Chiperoni ku Basel

Category: biking

  • Cyclists, beware of tram tracks. Dangerous spot on Elisabethenstrasse in Basel

    I witnessed a motorbike crash this morning while cycling to work.

    I was cycling up Elisabethenstrasse when I heard a loud crash.

    A motorbiker had crashed on the other side of the street. At a place where the tram tracks and street don’t leave much space for cyclists and motorbikes.

    At exactly the same spot which I’ve previously identified as being dangerous.

    Not so long ago, the pavement at the tram stop was increased in height so that now the tram doors open at pavement level.

    This means the curb is much higher and steeper.

    At the same time, the space between curb and tram track is narrower than before and after the tram stop.

    Which means on rainy days, you can easily slip on the wet and slippery tram tracks.

    Dangerous.

    I usually move to the middle of the tracks, away from the curb.

    I think I will cycle a different route. Especially on rainy days.

    Life is precious. Cycle safely.

    As you can tell i am shocked.

  • Sursee – Schenkon – Sempach – Nottwil – Sursee bicycle tour

    Some snapshots from my Lake Sempach bicycle tour on Sunday:

    das leben ist besser wenn du lachst

    am see entlang

    boat house

    sempacher see

    unterführung

    das tool parkiert im schatten

    sursee

    sempacher see

    The tour is about 20 kilometers. If you have an all-terrain bicycle, try to follow the path closest to the lake. That’s more enjoyable than the busy road.

    I managed to miss the turn-off to Sursee SBB train station. And so I saw Schenkon twice.

    Category: easy
    Length: 20 km

  • Wrong way round

    Yesterday morning a cyclist decided to cycle thru one of the roundabouts the wrong way round. During early morning traffic to work. If you’re thinking probably a bicycle courier: This cyclist was a woman in her 30s or 40s.

    Nothing happened. No accident followed.

    But it still had me shaking my head. Road traffic rules are there for our own safety. A lot can happen at 30km/h. We’re vulnerable. More than we think.

    There are enough occasions when we make unintended mistakes. No need to wilfully ignore traffic rules.

    (Sorry. Turning into an activist.)

    Sicher unterwegs mit dem Velo

    Die wichtigsten Fahrrad-Regeln auf einen Blick

    Sicher velofahren

  • Cycling to work is fun

    For some reason. Beyond my understanding. My regular bike to work (still) draws exclamations of amazement from some work colleagues. Walking into the office on Thursday morning with my bicycle helmet in my hand, I heard the usual comments.

    For the record:

    Cycling to work is fun.

    I don’t need to force myself to get on my bicycle. I like cycling.

    I often have good ideas while cycling.

    The time needed for the same route by public transport is close to identical.

    The only times that I’ll take the bus or tram to work is when the road conditions are too icy and slippery, or when I don’t want to leave my bicycle over night in a dangerous place, or when I have more luggage than my bicycle can carry.

  • A fave for http://www.wenger-2-rad.ch/

    This is a blog post to say thank you to http://www.wenger-2-rad.ch/.

    On Monday morning, I noticed that I had forgotten my bicycle lock at home. Since I don’t have a lockable place to store my bike near work, I hurried to the closest bicycle shop planning to buy a substitute. When I noticed I’d forgotten my purse in the same place where I’d left my bicycle lock.

    Great way to start the week.

    I usually attach my bicycle lock to my bike rack.

    The owner of Wenger 2 Rad was kind enough to lend me a bicycle lock for a day. Without charge. Which is great, ‘cos I already own at least 3 bicycle locks and don’t really need a fourth one to forget.

    Thank you Wenger 2 Rad. I appreciate the help.

  • #Klapprad http://flic.kr/p/hqbFKT

    I had a foldable bicycle just like this ...in orange

    Che nostalgia. I had a foldable bicycle just like this.

  • e-bike rage, i haz it

    I think i am developing a bad case of e-bike rage. Two days in a row, the same two e-bikes (bicycles powered by an electric engine) overtook me (cycling on a regular, muscle-powered bicycle) so closely, I thought they’d hit my bicycle handlebar.

    This morning I was waiting at a red light. A car was standing in the lane next to me. Just when the robot lights changed to green, and i started to pedal away, an e-bike hurtled thru from behind between my bicycle and the car.

    Next, just 2 minutes later, another e-biker on a black and white Cannondale had to overtake me in a small roundabout; while I was entering and exiting a roundabout. Kind of risky. Cos if i had taken the next exit, we would have collided.

    And I am pretty certain I saw the same two e-bikers yesterday….

