Double the fat: 616 Bicycle Fabrication tandem [16incheswestofpeoria]

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]

Yay Bikes! Year of Yay 13.1 ride TODAY! 1030am register, 11am roll Goodale Park shelter #letsride

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 athttp://yaybikes.com/membership/ [Facebook event]

Beat The Train In Detroit 2012

Lance Armstrong doping interview with Oprah Winfrey

Route66 by Bicycle : Pedaling the Mother Road (Intro)

How Bike Corrals Expand New Yorkers’ Access to Businesses [StreetsBlog]

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 Assembly districts saw car ownershipincrease between 2 and 3 percentage points in the 2005-2009 Census numbers.)

[Keep reading at StreetsBlog]

Physicians Call for More Bike Lanes, More Quickly [Torontoist]

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 falling behind its own targets for bike-lane expansion (set in the 2001 bike plan), and for removing lanes even as major cities like Montreal, New York, and Chicago add dozens of kilometers of new bike thoroughfares each year. Citing the six cycling fatalities and thousands of injuries that have occurred in Toronto in 2012 alone, Svoboda said that what we usually describe as accidents “could also be described as a failure by the City to protect its residents and to build a healthy city.” He urged councillors to consider the preventative benefits of cycling and active living in general. “Cardiovascular health, mental health, insomnia—all these things are treated with exercise…this is a public health issue, and an issue of primary care,” said Svoboda.

[Keep reading at Torontoist]

Is This Solar-Powered Half-Electric Bicycle With A Roof The Future Of Transportation? [FastCompany]

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 atOrganic Transit, the startup behind The Elf. The novelty--combined with the high price of gas, and need for more diverse solutions to environmentally friendly commuting--made the Elf a hit with the Kickstarter community who threw $225,789 at the product, more than twice its goal of $100,000...

Keep reading at FastComapny -->

A Glowing Messenger Bag To Keep Cyclists Safe On City Streets [FastCompany]

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 completely removable.

Halo Zero can be pre-ordered on Kickstarter now for $122; when it goes on sale more widely, it will cost $150. That’s consistent with pricing for other Rickshaw bags. If you like the style of the Halo Zero but don’t want the LED, Rickshaw sells the design in theZero Messenger Bag collection. And if you just can’t wait for the Kickstarter product to be shipped, Halo sells its belts here.

FastCompany

The 'Prius of bicycles' switches gears by reading your mind [CSM]

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 feel to shift with your mind."

PXP is a joint venture of Deeplocal; Parlee Cycles, a bike manufacturer that handcrafts carbon-fiber bikes; and Toyota, maker of the Prius hybrid car.

[Keep reading at Christian Science Monitor]

Bikes share space with cars at Detroit auto show [salon]

EnlargeA 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 focus of presentations during this week’s media previews at the North American International Auto Show, but they’re often used in marketing cars.

“Consumers that may be not that active or may not even have bicycles themselves are going to associate that with an active lifestyle, an outdoor lifestyle, a healthy lifestyle,” said Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of the Edmunds.com auto website.

[Keep reading at salon]

kindness of strangers [teaching cancer to cry]

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 gotten a chance to actually RIDE the prototype Tight Ass that I finished over the weekend up in Vermont with the parts that Zach and Todd put together (not a shabby build in the end!).  I realized that I had a one day window before the trails got WORSE and I’d have to wait a few MORE days for things to dry out.   “I don’t have time for this,” I thought, and decided that I should pull on some tights and get on the train.  I headed up to Pleasantville station (you remember pleasantville..  shudder), and rode the mile and a half to the Graham Hill parking lot.  On the way, I noted that my seat wasn’t quite high enough, and that my rear tire felt a little low.  Rather than ride straight into the woods, I decided to pause in the parking lot and tune up the prototype.   The seat was no problem, of course.

[Keep reading at teaching cancer to cry]

An Overlooked Survival Tool: The Bicycle [Good]

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]

Bye bye tubes [While Out Riding]

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 puncture wounds, you can inject in a few globs of sealant. If a goathead or thorn worm its way through your tyre, this sealant reacts with the air, plugging the hole. A few strokes of bike pump and you’ll be ready to roll again.

Better than this though, for various reasons, is moving over to a tubeless tyre system. To anyone unfamiliar with the concept, it’s basically a tyre that doesn’t require a separate inner tube to hold its pressure. Instead, the bead of the tyre presses against the lip of the rim to create a seal, secured in place with the addition of some sealant.  Again, puncture = air, and air = seal. Clever stuff. There’s several brands around to choose from, the most popular being Stan’s Notubes. You can even make your own with stuff like liquid latex, water and glitter. Whichever brand you use, you’ll need to top up your tyres occasionally, as the sealant dries out over time. A small price to pay for a puncture-free existence.

[Keep reading at While Out Riding]

ANIMAL IMUNDO [VIDEO]

Mk Of ANIMAL IMUNDO from imundo on Vimeo.

Bike Rack - Trophy: Deer

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]

Brave driver confronts Portland’s rabid cyclists [Grist]

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]

Getting There: Separated bike lanes for Austin on track [statesman.com]

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 Beaudet, told me.

[Keep reading at statesman.com]

Bicycle Ice Drifting [VIDEO]

Lakewood may consider banning quadricycle from city streets: Road Rant [cleveland.com]

View full sizeDominic "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 Rantwrote about the case after Latessa contested the citation.

[Keep reading at cleveland.com]

Give Up That Dinky Bell And Install A 112-Decibel Car Horn On Your Bike [FastCompany]

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 to give bikers a horn that makes a more urgent sounding din. The device delivers warning to cars, pedestrians, and other bicycles alike in a 112-decibel honk that sounds startlingly like a car. As the project’s founder Jonathan Lansey explains on his Kickstarter page:

Drivers react to car horns before they even know where the sound is coming from. A driver that gets beeped at while backing out of a driveway for example, will immediately brake. These kinds of reflexive reactions are perfect to keep cyclists safe. Some motorists don’t realize that their driving habits can be dangerous for cyclists. Drivers will learn to be more aware of cyclists after a Loud Bicycle horn is honked at them.

The 23-ounce horn--created by Jonathan Lansey, a research engineer and an Awesome Foundation trustee, and engineer Andrew Lansey--easily snaps onto the handlebars, is activated with a button, runs on rechargebale batteries and remains undeterred by wet or cold weather.

In his Kickstarter video, Jonathan calls the fear of cars "a helpless feeling. It actually stops a lot of people from biking in their cities." If biking more in 2013 is a New Year’s resolution, perhaps the Loud Bicycle horn could be the piece of gear you need to help you stick to your goal.

More photos at FastCompany

Bremen Gravel Grinder Sunday Ride 01132013

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

FOR SALE: Kona Kapu Steel Road Bike - Size 53 / 54 [Craigslist]

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]

Bremen Gravel Ride Report 011213

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

Jingle Cross Rocks 2009 photos - Looks like fun!

"The Helmet" by Zoomer Gear™

        

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]