Just saw this on Gary G’s Blog. It’s a short video of a bicycle lift in Trondheim, Norway. Several years ago I was on schedule to travel to Trondheim for a project but never made it. Having seen this video it’s probably for the best. I used to criticise the government of this country for stupid road building activities but this just seems plainly bizarre (pardon the oxymoron). The hill doesn’t even look that steep?
If, like me, you’re not particularly fit, then something like this might encourage you to actually use your bike. I once considered cycling the 4 miles to work, but there’s one steep hill about 1/3 mile long in the middle and that really put me off the idea….
Possibly the same reason behind the thinking in Trondheim alright. It just started producing images in my head of everyone in Norway, on bicycles, getting pulled along by mechanical lifts and never actually cycling. However, I probably went a bit too far. 🙂 You’ll have to get a bit of cycling practice in when you get to Vietnam. 🙂
they are taking it quite seriously with a whole website with a video in English. http://www.trampe.no/english
They emphasise that the hill is steep too – 20%
This is all getting a little too serious for a bicycle lift. That website is possibly the most informative that I have ever seen on public transport, albeit the most obscure form of public transport I’ve seen. A 20% gradient is bad enough I suppose but I still can’t get my head around it. I have a real mental block with the idea. Perhaps I need to meet the designer and work it out. 🙂