Columbus Rides Bikes!

The California Historical Society recently posted a batch of cycling-themed imagesfrom their collections on Flickr. While some of the ephemera is gorgeous (and don’t miss this studio portrait of “Miss Valentine Conwell, age 3 year and 4 months, the youngest cyclist in the world”), I like these photographs of groups of cyclists on outings best. While some of these images are undated, almost every cyclist pictured has a high-wheel bicycle, a type of bike with a big leading front wheel and a smaller stabilizing rear wheel. These were commonly used in the late 1870s and the 1880s, before the invention of the so-called “safety” bicycle in the early ‘90s. (This cyclists’ map of California, published in 1896 and bordered by advertisements for cycle-dependent businesses, shows the explosion in popularity that came with that advance.) Bicycle clubs formed in the late nineteenth century were social organizations, meant to bring together people with interests in the new sport. Historian

Bike bell uses Bluetooth Low Energy to connect to a cyclist's smartphone When a cyclist walks away, they break bluetooth connection to the bike App will automatically drop a pin on map so they can later locate the ride The bell even rings out loud as cyclist’s smartphone gets close to location Device is currently a prototype and there are no plans to commercialise it If you thought Amsterdam was a bike-friendly city, then think again. Each morning, the region’s train stations become swamped with a tide of wheels and frames. And each evening, confused cyclists attempt to pick their way through the mass of metal in an attempt to find their ride in the crowded racks. Now, a Dutch duo has invented a gadget that they claim will make finding bikes easier during the daily commute. Scroll down for video +6 A Dutch-due has come up with a gadget that they claim will make finding bikes easier during the daily commute. Their device comes in the shape of a GPS bicy

[Story over at Engadget]

SAVE THE DATES FOR CBUS 3 FOOT LAW SUPPORT - Your participation is critical for passage of a citywide 3' passing law! Columbus City Council is about to consider a 3' passing law, and we need to show our support. Wear your bike helmet and join Yay Bikes! in Columbus City Council Chambers on these dates: Mon, June 16, 5pm = 1st reading of the legislation Tues, June 17, 5pm = Public hearing Mon, June 23, 5pm = Council votes! We applaud the City of Columbus for working with Yay Bikes! volunteers and staff to draft legislation requiring motorists to leave at least 3' of clearance when passing bicyclists. In the meantime, watch  Yay Bikes!  website for details and directions. Feel free to contact Catherine with questions about the legislation or this process. Please become a member or renew so that Yay Bikes! can continue this type of bicycle advocacy.

©  NITC Lloyd wrote up a great article yesterday  summarizing the epic bike protected bike lane study that just came out  from the National Institute for Transportation and Communities. I'm going to dig in a bit more on one point – the explosive growth in bicycling on streets with two-way protected bike lanes. And I'll also examine some criticism of these bike lanes. First of all, just to be clear what we're talking about, above is a cross section of a street in Austin, Texas, with protected two-way bike lanes. Here are some before and after pics of this street as well: ©  NITC While bicycling increased quite a lot on all streets studied where  protected bike lanes were added, but it really exploded on two of the streets where two-way bike lanes were added. In the case above, there was even a conventional bike lane in place before this two-way one was created, making the growth that much more impressive. ©  NITC Before discussing why this type of bike facil

Green Apple Books's Pete Mulvihill. Photo by Nate Keck. At first thought, it seems crazy to remove auto parking from a neighborhood where you can rarely find a parking spot. But as more Americans use bikes for their daily errands, more retailers are thinking twice about their assumptions — and realizing that once biking becomes easy and comfortable, busy neighborhoods are actually the  perfect  places to swap out auto parking. The reason is simple: cars don't buy things. People do. And square foot for square foot,  bike parking is more than three times more lucrative than car parking as a use of precious real estate. [Keep reading at People for Bikes]

Bicycle Tourism Profile: Thunder Island Brewery from Russ Roca on Vimeo .

a nomads life from showmetheworld on Vimeo .

