Friday, September 02, 2005
Make money fast
Fat cyclist is trying to lose weight. If he doesn't make his weight goal, you might get $75. Or more. You must leave a comment on his blog by midnight tonight, U.S. Pacific Time. Have fun with your comments. $75 is a lot better than a snack cake, anyway.
A bike is stolen every minute
The only bike shop website that makes reference to Katrina is Wallingford Bicycle Parts, which has a hasty note from "Bill" on August 28 indicating their plans to evacuate. I imagine most of them are too busy figuring out what to do next to worry about details like website updates.
It's good news, then, that Recycled Cycles in Fort Collins, CO is offering temporary employment and housing for two to four bike mechanics and sales people. Other bike shops around the country are offering similar assistance to displaced bike industry workers.
Have a Cycle-licious weekend
I plan to do a marathon two-day bike and mountaineering expedition, so posting over the weekend may be sporadic. For those in the know, I've decided against doing this as a hurricane fundraiser -- there's not enough time for me to do this right -- but I encourage you to give anyway to the disaster relief effort of your choice. Have a good one!
Eurobike 2005 - opening day
VeloNews posted news about the opening of EuroBike 2005 in Germany. In Europe, the bike industry isn't faring so well so the Europeans are looking to the booming bike market in the U.S. for profits.
Birgit has photos from Eurobike on her bike adventures blog. Masiguy points to some additional news about Eurobike 2005. He also likes the new SRAM road group.
Birgit has photos from Eurobike on her bike adventures blog. Masiguy points to some additional news about Eurobike 2005. He also likes the new SRAM road group.
Winter cycling preparation
The local ski resorts are sending me their snow ski pass deals so it must be time to think about cold weather bicycling. Folks on the IceBike list are talking about fenders and their winter preparations. Traffic on the winter cycling forum at BikeForums has picked up a lot.
The main issues are gear and clothing. For bad weather winter cycling gear, Cycle-licious recommends the cheapest beater bike you can find that runs. Salt, grit and water are hard on components. Derailers and brakes stop working with ice buildup, which is why fixed-gear bikes are so popular in the winter.
If conditions are dry, your regular commute bike will work just fine. Be aware that things work differently in the cold -- plastic things get brittle and break, oil is less viscous, grease turns into glue, and elastomers on suspension forks aren't so elastic anymore.
Clothing is difficult because people have varying levels of comfort. I'm good to about 0°F (minus 20° C) in the winter with a fleece shirt and shell, ski gloves, wool socks, fleece pants and shell, and Goretex hiking boots. Others I know bundle up in overalls and full parka when winter cycling.
Hat and gloves are vitally important. I also have a full face mask, but I only need that in high winds or extreme cold. I climb mountains and snow ski, also, and the clothing for those activities works well for winter cycling -- I have some cycling-specific winter clothing but I haven't found that to be all that necessary.
As the weather cools I bring more winter cycling information here. I discuss winter cycling more on this winter cycling page. I also can't recommend IceBike enough when it comes to interactive discussion about winter cycling.
The main issues are gear and clothing. For bad weather winter cycling gear, Cycle-licious recommends the cheapest beater bike you can find that runs. Salt, grit and water are hard on components. Derailers and brakes stop working with ice buildup, which is why fixed-gear bikes are so popular in the winter.
If conditions are dry, your regular commute bike will work just fine. Be aware that things work differently in the cold -- plastic things get brittle and break, oil is less viscous, grease turns into glue, and elastomers on suspension forks aren't so elastic anymore.
Clothing is difficult because people have varying levels of comfort. I'm good to about 0°F (minus 20° C) in the winter with a fleece shirt and shell, ski gloves, wool socks, fleece pants and shell, and Goretex hiking boots. Others I know bundle up in overalls and full parka when winter cycling.
Hat and gloves are vitally important. I also have a full face mask, but I only need that in high winds or extreme cold. I climb mountains and snow ski, also, and the clothing for those activities works well for winter cycling -- I have some cycling-specific winter clothing but I haven't found that to be all that necessary.
As the weather cools I bring more winter cycling information here. I discuss winter cycling more on this winter cycling page. I also can't recommend IceBike enough when it comes to interactive discussion about winter cycling.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Supermarket help
I was born in Japan and spent my teen years there outside of Tokyo. As a young teen I would borrow my mom's bike outfitted with metal baskets on the rear and go grocery shoppping for her. The train stations then and now are always packed with hundreds of commuter bikes, and it's not at all unusual to see women use bikes and scooters to do their shopping.
Photo caption: A security guard holds the bicycle for a customer as she loads her groceries in Osaka Japan.
Photo caption: A security guard holds the bicycle for a customer as she loads her groceries in Osaka Japan.
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