Columbus Rides Bikes!

You’re likely to see just about any kind of machine at the Midwest Tandem Rally, held this year in Middleton, Wisconsin, next door to Madison. Old, new, steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber frames. Tandems, triplets, quads, quints. Upright bikes with two wheels, recumbents with two or three. [Keep reading at 16incheswestofpeoria]

January's theme is Hot Wheels! We'll be stopping at various local donut shops for some food and warm beverages. Yum! A YEAR OF YAY! is a series of 12 tours on the streets of Columbus to get people out riding bikes and helping to support our community and small local businesses. You'll be amazed at what you'll discover! Tours start from the Goodale Park open-air shelter, near the playground. 1030am register, 11am roll. HELMETS are *strongly* encouraged on all YB! rides. LOCKS are also useful at our stops. All YoY rides are FREE for Yay Bikes! members and $5 for everyone else. Membership is only $25 and helps support bicycling advocacy in Columbus. Become a YB! member at http://yaybikes.com/ membership/ [Facebook event]

A quick note about the new bike corral on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, which got a vote of approval from the local community board after hundreds of signatures were gathered in support of it. The  Prospect Heights Patch  reports that two local residents see the on-street bike parking as a symbol of gentrification and have started a petition to get rid of it. If you take a look at the numbers for car ownership and bike ownership, though, it seems pretty clear that more people are going to get some use out of this space as a bike corral than as car parking space, whether you’re talking about long-time residents or newer ones. Photo:  Amy Sara Clark/Prospect Heights Patch According to the 2000 Census, the car ownership rate in this City Council district is just 33 percent [ PDF ], far below the citywide rate of about 46 percent. While the neighborhood may be different today than it was in 2000, these car ownership rates haven’t changed much. (Nearby Assembl...

Tomislav Svoboda (right) sits with colleagues during a press conference at Toronto City Hall. A group of physicians from St Michael’s Hospital are calling for more progress on the City’s bike plan—and, as part of that push, they’re standing in solidarity with Dr. Tomislav Svoboda, a colleague who was  arrested in November  for obstructing the now-infamous removal of the Jarvis Street bike lanes. At a press conference this morning, Svoboda released an open letter signed by 22 physicians. It asks city council to “change lanes and save lives,” by speeding up the installation of bike lanes throughout the city. Svoboda will appear in court tomorrow afternoon to face criminal charges of mischief and obstructing a peace officer for his act of civil disobedience. He’s hoping to avoid a criminal record by offering to perform 50 hours of community service—fittingly, with local advocacy group  Cycle Toronto . Svoboda, at his press conference, scolded city council for fa...

The Elf, which just finished a massive run on Kickstarter, combines the best elements of an electric car, a motorcycle, and a bicycle, and it’s manufactured right here in the U.S. There’s something for everyone to love. It’s part bike, part car, part solar power, part human power. And--thanks in part to a massively successful  Kickstarter drive  that ended this week--it’s headed to a street near you. The Elf  is what’s called a  velomobile , a pedal-powered mini-car, typically in the design of a recumbent tricycle with a shell over it to protect you from the elements. While they’re fairly popular for commuting and biking with cargo in bike-obsessed parts of the world like Northern Europe, if you haven’t heard of them yet, don’t sweat it. “The U.S. market is really unaware of this type of vehicle--of velomobiles--and we are kind of bringing it to the masses,” explains Alix Bowman, director of communications at Organic Transit , the...

There’s no need to carry your lights around when you’ve got the Halo Zero, which will make sure drivers are very, very aware of you. A general rule of thumb for cyclists and pedestrians traveling in the dark: you can never be too lit up. You might think that car barreling down the street sees your bright shirt or bike lights, but they may not. Hence, the Halo Zero messenger bag--a bag illuminated by ultra-bright LEDs that come in an assortment of colors. A product of popular San Francisco bag company  Rickshaw Bagworks  and  Halo Belt Company  (their original product:  an LED belt) , Halo Zero comes with a main compartment that can fit a laptop, two front pockets, an adjustable shoulder strap, and an LED that comes in red, green, blue, and yellow. The light, which is embedded in a polyurethane fiber-optic strip, lasts for 60 to 75 hours of flashing or 20 hours in "solid" mode. If you ever get sick of it, the light is complete...

Parlee Cycles's new bike looks ordinary enough, but the helmet gives it away. Plastic tentacles reach down from the headgear, pressing metal sensors against the cyclist's scalp. The PXP concept bike is a joint product of Toyota and Parlee Cycles, in Beverly, Mass. It has an in-helmet shifter that can read a rider’s neurotransmissions. John Watson/Toyota Enlarge This snug but comfortable helmet has a secret power. It reads minds. Its array of neurotransmitters sends signals to a smart phone attached to the bicycle's handlebars, which then connects to the gear system. With a little training, a cyclist can change gears with a thought. One kind of brain wave commands the bike to downshift; another causes it to shift up. "Sounds kind of crazy, right?" says  Patrick Miller , senior creative engineer at Deeplocal, the company responsible for the digital end of this Prius X Parlee bicycle (PXP). "We underestimated how magical it would ...

