[Pil-pc-oceania] Bike Moves

Thu Apr 3 11:28:56 EST 2008

Hi all, I've had computer problems over the last few months so have  
not been able to send e-mails, but have been able to get them every  
few days, I've really wanted to contribute to this bike thread  
because I have had so much to do with this bike gig/velorock thing.

Last year my band The Steinbecks ran the first 'bike only' gig (i.e.  
full rock band with outdoor PA) I've ever heard of. I wanted to  
combine my love of bikes and things green with my usually un-green  
love of loud guitar pop-rock. So I lined up some friends in the bike  
world to gather all the bike trailers they knew of and organised a PA  
and all the band gear. We did publicity to all the BUGs and  
stencilled the bike paths of Melbourne as well as getting on  
community radio and in the papers.

We had a great free show at the Brunswick velodrome with virtually no  
waste and pretty low (less than 5 kwh) electricity use. We carted a  
keg of locally brewed Mountain Goat beer and had  re-usable cups that  
are still in use. We had friends bake cakes and took along cloth  
serviettes that have been used for dozens of events to serve them  
with. All the gear and band and audience rode to the show and we had  
a great afternoon. No one claimed anything like carbon neutrality  
(and that was not the point of the show).

This year's Velorock show was pretty much the same, though a bigger  
line-up of bands, and we ended up playing in the velodrome club rooms  
because the weather was pretty wet. This year the organisers bought  
2000 kWhs of Greenpower which was sold to the audience as 'spoke  
cards' to put in their wheels in 100 kWh and 40 kWh lots. This is  
massively more electricity than was used, but I liked the way the  
audience were asked to fund the energy, as well as to ride to the show.

Adam is right that musical equipment used a good deal less than it's  
ratted wattage. My whole band with all the amps and vocal PA peaks at  
about 250w max, even though the rated wattage of all the equipment is  
close to 1000 watts. It would be quite plausible to power the gig  
with pedal power next year if people put some work into it, though we  
would all be aware that the electricity to run the show is only a  
small component of the embodied energy of all the other things that  
make modern life happen. I don't like making big statements about  
something or other being carbon neutral.

Re. Adams comment about a rider eating a diet of fossil food having a  
big carbon footprint. I have heard this argument coming from some  
areas of the car lobby suggesting that car travel has a lower  
greenhouse output than cycling. The flaw in this accounting is that a  
person ridding a bike (putting out about 100 watts) is only using  
marginally more energy than a passive driver (or someone sitting on  
the couch watching TV). Is is that slight increase in energy input  
level that is what needs to be accounted for. In fact the average  
Australian diet is so much more energy rich than it needs to be that  
any physical activity we do has a negligible effect on our dietary  
requirements.

As for all you people out there who think that all those crazy  
cyclists out there need to obey the road rules I have this to say: If  
you are going to lump all cyclists into one category then don't be  
upset if you are lumped in with all the Commodore driving P platers,  
all the arrogant BMW drivers, all the 4x4 Toorak tractor lane- 
hoggers, every Taxi driver and every drugged up courier in the country.

Yes there are crazy cyclists out there, but I suggest there are far  
more crazy drivers, and driving far more dangerous machines out there  
that pose an immediate and long term threat to our civilisation.

Bikes Rock!

Joel Meadows
Now in sunny, windy, dry, rainy Castlemaine - Central Victoria, where  
the apple trees grow wild and free.

On 31/03/2008, at 1:00 PM, adam at energybulletin.net wrote:

> i have some photos somewhere of a bicycle powered gig in japan  
> which a permie friend helped organise, can't find right now.
>
> He couldn't remember how much energy was being produced.  But I  
> think you'd be lucky to get 100 watts of useful energy out of  
> anyone for anymore than half an hour.   I know that 200 watts =  
> hard yakka, like running up stairs, but there are going to be  
> losses in friction and translation to electrical energy, so  
> producing 100 watts of electricity would be hard work.  A small PA  
> amp is rated at about 400 watts, although it may use a lot less on  
> average.  My 100 watt amp runs at about 17 and doesn't change much  
> from high or low volume.  So probably two-three people riding in  
> shifts could power a small gig.
>
> But given that it takes 10 joules of fossil fuel energy to produce  
> one joule of food in Australia (more or less), if you're eating  
> industrial food to power the bicycle, would you really be saving  
> energy?  ;)
>
> adam
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 30, 2008 at 7:06 PM, David Arnold <arnold.vt at gmail.com>  
> wrote:
> adam,
>
> this music gig looks great.  do you know if they actually powered  
> the pa with human power?
>
> dave
>
>
> On 28/03/2008, adam at energybulletin.net <adam at energybulletin.net>  
> wrote:
> not sure if folks saw this, a bike-moved, solar powered gig in  
> melbourne this weekend:
> http://www.velorock.net/
>
> -- 
> www.energybulletin.net
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>
> David Arnold
> Permaculture Designer
> 4446 Murchison Rd
> Violet Town VIC AUS 3669
> 03 5798 1679
> arnold.vt at gmail.com
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