Reptire Bicycle Stand on Kickstarter
I have been assisting my brother for many years on developing a excellent bicycle stand. I believe he has created a simple stand that allows for easy on, easy off access. He has a kickstarter campaign now live. His goal is to bring this product to life and to fellow cyclists. Please take a moment to watch the video and share with your cycling friends.
Thanks Daily Kos for posting this article.
This kind of attitude from this WSJ editorial board member is what makes cycling so dangerous. They have an opinion on bicycles, however have never been on a bike in a city. I hope the local cyclists have found these opinionated bitches.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/03/1213450/-Bike-totalitarians-are-coming-to-get-you
This is an interesting video on pushing technology into a bicycle.
So the media is all buzzing from the admission from Lance that he doped, cheated and lied. His interviews with Oprah were aired the past two nights.
Here are my thoughts:
I have followed Lance Armstrong since the mid-90s. I seen him race pre-cancer in the ’96 Tour DuPont and ’96 Atlanta Olympics. I also enjoyed his Tour de Georgia races. I even saw him get beat on Brasstown Bald. I have read all his books and follow him on Twitter. The past two nights I watched the Oprah interviews.
Lance Armstrong was the great American story even before his cancer in ’96-97. Basically raised by his mother with difficult financial struggles, he was successful with triathlons and bike racing. He was on his way to be one of America’s great cyclists. Then cancer. His near-death cancer sickness devastated many.
He overcome cancer and was leaner and meaner. Not only was he able to defeat cancer, he could ride and compete at a professional level. Simply unbelievable.
I remember one of his first public conferences at the Tour de France when he was accused of doping. His response was too careful, he said “I never have tested positive”. He never said he didn’t dope, he said he didn’t test positive. I had my doubts about his doping since then. Yes hind-sight is 20/20, however I always thought he may be doping. The truth was he still was had an amazing come-back story (doping or not). To be able to compete at that level post cancer.
The establishment of the Livestrong charity, and his come-back story were an inspiration to millions of cancer victims, families, Americans and cyclists. Over $500M was raised for charity.
In recent years other cyclists have started to come clean about their doping from the late-90’s through the 2000’s. Lance always denied such wrong-doing. I was pissed that there was a Federal investigation into his Tour racing. Why are we spending Federal tax dollars on this? There can be no good from this digging. Let the great come-back story and Lance (the American hero) alone. Even if he cheated, he did a whole hell lot of good for a lot of people. He did a lot more good than harm.
So now the media has more news, a hero knocked down from his pedestal. What good is there with this?
Well we finally know some of the truth. The truth is ugly. The fighter, the American hero, the great Lance cheated to achieve greatness. Does this make him less of a hero? I think you can only answer that yourself, do not let the media answer it for you.
Lance did harm the cycling community by tarnishing it’s doping image. He was a leader and others followed his doping.
I think Lance only decided to admit to his doping, cheating and lying when he had no other choice.
My final thoughts: Lance is one hell of a fighter and nobody can take that away from him. It is disappointing the damage that will further occur on the cycling community. It is discouraging to the many that have lost a hero. The great memories of watching Lance in person and on tv are still there. The memories will be tarnished, however still powerful and amazing. He will rise from this. Next stage…….
Here is a pic of my commuter (Trek 520) in my office. The irony is that I have not been riding much lately because of the project schedule as shown in the background. My priorities may require some attention, like the foreground bike being a higher priority than the background project schedule.
Here is an inspirational story of a family of five touring from Kentucky to Alaska.
http://co-motion.com/blog/?p=280
Great article from WSJ on a ride where the roads are closed to motorists for a week.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895204575321080342184568.html
Annually, I travel several times to Citrus Co, FL to visit family. These trips always required packing my own coffee grinder & beans due to the lack of any coffee culture anywhere close. During my trip this week, having little hope, I searched the net for a coffee escape. I came across the website, Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters. Reviews looked promising. I asked around and heard ‘they were always very busy’.
So this morning I stopped in, and was welcomed by James & a buffet of coffee beans from around the globe. Keep the theme of ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ from reading ‘Delivering Happiness’ from Zappos.com, I purchased coffee for dad, myself & his hospital roommate. Karma was returned when James allowed one final purchase to be ‘on the house’. Great coffee, yes; nice atmosphere, check; customer service; excellent.
Buying coffee from a roaster is the same experience as buying bread from a baker, the freshness & quality are superior to anybody else.
I will be a regular customer when I am in town. I hope Citrus County recognizes & patronizes this great coffee experience.
http://www.cattledogcoffeeroasters.embarqspace.com/
Siphoned coffee is the best of the journey (brewing) and the destination (drinking). Similar to wrenching and riding your favorite steed. A siphon coffee maker is for someone who enjoys the brewing process and has a little more time to devote to it.
I just finished reading ‘Lance: The Making of the World’s Greatest Champion’ by John Wilcockson. It is a great refresher of Lance’s Tour de France challenges and why he is so successful. I admire the positive impacts he has with the cycling community, his endless energy, and the Livestrong Foundation. John Wilcockson has written a excellent book with endless sources.
One of my favorite musicians is Jack Johnson. We own almost all his albums. What I didn’t know was much about the artist. Jack maintains a quiet lifestyle in our noisy world. Outside Magazine has the following great write-up about him & his new album ‘To the Sea’
http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/201006/jack-johnson-1.html
I watched a great movie last night titled ‘180 South’. It focused on finding adventure through misfortunes, sailing, surfing and mtn. climbing. The target destination was a Patagonia.
The documentary hit a lifestyle chord with me. Growing up in the great west, open spaces became a part of me. Maybe I will release a film ‘Biking Patagonia’, stay tuned.
Here is my favorite new bicycle, a Surly Big Dummy, appropriately nicknamed “The Moose”. Surly incorporated Xtracycles components for a bike that can haul almost anything, including 3 children ages 6, 3, and 1. I made the seat platform to 1. Quickly load children 2. Eliminate the hassle of attaching a trailer & 3. Minimize parachute properties of a trailer. Let me know what you think.
From Wired Mag.
http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/10/1005first-time-trials
Spokes and Beans 