Vintage bicycle photos

By Fritz

 

See more vintage posters here or click on the pic above to directly to the Flickr site for more of just the Michellin Man.

So, I’m going to make the leap to modest touring. Linda’s been after me to do some touring near Vancouver and I’ve been thinking of ways to do a bit of credit card camping–but that still means I’ve got to find a way to carry some gear. And then Doug comes along with his little self-contained tour tour to Death Valley in the middle of February. A trailer seems like the solution to my problem. The BOB is a single wheel trailer that would be great for single-track. But its a bit pricey and I lilke the fact that the Burley stands up by itself. Should work out well for quick runs to the grocery, too. It’s in the mail as t hey say. –Corrie

Bicycle Trailers Child, Cargo, Bike Carriers, Piggyback bikes and Misc.

A page of links to lots of trailers for bikes

American River bike ride is a roll on the wild side

by Gene Bisbee at 11:00AM (PST) on January 29, 2008 | Permanent Link | Cosmos

Deer in tall grass

When I rented a bicycle in Sacramento for a ride along the American River up to Folsom Lake, I took my camera to shoot signs of bicycling.

I got that, but I also got pictures of wildlife out in the brush or perched in the bare trees. Other animals crossed the bike trail just ahead of me and disappeared into the brush before I could point and click.

read more and see more wildlife pictures

Round-the-World Cyclist Nearing Goal

You may recall that I posted here last September about Scottish cyclist Mark Beaumont, who was departing Paris in the first stage of an attempted 18,000 mile solo trip around the world.

Beaumont has been making steady progress since that time, traversing through 20 countries already in Middle East, Asia, Australia/New Zealand and North America. Now nearing completion of the sixth leg of his tour, Beaumont is crossing the southwestern and southern United States. Recently Mark has ridden through Louisiana, Missississippi and after hitting 17,000 miles, just entered Florida this past Sunday, Jan. 27th.

 Read More

This notice comes from the Washlington Bicycle Alliance

Tomorrow is Transportation Advocacy Day and we have three bills scheduled for hearings tomorrow. The Bicycle Alliance will be testifying in favor of these bills. Please join us in Olympia if you can, or contact members of the Transportation Committee to weigh in! House Transportation Committee: Tuesday Jan 29 at 3:30 HB 2564: Mattew “Tatsuo” Nakata Act. Adds bicyclist and pedestrian safety information to drivers’ education curriculum. Amends RCW 46.82.420 to ensure that operators of motor vehicles are instructed in the importance of safely sharing the road with bicyclists and pedestrians. HB 2732: Requires motorists to give a minimum of three feet of safe passing distance when overtaking and passing bicyclists and pedestrians. This will enhance the safety of non-motorized users and permit police officers to more easily enforce the existing safe passage law. Senate Transportation Committee: Tuesday Jan 29 at 3:30 SB 6420: Companion bill to HB 2564, Matthew “Tatsuo” Nakata Act. For a list of House Transporation Committee members: http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/TR/members.htm For a list of Senate Transportation Committee members: http://www1.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/TRAN/members.htm

Commuter Bike Vest

January 28th, 2008 by Matt · 3 Comments

Okay, I admit it, I can compete with any woman who carries a huge purse when it comes to carrying stuff around with me. Wallet, keys, ChapStick, gum, MP3 player, camera, phone, etc. When I first started bike commuting one of the most frustrating things for me was having to repack all of my stuff everyday. For a while I just tossed it all into a backpack and that works, but is not really convenient. There are devices like the Cage Rocket which I wrote about a few entries ago, but it is not large enough to carry all that I want. Here’s a sample of what I pretty much carry with me everywhere when I ride.

Read more and see photos 

We’ll probably have to start adding this attachment after this weekend’s storm. –Corrie

Bicycle snow plow

By Fritz

I posted a couple of pages a while back, one covering cycling logs and the other about mapping tools. Most of the maps sites listed in the following article are on that page. I made an attempt to create a feature comparison chart but I’m not sure it is complete.

