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Showing posts from June 19, 2011

London Cobra Car Show Ride Recap 06252011

Highlights 75 miles 16mph average Tim, Shelee and myself Hilliard start Dutch Kitchen breakfast London Ohio Strawberry Festival and Cobra Car show

Thursday Night Ride Recap 06252011

Highlights 19 Miles 4 riders Grandview Lower Scioto Greenway Bridge to McKinley Rhodes Park Franklinton Main Street Bridge German Village

Tuesday Night Ride Recap 06212011

Highlights Canceled normal start time and rode at 630pm to beat the rain 4 riders up, 9 riders back Hills Market Tail wind and light rain 25 miles

Testing a DIY 1x8 trail bike

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Due to some unfortunate bike-on-tree action at Mohican state park, my favorite single-gear trail bike is kaput. Tight summer funds (due to overlapping apt. leases) inspired me to dig out the frame that first introduced me to mountain biking. I'm not looking forward to running gears again; I've become quite accustomed to life without chain slap and trail-side derailer re-engineering. As this frame has vertical dropouts prohibiting a proper single gear setup, I've decided to run a 1x8 with wide ratio cassette (11-32t) and my single-speed crank (36t). The 36/32 is plenty low for crawling up hills, and the 36/11 is overkill for going down. The middle of the cassette gives a 36/21 and a 36/19, either of which are acceptable single-speed ratios. Best yet, I can get away with using a short cage road derailer due to the short chain length. I found an old SunTour SVX ( http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/SunTour_SVX_SS_derailleur_(7300).html ) which has very stiff springs for

Tour De Donut The Sweetest Ride in Ohio is SATURDAY, SEPT. 10 2011

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The Tour de Donut is a unique bicycle event, where your ability to eat donuts is just as important as your ability to ride your bicycle fast. The event is a mass start timed bicycle "race" where riders visit two "donut stops" during the 30 mile course and eat donuts. For each donut the rider eats during the ride (and keeps down) they have 5 minutes deducted from their ride time. There are prizes in several classes including the coveted golden Tour de Donut championship belt for the best adjusted "donut time". We also award the most donuts eaten in several classes, and for the speed freaks we also award the fastest bike only time. This ride is meant to be fun, and include all cyclists pro to amateur, triathletes, tourist, fitness riders, fun riders, or you can dust off that 2 wheeler you found along side the road, you are not going to want to miss this. [Tour de Donut]

Tour de Dayton is August 28th [VIDEO]

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Chequamegon Northwoods Overnight in WI by Salsa

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Want Jobs? Build Bike Lanes

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Turns out that building bike lanes isn't just a benefit for bikers. Building those bike lanes provides a big boost to the economy. As states and cities face increasingly limited budgets, tough decisions about service cuts loom. Some people might get frustrated when they see government workers painting out a new bike lane; what was sacrificed to keep those self-important cyclists a little safer? But in reality, bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects generate more than just peace of mind. They also generate 46% more jobs than car-only road projects, according to a new study. Streetsblog points us to the University of Massachusetts study, which evaluated job opportunities created by 58 infrastructure projects in 11 U.S. states. The result: Cycling projects create a total of 11.4 local jobs for each $1 million spent. Pedestrian-only projects create a little less employment, with an average of 10 jobs for the same amount of money. Multi-use trails create 9.6 jobs per $1 million--bu

A Bench With A Pedal-Powered Streetlight Built In

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Central St. Martins student Bharat Bhargava's concept urges strangers to interact with one another. This concept marries some of our favorite things: bikes, good-looking street furniture, and self-generated power. Not only does it provide a bench (always in short supply) but it invites people to hop on the attached stationary bike and actually exert themselves -- and in turn create enough juice to power a streetlight. Altogether, it’s a purpose-driven lesson in urban civics. The idea comes from Bharat Bhargava, a postgrad design student at Central Saint Martins, in London, whose goal was to get pedestrians talking to one another. “The combined functionality allows for social interaction amongst strangers,” Bhargava tells Co.Design. “Using human power, this strategy also addresses ownership issues by allowing users to pedal to power their neighborhood park lighting.” While we’d love to see such furniture installed along the streets of New York, we’re afraid that some of our resident

Packing Your Panniers

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StemCAPtain - replace your boring stem cap with something useful!

