friday fun times: alien bike rider

lots of serious stuff going on in SF's bikey community this week. i'll save that post for monday.

in the meantime, it's time to bike party and to ride with all sorts of people...or aliens?

hehe, have a great weekend everyone!

the price of gas

as much as we don't really espouse "we told you so" attitudes around here for biking for transportation, i couldn't help but notice the price of gas the other day.

wow. and, i don't know if you can see, but this station is very close to a freeway entrance in SF's soma neighborhood. look at how many cars there are! to be fair, there was a giants game, and that always increases the traffic in the neighborhood, but...what if it didn't. there is free bike parking for giants fans. maybe the skyrocketing price would convince some people to CYLRAB.

friday fun times: rainy days ahead

april's showers brings may's flowers. gotta love spring :)

we desperately need rain in the bay area as our winter has been relatively rain-free. heavy rains are expected this weekend. time to cover up and ride or cover up and ride muni.

i'm more prepared to ride in rain, however gross rain pants look. sigh. they really do help with keeping dry, just like a raincoat helps out with keeping dry from the knees up.

tights are also an awesome option because they dry quickly.

so my longer ride this weekend is canceled. need to get some miles in before next weekend's metric century with my alumni group. might have to suck it up and pay for a day in a gym. :)

have a fantastic weekend y'all!

do you have rainy day pics to add to our flickr group? post today!

lovers on a bike

thanks to the amazing iam sterdam for sharing the lovely foto on our flickr group.

want to see more? have more pictures to contribute? go over to our flickr group today!

here comes the rain again...

falling on my head like a memory....

one of the things i like about riding a bike is the constant challenges it brings. if you are riding loaded, you have to think differently about all the junk in your trunk.

or if you are super late to work because you were looking for your keys AND THEN it wasn't raining when you were looking for them BUT WHEN YOU WERE READY TO LEAVE it was pouring out....and you have steel rims on your older bike...what do you do?

foto by ade, guest starring declan

one of my fears is going down a hill in the rain on joanie because one of the first times i did that, i crashed into a biker at the end of the hill. i was pulling my brake levers as hard as i could for most of the way down. so when i see rain and know i have to head out on my bike, i think i'd rather be doing this:

foto by sibadd

on my new commute, i have a rather large hill i'm sort of nervous to go down when it's not raining. i'm mainly nervous due to the car traffic and because not everyone who drives a car signals when they want to turn, not because of anything else. i love to bomb that hill when i get the chance. WHEEEEEEEEE....

well, today was running late, so no better time than to face that fear. rain + joanie, round one. no time to really ride in a roundabout way, so i took the plunge.

and here i am. i just went slow and steady. per usual. joanie - 1, rain - 0.

for more tips for riding in the rain, please see this video over on vimeo starring KT from velo vogue.

all fotos taken from our flickr pool! we love to see what you guys do with cameras and bikes!!

Ring It, Baby!

The best thing on any bicycle for helping to keep you safe, other than common sense, is you bicycle bell.

Some of them can ring and show the way. This particular one was a bit like Captain Jack Sparrow's compass and was more interested in pointing me to where I wanted to go than it was in pointing North. Probably better that way.

I have been known to choose a bell to brighten up the day while it also tells others "Hey! I'm coming through!". Not only is it a polite way of announcing my approach, it is sunny and cute.

As I have shared previously, Meli, the vegetarian, has a strange fondness for cheeseburger bicycle bells. This one looks a bit like the beet burgers she is especially fond of. Ask not for whom the burger tolls. It is telling you I am coming up the left!

image from Double Cheeseburger Blogger

Perhaps food themed bells are better at letting others know we are passing? Maybe because they remind us we are hungry and need to get home?

image by Gerogie_grrl

Bell peppers work, too.

photo by the Goat Whisperer

For more bells than you thought possible, check out Flickr contributor Georgie_Grrrl's mild obsession with said object.

All of this pictorial splendor is brought to you in the name of our last post. Use those bells! If you don't have one, go get one (along with some bicycle lights, gosh darn it!).

