After a week in Madagascar, I finally got a bike! I rode home to my apartment, taking selfies all the way. That week without a bike served me well. I spent some time on foot, in taxis, taking small public transportation buses (taxi brousse), and bumming rides from various colleagues with their SUVs. I observed…
For the last 4 years I have been dedicated to living a car free life. Four years ago I sold my last car, bought a bike and said goodbye to gas forever. Over the years I’ve added pannier racks, Panniers, commuter bags, trunk bags and rack top cargo boxes in an effort to be…
Excuse me while I go scrape my jaw off the floor. General Motors, yes the enormous, global maker of the 4-wheeled, gas-powered vehicles we call cars, announced this week that it will begin offering a bike sharing program for its 19,000 or so employees at the 330-acre Warren Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan. The…
THE DAILY COMMUTE Most you know how the everyday commute is a stress reliever as much as it can be a stress inducer. It took me quite awhile to find the route with the least amount of traffic as well as the all-around safest route i.e. dodging sketchy neighborhoods and avoiding pothole strewn streets as…
Suppose you were going to be on a small deserted island for up to a year and you had to pick some bike commuting accessories to take with you.Okay: Not you, but me.And not a small island, but the fourth largest island in the world.And definitely not deserted: Population 22 million or more.What I’m trying…
The internet waves generated earlier this week over Strava’s user data heatmaps we’re both exciting and frustrating to those of us who have been waiting for the technology revolution to catch up with smart route mapping for cyclists. It was exciting because it is definitely a sign of momentum, but frustrating in that there is…
The development of serious and dedicated bicycle infrastructure is a requirement for any car centric culture, such as the US, to be able to get people utilizing bicycles for transportation in any serious way. The Netherlands and Denmark are the best examples of this. As a US based bicycle advocate, this is a depressing reality. …
Why WE Ride
I’m a little late to the party on this one, but there were some interesting bike sharing related headlines floating around in the last few weeks that warrant a little discussion. Ironically, here I am writing about bike sharing again when I admitted recently to never having used a bike sharing system myself. I’m not…
I want to start this post by sharing a little secret of mine. Perhaps it’s not a secret so much as an admission, but I think it’s relevant to the content of this post nonetheless. Here goes – I have never used a bike sharing system. For starters, I’ve never lived in a city that…
Its that time of year again. That time of year for wallowing in the gift giving ambiguities of consumerism, generosity and self-interest. We are here to help you through this mess with some clear and concise holiday gift related strategies. #1: Consumerism: Attack this problem head on by tying consumerism to products that help…
In many of my previous posts on Commute By Bike, I have focused on feel-good stories, such as the tale of a man who found both renewed health and a missing dog while on his bicycle, as well as made entertaining (I hope) references to pop icons such as Kermit the Frog to explain painted…
Full Circle: Carbon Fiber Penny Farthing Concept Bike
I love clever designs of objects that fold up small — not just bikes. Before my first folding bike, I had a folding dinner table, a collapsible ladder chair, a folding book shelf, and other folding stuff. Closely related to my folding fetish is my modular fetish. The idea that one thing can be many…
Pedaling up to Mama Burger for lunch recently, I noticed a cargo bike parked outside, unlike any cargo bike I’ve seen. This was an electric, cargo, single-speed, fatbike. I went inside and scanned the tables — there aren’t many of them to scan — thinking I’d be able to guess the owner of this bike…
Wandertec’s own Bongo wheels are being used on “Rock the Bikes” everywhere! Sounds like a lot of gobble-dee-guk, but it’s pretty sweet. And… blend while you rock with the Xtracycle Fender Blender!! (We won’t judge whether it’s for protein shakes or margaritas. As long as you’re biking. And rocking.)
In the 12 months that Ive lived in piping hot Phoenix, the best rule of thumb Ive learned for beating the very high summer time heat is to wear dresses and skirts. Nothing combats temperatures over 100 like the flutter of a skirt and a breeze running its fingers across my legs when Im pedaling…
For people working regular business hours, it’s usually in the Fall and Winter when they need reliable bike headlights. The sun sets earlier, and daylight saving time kicks in in other parts of the world. In Tucson, I found myself commuting home after sunset even though it was the middle of the summer. Some days, around…
And I thought Streetfilms had a monopoly of making slick videos about urban cycling. ‘The Art of Carrying Things by Bike‘ by Laura J. Lukitsch, is a “a nice montage of some San Franciscos iconic bike routes and destinations, including the Wiggle, Ferry Building and Market Street.” I watched this video like a birdwatcher frantically…
Electric (bike) Inspiration
![Xtracycle [hearts] Local Dealers and Campfire Cycling](https://campfirecycling-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/xtracycle-hearts-local-dealers-and-bike-shop-hub-thumbnail.png)
Commute by Bike has had a long fascination with Xtracycle cargo bikes — those longtail wonders that make an ordinary bike into a “sports utility bike.” Way back in 2009, Arleigh (a.k.a. Bike Shop Girl) documented her build up of this utilitarian beauty: The FreeRadical Cargo Bike Kit contains the parts you need to…
Just to be confusing, Thule now makes bike racks and bike racks. The former being the things you use to carry your bike on your car; the latter being the things you put on your bike to carry panniers, rack-top bags, kids, beer, etc. Soon I suspect they will also be manufacturing bike racks as…
Hey new bike commuters! Are you fixing to ride to work? Maybe for the first time ever? Congratulations!If you’re prepared, you have been listening to lots of advice, and maybe you’ve read our entire Commuting 101 section.Here’s one last thing that will make a world of difference: Properly adjust your dang seat height.If it’s too…
This is our newsletter for the month.If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox, subscribe here. Reduced Prices on 2013 Model Chariot Trailers Our first ever sale on Chariot‘s newest models of Bike Child Carriers. Chariot Cheetah1 Bike Child Trailer Now includes a Strolling Kit. The cross-country carrier with a lightweight, aluminum frame…
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