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StemCAPtain — Time to Ride…! StemCaptain is a locally owned and operated small business that produces innovative accessories for bicycles.  Our flagship product is the StemCAPtain Stem Cap Bike Clock.  It replaces the normal, non-function stem cap of a threadless style headset with an analog clock.  We also offer a thermometer, picture frame and compass, and are busy working on other model variations and products.  Please check out our website, or ask for us at your local bike store.  StemCAPtains are  very easy to install . [StemCAPtain]

Tour de Grandview is Sunday, June 26th

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Sunday, June 26, 2011 First Avenue Street Party  – Food, beverages, children's activities & live entertainment. Kids' Sprints  – There will be two age categories for both the girls and the boys: Ages 5-7 and Ages 8-10. Bike helmets and ribbons will be awarded on the big stage! Registration begins at 12:30 pm at Broadview and First Avenue. Come be part of the fun! Criterium Cycling Schedule Juniors - 11:45 Mens Category 4 - 12:20 Womens Open and 3/4 - 1:10 Celebrity - 2:00 Mens Pro 1-2 - 2:30 Kid Sprints - 4:15 Mens Category 3 - 4:30 Mens Category 5 - 5:30 Corporate sponsor exhibits along race route Courseside concessions, neighborhood parties [Tour de Grandview]

GET TO WORK by Horse Cycles [VIDEO]

GET TO WORK from Horse Cycles on Vimeo . Horse Cycles is a small one-man custom bike shop tucked away in the streets of Brooklyn, NY. Each frame is made with love and care, innovation and inspiration and is 100% unique. The bicycles are made to fulfill each individuals needs by considering who you are, and where you ride. Horse's goal is to make precision bicycles one at a time using the best possible materials while working in concert with the customer to improve their riding experience. Horse offers a small alternative to a massive production based industry by paying attention to the individual to create something that is made locally, by hand, and with no limitations. †Thomas Callahan horsecycles.com Video by Tray Nelson treynelson.com

Woodman Integrated Seatpost

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FEATURES      Fully CNC-machined from premium 6061 T6 Aluminum billet with a carbon fiber cradle and precision-machined premium titanium bolts. WEIGHT        85 g (34.9mm) SIZE     27.2/30.2/33.9/34.9/35.9/36.1/38.3mm Or upon request COLORS    Black, Gold, Red [Woodman]

The Price of Gas [Video]

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The City and Bikes: Rubber Meets Road [WSJ]

 now summer 2011 and have you noticed a change? New York City isn't freaking out so hard about bicycling. More Follow Jason Gay on Twitter Spring was a little shrill and embarrassing. There were crazed media furies about bike lanes, non-stop reports of police crackdowns, hyperbolic worries that the city was transforming into an effete Euro village. If we didn't defend our streets, the cyclists would overtake Manhattan. Mayor Bloomberg and Department of Transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan would open a leg-shaving station in Union Square. One day you'd walk down to the harbor and see the Statue of Liberty sausaged into tight shorts, sipping a Stumptown espresso and thumbing through Velonews. But then a funny thing occurred. It got warmer, more people started riding, and the mania was eclipsed by reality. [continue reading at Wall Street Journal]

The LifeCycle Tree at Comfest courtesy of Pedal Instead!

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How do we get people to act collectively, and change their habits? The LifeCycle Tree is the third of our experiments around driving collective behaviour through game dynamics, information visualization, and art. This time, we cast the act of biking not in the negative (“saving a tree”) but in the positive, and constructive: “giving life”. To give life to the LifeCycle Tree, ride your bike to Comfest this year. Park at the corral, and receive a seed. Show the seed to the eye of the tree, and you will have added a leaf to its canopy. Come back over and over again (and on multiple days) and watch your leaf grow, flower, and bear fruit. Or give life - almost literally - to the installation itself, by riding the attached bike powered generator,  thus charging its batteries and keeping it going for others to see. This is a work in progress. If you’d like to help out,  drop us a line .

