The morning light streams into the street as wheels spin into motion and people move like water. Finding the path of least resistance. Spokes and gears are in conversation, click-clacking their teeth together. As the gradient grows, thighs burn like candles: warmly. We’re cycling again.
Of course commuting by bike is not always sun and games. Sometimes it rains, sometimes the wind blows straight into your face and the chill that surges through your body snuffs the candle out. And sometimes, we just have to admit it’s necessary to take the metro, even the car. But the more we cycle, the better.
Bikes are a powerful weapon in the fight against carbon emissions. Research conducted in our home city of Barcelona determined that the city’s first bicycle sharing scheme reduced carbon output by 9000 metric tonnes per year! That’s a phenomenal difference, coming from a simple change. So if you’re wondering what you can do in the face of a heating planet, the answer comes with a saddle, cuts a lean silhouette and canters gracefully about town (hint: it’s not a horse, but you can try that too).
It can be a struggle, however, to find a convenient and back-friendly way to take your equipment with you when cycling. We put this problem to our designers who shot back with the only logical solution. Fishing nets. Obvious really. This is because our new strap bag, made of recycled nylon nets collected from the oceans, is perfect for bike lovers who crave a smoother ride. That means zero pollution by cycling and a second - we’d like to think, much better! - use for materials that would otherwise cause needless harm to marine animals.
To work out your own carbon “saving” when using alternative transport, use this handy resource www.mapmyemissions.com, taking in factors such as terrain, distance and engine type to give you a figure accurate to your own commute. It’s good to know for example that a standard 20 minute commute made by car in Barcelona will wrack up 10.14kg of CO2 over a single week versus just 0.9kg by metro. You may not find a seat but then this is an issue worth standing up for.
Whether you go over or underground, see the streets from a new angle in our latest film.
