City Cyclists Should Be Wearing Respirator Gas Masks [Bikes]

Cyclists traveling the car-filled streets of a city have one more hazard to worry about - black carbon from air pollution.

A recent study looked at the the respiratory health of Londoners who bike or walk to work. The team collected sputum samples and measured the amount of black carbon each group inhaled. They discovered cyclists had inhaled 2.3 times more of the nasty stuff than their walking friends.

The team attributed this unhealthy increase to the biker's higher breathing rates. Though bikers could get to work faster and spent less time in the polluted air, they took in more air because of their exercising. They are also on the road, closer to the cars and their exhaust fumes. Just lovely. [European Respiratory Society via Scientific American]

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Fake Google SIMs, Real Weird Bikes, and Other Stories We Didn't Post [Left Behind]

So much news passes before our collective eyes every day that we couldn't possibly cover it all. Mostly because much of it isn't worth covering! But here are a some borderline tidbits we passed on, just in case.

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NYC Will Have 10,000 Shared Bikes Rolling Around the Streets Next Summer [Video]

After much gnashing of teeth from city residents, NYC's transportation department has the go ahead to launch their planned bike sharing system, comprising 10,000 bikes and 600 stations that will cover much of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The original plan was first proposed last year, and since then, the city has been working to gather support for the project. Now that they have it, they've shared more details. According to the New York Observer, here are some of the key bits of info:

• Bikes will be available 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week.

• Stations will span across the city from the Upper West Side neighborhood in Manhattan out to Brooklyn neighborhoods like Greenpoint and Crown Heights.

• Portland-based Alta Bike Share is the company responsible for installing and managing the bike sharing infrastrucure.

• The first 30 minutes of any ride are expected to be free, with fees for additional time.

• An annual membership is expected to cost less than a MetroCard (which normally costs ~$100/month).

If this works out, it would be a godsend for getting between neighborhoods that aren't connected by train lines and require excessive amounts of trainhopping. I'm already excited for next summer. [Observer]

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Kiwi Wi-Fi, German Beer Bikes, and Other Stories We Didn't Post [Left Behind]

So much news passes before our collective eyes every day that we couldn't possibly cover it all. Mostly because much of it isn't worth covering! But here are a some borderline tidbits we passed on, just in case.

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