30 consultants, professors, GPs and lecturers have written to the British Medical Association urging the body to reconsider its October 2004 position on cycle helmet compulsion for all adult and child cyclists. 16 PhDs have also signed the letter. The BMA's compulsion position - a reversal of a previously pro-helmet, anti-compulsion stance - was reached following a submission from just one named A&E consultant.

Forget traffic-free cycle-paths, Home Zones and considerate motorists, US researchers find trees are the bees knees at getting more people cycling. The degree to which city people walk or ride bicycles for their daily transportation needs depends largely on how much green space there is, says a study in the current American Journal of Health Promotion.

Hey? The Dieringer Group of New York reports that web-to-store shopping is stronger than business-to-consumer e-commerce. Still hey? More people research online what they're going to buy at bricks-and-mortar stores than shop online.

Once 2000+ have signed, the petition will be presented to the British Medical Association. If you have yet to do so, you can sign the petition here...

BikeBiz.com is pro-helmet, anti-compulsion. Here's an index of the stories carried to date on Martlew's private members' bill 'protective headgear for young cyclists' as well as post-bill helmet compulsion articles, including the BMA helmet u-turn...

BikeBiz.com is pro-helmet, anti-compulsion. Here's an up-to-date index of the stories carried on Martlew's private members' bill 'protective headgear for young cyclists' and the post-Martrew period, including the Nov. 04 BMA call for helmet compulsion for all adult and child cyclists.

Many cyclists report being ‘nude’ without their polystyrene prophylactics and this must be music to the ears of suppliers and retailers who sell cycle helmets but if legislation was enacted that forced cyclists - under-16s first, but the Bicycle Helmet Inititiative Trust wants compulsion for all - to don head protection would this fill bike trade tills or would the scaring away of non-enthusiast cyclists lead to a smaller market?

That's one of the statistical findings in the latest Retail Data Capture Analysis Report by Jay Townley for the National Bicycle Dealers' Association of America. A PDF of the full report can be downloaded within. As usual, the RDC report is packed with info, market trends, mainstream financial websites to go pore over as well as bike-trade specific statistics.

Interbike has released the findings from a survey done on its behalf by International Cycle Works, Inc. The majority of show visitors want Interbike to stay in Las Vegas not move to Denver. 86 percent of the exhibitors and 87 percent of visitors indicated that they plan on participating in Interbike 2004. As a result, over 80 percent of the available booth space at the 2004 event has been reserved, the most exhibit space Interbike has ever booked this early in the season, said show director, Lance Camisasca.

In mainstream retail, that is. In the UK bike trade, May was largely "excellent" and June 2003 was better than June 2002. The Confederation of British Industry's latest Distributive Trades Survey reveals that mainstream retailers are suffering in the heat (and no doubt the wet start to July helps nobody but umbrella shops...)