Columbus Rides Bikes!

Soybean rows line both sides of the road, with a forested line of hills to the left.  At midmorning on a Saturday, a slight breeze rustles the tall weeds in the ditches — and the bicycling feels good again.  My husband, Joe, and I flirt with the improbable conclusion that we stayed in shape during the winter.  We’re training for Pelotonia, the summer bike tour that raises money for cancer research.  We’re of a certain age, the age at which we refer to ourselves as being of a certain age, and we need to train for almost everything we do.  These hills make a good start.  On our two bicycles, we form a unit of sorts. We always ride single file — Joe in front and me behind.  Joe has a great sense of direction, so he leads and I follow, with a small blinking “ taillight” attached to a vent in my helmet.  He has the rain jackets in his larger bike bag, and I keep the cellphone and glasses cleaner in my jersey pockets.  He carries the bike pump, and I have the ibuprofen.  He sets the pace, an

Even for Portland, Oregon, it was the perfect storm: a major bike collection was opening at the Portland Art Museum while the city was hosting the  World Naked Bike Ride . And that’s how a thousand nearly naked people, who paid a discounted admission price of $1 for every item of clothing they wore, came to see “ Cyclepedia: Iconic Bicycle Design ,” a selection of 40 bikes owned by Vienna-based designer  Michael Embacher , when it premiered at the museum early last month. Aside from the nudity, the event resembles much of the bike-related programming art museums are developing these days: It showcases the bicycle as an object of design, as well as personal expression. It reaches out to non-traditional museum audiences. It rewards visitors for using alternative transportation. And it’s packing in the crowds. More than 20,000 people have visited the show already, says museum director Brian J. Ferriso. “Communicating that objects of great design are in our world every day opens up

Columbus police have cited bicyclists more than 800 times in the past 18 months for violations, including riding on sidewalks, parking illegally and not having required reflectors or lights.Those don’t include general traffic-code violations, such as running red lights or stop signs.The number will go higher. Hundreds of new bicycles — and likely some new riders — will hit Columbus streets this month when the CoGo Bike Share program launches. “I think bicyclists forget they’re part of the traffic pattern and they have to obey the rules of the road,” said Lt. Brent Mull of the Columbus police traffic bureau. In all, there were 826 violations of the city’s bicycle code, which includes some moped and motorcycle rules as well, according to Franklin County Municipal Court. [Keep reading at Columbus Dispatch]

Time spent in jail sends a person into deep reflection; inspiring ways to better yourself or a situation. Well 26-year-old  Aleric  " AJ " Constantine  has done just that. Even though he only spent around 24 hours in prison, every minute was put to good use devising a very sweet revenge. He was arrested on June 28th, 2013 for serving ice cream without a license... yes seriously that is what he was arrested for. AJ rigged a hybrid refrigerator-bike for his artisanal ice cream to sell during the  Critical Mass  bike race in  Miami . [Keep reading at  Huff Post]

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  — Shared, or so-called “sharrow”, lanes meant to make traveling safer for cyclists and motorists are causing confusion on the road. Wes Hijh told CBS2/KCAL9′s Amy Johnson he was driving his bike in West Hollywood Tuesday morning when he was approached by a L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy. The 30-year-old was wearing a helment camera at the time and posted a video of the encounter on YouTube. “He just pulled up alongside me and started talking to me and told me I needed to be farther to the right. [I] pointed out that I was riding along the sharrow, which – based on my own research and reading of the laws and why they are there – that is where I’m supposed to be riding for my safety,” he said. [Keep reading at losangeles.cbslocal.com]

Getting in a crash is one of the scariest things that can happen to a cyclist. Even worse is when police assume that bicyclists are always at fault, even if they've got evidence to the contrary. The crash about to happen. Photo captured from MPD surveillance video. On a pleasant March morning in 2011, I was on my way to work, biking south on 14th St NW in the center of the right lane. As I approached W Street, I looked to make sure I had ample time to cross. The light was green. As I left the intersection, an SUV driver made a left turn across traffic, directly into my path. All I could do was hit the brakes hard. The next thing I knew, I was on my back in the middle of the street. I tried to sit up, but failed pathetically and landed back on the road. My glasses were in a mangled heap nearby. Seconds later, some cyclists stopped by. None had seen the collision, but they locked my bike at the scene and helped me to a safe place. Someone called an ambulance, which showed up

Sean Stipp | Tribune-Review Matt Terchick of the West Newton Rotary; Betsy Manderino, vice president of the Westmoreland Yough Trail Chapter; and Sam Cover, president of the Belle Vernon Rotary (from left) stand next to one of six new covered picnic tables along the Youghiogheny River Trail. To support the Youghiogheny River Trail, a part of the Great Allegheny Passage, two local Rotary clubs donated six covered picnic tables available for the public's use. The wooden tables, made with pressure-treated lumber and a shingled roof, were built and installed along the trail over the past several weeks, said Bob Hand, president of the Westmoreland Yough Trail Chapter. The Belle Vernon Rotary donated $2,000 for four tables; the West Newton Rotary donated $1,000 for two tables. “Our Rotary, Belle Vernon, is trying to partner with Westmoreland Yough Trail Chapter because we think it's a great thing for the community, for young families to be able to go out and walk an

