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The Simplicity of Cycling

Frank — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:34:32 +0000

Just You and the Road

photo by Noize Photography

One of the things I love about cycling is its simplicity.

Sure, there are some concerns you have to take into account. They are, however, mostly secondary.

Cycling gives you a chance to unwind, a chance to actually take in your surroundings. It is only as demanding as you want it to be.

It doesn’t matter what kind of gear you have. It doesn’t matter what kind of bike you ride.

Do you ride a road bike? Good. A mountain bike? Good. Do you have a utility bike? Good.

Cheap, expensive, new, old. It doesn’t matter.

What matters, is that you’re out riding and for a brief moment in time, it’s just you and the road.

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How Can We Make Cycling Safer For Everyone?

Frank — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:15:53 +0000

I very often go cycling by myself, or with a small group. I also bike very frequently pulling my son in a trailer, and this always brings my most safety-conscious self to the forefront. I find myself thinking “what is this car going to do?” “are they going to see us?”

Bicycle Safety

That being said, the trailer actually makes me more visible, and I have had very few bad experiences. I have, however, had a few close calls that made me think twice.

I think that it’s safe to say that many more people would ride if they thought riding a bike was safer. How, then, can we make cycling safer for everyone? How can we do away with the machismo attitude that claims that cars own the road? Here are just a few thoughts:

Our streets would be more bicycle friendly if. . .

Everyone followed a few simple rules and common sense
This could go a long way. Simple traffic rules, safety conventions and common sense actions could help bridge the gap between driver and rider, which could enable them to finally “share the road”.

Everyone paid more attention
Distracted driving is definitely an issue. Some of the closest calls I’ve been in have been because of distracted drivers. Whether they’re on their cell phones, texting, or just flat out not paying attention, distracted driving endangers everyone.

Everyone was more visible
This is along the lines of simple rules and common sense, but it is an important one. Ride with traffic, not against it. Wear visible colors, switch your reflectors out for lights, USE lights (especially when it’s dark or dusky), and stay in the lane. Most bicycle accidents happen to cyclists who started out on the sidewalk. Why? Because people in cars don’t pay attention to the sidewalk. When you make the transfer to the road, or to cross a street, you’re much less visible on the sidewalk than if you were in the road to begin with.

Everyone was more aware
As is often the case, ignorance is a huge part of the problem. People don’t realize that cyclists have their place on the road. Cyclists aren’t aware of correct etiquette (signaling, positioning, etc), and drivers aren’t aware enough to look for the signals. Ignorance is the issue, and education is the solution.

Have you had some close calls? Share them with us in the comments.
Do you have more ideas to help create cycle friendly streets? Share those too.

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(photo by faster panda kill kill)

5 Cycling Books That Aren’t Just Training and Maintenance

Frank — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:29:13 +0000

It’s a fact: for all intensive purposes, books on cycling can be boring.

You’re constantly bombarded with fitness and training advice. The others are all about maintenance.

While these things are important, it’s sometimes good to step away from the technicalities and enjoy a book about cycling as much as we enjoy cycling itself.

(disclaimer: at least one of these books fits the fitness/maintenance category. . )

Here are 5 picks:

Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne

Bicycle Diaries chronicles the fascination of former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne as he cycles across the world. In the book he gives insight and thought about places such as Sydney, Australia; Manila, Philippines; San Francisco; and New York. He shares his thoughts on the good sides and bad sides of bicycle transportation as well as everything from urban planning to art. His love of cycling stems from the freedom you feel and have on two wheels, which has caused him to become very active in bicycle advocacy in recent years.

The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling: Build the Strength, Skills, and Confidence to Ride as Far as You Want by Edmund R. Burke

I warned that not all of these were as care free as I would have you think in the first paragraph. This is the only one, however, so don’t stop here.

As its name suggests, The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling: Build the Strength, Skills, and Confidence to Ride as Far as You Want by Edmund R. Burke is a comprehensive guide put together by two of the country’s top cycling experts. Learn how to achieve the strength, skill, and strategy you need to bike long distance. Discover how to cycle efficiently, choose the right gear, and train for a ride of any length.

The Rider by Tim Krabbe

The Rider delivers a single bicycle race, kilometer by kilometer. The book bares the sport to its essential, causing you to feel like you are actually a part of the race. As far as the book is concerned, it is the race.

