Contrail is certainly one of the more interesting entries in the “Power to the Pedal” contest put on by Design21 Social Design Network in order to find solutions to social and global issues. The winning entry is a Pedal Power Pack that turns your bike into a generator, something we´ll feature in a future blog post. Until then, imagine the possibilities of Contrail:

Contrail is a concept bicycle device that attaches above the wheel of a bike and covers the bicycle wheel with a layer of chalk. The chalk then creates a trail or mark on the surface of the road, turning the bike into a sort of large drawing utensil. The concept, developed by Pepin Gelardi of Studio Gelardi focuses around the idea of safety in numbers. By using this device, bicyclists will have a clearer path on which to ride safely and out of the way of vehicular traffic. At the same time, as more bicyclists using the Contrail go over a line created by a cyclist before them, the line gets brighter allowing drivers to clearly see a marked bike path where there might be none. It’s sort of similar to what happens when a dirt path appears in a grassy field after lots of people have taken the same shortcut over a period of time.
- From doobybrain.com

Lots of creative and innovative ideas to enhance the cycling community: “Portable Bike Racks, All-Wheel Drive Bicycles, and Folding Handlebar Locks” were just a few of the entries that you can check out at Design21´s Website.