Moonbeams
There’s nothing quite like riding under the light of a full moon.
Miami Joins the Party
From the Miami Herald:
Miami’s long-downtrodden but growing community of bicyclists is reaping a sudden bonanza: Miles of new bike lanes and plans for more. A new monthly, family-friendly bike festival downtown. And a clutch of bike-friendly proposals designed to promote cycling for recreation and commuting.
On Saturday, Miami-Dade County will formally inaugurate new dedicated bike lanes along the full length of the Rickenbacker Causeway by closing half the roadway for the morning and letting cyclists, roller bladers and pedestrians have the run of it.
The following weekend, on Jan. 18, the city of Miami will host the third, expandededition of Bike Miami Days, the monthly effort by the administration of Mayor Manny Diaz to promote urban fun and safe cycling by closing off streets in downtown and the Brickell area in hopeful emulation of the famed Ciclovía in Bogotá.
Gocycle
Word on the street is that the Gocycle is (finally) in production and due to hit the streets in Q1 of ’09.
Gocycle →
TerraCycle
I’d like to welcome my newest sponsor, TerraCycle, maker of exquisite parts and accessories for upright and recumbent bicycles.
A little history from their website:
TerraCycle started out in 1996 making custom fitted, very dialed in recumbent bikes. In order to get the performance we wanted in a number of the special parts, we found we had to make them ourselves. It wasn’t long before people started asking if we’d make parts for their bikes. Before we knew it, the parts side of the business completely outran the bicycle side of the business. We now no longer make complete bikes, and instead are focused on expanding and improving an ever growing line of parts and accessories. Our R&D list is long and varied, just the way we like it. We get to work on all kids of things every day.
We use a variety of processes to make our parts. Many things are CNC machined on one of our two CNC vertical milling machines. We like the precision of CNC, and the freedom of being able to make nearly anything we can dream up. There’s some lathe work, and a good amount of hand work as well, as there are some things you just can’t do on a CNC. We have our anodizing and laser marking done locally. Otherwise, everything is done in house. We have some products coming up that will use custom extrusions and molded plastic parts, again locally made.
I’ve been personally using TerraCycle products for a few years now and I can confidently say they are some of the most well-engineered and finely-machined accessories available.
TerraCycle →
TC L2D Mount →
TC Screamer Idler Kit →
TC LWB Light Mount →
TC Ti Idler →
Helmets: Had Enough Yet?
If you didn’t get enough here, then you might as well join in on what is highly likely to turn into a fray over there.
Faux Finish
As I mentioned in my prior post about our lack of bike parking in the U.S., it’s sometimes suggested that nice bikes are not well-suited for utilitarian use because they’re vulnerable to vandalism and theft. And as I also stated in the post, suggesting we ride junker bikes is a sorry excuse for a real solution to the problem.
Well, here’s another half-baked solution for you. How about self-adhesive stickers that you apply to your bike to make it look scratched and rusty? They’re from artist Dominic Wilcox in the U.K. He calls them “Anti-Theft Bike/Car Devices” and they sell for $3.99 (UK). I have to hand it to Mr. Wilcox for doing such a good job designing the stickers; they look fairly convincing in photos (though I have to doubt they’d fool a serious thief). As ridiculous as this idea sounds, it beats the genius that took a chain and Dremel tool to the finish of his brand new Surly (sorry, I can’t find the link right now), or this guy who painted his shiny new Bianchi Milano with “Rust Antiquing” paint.
What About Parking?
When discussing infrastructure, the conversation usually centers around bike lanes and separated bike paths, but an often overlooked and important piece of the puzzle is bike parking.
I often hear people recommend a “beater” commute bike as a solution to our lack of secure bike parking in the U.S. The theory is that if your bike is a piece of junk, no one will want to steal it, and if it gets stolen, it’s not a great loss. What a lame excuse for our terrible lack of bike parking facilities!
The above photo shows a secure “bike locker” at a public transit facility in my home town. I’m thrilled that I have access to a locker, but it’s quite silly that there are only four lockers available at a mass transit facility that sees dozens of bikes go through daily. I’ve lost count of how many people have asked me how I scored the locker. The sad thing is that the annual landscaping budget for the facility is more than the cost of the lockers.
I know numerous, long term bike riders who would be much more likely to use their bikes for transportation if secure bike parking was available. These are people who are accustomed to riding nice bicycles and are highly unlikely to ride a junker. If we’re going to attract more “sport” riders to utilitarian cycling, we need facilities where they can securely park their expensive bikes. And I’m not just talking about at work; we need ample secure bike parking at retail centers, transit centers, and all public facilities.
