The very first New England Human Powered Vehicle Rally was held at the Northampton, MA Airport under brilliant blue skies, with parasailers drifting overhead. This year marked the 10th annual NE HPV Rally, and the event was held in Kennebunk, Maine at Rogers Pond, a nice location with a pavilion and a closed dirt track next to the Mousam River which made for a great place to try out the different bikes and trikes.
Here are a few pictures, courtesy of Heather Roscoe, a Greenspeed GT1 rider who attended the Rally (thanks Heather!)
Here are some reasons to ride yer bike:
A bike can get you farther down the road with less energy than any other means of transportation; pedal powered vehicles, and particularly velomobiles are the most efficient forms of transportation ever devised. In addition, pedal powered vehicles have many more benefits in moving us on a path to greater local resilience and overall sustainability.
They require no fossil fuels – the brittleness (prone to failure) of depending on such a huge supply chain for fossil fuels is absolutely crazy and subject to disruption – as seen recently when nearly all aspects of life were disrupted in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in the NY/NJ metropolitan area.
Obesity and poor fitness levels should dramatically decline as the rate of self propelled cycle usage increases.
Connections with neighbors and the promotion of community ties also should increase. (this has been seen locally with the completion of the Biddeford-Arundel-Kennebunk section of the Eastern Trail).
Keeping a pedal powered vehicle on the road takes dramatically fewer resources (and money) than motor vehicles, and in some cases is quicker and/or more versatile. Related to this is a dramatically smaller carbon footprint.
Riding a cycle fosters a much stronger connection with your surroundings.
Above all, the feeling of freedom that can be had while riding with the wind in your face through a huge range of different types of surroundings is incredibly rewarding and fun!!!!!!!
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