Blurry San Francisco

A great deal of what San Francisco has to offer is in this picture.

The SF experience can leave you seeing like this sometimes, too.

Zip Ties vs Snowpocalypse?

It's all ice and snow for the United States these days. Last night on the news they reported that every state except Florida has snow! So what is a cyclist to do when the frost was a surprise and studded tires are way expensive? Zip ties!!!!

Dutch Bike Company put up a post last November about this DIY solution to slipping and sliding through a winter wonderland. Makes me want to take the Bat up to Tahoe and give it a try!

Has anybody out there tried this? Did it work for you?

tuesday injection of fun: i wheelie like you

well, it's true. i do! :)

seen at SF's 2010 renegade craft fair

DIY Enforcement

In the summer of 1988 I was driving along some of the back roads of Ensenada, Mexico. I noticed a lot of homemade Stop signs at the intersections of the less populated parts of town. This sign, found at the side of the road during the century we all just completed, reminds me of them. Gotta say, I like 'em!

Baggage. We All Have It.

One of the common challenges of a life lived without a car (or with only occasional car) is how to carry your stuff with you. I, for one, am consistently amazed at what I bring with me places (not to mention how much all that crap weighs!). Equally amazing, to me, is how one cargo solution that works today will be utterly wrong the next. This means that I, being a little obsessive about having the right tool for the job, have a few options for carrying crap around the landscape.

I will start with the most recent solution (it is the easiest to find pictures of). Carrying a camera all the time can get kind of complicated. I don't have the talent with my point and shoot that Meli does, and I end up carrying much bigger cameras. Wearing them all the time can become tiring and I hate how fussy camera bags are (especially if I have to carry them around when off the bicycle). So I did this-

I use a bag that holds my lenses and wallet and decided to come up with a way to make it into a pannier (I hate having my camera bounce around in the basket). I use these really cool clips to turn my bag into something that can be secured to the rack.

These clips could be used with a variety of bags and purses. In the future, this will be super helpful as I will be removing the front rack from the Bat once I am no longer carrying Declan everywhere. I could use this set up with any of my Coach bags, my Timbuk2 purse, my backpack... just about anything. Those clips hold 25 pounds each, so I am good to go! The rack keeps the bag out of the spokes and the whole thing is easily removable and isn't as awkward as carrying around a big pannier when not pedaling.

That is enough about baggage for today. I will write about my other options at another time. You, of course, are waiting with baited breath.

Weekday Glide

It's a workday. You have things to do and stuff to carry. However you do it, do it by bicycle! Automatic style points for top tube gliding.

Stretchy

Sometimes a couple of bungee cords are all you need.

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!

thursday thoughts: de colores...

color influences my eyes. when i saw this going on between the bici vatas the other day:

...it reminded me of easter times growing up with cascarones.

so colorful. so festive. so fun.

time to make more cozies and more bike piles i think :)

BVPV

Blister Butt Boys

A few days ago, one of our wonderful readers sent us the link to this wonderful article by Mont Hubbard and published over at Bike Davis blog. All of us here at the blog love stories of bicycle adventure, so this is right up our alley, but for me it very special. I grew up in the exact place these kids are from (so did Gary Fisher when he was little). Reading this reminded me of being a kid in the Sunset District of SF in the 1970's. At that time, I got my speed fix coming down those hills on my roller skates (!!!!!!), but even as young as 5, I remember being able to ride my bike to any point in the Neighborhood (15 square miles!) with my gang of neighborhood kids.

Enjoy the freedom of youth reading this article, then get out there and ride!

Published on February 26, 2010 in Davis Bicycles! Column.

By Mont Hubbard

Published in the Davis Enterprise, Feb. 26, 2010

San Francisco, early 1930s. In a time of much greater freedom and responsibility, a group of young teenagers called themselves the Blister Butt Bicycle Boys. My father-in-law Mal Taylor, 13, and his older brother Wally were founding members.

The bicycle was both emblematic of their independence and the key to it. They lived on their bicycles, the anvils on which the steel of their characters was forged.

The purpose of this column is to share some of the joy and excitement that youth in days gone by were afforded through their bikes. Modern equivalents must be happening in Davis today, and likely more can, but I just hope all of them are a bit safer.

Mal and Wally Taylor grew up in the Sunset district of San Francisco. Wally was born in 1920, and Mal the following year. Then as now, cycling in the city of San Francisco was considerably more challenging than in Davis. Hills, big hills, steep hills! How was a kid to get a heavy one-speed bike to adequately serve for transportation in such a situation?

Easy! With ingenuity, initiative and scavenged construction rebar, they carefully handcrafted a hook (see photo) and waited for an unsuspecting passing truck. (Kids, don’t try this at home!) The good news was that 75 years ago the trucks climbed very slowly up SF’s famously steep hills. The bad news was that they often accelerated going back down!

Mal Taylor, top, and his brother Wally are pictured in the mid-1920s in San Francisco, hinting at the fun they would have as Blister Butt Bicycle Boys.

The self-fashioned hook was critical to quickly and effectively latching onto whatever part of the rear of the truck could be used for the tow, and then the hook ensured the essential quick release before the truck’s descent. Even with the “safety” features provided by the hook, Mal recounted one incident in which a rope dangling from the truck to which he had hitched became entangled in his bike’s front wheel, winding tighter and tighter. Fortunately, before the downhill slope it somehow unwound, freeing him before catastrophe could occur. The truck driver remained oblivious to the drama unfolding behind him in his blind spot.

Mal Taylor and his brother Wally used this hook fashioned from rebar to snag a truck that would tow their bike up the hills of San Francisco.

Not only did the bicycle provide freedom and transportation across the entire city, it enabled their escape into wonderful adventures beyond. At ages 13 and 14 they planned and executed the first of many long and complex bike treks. From their homes in the Sunset district they rode to the ferry, across the Golden Gate (during construction of the bridge), onto Highway 101 and thence to Camp Taylor (later to become Samuel P. Taylor State Park) for a five-day outing.

They had convinced their parents that the 6 cents a day it cost to support each of them at home should instead be devoted to financial support of their trip. That, together with their wages from odd jobs such as mowing lawns, helped to bankroll these expeditions.

The next summer the club decided on a 150-mile, five-day expedition to the Russian River. Having found homemade saddlebags too clumsy, they paid 63 cents (a substantial sum during the height of the Depression) to mail their packs to a nearby general store and made the trip to their camp in one day. This was one of many such trips: south to Big Basin, and by ferry to the East Bay hills and points north of the Golden Gate.

Little did they know that the independence, ingenuity and can-do spirit their bikes fostered would help them, a short decade later, to develop into the saviors of freedom of the Western world, as members of America’s Greatest Generation.

Although our 13-year-olds grow up in a completely different world today, they could still benefit from some of the unparalleled advantages that bicycles afforded the Blister Butt Bicycle Boys: physical and mental conditioning, initiative, self reliance, a bit more independence, and an unmatched sense of freedom and potential.

These are qualities that are not developed or enhanced by being driven to and fro in automobiles by parents. Bikes also provide a great introduction to mechanical devices — a vanishing area of knowledge for our youths in the age of video screens and electronic devices.

After hearing these stories, my wife Lyn, Mal’s daughter, feels extraordinarily lucky to have been born at all. But she observes that, even with modern improvements such as gears, helmets, lights and our excellent bike infrastructure, it’s reassuring not to have to use the truck hitching hooks in Davis.

— Mal Taylor (1921-2010) lived in Sunnyvale and enjoyed sharing the tales of his youth and biking with friends and family. Mont Hubbard is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UC Davis and a member of Davis Bicycles! He does research on bicycle dynamics and control and lives with Lyn in South Davis where they have raised four children and are trying to increase their bicycle travel mode share. To offer a Davis Bicycles! column, write to Joe Krovoza at column@davisbicycles.org

springing into sunday...

last friday i went to a show with some other bikey people. 6 of them had bikes. while waiting for the changes at mojo's to literally cement into place, we decided to all park together. we're bike pile stylin'.

pre-show:

post-show:

now really, who is going to be bold enough to mess with that pile style?

happy springing forward this evening everybody! days are only going to get longer...more time in the saddle. i, for one, am excited! :)

On The Road Again

S.A.M. is back on the road. He does not look that much different, but he is!

I was going to do the work, but it ended up with Hubby the Bike Man doing just about everything (we have a different work style involved primarily with me liking to have a cup of tea at 10:30 PM and James liking to go work in the garage until midnight).

S.A.M. has a new bottom bracket (sealed), new pedals (MKS), new chain rings (Hubby knew I needed different gearing although I was oblivious), new wheel bearings and a repacked head tube.

All of the recycled parts required overnight soaking in orange oil prior to being scraped clean. That is some serious, long standing, baked on grime. It was worth it, though. James was able to salvage the derailleurs.

