Mar 31, 2007 · 08:27 AM
SpinDaily, a trends and styles video podcast, goes shopping for a custom bike at Orange20Bikes with Jorja Fox from CSI. In another edition, SpinDaily visited Freecity Supershop, a retail store we posted about last year.
Good thing to see bikes as stylish, especially with stars from hit TV shows!
Mar 31, 2007 · 07:40 AM
I was begining to suspect an anti-bike slant at the Seattle PI until they ran the article on the Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club work on an urban mountain-bike course under I-5. The two previous articles this week about bikes brought out the tired and predictable arguments from motorists and cyclists and it was relief to read a positive article about an impressive project.
Mar 31, 2007 · 05:37 AM
Newsday | Critical Mass ride interrupted
Three riders were arrested during Friday night's Critical Mass ride in New York City. Two were charged with disorderly conduct and “obstructing governmental administration.” Newsday was unable to discover charges against the third rider at press time.
"What this is all about is the police department trying to get Critical Mass," said Norman Siegel, the former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union who represents the Five Borough Bicycle Club, which sought to block the NYPD's new rule in federal court this week.
About 50 riders were ticketed, some for traffic offenses.
Photo by dogseat.
Also:
flickr.com | Critical Mass-NYC 3/30/07 - a photoset by dogseat
Mar 30, 2007 · 08:24 AM
Newsday | Mass bikers facing arrest
New York City police have declared any gathering greater than 50 people a parade, and are threatening to arrest riders at tonight's Critical Mass if they participate without a permit.
Critical Mass is a monthly ride with no formal organization, where riders try to demonstrate that bicycles have a place on the roads by swarming one area of a city. The New York City ride, which starts at Union Square, has been targeted by police in the past, particularly during the Republican National Convention in 2004, and in January 2006, Judge Gerald Harris ruled that Critical Mass did not require a permit.
Mar 30, 2007 · 08:07 AM
Rolling out of Solvang, back towards Santa Barbara, through a nice valley.
Mar 29, 2007 · 08:34 PM
A reader sent us Jennifer’s List, a growing database of bicycle trails that uses the Google Maps API and a rating system. One quirk, when the maps are close together, it takes lots of clicking to see the details.
Mar 29, 2007 · 08:25 PM
I saw several bike homes in downtown Santa Barbara and managed to photograph this one. Note the rust, the pillows, bedding, and goods in the back.
Mar 28, 2007 · 07:37 PM
We rode the Santa Barbara to Solvang loop today
On the roads of the Tour of California — read more in our Travel blog.
Mar 28, 2007 · 07:33 AM
In what’s proving to be a big week for cycling haters, the Seattle PI reports on the progress the city is making with the bicycling master plan and the comments fill up with the standard bad cyclists in traffic rants. As I said in my comments, a car isn’t an entitlement to the roads and it’s the cities lack of action that’s causing the motorist tension. Let’s hope the plan gets done soon.
Mar 27, 2007 · 07:07 PM
I’ve found that by adding things to a list to not get done, a To-Don’t, that frees up more time to ride …
Mar 27, 2007 · 08:09 AM
Tagging its product as the biggest drivetrain innovation in 50 years, NuVinci announced that Seattle Bike Supply will ship their continuously variable planetary (CVP) hub and CruiseController as a boxed and wheel kit.
Bike Hugger met with and rode a NuVinci bike while in Interbike and have been waiting for them to show up at a distributor. As cool as it is, and it is, will it only serve the “flat” markets where commuters, enthusiasts, and just people that want to ride don’t have to up any hills? In my first 4 Bettie shifts, I decided Bettie 2.0 (coming this fall) needed some sort of a different drivetrain: Nexus, NuVinci, or Rohloff.
We’re trying to get our hands on one of these kits for a detailed post and for our Bettie 2.0 tests.
Mar 26, 2007 · 05:38 PM
SI.com | LeBron James buys stake in cycling company
LeBron James has acquired minority ownership of Cannondale, giving the US manufacturer a tremendous shot in the arm.
