Columbus Rides Bikes!

DIY stove made from cans DIY bike panniers - cats are optional DIY soda can stove DIY tarp tent "Not only is the price of backpacking gear outrageously high, but it's difficult to find outdoor gear that exactly meets our specifications. Paying high prices for backpacking equipment, especially when it only partially satisfies our requirements, is problematic, to say the least. One alternative is to make your own homemade outdoor gear. Homemade backpacking and hiking gear. This page is dedicated to those who have done just that and who want to share their process for doing so with other folks." [ See more on  backpacking.net  ]

There's plenty of evidence for the idea that humans thrive when we have frequent exposure to nature—even when it's just a patch of greenery in the midst of a city's concrete jungle. Studies have found that, after looking at nature scenes,  people are kinder and more charitable .  They've suggested  that children with ADHD have an easier time concentrating when they spend time outdoors.  A 2008 study  even found that, for office workers, a mere glimpse of green through a window or a live plant on their desk were, on the whole, associated with lower stress levels and higher job satisfaction. A new study published last week  in  Environmental Science & Technology  underscores just how important green spaces are for our long-term well-being. When a group of researchers from the UK's University of Exeter looked at five years' worth of mental health data for 1064 participants who moved their residence during the study period, they found that those who moved

Cyclists on Market Street San Francisco Photograph: People For Bikes Cities are driving the US economic recovery, and as they do, Americans are getting on their bikes. In  85 of the 100 largest metro areas   cycling  is increasing. All part of a deeply healthy – and profitable – reshaping of urban economies. "Cities that invest in biking infrastructure are going to win," predicts Jeff Judge, a Chicago-based  digital marketing entrepreneur , who said the presence of on-street protected bike lanes was his number-one factor in assessing a city to locate in. "It's better for business, planning, infrastructure. It's better all round." After years of battling "the business community" for every inch of road space, many cycling advocates seem disoriented by the idea they might now be on the same side. But  from Denver  to  Memphis , some of the loudest voices for a move toward Danish-style protected cycling infrastructure are those who sign the

1886 was the first year of cross-frame safeties and this bicycle is delightfully basic The Ivel was the second cross-frame to be patented, in April 1886 Herbert Pausey manufactured ordinaries between 1879 and 1886 and, from around 1887 he traded as Pausey & Co at 52 Park Rd, Clapham. He patented a number of innovative devices, including a bicycle that could be converted into a tandem. One of his 1885 Pioneer Safety models had spring-loaded steering; another model was the ’Pioneer Direct-Steerer Racer’ tricycle; while the 1886 ‘Pioneer Portable Direct-Steering Racer’ could be disassembled and packed into a canvas bag. His 1889 ‘Pioneer Safety’ had a divided diamond frame. [ See more on  oldbike.eu  ]

Reza Pakravan pictured with children he met on his journey  Reza Pakravan is one tough cyclist. In 2013, he pedaled 11,000 miles (18,000 km) from the Arctic Circle down the length of the planet to southernmost Africa. The journey took 102 days–approximately 107 miles per day for more than three months.  Accompanied by cyclist Steven Pawley, Reza endured incredible hardships: malaria and food poisoning, torrential rains, blistering desert temperatures, dehydration, heat stroke.  Why? To raise money for schools in one of Africa’s poorest nations. The so-called Kapp to Cape ride (named for the starting point in Nordkapp, Norway, and the finish line in Cape Town, South Africa) was dangerous and difficult, but one aspect was painless: Reza’s bike. He rode one of the world’s finest touring and trekking bikes, a Koga Signature World Traveler with a Rohloff internally geared hub and Gates Carbon Drive. Incredibly, he completed the 11,000-mile journey on one belt. No maintenance, cleaning

Here in NYC, it's against the law to  block bike lanes  with your car. Then again it's also against the law to murder people, and we haven't quite got a hold on that one either. Ironically, the place I most often see the bike lane law skirted is down by the NYC Supreme Court Building, which has "The True Adminstration of Justice is the Firmest Pillar of Good Government" inscribed in its cornice; the opposite side of the street is a dangerous obstacle course of double-parked vehicles completely blocking the bike lane. One solution for preventing cars from entering bike lanes is the  Armadillo , a design put forth by bicycle infrastructure company  Cyclehoop . Made from 100% recycled PVC and covered in reflective stripes, these cat-sized lumps are spaced such that cyclists can enter or exit lanes mid-stream as needed, and are large enough to serve as a deterrent to driving a car over (though emergency services vehicles can of course traverse them in a pinch). [

