With temperatures dipping below freezing in the northern portions of North America, Europe and Asia, bike commuters who want to continue riding are learning to negotiate the icy patches and snow on their routes. Here’s how it’s done. Watch for black ice. These are the almost invisible patches of thin ice on shaded sections of…
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CELLO (BOB Case) Review
This review of the CELLO Bike Case for BOB Trailers was first posted by Colin Avolve on his blog, bikearchy. From the review:
BikeCastle
This week at Wandertec: 1. Started sewing the new Wandertec Woven Labels on the Wandertec CELLO bike trailer case, Wandertec SAX BOB Trailer cargo liner and Wandertec Cargo Net. 2. Ordered some Down Low Glow lights from Rock the Bike to sell with the Xtracycle and to figure out how to mount to our other…
Top Gear – Race Through London
Top Gear answers the question: which is the best way to cross London, one of the most congested cities in the world? They pitted a Mercedes GL SUV against a bike (Specialized carbon fiber road bike), a speed boat and public transportation during the peak of Monday morning rush hour. Guess who won… Part 1…
Recent bike commuter posts
I’m a little busy now so I’ll just link to a collection of posts from bike commuters around the blog-o-sphere. Bike Chicago gives their tips on winter cycling. Adam reduced his auto insurance rate by $186 per year after he started commuting by bike. Slow Motion gives his tips for motorists in his open letter…
Tracking Hazards
The Right Ride has several sites available to help cyclists track safe routes and dangerous spots around various cities in the U.S.. It’s a nice Google Maps mash-up allowing visitors to click on individual pins on the map for more information about the routes and hazards which registered users have added. Registration is free if…
Shot in Seattle
Peter McKay is a wonderfully positive bike commuter in the Seattle area. He was on his regular bike commute from Bellevue, Washington last Thursday night when a random thug shoots him in the chest with BBs that were apparently shot from a .22 handgun. Peter then blogs about this experience from his hospital bed! Personal…
Demo CELLOS
This Week at Wandertec:1. Watched the shop not being built(progress is to resume soon)2. Sold my Honda Element (CELLOmobile)3. Came up with a name for my new bicycle design, the Wandertec SanToor.4. Did away with the Wandertec Purchase page and pointed all sales to BikeTrailerShop.com.5. Listed Demo CELLOS for sale at the BikeTrailerShop.com.6. Was introduced…
Bike Trailers at Interbike
Other than Xtracycle, there were several other developments on note in the arena of bike cargo trailer.
Kona was displaying their utility bike the Ute. The UTE like the Surly Big Dummy is a complete long haul cargo bike. Unlike the Big Dummy it does not utilize the Xtracycle rack system and instead has a built in rack system
Advocacy updates and news
It’s a busy week all around, so here are some quick links out to bike commute news. You’ve got to see these Share the Road TV ads from the San Luis Obispo (California) Bike Coalition. They’re showing on local TV stations in the California central coast region. Rocky Mountain News: Thrills amid chills is an…
San Jose earthquake
I’ve heard this local earthquake has made the national news, so I wanted to post a quick (off-topic) note that all is well in the land of Fritz. I definitely felt the quake in my home, which measured magnitude 5.6 in San Jose, California. The USGS is calling this a “moderate” quake. Things rattled pretty…
New York Public Radio WNYC reports on the efforts to make the city more bike friendly.
“As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s environmental initiative, known as PlanYC, the city is set to have 18 hundred miles of bike lanes in place by 2015. But even before the policy shift, a trend has been underway on the streets, attracting more bike riders by the day.” WNYC’s Arun Venugopal interviews: Noah Budnick, the deputy…
Need a costume? You're most of the way there already…
Perhaps you are struggling with what you’re going to do for the company costume contest. If only you could incorporate your regular commuting gear… Lifehacker has the answer, your normal bike wear makes up the majority of the costume. A little latex, gravel and other goo and you’re set to freak out your co-workers. Check…
Be a Cycle Hero
I’m not quite sure exactly what it is that intrigues me so much about the CycleHero advert that CTC ran in the cinemas of London. I guess it is the bikes. Yeah, that’s it, the bikes. Seriously, nice campaign over at CycleHero. The short was directed by award winning short filmmaker Paul Fuller and has…
Spice Up Your Commute
I would love to tell you that I have time in my schedule for various workouts – but I have to be honest; my bike commute is my workout. Perhaps it is the same for you. There is a wonderful post over at Zen Habits encouraging runners to mix up their workouts a bit. This…
Baylands Nature Preserve, Palo Alto California
My commute by bike is usually on city streets, but I decided to detour through some lovely area trails this morning. The view was breathtaking. I passed within five feet of a gorgeous falcon which sat perched on a signpost. He just swiveled his head looking at me as I biked by. I can’t describe…
Strida folding bikes
I have to admit that when I first saw the Strida folding bikes I wasn’t all that impressed. It looks somewhat like Sinclair’s “A Bike” and I assumed the Strida bikes would have the same performance characteristics as the Sinclair. I tried the Strida 3.2 and 5.0 briefly on the show floor at Interbike and…
Lock that rear wheel!
Chicago’s Rapid Transit Cycles reports that they replace more rear wheels to theft than they replace front wheels. Apparently, some cyclists believe the rear wheel is more difficult to remove than the front wheel, so they wrap a lock through the frame and front wheel but leave the rear wheel unlocked. Reality, of course, is…
Commuting in Rochester
First, a quick note of congratulations to Fritz. Cyclelicious has made the list of the top 100 lifestyle blogs (blogs tagged as lifestyle on Technorati). You can check out the list HERE as I harness my best Casey Kasem voice and say: “Coming in at number 48…” Now, for your weekend reading enjoyment, another nice…
CBB Poll: How far is your commute?
My morning commute recently doubled (temporarily) and it got me to wondering: {democracy:7}
Cycling: Safer than you think
Alan Durning posts his explorations on the safety of cycling over at Grist. He was motivated to learn just how dangerous cycling is after his son was nearly hit by a car. He makes some good points in his article: Biking is safer than it used to be, cycling is safer than you might believe,…
My rain gear
Some people asked about rain gear and I was inspired by Warren’s post on cool weather riding. Here’s a picture of my typical cool-weather rain gear. When I buy cycling rain gear, I look for these features: waterproof, taped seams, pit zips on jackets, tail on the jacket, and adjustable ankle and wrist cuffs. On…
Commuting 101: Bike Clothes For All Weather
Fritz recently asked your opinion on things you’d like to see discussed and there were several requests for a post on winter clothing. I’d like to refer you to a CBB post from last year that was a big help to me. Bear in mind, everyone is different so what works for Nick got me…
Cholesterol Condition Coaxes Canadian Commuter Cruz
From the Vancouver Sun comes another nice feature on someone else who has discovered the joy that comes from a commute by bike. Oscar Cruz was told by his doctor that he was overweight and had cholesterol problems that would require a prescription that would eventually cause liver damage. Cruz, determined to get off the…