Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–November 7, 2012. Leisure-time physical activity is associated with longer life expectancy, even at relatively low levels of activity and regardless of body weight, according to a study by a team of researchers led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study, which found that people who engaged in leisure-time physical activity had life expectancy gains of as much as 4.5 years, appeared Nov. 6, 2012, in PLoS Medicine.
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This bar graph displays the years of life gained when participants met various percentages of HHS guidelines for physical activity. 50% = 1.8 years. 100% = 3.4 years. 200% = 4.2 years. 300% = 4.5 years.
Physical activity has been shown to help maintain a healthy body weight, maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints, promote psychological well-being, and reduce the risk of certain diseases, including some cancers.
"We must not underestimate how important physical activity is for health
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https://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/health-and-fitness/38129-nih-study-finds-leisure-time-physical-activity-extends-life-expectancy-as-much-as-45-years.html
Family Biking Workshops in Marin County
[B’ Spokes: this is a great idea!]
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By Jake Knight, Alliance for Biking and Walking
As part of a continuing focus on educating and encouraging families to bike together, Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) is working with Alta Planning + Design to offer the free Family Biking Workshop Series.
Building off of MCBC’s previous work with family trainings and “Riding with Youth,” the series takes kids and parents through four hands-on sessions where they can learn with guided practice.
As the series progresses, students move from learning indoors to outside and from the bike rodeo to the street. Starting with the basics of safety and riding techniques, MCBC provides interactive lessons to teach parents and kids together.
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https://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/site/index.php/site/blog/4288/
You can’t spell carbon without car
At last measure, we are sending $612,500 overseas every minute in support of our current automotive lifestyle. Cumulatively, over recent decades, this has amounted to a “massive, irreversible shift in wealth and power from the United States to the petro-states of the Middle East and energy-rich Russia.” This cash transfer, which is quickly working its way up to a third of a trillion dollars each year, is building some truly stunning metrorail systems in Dubai and Abu Dhabi — our cars are buying their trains. Add to this amount the significant chunk of our $700 billion military budget that is used to protect these questionable foreign interests, and it’s easy to see how our oil appetite could undo us economically long before the oil begins to run dry.
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Excerpt from Salon’s Stop climate change: Move to the city, start walking
https://www.salon.com/2012/11/03/stop_climate_change_move_to_the_city_start_walking/
Cyclist and motorist clash (with British civility) [video]
https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=65c_1352206981
I wish all encounters could be this civil!
Auto sensors for cars and now for pedestrians
Via Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) • U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT)
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Once the FHWA determined the scientific approach to be feasible, Volpe awarded the small business a Phase 2 SBIR contract to move from concept to full-scale prototype. During this phase, Migma developed and tested a new infra-red (IR), light-emitting diode (LED) stereo camera that can detect pedestrians in near real time, day and night. The stereo camera has two lenses with separate image sensors for each lens, allowing the camera to capture three-dimensional (3-D) images. Researchers also developed pedestrian detection algorithms, enabling them to extract generic 3-D features from a stereo disparity map, which measures the difference between the two views.
The prototype can discriminate pedestrians from vehicles, taking advantage of the concavity of the human body. When the device detects pedestrians approaching the crosswalk, it can send a signal to the traffic signal controller to call the pedestrian phase for the person needing to walk across the street. Where needed for slow-moving pedestrians, who take more time to cross a street, the device can detect pedestrians still in the crosswalk and send a request to equipped traffic signal controllers to extend the "walk" signal until the pedestrian has safely crossed the street.
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https://www.volpe.dot.gov/noteworthy/2012/frpltp.html
Cycling Jersey for a good cause
Restore Red Hook Jersey
By Castelli
$100.00
WHAT HAPPENED? Our neigborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn has been left flooded and in shambles following Hurricane Sandy. Countless homes, shops, artist studios, restaurants, bars, and workshops have been devastated. Despite this recent hardship, the heart of this vibrant community cannot be washed away. While our own storefront office flooded, the losses are minimal compared to the dire situation in the neighborhood.
WHAT’S NEXT? Castelli Cycling has generously stepped up to produce a pair of special benefit jerseys with us to help raise funds for Red Hook’s recovery. Designed by Jonah Birns, these jerseys will be pre-sold exclusively here on our site until December 1st. After production is complete, we will be shipping these in mid-January.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: All profits from these jerseys will be split between the Red Hook Initiative (RHI) and Restore Red Hook (RRH). The RHI–an established community center–is operating as the critical organizer of relief efforts. Since then, Restore Red Hook has also been set up to help the many devastated small businesses of Red Hook reopen their doors as soon as possible.
Available in thermal long sleeve or race weight short sleeve
Not-Cyclist
Once again Bikeyface gets to the issues. Most cyclists don’t look like cyclists (Excerpt)
And I just love the conclusion:
Ultimately it’s not about biking, but creating a neighborhood where people will stop biking… and stay a while.
And remember the whole point behind roads and cars is stop as little as possible. Let’s help create something worth stopping for.
You don’t own the road!!!
B’ Spokes: I’ll note that I have an issue with this, as this phrase should be a perfectly good retort to “Get off the road.”
BUT it is highly idiotic to use as the initial first line of an argument as it implies that the person initiating the accusation does indeed own the road and you do not.
What makes a place "walkable"
by Jeff Speck, Greater Greater Washington
DC resident Jeff Speck wrote Suburban Nation, the best-selling book about city planning since Jane Jacobs. His new book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time comes out on November 13. Greater Greater Washington is pleased to present 3 weekly excerpts from the book.
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Across the street from our restaurant, we waited for the light to change, lost in conversation. Maybe a minute passed before we saw the pushbutton signal request. So we pushed it. The conversation advanced for another minute or so. Finally, we gave up and jaywalked. About the same time, a car careened around the corner at perhaps forty-five miles per hour, on a street that had been widened to ease traffic.
The resulting near-miss fortunately left no scars, but it will not be forgotten. Stroller jaywalking is a surefire way to feel like a bad parent, especially when it goes awry. The only consolation this time was that I was in a position to do something about it.
As I write these words
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Romans drive a fraction of the miles that Americans do. A friend of ours who came here to work in the US Embassy bought a car when he arrived, out of habit. Now it sits in his courtyard, a target for pigeons. This tumultuous urban landscape, which fails to meet any conventional American measure of "pedestrian friendliness," is a walker’s paradise. So what’s going on here?
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Interested in learning more about what makes a place walkable? Join the Coalition for Smarter Growth at Politics and Prose on Saturday, November 17 at 6 pm [in DC] for a discussion with Jeff. The event is free and open to the pubilc; no RSVP is required.
https://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16618/what-makes-a-place-walkable/
San Diego holds a bicycle race to chose mayor
B’Spokes: OK, the headline is from a joke from the debate held by San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. But that’s the cool bit, a debate over who could be the walkingest, bikingest, livabilityest mayor San Diego had ever seen. I would love to see more of this type event around the country.
https://dc.streetsblog.org/2012/10/31/san-diego-chooses-between-two-bicycle-boosters-for-mayor/