I mentioned that the palm device I’ve been using has gotten old–not me, the device. I think I’ve found the right way to keep my cycling log. I like both BikeJournal and Mapmyride and have been entering the few rides I’ve done this winter on both since the first of the year.

Looking around I began to see GPS devices everywhere. With Garmin introducing a new line, the 305 Edge dropped down to $240 on Ebay and I bit. I’ve only used it twice but it seems to work flawlessly and best of all, plugging in the USB pulls the day’s ride right into Training Center software. I can import it just as easily to Mapmyride. Bike Journal doesn’t provide for that. MapMyRide has lots of reports. I like its compatibility with my Garmin though it doesn’t pull in heart rate information. I may continue to enter data by hand since it avoids the extra step of creating a map which I do not want for every ride.

–Anyway, Bike Hacks has a long list of sites that provide cycling maps online. –Corrie

55 Free Bike Route Mapping Tools

January 25th, 2008 by Bren · 3 Comments

Crickey, there are a lot of ways to map your bike route! This list focuses on freely available versions. I’ve caught a lot of them, but I’m sure there are more. If you notice that I missed your favorite free bike route mapping tool, drop it in the comments!

There are plenty of places that’ll sell you a bike map, but I’m mainly interested in maps that are offered for free. And, amazingly, these aren’t all variations on (the excellent) Google Maps. This list is broken into two sections, with only the vaguest notions of organization. The first section are resources that are more global in nature. The second section are more location-specific maps.

Read More and see the list

Cold, wet, damp, dark days got you down? Worried about losing your fitness just sitting there on the Lazy Boy? Here’s your solution.

Bicycle Powered Television

January 23rd, 2008 by Bren · No Comments

I love all the uses people come up with for the energy created by bikes.

The idea of pedal powered television is killer. It’s the opposite of couch potato, since you’re literally paying for the TV you watch with your own sweat.

Be sure to check out the video linked at the top of that page. It is so nerdy you can hardly believe it. In my bones, I believe that something important is going on there. Too bad my brain can’t understand what it is.

Read the rest of the story and watch the geeky video

I like my club jersey fine. It’s just a bit tight these days–I’m working on that–and its beginning to fray. Jerseys are pricey so Sean and Lance are digging around for the best deal. Last time out the club absorbed some of the costs for the jerseys.

We are looking about for a supplier for a new order of club jerseys. Nothing is fixed yet. I know Lance is looking at zbikewear. The board asked Sean to use some of his resources. Here is the email from Primal Wear as well as a pdf and pricelist.

  Hello Sean,
  
  I have attached our Team Price List to this email of which you will get a
  10% discount for ordering through your shop. The prices will include set-up
  fees, art fees (with two free revisions), unlimited colors and ground
  shipping.

  I have also attached a pdf that you can present to the board members that
  gives a detailed description of each custom product and the order process.
  When will you be meeting with the board members? Will there be enough time
  to send you a jersey sample?

  We do have an art department that is able to help with the design process
  using artwork, logos and/or ideas that are provided or that we have within
  our art archives. Do you have an image of the jersey? I could show our art
  department the image to see if they are able to duplicate it.

  Once the artwork has been approved and the order placed our delivery time is
  8-12 weeks. Do you need the jerseys by a certain date or event? 50% of the
  invoice total will be due when the order is placed and 50% when the jerseys
  are ready for delivery.

  I’m not sure what you meant by if you can mix different styles for the same
  price…We do have am minimum order of 25 for most of our custom products.
  Our jerseys come in a Club Cut fit and we offer either a Raglan or Set-In
  sleeve style. The jerseys can be a combination of men’s and women’s short
  sleeve and sleeveless jerseys of all sizes. Long sleeve or different styles
  (Raglan Sleeve vs Set-In Sleeve) would be considered separate orders of 25
  pieces.

  Please let me know if you need more information or have any questions.
  