Enlarge A bicycle is shown perched out the rear and rooftop of a Veloster coupe.at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. Transportation of the two-wheeled variety is sharing the floor at the auto show in Detroit along with the latest cars, trucks and concept vehicles. Bikes weren't the focus of presentations during this week's press previews, but they're often used in marketing cars. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Credit: AP) DETROIT (AP) — Transportation of the two-wheeled variety is sharing the floor at the Detroit auto show with the latest cars, trucks and concept vehicles, a nod to the potential marketing boost that bikes may offer for automakers. Some, such as those at Subaru’s display, are shown just as accessories on vehicles. Subaru has bikes with its Outback wagon, which is aimed at outdoor enthusiasts. Others, such as the electric-powered bicycle displayed by minicar maker Smart display, are for sale. Bikes weren’t the ...

I realized yesterday just how thin a thread I’m hanging from*.   I was standing in the Graham Hill parking lot, 20 feet from the beginning of the trails, with a pile of disorganized prototype bike at my feet.  The bike was upside down, the back wheel was off, and the entire contents of my back pack were strewn around the scene.  It was when I realized the spare tube I had with me had a big gash in it, that something snapped.  I had a minor meltdown.  A semi controlled melt down.  I looked around for something to break, and ended up just throwing my hand pump at the ground.  Twice.  For emphasis. I’m trying to figure out the right way to tell this story without boring the non bikers to tears with technical talk.  I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat, feeling crappy and in pain.  The following day (today) promised to be gross and wet and sleeting (and it is).  The trails have been wet and muddy and I hadn’t yet ...

Before Hurricane Sandy took out power, subways, buses, and some roads this week, New Yorkers stocked up on food, water, duct tape, flashlights, and batteries. After the storm, they stocked up on bicycles. An overlooked survival tool, the bike has become the only realistic mode of transportation for thousands of residents of the nation’s densest and most populous city. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. From post-Sandy New York to rush-hour in Jakarta, the bicycle steps up where infrastructure falls short. It’s narrow enough to squeeze through traffic, efficient and fast enough to cover lots of ground, and simple enough that just about anyone can operate and maintain one. Consider this wise passage from the Zombie Survival Guide, about the value of the bicycle for survivors of the zombie apocalypse (which the  CDC would like to remind you  can work as an analogy for just about any disaster situation): [Keep reading at GOOD]

More semi-nerdish gear talk, I’m afraid. A persistent cold and rattly lungs have delayed my travels plans – I’ll be heading off for a few days of Arizonan bikepacking very soon though, hopefully returning with a story or two to tell. In the meantime, I’ve been inspired by nearly-neighbour  Gypsy by Trade , and his pursuit to fine-tune his tubeless fat tyre conversions. Nick and an ever growing legion of fat bike riders are doing goathead-battle along Albuquerque’s river trails. They seem to be winning. When it comes to prickly things, Santa Fe isn’t so different – indeed, the same could be said for the whole of the South West. Devil’s eyelashes, as goatheads are more poetically called (not that there’s anything romantic about them) mine the bike paths around town. It’s not uncommon to discover a dozen of these vengeful thumb tacks clinging tenaciously to your tyres, should you inadvertently stray off trail. To avoid a lifetime of patching inner tubes peppered with punctu...

Mk Of ANIMAL IMUNDO from imundo on Vimeo .

Iconic deer head silhouette crafted from solid steel. Soft touch plastic coating that will not damage your bike. Easy installation, screws into any masonry or brick wall. Fixings and instructions supplied. Designed and manufactured in the UK. [OutlineWorks]

At last, someone is doing something about the horrifyingly dangerous traffic situation in this country! That’s right, there is finally a movement to make it more difficult to ride your bike on city streets. I know, I know, Grist Reader, you have been clamoring for it for years. Sure, most of the nation’s multi-trillion-dollar freeway system already bans bicycles, and the vast expanse of the American landscape remains pleasantly bike-lane free, but still,  U.S. roads are way too bike friendly , and more can be done to keep these pedal-powered menaces off the road. Witness Portland, Ore.: A series of collisions between cyclists and cars has prompted the city to close a turn-lane section of N. Wheeler Ave. The resulting detour is estimated to add between 30 and 45 seconds to commuters’ daily trips. That’s as much as 15 minutes a month — and it’s 14 minutes and 59 seconds too much for businessman and do-good(ish)er Bob Huckaby. [Keep reading at Grist]

