Bicycles offer an efficient, emission-free mode of transportation, particularly ideal for shorter distances in urban areas. Consequently, bicycling is increasingly being perceived as a viable and important part of the urban transportation mix. Despite increased progress and attention, few cities have successfully incorporated cycling as a key feature of their urban policy, or substantially increased cycling’s modal share. Meanwhile, research suggests that climate and weather influence cycling and transportation in urban areas, with cold climates in particular reducing the likelihood of cycling. This research examines how bicycling can be mainstreamed in winter cities, thereby improving cycling conditions and increasing modal share. Oulu, Finland serves as a case study. Located at 65 degrees latitude, Oulu has a twenty percent modal share for cycling. A close examination how cycling was mainstreamed is presented and synthesized. The goal is to present Oulu’s experience in bicycle planning as a model for other winter cities, particularly in Canada.

Bicycles offer an efficient, emission-free mode of transportation, particularly ideal for shorter distances in urban areas. Consequently, bicycling is increasingly being perceived as a viable and important part of the urban transportation mix. Despite increased progress and attention, few cities have successfully incorporated cycling as a key feature of their urban policy, or substantially increased cycling’s modal share. Meanwhile, research suggests that climate and weather influence cycling and transportation in urban areas, with cold climates in particular reducing the likelihood of cycling. This research examines how bicycling can be mainstreamed in winter cities, thereby improving cycling conditions and increasing modal share. Oulu, Finland serves as a case study. Located at 65 degrees latitude, Oulu has a twenty percent modal share for cycling. A close examination how cycling was mainstreamed is presented and synthesized. The goal is to present Oulu’s experience in bicycle planning as a model for other winter cities, particularly in Canada.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2003. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Bicycling as a form of active transport has been gaining in popularity amongst policy makers and urban planners. In many cities, it is seen as a beneficial and efficient transport alternative to the congesting and air polluting car. Besides that, bicycling has also shown to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, noise and come with a range of health benefits when done regularly. Despite studies showing the individual and societal benefits of bicycling in an urban context, there is a lack of literature on how these benefits translate to a rural setting, characterised by longer distances and lower volumes of travellers. A commuting route between Östersund and Krokom was taken to study this. A cost-benefits analysis was performed for this route in which the transport related societal costs were calculated for a hypothetical increased bicycling scenario on this route and compared to the costs of a status quo scenario with no bicycling. Results show significant bicycle related costs such as travel time, and accidents, but also benefits compared to the car such as health and low operating costs. The environmental benefits are relatively small. Due to the results of the study covering a wide range, no conclusion could be drawn on if the studied rural bicycling scenario would be desirable or not. Conservative estimates indicate extra societal costs, while bicycle favouring estimates indicate cost savings. / <p>2020-06-05</p>

