Photo © Streetsblog

I’ve never been a fan of the way we celebrate Independence Day. Don’t get me wrong, I love my country as much as the next person, but something about a bunch of drunks setting off explosives in the middle of the tinderbox that is Northern California in July just makes me edgy. That, and the fact that the noise upsets my dogs. Did you know that the SPCA receives more stray, unidentified animals in the days immediately following July 4th than any other time throughout the year? I’m going to suggest we consider a different way of celebrating our independence.

Maybe we should combine our country’s birthday with a celebration of another sort of independence - the need for independence from foreign oil. Instead of blowing up things on the 4th, maybe we should shut down our cities Ciclovía style and have a gigantic car-free party in the streets, simultaneously celebrating our freedom from colonial rule while making a statement about our dependence on foreign oil. I know it’s far-fetched and about as likely to happen as pigs flying to the moon, but it sure sounds like a lot of fun and it would give the phrase “safe and sane” an entirely new meaning.

Oh, by the way, have a happy 4th. Stay safe.

When I was a kid my mother always told me to sit up straight and eat my vegetables. Moms always know best, and I think that was good advice, particularly the part about sitting up straight. See, I like sitting up straight when I ride. It’s the most relaxing and sure-footed way to ride. It’s how we all started riding when we were kids, and it’s how we all rode until we were infected with the go-fast bug. It’s how we sit when we drive our cars (God forbid), it’s how we sit when we work at the computer, and it’s how we sit when we enjoy a good meal. It’s still a good way to ride.

Bikes set-up for this kind of riding have bars that sweep up and back from the stem, placing the grip area within easy reach. This usually means the bars will be higher than the saddle, sometimes by as much as a few inches. This position, combined with a wide saddle that’s adjusted with the nose slightly uphill, places almost all of the weight back on the sit bones and very little on the other “parts”. The sit bones are a good place to sit (that’s why they’re called sit bones - duh..). Our sit bones are well-conditioned for sitting because we sit on them all of the time (double duh..).

Here in the U.S., somewhere along the way (I think it happened during the 1970s) somebody convinced us that we need to be hunched over on a drop-bar racing bike to be a “real” bike rider. Speed became king and the wind in your face became your enemy. But here’s a secret for you: they were lying to us and it was probably more about marketing than anything. Most people in the world (other than in the U.S.) still ride sitting bolt upright. There are an estimated 500 million (!) FP roadsters on the road today, all with their pilots sitting upright. These are serious bike riders that use their bikes for transportation (arguably the most serious way to use a bike). I mean, what could be more serious than a guy on a bike in a suit and tie, or a woman in pumps riding her bike to work?

I rode racing bikes for years and suffered through the sore neck and numb hands and other numb things where things should most definitely not be numb. It got so bad I quit riding for awhile, then eventually I went recumbent. I started out ‘bent on a laid-way-back high racer. It was pretty comfy and super fast and not a bad way to travel if you only ride on quiet country roads, but it was downright silly (and arguably dangerous) riding in city traffic with my feet at chin level. Uphill starts in the left-hand turn lane with a dozen or so cars behind me was a real comic treat for the drivers that were lucky enough to witness my Fred Flinstone starts. This got old pretty quick. Long story short, I eventually ended up on an upright recumbent with my feet near the ground and a straight spine. That was a cool bike; no numb parts and no neck pain. It was a good bike for riding around town and a great bike for tripping in the country, but with a 5′ wheelbase it was a pain for parking at the grocery store, or the post office, or the restaurant, or the… ad infinitum. And what about taking it on a train or bus? Forgetaboutit. No chance.

So now I ride mostly non-recumbent bikes that are set-up for sitting-up. These currently include an English roadster and a conventional touring bike modified to mimic the roadster riding position. They’re as different from drop-bar racing bikes as drop-bar racing bikes are from recumbents. They manage to side-step the physical issues associated with go-fast bikes while being comfortable, fun, and easy. Their no nonsense, sit-up-straight-and-eat-your-vegetables style would make Mom proud.

