Don't you put it in your mouth.

abandoned train

abandoned train, originally uploaded by Logan was his name-o.

found on a bike ride.

Alaskan Bicycle Racer Mauled By Bear

Sad sad sad news. linkOne of the great things about Alaska is how it can humble you. One of the terrible things about Alaska is how it can humble you.

Update: The first person on the scene was Pete Basinger, a well known Alaskan bike racer and friend of Jill Homer's. He stayed with the girl while they waited for medics, despite the danger of the bear returning.

Weird; bike sales going up.

I would like to take this moment to say, "I told you so" to all of the tens of thousands of new bike commuters. That's all.

Cardboard Bicycle

story here

Two-wheeled poodle.

link

THE GREAT DIVIDE

For those not in the know, the Great Divide mountain bike race is underway (it started friday). Jill (of Up in Alaska fame) is doing a lovely job of blogging about the event here. You can find a description of the route and event here, listen to podcasts about it here and check out the leaderboard here. From the website, "The Great Divide Race is a self-supported, solo competition following the 2,490-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Traversing Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, the route demands over 200,000 feet of climbing along it's length. Competitors carry all equipment necessary to negotiate the backcountry, restocking on food and other supplies from the small towns along the route." This year, several of the previous favorites have opted to race the Tour Divide instead, but the Great Divide is still quite the spectacle and feature's Jill's boyfriend Geoff who is currently in second place.

Bigfoot on Bike

Bigfoot on Bike, originally uploaded by robertogreco.

$4 Gas here to stay.

So says the Energy Dept. link

www.imvotingrepublican.com

Haha. link

Bike Shortages in NY

This is probably the coolest story I've heard this year. So many people are buying bikes in NY that many shops are experiencing bicycle-shortages. Story here. Seen at cyclelicio.us

Bouldering...

Bouldering..., originally uploaded by Dr. Logan.

The other side of busy bike lanes.

Previously I noted that I'm noticing more conflicts on the bike lanes. I attributed this to the influx of newbie trails users and reluctant bike commuters. But there is also a flip side to the equation: aside from all of the obvious benefits of new bike commuters (cleaner air, happier people, fewer cars!!!), I've also noticed one big change; People are actually acknowledging each-other on the trails again. New bike commuters and recreational cyclists are often baffled by the lack of courtesy amongst riders. Most notably the "roadies" that wizz by everyone else without so much as a nod or 'ello! These days though I routinely get nods and greetings all the way to work. While there's nothing wrong with cyclists being in their own groove, I do enjoy the additional human interaction.

Abduction

Abduction, originally uploaded by Dr. Logan.

Road Rage: Bike On Bike Violence

Recently, I've noticed an alarming trend. Perhaps it's due to the ever-increasing number of resentful bike-commuters, which is to say, angry drivers who are forced out of their cars and onto bikes due to the astronomical price of gasoline. Maybe it's simply because there are more cyclists sharing the bike paths (though I doubt it). It's possible that it's only a coincidence that I've seen several cases of this recently. In any case, the nasty trend I'm noticing is angry and/or spiteful words and actions exchanged between cyclists. While we see this en masse amongst drivers, and often enough between cyclists and drivers, until recently I hadn't seen many cyclists verbally assaulting other cyclists; but both today and yesterday I witnessed just that.

Yesterday as I was riding to work on the bike trail I approached a middle-aged couple taking up both lanes of the bike trail riding in the same direction as me at about 8 miles per hour. When I was about 10 feet back I slowed and said, "Left", a widely used and accepted abbreviation for "On your left" which is bike-speak for "move over and/or stay right so I can pass you." The fellow who was on the left ignored the warning so I cautiously passed between them, saying "pardon me" as I passed. The woman freaked out and yelled "Oh my God", and then, "shit!" The man, possibly feeling his alpha-maledom had been threatened, yelled "hey guy, you need to f***ing watch it!"

As the encounter was relatively benign, I chalked it up to new path users and forgot about it. But then today when I was riding home from work I witnessed two cyclists arguing because the older of the two saw the younger one trackstand at a stop sign before proceeding and didn't feel that this constituted a complete stop because his feet didn't touch the ground. Again, nothing serious, but I hope this isn't an indicator of things to come. Remember people, we're cyclists. We're the level headed ones. Don't turn the bike trails into highways. Be safe, be courteous, be human.