Donnie Kolb pedals down a gravel road near Silver Lake, Ore., in June. Kolb has been organizing gravel bicycle rides for the past five years, usually keeping his events a bit on the down-low. His outings are unsupported and unsanctioned, have no entry fee and crown no winner.  ( Gabriel Amadeus / AP ) Donnie Kolb pushes his bike through a marshy section of Sycan Marsh near Klamath Falls, Ore., in June.  ( Gabriel Amadeus / AP ) In this June 9, 2013 photo, Donnie Kolb rides past a scenic view of Three Sisters mountains near Bend, Ore. Kolb has been organizing gravel bicycle rides for the past five years, usually keeping his events a bit on the down low. His outings are unsupported, unsanctioned, have no entry fee and crown no winner. (AP Photo/The Bulletin, Gabriel Amadeus)  ( Gabriel Amadeus / AP ) Donnie Kolb pauses on a long stretch of gravel road with central Oregon's Fork Rock formation visible in the distance.  ( Gabriel Amadeus / AP ) Donnie Kolb pe

  8D Technologies, which developed technology for solar-powered parking meters and the software used for Bixi in Montreal, has partnered with Alta Bicycle Share to create a new bicycle-share service that would compete with Bixi. Isabelle Bettez, left, president and CEO of 8D Technologies (seen with her brother Jean-Sebastien Bettez, Chief Technological Officer) says the company has tried repeatedly to repair its relationship with Bixi despite the two companies suing each other after 8D refused an offer from Bixi to purchase all the rights to its software. Photograph by:  MARIE FRANCE COALLIER MONTREAL — Software helped propel Bixi to early success, then sent it crashing into bankruptcy protection. Now, 8D Technologies — the Montreal company that made the original Bixi software but had a falling out with Bixi — is suddenly a key player in the bike-sharing world and has emerged as a potential buyer of Bixi’s assets. On Mon

How much time will it take to reach point X by foot or public transit? That's the question that these  elegant maps  try to answer. Rather than plug in addresses on Google Maps, you simply click on a point and see a heat-map visualization from your current location. Red means 10 minutes. Yellow means 20 or 30 minutes. Green and blue take a bit longer.The maps were  developed  by  Andrew Hardin , a graduate student at the University of Colorado. Here is San Francisco: [Keep reading at fastcoexist]

I’ve had a few bikes stolen in my life, and each time it sucks big time! In high school I spent my life savings from mowing hundreds of lawns and bought a metallic purple Trek 8000. I will never forget the excitement that I felt the day—I was over the moon!  I rode that bike all over town, every day after school and on every weekend.  It gave me my first sense of  freedom : of being able to travel outside the borders of my neighborhood. It instilled a sense of adventure and exploration that has fueled my life ever since. [Keep reading at Elephant Journal]

[Infinity Cycling]

The Segway opened the floodgates for countless personal mobility devices, with designs that range from conservative to downright crazy. And the Aeyo—a cross between a scooter, a bicycle, and a pair of inline skates—falls somewhere in the middle of that scale. The Aeyo is ridden in a standing position like a scooter, but instead of kicking off the ground or pedaling for propulsion, your feet are strapped into a pair of what look like inline skates, which are attached to the rest of the contraption with a pair of articulated legs. So a simple skating motion gets the Aeyo rolling, while steering and braking come courtesy of its handlebars. [ Read more on gizmodo.com  ]

At 420gr, these are truly the ultimate waterproof light & fast touring saddle bags. Stand alone use, or combined with any trunk bag. Perfect match with Arkel's Tailrider. • Featherweight 14 oz / 420 grams for the set!  • Volume for the set: 32 litres / 1952 cu.in 32 litres • Waterproof roll-top design • Ultralight horizontal stays kept bags clear of the wheel • Reflectors on all sides for safety • Built-in handle or optional shoulder strap • Rolls tight for easy storage • Dimensions per bag: 14.5” X 11” X 5.5” / 37cm X 28cm X 14cm • Compact rolled size 15” X 4” X 2” " I had the pleasure of testing the Dry-Lites in the perfect setting. The French "Route des Grandes Alpes" from Nice to Albertville is the exact terrain and conditions these fully waterproof and featherweight bags were designed for.A full set of evening clothes, including light shoes, rain gear, warm jacket, tablet all fit in the Dry-Lites. The rest of the quick access stuff and the occasional

From the bustling South Africa coastal town of Port Elizabeth we hopped a bus and overnighted directly North to the border city and capital of the tiny landlocked country of Lesotho. From Maseru we began a eleven day journey across the ‘Kingdom of The Sky’. Lesotho is an extremely small country completely surrounded by South Africa. One would think that Lesotho would be a miniature replicate of its surrounding giant, but that is not at all the case. Upon crossing the border we immediately felt as if we had entered a different Africa. The English language no longer gets us very far, poverty is far more evident, and, when in public, we are definitely quite the spectacle. About half of our trek across the country was on the tarred central road that careens over the mountains and crosses massive passes with names such as  God Help Me . The other half of our time was spent on an extremely rugged dirt road odyssey through a remote mountainous portion of the country that culminated with

