Hmmmm, I wonder how much I love this angle: bikes free chicks! My favourite (dead-set) tweeter Maria Popova alerted me to National Geographic‘s new book Wheels of Change: How The Bicycle Empowered Women.

The advent of the bike “radically redefined the normative conventions of femininity”. For a start it got women straddling something, and not side-saddle. Then it got them moving. And active.

“From allowing young people to socialize without the chaperoning of clergymen and other merchants of morality to finally liberating women from the constraints of corsets and giant skirts (the “rational dress” pioneered by bike-riding women cut the weight of their undergarments to a “mere” 7 pounds), the velocipede made possible previously unthinkable actions and interactions that we now for granted to the point of forgetting the turbulence they once incited.”

Bike fans, there’s a new bike mag out and it’s called Treadlie. It’s very cute and is on sale now in newsagents.

It’s got a guide to building your own fixie, and features hot bike looks and other hot bike bits and pieces. Oh, and my beautiful single-speed gets its own spread. If you’re keen to enter the world of SS’s and fixies, here’s a good launch pad.

And if you subscribe now you go in the draw to win that very sweet Gazelle Toer below.

This post has been updated to include some additional very useful comments – scroll to the bottom!

A coupla posts back I mentioned I don’t wear a helmet all the time. I like to dress exactly how I like to be dressed for the day and not have my outfit stop me from riding a bike (and, instead, drive). Which prompted some of you to want to lock me away from your children (should I corrupt them into not wearing theirs). But many more of you shared some very good info about where the research and laws are all at.

It’s always good to have informed ammunition when someone confronts you with their outrage that you’re slipping through the streets on two wheels unhindered. (I should point out again, I do wear a helmet on long trips (ie not on familiar roads in my neighbourhood), when I’m riding off-road etc.)

So, a bit of a cheat sheet for you, based on comments from the original post:

There are safety studies about the issue. This one is a good overview. But a few interesting factoids that I pulled from the link…

* Cycling is no more dangerous than being a pedestrian.

* UK research has pointed out that it “takes at least 8000 years of average cycling to produce one clinically severe head injury and 22,000 years for one death“.

* Six times as many pedestrians as cyclists are killed by motor traffic, yet travel surveys show annual mileage walked is only five times that cycled; a mile of walking must be more “dangerous” than a mile of cycling…” The proportion of cyclist injuries which are head injuries is essentially the same as the proportion for pedestrians at 30.0 % vs. 30.1 %.

* No randomized controlled trials have been done on the safety of bike helmets.

This from Dr Paul Martin (“a medical specialist…involved in the resuscitation of trauma victims and their subsequent management in the operating theatre”):

A bicycle helmet will not prevent brain damage if the forces involved are so great that you would sustain brain damage without a helmet. You will certainly prevent superficial injuries but that’s about it. In fact, this is a major reason why they’re good to wear for sport cycling. There is nothing worse than having to abandon a race with a scalp laceration. I do not wear a bicycle helmet most of the time. When competing, I’ll wear one. Do you wear a helmet when in a car? If not, why not? The risk of a serious head injury in a car is much greater than on a bicycle. If there was a mandatory car-occupant helmet law would you all comply?

Oooola! Pretty things for bikes. I post this by way of getting you excited about riding a bike. When you ride a bike you can enter this world of cool stuff.

This is a new inflatable bike helmet that won’t ruin your ‘do. Unless you stack.

To see how it works, check out the video here on SMH:

A Swedish design house has created a potentially life-saving fashion accessory for cyclists.

The Hovding airbag collar has been designed to provide a safe alternative to the bicycle helmet without the detrimental effect that stack-hats tend to have on one’s hairdo.

Designed to wrap around the cyclist’s neck like a scarf, the Hovding (which means Chieftain in Swedish) will deploy an airbag in the form of a hood if its in-built sensors detect a potential head impact.

The sensors are able to detect an over-the-handlebars accident, a rear impact, and even if the rider simply falls off the bike sideways.

I just love Joyce from CycleStyle Australia. How can you not??? On her site you can buy kooky bells, baskets, skirt garters and pageant queen reflector sashes!!. She’s also pregnant. And still rides in heels!!! Check out her cool gear and buy online.

This is the very canny contraption my friend Andrew G built for his dogs Igby and Uboo. So very “how to pull chicks and influence people”.

The New York Times has just posted a story on  Bicycle Chic. They included a great slideshow of accessories.

Here’s some food for thought:

Got any other hot accessories?? Next week I’m going to post on helmets. Stay tuned.

Oh dear. I’m on the cover of Central Magazine this week spruiking Ride to Work Day Oct 13. The “Oh dear” refers to that high-octane sunny expression on my face…and the largeness of the picture.

Fortunately, my bike’s look spick. And the campaign – I’m totally up for it. If you don’t want to read the full story, the highlight of my eloquent rant about why it’s good to ride to work, is this:

You experience more of life on a bike. You feel it, you smell it, you are totally engaged with the day and your surroundings. You have to be, to remain safe. So you notice great stuff – expressions on people’s faces, the smell of jasmine as evening approaches, great shop signage.

I’m filming 14 hours today so am just posting a Quick Cool Thing I Found on The Interweb That Builds On My Campaign To Ride a Bike. Knife and Saw has made this beautiful device – perfect for all of those inspired by Jerry Seinfeld’s nifty innercity storage systems.

The shelf is about $US270, but it does double as a lovely display shelf.

Pretty. Aesthetically inspiring. And will hopefully add to all the triggers I plan to bludgeon you with over coming weeks that will hopefully get you on a bike (if you’re not already).

Have a lovely morning. And I hope you’ve had a few minutes to set the tone, the flavour, the vibration  for your day.