Columbus Rides Bikes!

This video covers the first half of a cross-country bike trip from California to North Carolina. I was riding solo for this half, so my video camera was my primary source of (one-sided) conversation and diversion. Thankfully my dear pal Mel joined me in Kansas for the second half of the bike ride so I could stop talking to myself. Just can't wait to get on the road again... Read more about this adventure here: http://www.cyclingsilk.com/blog/?cat=5 Cycling X-USA: Part 1 from California to Kansas from Kate Harris on Vimeo . Cycling X-USA: Part 2 from Kansas to North Carolina from Kate Harris on Vimeo .

http://kck.st/1t52LzF http://www.roguehb.com

During construction of my latest Pugsley, to replace the 9zero7 that I never came to enjoy, I wondered if I really needed three bicycles – actually four if you include the Dawes Ultra Galaxy touring bike lying in bits scattered across the cosmos – okay, scattered around the shed and attic. Did I really need a Surly Ogre, a Surly Krampug and a Surly Pugsley? When I sat looking at the bikes in the shed, comfortable in my wee folding chair with a fine Italian medium strength coffee in one hand and a large Kit-Kat in the other, I saw that there was very little difference between the three bikes. They were all made by Surly, the geometry of all three was very similar, they all had Shimano Alfine 8-speed hub gearing with 32T front chain rings and seating, steering and brakes were all almost identical. They were even all the same colour, green, for goodness sake! The only difference I could see that made any difference at all was the wheel sets. The Ogre had 28 mm wide Halo Freedom 29e...

Photo by Jamie McCaffrey Rain, whether a mist or a downpour, is a game changer. But, while it’s not top on the list for premiere riding conditions, with a few tricks up your sleeve, it’s easy to turn a ride in the rain from a soggy nightmare into a pleasure cruise. Time It Right The first thing to remember when riding in the rain is to take your time. Leave your house a few minutes earlier than usual, slow down, and ride consistently. Use Your Brain The road will be slick during those first 15 minutes of rain (remember those oils on the roadway that you learned about back in your high school driver’s ed class?), and your brakes will be less responsive. Watch out for surfaces that are usually fine in dry conditions. That includes metal plates, bridge decks, painted street surfaces and leaf piles. Mind the Corner Slow down before making a turn, and minimize breaking while you round a corner. Be Seen In order to stay safe in the rain, it’s imperative that you’re visible. ...

Earlier this month, New York City  lowered its citywide speed limit  from 30 miles per hour to 25. This means that anywhere that a specific speed limit isn't posted, the default is 25 (but if a slower or higher one is posted, drivers must follow that instead). The move is part of  Vision Zero , the city's initiative to reduce pedestrian traffic deaths and injuries. Critics said the measure reflects Mayor Bill de Blasio's efforts to " demonize speed " — and that, in a city choked with traffic, it's only fair to let cars to travel at a meager 30 miles per hour when they happen to hit an open stretch of road. "PUT SIMPLY, DRIVING SLOWER SAVES LIVES" But here's the thing: research unequivocally tells us that this measure will save lives and reduce injuries among both drivers and pedestrians — so long as it's successfully enforced. If anything, New York should have gone further, reducing speed limits to 20. [Keep reading at Vox.com]...

 Europe’s cycling industry now employs more people than mining and quarrying and almost twice as many as the steel industry, says new study Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Arthur Neslen , Brussels Wednesday 12 November 2014  07.50 EST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Shares 2,291 Comments 43 Europe’s cycling industry now employs more people than mining and quarrying and almost twice as many as the steel industry, according to the first comprehensive study of the jobs created by the sector. Some 655,000 people work in the cycling economy – which includes bicycle production, tourism, retail, infrastructure and services – compared to  615,000 people in mining and quarrying , and  just 350,000 workers directly employed in the steel sector . [Keep reading at The Guardian]

Science says  you should keep babies away from ledges  and  going bald is upsetting . The latest from the  Journal of Duh : More people ride their bicycles when infrastructure makes it easier and safer to get around on two wheels. The Obesity Society just publicized  results of a study  by University of North Carolina researchers examining how the development of the  Minneapolis Greenway  —  an intercity system of bike freeways connecting the places where people live and work  – affected commuters’ habits over a decade. [Keep reading at Grist]

Fixed On Fixed from Raechel Harding on Vimeo .

