Columbus Rides Bikes!

Menace to society: a woman cycling in New York. Photograph: Thomas Grass/Getty Images If you hold the view that bikes, and bike lanes, are among the greatest evils threatening society today, you might at first have been pleased to see  this week's Toronto Sun column  by Mike Strobel, which has circulated widely online. Initially, it appears to stand in the fine tradition of anti-bike screeds such as those by the  New York  Post's  Steve Cuozzo  or Andrea Peyser , or the New Yorker's  John Cassidy . All are on the frontlines of what's been called  the "bikelash" , brave fighters willing to stand firm against the growing popularity of  cycling  across north America. (One of the most prominent developments, New York's long-awaited bikeshare program, is  due to launch next month .) Take a closer look, though, and you'll notice that something's amiss with Strobel's piece. The average bikelash commentator, no matter how dyspeptic...

With eco-friendliness becoming more and more of a thing these days, it's no wonder that many have turned to the ever-efficient bicycle. Of course, cycling in the big city comes with risks, which is why you might want to try out Cyclodeo before you head out. Dutch startup Cyclodeo wants to make a comprehensive, video-powered  resource for bicycle-loving people  everywhere. It's kind of like Google Street View, except with videos of actual bike rides being plotted out on Google Maps. Each Cyclodeo "ride" is also outfitted with statistics like the ride duration, average speed, elevation, and distance travelled. Most interestingly, perhaps, is the fact that you can examine every segment of a route thanks to the fact that everything is geo-coded. Right now, Cyclodeo will let you take a virtual ride through New York City, Copenhagen, Vancouver, Vienna, some bits of the Netherlands, and a few other European cities. Naturally, there are plans on expanding coverage eve...

Brendan Collier of The Hub Cyclery in Idyllwild, CA works in front of a warm fire. Editor’s Note:  The Angry Singlespeeder is a collection of mercurial musings from contributing editor Kurt Gensheimer. In no way do his maniacal diatribes about all things bike oriented represent the opinions of Mtbr, RoadBikeReview, or any of their employees, contractors, janitorial staff, family members, household pets, or any other creature, living or dead. You can submit questions or comments to Kurt at singlespeeder@consumerreview.com . And make sure to check out  Kurt’s previous columns . The other day I was at my neighborhood bike shop when I saw this schmucky looking dude trying on some cycling shoes. I too was checking out shoes, but only ones that were on sale because, well, I’m a cheapskate. After trying on three pairs of spendy carbon sole shoes, Schmuck seemed to find a pair he liked. So instead of putting the shoes in the box and walking to the register, he pulled out his s...

Continuing my recent obsession of combining riding with random activities, Gabe, Nick and I bikepacked up the Deschutes for a couple days of bird hunting and general fucking around.  We learned that (1) we need a good bird dog; (2) we can’t hit the broad side of a barn; and (3) Gabe doesn’t fuck around with boring camping food.  Stellar trip, the area is highly recommended – just watch out for the goat heads! NOTES: -Easy, mostly flat riding up the rails-to-trails starting at the  Deschutes State Rec Area . -The trail ends gets rougher around mile 11 (@farmhouse) and ends around mile 17. -Good camping at miles 12, 14, and 16. More photos at  http://velodirt.com/portfolio/bikehunting/

The Footloose by Mando is doubtless going to make you want to test ride it. Asserting that it is the world's first chainless hybrid electric folding bike, Korean auto suppliers Mando Corp and Meister Inc have collaborated to bring us this beautiful design. Designboom states it can go up to 18.6 miles with the motor alone, and farther with pedaling by the rider. "By directly transforming electricity via an alternator connected to the crank, power is generated directly from the user. The energy stored in a lithium-ion battery, which is then used to actuate the engine. Using an electronic control unit (ECU), the 'footloose' works with sensors and an automatic gear changer to monitor terrain and adjust the motor's output as necessary. It monitors the system for problems, which it displays via a handlebar-mounted human machine interface (HMI)." It will apparently be available in the European markets starting next year.Here is a video illustrating the bik...

Photos by DAVID EULITT, The Kansas City Star Kaitlyn & Eric Bunch both use their bicycles to commute to their jobs in opposite directions from their midtown home. They’re everywhere: riding to work, school, dinner, the grocery store and the dentist’s office. In other words, they’re doing just what Kansas Citians in cars are: getting where they need to go. While sharing the road is the law, it’s not always easy to do. Kansas City is large and spread out, bike lanes are nearly nonexistent and drivers and cyclists are undereducated about how to safely get through the morning commute. Suzanne Hogan, a founding member of the 816 Bike Collective, struggles with these issues every day: “It’s a frustrating town to be a cyclist in,” she says. “If you think about routes to Kansas City, Kansas, or North Kansas City, there’s not a lot of options.” Kansas City was ranked 41st of the 51 most-populated cities in biking and walking levels, according to a 2012 study r...

Brooklyn Brewery Mash - A trip through BK in 3000 photos from Paul Trillo on Vimeo .