Cycling’s Greatest Misadventures by Erich Schweikher

Twenty-seven true stories. In this book both pros and amateurs share freak accidents, animal attacks, sabotage, idiotic decisions, eerie or unexplained incidents, and other strange occurrences. Check out the wild, unpredictable side of cycling in this book. You won’t be disappointed.

The Art of Cycling: A Guide to Bicycling in 21st-Century America by Robert Hurst

Robert Hurst covers everything there is about riding a bike on America’s modern streets. His piece-by-piece account of cycling will make you want to ditch your car. His practical tips and insights share not only safety, but how-to and cultural interpretation. See the big picture of riding in America.

These are just 5 of the many books out there. What are some of your favorites?

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12 Bicycle Photos You Just Can’t Miss

Frank — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:00:53 +0000

Maybe you ride every day, or maybe you haven’t ridden years. Do you ride with your kids, competitively, for fun? Everybody rides for different reasons, which only lends beauty to cycling.

Take a moment and remember the times you’ve ridden; remember the people you’ve ridden with; motivate yourself to ride more or ride again. Let these photos remind and reinforce the beauty in cycling.

Enjoy.

Bicycle Punk

by Paul Keleher

There's a Fixie on the Wall

by wing_clipper

Enjoying the Sunset on the Beach. . . With Your Bike

by Kıvanç Niş

Bicycle Station

by pasotraspaso

Definitely Not In A Hurry

by laffy4k

Vintage Monark | Clean and Simple

by Petteri Sulonen

Fresh Produce. . Delivered by Bike

by Vince Alongi

Transportation, Plain and Simple

by BruceTurner

Getting Into Gear

by ragnar1984

Bicycle Graveyard

by Robert Thomson

Family Outing

by kamshots

Movin' Out

by xddorox

Well there you have it. What are some of your favorite cycling photos? Let us know in the comments!

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Why Your Business Should Use Bicycle Couriers

Frank — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:06:52 +0000

Whether you’re a legal firm, coffee shop, pizza place or other business, you’re sure to run into the need to make deliveries, send messages and paperwork, or just order out lunch. Here are a few reasons why your business should use a Bicycle Courier.

1. Save Money – That’s right, because they have lower operating costs, Bicycle Messaging and Courier services can offer low, competitive rates. And, because most couriers love what they do, you also get better service.

2. Get it There Faster – Bicycles are unarguably smaller than cars. Therefore, they can sometimes navigate through spaces that cars cannot. If you live in a city where gridlock is common, using Bicycle Couriers can save you time.

3. Unclutter the Streets - Simply put, fewer cars means less traffic which means less street clutter. This leads to fewer oil slicks, less frequent road maintenance and greatly improved local air quality.

4. Do It For The Environment – Cyclists have an infinitely lower carbon footprint than cars. They are a 100% petroleum-free form of transportation. This keeps local dollars local (money goes into local residents, and business rather than international oil corporations), helps combat global warming, and as mentioned above helps improve local air quality.

These are just a few of the reasons to use bicycle couriers over petroleum-powered couriers. Not convinced? Tell me why! Does your community use bicycle couriers? I want to know! Does your business? Let us know in the comments.

Click here to check out the DIY Cycling Business Directory

5 Cycling Blogs You Should Start Reading Today

Frank — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:11:45 +0000

I’m constantly on the lookout for cycling blogs that are both informative, genuine, down-to-earth, and easy to read. Unfortunately I often have trouble sifting through the muck. Here’s a list of 5 blogs I enjoy reading and think you should too:

Bike Hugger

Bike Hugger refers themselves to being “like the Boing Boing of bikes” and I’d have to agree! The cover a huge amount of topics, all bike related. They are definitely a top spot for anything and everything involving the cycling lifestyle.

Bike Hugger

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Using Bicycles

Using bicycles is a great blog which covers everything from cycling trends to DIY hacks, supporting and featuring cyclists who really use their bicycles.

Using Bicycles

The Path Less Pedaled

The Path Less Pedaled is an explorative site started by Laura Crawford and Russ Roca. These two decided to pare their lives down to only what they could fit on two bicycles. This blog shows what and who they have found. Their extended US bike tour has connected them with people who have followed a calling and took the jump to live their lives in unique ways. Their stories and journey is found here.