James is one of the NBA's most visible players, with a $90 million Nike sponsorship contract. He co-captains the US Olympic team, and has been an NBA All-Star every season since joining the Cleveland Cavaliers direct from high school as the league's overall No. 1 pick.
Said James:
“Biking is an extremely important part of my training routine, and I like to invest in what I know.”
Cannondale's CEO:
“LeBron is an astute entrepreneur and investor who recognizes the quality of our products and value of our business, and he will certainly extend the awareness of the benefits of cycling to more people.”
Cannondale went through a Chapter 11 reorganization in 2003, when it was purchased by Pegasus Partners. They're sponsoring Liquigas this year, after years sponsoring Saeco during the Mario Cipollini years.
Love to see LeBron's frame. Back around 1990, I was in a local shop that carried Serrotta, and noticed a bizarre frame: It looked like about a 68 cm seat tube with a 60 cm or so top tube. I asked one of the employees what it was doing on the floor, since I was sure it couldn't be a stock frame. He said it had just been built up, and was waiting on its owner, Kevin Willis of the Atlanta Hawks. And, of course, Bill Walton rode throughout his career, and still does today.
Also:
Cannondale Community | LeBron James buys a stake in Cannondale
Mar 26, 2007 · 05:23 PM
Writing for the Seattle PI, guest columnist Lynne M. Baab hopes, “Seattle continues to encourage bicycling because of the health, environmental and quality of life benefits when lots of people bike,” and shares her experiences in Copenhagen. Her experiences are like many cyclists that travel abroad and discover a different world. We found cities of bikes in Spain and Jason was amazed by Copenhagen and all the bikes of all types, mostly utility. In Santa Barbara, there are cyclists everywhere.
Lynne’s article also stirs up old debates about cars and bikes and roads by cranks on both sides. So, we’ve discussed this before and it’s always a good topic. What does Seattle need to do?
Mar 26, 2007 · 01:32 AM
Continuing on my vacation in Florida, one of my goals was to participate in a bike race. Keeping in mind my other social goals (one of them visiting a girl in South Carolina) and the fact that my convertible road/track travel bike is without spare shifters or derailleurs, I was limited to finding a time trial within a few hours of Gainesville on the Saturday before I left for Hilton Head Island. Set up as a fixed gear with a front brake only, my bike would be regulated out of mass start criteriums and road races. But it just so happened that there was a 7-mile time trial in Tampa that weekend (I hoped that officials wouldn’t want to argue about legality of having just a front brake, though I believe it is technically okay for fixies in time trials).
Mar 25, 2007 · 06:33 PM
The Santa Barbara experience Electric Bike at the Hemp Store
Originally uploaded by Hugger Industries.
Mar 24, 2007 · 02:04 PM
Just in time for the trip to Santa Barbara, Road Bike Action arrives! Bonus while reading it on the plane, there’s a cool sites link to us. Very nice and great to see a road-specific mag back. It’s a good issue with an article on the Portland scene and women’s racing.
Mar 23, 2007 · 07:30 AM
A reader sent us a Flickr group photo pool for the, “smart, stylish, functional outfits worn by transportational bicyclists.” And I said, “wool!”
Also blogged by Bicycle Fixation, a blog that’s way into bikes like us and on Letter from Hen Waller.
Mar 23, 2007 · 07:08 AM
In my travels to NYC (I was there for a blogging summit), I hadn’t met any cyclists, just seen pizza delivery bikes, and a few messengers in traffic. Sitting at a round table, listening to a lecture, and checking on BIke Hugger, one of the attendees said, “hey! you’re a cyclist and we proceeded to chat about the Gotham scene.” He told me about
and said that it was easy to get out of the city into some good riding. Walking home from dinner, I passed Chelsea Bicycles, but it was late. I’m never in New York long enough to bring a bike, but maybe next time, I can meet a local club.
Mar 22, 2007 · 06:27 PM
The Goat tipped us to a $2K hydraulic shifting system that’s made by 5rot. The shifters are “nearly frictionless, light, and accurate and cost 2k!” And must be marketing to the dude that doesn’t want his bike to look like anyone elses and cost lots more. Snark aside, I’ll give 5rot props for the industrial form and function of the design — anyone remember Shimano’s multiple attempts at air shifting? Or Mavic’s ill-fated electro shifter?
