I work at a great little bike shop here in Issaquah called the Bicycle Center. Bicycle Center is a Trek bicycle dealer, so I get to build up, test ride, and work on a whole lot of Trek bikes. We also work on other bikes and over the years I've worked in a range of shops where I've worked on and sold a wide variety of bikes. But I'm certainly not an unbiased reviewer and this is not an unbiased review. Got it? Good!
The Trek Belleville is not a bike for racing around, it's a bike for getting around. The Belleville is a product of Trek's Eco Design effort and I've seen enough behind-the-scenes stuff to know that this isn't just some token corporate green-washing PR thing. For example, when the Bellevilles or any of the other Eco series bikes come into the shop, they are packed not with the industry-standard foam & zip-ties but with string and reusable bags to protect the parts and lots of recycled cardboard. And that's the stuff the customer pretty much never sees. Which, I guess, is why I'm telling you this now. It's a cool facet of these bikes.
By the way, if you need a box to ship a bike somewhere, check your local bike shop. Any shop that deals in new bikes will probably have boxes and packing material they'll be happy to give away. And if your local shop is a Trek dealer, try to get an Eco series box & packing stuff. It's really nice.
The Belleville comes with fenders, racks, chain guard, a kickstand and generator lights. This is not the norm for bikes in the US market, where light weight tends to be a major selling point, shops make money selling accessories and a lot of customers enjoy making choices of what accessories they get. The Belleville is what it is. And what it is, with all that stuff on it and a steel frame, is heavy. Not insanely heavy, but it's sure no Madone!
While the go fast crowd won't have any interest in the Belleville, I also know that the retro & utility bike purists will find nits to pick about this bike. Some will bemoan the lack of a lugged frame, some will wish for a different rake on the front fork, some will complain that the 3-speed hub has too few gears. My main complaints with the bike involve the lack of adjust-ability in the handlebars, the kind-of-weird-looking recycling-friendly seat and the unusual curve of the top-tube on the men's model. But no one bike is perfect for everyone and I think it's wonderful that Trek makes a bike like the Belleville.
With an MSRP of $659.99, I think the Belleville is a very good value for somebody looking for a complete city bike. Here are links to a couple of real reviews of the bike:
There are many people who would like to break into the eBay selling arena, but who have no idea where to start. The act of signing up is the easy part. What really gets people stuck is the question of what to sell to other people online.
The truth is, there is an amazingly vast range of items that people consider collectible. People develop connections to a variety of items and they are often willing to pay premium prices for things that you might never think of as collector's items. As you go about your next Spring cleaning, you might find that you own one or two of these sought after treasures.
One great example of this type of merchandise is Harley Davidson gear. Hardcore bikers as well as more casual bike enthusiasts often pay top dollar for memorabilia related to this historic brand name. Harley shirts with the names of bike shops in various cities often sell quite well. Clothing related to biker events like the Bike Week rallies that take place in Sturgis or Daytona also do quite well. Older, dated items can bring surprisingly high bids. Vintage biker jackets almost always sell very well when put up for auction if they are in good shape. This brand is so popular and has such a rich history, that almost any Harley item you might be interested in selling has a good chance of drawing multiple bids.
Another collectible that sells well right now is Michael Jackson memorabilia. Since his passing, fans have begun to clamor for everything from original vinyl albums to the dolls that were originally sold during the 1980s. This is a great example of a collectible that many people probably have stashed away, possibly forgotten, in attics and storage boxes. Digging these old items out could be very profitable for a new eBay seller. Even old posters and magazines sell very well, so it is worth the time to make that trip to the attic if you were a fan during the 80s and then drifted away over the years.
Finally, you might want to take a look around your property for old bottles. This is a market filled with serious collectors. Anyone living on a farm or in a rural area should keep their eyes open for these very popular collectibles. Although not every bottle will be a winner, there are many bottles that sell on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
A few minutes spent browsing the collectibles category can be time very well spent. An amazing amount of valuable items get sold to eBay re-sellers every weekend for very low prices simply because the original owners underestimated their market value. Do a small bit of research and you might be surprised at how much valuable merchandise you already own.
The old proverb advises that it is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness. That's the spirit behind programs like Get Lit and while I've been involved in various organized versions of Get Lit, I also like doing my bit as an individual, one on one. I'm a sucker for a deal on a batch of lights cheap enough that even a poor bike mechanic can afford to give away. Forty lights shipped to my house for about what I'd pay for a single light is a good deal in my book. Yeah, they're cheap and one of them was DOA and I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the blue and green ones (turn signals on my fingers maybe?) but they are light and I'll pack some in my bags to give away to unlit riders and walkers.
It snowed last night in the Puget Sound area and everybody freaked out. If you don't have any place you need to go, the smart thing to do when the weather turns bad is to hunker down and stay put. Even if you have perfect control, perfect traction and perfect reflexes, there are a lot of folks out there piloting big metal boxes of momentum down slippery streets and things get real messy, real fast. We closed up the bike shop early and I walked the four blocks to home like I always do.
This morning, however, it's like a holiday. The schools and a bunch of businesses are closed, a lot of folks are out on foot most of those driving seem to be driving quite cautiously. The sky is blue, the sun is bright and the air is cold. Snow is everywhere.
My bike is the one I've built up for days like this, a low-ratio fixed gear with big platform pedals and carbide-studded tires. The tires crunch wonderfully through the snow and the studs grab solidly on the ice. At the bridge over the creek I see a pair of ducks with their down puffed up against the cold.
I puff up my own warm layer, pause to take another picture and see my breath crystallize in the in the blue light of the morning. I roll on toward the grocery store, to the other errands, to the rest of the day.
Sezonul 2010 m-a invatat multe lucuri iar concluziile trase la final au fost destul de clare, trebuie sa schimb felul cum ma antrenez. Cu timpul am invatat, la fata locului ca sa zic asa, cum ar trebui sa fie antrenamentele si cum pot evolua. Evolutia din 2010 fata de anii precedenti a fost spectaculoasa si a fost datorata antrenamentului din iarna si mentinerii din cursul sezonului. Nu ma pot plange, la concursuri am mers foarte bine dar departe de primii, aproape de fiecare data simteam ca trag mult peste limita mea…ex: la Medias am mers perfect pana la km 36 unde s-au terminat bateriile, Geiger acelasi fenomen spre finalul cursei…Asadar s-ar spune ca merg bine dar nu am baza, ceea ce ma face sa ma gandesc ca am gresit in iarna, trebuia sa fac mult mai multa andurata si sa las sprinturile si intervalele grele pentru lunile mai calduroase, eu am tras tare fara sa-mi fac o baza sanatoasa.
Pentru a evita greselile din trecut, anul acesta mi-am schimbat tactica, vreau sa investesc mai mult in concentrare asupra antrenamentului, un plan de bataie mult mai detaliat si un pulsometru. Defapt aici vroiam sa ajung, pulsometru, ceasul sportivilor.
Mult timp am analizat optiunile si variantele si intr-un final m-am oprit la Suunto. Fiind o firma cu renume si traditie am avut de unde alege, au o varietatea destul de mare de modele si accesorii specifice multor sporturi.
Modelul pe care l-am ales, model pe care ulterior l-am si primit, este Suunto T3d. Este castigator pentru ca este compromisul perfect intre performante si pret, Suunto punand la dispozitie cateva modele mult mai performante dar si mai scumpe. Am doar pachetul gol, adica ceasul in sine si cureaua cu emitator, dar partea interesanta la ceasurile Suunto este ca devin profi alaturi de o multime de accesorii. Printre cele care mi-ar prinde bine si mie ar fi Suunto Bike Pod care are functiile unui ciclocomputer clasic, Cadence Pod care masoara cadenta in timpul pedalarii, Running Pod – un pedometru avansat pe care il atasezi adidasilor de alergat, GPS Pod – cu care poti inregistra trasee si cel mai important parerea mea poti analiza acasa variatia pulsului si a vitezei in functie de portiunile traseului, PC Pod cu ajutorul caruia datele pot fi transferate si analizate pe calculatorul personal.
Acum sa vedem ce stie ceasul sa faca…La prima vedere pare un ceas urat, dar dupa ce l-am cunoscut mai bine am fost de acord ca nu e prost deloc (pe principiu: de frumoasa nu-i urata, da e desteapta proasta dracu’). In primul rand cureaua cu emitator trebuie sa o puneti pe voi, undeva in zona plexului solar si sa nu uitati sa umeziti putin cele doua zone de contact altfel riscati sa nu va citeasca pulsul din start, fenomen pe care l-am patit la crosul 15 noiembrie; dupa inceperea exercitiului o sa transpirati si nu v-a mai fi nevoie de alte ajustari. Ceasul are functii clasice ale unui ceas normal: ora, data, secundar, dual time, alarma si lumina, chestii pe care pe mine nu prea ma intereseaza pentru ca port ceas la mana doar daca sunt nevoit. Lucrurile de care aveam eu nevoie sunt pulsul instantaneu, pulsul mediu, pulsul maxim, training effect (raport intre intensitatea exercitiului si durata acestuia), intensitatea exercitiului in procentaj fata de pulsul maxim, durata, lap time, calorii consumate.
Cateva functii sunt extrem de utile, de exemplu posibilitatea de a folosii semnale sonore care sa te ajute sa te antrenezi prin intervale (3 minute-maxim, 5 minute-mediu), ceasul te anunta cand si ce. Semnalele sonore sunt disponibile si daca vrei sa stai intr-o anumita zona, sa zicem azi ma antrenez intre 60% si 70% din pulsul maxim – ceasul te anunta cand scazi sub sau treci peste zona propusa (aceasta functie o gasesc extrem de folositoare cand ma antrenez pentru anduranta, 1-2 ore de pedalat constant in fata televizorului fara sa-mi mai bat capul la ce intensitate sunt, ceasul face treaba in locul meu). Dar functia cea mai folositoare cred ca este “log-ul”, posibilitatea de a pastra o arhiva a antrenamentelor pe care le faci, cu toate detaliile necesare. Asta ma ajuta sa imi urmaresc atent progresul, volumul exercitiilor, intensitatea exercitiilor si sa aleg corect modul cum fac revenirile pentru a avea un antrenament cat mai reusit. Toate statisticile si rapoartele pe care ceasul le face sunt in stransa legatura cu cel care il foloseste, iti este cerut sa introduci date personale: greutate, inaltime, varsta, nivel de pregatire, puls maxim, etc., pentru ca datele sa fie cat mai corecte si cel mai important sa fie individuale pentru ca fiecare atlet este diferit si se adapteaza altfel antrenamentelor.
Asadar T3d este micul antrenor personal de la incheietura mainii, cu un minim de cunostinte si acest ceas se poate atinge perfectiunea cand vine vorba de antrenamente corecte. Exista o multime de tutoriale, carti si sfaturi despre cum se foloseste un Heart Rate Monitor in antrenamente si aici puteti incerca solutile de la Suunto: Suunto Training Guidebook, Suunto T6c Running Guide sau How to not rely on luck.
Cautandu-l mult timp am ajuns sa-l procur de la sportsworld.ro in principal din cauza pretului corect pe care il abordeaza fata de ceilalati distribuitori Suunto din tara. Aici puteti gasi o multime de modele si accesorii care pot fi cumparate si prin intermediul Cardului Avantaj, pentru ca trebuie sa recunosc, aceste instrumente nu sunt o investitie usoara, dar una care isi merita efortul.
Sau poate va intereseaza ceva mai avansat sau mai ieftin, exista si alte modele interesante:
T1 (336Ron sau 56Ron rata pe 6 luni) – este un instrument simplu si usor de folosit avand ca functii cheie: bataile inimii, caloriile arse si antrenamentele pe zone.
T4 (840Ron) – aduce in plus fata de T3 functia Coach, sfaturi care se adapteaza in functie de volumul si tipul antrenamentelor pe care le urmezi. Practic ceasul te sfatuieste cum ar trebui sa arate urmatorul tau exercitiu, iar daca refuzi acest exercitiu T4 se adapteaza si regandeste antrenamentul, revenirile si pasii care ar trebui sa-i urmezi.
T6 (1680Ron sau 280 Ron rata pe 6 luni)– este alegerea profesionistilor. Un laborator sportiv care iti evalueaza cu acuratete evolutia cardiovasculara si parcursul optim spre performanta. In plus fata de celalalte modele T6 calculeaza ventilatia, consumul de oxigen (VO2), rata respiratiei, EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption), altimetru, barometru, termometru, etc.
Ciclism de sosea, mountainbike, alergat, sky de tura, triatlon, sau orice alt sport de anduranta poate fi practicat cu succes alaturi de aceste ceasuri. Daca vreti sa optati pentru un ceas si accesorii pentru un anumit sport va recomand sa aruncati o privire inainte de toate la pachetele prestabilite, ex.: Cicling Pack sau Triathlon Pack, deoarece sunt multe mai ieftine decat instrumentele procurate individual.
Toate aceste instrumente sunt gadgeturi care ajuta sportivii sa-si atinga telurile intr-un mod cat mai eficient si mai rapid, lucru care ar putea face diferenta…pana la urma ceea ce urmarim cu totii…
Really, it was. It was a Monday evening in November. The wind was whipping the orange and yellow leaves off the trees and the wind was howling up the valley. The lights in the shop had flickered ominously several times, but it so far the power was still holding and the phones were still working. It was the kind of night where I'm glad that my current commute is only four blocks long.
One service we don't offer at our bike shop is on the road pick up, but when the call came in the fellow on the other end of the line sounded so soaked, stranded and stuck I told him I'd see what we could do. As luck would have it Chris, one of our off-duty mechanics, lives not far from where this guy was broken down and Chris happened to be home, happened to answer the phone when I called him and happened to have a truck big enough to bring man and bike back into Issaquah on this particular dark and stormy night.
What stranded man and bike wasn't a routine puncture, it was a rim blowout. I've written previously about rim blowouts, but they are usually caused by the rim being thinned by braking. In this case, the rim failed at the rim wear indicator but this bike uses disk rather than rim brakes, so the rim should not be subject to any wear at the rim. The bike's owner tells me that this is the second rim failure he's had on this bike in the year or so that he's owned it. Rather than having his recumbent shop replace the rim again with the same thing, he's opting to have us rebuild the wheel with what we all hope will be a stronger rim. The new rim has no wear indicator, and stronger construction. Since the new rim has a different E.R.D., we're replacing all the spokes as well.
The mystery of why this bike is blowing out rims is still a mystery. I have theory, but I'm posting this story and a couple of photos here in the hopes that folks might say "oh, I've seen this before" or "I bet this is what's going on."
The bike is a Rans Cruz semi-recumbent and it has a Bionix electric rear wheel. The design of the bike puts a lot of weight on the back of the bike. The wheel weighs about 16 lbs and the battery (which the customer took with him and I didn't get a chance to weigh) rides on a rack right above the rear wheel. Most of the rider's weight is carried by the rear wheel and the electric motor puts out a lot of torque.
My best working theory (which is really just a wild-ass guess) is that the combined weight and torque is placing a greater stresses on the rim than what an unassisted rider would generate on a conventional bike. Unsprung weight over the rear wheel means that every bump transfers more pressure via the tire bead to the rim. The wear indicator on the existing rim not only serves no positive function on a bike with disk brakes, the groove of the wear indicator actually creates a stress riser in the rim. Over time, the combined stresses lead to a blowout.
So like Stephen King mystery that I bothered me a lot when I read it but I still sticks in my head, I have a problem and a theory but no certain solution. We've got a rim and spokes on order and we'll lace 'em up, advise running a bit lower pressure in the tire and hope for the best. I guess that's how life goes. We never get all the answers but we get interesting questions.
Brasovul are un nou spatiu amenajat pentru sport in aer liber: traseul de alergare si exercitii fizice «Cetatea Brasovului», la Poalele Tampei
Asociatia Cetatea Brasovului are bucuria sa anunte finalizarea lucrarilor la proiectul de mult asteptat – Pista de alergare de la Poalele Tampei – castigator in luna ianuarie 2010 al programului de responsabilitate sociala al companiei Petrom, Tara lui Andrei.
Traseul, avand o lungime de 2000 m si o diferenta de nivel de 75 m, se intinde pe aleile pietonale principale din parcul de sub Tampa. Au fost montate de-a lungul acestor alei 6 statii pentru exercitii fizice, pentru antrenamente specifice de anduranta, forta si mobilitate. Fiecare statie este marcata cu cate un panou explicativ, cu sugestii pentru exercitiile de efectuat. Punctul de Start se afla langa apeductul Christian Kertsch (in capul scarilor care urca spre foisor).
Cu sloganul ‘Iesi afara!’ va invitam sa profitati inca de vremea frumoasa si sa veniti la un antrenament in grup, duminica, 21 noiembrie, orele 11, pe traseul de alergare si exercitii. Ne vedem la Start !
Crosul din 15 noiembrie a ajuns la editia a 21-a iar in fiecare an l-am observat din afara, anul aceasta m-am hotarat sa particip si sa gust putin din acest gen de competitii. La inceputul anului am inceput sa alerg gandindu-ma ca o sa ma ajute la mtb iar pe parcursul verii am realizat ca e placut si usor. Toate au culminat cu participarea la Duatlonul Cetatea Brasovului la proba individuala, aici am inteles ca pot alerga dar am nevoie de multa anduranta pentru a tine pasul cu adversarii. M-am decis sa particip si la cateva competitii strict de alergat, primul fiind acest cros de 5km, asa ca am introdus in antrenament si alergatul alaturi de ciclism. Ultimele 2 saptamani inainte de concurs am fost ocupat cu munca si am cam neglijat antrenamentele, si din nou am resimtit efectele… Am participat alaturi de Liviu si Adi daca se poate spune asa, de Liviu am incercat sa ma tin cat mai mult dar avand in vedere ca se antreneaza ca la carte a trebuit sa raman in spatele lui dupa primul km. Asfaltul nu m-a avantajat deloc, detest sa alerg pe suprafete tari, simteam ca-mi ploscaie adidasii la fiecare pas. In preajma km 2 a inceput sa ma doara ficatul, durere pe care rar o intalnesc dar probabil din cauza ritmul sustinut (puls 198) cu care nu m-am mai intalnit pana acum avea si ficatul dreptatea lui (sau poate cele 2 beri de asera). Adi m-a ajuns la km 3 cand acidul lactic se acumulase si simteam ca imi iau foc tibiile. El mergea intr-un ritm satisfacator si am incercat sa ma concentrez mai mult alaturi de el. Cand mai era doar un km a disparut durerea de ficat si am sprintat putin pana la finish. Timpul cu care am terminat a fost multumitor pentru mine 22min–5km dar foarte slab in comparatie cu ceilalati concurenti. Cursa nu mi-a placut deloc si nici prestatia mea, din nou imi este amintit ca doar cu patru mici antrenamente inainte de un concurs nu faci mare lucru; trebuie sa perseverez ! Dar totusi a fost interesant, am terminat cu Adi pe locurile 262 si 263 iar Liviu care a terminat cu 2 minute inaintea noastra a fost pe 145, ca sa nu mai zic ca in total au fost 1400 de participanti, 800 baieti si 600 fete (incredibil ce numar de participanti au concursurile de genul acesta). Trebuie sa le multumesc pentru incurajari prietenilor, Iuliei, Danei, lui Gavin Trith de la sportsworld.ro si nu in ultimul rand colegilor de munca. Sa ne vedem gafaind cu spor si la alte competitii de alergat…
Acum o sa ma repet: Playbike on The Rocks a fost filmat, v-am aratat teaserul si v-am mai spus ca filmul a avut premiera la cinema Cityplex pe 5 noiembrie, dar acum cei care l-au ratat il pot viziona online.