VIO POV HD camera

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VIDEO - 1080p HD Video Resolution/Frame Rates : 1080p/30fps, 720p/60fps, 1080p/25fps, 1080p/24fps Video Codec : H.264 Video Container : MPEG-4  Exposure control : Automatic Exposure Control and White Balance IMAGING HARDWARE - Advanced Native 1080p CMOS Sensor Sensor : 1/2.7” HD CMOS sensor, 3.0 µ meter pixel size Dynamic Range : 69 dB Sensitivity : 3300 mV/(lux-sec) Operating Temp : -20°C to +60°C (-4°F to +140°F) Processor : 32 Bit ARM Microprocessor, 10 Bit Image OPTICS - Widest 1080p FOV On The Market Aperture : f/2.0, Relative Illumination @ Full Field 90% Focus Distance : .7m - Infinity  Field Of View : 142° (1080p), 95° (720p) AUDIO - Built In Mic Audio Codec : AAC Mic Type : Monaural Omni-directional Cable-mounted, -40dB sensitivity at 1kHz Resolution : 16 Bit Half Duplex Sampling Rate :16kHz SNR : 80dB Speaker : Monaural 8 ohm Mylar, 0.7W Max DATA HANDLING - 32GB SDHC  Max Storage Media : 32GB SDHC File Functions : Record, Playback, Delete I/O Ports : SD Card Slot, USB 2.0 Hig

Kevin Cyr - Camper Bikes

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Camper Bike , a sculptural piece built in April 2008. A stand alone piece and the subject of a series of paintings. Prev  |  Next   1/15 [Kevin Cyr]

They get along so well in our garages. Why not in our streets? [VIDEO]

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Brooks at the 2011 Retro Ronde [Brooks England]

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He talks the talk. Does he walk the walk? Or is it the other way round? Instead of the  antipasti  and  vino rosso  of Siena’s  L’Eroica , it’ll be  moules frites  and lashings of heavily fortified beer  this coming Sunday, when devotees of that exotic and near-extinct breed of cyclist,  The Flemish Hardman  gather in Oudenaarde, Belgium to pay rolling  hommage  over the potentially (but hopefully not) slippery cobblestones of the Flandrian countryside. The Retro Ronde has been going since 2007, and  Brooks  is once again an enthusiatic sponsor of the event. Participants ride their choice out of two routes; the 40km “Jaunt”, or the slightly more taxing 70km “Cold, Wet Hell on Two Wheels”. Though maybe those could be translated differently; our Flemish is a little rusty. [Brooks England]

Bicyclists vs. drivers - Why can't we just get along? [via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Monday, June 20, 2011 By Jonathan Finder and Robert Noll At 7:20 a.m. on Memorial Day, we were cycling along Butler Street just past the Highland Park Bridge. A driver seen weaving through traffic at a high rate of speed hit one of us, Robert Noll, the lead cyclist, and seriously injured him. He remains hospitalized, recovering from two full days of surgery to repair his many broken bones. Dr. Noll has endured weeks of pain, lost time from work and is facing possible long-term disability. Another member of our group, Jonathan Finder, was thrown to the pavement face-first, sustaining facial fractures and a concussion. This accident received a lot of media attention probably because we are doctors at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Clearly it has resulted in major changes not only for our families, but also in the lives of our patients, whose continuity of care has been affected. Read more:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11171/1154484-109-0.stm#ixzz1Q0gz7l8l

Bicycling’s gender gap: It’s the economy, stupid [via Grist]

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BY  ELLY BLUE 20 JUN 2011 10:03 AM This is the ninth column in a  series  focusing on the economics of bicycling. That uptick in bicycling numbers you've been hearing about nationwide? It's mostly men. A recent paper looked at cycling demographic trends and found that, on average,  nearly all the new riders on U.S. roads in the past 20 years have been men between the ages of 25 and 64. Meanwhile, the rate of women on the roads has held steady, with 24 percent of bike trips nationwide made by women in 2009 (according to the  national travel survey for that year ). [continue at Grist]

SCICON Solar Messenger Bag Sustainable energy. Everywhere.

