2.28.2008

Tiny Bikes

The image above depicts a scene from the "Miniatur Wunderland" in Hamburg, Germany. Image by WV

$4 Gas By Spring


According to the New York Times, drivers can look forward to $4 gas by Spring. That bicycle looking better yet??? You can get a KHS Green commuter bike with rack for only 68 gallons of gas. Or a fully loaded Novara Transfer for only 150 gallons. Hell, you could get a Surly Pugsley on ebay for 300 gallons and ride accross Alaska like Jill!

Food Fight - A History of War

2.26.2008

Sacramento *Heart* Bikes

from the Sac Bee:

The forgiving terrain and climate create the perfect storm for a love affair with the bike in the Sacramento region...

"This is a great cycling region," said John McCasey, executive director of the Sacramento Sports Commission. "They clearly recognize that."

According to one survey, Sacramento ranked sixth nationally in cyclers who commute to work. Accounting for all the people who just get out and ride is not as easy, but the numbers are believed to be equally impressive...."

2.25.2008

The Iditarod Trail Invitational


The ITI is well under way and so far the racers are blazing along with good trail and weather conditions on their side. Jill is the #1 female racer so far and Geoff is the #1 runner so the two I'm rooting for aren't letting me down. Read the latest news here.
photo from the website.

2.22.2008

DNA from coffee cup leads to Bicycle Theif

Check out this bizarre case in which a well respected podiatrist/bike racer is arrested after being linked to a dozen high-end bike thefts via DNA from a coffee cup he left at the scene...

Masi Soulville Mixte, Milano Alfine, Simple City

This beauty will be offered in 7 and 3 speeds at $850 and $700 respectively. A bit on the pricey side for a 7 speed cruiser but it is steel, has a Brooks saddle, and it's pretty darned sexy. Seen @ commutebybike.com

Awesome


seen @ bikehugger

Okay, we saw this band.

They're called Transfer. They're from San Diego. They were awesome.

The band we saw last night.

2.21.2008

stevejobsisyournewbicycle.com/

stevejobsisyournewbicycle.com/

Bank accidentally "gives" man $5 million

Benjamin Lovell's bank accidentally put $5 million dollars of someone else's money in his account. After pointing out the accident to the bank's management, and being told it was his, he spent $2 million on gifts and "bad investments" over the next two months. Now he is being charged with grand larceny. I would have bought a two million dollar bike, and when the cops came for me, I would have activated the bike's wings and flown away! link

Logan and Ollie

Who you calling "Red"? RED!

2.20.2008

My new cookie-jar


My sister Honor presented me with this cookie jar that she found at a thrift shop the other day. Thanks Honor! Now make me cookies, I need to carb-load.

Folding bike wheel in Forbes

A collapsible bike wheel designed by a British Engineer is featured in Forbes. Wouldn't mind having one of those in my seat-bag.

Kind of like my commute to work:

Jill's Pug has cold feet?


Jill, of Up In Alaska fame is all dressed up with no place to go. After training for months and double-checking all the details, she boxed up her Surly Pugsley and shipped it to Anchorage where she's planning to meet up with it in time for the Iditarod Trail Invitational. The ITI is no biggy, just the longest human-powered winter race in the world (and it happens to take place in some of the world's most extreme conditions). The problem is, FEDEX has lost her bike. Read about her plight here and send her warm fuzzies.

UPDATE: Jill's bike has been located so it looks like she's stuck doing the race. Good luck Jill!

2.19.2008

Buddha says

I'm in the process of planning a short bike tour. Something along the coast. 3-7 days. Maybe my bike, maybe a loaner; probably can't afford a touring bike. Camping and cooking myself food along the way. Anywho, I'm going over the details in my head, wondering if all the logistics are going to work themselves out, and I come accross this quote:

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth -- not going all the way, and not starting. - Buddha ...

So I guess I'm just gonna haffa do it. Details be damned.

2.07.2008

Bad drivers hate everyone equally

As regular cyclists, we often find ourselves the victims of bad driving and baditudes from ignorant drivers; but they don't just save it for cyclists. Jeff over at bikecommuters.com shares...

Which candidates are taking oil money???


Some very interesting infographics to be found here.

Mission Impossible III: Kentucky K-Mart Kaper


A man accused of rappelling into a Kentucky K-Mart after hours is currently in jail despite a trial that seemed to be going well, before he punched his lawyer in the face in front of the judge. As the defendant eloquently stated it,
"Them are just accusations. They don't got no physical evidence whatsoever, just some guy, got caught up accusing me of being in there, and they don't have nothing else." This has nothing to do with bikes, but it's amazing news.

Share the road, or pay the price

"Reckless drivers who endanger bicycle riders would pay fines of $150 -- $500 if there's a bike crash -- under a crackdown proposed Wednesday by Chicago's No. 1 cyclist.

Mayor Daley, who once scraped the skin off his kneecap during a marathon bike ride in Michigan, has been there and done that...." link

2.06.2008

Frozen Grand Central

Life on two wheels

Thanks to Symbiosis for the image.
In the Weekly Dig today, an editorial about the Car-Bicycle-Pedestrian-Hierarchy. Basically, don't be a dick while you're riding your bike or you're no better than the drivers. Except maybe this one, who attacked an 11 year old boy on a bicycle yesterday. Looks like he isn't concerned with earning his town a Bicycle Friendly Community award like that given to NYC a couple days ago. They are at bronze level, along with Sacramento. Ogden, Utah should be at gold level after the mayor tackled a bike thief.

2.04.2008

R.I.P. Sheldon Brown

Sheldon Brown passed away last night of a massive heart attack. If you don't know who he is, you'd better ask somebody. Though I never met him in person, I (like thousands of others) have conversed with him on several occasions over email and he was always happy to answer a stranger's bike question, no matter how asinine the question may have been. May he rest in piece.

Canucks buy Cannondale

Dorel, the Canadian company responsible for such monstrosities as Pacific and NEXT "Bicycles", those $60 pieces of self-destructing crap sold at Walmart, has purchased Connecticut based Cannondale Bicycle Corp. in a 200 million dollar deal announced today. Expect Cannondale to start sucking in the near future. Story here.

Danger in the bike lane

From the Seattle Times, a story about the danger of getting "right-hooked" at intersections. Read up, and ride carefully.

Random acts of Thriller

Tom Cat

2.03.2008

Best Superbowl Commercial.

Bridgestone makes bike tires too...

Two cyclists hit by truck with no driver.

A friend and co-worker of Kent Peterson's was hit by a truck on her way to work at the Bicycle Alliance the other day. She and another cyclist were stopped at a red light (ahem) when they were hit from behind by a truck. Not terribly uncommon an accident until you consider that the truck had no driver. Read about it here and at Kent's blog.

2.01.2008

The Yuba Mundo is here...


The Yuba Mundo utility-bike is finally available for order in the US. For information on features, specs, and ordering info, go to rockthebike.com or yubaride.com. There's also a couple of child seat options being offered.