This review would not be complete without a tip of the helmet to the guy without whom it would not be nearly as interesting. To wit: the one and only Joe Breeze. If not for Joe perhaps this would have been entitled "My impressions of the Advanced Sports Model U106 Utility Bicycle" instead of "Experiencing…
So, 2011 is almost over. It’s time to coast across the finish line with a look back at those times when I wasn’t feeling quite as lazy as I am today, after three days off. To determine the top ten posts of 2011, I took a look at how many times each post was viewed…
I’ve been a Raleigh fan for as long as I can remember. My first 10-speed was a Raleigh Record, bought and paid for with hard-earned car waxing money. I knew all about “wax-on, wax-off” long before Ralph was just a gleam in Mr. Macchio’s eye. But for all the cars I waxed to earn that…
Americans tend to be very shy about asking for better prices. Maybe it’s part of the reason we accept having obnoxious pitchmen shouting Sale! Sale! Sale! at us. It compensates for our own reticence to initiate a deal on our own. When I returned from two-and-a-half years of living in Cameroon, I couldnt pay retail…
Last week the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) released a position paper (PDF) on how electric bikes should be regulated when off-road. And predictably, the pedal-power purists flipped out without absorbing the nuances of IMBA’s position — even though the second paragraph is all reasonable and stuff. IMBA believes all recreational uses of public lands…
I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. –Thomas Jefferson When someone starts an article with a Jefferson quote, you already know it’s going to be a rant, right? Clearly, Jefferson was talking about hair. The mind is in the brain; the brain…
This morning I swung by KickStand Kafé all in the name of testing a newly-mounted bottle cage on my Dahon for its compatibility with my commuter coffee mug. While there, I found a deeper purpose to my commute. The building occupied by KickStand used to be a bike/ski shop, and the owners very shrewdly have…
Karen Voyer-Caravona is an admitted bicycle dilettante in Flagstaff, Arizona, who blogs about her adventures on two wheels, vélo envy, her husband’s cooking, and cross country skiing at www.sheridesabike.com. Visit her website for her endless opinions on the most stylish shoes for pedaling, critiques of bike parking, and the best bike date dining destinations. The…
Saturday came and went with no rapture to speak of. If you were aware of Harold Camping’s prediction, you fell into one of three broad categories: People completely convinced the rapture would happen, and bewildered when it didn’t, People who didn’t really expect the rapture but passed Saturday with your fingers crossed, hoping for the…
It was just a little thing, but another Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me! panelist managed to irritate me over the weekend.
When Dave was done itemizing all the gear and specs, I got a sense of his competitive side–destroying the perception I’d been forming of him as a mild-mannered hippie dad with a funky bike.
This morning I became convinced that e-bikes may keep fair-weather bike commuters on their bikes–and out of their cars–when conditions are less than ideal.
Kristi and I make ten visits to congressional offices, a mixture of scheduled meetings with staff, and unscheduled flybys where we merely drop off a thin information packet.
It’s dawning on me that the Arizona delegation is likely going to be only myself, and the delegate from Bedrock City. And she is too short for me to hide behind.
Photographer Stan Engelbrecht, 35, and Nic Grobler, 31 cycle around South Africa. They strike up conversations with fellow cyclists they meet, and they take photos. These photos and conversations are the foundation of Bicycle Portraits, a book they are self-publishing.
I used be a cyclist. Then I wasn’t. After almost twenty years I’ve started cycling again. Why such a big gap? What has changed in that time?
Earlier this month, an interesting preliminary study was released from France detailing cyclist behavior with data collected from the Velo’v bike share system in Lyon, France. The Velo’v bike sharing system is a very extensive system with approximately 4000 bicycles available at 343 stations around the city of Lyon. For the most part, the Velo’v…
Tom Bowden is a bike commuter from Richmond VA, a "suit" – a corporate lawyer with an MBA, and a conservative "“ You betcha! He is also a board member of BikeWalk Virginia, a pro cycling and pedestrian group in Virginia that raises raises money to promote cycling, walking and active lifestyles. Tom’s lawyerly blogging…
Today’s E-Bike Wednesday Guest Article is brought to you by Elise Giddings. Elise is co-owner of Cycle 9 bike shop in Carrboro, NC, which specializes in electric assist, cargo bikes, commuting and city bikes. http://www.cycle9.com Elise will be featured in one of our upcoming Commute By Bike Podcast, look forward to the series starting next…
Every year, on the third Wednesday of May, thousands of cyclists across the world take to the streets to honor fellow riders who have been injured or killed while cycling. This event is known as the Ride of Silence, and it is a powerful way to use cycling as a statement. We have defined utility…
One of the main themes of Utility Cycling.org is an emphasis on the diversity and vast possibilities of the idea of utility cycling. When we first set out to define utility cycling, we came up with a big long list of categories and subcategories. Many of the categories are quite tangible – transportation, bicycle delivery,…
Most people do not think of Flagstaff, Arizona as being a cycling mecca, but Campfire Cycling’s hometown is full of cycling enthusiasm! Flagstaff has a tendency to “fly under the radar” when it comes to it’s cycling scene, but there is a lot going on in and around this city of around 60,000 people. This…
Recently, we have witnessed an upswing in parcel delivery by bike, especially as UPS continues to expand their use of bike trailers to deliver packages around the holiday season. In many places, bicycle delivery services and mobile bike businesses are popping up that offer a wide variety of services (you can find information about a…
The next major category of utility cycling that we would like to examine is cycling services. In our first post, we identified a number of different services that can easily be done via bicycle. Among them: Retail and Commercial Services Emergency and Patrol Services Land Services For the time being, we have separated out the…
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