Columbus Rides Bikes!

I rode with Bethia and Katie from my house out through the countryside to Dawes Arboretum. Total mileage was 29 miles. Brisk with a slight wind out the north. Great ride. My wife joined us at Dawes for a walk through the trees and gardens. We left and stopped at Clark's Dining Room which has been rated as having the best fried chicken in Ohio, but they were packed and we couldn't wait. I have eaten there and the chicken is good. Unfortunately the restaurant will be closing after 91 years on November 1. : (

Stop Means Stop How do we get bikers to obey traffic laws? By Christopher Beam Posted Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, at 12:44 PM ET PRINT DISCUSS E-MAIL RSS RECOMMEND... SINGLE PAGE Heading home from work yesterday, I ran five red lights and three stop signs, went the wrong way down a one-way street, and took a left across two lanes of oncoming traffic. My excuse: I was on a bike. I'm far from the only menace on two wheels. A colleague was recently slapped with a moving violation after breezing through a stop sign. My roommate was pulled over 30 feet from our house for the same infraction. And driving around Washington, D.C., recently, I saw a cop scribbling out a ticket to a bewildered biker. more...

By Steve Almasy CNN (CNN)  -- Keith Felch is admittedly a big guy, but more than a few super-fit cyclists in Southern California have been left wondering how that dude just went flying by. Keith Felch calls his electric bike a "hill eraser" because he can ride it to work without breaking a sweat. 1 of 3 And then his wife, Mary, comes motoring past. "They stare, like how can a girl go past me," she says, laughing. It takes the other riders a few seconds but then they figure it out. They have electric motors. The Felches, who live in Aliso Viejo, California, used to drive everywhere, except when they used their bikes for recreation. That changed when they got their new e-bikes, made by a company called Optibike. Now, they ride to go shopping and to go to breakfast -- but mostly they ride to work. more...

The Real Commuter Bike Commuters: Improve Your Skills and Ride the Road with Confidence! This is a six-hour, unabridged course for those who are already reasonably comfortable with mechanicals and riding on city streets. The Real Commuter will be taught by League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructors Jamie Fellrath, Meredith Joy, and Kenneth Cohen. It will cover both on and off the bicycle exercises dealing with: cycling skills; emergency maneuvers; route and clothing selection, inclement and cold weather riding and other items a competent bicycle commuter needs to know. This lab involves riding on major Columbus arterials after sunset. This lab will be conducted regardless of weather, unless conditions are life-threatening. Dates/Time: Two sessions, October 25, and November 7, 2009.  2:00 – 8:00 pm (including a ride to and from dinner) Location: Summit United Methodist Church 82 East 16th Avenue Columbus, OH 43201-1662 Fee:  $35 Equipment required: Helmet, leg

made of sculpted alloy and bamboo, the magic flute pump is a work of art that fits in your pocket. You can use the co2 to inflate your tire in seconds or, if you have a little more time or are out of cartridges, you can pump the old fashioned way. works with presta or schrader valves. _details 188mm (7.4") 110grams (3.9 ounces) more here...

Are women cyclists in more danger than men? Women cyclists make up a far higher proportion of deaths involving lorries than men. Why? Many of the fatalities involving cyclists happen in collisions with a heavy goods vehicle (HGV). This year, seven of the eight people killed by lorries in London have been women. Considering that women make only 28% of the UK's cycling journeys, this seems extremely high. There are no national figures but there's little reason to think it is any different. In August, a 27-year-old woman died in Leeds after her bike was in collision with a lorry. more...

October 17, 2009 Registration 5:30PM Race: 6:00PM Dayton Ohio Starting location: Cooper Park