Slow News Day

It was a long weekend and nothing jumped out at me to write about. So, in the meantime, feel free to take some advice, or words of caution, from the back of my Bobike seat.

My Coffee Window On The Bike World

For those who know Meli, Cali and myself, the name "Four Barrel" is somewhat synonymous with us getting together. It has been the jumping off point for many excursions and our default meet up spot.

When Esteban, from Vélo-Flâneur, was in town for a bit we met him at Four Barrel.

My favorite part of 4B is the front window. I love to sit in it and take pictures of what goes on outside.

Because the café is located on Valencia St, near Market St, it gets a constant influx of bicycle riders (although it has NO bicycle parking which is my one HUGE complaint about the place). Every kind of bike rider passes by the windows and I can just sit and shoot away.

You can usually count on someone you know being there. Helpful when you are experiencing technical difficulties.

Most of the time, I just like to take pictures of the people riding by.

Sometimes, if the subject is just right, I am known to shoot other two wheeled conveyances.

Hey. I am married, not dead : )

Confusion

Found at "How We Drive". A visual representation of the choices that greet us all whenever we hit the road. Whatever your choice may be, make it safter and ride with a smile!

Beam Me Up, Raleigh!

There are many people out there who want you to think that bicycles are the way of the future- no oil, no pollution, gives you a great ass, provides street cred, may get you photographed by one of dozens of bloggers out there who have nothing better to do.....

They are lying to you. The true future of car free transportation is teleporting! For once, I am on the cutting edge!

tuesday injection of fun: brain exercise

so, meli and i were walking down the street one day when we happened across this rather puzzling brain exercise. we walked past, looked at each other, (figuratively) scratched our heads, then went back to take pics:

um, does anyone have any ideas as to what this could be? please share cause i'm still scratching.

Stretchy

Sometimes a couple of bungee cords are all you need.

Wind In My Hair

Let's take a moment to contemplate the wind.

Are you done? The Bay Area gets some ferocious wind this time of year. San Francisco gets hit really hard because of all the wind tunnels created by our hilly terrain. Yesterday, it was the whole Bay Area and it should not have come as a shock as the weather report was

Weather Conditions

Partly Cloudy/Wind

It was breezy on the way down to San Mateo, but pleasantly so. I started to think that maybe the report was wrong. Wrong!!!! Coming back to SF, I was actually stopped in my tracks on a couple of occasions by the wind. One moment I am going 4 MPH into the headwind from hell and the next I am going 0 MPH and waiting for the gust to end while keeping my Bat from crashing to the ground.

Wind is funny. We all hate having to ride into it, but it can be a good challenge, too. If you just find your cadence, change gears accordingly to maintain it, and let the wind dictate your speed you will make it through without too much trouble. It is when you fight it and try to get through it faster that it drains you of all your energy and leaves you spent and shaky.

Another example of bicycle ride as life. Find your cadence, adjust to maintain it, realize that you can only ever move as fast as your environment will allow.

friday fun times: casual friday panda

it is a bright and beautiful day here in san pancho, califas, usa.

today's version of running into someone on the market street bikeway: paraphrased convo.

scene: on the way to werky times today. running late edition.
calitexican?
oh hai. sssup.
i read yr blog.
i read yr blog.
[bikestuffbikestuffblogstuff]
[pedal around stupid car making dumb decisions behind a bus he shouldn't have been behind anyway cause he was supposed to turn, but DIDNT and a rush of bikers surrounded him on all sides]
ok, here's my stop.
bye!
laters, see ya around!

Segway To Work Day

At least it isn't a car parked in the lane! I wonder what our friend David thinks about this? He is the guy on the Dutch bike with the green jacket.

photo by Paul Chin

See the whole SFGate slideshow here.

Sometime Today, Al!

I saw a reference to this over at EcoVelo. A little national coverage for the cause is a good thing. I'll even let the "helmet is absolutely necessary" comment go (if you want one, get one. if you don't don't. it's all good.)

Super props to Al for being the biker! Meredith would have looked way better on it with that dress, but having the opportunity to run into his college English professor made Al a great choice!

It doesn't have to be bike day or month or year. Remember, it is all about Bike To Life! So get out there and bike!

Can I Ask You A Question?

What if riding your bicycle really made a difference? What if every time you got on your bike to ride to work or get a beer or do the shopping there was an actual positive effect?

What if just riding your bicycle could help bring a long absent species back to your city? Would you ride more?

What if just riding your bicycle helped lower the noise pollution so that we could hear the wind in the trees? Would you find a way to ride more?

What if just riding your bike could bring the smell of honeysuckle back to your neighborhood?

What if riding your bicycle gave you more reasons to keep riding your bicycle?

Would you ride more?

Wrap It Up!

Wicker bike! I want a wicker bike! When this gentleman pulled up next to me ( I think his name was Eric, but if not, and you know him, let me know and I will correct it) I was instantly covetous of his fine ride.

I was completely enthralled by just how thoroughly wickered his bicycle was. Everything was meticulously wrapped. Even the rack, which he said was his favorite part.

Look at how perfectly it is wrapped!

I particularly liked the seat. It can't be easy to get all of the contours right. I didn't think to ask him if it was comfortable.

Val thinks they may come from Viet Nam. I'll buy that. I wonder if David Hembrow would make one of these with an Old Dutch? Either way, I have declared this to be the Bike to Work Day bike of 2010!

Just think, if it breaks down you could turn it into a rocking chair!

The Mixte Gallery

If you hit the bike blog circuit then you have more than likely read the many, many comments out there by "Doohickie". I always look forward to them here at the blog. Recently, "D" asked me to add S.A.M. to his mixte dedicated blog "The Mixte Gallery". I was happy to oblige. He put in a slideshow of shots I have taken of S.A.M. and it turns out I am a little obsessed (he is a back up bike, afterall).

Go take a look!

Criminy!

via Other Fun Bikes

Well, at least they take away the focus from the helmet debate.

Gotta Be

happy bike to work day...everyday

we're smack dab in the middle of bike to work week, and hopefully this has propelled some of you to jump in that saddle and ride to work

or, in the alternative, bike to life.

for others who already ride, maybe you've volunteered, or told your workplace or encouraged friends to get on that bike and ride around.

community building is my personal favorite part of this week...

if you are in SF, please stop by to see our very own model blogger, meli, in a fashion show during the SFBC bike away from work party tonight at the rickshaw shop from 6-10 pm.

happy riding everyone!

Bike To Life

As anyone other than those under rock dwellers that exist out there know, Thursday is "Bike To Work Day". It is a great way to acknowledge those who already do and encourage those who do not to try. Last year I volunteered at my neighborhood commuter station, but this year I have not. I feel vaguely bad about that but I find that my current volunteer efforts are enough and that anymore would burn me out. I will be out on the streets early that day, though, taking pictures and hopefully picking up some keifer grains in the East Bay.

As my profession these days is "housewife", I don't really have a commute any longer. At least not a bike one. It would look strange if I rode the Bat between the living room and the kitchen. But I do ride it for all of my errands and picking up Declan from pre-school. So I will be celebrating Thursday as "Bike To Life Day".

After picking up my new fabulous poster at the post office (I rode over the mountain to get in a little training)

I went to get Declan from school. He usually chooses which path we will take home. We have a pretty good choice of the fast way home (40 minutes) or a path around the lake or the route through Golden Gate Park... there is always something to see. Today he chose the "fast way" along Sunset Blvd. which is lined on either side with trees and grass and houses a number of birds. Today, we found a heron!

When we first stopped to watch him, we thought he was just walking around. Then he plucked a mouse out of the ground and ate it! Super cool!!!!! We decided to just stay and watch for a bit. The heron decided it would stick around and watch us, too.

In the middle of the City, right at the beginning of rush hour, along one of the busiest, high speed transit corridors we have here, a little Wild Kingdom can be found from the saddle of a bike!

We would never have seen this any other way and I am thankful for it. Bike to Life is a pretty good way to go. We should celebrate it!

The Road Of A Hundred Miles

It should always begin with a restroom stop.

More to come.

music

happy weekend everyone! :)

johnny legs

i didn't know that john leguizamo was pretty into riding his bike. luckily for us, cnn.com did and got footage of him running around nyc on his bici. check out his helmet stash...and watch him nearly get doored by nypd.



i'm particularly a fan of his reasons for why he rides. it's not just him "sav[ing] the world" as the cnn title suggests (although that is totally valid...). his reasons sound a lot like the ones we here at CYLRAB have said before: less stress, faster, enjoyable, etc. this makes me think he's the real deal. bummer to hear his wife does not join him after she nearly got hit by a car. puro sad face, #nobueno.

and here's the behind the scenes:



nice to see a latino celebrity-type talking about this stuff.

have a great weekend and happy riding. gonna be beautiful here in the yay. enjoy!!

thanks to CI for the forward on facebook :)

Follow Directions

"You may go to hell and I will go to Texas"- Davy Crockett.

How long would it take to bicycle to Austin from San Francisco? 6 days 18 hours according to Google. Do you think they intend for you to pedal the entire time?

Over Hill, Over Dale

It is so hard to get a true sense of a hill in a photograph. Steiner St. is vicious, and even on my best day, I can ride maybe 1 block of it. I was just thinking I wish I had a level to take a picture of next to the bike when I was given this wonderful garage door to help make my point.

I forget where I read it, but one of the original guys at American Cyclery is said to have asked a prospective bicycle buyer " do you need to ride up all of the hills, or is it OK to push some of the time?". I subscribe to the latter and will push without reservation.

How about you? Do you have to ride every hill, or is it OK to push some of the time?

basket decorations

today is cinco de mayo. whatever your thoughts on that day are, please just be careful tonight as you ride around about your business. will possibly be lots of drunk people out there milling about masquerading as drivers, bikers and pedestrians...

anyway, this is a scene from this past weekend. flags make nice basket decorations i think.

have a good one!

Tandem

When I say "tandem" most of you will think of something like this-

but there are other ways to have two on bike.