  Kind Regards,
  Rebecca Rosas
  Primal Wear, Inc.
  Custom Sales Manager

I’ve been seeing a number of posts about this August’s Olympic cycling events. I’ll send those along a bit later but I thought you might like to know the northwest is putting in its bid to represent the US> –Corrie

Three Pacific Northwest cyclists among Olympic hopefuls

by Gene Bisbee at 04:00AM (PST) on January 25, 2008 | Permanent Link | Cosmos

Good luck to the 34 cyclists chosen by USA Cycling for the Olympics “long team” — the first step toward qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Three make their homes in the Pacific Northwest. They are Kristin Armstrong of Boise, Adam Craig of Bend, and Jennie Reed of Kirkland. Reed, a graduate of Issaquah High School, also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics women’s track event.

Pro cyclist Levi Leipheimer was an automatic qualifier for the men’s road race team, although no “long team” has been chosen for that event. The BMX long team will be named in May.

More to the story.

RAGBRAI is sorta the big one of cross-state rides. This year’s route will not cross Crawford County where a cyclist died and his wife sued the county causing them to banish large group rides.–Corrie

2008 RAGBRAI names host cities for bike ride

by Gene Bisbee at 11:39AM (PST) on January 24, 2008 | Permanent Link | Cosmos

The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa announced the eight cities that will play host to stops on bike tour from July 20 through 26.

The overnight towns on the west-to-east bicycle route are Missouri Valley, Harlan, Jefferson, Ames, Tama-Toledo, North Liberty, Tipton and Le Claire.

RAGBRAI says the this year’s route is 471 miles long.

More of the story

This is Bicycle.net’s take on the LA Times series I mentioned in the first post about the woman’s sentence. You can link to the Times series from here too. I’ve been sitting on this because it is pretty long but Steve’s contribution makes it relevant. We can’t see this as a war. We’ll lose it. –Corrie

Huffy vs. Hummer: Debate Bikes -vs- cars

By VeloGuy on January 7th, 2008 | ShareThis

I read this article on the LA Times website and thought that it is a good article to spur some debate. Who is right, the cyclists, or the car drivers? I do not have the answer that will make both sides happy. But what I do know is that there is no answer that both the bike riders and the car drivers will ever agree on. As a cyclist who has had too many close calls to remember, I do think that car drivers have to (no, must) be held to a very high standard due to the shear weight difference between our vehicles. If I hit a car with my bike I am certain that I will not kill the auto driver, but the car driver has a much higher chance of killing the cyclists. People riding bikes will never go away, and drivers need to be put on alert. The penalties for not sharing the road should be more severe than they are currently. We need to adopt the same attitude you would find in, lets say Italy, where they expect to see a cyclist around the corner.

Minneapolis Bikes: Video of folks explaining how and why they bike to work in the snow.

Ultrafit: A two-wheel winter commute
With the right gear, riding your bike to and from work in the winter can be a lot more enjoyable than it sounds. Here are some tips on doing it right.

By Stephen Regenold, Special to the Star Tribune

How to dress for winter riding.

Tom Sweeney, Star Tribune
Play

Video: Winter biking just part of the year-round commute

* The Gear: What to wear while winter riding
Bike tires hum on snow, and they buzz on ice. But they rarely slip when you’re going straight. Gears click and shift the same in almost any weather. Just remember the lube. And the cold wind? With the right clothing it’s not an issue, according to regular wintertime riders.

Steve sends this news item in the war between cyclists and drivers. Wait, despite recent reports that drivers seldom receive any penalty in collisions with bicycles, despite the momentary surge of pleasure you might feel that this woman was not only sentenced but that perhaps her real attitude towards cyclists being revealed garnered her a stiffer sentence–despite that, we must remember that this is not a war. An excellent dialogue/debate appeared in the LA Times this month covering this conflict between cyclists and motorists. –Corrie

Woman Jailed After Laughing Over Victim

AP

Posted: 2008-01-25 09:32:40

Filed Under: Crime News, Law News, Nation News

TUCSON, Ariz. (Jan. 24) — A judge sentenced a woman to nearly the maximum prison term for negligent homicide after hearing a recorded jail conversation in which she made light of the bicyclist she killed.

