Columbus Rides Bikes!

What Do You Think About The Tour? from Road Holland on Vimeo .

The very first thing the driver said was that he was sorry. He had been looking for an address on a two-lane road, and when he saw it he turned left toward it. I was coming the other way on my bike. He said he wasn’t paying attention to the road. My neck was broken, my shoulder torn to pieces, my hand had a spiral fracture. Six years later, my neck doesn’t turn like yours does. My handwriting has been transformed to that of an 80-year-old. Stuff like this happens to bike riders all the time. Not everyone is as lucky as me. A lot of cyclists get killed — more than 700 of them a year — including some people I’ve known. Am I biased? Sure. I ride thousands of miles every year. I also drive a car tens of thousands of miles. I will fly more than 50,000 miles this year. And I cover transportation for The Post. You could say I’m biased about every form of transportation, and you’d be right. Here’s my bias: No matter how you go — bike, car, bus, train, boat or plane — I want you...

Country Biking - PathLessPedaled.com from Russ Roca on Vimeo .

This tutorial will show you how to build a jacket with turn signals that will let people know where you're headed when you're on your bike. We'll use conductive thread and sewable electronics so your jacket will be soft and wearable and washable when you're done. Enjoy! See more on  Instructables .  

From April 2013, we spent 6 months on the road crossing the United States by bicycle. This is a collage of the videos I shot while on the road along with an interview with Denise (my wife and biking partner). View some of our preferred moments of the journey and get Denise's impressions as you watch the panorama unfold. It is a long video, I know! But I could not cut any more scenes! If you like, I also suggest that you watch the video footage of some of the fantastic hosts we met along the way such as "The Bikernappers in Canon Beach" or "James at Newton Bike Shop" or Reynaldo and Leonard in "Seattle"

When we heard that our friend Jason from  Swift Industries  was planning a little weekend bike touring / fly fishing extravaganza for the 4th of July AND that we would be riding a portion of the Iron Horse Trail , we couldn’t say no. We have been eyeing the Iron Horse Trail for quite some time because it looked like an intriguing gravel ride and because it seemed to have good bike tourism bones. Surprisingly, for a trail of its length, proximity to Seattle and general potential for awesomeness, there is very little information about it. There are some odd trip reports here and there, but nothing with photos that really give you a flavor of the trail. We boarded the BOLT bus in Portland. For those that don’t know, the Bolt is a generally less sketchy Greyhound (though it operates The Hound umbrella). The coaches are newer, have WiFi and MOST importantly aren’t jerks about taking bikes. Interestingly, the buses don’t have racks but instead allow you to place them in the l...

Dear  Orange County Sheriff’s Department , On 5/31/2014,  Bryan Larsen’s life was threatened, endangered and assaulted  as he bicycled along the PCH in Dana Point, California. Having lived and raced in Europe, this individual is an accomplished Junior National Champion, a Category 1 Professional Cyclist. His resume reveals his experience to ensure his personal safety doing everything he can to protect himself; from wearing a helmet to being educated of the laws governing bicyclists, & adhering to the “Rules of the Road”. Pulling out his cell, Bryan obtained video footage of the verbal harassment he’d been receiving from a passing motorist. He recorded more than just the license plate, additionally capturing  video of the passenger throwing a potentially deadly projectile  (full Gatorade bottle) from the moving vehicle. Not only did the driver fail to give a 3’ clearance to the cyclist, but can be seen swerving out of his lane, threateni...

For those who find multiple gears to be an unnecessary luxury in the lung-searing, leg-numbing world of cyclocross racing, this is the single speed version of Giant's TCX SLR cyclocross bike. A prototype was ridden by Giant Factory Off-Road Team racer Adam Craig to his second consecutive title at the 2013 Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships—where the after-party starts before the gun even goes off, the only sanctioning body is the heckling crowd and first prize is a tattoo. After proving twice-over that he is the fastest in the world when the derailleurs come off and the costumes go on, we decided to make Adam a limited-edition TCX SLR SS for SSCXWC14KY!  (Filmed for entertainment purposes only on closed course with professional rider. Always drink responsibly, even when training for SSCXWC.)

