Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Have Bicycle Camper, Will Travel
About the only thing not cool about these bicycle touring campers is the notion of dragging one of them up a ten mile climb while touring across Nevada. I suppose fish-tailing down a mountain might be a close second. It's a pretty nifty idea having someplace a little more comfortable to lay your head at the end of a long day in the saddle but I'm thinking the downsides far outweigh, literally, the upsides. More designs here.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Self Portrait with Gunnar
Managed one little cyclocross ride this past visit to southern Utah. Much needed dose of fresh air and beautiful vistas.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, February 17, 2012
Get On the Bus!
Here is a new spin on the "Safe Routes" to schools program. Who needs a separate bike lane if you can dominate the full traffic lane. I'm guessing if we had a fleet of these across the United States childhood obesity would all but disappear. Well, that and an overhaul of the food we feed students in cafeterias across the country would help.
It should come as no surprise that this is built by a Dutch company. More here from Utne.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Folding Bicycle Helmet?
This looks like the latest in "Transformer" Chic to me. But is the amount of space you might save really worth it? I suppose this is just the kind of accessory you might want if you already have a folding bicycle.
More on the helmet from Smart Planet.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I Think I'll Pick Up A Car....
Technically, he's not on a bicycle...but still. I should probably stop
being so lazy about grabbing groceries on my bike after seeing this.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Fair or Unfair?
This was floating around Facebook the other day, and while I'm certainly
aware that there are city planners that haven't got a clue what to do
with bicyclists who want to exercise their legal rights to the road
(I've had a few conversations with a couple) this seemed pretty unfair.
For one, I'm betting it was a work crew that placed this signage in the
middle of the bike lane, not an urban planner. But more than that, if
you identified a need for temporary signage to make motorists more aware
of cyclists on a certain stretch of road where would be the best place
to put the sign for the safety of all users, pedestrians, motorists, and
bicyclists?
I only bring this up to point out that all users need to be accounted
for when looking at infrastructure. For decades the autocentric view
has been dominant but positive changes are happening all of the country
and it will take years to turn around some of the attitudes that so many
have grown up with in regards to transportation. Sometimes it's not
just the drivers that can be myopic about what streets are for.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sunday Morning Music - XTC
I was reading this interview with Andy Partridge of XTC fame and marveling that it is 30 years now since they released what is arguably their greatest album, English Settlement. Considering the strength of their body of work that is saying something. Certainly you'd have to argue that ES represents the peak of that particular phase of the band. I'm still in love with this most well-known track from the album but top to bottom it is a masterpiece that reveals itself more and more with each listen.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Thursday, February 09, 2012
The Evolution of the SUV
I'm not sure what to make of this but I'm pretty sure the downside is the challenge it'll pose when you want to parallel park.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Feeling Lazy...
It's estimated that as many as half a million people choose to ride
their bikes every day in Copenhagen. And it's not just during pleasant
weather. Oh, to have this kind of infrastructure...but more than that,
to have a societal understanding from all users of the urban space that
bicyclists belong!
Monday, February 06, 2012
Lance Armstrong Investigation Ends With A Whimper
Not much to say about this. I suppose I was expecting a big controversy when the prosecution filed charges but this is a bit of a surprise. I have all sorts of thoughts and suspicions about the Armstrong era and his subsequent use of his celebrity for his cancer awareness causes but I'm content to let sleeping dogs lie. I am still thrilled by having seen him ride in the Tour de France in 2003 on various stages including the infamous musette bag incident.
Here is one report on the details of the closed investigation.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Sunday Morning Music - Leonard Cohen
The new Leonard Cohen album is chilling in all the right ways. Old
Ideas came out last week and I can't stop playing it. Subtle, haunting,
funny, and beautiful, like every great Cohen record. Here is a live
clip of one of the tracks.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
If Only I Spoke Japanese
I'm not sure quite what to make of this but it's certainly humorous, and
was intended to be. I love the shots of the riders gazing off into the
distance. And this type of bike ride seems like a great way to spend a
day.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Practical Pedal
Now this strikes me as a pretty useful urban riding machine. Especially if you can mount a little basket somewhere on it to carry a few groceries or whatnot.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Holocaust and Bicycling Heroes
The last few years around this time I launch into teaching a unit on Anne Frank, the Holocaust, Genocide, and tolerance. It is one of my favorite lessons because I find the history so compelling, the evil perpetrated so hard to convey and comprehend, and the heroes of this era so extraordinary in the face of those evils. In particular, I always take my students on a symbolic "death march," stripping away, at their rights, possessions, loved ones, to give them some small sense of the inhumanity of that time (and still goes on today).
I'm also delighted when I can bring in a few bicycle touchstones of the era (I can't help myself) such as the right to bicycle being taken away if you were Jewish or bikes coming to be known as symbolic of the Resistance in World War II (in some ways I could argue that bicycles are still seen as "resisting" the status quo). So I was delighted to see this piece on Gino Bartali, Tour de France and Giro winner, being honored for helping to save Jews during the Holocaust. Something more to pass on to my students. I particularly love the quote at the end: "Good is something you do, not something you talk about."
Tributes have been paid to cycling great Gino Bartali, with evidence now showing that he helped save the lives of up to 800 Jews during World War II. The Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel is looking into giving him the title "Righteous Among the Nations", a term used by Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.
The details about the Italian's actions in the 1940s have only just recently come to light, through a university study. His son, Andrea, has continued the research along with the Jewish community and journalist Laura Guerra.
“In 1943 Bartali, who had already won the Tour de France once and the Giro d’Italia twice, was assigned to the traffic police by the fascist regime, before leaving the job on 8 September,” according to the UCI. “That was when he went underground, choosing to help persecuted Jews by smuggling identity photos to a convent that produced counterfeit papers.
“As far as the soldiers who guarded the road between Florence and San Quirico, near Assisi, were concerned, Bartali was merely on a 380-km training run. In fact, valuable documents were hidden inside the frame and saddle of his bicycle.”
Bartali remained modest about his actions, not even telling his wife. His own public comment was “Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.”
Monday, January 30, 2012
Bicycle Tripod
For every hundred "concept bikes" I run across there are probably 99 that are pretty useless and one worth investigating. This one probably slides into the useless category. Bike doubling as a tripod? Why not just get a camera mount for your handlebars?
That being said, I've been tempted recently to get one of those "Gopro" or whatever they are called, HD video cameras for outdoor adventure. Really, I'm just thinking I could use it more for getting some cool footage of the students when my school bike club hits the trails. The commercials for them are a little to "rad" for my tastes but it might be a useful accessory for the right application.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Good Morning Sunshine
I always enjoy the sunrises on my ride into work but I rarely actually stop. Yesterday I couldn't help myself and quickly snapped this with my phone. No justice here but you get the idea.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Bicycle Storage
I think one of the reasons I find myself kind of obsessed with the various ways of storing bicycles that seem to be proliferating the scene is that they mostly cater to the idea of living in smaller, more urban spaces. And, they underscore the idea of the bicycle being right at hand as you head out the door of your apartment or home to run errands, head to work, etc.
With that in mind this is a pretty nifty design if you have a smaller space that you're living in that requires a more vertical storage solution. I particularly like the cubbies on the right side. But before you get out that credit card it is probably a good idea to go get some wood or ask that friend of yours who is a carpenter to help you build your own. Apparently this is supposed to run over $3000.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Disappearing Bicycle
This video has been making the rounds of a bicycle locked outside in NYC
and watching it be cannibalized over the course of 365 days using
time-lapse photography. Frankly, I'm surprised that the bicycle lasted
as long as it did.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar