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Interbike 2008: Pashley Guv'nor

This beautiful bike is a throw back to an early 1930’s model that Pashley built and carried. This new version was built early last year for one of the owners as a personal bike. It was never intended to get moved into their product line. However, a last minute decision put it in the shipping…

10 Tips For Staying Motivated

If you have some other method of transportation, the occasional temptation is there to eschew the bike for a day, a week, or even for the entire winter. Bike commuting can seem old or boring if you’ve been doing it a while. Here are some tips for staying motivated.

Interbike Outdoor Demo Day 1

The Interbike Outdoor Demo is a couple days out in Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City Nevada suffering through riding as many new bikes as possible. The first bike that caught my eye was the Pashley Guvnor..  The original one was built up for the owner as a fun bike for him..  Last year they showed it at…

Bike share… in China

China was once known as the Bicycle Kingdom, but with increased affluence has come increased motorized traffic and government restrictions against bikes as China is now the second largest car market in the world behind the United States. China is on track to overtake the United States in the length of its long distance highways…

Commuting 101: Avoid Target Fixation

Man, I hope I don’t run into that… Recently, I’ve had a series of close encounters with critters, storm debris, buckles in the pavement, other cyclists and pedestrians on the multi-purpose path. Something in a book I was reading seemed applicable: “…your hands are hardwired to your eyes. Look ahead; see where you want to…

Yahoo's purple bikes

Yahoo created a small fleet of purple bicycles equipped with a camera, GPS receiver, cell phone and (solar) power for this gear and deployed the bikes around the world to chronicle their journeys. The cameras take a photo every 60 seconds and post them automatically with geo tags to Flickr, where you can see the…

Dallas readers, prepare to go multi-modal

DallasNews.com reports: Dallas transit agency to add bike racks to buses. I get down to Dallas a few times a year and have yet to see anyone biking to work. I know you’re out there and perhaps DART’s putting bike racks on their busses will help get more people out. “By New Year’s Eve, 650…

Prosecutor bikes to work

When you’re a bicyclist testifying in a road rage case, it’s good to have an attorney who knows the law. The Car Whisperer in Chicago had a run in with a antisocial motorist last August. The motorist went nuts right in front of a police station. The driver was cited for violating the three foot…

Tip: Watch out for bears!

Pantagraph.com: Jim Litz is accustomed to pedaling past 300-pound black bears on his morning commute to work. “I’ve come close to them this time of year,” Litz said, clutching his side and grimacing. “I know bears. The entire creek bottom is just hammered by bears. That’s the beauty of living here. But typically, they’re crossing…

Nice bike commercial

Okay, some people are complaining about the sidewalk riding and wrong way riding, and others don’t like the advertiser, but I like that this video shows people dressed for living riding their bikes to get around and transport their stuff. And there’s no ridiculous “Professional drivers on closed course” disclaimer to accompany this transportation ad!…

Commuting 101: Keeping footwear dry

In the wake of the tropical storms, we’ve had a lot of rain in the past week. My cycling shoes have gotten so wet that they don’t get a chance to dry out before it’s time to leave for work in the morning. Here are some tips for keeping your footwear dry in monsoon season.

Commuting 101: Be Seen!

September’s officially here, and many recreational cyclists are hanging their bikes up for the season as the evening daylight gets shorter and shorter. Those who commute by bike, however, still have quite a bit of good riding weather ahead. You just need to be seen, and be safe.

New Belgium Brewery Bike-In Movies

Last Thursday’s showing of The Goonies at New Belgium Brewing’s Bike-In Cinema drew complaints from the brewer’s neighbors. According to this article at the Coloradoan.com, Fort Collins city code compliance officers have been monitoring the movie night volumes, and last week’s showing exceeded the 50 decibel level permitted by city law several times. Wait a…

Bike riding journalist

Carrie Peterson reports on crime for the Democrat Herald newspaper in Albany, Oregon, which is south of Salem about halfway between Portland and Eugene. Carrie’s beat includes burglaries, thefts, homicides, fires, car crashes, scams, court cases, drug activity. And for the next three weeks, Carrie is doing this without a car. She’s been very honest…

10 Worst Car Commutes

“Traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy $78 billion a year, wasting 2.9 billion gallons of fuel and robbing commuters of 4.2 billion hours.” This article from Weather.com lists the top ten worst cities for commuting.

Ivan Basso rides a Raleigh One Way

We really like the Raleigh One Way bicycle, a sweet steel singlespeed bike with fenders and wide tires that’s great for city riding. Professional cyclist Ivan Basso apparently agrees… Read more at Raleigh Commuters blog, from where I stole this photo.

Abused commuter bikes

Yesterday we talked about hot road bikes for the commute. Lightweight road bikes, though, can be a little finicky, and many of us like to keep the sporting equipment in pristine condition. In a comment, Steve asked the question: “What constitutes ‘commuter bike abuse’?” A few things come to mind for me; I’m sure CBB…

Hot road bikes for the commute

Here at Commute By Bike we focus primarily on utility bikes designed more for practical transportation rather than fast sport recreation. I know many of you, however, like the fast road bikes. My good friend Ken Conley in Silicon Valley is a fast bike fanatic who rides his bike to work. He recently had an…

RideTheCity.com: Safe bike routes for NYC

Live in New York City? Ever wondered what the safest route is between where you are and where you want to go? Check out RideTheCity.com. It’s a mash-up application based on Google Maps that uses several different data points to help you safely find your way through the city by bike.