For decades competent and trained cyclists have had to deal with the occasional ignorant motorist who hollers out some variation on “Get off the damn road ya idjyit, yer gonna get yerself killed!” Fortunately most of these incidents don’t escalate into anything serious, and while little has been done to change this attitude over the years, we could shrug off such blather with confidence that the logic of our road use was supported both by direct personal experience and objective scientific study. We also had the backing of the League of American Bicyclists to defend our rights, if only in words. Well, things have changed. With its recent sophomoric “study” of fatal bicyclist crashes and subsequent statements by its executive director, the League has joined the chorus of ignorance in agreeing that bicycling on regular roadway lanes is “gonna get you killed.” [Keep reading at  iamtraffic]

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Elvert Barnes/Flickr When we think about transit-oriented development, we typically think of rail stations. We know that in certain environments with density levels of X and height limits of Y, we can predict levels of investment of Z. But how would that equation hold up if Transit Oriented Development centered on a bike-share station, for instance, rather than rail stop? To answer that question, we need a better sense of how well bike-share performs as part of the larger transit system. We know that Americans have a deeply ingrained view of biking as a fun, recreational activity. (The  Outdoor Association estimates  that Americans spend $81 billion a year on bike-related expenses; airline tickets generate $51 billion by comparison.) I have theorized that this is why some people have such vitriolic reactions to cyclists. It's like they're angry that anyone could be having that much fun on their commute, when everyone should be suffering in traffic. [Keep reading at CityLab...

Penny In Yo Pants from Johanna Holtan on Vimeo .

Human-Powered Roller Coaster and Other Thrilling Attractions Await at Japan Bicycle Theme Park The Gunma Cycle Sports Center in Japan may be the most eco-friendly amusement park in the world. As you may be able to guess from the name,  every attraction in the park, from the roller coaster to the “steam” locomotive, is human-powered.   Located in Minakami, a town located in a rural area of northern Gunma Prefecture, the park is a celebration of all things bicycle. In addition to the rides, there is a collection of strange and unique bicycles that guests can take for a spin on one of two tracks. They also host road races and other cycling events. Shigenobu Matsuzawa, a Japanese blogger who travels around the country in search of B-grade tourist spots like this, visited the park earlier this month and was kind enough to share his experience with us. Shigenobu arrived at the entrance, a large two-story building that appeared to be devoid of both custo...

Biking advocates are sounding the alarm about a rash of car-bike crashes in Greater Cleveland. Rachael Stentz-Baugher signals to turn on East Fourth Street in downtown Cleveland in this photo from mid-May, when she was participating in a Bike to Work Day.  (Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A rash of crashes involving bicyclists and cars has the advocacy group Bike Cleveland pushing for more public awareness to make streets safer for cyclists and drivers both. Bike Cleveland said there were at least eight car-bike collisions in June, with cyclists reporting injuries ranging from a chipped tooth and road rash to a concussion and broken pelvis. In early May, an accident killed a 36-year-old Garfield Heights mother of five. As an organization that advocates for safer streets for people on bicycles,  the cluster of crashes is alarming , Bike Cleveland Executive Director Jacob VanSickle said. [Keep reading at Cleveland.com]

As cycling increasing as a mode of transportation and form of recreation across the United States, debates have taken place over a cyclist’s right to the road. Usually these debates are had over internet columns (such as this) with anonymous internet commentators asserting their alleged right to not make room for cyclists, perhaps even hitting them to teach them a lesson. However, the debates are usually settled in local and state governments. The latter proportions tax dollars for infrastructure projects, such as protected bike lanes, and local governments ultimately decide where bike lanes will go — if at all. [Keep reading at Article 3]