Proposals drawn up by Lord Rogers of Riverside in 1986 showing how the Embankment along the River Thames could be turned into a public park   Richard Rogers Partnership Kaya Burgess Last updated at 12:01AM, July 15 2013 There will be a widespread ban on cars in London within the next 20 years, according to one of Britain’s leading architects, who has called for cities to be designed for pedestrians and cyclists rather than for traffic. The prediction from Lord Rogers of Riverside — who was behind the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the National Assembly Building in Cardiff and the Lloyd’s Building in London — comes as cities around the country consider restricting access for cars in their centres. Lord Rogers predicted that small electric vehicles would become commonplace across the country and said that increasing the number of cyclists will solve the capital’s congestion problems. “By the year 2033 — my 100th birthday — you’re looking at a widespread ban on cars, c

Kael Greco, MIT Researcher, monitors his own stress levels as he takes a test drive around the Boston area.  (Courtesy of MIT Sensible Cities Lab) Driving is stressful. To MIT researcher Kael Greco, piloting an automobile falls somewhere on the anxiety scale above giving a class presentation and below sky diving but just barely.  Those are the initial findings of a trial for what will become the  Road Frustration Index , a plan from the MIT SENSEable Cities Lab and Audi to measure the stress of driving in 30 cities. "Intuitively we all understand that driving is stressful, but it was surprising to see how high," he said referring to the results of nine preliminary tests where he and others were wired up with a variety of stress sensors as they cruised around the Boston area.  Greco is a graduate student at MIT and the first guinea pig for the stress sensors. He took an early morning drive around the Boston area— suspensfully documented in a slick video below —and

DRAGONSKIN from Becker Schmitz on Vimeo .

We are always being told to incorporate more exercise into our daily routines - and cycling to work is an excellent way of doing so.  And if you were reluctant to hit the pedals before, a new gizmo could provide all the incentive you need to get on your bike.  A firm has launched the Happy Ride - a vibrating seat cover that will make journeys by bicycle that bit more exciting.  The inconspicuous gadget slips over the seat of a bike and incorporates 'vibration stimulation’ as you ride. 10 per cent of adults now cycle at least once a week, now the Happy Ride seat will no doubt encourage a few more to embrace two wheels... Manufactured with a padded lining and black nylon fabric outer surface the cover, which houses a powerful vibrator, is designed to fit all seats. [keep reading at Daily Mail Online]

The bicycle is an ingenious mobility device. It gets you from A to B and lets you observe your surroundings at a leisurely pace. It is usually lightweight, and it provides an intimate visual, aromatic, and auditory connection to the world around you. In dense urban environments, riding a bicycle for short distances is often faster than traversing the same distance via car. While the bicycle has many virtues, it also prompts people to go overboard. It’s often lauded as the transportation of tomorrow and the savior of cities. It is not. It is called transportation. It is not. That’s because the bicycle is not, strictly defined, a transport device. Ever try to carry a watermelon on a bicycle? (Yes, it can be done, but how much else could you carry?) The bicycle is a biomechanical device that depends on the rider for balance and propulsion. It therefore operates under rigid limitations: the physical condition (and therefore age) of the rider, seasons and weather conditions, and terr

Saut au dessus du Tour de France 2013 from EnchoRage on Vimeo .

Girls Ride - PARIS AMSTERDAM 2013 - Le départ ! from Renaud Skyronka on Vimeo .

Dan Gutierrez, who helped write this article, took the video from which these snapshots are taken. In the left photo, Dan's colleague Brian DeSousa is riding close to the curb in the right-hand lane of a multilane arterial. That position invites motorists to pass him within the lane, and sure enough, one does. On the right Brian is in a  lane control position, which tells motorists they need to change lanes to pass. How the car lane paradigm eroded our lane rights and what we can do to restore them Not long ago I was riding in the middle of the right-hand (slow) lane on a 4-lane urban street with parallel parking and a 25 mph speed limit. I had just stopped at a 4-way stop when the young male driver of a powerful car in the left lane yelled at me, “You aint no f***ing car man, get on the sidewalk.” He then sped away, cutting it close as he changed lanes right in front of me in an attempt, I suppose, to teach me a lesson. That guy stated in a profane way the world view of

With all the Tour coverage going on, it’s odd that a large bike company may pick these three weeks in July to release the most recent version of a mountain bike line.  Why not wait a couple more weeks for all the Tour hoopla to die down, then get all the media attention you want of your new fancy projects?  Or maybe the new version of a product line is completely fucked out, and you know it will be ridiculed by the public.  That’s what I think happened with the  new Specialzed Epic 29er line released earlier  this week. Before I go balls deep into this new Specialized Epic 29er, I just want to chime in that it appears that fatbikes are officially the new fixies.   Now that Specialized is making their own fatbike  (to capitalize hand over fist once again), the fatbike has become an accessory.  I hope the guys from  Surly ,  Salsa ,  616 , etc ride their collective asses over to that beacon of deuche Specialized calls a home office, and kick the company in the col