Erick Cedeno with Lawson Mabry’s children, Elizabeth and Will. (Mabry is the man who hosted Erick through WarmShowers.org and showed him the historical ledgers from his family’s slave-owning days)PHOTO: Courtesy Erick Cedeno Erick Cedeño, founder of the company Bicycle Nomad, has been car-free for five years. So when in September 2013 his bicycle was stolen in Buffalo, N.Y., less than 20 miles from the finish of Adventure Cycling Association's 2,000-mile Underground Railroad route, he was crushed. "At first I was like, 'How am I going to get around? How am I going to finish this route?' " Cedeño says. But he wasn't going to let his hardship prevent him from reaching his destination at the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Cliff Madell, owner of Teen Treks, a Buffalo organization that promotes adventure cycling to teenagers, loaned him a bike to finish - something Madell says was "the right thing to do." "I kept remembering the p...

Salsa Cycles Understanding Blackborow from Salsa Cycles on Vimeo .

The Thirties come alive on two wheels Pininfarina took inspiration from the iconic tailor – made cars of the Thirties, to create an elegant and pure shape enriched by the combination of modern and classical materials. The frame is in fact made of tubes in chromed steel hand- made weld by skilled artisans and adorned by a walnut briar-root coating. References to the heritage are also detectable in the handlebars and in the seat, dressed with a The Bridge leather whose inspiration comes from the interlaced leather used in the interiors of the Lancia Astura Bocca, an iconic model designed by Pininfarina in 1936. Several are the innovations acting as counterpart to the tradition. The booster system Bike+, that optimizes the cyclist’s energy through a miniaturized electric engine, allowing the rider to cover longer distances and to replace other means of transportation.  The led lighting system based on a brand-new high performance lamp. The “connect the plug system” to re...

Nov 14, 2014 —  Just another reminder to contact your representative to ask them to vote for HB145. https://www.votervoice.net/BikeLeague/campaigns/36268/respond Would you also ask others to sign this petition to show their support? Let's join the other 22 states with a 3' passing law! Please support HB 145 to make biking safer and more convenient in Ohio!   Ohio House Bill 145 was approved May 28 by the Ohio House Transportation Committee, and is now facing a possible vote  next month  on the floor of the Ohio House.  House Bill 145 is sponsored by State Representative Mike Henne, and supported by the Ohio Bicycle Federation.    House Bill 145 would do two good things for Ohio's cyclists:  Require that motorists leave a safe passing distance of at least three feet when passing Ohio cyclists.   Passage would make Ohio the 23 rd  state to have this safer passing requirement. Permit all Ohio vehicles to proceed after sto...

#CoffeeOutside - PathLessPedaled.com from Russ Roca on Vimeo .

There’s something special happening right now within the US framebuilding industry. Something that ought not to be overlooked, no matter how too good to be true it might seem. Before we go any further however, I must make one note: a production frame is not a custom frame. There’s a misconception that everything made by a framebuilder is custom. A production run is a series of sizes, made in an assembly-line process, which drastically reduces cost on both the builder’s end and the consumer’s end. With that come a few issues: one of which being fit and others include – often times – paint choice, or adding extras like braze-ons, pump pegs, chain holders, etc. The most important factor however is fit. Many people are driven to a framebuilder due to fit issues, but a majority of the population can be fit on a stock geometry with a series of tweaks. That said, the geometry for these stock sizes has to be able to accommodate. [Keep reading at The Radavist]

A campaign in Austin, Texas, wants to replace aggression on the road with a friendly wave. Car drivers  are from Mars and cyclists are from Venus, and sometimes they fail to communicate. Instead of appreciating of each other's rights, both groups have a tendency to get nasty on the road, which benefits no one. In the long term, the answer is probably full separation, with cyclists given their own infrastructure. But in the short term, we have to just get along better. To that end, a new  shared streets campaign  in Austin, Texas, has a simple solution: waving. "There's infrastructure stuff happening and there are laws passing. But meantime if everyone has a horrible attitude, it's still going to be adversarial," says  Adam Butler , creator of the  Wave campaign . "What's the software of all that stuff? It's the attitude of people, which doesn't cost anything." The campaign is so simple it sounds trite. It encour...