Photo © Bicycle Music Festival

About the Bicycle Music Festival:

Visit the BMF website for more info.

I keep hearing how well the industry is doing, how high gas prices are fueling high bike sales. In Portland, bike sales are so through the roof that Clever Cycles is closing their business for two weeks during the peak of cycling season because they’re out of almost all of their primary products and can’t restock fast enough! Not a bad problem to have!

From the Clever Cycles Blog:

Read the full post at the Clever Cycles Blog.

Rivendell has posted some decidedly low-tech, but enjoyably quaint, how-to videos on YouTube. So far there are 6 videos:

• Gluing grips and speed shellacing
• Close a quick release skewer a good way
• Make your own PBH measuring device!
• Rust-proofing a frame
• Mounting a Silver Hupe
• Shellac a handlebar rivendell cork bar tape mechanic

Just for kicks, here’s one of my old how-to videos from the Recumbent Blog:

• How to Install a Terracycle LWB Light Mount

This is my new Surly Long Haul Trucker. The LHT is a popular bike for loaded touring and it also makes a capable city/commuter bike. Mine is mostly stock, but I’ve added a few accessories and modified the cockpit to suit my preferences. Additions include a Brooks B67 saddle, Nitto bars, cork grips, Real brake levers, MKS touring pedals, Nitto bottle cages, SKS fenders, Brooks mud flap, Tubus rack, and Japanese brass bell. —Alan

My LHT was purchased at Gold Country Cyclery in Shingle Springs, CA. Thanks Rick!

Like most enthusiasts, I like nice bikes. I mean what bike nut doesn’t get excited over the artistry of Sacha White or Joseph Ahearne. There’s a lot to be said for a bike that’s custom built specifically to fit your physique, with every detail carefully attended to. Such a bike can be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase and acquiring one usually involves a major investment in time, effort, and expense.

I’ve been lucky enough to own a full-custom bike, and I’ve also owned many semi-custom bikes based upon production frames, but built-up from bare framesets with each component spec’d to my liking. Most of these bikes have been a joy to own and ride. Besides being a pleasure to look at, photograph, and work on, for the most part they’ve performed flawlessly on the road.

But there is a drawback to expensive, high-end bikes. I always take good care of my equipment, and custom bikes, more so than run-of-the-mill production models, demand to be handled with kid gloves. Somehow I can’t get comfortable riding a really nice bike in the rain everyday, locking it up to the bike rack in front of the grocery store, or hanging it on a hook in the baggage car where it will bang against other bikes. These restrictions handicap the day-to-day usefulness of these bikes and limit their full potential as tools (of course, others may not have this same aversion to using their custom bikes as their daily rides).

Because I’m now using my bikes as tools for transportation, I find myself gravitating toward less extravagant production models that are only slightly modified for personal preference. My thinking has changed from always looking for the optimal, to looking for a certain mid-level functionality that will get the job done without going overboard and triggering that urge to baby the bike. My Pashley, my Brompton, and my soon-to-be Surly LHT fall into this category. Unlike high-end custom bikes, they’re workhorses that I’m not afraid to use and abuse… and even put a few scratches on.

“What sacrifices are you willing to make?”

This is a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.

Let’s assume for a moment, that Jim Hansen is right. That, as he puts it, “If human beings follow a business-as-usual course, continuing to exploit fossil fuel resources without reducing carbon emissions or capturing and sequestering them before they warm the atmosphere, the eventual effects on climate and life may be comparable to those at the time of mass extinctions. Life will survive, but it will do so on a transformed planet. For all foreseeable human generations, it will be a far more desolate world than the one in which civilization developed and flourished during the past several thousand years.” ¹

If what he’s saying is true, then I’m obligated to act right now for the sake of my children and their children. I don’t have the option to “wait and see what happens” and to “hope for the best”. I don’t have the option to ignore the growing consensus of the scientific community and write it off as politics. I don’t have the option of putting my head in the sand and letting someone else fix it simply because that’s easier than changing my lifestyle. I don’t have the option of leaving a damaged world for my grandchildren simply because I couldn’t be inconvenienced.

