new KMart special when they discover the tyres have perrished. Fortnately for me I sometime find a real gem at the Tip.
Love the blog, thanks for posting.; 8 January 2010 at 14:00

Posts sorted by subject

The positive stuff
Three types of safety - As well as preventing injuries and death, high quality cycling infrastructure addresses both subjective safety and social safety which are of vital importance in encouraging people to cycle.
A second revolution took place on Dutch streets in the late 20th century, transforming streets which were just as clogged by cars as those of other nations.
Pedestrians are well catered for in the Netherlands and pedestrianized shopping streets are common. Usually they allow cycling for access.
Dutch Safety Figures - Cyclists in the Netherlands are the safest in the world, but it has little if anything to do with "safety in numbers".
Sustainable safety - the principles which have lead to Dutch roads, streets and cycle-paths being safe.
A million per hour - The scale of cycling in the Netherlands is enormous. Dutch people make more cycle journeys each day than the entire English speaking world put together.
Campaigning - a collection of posts about how to campaign for more cycling. Primarily campaigning should be for children to be able to cycle. These links include reference to "Stop the child murder", a successful campaign from the 1970s.
What Works - examples of policy, infrastructure and campaigning which have made a different in the Netherlands.
Superhighways - "Cycling superhighways" are not a new idea in the Netherlands
Cycle Paths - Well designed cycle paths benefit all cyclists, regardless of experience or speed
Segregation without cycle paths - you don't always need a cycle path to keep cyclists safe from motorists
Unravelling of routes is vitally important
History - how the Netherlands got to where it is now. See especially "Stop the child murder"
Before and After - views of places before and after they have been transformed for cycling
Directness - examples of prioritising cycling
Traffic Lights - examples of how cyclists can be prioritised and kept safe at traffic light junctions. Note that it's almost always possible to turn right on a red light when cycling in the Netherlands.
Roundabouts - roundabouts in the Netherlands have one very important feature to learn from: They keep cyclists away from motor vehicles. This is far more important than the differences in geometry vs. roundabouts in other countries.
Exceptional infrastructure is always nice to see, but remember that a dense network of mundane routes is far more important to boost cycling modal share
Gritting of cycle paths - dealing with snow and ice.
Children - It may seem hackneyed, but children really are the future. If they can't cycle safely then where will future adult cyclists come from ? This is why children should be the primary focus of campaigners. Note also that according to UNICEF, Dutch children are the happiest in the world.
School travel - Everyone knows that Dutch children cycle to school, but it's a surprise to many people that school trips are also usually by bike.
Cycle Parking - including our favourite design of stand.
Cycle Parking at railway stations, see in particular Groningen and Assen as each have multiple posts showing how the cycle parking has grown over time.
Health effects of cycling
Road Works - It's important that cyclists are thought of when there are road works. If the environment becomes hostile for cyclists then they may stop cycling and never start again.
Commuting - Commuting cyclists are interesting, but they're not the only people who should ride bikes.
Anatomy of a reliable everyday bicycle - the common features of bikes used by nearly every person every day in the Netherlands.
Speed - Some people have the idea that Dutch cyclists are slow. This isn't true. It is just that in the Netherlands, everyone cycles, including the slow people. Fast cyclists are as fast as anywhere. These posts show people who ride faster than average, using the same infrastructure as those who ride slower.

The less positive stuff
What not to do if you want a cycling "revolution" - Long list of interventions and policies which are not helpful.
Copy the best examples from the Netherlands - a short list summarising the above. Important to copy the best examples, not just anything "Dutch". Bear in mind that the Netherlands is not perfect.
Shared Space - this much hyped idea simply does not work well. It disenfranchises the vulnerable and claims of safety are exaggerated. Don't confuse the concept with far more successful nearly car free streets.
Shared Use Paths designed to be used by pedestrians and cyclists together. These rarely work well because the two user groups are too different and it leads to conflicts. They are not built in the Netherlands (but cycle access to pedestrianized zones is good).
Strict (or presumed) liability - If you think this is an important part of why people cycle in the Netherlands then it is probably not what you think it is.
Helmets - one of several ways of scaremongering about the supposed dangers of what is actually a very safe means of transport

Myths about cycling

Long list of myths and Excuses - Various reasons that many people, even existing cyclists, give for why the cycling rate is low in their country, including:
  "our streets are too narrow"
  "it's too expensive"
  "our population is too spread out"
  "we have hills
  "our distances are too great"
  "it took decades in the Netherlands"
  "it's because of the price of gas"
  "it's the weather"
  "Cycle-paths cause indirect journeys"
  "Cycle-paths make people slow"
Cycling is "booming" in Britain - a claim we hear remarkably frequently, but it'll take a lot more than the action taken now before it will be true.
The Truth about Copenhagen - Pretty pictures and nice branding are all very well, but facts are important too. Denmark has no explanation of why the cycling modal share is falling in Copenhagen. The Netherlands has avoided this problem and sets a much better example of how to achieve a high cycling rate.
The Truth about Cambridge - Cambridge in the UK has made claims of being a true cycling city. The city does have the highest cycling rate in the English speaking world, but there are special reasons for its high cycling rate which cannot be copied elsewhere. Most people don't talk about this. I do.
London Superhighways - Unfortunately, London seems to be having trouble coming to grips with the idea of prioritizing cyclists.
Boris Bikes - London's bike share scheme, just like others worldwide, lacks the capacity to make any real change, and makes up for it with hype.