Spokes

The New York Times has a new regular feature on urban cycling called spokes.

Excelent News

AARP has decided to get on the ride a bike bandwagon. This is so big because AARP is a huge lobbying organization. One of the biggest in the country.

This development means much more political pressure for cycling infrastructure support.

Another Distance Cycling Video

This one is an hour long and is very well put together. It's about a man who cycles the whole length of Canada. The views are amazing. He gets across the feeling of being out on the open road alone.

Touring Videos

Today I was two amazing series of touring videos. The first and complete one is called Bike 2 Oz. Around 7 years ago a couple in the UK decided that the most sustainable way to get to OZ was by bike. It's about 13 episodes and is amazing. How people could spend a year and a half on the road cycling amazes and inspires me.

The second may be the more interesting story. Three young men started out from the UK with the plan to cycle around the world on expedition bikes. Seems like one has gone home and the other two split. They found ladies in the middle east and settled down. Later it seems they restarted their journey and are currently in India and Egypt respectively.

These world circling trips by bike are so surreal to think about.

First downed soldier

The first victim of the Chicago winter has hit. Earlier this week I noticed that my front tire was not holding pressure. A slow leak was my immediate thought, which was sad because the tires are Scwalbe Marathon Plus. These things are bullet proof. I've run them now for around seven months without a puncture. I've even pulled a staple out of them, it couldn't make it to the tube.

So I pull off the tire and look for a puncture, nothing. At this point I decide to do the water test. I notice that my Presta adapter won't come off the tube. The purpose of the adapter is to allow the smaller Presta valves to fit into a whole drilled out to the size of a Schraeder (the type on a car tire). The adapter is corroded. Sure enough, I stick the tube under the water and air bubles start coming from the valve.

I origionally got the Presa tubes because I was running my tire closer to 100, which is the limit on Schraeder valves. Honestly, they also looked cooler. I don't care these days though, and my current tires max out at 70Psi so I pulled out a Schraeder tube and used it. All is well now.

Oak Forest Gets It

It appears that Oak Forest is in the preliminary stages of adding bike lanes and routes in the near future. It's the opinion of the writer, and of me that people see the cities example and expect as such if they move to a suburb.

The suburbs of Chicago are the new fronter as far as I'm concern. There are many many people who drive short distances in the suburbs who could bike. The area is ripe for the activism.

Town in certain suburbs have town centers that are dense and bikeable, they also have less stop lights and signs. If one takes the lane, or finds low traffic areas, more distance can be covered.

It's the next step.

The Big Guys on Message

As he began outlining his ideas on the importance of transportation, he mentioned funding challenges. At that point, according to Blumenauer, Obama piped up with, “You mean, there’s not enough money for bikes?!”. “The big guy’s on message,” Blumenauer said with a grin

Via Bike Portland

B-Cycle Bike Sharing

In a very exciting move, Humana, Trek, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky have started the B-Cycle sharing bicycle sharing program. Seems that they are rolling out in Denver soon.

It's a bike sharing program similar to the Velibs of Paris. I do hope that they are much tough on collecting costs from those that mishandle or steal the shared bikes. That seems to be the problem with Velib. Maybe someone could explain how so many bikes can go missing when you litterally have to check them out? Maybe the French are lienient. Personally I would say, "If you didn't lock the bike, you pay for it." Oh well.

I think bike sharing is an excellent thing to get people on wheels. It takes care of storing a bike at the end of a bus or train trip, which many people take. Having to store their own bike on the end of the line would be a pain. With sharing, that burden is gone and a bike is suddenly even more convenient than a car.

I hope to see this in Chicago soon. If you would like to see it in your city, go here to express your interest.