The paint is still shot. The paint that is left is strong and a really pretty soft metallic blue, but so much has been scraped off. I was worried the new V.O. fenders and the Axiom rack would really make the paint look baaaaad.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the new shiny bits do not make the paint look worse. S.A.M. has an air of shabby chic now that was not there before. The addition of the Peterboro baskets to the back end are perfect.

Today, I got to take him for a nice, quiet ride to the Farmer's Market. It has become obvious that the freewheel needs to be replaced, but other than that, everything rides so much better! Nothing grinds anymore. Everything is quiet and smooth. The fact that it is well tuned and 25 lbs lighter than the Bat, 65 lbs lighter if you factor in the weight of Declan, means that I don't end up as tired at the end of the ride. It makes me happy.

It is not easy to put an old bike back together. There is a lot of trial and error involved. I am lucky to have a husband who enjoys building bicycles (I hate to think how much it would have cost to have a professional do it). If you have the interest in this kind of thing, you should do it. Having a bicycle with history and character is wonderful. Being able to make it exactly what you want it to be makes riding so much better.

Go fix a bike! You will like it!

Renovations

As anyone who has read this blog knows, I ride a Batavus. I love my Bat.

At some point, someone named him the "Batcycle Gentleman" and it stuck. He is, indeed, a gentleman (most of the time) and there has not been a single day since I purchased him that I have not been happy to have done so.

Despite our obvious comfort in just kicking back together, later this month, the Bat will be on loan to an out of town visitor. I would not loan my bike to just anyone, but I know that this person is one of the few that I would and that he will be in good hands.

In preparation for this event, I am finally stripping down S.A.M. and doing all of the repair work that has needed to be done since I bought him.

S.A.M., so named because someone carved "#107" into his paint in several places (his secret agent number I suspect), is completely rideable as is, but there was so much left to do after the initial fix we did when I first bought him. This bike was a mess! Nothing , absolutely nothing, worked on the bike. He was filthy, rickety and totally not road worthy. I bought him for the frame as it is the largest mixte frame Raleigh ever made and that was what I needed. Until I knew I would ride the bike regularly, I didn't want to put in the time for a complete tear down and reassembly. Now, I will be riding it, with kid in tow, as my primary bike and thus, work is required.

Stay tuned. I have new V.O. fenders and a wonderful new rack to install. The bottom bracket is going, the head tube is being repacked (it has loose ball bearings in it which is something I have not dealt with before), I am taking apart the derailleurs to completely de-grime them, the wheel bearings will be re-packed... a spa treatment deluxe!

So, at least for a little while, my mixte will take center stage, and not just be the bike that waits in sketchy neighborhoods for me to be finished drinking Belgian beer : )

Meeting People

This is Sisely (I hope I got her name right! I am very bad with names). She passed me while I was riding on Valencia street. Her bright green bike (a Specialized Langster) was noticeable enough, but it had very unusual steel fenders that caught my eye.

When I saw the bike parked near me a few minutes later I had to take a look! I love how they are cut out to accommodate the brakes. The bolts are a wonderful touch!

The best thing about this? Sisely made the fenders herself! She works in a metal shop and decided to do some DIY . I love that a woman fabricated bike parts for herself and look forward to more woman following suit!

Santa Sighting!

Christmas is here! Bring on the cheer! And if Christmas ain't your thing then Happy Chriskwanzikkah!! Either way, our friend Richard over at Suburban Assault who is a great friend to this blog and an all around fantastic guy sent these shots into the Flickr group and I just have to share some of them! We are like that around here- we loooooove to share!!!

Santa's Helper (he needed a jump start and her vision of va-va-voom was just the trick)

Random Guy- I hear Santa is hiring. What's the health care like?

Elf- Not too bad. Better than Congress and we get all the candy canes and neon pants we want!

What do you mean, "Where's my gift?" I am your gift, baby : )

Hee Hee Hee!

Those are "Santa Hangers" to you. Unless you want coal in your stocking!

The man himself, leading what will become known as the "Charge of the Santa Brigade!" Suburbia will never be the same again!

wear your bike signage with pride

last night the san francisco bicycle coalition held its annual winterfest, a holiday party and fundraiser held at somarts.

jefferson of mission bicycle company was representing, quite literally, some bike signage on his jacket.

photo by lisa marie

he's wigglin' it, just a little bit.

the gold arrow resembles the new signs seen along the wiggle bike route since the partial lifting of the injunction.

photo by lisa marie

i hope he finds his wheel before he has to go back on the sharrow again.

and again, the gold sequins resembles a sharrow arrow one finds on the city streets.

more to come from winterfest soon!