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 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.
Thanks to Carlton Reid @carltonreid for the following link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places
I commuted yesterday, first time in awhile. I saw a fox within the 285 perimeter of Atlanta, only 5 yards from me. Good start to regaining lost mojo.
Everyone needs an intern or two.
Interesting product? Anyone ever seen them?
http://www.toxel.com/tech/2009/07/10/led-bike-wheel-video-display-system/
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.
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.
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.
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
![[Pedicab]](https://i2.wp.com/s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-AS124_RICKSH_20080825190811.jpg)
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.”