A Brooklyn cyclist who got hit by a cop car was flabbergasted to find a bill for repairs in his mailbox four months after the collision. Justin Johnsen, 31, was biking on Flushing Avenue by the Brooklyn Navy Yards on November 5th when a cop behind the wheel of an unmarked car ran into him. “I had left the bike lane to make a left turn, and I looked behind me and saw that it was clear, and the farthest car was a fair distance,” Johnsen  tells the Post . But before he completed the turn, Johnsen says, "I was swiped by this car on my left side." This car was a Ford Taurus owned by the NYPD. An ambulance took Johnsen to New York Methodist Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and released. He says he didn't consider suing the police, even though the cops who emerged from the car  never apologized  for running into him. Four months later, he thought the matter was behind him, but then he received a bill in the mail to the tune of $1,263.01, which the city deman...

Businesses and their employees are encouraged to participate in an Earth Day recycling effort at EASTON TOWN CENTER, THIS FRIDAY, 4/12 FROM 10-2.  Accurate IT will have a truck parked on EASTON SQUARE PLACE EAST (behind Brio).  Accurate IT is an R2 certified recycler and can provide certified documents of destruction for hard drives.  If it plugs-in or charges up we can probably take it! No Freon containing items please and there is a $20 Charge for Tube TVs (which contains harmful chemicals and require special handling).  Schedule a pick-up for larger quantities. Contact Karen Ferris, Karen@BigGreenHead.com, (614) 560-4777 

Pedal Instead is a fenced, monitored, FREE bicycle corral located near the entrance of major events. To park your bike conveniently at a corral: Check this website for the location of our corral, or follow maps or signs at the event. Fill out a claim tag with your zip code and the number of miles you biked to the event. If it is possible you might lose your claim tag (heaven forbid), fill in your name and phone number. Grab anything you’ll need off your bike, make sure everything else is securely attached (we don’t want anything to fall off), and roll your bike to one of our volunteers. Go. Have fun. Really. We love bikes and bicyclists, we will keep your bike safe. Retrieve your bicycle with the claim tag when your revelry is complete! Consider throwing down a coupla bucks before you ride away—Pedal Instead is operated by nonprofits and we couldn’t do this without your financial support! Check out their upcoming events and sign up online! http://pedalinstead.org/event...

For the last few months, Luke and Dan, Directors and Designers at Click Industrial Design, have been working hard to bring The Original Carton Cage to the masses. A square bicycle bottle cage, The Original Carton Cage is designed to enable cyclists all around the World to enjoy their carton of milk, juice or smoothie on the go. We’re pretty sure this the only square bicycle bottle cage in the World (and if it’s not the first, we’re damn certain it’s the best). The Original Carton Cage holds a 1 litre carton of liquid AND standard bottle cage bottles – making it ideal for cyclists who want to chop and change between drinking water from their own round bottle and cartons of their favorite juice. Available in jet black, aluminium grey and pastel blue, The Original Carton Cage is easy to attach to your bike using your existing bike bottle cage braze ons or a clamp. If you don’t already own a clamp and you’re not sure which one to buy, email us with de...

PHOTOS BY TESSA BERG A renaissance in the bicycling scene in Columbus means cyclists and drivers are commuting together in greater numbers. The signs are on our roads in the form of miles of new bicycle lanes, city-built shelters and, soon, a bike-sharing program. But advocates for more and safer city cycling say an entire mindset needs to change before vehicles with two wheels and four wheels can travel together safely. Shawn Slivinski can’t remember the crash that changed his life. The manager for North Market coffee shop A Touch of Earth knows he set out on his bike in late April 2012 to run a work errand. He knows he left the market heading down Park Street. He was not wearing a helmet—odd, he says, because he almost always wore one. But what happened next remains a blank chapter in his mind, even a year later. Slivinski has gleaned all the details he can from police reports and family: The driver of a Jeep parked on the side of the street opened his door, just two bloc...

The Curb-It bicycle parking and security device is designed to be very compact and easy to install so bicycle parking and security may be readily located where it is convenient for bike riders. The Curb-It is designed to secure a bicycle parallel to a wall (or next to a curb) at a distance just far enough away so the handlebar does not quite touch the wall (1 foot).  When not in use gravity pulls the arm of the Curb-It down parallel with the wall (or curb) and the ground (or floor) so that Curb-It protrudes only  3 inches from the intersection of vertical and horizontal surfaces.  The pivot angle by which the arm of the Curb-It is mounted to the base causes it to swing in next to a wall as it drops in either direction. To park and secure a bike, the arm of the Curb-It is lifted to approximately a vertical position and a bike lock or cable is slipped through the ring at the end of the arm and around the frame of the bike as well as through one of the wheels.  ...