Melissa Arrington, 27, was convicted two months ago of negligent homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI in connection with the December 2006 death of Paul L’Ecuyer.

 

Tucson Police / AP

Read the rest of the story and watch the news video.

The sun has been bright; the roads dry but I’ve stayed off the bike this week. I did see three bikes out yesterday including Extreme Eric headed down 22nd. Darn.

After you see this video you’ll wander why I’m such a wimp not riding on such fine days as we’ve been having.

Watch the video on Youtube

Why is that fun? –Corrie

Here’s another project for Steve this winter.

Bicycle Powered Television

January 23rd, 2008 by Bren · No Comments

I love all the uses people come up with for the energy created by bikes.

The idea of pedal powered television is killer. It’s the opposite of couch potato, since you’re literally paying for the TV you watch with your own sweat.

Be sure to check out the video linked at the top of that page. It is so nerdy you can hardly believe it. In my bones, I believe that something important is going on there. Too bad my brain can’t understand what it is.

Read More Yeah, and there’s vide, too.

This one looks interesting. No worse than carrying a pump in your shirt pocket. –Corrie

The Click-Stand Classic ~ The Classic is made from .380″ Easton aluminum tubing, and divided into four segments. This allows it to fold to approximately 10″, and be carried conveniently in a rack or handlebar bag. The Classic will support any bicycle, including touring bikes with a total weight of 60-70 lbs. Brake-Bands are included.
~ $25

The height of your bike effects the length of your folded Click-Stand. For taller bikes, or as an option, the Classic can be made in five segments. You may choose this option at check out. Email, and I will tell you exactly how long your folded Click-Stand will be.

We seldom leave our bikes for longer than an hour and then only where we can see them. But if you bike in town, doing errands, you can lock your bike but what about your tools? Take ‘em with you with the Cage Rocket.–Corrie

The Cage Rocket

January 23rd, 2008 by Matt · 1 Comment

When you commute or run around town you often lock up and run in and out of places. You still face the threat of that minor mechanical problem or flat tire so tools are a necessity. A variety of small bags for tools are designed to fit under your seat or possibly connect to your frame, but they are not easy to remove and if left on your bike can be appealing to others.

When doing some online searches I ran across the “Cage Rocket.” It’s a dumb name for sure, but it’s a great product. It fits in any standard water bottle cage and you can store all the major tools you might need on the road. The great thing is that when you leave your bike locked up, the bottle slips right out and you can easily take it with you. Get more info on cage rocket specs from their site.

MikeRiddle asked me to compose a letter of support for Lynn Moss’s application for a grant from Idaho Parks and Rec to build a trail from Lindsay Creek just below the new development up to the new community park on Warner. Lynn has visions of linking Lindsay and Tammany with a bike route over 21st. He would also like to tie together Spalding Park, Hell’s Gate Park, and Dworkshak using existing railbeds. I like his vision.–Corrie

Lynn Moss,

 Lewiston cyclists ride the Lindsay Creek route frequently. We call this the Lewiston Loop. Starting at the Southway Boat launch we either ride up Tammany and down Lindsay Creek or reverse it. As population increases with a new housing development, the narrow Lindsay Creek route becomes more problematic.

 The possibility of having a trail system from Lindsay Creek up to Warner Ave is exciting. This opens up access through the new community park to Orchards residents and lays the ground work to feed future use by the high school and college staff and students as well as providing a first leg in a future trail system to tie the designated bike routes of Lindsay Creek and Tammany together.

 This project supports not only recreational cyclists but is a first step in encouraging bicycle commuting. It is a step in the right direction for all Lewiston residents.

 The Twin Rivers Cyclists are pleased to support the city’s application for an Idaho Parks and Recreation Recreational Trail Grant.

For the President, Mike Riddle

Corrie Rosetti, Treasurer
Twin Rivers Cyclists
Twinriverscyclists.org