Car Free Weekend

Tonight begins a car-free weekend challenge (bikes only) for my family. Obstacles include our three children (youngest is 7 weeks old), traveling to Velodrome, and possible Tour De France party. Join us in our challenge.

Riding Fixed from Canada to NM

Inspiring story of willpower.

http://deannadares.blogspot.com/

Priorities

Enjoying my morning cup of Joe and a driver with his priorities straight pulls in. An average economy Saturn with a Merlin Ti road bike on top. Who else has a bike that costs more than their car? Good for you.

Atlanta is crushing my cycling mojo

I used to commute on a daily basis between Durham & Raleigh, NC.
I have moved to Atlanta, GA and things are pretty different (for the worse).
I tried to keep up the commuting, however the shit infrastructure, even worse drivers and long work schedule have killed my mojo.
I need my mojo back! Do I need to move? Or just some kind of mind zen revamp? Your comments are welcome.

Riding your favorite trail w/ a newbie

There is something magical about riding at Tsali..maybe the speeds, the riding companions, or the many memories (snow covered epic rides or nearly loosing my best riding bud Woody to heat exhaustion). Whatever it is, the riding is always special.
This past weekend, my bro-in-law (Sean) would be joining me. Sean likes to skydive, however has the biking skills of a wounded chicken.
I wanted Sean to experience Tsali, so we headed for the Thompson loop. We took it easy so he could get his legs under him. He kept falling over on the straight, easy sections and mastering the semi-technical challenges.
Part of me was frustrated with the crawling speed, however I thought about it, and realized it was about Sean’s ride, not mine. I slowed my pace and tried to make Tsali the best it could be.
At the end of the ride, several of us were waiting to take Sean’s photo of his fast descent. Instead, we saw him fly over his handlebars and distrube a sleeping tree. Poor newbie.
Aftetword, Sean concluded the descents he loved, the climbing he hated.
Sean maybe you should stick to skydiving.

Bike of the Future?

So a colleague from Italy shared this photo.

This is some interesting engineering removing the standard chain drivetrain and allowing a direct connection to the wheel.  One engineering hurdle is the strength of the wheels without spokes.  Anyone seen anything similar?

http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/fotogallery/fotogallery3836.shtml

Pedicabs – Small Business Opportunity?

Defying Convention, Denver Pedicabs Seek a Leg Up

By STEPHANIE SIMON
August 26, 2008; Page A3

DENVER — Owners of bicycle rickshaws, already a popular way of getting about downtown Denver, are seizing on the Democratic National Convention as a chance to showcase their human-powered taxis as more than just a novelty.

Steve Meyer, owner of one of Denver’s largest fleets of pedicabs and a manufacturer of the vehicles, wants the convention’s national audience to see bike taxis as a dynamic part of the urban fabric and the ultimate in green transportation.

The WSJ has written a great article on the small business opportunities of pedicabs.

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Moving via bicycles

Below is the most inspirational video proving “If there is a will, there is a way!”

The other benefit of moving via a bicycle is eliminating excess clutter.

Bike Move NYC from Nicholas Whitaker on Vimeo.

The 50 Hottest Female Olympians Of The 2008 Summer Olympics: #25 Victoria Pendleton

 

25. Victoria Pendleton

Country: England
How she’s fared in the 2008 Summer Olympics: Pendleton is an accomplished sprint cyclist, and she added to her resume with a gold in Beijing in the women’s sprint.
Click here for more pictures of Victoria Pendleton

Student gets probation in cyclist’s death in lieu of prison

Below is an interesting story in which the cyclist’s widower re-thinks the penalty on the student who killed his wife.  

From News & Observer

BY SARAH OVASKA, Staff Writer

RALEIGH – An N.C. State University student who ran down and killed a bicyclist was sentenced to three years probation today, after the cyclist’s widower urged the judge not to send him to prison.In addition to probation, Wake Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens sentenced Brian Anthony Reid to 400 hours of community service, including 100 appearances in front of high school students to talk about drunk driving, and five weekends in jail. While on probation he can’t drive or drink alcohol.

Reid pleaded guilty to felony death by a vehicle and driving while impaired.

He killed Nancy Leidy, 60, who was riding on Nazareth Street, off Western Boulevard near NCSU.

Leidy’s husband, Ross, told Wake Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens that he would rather Reid do community service.

“To be honest with you, part of me wants this kid to go to jail,” Leidy said. “But your honor, I don’t know what that would do.”

Police said Reid’s breath alcohol content ranged from 0.09 to 0.13 in the hours after his pickup truck struck Leidy. A level of 0.08 is considered impaired.

Reid turned 21 on the day of the accident. He had been drinking the night before, attended class at N.C. State that morning, and caused the accident after his class was over, his lawyer Rusty Dement said.

World champion of bicycle thieves

 

 

As a former victim of bike theft, it is nice to hear that this scum-bag is detained.  

 

From the NY Times. 

TORONTO JOURNAL

In a Cyclist-Friendly City, a Black Hole for Bikes

TORONTO — What exactly was he planning to do with 2,865 bicycles?

Toronto Police, via National Post

The police are baffled by what Igor Kenk planned to do with such a surplus of bikes.

That is just one of many questions the police and others have been puzzling over since the arrest last month of Igor Kenk, the owner of a used-bike shop here.

Mr. Kenk’s legacy now fills a former police garage with a leaky roof. Organized by brand name and mostly resting on their handlebars, wheels pointed upward, are 2,396 of the bicycles that police say Mr. Kenk either stole or arranged to have stolen.

The jumbled collection of bicycles suggests that Mr. Kenk is the unofficial world champion of bicycle thieves. But as he awaits trial next month on 58 charges related to theft and drug possession, the biggest mysteries of all are Mr. Kenk’s motives and his ultimate plan for the armada of steel, rubber and aluminum he amassed.

“He’s easily the most hated man in Toronto,” said Alex Jansen, a filmmaker who has been working on a documentary about Mr. Kenk for more than a year as part of a study of his rundown neighborhood’s transition to hipsterdom. “But I just found that it’s not as black and white as I originally thought.”

 

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Bike Part Vending Machines

Another great article from TreeHugger.com

In Madison, Wisconsin Trek has a vending machine that sells bike parts…tubes, patches, chain lube, energy bars.  What a great idea.

I carry the necessary tools and parts for minor repairs and they are heavy and usually unnecessary.  My morning commute is too early for bike shop hours and my routes are no-where near their locations.  These vending machines should be populated near high volume commuter routes.

Read more.

Improving Bicycle Commuting

Recently, I have moved to a new office building.  My favorite amenities include a storage closet and showers.  I have commuted for over 10 years and never had a shower at my place of employment.  I would usually arrive really early and wash down with a hand sink and baby wipes.  This was the bare minimum to keep up with personal hygiene.  I used to think a shower was a luxury, now I consider it a must.

Below is an article on Urban Bike Stations.  They pick-up the slack for poor urban designed office buildings.

Read more from TreeHugger.com

Priority – Bikes then Cars

Portland continues to improve the roads for cyclists. Their latest feat of street engineering is called the “Bike Box”. See the link below for the video.

Video

Innovate or Die – Aquaduct: Mobile Filtration Vehicle