Path Less Pedaled

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Cycling Fans

Cycling Fans is a constantly updated Guide to Live Race Coverage, Photos, results, wallpaper, news and commentary

Cycling Fans

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Coach Levi

Levi offers free training and racing advice for both road and mountain bikers. He writes great product reviews and coaching articles for competitive cyclists at all levels of their game.

Coach Levi

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And that’s that! Just a quick post of 5 quality cycling blogs. What are your favorite cycling blogs? Let us know in the Comments!

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5 Reasons You Should Ditch Your Car and Ride a Bike

Frank — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:04:22 +0000

Ditch Your Car - Ride a Bike!

Ask yourself the question: Why do I ride my bike? or Why do I not ride my bike? Do you know the answer? Maybe it’s a simple. Maybe it’s not. Must you ride your bike, due to lack of vehicle? Or is riding a bike a conscious choice? Maybe you don’t ride a bike. Why not?

In any event, I believe it’s important to know why exactly you do what you do. In this case, why do you ride a bike? Why don’t you ride a bike? If you don’t spend much time on a bike, I challenge you (yes you) to ditch your car and ride a bike! If you do spend time on a bike, i challenge you to spend more time on it. I’ll even give you 5 reasons why:

See Things in a Different Way.
Anyone who’s spent much time on a bike knows that the road takes on a different view while on two wheels. You’re going fast enough to get where you’re going, but slow enough to be able to actually take in what you’re seeing. See houses you hadn’t seen before, storefronts you never noticed, or nature you never took the time to look at.

Get in Shape.
This one speaks for itself. On an intense bicycle ride you can burn over 1000 calories per hour. During a leisurely ride, you’ll burn more than 300. Why not get your workout AND your commute out of the way all at once?

Save Money.
Gas prices are soaring, and car maintenance fees are nothing to scoff at either. Save yourself the time and money by riding a bike. After a small investment in gear, you won’t have to spend another paycheck on gas again.

Save the Environment.
This one’s simple: Use less gas! Using less gas, means more harmful fumes and less drilling, which means cleaner air and a healthier planet. More cyclists on the road leads to less crowded streets and cleaner city air.

Stand Out from the crowd.
Take the opportunity to be different. In a world full of people dependent on their automobiles, take two wheels, see the road you’re traveling and maybe meet a person or two.

There you have it: 5 of the multitude of reasons you should ditch your car and ride a bike. Let us know why you ride your bike in the comments!

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Resources to help get you out on the road
Riding the Road: Simple Rules and Common Sense
Riding the Road: What to Bring on Your Ride
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From Bicycle Couriers to Coffee Delivery: The World of Every Day Cycling

Frank — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:28:15 +0000

Bicycle Courier

In my recent post about the comeback of Bicycle Couriers, I wrote about Oklahoma City’s Ecotrack Bicycle Couriers. This got me thinking about what other ways bicycle’s are being used in every day business and industry. After doing some research I found a few company’s using bicycles in innovative ways, as well as some food for thought in how they can be used to make our city’s more bicycle friendly.

Here’s what I found:

De La Paz Coffee Delivery

The Coffeecycle

Let’s face it, coffee is part of almost everybody’s morning ritual. And who wouldn’t want it delivered directly to them? De La Paz Coffee performs an impressive feat by delivering ALL of their coffee in San Francisco by bicycle. I’m impressed. They have a pretty sweet setup for their delivery bike too. Looks like they’ve taken a basic front rack and attached two large buckets. Pure Genius!

Meals on (two) Wheels

Many of you have heard of Meals on Wheels. But have you heard of Meals on Two Wheels?

Meals on Two Wheels takes the basic idea of Meals on Wheels (to provide hot meals to shut ins) and makes it eco-friendly.

Here’s how it works:
You sign up for the program, and they do all the rest. After you are approved for delivery, the organization provides you with a route and a trailer (A modified Burley flatbed trailer). On the trailer you have a two coolers, one for hot and one for cold foods. You then ride your route, delivering the meals.

Here’s a picture of blogger Rick Glos’s (who writes more about his experience here) Meals on Two Wheels rig.

