By Dave Jones of Dateline UCDavis

Groundskeeper Mike Griffith is among the one-quarter of Davis campus employees who bicycle to work. But Griffith takes it a step farther. Actually, he keeps on pedaling — after switching from his commute bike to his work bike.

Not just any old bike, but a professional-grade three-wheeler with heavy suspension, 21 gears and hydraulically operated rear disk brakes — and a custom-made cargo bed to haul his work gear, or loads of dirt and mulch.

“This is UC Davis-friendly,” said Griffith, whose 20-year career with Buildings and Grounds puts him smack-dab in the middle of a sea of bicycles every day as he rakes and prunes and sprays.

In switching to the work bike, Griffith voluntarily gave up his gas-powered cart — the ultimate in environmentally friendly gestures. (more…)

Tags: bicycle, bicycles, bikes, Environmentally, fleet, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, street pedicabs, Transport, transportation

BY KRISTEN J. KUBISIAK AND RAMELLE BINTZ • DOOR COUNTY ADVOCATE • MAY 9, 2009

Door County visitors will have a new option for traveling the downtown areas of Sturgeon Bay and Fish Creek this summer.

Two new businesses in the area are offering pedicab services. Pedicabs are a bicycle-driven pedestrian taxi that offer an environmentally friendly alternative to short-distance travel.

“It’s a great way for people to get where they want to go while enjoying the fresh air,” said Angie Brusky, co-owner of Peninsula Pedicabs LLC in Fish Creek. (more…)

Tags: bicycle, brusky, Cabs, dismal economy, entrepreneur, fish creek, fresh air, fun, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, new businesses, new option, Pedicab, pedicab business, Pedicab News, pedicabs, street pedicabs, sturgeon, sturgeon bay, taxicab, transportation

Entrepreneurs Brooks Brizendine and Saurabh Chawla are excited to launch their new Pedicab venture in Ocean City, MD, because they say it will bring both a fun and environmentally conscious business to an area that has drifted from its 2001 All-American City status, in their opinions.

“I had seen pedicabs all over New York City and when one of my friends started riding in my hometown of DC, it just clicked,” Brizendine said of the creation of Ocean City, MD based Coastal CruZn, LLC. “Saurabh and I are both passionate about doing our part to contribute to the environment, so the progression into creating a pedicab business just came naturally.”

(more…)

Tags: America, brizendine, Brooks, Cabs, Coastal, conscious business, CruZn, driver, Drivers, entrepreneur, Environmentally, fun, hybrid bike, New York City, Ocean City, ocean city md, Pedicab, pedicab business, Pedicab News, pedicabs, recyclable items, recyclables, saurabh

Student’s Chicago-based pedicab now on campus

Like many students on St. Patrick’s Day, senior Brendan Blume was up all night splitting time between Brown Street and the student neighborhoods. But unlike anyone else, instead of walking it, he was flagging pedestrians down asking if they wanted to ride on the back of his bike.

As a co-owner of Blume Brothers Pedicab, based in Chicago and less than a year old, Blume brought the pedicab to campus in March. He works Thursdays to Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., when he’s not on duty as an RA in Stuart. It’s just him and a 21-gear bicycle with a carriage-like seat attached.

“When (passengers) get on it they think they’re kings of the world,” Blume said. Entire parties turn and cheer when they see his bike and passengers go by. “It’s like chariots of fire.” (more…)

Tags: bicycle, bikes, blume, Brendan Blume, Chicago, entrepreneur, Environmentally, fun, passenger, pedestrians, Pedicab, Pedicab News, ride, Transport, transportation

In a history-making appearance, St. Nicholas celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at the Tucson (Arizona) St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 15, 2009 as the crowd roared their approval.  Santa didn’t have his sleigh, but he seemed just as jolly to be whizzed around the parade route in a beautiful bicycle rickshaw driven by Wes Weisheit, owner of Tucson Rickshaw, whom Santa named an “honorary merry elf driver” for the occasion.

Santa Claus enthusiastically exclaimed that “Besides Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day is my favorite holiday! Ho! Ho! Ho!”

The children’s hearts were warmed by the unexpected visitor from the North Pole and were thrilled to hear Santa say that he was delighted that they’d all been “being good…even in March!”

As Santa Claus left the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration he was heard to exclaim, “Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all and to all a good night!”

Tags: Arizona, arizona st, bicycle, Claus, driver, parade route, Pedicab, Pedicab News, rickshaw, Santa, santa claus, st nicholas, st patrick, Tucson, tucson arizona, Wes Weisheit

By Neville Hawcock

On a bad day, cycling in London feels like dinosaurs versus mammals. You, the warm-blooded cyclist, may ultimately inherit the earth, but until then you run the grave risk of being squished by a lumbering, petrol-fuelled sauropod. You have the acceleration, the visibility, the manoeuvrability; they have the weight, the momentum, the airbags.

There are good days, of course, when pedalists and petrolheads give way to each other in a haze of goodwill. But they are rare. So it is with some trepidation that I approach BugBugs’ Holborn Viaduct lock-up. My task is to give one of its pedicabs a test-ride; and pedicabs – as their operators prefer to style these latter-day rickshaws – are the SUVs of London’s bike scene: big – maybe too big – and apt to provoke extremes of opinion. (more…)

Tags: bike scene, bikes, Cabs, driver, Drivers, drivers association, fun, London, Main Street, national cycling, NEW YORK, Operators, passenger, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rickshaw, rickshaws, Safety, slow traffic, taxi drivers, test ride, traffic, trike, yellow cab