Columbus Rides Bikes!

There is nothing quite like a fine well-brewed cup of coffee before…during…and after a bicycle ride. Many of my close friends will attest for my near obsessive love of coffee. In our apartment, I have a little “coffee corner” which has no less than 5 ways to make coffee as well as a small pile of gadgets and doodads (digital scale, measuring spoon, small artisanal drinking cups). At the heart of all the coffee paraphernalia and coffee making process is our grinder, the  Porlex Mini Mill . The  Porlex  is not cheap. I had lusted after one for a while, but was quite content with my  Hario Slim Mill that was half the price. However, after about 9 months, my Hario broke at the handle in a place that couldn’t be easily fixed, so I gave myself the green light for the Porlex. [Keep reading at  The Epicurian Cyclist]

Edge Touring Plus works like the GPS navigator you use in your car, only with maps and features specifically designed to help you find your way by bike. Whether you have a specific destination in mind, or just a distance you want to ride, Edge Touring Plus gives you the freedom to know you can find your way. You can even find and download rides others have completed on  Garmin Connect  and  Garmin Adventures , or share your own with the community. Find Places and Get Directions Bike-specific maps preloaded in Edge Touring Plus make it easy to get from point A to point B (and beyond) and back again. Simply search for points of interest and Edge Touring Plus will give you turn-by-turn directions to your destination(s). You can choose between cycling, tour cycling and mountain biking modes to calculate the most appropriate route for the type of cycling you do, taking you on paved roads, unpaved roads or on paths and trails. With round trip routing, you can tell Edge Touring Plu

[Xtracycle EdgeRunner]

FROM THE BIKE-OHIO.COM site Why does a person decide to voluntarily lead an event be bicycling, boating, hiking, and the like? I would say it is because they have a passion for the event and the desire to bring others into the experience of the event. Columbus Outdoor Pursuits provided the medium for transaction to occur. COP simply asks those leaders to follow some guidelines and rules for safety, risk management, and record keeping. It is a relationship where the volunteer leader and COP both win. COP has generally kept a hands off approach to events management, even events that were fund raisers for COP. For example, in cycling a ride like Rocky lead by Peggie Shaw and Mitch O’Donnell is their ride, not COP’s. Peggie and Mitch have the passion, COP provides the medium for the ride to happen, and all parties benefit from that relationship. As long as COP gets the liability release, you are generally happy. When there is no one who has the passi

"If I bring my own food, can you just heat it up for me?" And if the proprietor obligingly says yes to (1), then: "I don't know anything about cooking. Could you just quickly talk me through what ingredients to buy and how to prepare them?"   "Can I just borrow a knife and a chopping board? I know what I'm doing, I used to work in a canteen." [See the rest at  The secret bike mechanic]

I’m speeding across town, weaving in and out of traffic. I’ve already done sixteen runs. Good messengers do twenty-five, but I’ll settle for twenty. I’m tired, and it’s late. But I’m trying for that magic number. So I pedal harder. I’m pushing, trying to reach the front of the line of traffic. As I move up to take the lead, I no longer feel tired. My mind is working fast, checking out openings. I hug the curb, keeping clear of the traffic. But I’m riding too close to construction debris: there are mounds of dry cement powder on the road. Before I realize what’s happening, the hike skids out of control. I pump the brakes but still can’t keep my balance. I can feel myself going down. The impact on the cold pavement overwhelms me. I remember there is a truck behind me, but my body won’t move. My head can turn, so I twist it backward and stare helplessly at the driver seated high above me. I feel like a conquered gladiator. The driver motions to me to lie still, not to move until I’m r

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - There are many stories about pregnant women driving themselves to the hospital, but biking there? That's what one St. Paul woman did with her doctor's blessing. For many mothers, just being pregnant is uncomfortable -- but Amber Dallman wasn't going to let carrying a child slow her down. "I've always biked," she explained. "When we were younger, that's how we got around." As someone who works in public health and promotes physical activity, Dallman certainly leads by example. She ordered a specially-designed cargo bike from Holland to cart around a couple of kids, pick up groceries and drop her son, Fritz, off at daycare. "This is probably my favorite bike to ride now," she said. So, it should really come as no surprise that when it was time to give birth to her daughter, Elise, Dallman made the trip to Regions Hospital on two wheels. "I'll be the first to admit this is a little over the