Meals on Two Wheels Bicycle Rig

These are the best examples I found of bicycles being used in every day industry, but I would definitely like to see more! How does your city use bicycles? How can we make them more common in every day use? Remember, more cycles = fewer accidents. Tell us about how your city uses bicycles in the comments!

Bicycle Couriers: Are They Making a Comeback?

Frank — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:16:04 +0000

Have you ever seen a bicycle courier? I’ve seen a few trolling around larger cities like NYC, but even then not too many.

Enter: Ecotrack Cycle Couriers. These guys have brought the cycling courier back to Oklahoma and at the moment, provide the only totally eco-friendly courier service in Oklahoma. They deliver with no emissions, and on sweet rides at that. Here’s why they say you should use a cycling courier:

Benefits of using bicycle messengers versus car couriers for deliveries include:

Reduced pollution

Reduced traffic congestion

Save on-street parking for more necessary activities and emergencies

Faster

Cheaper

Bicycle couriers provide solutions to the environmental problems related to many forms of pollution such as air, noise and smell. The more couriers on bikes there are, the fewer cars there are and therefore the less carbon dioxide emissions. More bikes mean less noise and stench. Bike messengers take up less space on the road and do less damage to the roads than cars. More bike couriers mean less gridlock and fewer road repairs.
As a result more bike couriers mean better conditions and streets for all road users including motorists.

And I couldn’t agree more. In cities clogged more and more with cumbersome, polluting automobiles, cyclists CAN be faster, and because of that be cheaper. Furthermore, if all couriers rode bikes, how much clearer would the roads be for you? I dig what these guys are doing and hope to see it spread.

Do your cities have bicycle couriers? Are you one? Let us know in the comments!

Need a bike? Check out RealCyclist: Free Shipping On Complete Bikes Only – RealCyclist.com. Ongoing Offer.

Riding the Road: What to Bring on Your Ride

Frank — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:35:53 +0000

I mentioned in my previous post Riding the Road: Simple Rules and Common Sense to be prepared on your ride, but didn’t go too far into what being prepared actually entails. If you’re new to the road (or getting back in the saddle), you may ask: “What should I bring with me?” How do you know what’s too much, and what exactly to bring to be prepared for what may happen? The list is actually quite small but full of things that can save you a lot of headaches when you’re 20+ miles away from home (or civilization).

What to Bring: The Bare Essentials

Helmet
Yes, you have to wear a helmet. Although I believe the proponents of going helmet free have a point (More cyclists on the road means fewer accidents. No helmet means less pressure and more cyclists), the safety risks outweigh the benefits. Find a helmet you like and you won’t feel goofy. I personally like Giro helmets, which can be found to fit any budget. They cool well and offer good protection (not to mention, most of them look nice too). Find one you like!
Hydration
Make sure you stay hydrated, because riding home dehydrated not only sucks, but is dangerous. You can use either a Water Bottle (don’t forget the cage) or go for a CamelBak which will also give you room to hold extra gear. In any event, make sure you bring enough for the ride.
Tool Kit
True, it’s hard to do any serious bicycle maintenance on the side of the road, but you should definitely be prepared to fix any minor problems on the fly. Here are a few things that you should carry:
- Multi-Tool - For performing your maintenance
- Seat Bag – To hold your gear
- Tire Levers - For changing flats
- Spare Tubes or a Patch Kit (I prefer tubes, patch the old one at home)
Frame Pump
To air up your tires after you change the tubes.
Cash
Just in case you stop somewhere that doesn’t take cards. Or (God Forbid) to help out with gas money in the event that you need a ride home.

What to Bring: The Extras

Eye Protection
I strongly suggest investing in some sunglasses not only for sun protection, but also to protect your eyes from wind and debris (especially if you wear contacts)
Gloves
Gloves can take a lot of the bite out of road vibration, and help prevent blisters and callouses.
Computer
Cycling computers range from incredibly simple to ultra comprehensive. You can go with a base model like this Cateye CC-RD300W or go all out with something like the Garmin Edge 705 that measures cadence, heart rate, and has a full GPS.

Each rider will ride with something different, depending on their desires, skill level, and ride conditions. What do you ride with? Let us know in the comments!

And don’t forget to check out our post on Road Basics: Riding the Road: Simple Rules and Common Sense.

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