Courtesy of Liz Patek/Flickr One of the strangest quirks of New York law is that city officials can't actually regulate speed on the city's streets. The right to set the speed limit rests almost entirely in Albany with the state legislature, a stubborn reality that has long blocked efforts to slow traffic on pedestrian-filled thoroughfares. Now, advocates and elected officials are mounting a serious push to change that. New bills introduced in the state  Assembly  and  Senate  would give the New York City Council the power to reduce the speed limit by 10 mph on residential streets. Currently, the limit on these streets is 30 mph, except where marked. It can't be lowered by more than five mph, except in school zones or with physical traffic-calming measures like speed bumps (the city has also designated a couple of special " slow zones "). [Keep reading at Atlantic Cities]

Graeme "The Flying Dutchman" Obree's Beastie Bike Graeme Obree doesn’t own a car. And why would he? The Scottish racing cyclist built a bike in his kitchen that can travel at highway speeds. Last year, it even broke a world record.  Obree is no cycling novice. In 1993, he broke the world record for distance biked in an hour: He cycled 32 miles in 60 minutes on a closed track. Another cyclist broke the record later that year, but in 1994 Obree reclaimed the title. “Winning is almost like a drug you keep needing more of,” he says. So Obree kept competing. And after winning two races in 2007, at age 42, he gained the confidence to try something few people had ever attempted: to build the planet’s fastest human-powered vehicle. It would have to exceed 82.819 mph, a record set in 2009 on a recumbent (feet-first, face-up) bike. Graeme Obree: Hand-building the fastest bicycle in the world from Humans Invent on Vimeo . [ Read more on popsci.com  ]

The announcement last year that Los Angeles would be replacing its high-pressure sodium streetlights—known for their distinctive yellow hue— with new, blue-tinted LEDs  might have a profound effect on at least one local industry. All of those LEDs, with their new urban color scheme, will dramatically change how the city appears on camera, thus giving Los Angeles a brand new look in the age of digital filmmaking. As Dave Kendricken writes for  No Film School , "Hollywood will never look the same." [Keep reading at  Gizmodo]

For Immediate Release 2/3/2014 Contact Mark Eller IMBA Communications Director 303-545-9011 ext. 115 The City of Cleveland, Ohio, has been selected to receive up to $10,000 in assistance to develop new bike facilities at Kerruish Park. Key partners include IMBA Chapter  Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association  (CAMBA) and  Cleveland Metroparks . "I would like to thank IMBA for their partnership and belief in the Kerruish Park project,” said Terrell H. Pruitt, Cleveland’s Ward 1 Councilman. “The idea of developing an outdoor mountain bike park in the city of Cleveland, and providing recreational access to this neighborhood is a significant game changer for our community. I look forward to taking this concept and making it a reality." The  Bike Park Initiative  is an IMBA-led project designed to foster the development of world-class bike park facilities across the United States. Developed in partnership with the  SRAM Cycling Fund  and  People for Bikes , the Bike Par

Get off your trainers and pull out your gravel-grinding machine of choice! This is a rain or shine bicycle ride on gravel roads through Shawnee State Forest on Sunday, February 9.   Ride Details Date and Time: February 9, at 10AM. Ride Start Location:  Click here. Lodging:  Click here. We have two route options in store for this year’s Ridgetop Ramble, so whether you are in the mood for an all day adventure with challenging terrain and elevation, or simply a tour on the premier gravel and paved roads throughout the park, there is something for everyone. Don’t be fooled, Shawnee State Forest is not your stereotypical “Ohio plain land,” all riders should come prepared with their climbing, descending, bike handling skills, and enough endurance for 4-7 hours on the bike.  Advanced Route: This is a 62-mile route with 7,200 ft of climbing. The terrain consists of gravel roads, bridle trails, double-track, and paved roads. GPS Link:  Click here  (is subject to change).  Inter

Cargo Bike Commuting PechaKucha from Robert Kalm on Vimeo .

Who says you have to lock a bike to metal? The Loop is a new rack that won't scratch up your nice new ride--and it looks pretty cool, too. There are dozens of designs for bike racks, from  David Byrne’s typography-inspired shapes in Brooklyn to  old parking meters  that have been chopped off and converted for cyclists. But they all tend to have one thing in common: They’re almost always made in steel. Designers from  The Federal , a design consultancy in Ottawa, Canada, decided to try something different with the Loop, a flexible rack made from rubber. Rather than starting with the problem of redesigning bike racks, the designers started by looking at a material they had--a new type of rubber--and wondering what they could do with it. “Once we have a new material in hand, we start exploring new applications,” says Ian Murchison, co-founder of The Federal. “We look at industries that are typically dominated by one type of material, one single function.” Continue reading at