Clothes can certainly say a lot about a person's preferred style, but photographer  Sam Polcer  has found a new way to gauge one's sense of style—through their bikes. He captures the diverse and eclectic style of cyclists in New York City for his book titled New York Bike Style , documenting these fashionable people and their varicolored/shaped modes of transportation. Share Tweet Quaddafi rides a custom single-speed tall bike photographed at Hudson St. and West 13th St., Manhattan going to Pastis. Share Tweet Brian (with Fritz and Gromit) rides a Bullitt 11-speed cargo bike from Copenhagen photographed on North 6th st. and Wythe Ave., Brooklyn cruising around Williamsburg. Share Tweet George rides a Brooklyn Bicylce Co. Driggs III 3-speed bike photographed at Crosby St. and Grand St., Manhattan going to meet a client in SoHo. Share Tweet Chandra rides a Surly Steamroller fixed gear bike photographed at Doyer St. and Pell St., Manhattan going to buy

Tourists riding bikes on busy streets: not a recipe for carnage after all. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images One year ago, New York City launched a bike-share program, and pundits predicted a safety nightmare. “The most important danger in the city is not the yellow cabs, it is the bicyclists,” raved the  Wall Street Journal ’s Dorothy Rabinowitz in a segment titled “ Death by Bicycle .”  The Daily Show ’s Jon Stewart offered a similarly blunt assessment: “ A lot of people are going to die .” The bike-share program did give him an idea for a business, though: “Jon Stewart’s Street Brain Material Removal Service.” A Rutgers professor got more specific. In a New York Post story headlined, “Citi Bike ‘Heading’ for a Fall,” he predicted that  cyclist fatalities could triple  in the program’s first year, from 20 to 60. It has now been a full year since the first foolhardy tourists began menacing the city’s streets in those fat blue Citi Bike bikes. Riders have taken mo

Intro: Last winter I converted my fatbike to tubeless .  Since then I have ridden countless trips on them, I have set up a few more fat bike wheels tubeless, and I’ve learned a few things to make the process easier, faster, and is more reliable.  I wanted to provide an update with my thoughts on running tubeless on a fatbike and the steps I use now. I still opt for a simplified method of tape, valve stems, and sealant versus using split tubes and foam.  I know others have success with those methods and I’m sure you will too if you decide to go that route.  There is an  excellent write up over on Riding Against The Grain for split tube fatbike tubeless setup  if you decide to go that route.  The good news is that we as a community have learned multiple repeatable methods for successful tubeless conversions. The Materials: I used Scotch Transparent Tough Duct Tape, Stans valve stems, Stans sealant, Surly Holly Rolling Darryls, Surly Knard 120 TPI for the rear, Surly Big Fat Larry

In this issue: International ride a biker day Mike Boles fantasizes about knocking boots with the girl of his dreams. Indonesia A selection of Mark Watson’s pictures from his tour through Sumatra. In praise of cable ties How a cable tie repair managed to encapsulate the Indian experience. Equipment information and more… Download your FREE copy: http://www.bicycletraveler.bicyclingaroundtheworld.nl/current-issue

Leading neurosurgeon tells the Hay Festival cycling helmets are 'too flimsy' to be beneficial A leading neurosurgeon has controversially claimed that cyclists who wear helmets are wasting their time. Henry Marsh, who works at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, said that many of his patients who have been involved in bike accidents have been wearing helmets that were ‘too flimsy’ to be beneficial. He made the comments while speaking at the Hay Festival during a discussion with Ian McEwan, whose 2005 novel  Saturday  featured a neurosurgeon. He cited evidence from the University of Bath that suggests that wearing a helmet may even put cyclists at greater risk. The research showed that drivers get around 3 inches closer to cyclists who wear helmets because they perceive them as safer. He said: “I ride a bike and I never wear a helmet. In the countries where bike helmets are compulsory there has been no reduction in bike injuries whatsoever. Read

GreenChamp’s bamboo balance bikes pave the way for children to learn the life long skill of bike-riding.   We are confident that there is no other balance bike that comes close to the sustainability, innovation and superb quality of the bamboo balance bikes built by GreenChamp Bikes. [ See more on greenchampbikes.com  ]

In other  this-is-why-I-love-the-internet  news, at a cycling race last month, a photographer was seen laying in the way of the racers (check out their expressions). Naturally, the incredibly imaginative fine folks at Reddit photoshop battles were kind enough to make several beautiful creations featuring our out-of-place ‘tog. In a later interview the photographer said that he was never in the way of the passing cyclists, but judging by their faces he was definitely a little too close for comfort. Fortunately nobody was injured, this could have easily gone terribly wrong! Below is the original, un-Photoshopped image. And here are the recreations from Reddit. [ See the rest on  fstoppers.com  ]