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Solar Messenger Bags charge virtually all handheld electronics (mobile phones, mp3 players, cameras, psp, etc.) The innovative solar panel incorporated in this bag will charge a proprietary battery pack located inside the bag to supply free power, at any time. A messenger bag is a type of sack, that is worn over one shoulder with a strap that winds around the chest, resting the bag on the lower back. Messenger bags are often used by bicycle messengers, though they are increasingly becoming an urban fashion icon. [SCICON]

Red River Rally is Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

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Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 Join us in our 39th annual celebration of the fall season! We invite you to ride the valley of the Red River, climb the old logging road to Nada Tunnel, ride past wonders of nature Raven Rock, Chimney Top Rock and Tower Rock, as you climb your way up to Sky Bridge for lunch. Ride the ridges of Pine Ridge, past Parched Corn Creek and Zachariah. Finish the 38 mile hilly loop back at Natural Bridge or continue on to Lee County and into the charming town of Beattyville for the 65 mile loop. [Red River Rally]

Wabash Cannonball Trail

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Welcome to Wabash Cannonball Trail The WABASH CANNONBALL TRAIL is a 63 mile multi-use recreational trail in Northwest Ohio. It provides non-motorized access to hikers, bikers, equestrians*, and cross-country skiers. The 12 foot wide trail surface varies within the different jurisdictions, from asphalt to hard packed cinder ballast. *Some juristictions may restrict horse traffic. The trail is a part of the nationwide movement to rejuvenate former railroad corridors into linear parks where people can enjoy the beauty and solitude of the outdoors while also providing a safe alternate mode of transportation between towns and villages along the route. There are more than 15,000 miles of rail-trails throughout the United States. View the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy web site for more information about rail-trails. Portions of the Wabash Cannonball Trail are also certified segments of the North Country National Scenic Trail, a 4,600 mile long hiking trail connecting the Lewis and Clark Trail i

SUDS: Sell Ur Dad's Stuff recap

Highlights Seven vendors including Octopus Caps Pretty good crowd of shoppers filed through Vendors indicated that they sold a decent amount of merchandise Grilled dogs and burgers were available

Zigo Leader Stroller Bike, Jogging Stroller, Baby Stroller

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All the functionality of a carrier bicycle (Bakfiets), baby bicycle trailer, jogging stroller, conventional baby stroller, and bicycle in one brilliant system. Get fit. Be green. Have fun. All with your kids. ZIGO® YOUR LIFE WITH THE ZIGO LEADER CARRIER BIKE Save the world a little. Spend time with your kids. Get healthy. Reduce your carbon footprint. With the Zigo™ Leader™ Carrier Bike (or Bakfiets) anyone can do their share to make the world a better place. You’ll feel better. Your kids will love you. The Earth will smile. IN SIGHT AND IN CONTROL A concept so simple, we couldn’t believe that no one had thought of it: instead of towing kids behind a bike in a baby bike trailer or on a baby bike seat, out of sight and exposed to danger, why not put them in front of the bike where parents can see them? The Zigo™ Leader™ allows children to ride in full view of the pilot. No more awkward twisting around to see a rear-mounted baby bike seat or baby bicycle trailer. ONE BRILLIANT DESIGN, FO

ElliptiGO - It's a cross between an elliptical machine and a bike.

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From the description page: What is the ElliptiGO elliptical bicycle? At its core, the ElliptiGO 8S is a fitness device that emulates running outdoors without the associated impact. It was designed by runners to be the ideal low-impact substitute for running. We believe it is the ideal cross-training device for healthy runners and the best replacement for running for injured runners. It delivers an exercise experience that is closer to running than anything else available today. Who is the ElliptiGO for? The ElliptiGO has some unique characteristics that make it a great solution for a wide variety of people. Obviously, running is near and dear to our hearts, and the ElliptiGO was designed in particular for cross-training and injured runners. However, most of our customers are not runners. They are people who want a comfortable, fun, efficient, low-impact, and weight-bearing exercise that they can enjoy outdoors. The ElliptiGO delivers on each of these conditions in a way that no

The more you ride your bike, the less your ass will hurt. [via Surly Blog]

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Thursday, June 16, 2011 posted by Skip Bernet Some answers to just about any bike forum post I’ve ever read If you think your bike looks good, it does. If you like the way your bike rides, it’s an awesome bike. You don’t need to spend a million dollars to have a great bike, but if you do spend a million dollars and know what you want you’ll probably also have a great bike. Yes, you can tour on your bike – whatever it is. Yes, you can race on your bike – whatever it is. Yes, you can commute on your bike – whatever it is. [continue reading at Surly Blog]