Hydraulic shifting reminded me of Bettie (shifting under big loads, makes one think of hydraulics, electronics, or a damn belt drive).
Mar 22, 2007 · 06:07 PM
On Saturday, I’l start riding the roads and training in Santa Barbara with the boys and Pam. We’ll ride the same routes as the Tour of California, up into Solvang, and those parts and I’ll blog it all on our featured Travel Blog.
South of us Team Bike Hugger is racing at Redlands and I hear gettin’ some buzz for those new women tees.
Mar 22, 2007 · 04:00 PM
The girls are off to a great start after today’s Redlands prologue. Hop on over to Team Bike Hugger for the behind-the-scenes posts. Rumor has it that this team is smokin’ hot!
Mar 21, 2007 · 08:45 AM
Just as I was heading out for a trip to NYC, packages from Ibex Clothes and Nutcase Helmets arrived. Add those products to the Hed wheels, PrincetonTec, Giro shoes and we’ve got some reviewing to do. Maybe I can do them all at once on Bettie!
Mar 20, 2007 · 11:51 PM
Earlier this month I escaped Seattle’s damp, chill grasp and ran away to my sunny hometown of Gainesville, Florida. I had 4 goals: see some relatives, ride with my homies on the country roads of “Hogtown”, do a bike race, and see a girl. No one’s really interested in my relatives, and so let’s skip to my friends. Goals #3 and 4 will be an entirely different entries.
Mar 20, 2007 · 01:32 PM
More interesting that the contrasting old v. young and laptop are the two bikes in the background of this poster for Intel’s Leap Ahead™ vision. The poster also caught my attention because next month I’ll blog from Beijing about bikes (of course), but also the pace of change in China. I had read that bikes still outnumber cars in China, but I’m expecting that’s rapidly changing.
Mar 20, 2007 · 01:13 PM
I spotted this trike v. bike ad for Microsoft’s business suite on a terminal wall at SeaTac. A good visual despite the lack of helmets. It’s not clear in the photo, but I think that’s a Lemond. I’ve noticed an uptick in bikes in media recently with the pack chasing down a break ad for a financial firm.
Mar 19, 2007 · 03:58 PM
Finally, the Bike Hugger shirts for women are in. We got ‘em just in time to outfit Team Bike Hugger at Redlands and they’re on sale now. You can purchase directly from us via Paypal or from Amazon.com.
Mar 18, 2007 · 07:07 PM
Still on my Bike Expo high from last weekend, I took advantage of the beautiful weather today and joined my first Cascade daily ride! The Cascade Training Series kicked off this weekend and while Saturday’s crowd enjoyed a wet welcome to the cycling season, this morning’s ride was a wonderful way begin training for the 2007 STP.
From beginner to racer, cruiser to carbon, these rides are a great way to steadily increase mileage in preparation for your big summer event. Wonderful people, fantastic ride leaders and incredible riding weather! So hug your bike, hope for sun and join us throughout the series.
Mar 17, 2007 · 08:08 AM
Team Bike Hugger is racing at Redlands next week and blogging all about it. They’re introducing themselves now on our team special feature blog, talking about what it takes, and being a newbie.
If you’re at Redlands, they’ll be easy to spot in their Bike Hugger shirts.
Mar 15, 2007 · 09:48 AM
Ride for Climate is a US bicycle tour to raise awareness of global warming and encourage action. It starts in Boston on 4/21 with two global warming experts riding across the US, stopping along the way to give presentations on global warming and discuss solutions. The tour will continue onto South America. Maybe they’ll cross paths with Pedal?
Having traveled and toured a few places on bike, I understand how much more you see and will never forget the impact of riding up Thompson Pass and suddenly realizing how big Alaska is and it’s f’ing big!