Our understanding of how the world works is shaped through countless interactions with things in it. These interactions are our first exposure to science. Through them, we learn that heavy things are hard to push and books do not fall through tables. Our interactions are also shaped by the rules of the groups to which we belong (e.g., families, religious organizations, athletic teams). These rules lead us to accept that some things cannot or should not be done, limiting our interactions with the world. At the same time, these rules change our appreciation for what we do experience. Prior research has focused largely on the separate influences of either physical interactions or social interactions, leaving (relatively) unexplored their combined effects. In this dissertation, I describe how adults understand science related to their long-term participation in a recreational road bicycling group. The cyclists demonstrated a rich understanding of gearing and air resistance that paralleled, on a practical level, the explanations taught in school. This understanding was shaped by the cyclists’ years of physical experience interpreted in light of their individual goals for participating. For the cyclists in this study, knowing the science helped them be more efficient and faster riders. In the end, this study supports the idea that productive and valuable learning takes place in many settings and that it is important to account for the relationship between the social and physical aspects of learning when designing instructional experiences.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a global problem that causes joint pain and decreased mobility and quality of life. Knee OA costs the Canadian economy billions of dollars. Cartilage and bone are both implicated in knee OA pathogenesis. Obesity is a major risk factor for knee OA. Physical activity decreases pain and improves quality of life in those with knee OA. Nonetheless, we have limited biomechanical evidence to create concrete recommendations for prescription of aerobic exercise that improves clinical outcomes without exacerbating pain or worsening joint structures in knee OA. We have a limited understanding of how cartilage of the OA knee responds to physical activity, and the role of bone shape on the response. This thesis fills four identified gaps in the literature. First, Chapter 2 used a fully-crossed random assignment study design where 40 healthy participants completed 18 bicycling positions to define novel equations for setting bicycle saddle position based on minimum or maximum knee flexion angle. This work is important because the current gold-standard of setting bicycle saddle position for mitigating injury focuses on a desired knee flexion angle; yet no easy methods exist. Second, Chapter 3 used the same dataset to identify how joint kinematics affect tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint forces during bicycling. This work showed joint forces are least sensitive to the gold standard bicycle-fit parameter, minimum knee flexion angle; instead, minimum hip flexion angle was the most important. Third, Chapter 4 describes and validates a multi-stage convolutional neural network framework for efficiently segmenting cartilage and bone from magnetic resonance imaging data. The algorithm produced state-of-the-art predictions on the commonly tested Osteoarthritis Initiative dataset in an average of 1.5 mins per knee. These methods will be crucial for improving experimental and epidemiologic studies of cartilage and bone. Fourth, Chapter 5 combines statistical shape models of the tibia and femur, joint forces estimated at the knee, and statistical parametric mapping to explore continuously over the cartilage surface how cartilage deforms after walking and bicycling. This study showed for the first time that the acute response of cartilage in women with symptomatic knee OA is dependent on bone shape and knee joint forces. The bicycle-fit related studies provide the first comprehensive insights into how lower limb joint kinematics affect knee joint forces and provide novel equations to use this knowledge to easily set bicycle saddle position in the clinic, bicycle shop, or at home. The image analysis chapter describes an image segmentation framework that excels when applied to the knee. The final chapter integrates biomechanical measures with statistical shape models using custom data processing pipelines that yielded new insights and that hold great potential for evoking novel and specific findings about knee OA pathophysiology at the intersection of bone, cartilage, and mechanics. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Problem Bicycle volumes are increasing in many regions worldwide leading to higher relevance of an in-depth understanding of bicyclist safety mechanisms. Detailed studies on bicyclist safety that consider exposure and distinguish by intersection category and crash types are missing for urban signalised intersections which are of particular relevance for bicyclist safety. Method Based on a comprehensive dataset of motorist and bicyclist volumes and infrastructure characteristics for a sample of 269 signalised intersections in two German cities, we analyse in a top-down approach first bicycle crashes of all types and second bicycle crashes by type including turning, right-of-way and loss-of-control. A combination of descriptive statistics and Accident Prediction Models (APM) are applied in terms of analysis methods. Results Bicycle volumes are relevant for all types of intersections and crashes whereas the effect of motor vehicle volumes differ between these different applications. The separation of bicyclists from motor vehicles in time and space increases their safety but also leads to behavioural adaption and risk compensation. The likelihood of right-ofway crashes even increases with more separation in the signalling scheme. The main predictor for loss-of-control crashes in terms of infrastructure are tram tracks. Summary This study provides insights on relevant determinants of bicycle crashes at urban signalised intersections at several levels of detail. Exposure variables as well as the physical separation of bicyclists from motor vehicles show consistent effects on bicycle crash numbers whereas the effects of signalling differ between crash types. Practical Applications The different types of intersections and crashes follow each specific mechanisms of bicyclist safety. The separation of bicyclists and motorists in time and space are paramount at intersections with high bicycle volumes. Risk compensation such as red light running becomes more important as intersections get smaller and motor vehicle volumes decrease.

Background Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by damaged cartilage, tendons, ligaments, synovium, and bone. Knee osteoarthritis causes joint pain, reduced joint function, and decreased quality of life and is the leading cause of chronic disability in older adults. Two of the major risk factors for knee osteoarthritis are increasing age and obesity. To decrease the occurrence of knee osteoarthritis in our aging population, it is important that we identify exercises that are safe for people with or at risk of knee osteoarthritis. Purpose The main purpose of this thesis was to compare the acute response of knee cartilage composition to two common aerobic activities, running and bicycling, of equal total load. To address the primary purpose, we first sought to determine the reliability and validity of measuring loading repetition during running (steps) and bicycling (pedal-revolutions) using accelerometry. Methods 1) Twenty-two healthy adults completed running and bicycling activity bouts (five-minutes) while wearing six accelerometers: two at each the waist, thigh and shank. Accelerometer and video data were collected during each activity. 2) Fifteen healthy men completed running and bicycling activities of equal cumulative load that were preceded and followed by a series of magnetic resonance images. Results 1) Excellent reliability (ICC≥.99; SEM≤1.0) and validity (Pearson≥.99) were found for step and pedal revolution measurements taken by an accelerometer placed at the shank. 2) Bicycling did not cause significant changes in cartilage composition (p=0.274); however, running did cause a change in cartilage composition (p=0.002). Conclusion Findings from this thesis suggest that to acquire reliable and valid step and pedal revolution measurement, accelerometers should be placed on the shank. Furthermore, bicycling causes no statistical changes in knee cartilage, while running does. Bicycling may therefore be used to combat obesity and maintain cardiovascular health in individuals with compromised joint health. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that affects all knee tissues, particularly articular cartilage. This “wear and tear” condition reduces mobility and creates pain, collectively decreasing quality of life. Two important risk factors for knee osteoarthritis are age and obesity. While we cannot stop aging, exercise can have a positive impact on weight, particularly among adults with knee osteoarthritis. This thesis provides foundational information on how running and bicycling affects knee cartilage. First, we identified a useful method of measuring steps during running and pedal revolutions during bicycling. Second, we compared the effect of running and bicycling of equal cumulative load on knee cartilage, using MRI. The running activity was 1/3 the length of the bicycling activity but despite shorter exposure, running caused changes in cartilage shape and composition, while bicycling did not. These findings suggest that bicycling is a suitable aerobic activity that reduces loading at the knee.

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