Now that the  new Bay Bridge  is here, what to do with the old one...? Is the  slow and expensive demolition  of the iconic structure really the best or even most cost-effective answer? A handful of local proposals have emerged, both earnest and speculative, hoping to find perhaps at least some useful future for the now obsolete mega-span, currently just a ruin strung uselessly through the air. The Bridge should be  broken up and incorporated into local housing , some say; others, like architects  Ron Rael and Virginia San Fratello , think the Bridge should instead be seismically stabilized, retrofit with clusters of smaller buildings, and converted into a public park. 3 Indeed, several years ago,  Rael San Fratello , as their office is called, released a series of images intended not as actual design proposals for the future of the Bay Bridge, but as somewhat tongue-in-cheek conversation starters: they depicted the Bridge refit with climbing walls, bike paths, outdoor cine

Why does anyone ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Race? Why do I ride it? I have said many times, I am a cyclo tourer much more than I am a bike racer. Then why the hell are you racing this damn thing?   Hmmmm. Questions I have been mulling over for some time. Reasons for riding the gdmbr mostly fall into a few categories according to me.   1. The divide route is gorgeous, amazing, epic, scenic. It brings a rider out, OUT, into the west. Escape from society is not total, but much more than any other normal bike tour. 2. You’re a competitive son of a bitch who loves the idea of going hard and beating the shit out of your buddies. 3000 miles over 2 weeks, an epic race. Along with that are results. You were attracted to the race based on those insane folks who tore it up in years past. Your respect them for their accomplishments and results have stuck with you, and dammit, that could be you. 3. You’re a gearhead  Between the ages of 30 and 50. Hungry for an adventure. Slight

This past June I found myself on a vintage bike ride through the Loire Valley region of France: the  Anjou Vélo Vintage. Along with my good friend  Kelly , her French boyfriend  Sebastien , Jenny and Peter from the London Bike Kitchen , and about 2,500 other  well-dressed cyclists. Despite quaffing obscene amounts of the delicious local  champagne  sparkling wine the night before,  our bike gang managed to ride about 30 kilometers on vintage steeds (lent to us very generously by the organizers of the  Anjou Vélo Vintage ). [Read more at Bike Pretty]

DETROIT, MI -- It started with about 10 bikes rolling slowly through the city. They multiplied over the last three years, and some 1,600 bicyclists rode through Detroit's neighborhoods Monday night in the extraordinarily diverse weekly gathering. But the Slow Roll has gotten so big that city officials have taken notice after hearing some complaints about clogged roads. The attention could threaten to complicate the free, informal gathering. "I have nothing against bike riders, but... They're blocking the traffic quite a bit," said City Council member Brenda Jones on Tuesday. "I don't want to see them stop, but they need to know that there needs to be something in place." She said she was stuck in traffic herself Monday as the bicycle horde rolled through an intersection and that other drivers were turning to her for intervention. "There's no way you're going to ticket all of those participants," Jones sai

Pupils at Risca Primary school are upset that they are no longer allowed to bring their bikes to school (1106249) Parents say that children at Risca Primary have been banned from riding their bikes to school. Ceri Jeffries, 32, has three ten-year-olds at the school and says she is shocked the school has taken this decision considering its “eco” status. Her children normally cycle in a group with four other children, cutting the twenty minute walk down to a five minute ride. But now she says they cannot bring their bikes on site, and have to chain them outside the grounds if they decide to continue cycling. Mrs Jeffries said she understood the school bike shed was to be removed. She said: “The school is an eco- friendly school but has decided that children are no longer allowed to cycle to and from school, even though children have been doing this for years, including myself as a child.” [Keep reading at South Wales Argus]

Rapid Results Installing a mile-long protected lane on Ninth Avenue in New York City resulted in a 49% estimated potential increase in retail sales among merchants located along the path and a 58% reduction in injuries to all street users (cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers). Source: New York City Department of Transportation, Measuring the Street, 2012 [See more statistics at Bicycling]