Mar 15, 2007 · 06:21 AM
Project Pedal is a video-podcast/documentary about a small group’s coast-to-coast bicycle trip and the other travelers they cross paths with on the road. The 3rd episode explains the casting call for a June/July ride this summer. Last year, we met the Ditty Bops in a similar adventure. Check these Project Pedal episodes for more:
If you ride with Pedal, let us know how it went.
Mar 14, 2007 · 11:32 PM
Today, on my last day in Austin, TX for SxSW, my friend Jennifer and I were exiting a hotel courtyard on South Congress to make our way back to the Convention Center. Just as we stepped into the misty air out in the sidewalk, a helmeted cyclist rode by on the street, his sharp features and lean physique instantly recognizable. Agog, we exclaimed in near unison:
“Holy crap, that was David Byrne!”
We stood gaping as he maneuvered his bicycle tentatively across the lanes of oncoming traffic and into the center turn lane of the five-lane street. He was evidently trying to get himself onto the other side of Congress in order to ride with traffic.
Watching him negotiate with a blue pickup truck for the center lane, aggressive traffic on all sides of him, one of us spoke the words we both were thinking: “I really hope David Byrne doesn’t get hit.”
Mar 13, 2007 · 10:32 AM
Traveling a lot to ride and race bikes, I’ve always thought about a trailer, rv, camper, bus or something. Yesterday I spotted a T@B trailer on the highway and it looked cool, designy, and spiffy. There’s a bike-rack option and even better, I bet you could put two bikes inside the trailer. Check this flame paint option with the banana seat bike.
Mar 12, 2007 · 02:33 PM
As promised, this year’s Bike Expo was huge. Held again in Magnuson Park, the gloomy Seattle drizzle kept only weenies like me from riding over for a weekend of bike fun. I took advantage of the new two-day pass offered this year and for the bargain price of ten dollars, I showed off my beautiful Cascade bracelet for entry.
The entry to such an exhibition can be a bit overwhelming. Wall-to-wall people, music and televisions with a constant stream, smiley volunteers shoving bags and programs and freebies into your hands and the bling of shiny new bikes calling you by name. Snazzy components, carbon-this and streamline-that, the most beautifully obnoxious new jerseys I’d ever seen (with matching socks, of course). For a moment, I was certain Heaven existed and I was surrounded by it.
Mar 12, 2007 · 01:58 PM
John Robinson wrote to tell us about his ride across Europe for a Ukranian orphanage. From his journal,
During the summer of 2006, I traveled with only a bicycle from Lviv, Ukraine down to Napoli, Italy, then north to Calais, France. From Calais I ferried to Dover, then rode to London to complete the voyage. I visited eleven countries and saw a variety of landscapes and weather. I had encounters with many people and most of these were positive. I also used this experience to draw attention to a little orphanage in eastern Ukraine, the Makiivka HIV / AIDS orphanage.
To date John has raised $2,400, logged an amazing amount of miles, and wrote about everything.
Mar 12, 2007 · 01:44 PM
That’s Mike Rogers and Chad Brothers from the Wines of Washington team on the ferry towards the Tour de Dung, a classic early season bike race in the Northwest. Photo courtesy Frederick Soo.
Mar 12, 2007 · 01:19 PM
Cycling photographer, Joolze Dymond, picks her favorites from last year for the BBC, including this one of “Jody Crawforth desperately trying to keep in contention to take the overall points jersey in the CX National Trophy Series in Derby.
Mar 11, 2007 · 07:27 PM
So Fritz over at Cyclelicious found the Veltop, at right, and wonders whether his readers would ride with something like this.
For me, it seems like a solution in search of a problem. Here in Georgia, the combination of heat radiating off the black fabric and the windows blocking the cooling airflow means it wouldn’t be much help against the sun in the summmer.
Maybe if you’re fighting cold and rain together, it would work better, but it looks like it would produce a lot of extra drag, as well.
Mar 11, 2007 · 03:31 PM
Still recovering from two days of bikes, bikes and more bikes. Great event, wonderful exhibitors, fabulous speakers. Stay tuned for a more detailed synopsis in the next day or so. For now, I’m off to dig through lots of great schwag over a glass of wine.