I spent an hour of the newspaper’s time Thursday at the track. The cycle track. That’s the new two-way, buffered bikeway on Bluebonnet Lane and Melridge Place, which runs about seven-tenths of a mile from near Rabb Road (up the hill from Zilker Park) to near South Lamar Boulevard. The track, installed by the city of Austin a couple of months ago, is a harbinger of what is likely to be many such segregated bike lanes around the city. Right now, Austin has three of them — Bluebonnet, Rio Grande Street for five blocks near the University of Texas and the off-street portions of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway. But another is under construction on Barton Springs Road, the Rio Grande track will be extended another four blocks, and more are planned over the next year or so for Rainey Street, South Congress Avenue south of Live Oak Street and Berkman Drive in Mueller. The city is working on an overall network of “low stress” bicycle tracks, the city’s bicycle program manager, Annick Beaude...

View full size Dominic "Vinnie" Latessa bought this quadricycle to take his 10-year-old son, Tyler, for rides. Lakewood officials question whether it belongs on the street and and may take action to prohibit it from the road. Lisa DeJong, Plain Dealer file   Nothing in Lakewood's law book forbids Dominic "Vinnie" Latessa from pedaling a bulky four-wheeled vehicle on city streets . . . at least for the moment. Mayor Mike Summers said he will ask City Council to close a legal loophole that allows the slow-moving quadricycle to mix with traffic. The soon-to-come request comes in response to a Lakewood Municipal Court ruling that there is not a "clear prohibition" against Latessa riding the golf cart-sized contraption on roadways. Police ticketed Latessa in September for operating a "toy vehicle" in the street as he pedaled the quadricycle along Madison Avenue at Ridgewood Avenue. Road Rant wrote about the case  after Latessa contested th...

The aptly named Loud Bicycle is a project that’s creating a horn for bicyclists that lets them be as loud as cars, so cars treat them with more respect. Despite a proliferation of bike lanes and other urban design interventions aimed at increasing bike safety, bicyclists face more danger on the roads than drivers by design: they’re more exposed to traffic, they lack seat-belts and airbags, and they’re harder to see. So you’d think that their horns--that last resort for vehicles entering dangerous situations (or impatient taxi drivers) to alert others of their presence-- would be easier, not harder, than a car horn to hear, since they’re even more essential for a biker’s safety. Sadly, the tinny tinkle of the average bike bell, for anyone who’s ever heard it, is not exactly ear-shattering and would maybe only succeed at stopping traffic on some rural thoroughfare, unpolluted by noise. But a bluntly named Kickstarter project  Loud Bicycle  aims t...

Highlights Roger and I rode the first loop of the Bremen Gravel Ride organized by Crook's Cycle Right 24 miles 1600 feet climbing Mix of wet clay and gravel roads and paved roads Lunch at Bremen Cafe

2009 Kona Kapu Steel Road Bike with Chromed Lugs - Size 53 / 54 - $1300 Beautiful special edition steel bike with chromed lugs and Dedacciai SAT Bronze-Welded Cromoly Frame. Great to excellent condition. This frame is very light. Approx. 700 road miles. Full Shimano Ultegra 10 speed drive train with long reach brakes. Clearance for 28 mm tires. Fender and rear rack mounts. Mavic open sport wheels. Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires. Shimano road pedals and water bottle cages (not shown) are included. Original MSRP $2300. Professionally maintained by Paradise Garage. This bike is clean and ready to ride. Only serious offers please.  Specs: http://www.konabikeworld.com/09_kapu_u.cfm http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2009&Brand=Kona&Model=Kapu&Type=bike#.UOUjOm9JM1I [Craigslist]

13 Riders at start, 11 completed first loop.  First loop 26 miles (bonus miles--we got lost!), 2415ft of climbing.   Temps in low 50s at start, rose into low 60s.  MISTY Lots of mud, lots of hills, lots of fun.  More deer and dogs than cars :) 7 for lunch at Bremen Cafe. 5 riders did second loop, another ~20 miles and ~1300ft of climbing. ~Eric T  John Crook from  Crook's Cycle Right

          Exclusively for pets!  Made of high impact ABS plastic  the same plastic used in construction hard hats. Designed with safety and comfort in mind, "The Helmet" can protect a pet's head from wind, windblown objects and other irritants when riding on a motorcycle, in a car, truck or boat. Excellent for blind dogs or any pet that requires protection from minor head trauma when bumping into things. Does your dog have stand-up ears?  Not to worry....."The Helmet" was designed so that it does not rest flat on the head.  The customizable foam pads that are included fit between the ears, not over them.  This prevents "The Helmet" from pushing the ears flat to the head. The dual adjustable chin strap lets you custom fit "The Helmet" for almost any pet dog, cat or guinea pig.   Available in  "Bone" White, "Wet Nose" Black and New "Panting" Pink. [Zoomer]