Ecorazzi

There’s biking news coming out of London today — so, let’s roll.

Elle Macpherson is getting behind a new campaign to encourage the British public to get on their bikes and start pedaling. The model is being joined by Olympic champion cyclist Victoria Pendleton and television presenter Gethin Jones in getting the word out. Macpherson, 45, who lives in London’s Notting Hill, said: “There’s going to be this huge community, this surge of people riding their bikes and hopefully rediscovering a very simple pleasure. You don’t have to be an Olympic champion to cycle. Get out there and enjoy the environment and enjoy being with the family.”

Colin Firth’s Eco Store in Cheswick is getting a lot of attention lately because of the nearly $5K bamboo bike they’re selling. The organic, biodegradable bike is considered by many to be the “greenest” thing on two wheels. Of course, it definitely has a round-the-world footprint to offset. From the article,

“The frame of the Calfee, which will set you back at least £3,000, is made from stems hand-picked in the remote mountains of Taiwan’s Yushan national park, home to wildlife such as the Formosan black bear and rock monkey. The bamboo is shipped – not flown – to California, where stems are smoked and heat-treated to prevent splitting, and assembled into a frame, the pieces connected with lugs made of hemp fibre. They are then coated in a satin polyurethane sealant. The finished product is transported to Chiswick, where it is being sold in the Eco Age shop owned by actor Colin Firth, his Italian wife Livia Giuggioli, and her brother Nicola.”

The end result is a bike made from 60% sustainable materials. The people that harvest the bamboo for the frame are also involved in a social project “helping local people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.” Five of the bikes have been sold in Britain so far. More info on the bike can be found here.