Mar 10, 2007 · 10:19 AM
Researching routes for an upcoming tour in Alaska, I found Up in Alaska a blog written by an, “Alaska journalist who likes to bicycle in horrendous conditions and eat goldfish crackers and Pepsi for breakfast.” Right on. Seeing a photo of Jill riding in the rain reminded me of our tour a few years back.
Mar 10, 2007 · 09:03 AM
SBTC wrote to say hello and cool. They’re an informal group of recreational cyclists promoting rides and fun for its members. There’s a lot going on in their clubhouse, including maps and a gallery.
Mar 10, 2007 · 07:49 AM
This week we rolled out two more featured blogs
Team Bike Hugger — a team of Bike Huggers racing a few national calendar events that’ll cover the culture, the back story, and more.
Bike Hugger Travel — a travel blog about upcoming tours and trips to Santa Barbara, Beijing, Hawaii …
Those two blogs join Bike Hugger@Interbike and Bike Hugger@Races.
Mar 09, 2007 · 10:56 PM
This weekend’s Bike Expo is nearly upon us and I’m excited to be bringing the “best of” to those of you who aren’t able to make it out for what is arguably Seattle’s mecca of cycling culture. While I am personally hoping for some dry weather, a light drizzle will certainly not keep me from hitching up the trailer and hauling the family out to kick off the cycling season.
Between the 150+ exhibitors and a packed presentation schedule, I plan to bring plenty of cash for the beer garden and a comfortable pair of shoes. You’ll find me in my Bike Hugger Shirt, camera in-hand.
Mar 09, 2007 · 02:13 PM
Bike Expo is this weekend and Kelli will blog all about it, including beers and BMX (I don’t know if we’d ever cover BMC without a beer enticement). Kelli blogged for us last year and posted how NOT to ride the STP.
Mar 09, 2007 · 11:37 AM
“Hello allergy season,” I said yesterday in the afternoon … “I see you’re here to totally kick my ass again!” With the unusual weather pattern this year, I predicted lots of pollen and a difficult season. After years of allergies, I just get in the best shape I can, ride tempo and easy through the worst of it, and relax.
I’ve been as drugged up as Rush Limbaugh, tried herbs, and even acupuncture, and it all comes down to the fact that I’ll feel much better once the trees stop doing their thing.
Even worse is the summer smog and I watch the air quality here.
Anyone else feeling it like me and how do you cope?
Mar 08, 2007 · 10:52 AM
As a cyclist, I get asked 3 questions all the time
Mar 06, 2007 · 08:52 PM
This Saturday I’m planning on heading out to the Murarrie Cycling Facility for the weekly Balmoral Circuit Race. I’ve raced in London (Hillingdon Circuit) and it’s much the same sort of course: flattish, wide pavement, closed to traffic (yay!), and WINDY. I did a shake-down ride today to sort out the way to the course. I figure about an hour to ride there to be safe considering the hills en-route have enough pitch to make me happy to have the 25.
Mar 06, 2007 · 07:23 PM
So, as promised, Swobo has launched a line of bicycles to join their clothing. The three models are available for order now, with delivery promised in April.
The Folsom is a one-speed with coaster brakes, and PT-boat styling. Primer gray with gussets between the front of the top and down tubes, with bolt-on hubs, BMX style pedals and 4" riser handlebars, for $499.
The Otis is a matte black, rigid-fork MTB-style frame mated with a SRAM 3-speed coaster brake hub in back and a disc brake up front. Grip twist shifting. Black-on-black tires, black rims, black seat, black frame: To borrow from the masters, “It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is … none. None more black.” Yours for $699.
And the Sanchez, which is out of the box ready to hang with the bike messengers. It's got the flat-bar fixie no-brake road bike ethos down, and brings a cool galvanized finish (this one's “Swobo butted CroMo,” while the others are 7005 aluminum). It's a flip-flop rear hub, so you can thread on a single-speed freewheel. The black and white photos don't really show the white (yes, white) rims and handlebar, so I'm reserving judgment there. This one's $599.
