Wednesday, July 16, 2008

God Bless the Norwegians


And not just because I am 100% Norwegian origin.

First, they are coming out with the Think! Electric Automobile, my new favorite car, and now in Trondheim,Norway, they have invented the worlds first Bicycle Lift (The Trampe) which actually has become one of Trondheims most popular tourist attractions and has become a success.

The bicycle lift carries cyclists uphill. Inspired by the ski lift technology, the cyclists could be pushed uphill without having to get off of the bicycle. Taking into account the topography of Trondheim, it is no surprise that the idea of a bicycle lift was conceived here.

Talk about conquering hills! If we had that here in Seattle there would be no excuse for me not getting on a bike!

Trondheim is an environmental friendly city that promotes cycling. It has a public bike project were you can rent bikes. 18% of the population of Trondheim is using their bike as a daily means if transport to work or school. Norway aims to raise bicycle traffic to at least 8% of all travel by 2015.

And looking the trampe official website it looks like folks have learned to adapt it to other forms of transport also!

1 comment:

Connie said...

Very Cool! I don't know that we'll ever get there. Yes, some eco friendly cities will make inroads but I live in the land of the giant pick-up truck and SUV!

Hey Rob, your seed balls arrived today! Thank you so much - I have lots of flower garden space that will be happy to be seeded.