****

So, we’re going to see a concert this weekend. It’s in the mountains, at a beautiful location 100 miles away. We’ve wanted to see this artist for a long time. The only reasonable way for us to get there is by driving the 200-mile round-trip. A 200-mile round-trip by bicycle is not an option. There are no public transit options to this location.

But there’s a problem. See, like Jim, I believe that I must do everything I can to tackle this problem of global warming. I believe, whether anyone else does or not, that I must make personal sacrifices now for the sake of our collective future. And I also know this is an unnecessary trip. We don’t have to make the trip; we want to make the trip. We could choose to not go, but the fact is, we’re going to make the trip. We’re going to get in the car and drive 200 miles and it will be a wonderful evening and we’ll have a great time and we’ll burn a bunch of fossil fuel.

I guess there’s always next time. Next time I’ll stop and think about it. Maybe next time I’ll buy a nice bottle of wine and rent the DVD instead.

[My good friend Rick Steele (owner of Gold Country Cyclery) gets all the cool toys, and this rare Moulton may be the best yet. —Alan]

Here’s a few shots to show how my minimal restoration or upgrade is going..

Really the frameset is in nice shape with only a couple minor blems..  I do need a new headbadge with SPEED on the bottom.  I don’t know how the headbadge got so worn looking..

It would have had Campy Delta brakes if they could have reached a few more mm’s..

Went to an ITM 44cm C-C HB, one that would fit the “Fixbone” stem.. Few new bars will..  Campy Record 9spd Ergo shifters, Centuar 10spd FD cause I had one, and an 8/9 speed Veloce rear derailleur to ensure best compatibility with the AM 9spd cluster.  Took a lot of work to find the right chain length and b-tension adjust to get the darn thing to shift all cogs in both rings. With straight cut cogs set, the chain had to be lengthened..

At my 6′2″ height, 35.5″ actual inseam and long reach I was surprised how well this 55.5cm frame fits.. As good as any I have owned.

Gotta like that Record CF seat post too :-)

This bike’s a keeper as long as I can still ride..

Regards,
Rick Steele

Gold Country Cyclery
3830 Dividend Dr. Suite B
Shingle Springs, CA 95682
Ph:  (530) 676-3305
Fax: (530) 672-0501
Email : gctandems@sbcglobal.net
Website: http://www.tandems-recumbents.com

[via 350.org]

It’s been two days in a row now that I’ve wimped out on bike commuting because of the smoke from our 1000-some odd fires here in California. I’ve never seen it so bad; I have to keep telling myself it’s smoke because it looks just like fog or cloud cover. Problem is, I’m getting downright cranky from not riding. It’s funny how, once you get accustomed to riding 7 days a week, a couple of days off seems like an eternity. I just may go against my better judgement and take the bike tomorrow anyway.

I’d be curious to know if my fellow NorCal bike commuters are braving the bad air.

Planet Bike is a cool company. They offer a nice line-up of cycling accessories and their Superflash is by far the best little self-contained tail light on the market. What makes them unique though, is their policy of donating a full 25% of their company profits to grassroots cycling advocacy organizations:

Photo © Evening Standard

A group of enterprising parents, working with their local schools in the London suburb of Richmond and supported by a grant from Transport for London, have developed a bike sharing program for transporting their children to-and-from school. The bikes, all Dutch cargo bikes, are left at one of the schools and can be borrowed for short trips by participating parents. According to organizers, the bikes have been in constant use since the program’s inception.

The program, called “Parents for Pedal Power”, has been so successful that it won the Cycling Community Award from Transport for London. The award “recognises the vital role these initiatives play in making cycling open and accessible to all Londoners.”

