Story Archives of 'Bicycling'

The Environmental Protection Agency has already issued four alerts for poor air quality in New Hampshire this spring and summer. We can expect more as the season drags on.

When ground level ozone mixes with heat and sunlight, the air becomes unhealthy to breathe. These conditions can get amplified in cities like Boston, where heavy traffic creates even more smog.

One Cambridge-based company is doing its part to cut down on the auto emissions that make the air so dirty. The New Amsterdam Project is a delivery company that ships hundreds of pounds of products around greater Boston using modified bicycles with cargo loads on the back. Reporter Shannon Mullen produced a story about the souped-up bicycles for our Next Green Thing series.

(Photo by Shannon Mullen)

Tomorrow, many of you will be exhorted to leave your car at home in honor of Bike and Walk to Work Day. Last summer, Hilary Harris took the challenge to heart more than most. She decided to rely on her bike for an entire week. This is a bigger deal than it sounds -- Harris lives in Stoddard and works in Walpole -- 30 miles and one mountain away.

Harris kept an audio diary of her experiment in commuting without fossil fuel and sent it to New Hampshire Public Radio where we now present you with five days compressed into about five minutes.

By the way, at one point during her ride, Harris refers to a small amphibian called a Red Eft. She's breathing pretty hard when she says it and you might not catch it.

Harris's audio diary begins in her car, the day before her first ride, as she contemplates what lies ahead.

600 cyclists will be traveling vertically Saturday in the annual Mt. Washington Hill Climb. Many cyclists believe it's the toughest climb in the world. We'll talk to racer Steve Vosburgh who's taken the mountain challenge on numerous occasions and is racing Saturday, and also to sports psychologist Frank Farley of Temple University to find out what motivates some people to ride, hike, or run to the top of an extremely steep and often dangerous mountain.

YOU MAY NOT KNOW IT BUT THIS IS NATIONAL BIKE MONTH.

THIS IS ALSO NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK WEEK.

AND TOMORROW IS NATIONAL BIKE OR WALK TO WORK DAY.

AMY SHERIDAN IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTORE OF CONCORD 20/20.

THAT ORGANIZATION IS HEADING UP BIKE TO WORK DAY IN THE STATE?S CAPITAL.

SHE TELLS NHPR?S MARK BEVIS THE HOPE IS THAT PEOPLE WILL GET MORE FROM BIKING TO WORK THAN JUST SORE LEGS.

BIKETOWORK 2:08 ?TO LOOK AT ALL THOSE THINGS

AMY SHERIDAN IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CONCORD 20/20.

SHE WAS SPEAKING WITH NHPR?S MARK BEVIS.

IF YOU?D LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON BIKE OR WALK TO WORK DAY, CLICK HERE

Those bright pink and yellow bikes people have been seeing on the streets of Montpelier, VT don't belong to some sort of political group or a childrens threatre. They are part of a new program to reduce traffic congestion and auto emissions while promoting a healthier lifestyle. Doug Christen, with the Montpelier Parks Dept described the new program to NHPR's Lisa Peakes.