Toasty 34 Mile Road Ride

Just got back from a toasty 34 mile road ride with Erik. We left at 7:30AM and it was already quite warm. Average speed was 17.7, total ascent was just under 2000' and average temp was 88.

Posted 10:21 AM by Jay Got something to say?

Bike to Work Day accident claims life of bicyclist

Bike to Work Day accident claims life of bicyclist when he collided with a barrier early in the morning on his way to SFO where he worked as a mechanic.

I'm glad he didn't get run over like most of the other cycling accidents lately but it doesn't change the fact that he's still dead. Posted 9:17 AM by Erik Got something to say?

Motorcycles for Paraplegics

Just read about the Dreamfit: the motorcycle for paraplegics and am amazed, impressed and pleased that someone's figured out a way to give some paralyzed people a degree of mobility, speed and fun that they previously had no chance of doing on their own.

Sure, you can strap a paraplegic on the back of a bike and whip them all over tarnation but it is far, far more fun to give them the controls and let them have at it.

Good on Darren Lomman for putting it together. I hope he gets these bikes into production and more paralyzed folks get out on the road. Posted 9:17 AM by Erik Got something to say?

Bicycling for the Pub Set

bierbike-koeln.de - Uber das BierBike which, translated means Beer bike of Cologne - Over the Beer bike.

What is it? A pub on wheels that patrons pedal from place to place while the bartender keeps the frothy refreshments coming. Seating for sixteen, a wood bar, quality beer on tap and lights for night time booze cruises.

Why yes, the awesome is strong with this one. Especially because you know its kickass beer too, not Miller Lite or Bud or any of the pisswater big brand beers.

I love auto-translations because they uncover linguistic gems like this one at the bottom of the page, "The use of cycle paths is not compelling, if this is unreasonable" which is an odd way of saying don't even think about taking this monster off-road.

Labels: awesome, beerbike

Posted 9:33 PM by Erik Got something to say?

Outside Magazine Names Ibis Mojo Bike of the Year!

Major props to Ibis Cycles' Mojo for being named the Mountain Bike of the Year by Outside Magazine. I read the news on the Chuck Spew blog which includes a bitchin' two page GORGEOUS image of the Mojo in all its ass-kicking glory.

Ibis also recently signed Brian Lopes to race the Mojo and he's been ripping everyone he races a nice big freshie. As well as launching serious air.

People that know me know that I've been an Ibis rider since the mid 80's when I was lucky enough to buy an Avion SS. I rode that bike all over the US and a good portion of southern Africa. It killed me when I had to sell it before coming home.

My old school Mojo still kicks ass but man, oh man do the new ones look and ride like the dreams they are.

Ibis is back, Ibis is dominant and the world is starting to sit up and take notice.

Congrats to Scot and the rest of the Ibis crew. I predict ever greater accolades and I am looking forward to the day when I can add a new Mojo to my little stable of Ibis bikes. Then I'll convert my old Mojo into a single and still shred! Posted 5:48 PM by Erik Got something to say?

Ghost Bikes Mark Cycling Deaths

Ghost Bike: A Ghostbike is a junker bike that has been painted stark white and affixed to the site where a cyclist has been hit or killed by a car driver. Ghostbikes are intended to be memorials for the fallen and reminders to everyone to SHARE THE ROAD with one another. Ride safe and give cyclists a break. Reckless riding and driving kills.

How terribly sad that a site like has come to exist out of a need to highlight the deaths of cyclists.

And this just on the heels of the news that a 16 year old girl ran over a 12 year old on his bicycle here in the Bay Area just the other day. Posted 8:06 AM by Erik Got something to say?

Cycling Jacket + LEDs + Accelerometer = Coolness and Safety

Major congrats to Michael Chen for winning the James Dyson Award for his Reactiv cycling jacket.

The jacket incorporates an accelerometer and LEDs to inform others of increasing or decreasing speed and, lift an arm, to indicate a turn with amber LEDs in the forearms.

When you pedal harder to speed up, the LEDs on the back light up green to indicate acceleration. Braking will change the green to red to indicate braking.

What an awesome and brilliant idea.

The other entries on the James Dyson site are also worth a look too.

Found via Bicycling Design where one of the commenters mentions microfiber nanogenerators to make power just during the natural course of movement. And that would totally kickass. Posted 9:45 AM by Erik Got something to say?

My First Mountain Bike Race

Since I had the day off yesterday I decided to head out to the Prairie City OHV area for the Wednesday night mountain bike races (http://www.racemtb.com/) last night. This was my first ever mountain bike race. I entered in the Beginner 30-39 class. Taking my buddy Mark's advice, I just put it in the big ring and let it rip right from the starting line. I had a nice lead ripping down the fast descent into the first corner. Nobody was near me until the first climb. Thats when my 31 lb. Giant Reign with 6" of travel started to slow me down just a bit. This bike is set up as an all mountain trail bike for epic back country adventures and bombing descents in Auburn, not exactly an XC race bike. Never the less, I had stiffened up the suspension and went up the climbs with only two other riders coming into range of me. For a big honking rig, this bike actually climbs pretty well.

So, I'm pretty sure I finished in the top 5, except for one stupid mistake. Being a Prairie City rookie racer, I was so pumped coming to the finish line that I overlooked the scoring chute marked with orange cones you're supposed to funnel into and ride down so they can write down your number and score you properly. I just kept on riding as if I was doing a 3rd lap. The race announcer Rick thought I was DNFing as we chatted for a minute or two. Then he informed me that I had missed the "actual" finish line and needed to go back round and come through. DOH!!!! So, while I may have been the first one to get "near" the finish line, I was not the first one to cross it. Thus, I'm sure I will be scored near last... Oh well, live & learn. I still had a blast out there and will be back for as many as I can squeeze into my schedule.

Mountain bike racing is alot different than road racing that's for sure. Virtually no time to rest & recover, and certainly no drafting. Just redlined the whole way. I did manage to get one sip out of a water bottle near the end of the 1st lap. It was a quick race and I think each lap was roughly 3 miles. I nearly threw up near my car after the race was over..... good times.

Labels: city, mountain biking, ohv, prairie, racing

Posted 10:39 PM by Jay Got something to say?

And Bottom Brackets Everywhere Wept

Nothing like a little lubricating sand in your bottom bracket to keep your pedals moving smoothly. Or not. But it was certainly a beautiful day to be on the beach. And I'm positive he made great time coming back down the beach without that gnarly, gnarly headwind!

Jay, do you remember when we took our bikes down on the temporary beach under the lighthouse? Fun times but not so healthy for the BB's!

Labels: beach, biking, sand

Posted 11:03 AM by Erik Got something to say?

Pedal power delivers clean water to the developing world

Pedal power delivers clean water to the developing world with a mobile filtration system powered by, you guessed it, the pedaling action of the bike.

To say this is brilliant is an extreme understatement when you read the opening statement that 5,000 children PER DAY die because of water-related diseases. That's more than all the US soldiers killed in Iraq since the start of the war. And those kids are dying every single day.

The coolest thing about this system is that it filters 20 gallons of water AND transports it home at the same time. That's efficient and practical. The filtration system incorporates a clutch so you can pedal in place to filter additional water as needed. Posted 10:15 AM by Erik Got something to say?