P.S. Felicitari organizatorilor si tuturor celor implicati, a iesit superb…
Timp de 4 zile Poiana Brasov a gazduit campionatele nationale de ciclocros, o serie de curse care ar trebui sa fie etalonul competitiilor din aceasta ramura la noi in tara. Sambata am avut ocazia sa asist la “campionat” impreuna cu Sebi si 3 amici de-ai lui veniti in vizita in Brasov, unul dintre ei chiar participand la amatori. Din nou am fost dezamagit, ca si la Cupa Tampa, aceleasi minusuri grosolane. Am putut sa parcurg traseul intre concursul juniorilor si al amatorilor dar fara sa ma minunez, traseul e placut dar prea putin amenajat…deci anost. Despre spectatori nu mai zic nimic, au lipsit cu desavarsire asa ca atmosfera de pe traseu a fost aproape moarta, doar la categoria elite s-au mai strans cativa oameni, probabil din staful concurentilor.
Noroc ca baietii cu care venisem vroiau si o tura prin zona Brasovului asa ca am parasit curand “campionatele”. Am revenit dupa cateva saptamani de munca intensa si antrenament zero, fapt ce l-am resimtit din plin pe toata durata turei. Din Poiana am coborat pe sosea, unde din cauza franelor si a cauciucurilor uzate am reusit sa cad spectaculor intr-un ac de par, din fericire masina de pe contrases a reusit sa ma ocoleasca si m-am ales doar cu o julitura superficiala. Baietii au fost extrem de entuziasti si plini de energie, iar eu a trebuit sa fac pe ghidul cam de la coada plutonului, singurele portiuni bune pentru mine au fost coborarile pe care le cunosteam foarte bine. Intotdeauna mi-a placut sa rulez prin padure toamna si o zi mai splendida decat cea pe care am prins-o noi nu se putea, soare si multe frunze pe jos. Cu frunzele sa nu va puneti ca ascund multe lucruri sub ele si asta o pot confirma baietii care au facut nunostinta cu pamantul de cateva ori din cauza santurilor si radacinilor de sub covor. Traseul urmat a fost unul pe care eu il apreciez foarte mult: Schei – Pietrele lui Solomon – Valea cu apa – Poiana lui Stechil – Saua Tampei – Vf. Tampa – Racadau – Dobrogeanu Gherea – Livada si bineinteles la final o bere in Draft. Se pare ca anul aceasta vremea tine cu noi, nu mi-as fi inchipuit ca o sa prindem o zi asa placuta de biciclit la inceput de noiembrie, dupa toate previziunilor m-as fi asteptat sa aveam zapada deja. Asadar sa ne vedem pe afara, la ture…
When I was a kid, I biked to school. These days, lots of people will tell you that kids don't bike to school because it's too dangerous. While it is true that these are dangerous days, giving in to fear doesn't make things safer. Parents driving their kids to school instead of letting them walk, bike or take the bus puts even more cars on the road. It may be that the greatest risk to a child is being struck by the vehicle of well-intentioned parent dropping their child off at school.
I have to add that "may be" qualifier to this post because I've been unable to find hard data to back up an oft-used quote (I've used it myself) that "Fifty percent of the children hit by cars near schools are hit by vehicles driven by parents of other students." Here is a link to a 2004 article containing that quote, but while it's a good sound-bite, there is no link to data. The people at PolitiFact are are better at digging than I am and they came up empty. The 50% stat may in fact be true or the real number could be higher or lower, but I'm going to stop using that line when I talk to people about safety and cycling. I'll still champion the position that we're safer with fewer cars around schools but I'll manage to work towards that goal without a nifty quote that I can't back up.
While we like to think of ourselves as rational creatures, choosing the wisest course of action based on logic and data, we have big blind spots in our thought processes. The phenomena of illusory superiority (sometimes called the Lake Wobegon Effect) causes us to discount the dangers we add to a situation and amplify the perceived dangers that we think of as "out of our control". A child on a bus is much safer than a child in their parents car (OK, I've got a link for this one!) but because we have this tendency to think of ourselves as above average, we're certainly not adding to the problem by driving to school or work or whatever.
But we are. I read the comments that come into this blog and I try to think about them. I sure don't have all the answers and when somebody disagrees with me, I try to look at their point. Sometimes I wind up changing my view. Sometimes I wind up changing my approach. Sometimes I wind up restating my position or asking for a clarification. Recently, in a comment to a post of mine titled "Life'll Kill Ya" a commenter who owns a company that makes bikes in Portland Oregon "a Platinum-level bike friendly community" concluded his thought-filled comment with the words "if I had my way, I would force my employees to drive cars for their own safety and my peace of mind."
I disagree with that commenter, but I understand his viewpoint. I certainly disagree with his idea of "forcing" people to behave in accordance with his view of risk. I also have to wonder if he "had his way" would that in any way make the streets of Portland safer or better for his employees? I certainly believe his concern is genuine, but I also believe that our actions build our world.
It's natural and good to be concerned for others, our friends, our employees, our kids, but with we can easily over-fear and often we fear the wrong things. I'm not certain of enough my own assessments of risk and reward to compel anyone to do anything my way. But I ride my bike and I'll continue to suggest that riding bikes is a good way to make the world a better place in which to live.
My favorite Glasgow pedestrian, Alasdair Gray, is fond of saying, "Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation." The kids in Oak Cliff are doing just that with bicycles and root beer floats. I think that's something worth doing.
The format of an Ignite presentation is short and simple. Participants are given five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced. In the presentation above, Spokane's Barb Chamberlain fills her five minutes with humor and positive energy to show why she knows that bikes can save the world (or at least make it a better place).
Rumble strips are those milled lines at the edge of the road designed to alert a drowsy or inattentive driver that they are drifting off the road. It's a safety mechanism designed to save lives. Unfortunately, in many locations when rumble strips are placed on the road they effectively make it impossible to safely cycle along the shoulder of the road. In my tour of Washington State a few years ago I'd often see rumble strips that looked like this:
I've seen worse examples, where the rumble strip covers every inch of the width of the shoulder. But things don't have to be this way.
Rumble strips can be built into a road in a way that lets them serve their warning function and keeps the almost the entire width of the shoulder usable for cyclists. Here is a photo from a section of SR-507, also in Washington State:
The rumble strips on SR-507 are built into the fog and center lines, effectively leaving the full width of the shoulder available to the cyclist. In addition, every dozen feet or so there are gaps in the rumble strips enabling cyclists to move from the shoulder to the traffic lane. Much of the time on a country road like this, the shoulder is the best place to ride, but a cyclist might have to merge into the traffic lane to get ready to make a left turn or to avoid some debris and it's good to see a road design that recognizes the legitimate needs of non-motorized road users.
Rumble strips can be done right. A page at www.rumblestrips.com (yes darn near everything has a page on the internet!) has some good information and documents describing how to implement rumble strips in such a way as to enhance the safety of all road users.
Last night I left work early and rode into Seattle to hear Mia Birk talk about her wonderful and inspiring book, Joyride: Pedaling Toward A Healthier Planet. I could tell you that Mia is a wonderful speaker (she is) or that her book is a lovely collection of inspiring stories and you should rush out an buy it (it is and you should) or that riding at night in the city is peaceful and liberating and one of the great joys in this world (it is). Since I've just told you those things very briefly, I'll speak now at greater length of controversy, energy, passion and hatred. I'm speaking, of course, of the world of Bicycle Advocacy.
Last night's event was hosted by the Cascade Bicycle Club. Cascade is the largest bike club in the U.S. Cascade members host rides every day and the club does a wide range of things to promote cycling in the Puget Sound area. They work on making trails and streets safer for cyclists, bring great speakers like Mia to our city, lobby for cyclist rights and do a host of other things to make our area a better place to ride.
At the moment a lot of people are very worked up about what the club is doing, what the club should be doing, what certain people are or are not doing and so on. The club Board of Directors and the club's long serving Executive Director, Chuck Ayers, had a dramatic parting a few weeks back which generated a lot of heated discussion, actions and counter-action. I tried to find an unbiased accounting of events to give you some background as to what this is all about, but it's kind of like flipping between FOX News and MSNBC in hopes of finding something "fair and balanced."
I'm mentioning Cascade's woes because I think they illustrate a truth, something I've discovered in my years of working as a bike advocate in various roles and in various organizations. The truth of the matter is that when you work to promote something you will find that a huge percentage of your energy and time goes not into arguing against your foes, but in discussing technique and focus with your allies. I could list dozens of examples and perhaps if I was getting paid by the word here I would, but I assume that both your attention and my time is finite so I'll stop at a few stories to illustrate my point.
Last night before Mia's talk I saw my friend Brad walking through the bike department of REI. Brad was fired up and he's firmly in the "the board went too far and they are out of touch with the membership and should be recalled" camp. Brad's got a petition and I think if he can get enough signatures he'll show that he's got a point. I also think he's got a right to rabble-rouse. A few minutes later I meet another of my friends, Gary, and Gary clearly stated his view that "your friend Brad is dead effing wrong on this board thing." Gary goes on to express that starting a new board from zero would be a huge effort and you know how hard it is to recruit board members and, well, Gary makes some good points. And that's my point, it's complicated, it's work and it's effort and it's not really making it easier for another cyclist to get to work or making Stone Way any safer. And it's a microcosm of what happens in advocacy groups every day.
When I worked at the Bicycle Alliance of Washington there were countless conversations of the form "I can't believe you are working on X and not Y!" The Alliance had a board member resign when the Alliance backed the county-wide mandatory cycling helmet law. I use a helmet but don't favor helmet laws but that wasn't a personal deal-breaker for my working for and with the Alliance. But friction points abound in the cycling world. Many "vehicular cyclists" argue loudly against bike lanes and paths. People debate the efficacy and value of groups like Critical Mass. Here's an example from the U.K. of one cyclist blasting another's attempt to promote cycling.
In any effort involving more than one person there will be conflicts. It's not at all amazing that a 13,000 member group like Cascade will, it would be astounding if it didn't. What is remarkable is that despite the intensity of views on all sides of this issue, the club still functions. Every day volunteers are out there leading rides. Staff members are still going to work, making things better bit by bit for cyclists in Seattle. Cascade brought Mia Birk here to Seattle to tell us that if we keep at it, bit by bit, things will get better. Even while we put up with the efforts of our friends, who we are sure are misguided. Those friends are just as sure that we're the mistaken ones.
Last year Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (the Puget Sound's big mountain bike club) went through its own drama and still managed to open up Duthie Hill, get a ton of trail work done on Grand Ridge and countless other things. We cannot, should not, put aside our passions, for our passions and our beliefs are what drive us. We'll drive our friends crazy when they realize we don't think exactly like them. And they'll drive us crazy in return. But somehow, we'll muddle through. Maybe someone changes someone else's mind or maybe we just disagree. Maybe we'll go for a bike ride or maybe we'll take a break. I don't have the answers. But I do know that very often my allies are more exasperating than my enemies.
Something unites us, a brother-and-sister-hood of the wheel. We balance and wobble and yell at each other but we love something with many spokes. Wheels hold their shape through tension. We do our best to do the same.
In most of the U.S. we set the clocks back an hour last night. I've never been a fan of this biannual assault on circadian rhythms but I figure I'll use the extra pseudo hour I've been given (by the same chrono-criminals who stole it from me last spring!) to once more urge, suggest, cajole and recommend that those of you reading this who have occasion to be out on darkened streets could take a few moments to reflect (pun intended!) on how visible you are to the other creatures of the night.
My wife will tell you that I'm somewhat obsessed with lighting. Over the years, I've collected lots of various lights, some that run on batteries, some that generate light via the rotation of the wheel. I'm not going to get into a discussion of Light A vs Light B, Generators vs Batteries or Reflectors vs Lights here. I am going to say that lights serve two main purposes, allowing you to see and allowing you to be seen. That second purpose allowing you to be seen is extremely important and while reflectors don't do a damn thing in terms of lighting your way they can (sometimes) aid in making others see you.
Bike lights and blinkies keep getting better. LED efficiencies go up every year and today's $10 blinkie is brighter and lasts longer than the blinkie you bought two years ago. When I rode Paris-Brest-Paris in 1999, most of us had lighting systems we home-brewed with big battery packs and spare batteries we sent ahead in drop bags. Today I have a brighter, better light that can run all night on 2 AA batteries. A blinkie like the Planet Bike Super Flash or the PDW RadBot is visible even in daylight and sips power from a pair of AAA cells. Rechargeable batteries are a lot better these days, and I recharge my light batteries with little solar chargers.
While reflectors themselves are not enough, reflective tape on your bike or clothing is an inexpensive way to increase your odds of being seen. Reflective bits on your ankles, pedals and wheels are especially eye-catching because motion increases the odds that they'll intersect and reflect a light source. A reflective sash (see photo above) adds a broad stripe of visibility to any outfit.
