Columbus Rides Bikes!

[See Maciej Dakowicz's original image on 500px]

[See more on KUWAHARA Gaap Tumblr]

I was once asked, by a curious high school student, why I went to law school. Maybe my response wasn’t exactly appropriate, but my answer remains the same: “Because I @#$%ing  hate bullies.” Well, maybe that’s the answer to why — after so many months off — I am resurrecting “The Explainer.” By now many of you have seen the story making its way around cycling-related social media about the Afghanistan war veteran in Cochrane, Alberta, who opened up a small bike shop over an ice cream parlor and his encounter with a @#$%ing bully. If you  haven’t  read about Dan Richter and the  Café Roubaix Bicycle Studio , do me a quick favor before you do. Without  clicking on the link , answer this quick and easy question: What do you, oh velo-centric bike geeks among us, think of when you hear the word “Roubaix?” [Keep reading at redkiteprayer.com]

[Cotic Bikes Presents #26aintdead on vimeo]

  June 22, 1944 This was the day, the first day of our adventure by bicycle. It was the reality of a dream one day toward completion. It was the beginning of an adventure, months of hoboing through the country to live as we pleased and go where we willed. And now, at 7:30 a.m., the Roy family arrived at the Popp residence at 134 Oakgrove Avenue, Buffalo, New York, to share breakfast together with their children, Doris and Thelma. Perhaps in the future we would be looking back at the wealth and the pleasure of that breakfast and the kind words of our parents still attempting to discourage us. Perhaps it was a ridiculous venture, but we were determined never to be put into the category with those who say, "I always wanted to, but never did." Out on the driveway were standing two beautiful new bicycles. Both were blue and their chrome fittings shone like silver in the sun. A previous checkup reported all parts oiled and geared for efficiency [Read more on mjgradziel]

It started as a normal date night: Shawn, a bearded graduate student who favors lumberjack plaid, went to Williamsburg for dinner and drinks with his girlfriend. But instead of taking the L train from their Chelsea apartment, they decided to ride Citi Bikes there and back. A couple of cocktails at the Wythe Hotel led to beers at Mable’s Smokehouse and a nightcap at Post Office, a dive-like whiskey bar. After four or five drinks, they undocked a pair of blue bikes and rode home over the Williamsburg Bridge. As usual, Shawn sped ahead, and as they ascended over the East River, he turned around to see where his girlfriend was. That’s when he lost his balance, kicked his foot into a bridge railing and broke his toe. “I really wasn’t that drunk,” said Shawn, 30, who uses the bike-share program about 20 times a week. (Shawn, like many of the people interviewed, asked that his full name not be used; drinking and cycling is not really something to toot your bike horn abou...

Image via  Flickr/CC If I asked you how far you live from work, and you replied, "It’s only about 25 minutes by train," then you're not really supplying a distance. It's relative, excusably typical, and more likely part of an ongoing sales pitch about your neighborhood's distance from my reality. It's "not  that  far," you add. But your crappy direction-giving might just be the result of your passive passengerhood.  According to new research, drivers, walkers, and bicyclists will generally provide us with more useful directions than transit riders. Published  in  Urban Planning , "Going Mental" shows that cognitively active travelers, regardless of commute by foot or car, tend to trump cognitively passive travelers, (those who frequent public buses and trains) in perceiving distance. Questioning cognitively active, passive, and mixed travelers about distances from a survey site to LA's city hall, the research demonst...

[Nimbus Oregon Fat Tire Unicycle]

Citing cases dating back as far as 1928, a judge has ruled that a young girl accused of running down an elderly woman while racing a bicycle with training wheels on a Manhattan sidewalk two years ago can be sued for negligence. The ruling by the judge, Justice Paul Wooten of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, did not find that the girl was liable, but merely permitted a lawsuit brought against her, another boy and their parents to move forward. The suit that Justice Wooten allowed to proceed claims that in April 2009, Juliet Breitman, 4, and Jacob Kohn, 5, were racing their bicycles, under the supervision of their mothers, Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn, on the sidewalk of a building on East 52nd Street. At some point in the race, they struck an 87-year-old woman named Claire Menagh, who was walking in front of the building and, according to the complaint, was “seriously and severely injured,” suffering a hip fracture that required surgery. She died three months later of unrela...

Photo by  kharied  – Flickr You hear so many cyclists gushing about their daily rides that it might be a bit bewildering to imagine how biking could make so many people so happy. As it turns out, the reasons why are firmly grounded in science. Many people don’t realize that happiness emerges from the state of the body as a whole – how well we sleep, our energy levels, the stress hormones coursing throughout our systems all play a role in determining how happy we feel. So how does cycling affect all these different areas of life? [Keep reading at  Oopsmark]

画像 お洒落ツイード×自転車「ツイードラン東京」参加者の着こなしに注目 [See more Tweed Run Tokyo - 2013 at Fashionsnap]

Woody's fenders are produced in Bend, Oregon from as much recycled hardwoods as possible and are signed and dated when complete. All of the mounting hardware is stainless steel and brass to prevent rusting and they are finished with four coats of high quality Marine grade polyurethane in your choice of gloss or satin.    They will fit a vast variety of bicycles and are easy to shape and or cut to fit hard to fit bicycles. You will not find a better variety of affordable super quality wood fenders anywhere.  http://www.woodysfenders.com/store/

Wrong-Way Cyclist on Admiralty Way from Gary Cziko on Vimeo .

This is the story of The Iditabike 1988 race in Alaska on the Iditarod Trail. Originally broadcast on the Discovery Channel. [Watch Bicycles On Snow - IDITABIKE 88 on Vimeo]

MOTOR US: 350W / EU: 250W SIZE 26" or 700c rim BATTERY Removable 48Volt Lithium CONNECTIVITY Bluetooth 4.0 BATTERY LIFE 1000 cycles SMARTPHONE OS iOS, Android CHARGE TIME 4 hours COMPATIBILITY Single Speed or 9/10 Speed Free Hub TOP SPEED US: 20 mph EU: 25 km/h BRAKE TYPE Rim brake and regenerative braking (downhill and back-pedal) RANGE Up to 50 km / 31 mi WEIGHT 5.9 kg / 13 lbs DROPOUT 135 mm [Superpedestrian]

Republic Bike has created a limited edition fixed gear Portlandia bike.  " If you have absolutely no self-control and undying devotion to Portlandia, we've got you covered. Republic Bike has teamed up with the folks at Portlandia to properly outfit you." It looks very close to the fixie used in the famous "Bike Rights" sketch. And yes, they put a bird on it.