EU ambassadors in London in Cycle Diplomacy ride

Malta’s High Commissioner in London, Joseph Zammit Tabona, joined Margot Wallström, vice president of the EC and other EU ambassadors in a Cycle Diplomacy ride from the residence of the Swedish Ambassador in Central London to Hampstead Heath – where a unique event with an environmental theme was held.

This was a Swedish EU Presidency initiative to promote the green agenda in general and green transportation in particular. The bikes – Puch electrical – were donated to all the EU embassies and high commissions that took part in the convoy.

Swedish Commissioner Margot Wallström urged EU ambassadors and other dignitaries to lead by example and ‘contribute when covering short distances by remembering to take the bike instead of the car’. She reiterated that ‘in the big cities, cycling has to be part of a sustainable transport system’.

At the end of the one hour ride, on the slopes of Parliament Hill, High Commissioner Zammit Tabona and other ambassadors joined crowds listening to former ABBA star, composer Benny Andersson and his band, the main attraction in the event ‘Sweden on Stage’.

Bicycle advocacy Web Page

After cycling from Zurrieq to Ghajn Tuffieha and swam and cycled back (44Km) i was reading some cycling blogs and i came across this bicycle advocacy website:

http://www.onestreet.org/

Albert Einstein: Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."

Well, I guess everybody knows the physicist Albert Einstein, but not many people actually understand the theories he invented and the importance of them. He was an amazing and intelligent person for sure.

And what I particularly appreciate is his attitude towards cycling. There are many quotes about life and cycling related to Albert Einstein. I'm not sure whether they are actually originally his, but they're good anyhow.

Albert Einstein riding his bicycle in Santa Barbara, 1933

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."

"I thought of that while riding my bicycle."
(on the theory of relativity)

Bike to work day 14 th May 2009, but sadly not for malta.

Although through all the word today it was the Bike to Work day, and i have used my bike to go to work, sadly nothing else happened. Below are some pictures of bike to work in the Us.

Hope it would be better in Malta.

Road cost not covered by car tax

An analysis of road building and maintenance costs revealed that no road pays for itself in gas taxes and fees. For example, in Houston, the 15 miles of SH 99 from I-10 to US 290 will cost $1 billion to build and maintain over its lifetime, while only generating $162 million in gas taxes. That gives a tax gap ratio of .16, which means that the real gas tax rate people would need to pay on this segment of road to completely pay for it would be $2.22 per gallon.

This is just one example, but there is not one road in Texas that pays for itself based on the tax system of today. Some roads pay for about half their true cost, but most roads we have analyzed pay for considerably less.

Faster on fast lane than fat lane

Faster by bicycle than a car on a 5 km ride at noon from Gzira to Floriana.

A day at the bmx bicycle track in pembroke, college sports day.

A day during college sports day, i was in charge of the bmx track in Pembroke a place built by bmx youth enthusiasts, gr8 job well done.

John Zammit