    E-bikes are very popular here.

    Please don’t overtake at junctions, robots or in roundabouts.

    OK, thx bai.

  • Sunny Sunday

    I just got back from a run around the Finnenbahn. The distance is nothing to write home about, but it was a pleasurable experience with temperatures around 18 degrees. Spring is here.

    With all the fresh air rushing thru my system, I was in mindblogging mode. Reflecting on all the data I have been consuming here and there.

    Yesterday afternoon I tried out new bicycles at a bicycle shop in downtown Basel. I am thinking of buying a new bicycle. My Univega will soon be 10 years old. And a lot has been happening in the bicycle space since then.

    mein velo

    I read Scoble’s post on reducing noise on Facebook. Useful! I don’t really have the a signal to noise problem on FB, but they are offering more and more control. Which is good.

    On Twitter: Did you see that you can now embed tweets?

    How to find the embed code:

    • Select a tweet.
    • Click on Details.
    • Click on Embed this Tweet.
    • Copy the code to your webpage.

    Although I am quite sure that I will keep my screenshot collection of fun tweets.

    The effort to tweak all these corporate social media channels is getting higher than high. Don’t let the social media corporations take over.

    Instead of just consuming content, I encourage you to create content. Write a blog, take photos, learn something new, write how-tos, write about your area of expertise, own your own data, participate, enter into dialog, have fun. Here are some ideas:

    I am planning to attend BarcampBodensee in June. Anybody else coming from the Basel area? It would be a great opportunity to present an updated version of my presentation on mobile internet usage in Malawi.

    The Potential of Mobile Technology in Africa

    View more PowerPoint from nchenga

    So much has happened in this space. And even in a downturn, TNM has managed to increase its subscriber base by 35% in 2011. Compare and contrast those kind of numbers with the saturated markets here in Europe.

    The number of Facebook users from southern Africa is increasing despite the high internet access costs. Socialbaker lists 95 820 users from Malawi.

    socialbaker stats for Malawi

    Leave a comment or contact me if you can provide further interesting data / anecdotes / user behaviour on internet usage patterns in the warm heart of Africa.

    Thank you for reading and supporting chiperoni.ch. Alles wird gut.

    colorful and calories

    P.S.: I missed a LOLCat photo opportunity today: a cat stretched out on the seat of Vespa. Unfortunately I didn’t have a cam with me.

  • Bike tour to Bad Säckingen and back

    I cycled over 60 km to Bad Säckingen via an unwanted detour to Liestal, and then on to Rheinfelden, Möhlin, Wallbach, Stein. I cycled back on the German side via Schwörstadt, Grenzach-Wyhlen.

    No mountains. A few hills.

    I only took a few photos. Coming soon.

  • Bike tour Basel to Bad Bellingen and back

    A quick blog post to document Monday’s mini tour to Bad Bellingen and back.

    I wanted to avoid cycling along the Rhine cos it is so monotonous and boring on the German side (done it before and found it boring). I started ok but somewhere between Märt and Efringen-Kirchen all bicycle path signs took me down to the river. So I ended up on the Rhein-Radweg. On my way back, I took a different route via Istein village.

    About 20 km one way. Easy ride.


    View Larger Map

    Some snapshots

  • Bike tour to Kandern and back

    From Basel about 17 km one way.

    Via Weil am Rhein, Binzen and Wollbach, along the railway tracks to Kandern.

    Easy ride.

     
    Wow, Google Maps now offers a bicycle option in its Get Directions menu. Though not for the route below.
     

    View Larger Map

  • Biker’s Rant

    An intense heading for a small observation, while cycling home from work:

    I noticed that many drivers and other cyclists make a lot of assumptions. A sincere road traffic faith that everything will work out in the end.

    For instance, I signaled that I was planning to turn left, and pulled across the road to the middle of the road. A car came hurtling out of nowhere and narrowly passed me on my right side. The driver didn’t slow down to wait until I had reached the center line.

    Kind of scary.

    Another situation: I tend to leave a little bit of space between my bike and any cars parked along the curb. Not much. But some room in case a car door opens suddenly. Some of my fellow bikers are really clever and try to overtake in the tiny space between me and the parked cars, instead of on the left side. Happened yesterday and today. Weird. Especially since the road was clear.

  • Malawi cycle challenge accident

    Here’s a blog entry on an accident that occurred in a Malawi biking event for charity.

    Stories on Malawi: Sarah injured in Malawi cycle challenge

    Source

    Get well soon, Sarah.