By David Brenda

Popular at such tourist haunts as Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, the bicycle rickshaw has arrived at the Sundial Bridge in Redding.

Bob Frost, a 57-year-old retired U.S. Forest Service worker, opened Sundial Pedicabs last month.

Starting with one cab and operating intermittently when weather permits, Frost will take visitors around the Sundial Bridge, along the Sacramento River Trail and even through the McConnell Arboretum at Turtle Bay Exploration Park.

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Tags: bicycle, bike path, bob frost, Cabs, dana drive, downtown, fleet, keswick dam, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, moonlight rides, mt shasta mall, passenger, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rickshaw, ride, sacramento river, shasta lake, street pedicabs, sundial bridge, tourist haunts, turtle bay

By Dan Werner

“Hey, Rickshaw Willie,” someone calls out as Tim Wilhelm drives his Pedicab down Main Street in Akron, Ohio. It’s a common occurrence these days, as Wilhelm, aka “Rickshaw Willie,” has become somewhat of a local celebrity.

“Everybody has to have their picture taken with Rickshaw Willie,” Wilhelm says. “People are hugging me all the time, and kids will run out to the edge of the curb to high-five me as I drive down the road. Even some local business owners came up to me while I was eating dinner and told my wife that I had become a downtown Akron icon.”

But it was only about a year ago when the 54-year-old Wilhelm found himself depressed and at a crossroads in his life. A truck driver for 31 years, Wilhelm became the victim of a sagging economy when the trucking company he works for merged with another and then decided to take him out of his truck and onto the loading dock.

“It was about the lowest point I had ever been in my life,” he says. “I didn’t know if I’d pull out of the depression, but I’m not a quitter, so I kept thinking about what I could do.”

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Tags: bicycle, Cabs, Colorado, community, dan werner, downtown, driver, fun, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, manufacturer, Ohio, parade route, Pedicab, pedicab business, Pedicab News, pedicabs, pub crawl, rickshaw, street pedicabs, traffic

By Jessica Harp, Envy Magazine

Ricky Grunden, a 22-year-old student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, mounts his Trek Road Bike every morning to pedal the 10 minutes through shaded neighborhoods to campus.  He rides his bike to work, to the gym, to friend’s apartments and even into Downtown.  He rides his bike everywhere.  But Grunden also has a Toyota 4Runner sitting in the garage of his duplex.

“Our country is at a constant rate of increase concerning urbanization,” said Grunden.  “As that happens, cities are becoming friendlier toward bike transportation and it’s good because you can get around faster and you don’t need money for gas.”

Grunden is not the only one researching inexpensive alternatives into his daily routine because of the economy.  According to data from Bike Europe published in May 2009, bike imports to the United States exceeded car sales in the same country by $.4 million.  This means that over the course of several years, the demand for bicycles rose, which in turn stepped up production, making bikes appear as a more logical alternative to cars as a primary source of transportation.

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Tags: bicycle, bicycles, bikes, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rickshaw

Por CELIA MAZA DE PABLO (SOITU.ES)

LONDRES.-  Con Boris Johnson los londinenses han cogido el gusto por los pedales. Pero fueron otros los que encontraron mucho antes el potencial a ir sobre ruedas en el ajetreado asfalto de la capital británica. Son muchos los que conocen los ‘rickshaws’, pero muy pocos los que saben verdaderamente los secretos de estos populares triciclos que trabajan como bici taxis. Visitamos ‘Shone Lane’, el gran garaje donde duermen los pedicabs más famosos de toda Europa.

Para entrar hay que marcar una clave en la puerta que sólo conocen los conductores de estos vehículos. “Entran y salen cuando quieren. Ellos se ponen sus propios horarios”, cuenta Vanessa Celosse, que trabaja en Bugbugs, el primer operador que en 1998 sacó a la calle una flota de 18 ciclocarros. En principio, el proyecto estaba destinado para dar “trabajo verde” a los desempleados, pero hoy en día muy pocos viven exclusivamente de dar al pedal. La mayoría de los conductores son jóvenes que vienen a aprender inglés o estudiantes que quieren sacarse el dinero para pagar el alquiler mientras acaban sus clases.

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Tags: Cabs, fun, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rickshaw, rickshaws, taxis, Transport

Sean Robinson and his dog, Cooper, have embarked on a one-year, 10,000-mile trek around the United States. And the two best friends will be making the journey in a Main Street Pedal Pickup.

Sean and Cooper began their adventure in New York City in October and are currently somewhere between South Carolina and Georgia.

After struggling with his old, heavy, three-speed rickshaw, Sean contacted Main Street Pedicabs to see if the pedicab manufacturer could provide him with a better, lighter vehicle.

“It was a no-brainer,” says Dan Werner, Director of Sales and Marketing at Main Street. “Our 21-speed pedal pickup not only provides Sean with a lighter, safer ride, but it also gives Cooper a safe spot in the truck bed.”

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Tags: best friends, bikes, dan werner, downtown, journey, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, manufacturer, pedal pickup, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rickshaw, trek

By ARIEL KAMINER, New York Times

The bride stood out against the backdrop of Central Park: The temperature was in the 50s, yet she had nothing more on her torso than a lace bustier. Below, her dress was as voluminous as an inflated parachute, dragging as she hobbled along the path. I was gliding along comfortably in the back of a pedicab, with plenty of room next to me on the seat. So I offered her a lift.

The look she gave me was not gratitude. After a few more friendly entreaties, the groom caught up to us. “She doesn’t want to,” he said. With that, they turned off the path and she hobbled onward, juggling various hems.

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Tags: bicycle, bikes, broadway, Cabs, central park, congestion, downtown, fun, Manhattan, mode of transportation, NEW YORK, passenger, Pedicab, pedicab driver, Pedicab Videos, pedicabs, rickshaw, ride, three wheels, times square, traffic, Transport, tricycle