Even if you think you are well-lit, please take a moment to revisit your visibility. It gets dark every night and if you have a friend with a car, have them point their headlights at you some night as you ride. What do they see? If no lights are shining on you as you ride through the night, what do people see? Ask yourself these questions now and then. The life you save may be your own.
If you have old lights that you're not using, pass them on to someone who can use them. Every bit can help. If your local community doesn't have a program like Get Lit, you can start one, even if it's just you giving away one light. The dark times are the best times to let your light shine.
Stiti deja cum a fost la Playbike on the Rocks, dar baietii ne mai ofera o surpriza...un ditamai filmu pe care eu il astept cu nerabdare de mult timp. Din pacate premierea a avut loc vineri la cinema Cityplex din Brasov si eu nu am avut habar... sper sa-l mai prind pe undeva. In schimb la teaser ne putem uita impreuna:
At the time, I had only a vague notion of what I might write next and no idea of what twists and turns might lie on the path ahead. Today, I have only a vague notion of what I might write next and no idea of what twists and turns might lie on the path ahead. But I don't need to know the whole path, heck I don't want to know the whole path. I've got what I need to get going, the reason to turn the pedal over at least one more time. Stick around and I might get around to telling you about it. Maybe. As I said, I'm not really sure where this is going.
I have two very neat machines here. One is simple and amazing. A couple of wheels, some pedals. A bit of chain. A part you sit on and a part you hang on to. Here's the weird thing, though: It only works when it's going. You've got to put some faith into it, roll past a bit of fear and a lot of uncertainty. You give it a little push of your motion, catch your breath when you are sure you are about to fall but still follow it into that fall. And the bike rolls under the very spot you were about to fall into and you learn something magical, something called balance. And your world will never be as small as it was before. You've grown wheels that feel just like wings.
The other machine is complex and amazing. Wires and electrons and keyboards and all the glowing screens in all the coffee shops in all the world. Servers in cold rooms and satellites in space and light running through fibers. An encyclopedia written by everybody with a keyboard, a place where damn near anybody can publish and damn near everybody does. We've built the world's biggest and best copy machine and we mostly use it to forward bad jokes and send pictures of cats doing dumb things. We are the most stupid, cute, wonderful, amazing creatures on earth. If cats invented the internet, they'd be forwarding a billion pictures of us doing dumb things.
I use the internet to do a very little thing, a tiny thing, a trivial thing. I call it Kent's Bike Blog. Note the lack of global scope. I don't write about the entire world, I just write about bike stuff that interests me. I try to keep it to bikes, but I don't always succeed. If I was just writing it for me, I'd write it in a notebook and lock it away, but I write it on the internet so I reckon I must be thinking I have something to say to folks. I try to be somewhat interesting or useful in some way.
I've been quieter here lately for several reasons. One is Twitter, which provides a 140 character outlet for the "hey look at that" pointers that previously might expand to fill blog post. Another reason for silence is that given by David Byrne, "Say something once, why say it again?" I've written a lot of words over the past five years and on some subjects I figure I've said enough. But the final reason is that sometimes you have to be quiet to figure something out. I've been trying to figure out if I've said all I need to say or if maybe the words should go in a book or a tweet or some other venue.
Hollie reminded me that we pedal forward, not because we know what lies ahead or because we do not fear, we pedal because we love to pedal and we suspect there is something down the trail we need to find.
I've found beauty in quiet places and friends I know only through pixels. I've crashed into gates I didn't see, walked when I couldn't pedal and retreated for home when I know deep down I could have lost two days and kept going. But sometimes you have to stop, be quiet, go home, regroup and refill. And then you get an answer. Not the whole answer, but enough. Just a bit. The thing that brings you back to the only path you can possibly travel.
When we do our best, we seldom have that clean, clear certainty that we are doing our best. We are only doing what we can. I think I have a few more things to say here, things about riding and living and rolling around this beautiful world on two wheels.
For now I'll just say thanks, thanks to Hollie and all the rest of you who read Kent's Bike Blog and help me keep 'em rolling.
that I bothered me a lot when I read it but I still sticks in my head, I have a problem and a theory but no certain solution. We've got a rim and spokes on order and we'll lace 'em up, advise running a bit lower pressure in the tire and hope for the best. I guess that's how life goes. We never get all the answers but we get interesting questions.
. I could tell you that Mia is a wonderful speaker (she is) or that her book is a lovely collection of inspiring stories and you should rush out an buy it (it is and you should) or that riding at night in the city is peaceful and liberating and one of the great joys in this world (it is). Since I've just told you those things very briefly, I'll speak now at greater length of controversy, energy, passion and hatred. I'm speaking, of course, of the world of Bicycle Advocacy.