And there's a bottle opener built into every Swobo saddle.
These aren't bikes as art, or as hipster product placement -- they're utilitarian and organic.
What do you think?
Mar 06, 2007 · 02:50 AM
I’ve made it to the land of Oz. It’s pretty nice down here (85+), and I’m hoping to really get out for some exploring now that I’ve settled into my home base in Brisbane. Sydney was NOT a bike town. I rode for an hour up and down the same street - mostly because I was afraid of getting lost, but also because it was the only street I found that had any sort of a shoulder to it. I couldn’t imagine trying to get around Sydney on bike alone. Commuting to work there would be a challenge for sure.
Mar 05, 2007 · 07:42 AM
Reading the definition of McMansion Masters on Nega-Coach was even funnier after completing my first masters race of the season. The first race with the old guys is always who’s gonna cramp first. Or a big-effort suddenly reeled back with a desperate realization that, “whoa, not quite ready, better back right off … .”
My cramp was a twanging hamstring and I imagined it looking like a guitar string, buzzing after a hard, Peter-Townsend type power-cord strum. It was one pedal stroke away from snapping and I spun like a spin class, at the highest cadence I could to stay with the group. I finished the race favoring my right leg and was relieved it was over.
Mar 05, 2007 · 06:48 AM
Following the study last year linking asthma and inner-city children to diesel pollutants, a new study by the Clean Air Task Force and reported by Reuters finds that diesel soot shortens lives and that “fine particle pollutants released from the exhaust of diesel-powered vehicles pose a major health risk to commuters.”
Yet another reason to bike to work.
Mar 04, 2007 · 11:32 PM
It’s late on Sunday night and I’m packing up my travel bike for a little trip to Florida and South Carolina. I’ll be flying with my custom steelSycip.
Mar 02, 2007 · 06:08 PM
I’ve been thinking about that bicycle movie list posted a while ago. There’s this Japanese movie called Messengers (メッセンジジャス) that I’ve wanted to see. It kinda sounds like the movie Quicksilver if Kevin Bacon was a woman…and Japanese (actually that’s a disturbing image). Anyways, I’ve always been into music more than movies, so invite people to submit their favourite bicycle songs. Rules: it’s gotta be pretty obvious that the song is referring to bicycles, not motorcycles. so I here’s my own list of bicycle songs to start the ball rolling:
The Trucks- Big Afros (self-titled) “My two favorite things in life: big Afros and riding bikes with you.”
Orbit- Bicycle Song (Libido Speedway) “What a pretty bicycle she said, I want one just like that…”
Lily Allen-LDN (Alright, Still) “Riding thru the city on my bike all day ‘cause the filth took away my license”
They Might Be Giants- Narrow Your Eyes (Apollo 18) “I get on my bike, ride down our block, ride thru the rows, thru the green lights, but when I think of all your advice, I narrow my eyes…”
Tori Amos- Pretty Good Year (Under The Pink) “Tears on the sleeve of a man, don’t wanna be a boy today. Heard the eternal footman bought himself a bike to race”
The Smiths- This Charming Man (originally 7” single) “Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate, will Nature make a man of me yet?”
Mar 02, 2007 · 04:31 PM
Fortune | How a lottery winner spends his multi-million-dollar jackpot - Feb. 21, 2007
Fortune has a story about Brad Duke, a Gold's Gym manager from Idaho who won a $220 million Powerball jackpot in 2005.
He retired his student loans and his mortgage, but you've got to treat yourself a little when you pick up a check for $85 million. His treat? A trip to Tahiti with 17 friends ($63,000 worth) and new bikes to the tune of $65,000, including a $12,000 BMC.
He's still teaching his spinning class twice a week, too.
Mar 01, 2007 · 11:43 AM
I’d like to share just a few thoughts about wheels…because too few of you are asking me. People get the most nonsensical ideas about high performance wheels, and I can only surmise that this results from hearsay, undigested marketing propaganda, and a weak understanding of science. So here follows some general guidelines for choosing high performace “aero” wheels…