The top tube is always available should your son feel like he needs a nap.

Speakers are always a good spot to perch yourself on, especially if they are on the back of Deep's Trikeasaurus (2.0).

There is always the possibility of grabbing on from the side. No one said you have to always be behind.

Sometimes tandem is just a suggestion.

Do you ride with a "plus one"?

Hey y’all, this bike changed my life.

hey guys, cali here. the following post is a guest contribution from one of my 2.0 friends, alex. he recently bought a bike, and i asked him to share a little bit about that with you guys. being the 2.0 kind of dude he is, he readily complied. here it is. enjoy.

Two weeks ago I bought a bike and y’all were right: my life has changed. I’m addicted to bike. Instantly, my commute turned into a joyously rowdy ride down Valencia and Market in the sun, rain and wind. I get on that bike and I feel like I’m riding around like I did when I was a kid, but now I’m rolling through streets I’ve never seen and stopping at places I’ve never been. Finding sweet short cuts, timing out stoplights and dodging doors and busses are now part of my everyday routine. And it’s awesome.

I’ve been reading this blog for a while, and should have expected that my life would change, but it happened quickly and thoroughly. The transition has been more like a reversion to myself as a little dude, getting into trouble, back in the day. Drenching myself in a torrential downpour on the way to work was a badass adventure compared to the drudge of being crammed down in a tunnel on BART. And blazing through the city up and down dominating hills with sandstormy headwinds is my new fave thing. Especially when finished with some cold beers.

So yeah, thanks for the inspiration, thought I’d share these photos. Say what’s up if you see me riding through.

Gazing lustily at the waves

Racing on some butter in Golden Gate Park

Chillin' with the homey Nature's Mistake on Page

thanks alex for submitting a post about your recent adventures. so much jam packed into two weeks of riding! and agreed, nothing better to top off some riding with a nice cold beer...or your beverage of choice, of course. ahem. sssssup.

Bikes Come Back, Sometimes

Some of you out there may remember our post last month about Jon's stolen Peugeot mixte. It's back!



MY STOLEN PEUGEOT WAS RECOVERED TODAY IN OAKLAND!

It's a little the worse for wear and beaten up, but she's whole, and only missing her leather-padded

toe straps and the contents of my panniers and my seat bag (tools, lock, cable, pump, 3 flashing

red bike lights, etc.).

Many thanks to Jason, a Cycles of Change APC volunteer, who spotted my unique mixte in Emeryville,

trailed the 12-year-old riding it back to his house in Oakland, then called me.

Many thanks also to Oakland PD Officers Charles O'Connor (#8732) and Terry Jones (#8427), who

quickly responded to my call and were at the house before I arrived. They checked out the house,

recovered my bike, and brought it to me.

Thanks to all of you who kept an eye out for my ride, spread the word, posted about it in blogs, and

offered your support through all this. It has meant a great deal and helped keep me going in the search,

which took lots of time and effort in my depressed state.

The lessons from all this?

1) ALWAYS lock your bike up securely.

2) TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES OF YOUR BIKE and document the components, serial number, and other details.

3) Engrave it with your driver's license number, SSN, or similar identifying marks, and/or stuff a business card or

other identifying paperwork inside the seat tube where only you will know it's there.

4) If your bike is stolen, TELL EVERYONE--THEN KEEP TELLING THEM. Pass out flyers with a good color photo,

inform all the local bike shops and bike clubs, file a police report AND contact other local jurisdictions as well.

5) OFFER A REWARD, "no questions asked." (I offered $200 for a bike that would have cost me $800 or more to replace.)

6) NEVER GIVE UP. This bike was stolen on April 5 in Alameda. I did not know it was spotted in Berkeley on April 17 and April 24 until Saturday, April 24, and I was at the Ashby BART station flea market in Berkeley again today when Jason spotted my bike and called me around noontime.

I am relieved but still on an emotional roller coaster. I'm facing costs of $150 or so to repair the bike and replace my lost gear, and not quite used to having my bike back yet. But for the first time in my life I have had a stolen bike returned to me, and I'm glad I have a chance to get used to that new experience.

Regards,

Jon Spangler

Alameda, CA USA

black & white saturday

happy saturday, all!

Howdy, Ma'am.

From Val, our "Bikedude" extraordinaire! We love when he sends us stuff. I always picture him riding off into the sunset after making the range a more bikeable place!



Today, as I was walking through the local grocery store, I had to pause for a moment to give a couple of very young girls a chance to consolidate themselves to one side of the aisle. They looked to be 3 and 4 years old, out shopping with their dad. The older one (who had the task of carrying the basket) looked up at me as I passed and said "Cow..boy". I get this a lot from the small ones, and I always just walk away proud, thinking "Yep, well spotted, kid". This time, as I walked away, I heard the dad telling her "No, no - that's that dude on the bike, you remember, you've seen him...". Now I'm thinking "Oh HELL yes!" Say what you like, but I seriously believe that the cowboy hat makes me much more visible, and therefore keeps me safer, than any bike helmet.