Bikes Around The World

Knowing full well there is a world outside of San Francisco, I decided to put up some of the recent shots from around the world that have been posted on our Flickr group. We get some fantastic pictures from all over the globe. Every kind of bicycle imaginable, ridden in every conceivable way. Visual proof that there is no one way to ride a bike other than just getting on one and going!

image by RocketDog at A Pic A Ride (UK)

image by Greg Raisman (Portland, OR, USA)

image by rperks1 at Ocean Air Cycles (Ventura, CA, USA)

image by Claudio Olivares Medina (Chile)

image by Iam Sterdam (Netherlands)

image by a.pic.a.day

image by Chris.0917 (Maple Springs, New York, USA)

image by AlainG (Montreal, Canada)

image by y.hayama (Japan)

image by Ian of Slow RPM (Melbourne, Australia)

The Grass Is Just As Green

In the Netherlands? Really? The land of the Ultimate Modern Bicycle Culture?

submitted to our Flickr group by Roermond op de Fiets

Just goes to show, no matter where you are, you gotta work to have a bicycle friendly society.

FTW!!!

I want to be this guy!

photo by will_cyclist

Happy weekend!

Hint O' Kid

You don't have to see the kids to know they are there. There are clues.

image by Fullhands

image by Simply Bike

image by somervillebikes

Go ride with your kids.

Slideshow!

Time for an update from the Flikr group! There is always room for more and we love to have new people join in!

We all love to see what goes on in your world so share with the group.

Happy Tuesday!

photo by rperks 1 @ Ocean Air Cycles

Scuba Bike

I wonder if he will find Nemo?

photo by Roland Tanglao

Fad Or Fab?

I was recently asked by a news reporter if I thought cargo bicycles were a fad. I answered that I felt it was more an expression of how utility cycling is evolving as people become more comfortable with leaving the car at home for more and more tasks. But the question left me thinking, when is something a fad and when is it something more? I think it is less about how many people do something and more about how diverse the group is that participates.

photo by Claudio Olivares Medina in Mexico City

If everyone who does "x" looks the same, is the same age, speaks the same language and only copies the last person they saw doing "x", that is a fad. When the people don't all seem the same, if there is variety in type things start to get more interesting and have a better chance of lasting.

photo by Slow RPM in Melbourne, Australia

Fads are something that gives fleeting pleasure but quickly become passé and silly. When we start to share these things with the people we love the most to bring us closer together they are no longer frivolous or temporary.

photo by baudman in Australia

I can not think of any fad that made my life easier, can you?

photo by Greg Raisman in Portland, Oregon

Who is comfortable putting their child in a fad?

photo by Cold Iron in Alameda, California

Maybe that is the surest clue to this question. Children. Living life in a way that teaches our children what we feel is important is not a fad, it is life.

photo by henry in a'dam in Holland.

For myself, cargo bicycles are not a fad, not at all. They are the answer to what had become an increasing problem for me- how to live my life the way I want to. That there are so many options entering the market around the world is simply proof that there are many people in the world who have the same needs and aspirations that I do.

Just because it is fun does not mean it is frivolous. For those who are choosing these bicycles, it isn't because the neighbor has one. How about you? Do you think cargo bicycles are a fad?

Hope

These pictures were shared by Yohey Hayama in our Flickr group. It is our sincere hope that one day, all of Japan will be able to regain the feeling of these shots.

Way back when, Queen sang what I am thinking now-

Teo torriatte konomama iko
Aisuruhito yo
Shizukana yoi ni
Hikario tomoshi
Itoshiki oshieo idaki

Let us cling together as the years go by
Oh my love my love
In the quiet of the night
Let our candle always burn
Let us never lose the lessons we have learned

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

I really can't stay

Ice Beard by Rudyluciani

but baby, it's cold outside!

I've got to go away

Cold Weekend Ride by spiderleggreen

Oh, Baby, it's cold outside.

I simply must go.

No Bike Lane On Harbord by Happy D

But Baby, it's cold outside.

The answer is, no!

Tree + Sharrow = Awesome by gregraisman

Oooh, Baby, it's cold outside!

I've got to go home.

Wool Knitted Hat, Jigsaw Sweater by Lovely Bicycle!

Oh, Baby, you'll freeze out there!

Aerial Winter Mikael Colville -Andersen

Screw it! Go ride!

Can You Name The Theme?

Brownie points if you can guess the common thread here.

picture by Baudman

picture by rudyluciani