The Slow Balloon Movement in Green Major

Another installment wherein I test the limits of slow.

Slow Bicycle Race at Tate Modern

Found this today. Nice and slow.

Slow Reading and Showering

The Slow Bicycle Movement is all about slow. How appropriate then is it that the founder engages in other slow activities. Including reading and showering.

2000 frames a second of pure slowness. The balloon popped so freakishly that I barely got wet. We filmed several popping balloons but this one was bizarre.

Polebrook Slow Bicycle Race

A friend in the UK sent me this link to a Slow Bicycle race in Polebrook.

Brilliant stuff. Slow Bicycle races used to be a standard event in country fairs all over the world.

The Winner of the Slow Bicycle Race

Thanks to Elle for this link to a book splendidly titled "The Winner of the Slow Bicycle Race", by Paul Krassner.
Available at Amazon.

Slow Bicycle Race Rules... Apparently.

Got this sent to me today. Rules for a Slow Bicycle Race from a university in Canada.

It's a physics experiment, but it's funny to see official rules. Marc and I certainly could have benefited from them.

Slow Bicycle Race
Objective: To ride a two-wheeled bicycle over a fixed course in the longest interval of time.
Participants: Teams of up to six.
Materials: The bicycle will be provided and will have the following specifications:

a. It will have only two rubber-tired pneumatic wheels in ground contact, which are coplanar in the plane of the frame when traveling forward in a normal fashion.
b. It will have steering capability in the normal fashion.
c. Tire prints of the bicycle will not exceed 8 cm in width and 20 cm in length when the student is on the bicycle.
d. Minimum wheel radius will be 15 cm
e. No part of the bicycle except the tires will touch the course.
f. The bicycle will have a single forward speed and a coaster brake activated by back pedaling.

Rules
1. The course will be 20 meters long and 0.75 meter wide.
2. The course will not be sloped.
3. The course will be marked.
4. Forward motion shall be provided by the muscles of the rider.
5. No part of the competitor's body may touch the ground.
6. The bicycle must maintain forward motion at all times.
7. The bicycle must remain within the boundaries of the course.
8. Each team will be allowed 2 attempts to complete the course.

Judging
Scoring: The longest time to complete the course will determine the team score. The longest time will receive 100 points. Each team's time will be scored by the ratio of its time to the winning time.

Carl Honore on Slowness

Journalist Carl Honore believes the Western world's emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there's a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives.
Via TED.com