As we've said before, a good bike shop is more than just a place to buy new wheels. It’s also a place to get your trusty steed patched up or learn how to do it for yourself (teach a man to fish, they say…). It’s a place to swap war stories about the dead-of-winter commute or receive hard-earned advice regarding gear ratios and componentry. It’s where you can find an after-work group ride, link up with a training partner, get information on the local singletrack or volunteer to help maintain it. In other words, we at The Active Times think that, at its best, a good local bike shop (“LBS” in cyclist parlance) is the hub of the cycling community. Because we love biking so much, we wanted to recognize 50 shops across the nation that embody this spirit better than anyone. A couple weeks ago,  we asked you to get involved and vote  for the best bike shops in America. [See the 50 Best Bike Shops at The Active Times]

Light & Motion has always been at the forefront of the high-powered commuter light market. The venerable Vega  came out more than 10 years ago, and at the time 85 lumens seemed more than impressive for a self-contained, rechargeable headlight. I ran that thing for years, and eventually gave it to a young cyclist who’s still using it to this day. That speaks volumes about the quality of Light & Motion products. The market has seen tremendous advances in technology, and now the 1000 lumen Taz isn’t even the brightest light on the market. As you might surmise, it’s way more light than most people need, but there are folks out there who want or genuinely need such a light. There are definitely roads in my city that are pitch black at night, but you could still coast at more than 20 mph. Head out into the suburbs and the number of similar situations is multiplied. And let’s not forget the potential for using the Taz offroad, as I have been doing extensively. I used to own a top

Driving at night – Photo by  Dennis Wilkinson Here in Canada – and especially in Ontario – you could be cruising along the highway at 125km/h in a maximum 100km/h zone – and many other drivers will still be buzzing past you. Bicycling on an empty sidewalk, or rolling through a red light at an empty intersection on a bicycle  evokes sharp criticism in the media , usually by journalists who are clinging to their car culture and have probably never ridden a bicycle in a city before. When entitled drivers chastise me about bicyclist behaviour, I ask them if they ever break the law when they drive. First they say no. But when you query them about speeding, they say “well, everybody does that. It’s harmless”. I am currently enrolled in an online university course in business ethics. While reading the course materials tonight, the text discussed how people can obey the law, but be unethical. Similarly, someone can break the law, but still be acting ethically. This is of

Going Slowly: Two Years of Travel from Going Slowly on Vimeo . The hungry cycle tourist's guide to slowing down, eating well, and savoring life on the open road. A cookbook with 50 recipes! THE BEGINNING After returning from a multi-year bicycle tour across Europe and Asia with my husband Tyler, I set about writing a cookbook for other two-wheeled wanderers.  Bike. Camp. Cook.  is the result of my labor. Despite the obvious focus on cycling, it's a beautiful food-centric journey for anyone to enjoy. For a taste of the adventure that inspired me, here is glimpse of two years on the road, condensed into five minutes of photos.   For a more detailed account, check out our award-winning website,  goingslowly.com . [Help fund it at Kickstarter]

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Photo by Aaron Teasdale For as long as people have been touring on bicycles,  people have been carrying too much stuff when they tour on bicycles. In fact, the central image most people have when you mention bike touring are the people you see with a full set of front panniers, rear panniers, and a mountain of crap — pillows, guitars, their dog — strapped on top. The eternal debate in cyclotouring is panniers vs trailers, but more than once I’ve seen people loaded down with both like they were punishing themselves for past crimes. The truth is that both panniers and trailers work great, though panniers are a better choice for road touring and single-wheel trailers for dirt. Panniers are fine for mellow dirt, but put more strain on your wheels and affect bike handling more than a trailer. Trailers are fine for pavement, but I’d suggest a two-wheeler like the Burley Nomad rather than a single-wheel trailer. Single-wheelers like BOBs require more handlebar input to balance and make

(Credit: Frankie Cropper ) Columbus appears to be over its handlebars for CoGo, the city’s newest bike share program. Another move in Columbus’s courtship of the growing cyclist population, CoGo is an obvious step towards supporting pedal-powered travel: a $2-million-dollar bike share program, with special bikes located at 28 (soon to be 30) special “docking” stations across the city, available for anyone’s use at any time of day. The program is enticing for citizens who value non CO2-emitting transportation and healthful living, or cities that generally try to stay hip to metropolitan trends. The first 300 CoGo bikes have the potential to change more than just the calves of Columbus’s public. They could be a profound step toward smoothing over tensions between classic archenemies in the world of transportation: People in Cars and People On Bikes. But first, the basics: Perks To operate a CoGo bike feels like riding a stripped-down motorcycle. Passengers sit upright in an