From MAMILs to derailleurs and sportives to saddlebags, cycling involves a whole different language. Even with a pretty thorough knowledge of cyclospeak, there are always more words and phrases to learn and for you to use. There are things you probably do everyday on your ride yet didn’t realise there’s an “official” name for it. Here’s a small selection of some of the more inventive and fun cycling speak. A couple of these come from the excellent  Bike Snob NYC , while the rest were chosen as our favourites from the excellent dictionary of bike commuter slang at  Bikehacks.  Some might make you laugh out loud, others you’ll raise an eyebrow at, and some might just make you go “huh?” Any new ones you’ve heard? Let us know in the comments? Bike salmon (Bike Snob NYC) A bike salmon is when a rider “swims up stream” – by cycling the wrong way down a one way street. Something I must admit I do myself each day for about ten seconds – but it does chop about 8 minute...

The biggest thing to happen to bicycle security since the D-lock:  infiniti3D security™ The patent pending inifniti3D security™ system will revolutionise the way you ride your bike. You can now secure every removable component on your bicycle against theft. Carry just one lock and never again worry about where and how long you leave your bike!  We've invented and designed the highest security fasteners in the world - to ensure your bike and it's components remain yours.  Simply replace the existing fasteners on your bike with patent pending infiniti3D security™ fasteners to prevent stripping of components and make your bike an unattractive target for theft. Secure anything and everything From wheels to levers, from saddles to rear mechs, from brakes to pedals, you can lock it all up using the patent pending infiniti3D security™ system!  You also secure additional components in the future, all to match your existing key. [Keep reading at Atomic22] ...

Cycling may be the most geek-friendly activity out there. You can find more gadget options here than in any other category, but we suggest focusing on the basics. A good way to start is to choose a cycling computer (with a heart-rate monitor), a cycling website, an indoor trainer, and, if you can afford it, a power meter. The Garmin Edge 500 cycling computer The best options Your  cycling computer  is the single most essential piece of cycling tech, for the roads or the trails. A dedicated computer is easier to read than a smartphone, can include barometric pressure for better altitude, and lets you avoid killing your smartphone's batteries (helpful on those days when you flat out one too many times and need to call for a ride). Aside from keeping tabs on your speed limit, a cycling computer can track your distance and location (even more important when riding compared to running), and it can pair with heart-rate or power sensors to improve your training. Skip the ol...

I had two big travel fantasies when I was a kid. The first was putting a raft in the Big Darby Creek behind my house and floating — eventually — to New Orleans. The second was even less likely: hopping on my bike and riding for hours — or even days — along scenic routes where I wouldn’t have to worry about dodging cars and trucks. As it happens, Worthington resident Shawn Richardson had the same idea about bike trails when he was young. “I remember as a 10-year-old kid biking along a short park trail on a Stingray with a friend, saying ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if these trails were miles long and you could go from town to town?’ ” Richardson recalls. “And my friend said, ‘Woo, yeah, that would be cool!’ ” Many years later, Richardson would help such dreams come true for many as a promoter and chronicler of “rail trails” — bicycle and multipurpose trails built on abandoned railroad right of ways and other routes. He was one of the founders of the effort to create the Heritage R...

Tubeless System from Stan's NOTUBES on Vimeo .

With miles and miles of new improvements, the Overseas Heritage Trail is proving that getting there is more than half the fun for locals and tourists. The millions of dollars in improvements to the trail over the past several years is turning the Florida Keys into an international bike tour destination. Montana-based Adventure Cycling brings small groups of cyclists to the Keys. The group offers a 10-day biking adventure that starts in Hollywood, winds through the Keys and ends in Fort Myers, said Jack Pettry, an Adventure Cycling tour guide. The riders carry their own gear and mostly camp while in the Florida Keys, Pettry said. The trip is offered twice a year, once in the winter and once in late fall. "The Keys have really become a destination for cyclists," said Jennifer Milyko, who maps routes for Adventure Cycling. "The conditions have really improved. Ten years ago, it wasn't as pleasant ... . The tours in the winter and fall really fi...

Last week, we received a package from the Department of Interior. Adam, my colleague, snapped a photo of the envelope and posted it on Facebook. Wow! We didn't realize how excited our supporters would be to know that the final version of the national agreement between Adventure Cycling Association and the National Park Service was finally in hand.  Thank you adventure cyclists! We are excited too. Once the agreement is signed by Director Jarvis (pictured above with me and Jim Sayer) and filed, we're looking forward to working on a number of projects, including: [Keep reading at  Adventure Cycling]

JOHN METCALFE APR 05, 2013 COMMENTS Drew Ditlefsen was pedaling his  Long Haul Trucker  cycle Wednesday on Minneapolis' Midtown Greenway  when he heard a crash of breaking glass. That was followed by a  fwoooosh! and the trail behind him was suddenly lit up with fire. "At that point I was kind of heading away as quickly as I could," says Ditlefsen, a 27-year-old delivery man for  Peace Coffee . "I had the chance to look back, and there were flames a few feet high across the pathway." The cyclist glimpsed people huddled on a bridge on 15th Avenue that he had just ridden under. It wasn't hard to put two and two together: In past trips through the Greenway, Ditlefsen has had many things lobbed at him from bridges. It's been mainly sticks and bottles, although he has a friend who claims somebody tried to drop a shopping cart on her. The Molotov cocktail was a new experience, and one that baffled him. [Keep reading at The Atlantic Cities]