See the MSNBC video coverage here.

[This commute story is from Dale Oswald. -ed.]

I live in a medium-sized metro area with a lot of tech jobs going away. Though the economy is suffering, there are still jobs out there, but they’re with smaller companies that pay less and are scattered about. My situation put me at a new job, farther away from work (32mi/50km). Despite the lower pay and longer commute, I am fortunate to find work that matches my skills, experience and temperament.

My medium-sized metro area also has spotty transit coverage. My commute starts on one side of the city and ends at the other. Park & Ride busses aren’t scheduled to make this kind of connection, and using local buses doubles my transit time. I only use transit when no other option is available. Combinations of bike and bus don’t work well, either.

My solution is to drive about 20 miles and ride 13. The night before, I load my bag and lay out my cycling clothes. I drive an older car with little theft value that is large enough to put my SWB recumbent inside. I park in a shopping plaza near a multi-use trail, then use the trail plus suburban streets to ride to work. The process starts at 5:45 am and ends at 8:00 or so. At night, I leave my desk at 5 pm and am home by 7 pm. When all is said and done, this combination takes me about 1:50 longer than driving, but it’s all riding time. And at today’s fuel prices (6/08) I have reduced my daily fuel cost from US$11.25 to $7.

The only glitch in this is that the last half mile is on a busy arterial with no shoulders. I found a way around by obtaining permission to cross private property (church grounds) to the back of my place of employment.

Commuting to work will always be more of a hassle than driving or using transit. Walking out your door in street clothes and arriving at work ready to go is simpler and faster than changing clothes, locking up your bike and covering the seat, walking back and forth from your work area to where you change, doing extra laundry and managing your clothing in variable weather. Yes, you can minimize this by getting your systems down pat, or if your work facilities include a locker room and shower. It’s also easier if you can work and cycle in the same clothes. But it is worth it to me, for the health benefits, money saved and the clearer conscience on reducing my footprint on the earth.

With over 800 fires raging here in Northern California, it’s starting to feel like the entire state is going up in flames. And with the air quality index for today approaching the “extremely unhealthy” range, I’m glad to be telecommuting. On a positive note, the smoke is making for some striking sunrises.

Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson, Jr. was recently in Portland, OR to cover the city’s first Sunday Parkways event. The Portland event is patterned after Bogatá, Columbia’s Ciclovía “street opening” festivals, where cars are periodically banned from the streets to make way for pedestrians, cyclists, bladers, joggers, and all manner of happy people. From all reports, Portland’s event was a resounding success and a grand time was had by all.

From Portland Car-Free Day:

When I come to an intersection, in my mind’s eye, I draw a bird’s eye view of my path and the potential paths of all the vehicles in my range of vision. In other words, I visualize a mental map of potential collision points in a plan view, like a GPS display, but showing not just where to go, but also where the potential threats are coming from. All of this happens semi-subconsciously in the blink of an eye. I’ve done it for many years, and I admit this sounds a little weird, and I don’t know how it got started, but I think it helps keep me safer on the road.

I’m only guessing, but I suspect this habit of visualizing a “collision map”, if you will, may be a result of the fact that I’m a graphic designer that works (and consequently thinks) in two dimensions all day. Among other things, I create a fair amount of technical graphics and maps. The mapping in particular seems closely related to this unusual habit. (My wife is always confounded with my keen sense of direction and ability to read maps, while I’m continually confounded by her ability to remember precisely what someone said in a conversation three weeks ago… LOL. I think this demonstrates something about the left brain versus right brain paradox.) But I’ve terribly digressed, so back to the point…

I believe one of the most important things we can do to stay safe on the road is to anticipate the actions of our fellow road users. That’s why I use a rear view mirror; if I see a car drifting onto the shoulder or into the bike lane I have an extra split-second to take evasive measures (this has saved my life at least once, maybe twice). The same holds true for left and right hooks (the deadliest of all one of the more common accident types); anticipating that a car might hook you by visualizing its potential path buys a split-second that may be just enough to avoid getting hit.

I’m not suggesting anyone make a conscious effort to draw a virtual map in their mind every time they come to an intersection (that’s far too distracting unless it’s something that comes naturally), but I am suggesting it behooves all cyclists to get in the habit of anticipating where other road users are headed. Doing so is arguably the best defense against a collision.

Photo © WorkCycles

Henry Workcycles in Amsterdam are builders and retailers of bakfiets, workbikes, and hand-built city bikes. What I find intriguing about WorkCycles (besides their exquisite products) is the fact that owner Henry Cutler is an American expatriate living and working in Amsterdam, building and selling traditional Dutch bicycles. You can read more about his interesting story on his blog, Bakfiets en meer:
[ Part 1 | Part 2 ]

Here’s the WorkCycles philosophy (from their website):

Photo © Larry Hickmott (British Cycling)

The Smithfield Nocturne Folding Bike Race is held as a part of the Smithfield Nocturne cycling event in London. The race pits commuters on folding bikes against one another in a Le Mans-style race around the historic Smithfield Market. At the drop of the start flag, the suit-and-shorts clad racers run 10m to their bikes, pick them up and run another 10m, unfold them as fast as possible, and race 5 laps around the 1km closed course (sounds a bit like my sprint to the train every weekday morning… LOL). The 2008 event hosted over 100 entries with competitors coming from as far away as Slovenia. The grand prize for this year’s event was a Dahon Speed Pro TT folding bicycle and bragging rights as the world’s fastest multi-modal commuter.

You Tube Videos

• 2008 Bigfish Start Video
• 2007 BBC Coverage

Across the spectrum, from the most utilitarian to the most high-performing, the range of bicycle designs is a continuum of subtle differences. As much as we like to categorize bikes, when we line them up, it jumps out that it’s actually a small series of steps that takes us from one end to the other. I attempted to illustrate this with the above graphic (click the “zoom” button).

Starting on the left is a carbon lowracer recumbent, and on the far right is a carbon time trial bike. In the middle we have a beach cruiser and a city bike. The lowracer and the time trial bike give up everything in user-friendliness to gain the most in performance. The beach cruiser and city bike give up everything in performance to gain the most in user-friendliness. The bikes between the two extremes are bundles of conflicting priorities, each making compromises to reach a middle ground between utility and performance.

There’s more to performance than aerodynamics, but reducing wind resistance is by far the most dramatic way to increase efficiency (at 20 mph, wind resistance makes up approximately 90% of total resistance). The cyclist’s torso generates a tremendous amount of wind resistance, so for maximum efficiency the body needs to be laid down inline with the direction of travel. But doing so dramatically reduces a bike’s user-friendliness because an upright torso position (with the rider’s feet near the ground) is the most natural and confidence-inspiring. Recumbents with high bottom brackets, and upright racing bikes with extremely low handlebars, both put the rider in positions that, while being highly efficient, are unnatural and limited in their practicality. And, of course, bikes that place the rider in an upright position, while providing excellent user-friendliness, are limited in their efficiency. (Fairings bend the rules by allowing an upright seating position with good aerodynamics, but they increase complexity, weight, and cost, thus reducing practicality.)

No particular type of bicycle is necessarily better or worse than another (though an argument can be made that it may be prudent to focus on practicality over sport at this particular juncture, but I digress). Each attempts to fill a need; the trick is finding the type that best fits an intended use. Bikes that fall in the middle ground between pure performance and pure user-friendliness (like hybrids and low-end MTBs) are popular because they’re versatile (and consequently, relatively inexpensive). But like other “all-purpose” tools, they tend to do a lot of things reasonably well, but very few things exceptionally well. So pick your medicine: lots of performance, lots of utility, or a little of both. When it comes to bikes, like so many other things in life, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.