The debut of a DIY show on public television connects viewers with artists who transform old bicycles into unusual pedal-powered creations.
“MAKE: Television” is produced by MAKE magazine, which is devoted to all kinds of do-it-yourself technology projects.
The first segment of the first show is about San Francisco's Cyclecide. The collective finds bicycles and other odds and ends in junk yards and retool them into “pedal-powered monstrosities.” One member explains:
“It's not really into the practicality of the bike or fast you can ride…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/04/make-television-features-bicycle-creations-by-sfs-cyclecide/
January 1 sounds like a good time to start a bicycle tour, or turn your life around, or, if you're Robert Hollandsworth, to do both.
Robert started his Cycle for Life bicycle tour from Houston on Thursday and plans to keep cyclo-touring the US with no end in sight. He'll survive on $200 a month from his family and whatever donations he gets from playing his guitar and tuning pianos along the way.
His trip is no spur-of-the-moment New Year's resolution. Robert's been planning this trip for several years with advice from experienced touring bicyclists at the Internet Bicycle Touring List. At his website, he writes …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/03/starting-a-new-life-by-bicycle-on-new-years-day/
Robert Hollandsworth is suited up and ready to go in Houston. Cycle for Life bicycle tour.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/03/robert-hollandsworth-and-his-rig/
It's kind of hard to believe, but that fringe benefit for bicycle commuters went into effect on Thursday.
You can now actually be reimbursed for riding your bicycle to work.
As of Jan. 1, employers can offer up to $20 per month to employees who regularly commute by bicycle to offset the cost of buying, repairing, improving or storing their bicycles.
Bicyclists can receive the $20 in cash reimbursements, vouchers redeemable at bicycle shops or parking locations, or as a pre-tax deduction program. It depends on what your employer wants to do …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/02/claim-your-bicycle-commuter-tax-benefit-now/
A trend I've noticed that more motorists are ignoring the ban on cellphone use while driving is confirmed by the Washington State Patrol.
Although prohibited in the state since July 1, the law is a secondary offense. That means police must stop the driver for another violation before writing the ticket for cellphone use.
It's important that cellphone laws be followed because distracted motorists make the roads more hazardous, especially for those of us riding bicycles. It has been proven that talking on a phone has the same effect on a motorist's brain as several glasses of wine …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/01/washington-state-drivers-ignore-cellphone-ban/
<
I always enjoy looking back at the top stories of the previous year.
Although the BikingBis blog is hardly the arbiter of the top bicycling news of the day, my stories occasionally seem to strike a chord with readers. Take, for instance, the photo at left that goes with the top story of 2008.
Here are the month-by-month stories at my blog with the most hits last year. In a couple of cases, they were actually legitimate bicycling news stories.
January: “Top 10 bicycling websites” — I published this list Dec. 31, 2007, but it was still popular at the beginning of the following year. These were the websites that I refer to the most for bicycle news; they probably still are.
February : “Scotsman sets record for around the world solo bike tour” — This was the story of Mike Beaumont, who traveled 18,000 miles by bicycle over 195 days. He carried his own gear and passed through 20 countries. Amazing …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/01/monthly-top-bicycling-stories-in-2008/
Back in January when I set a 4,000-mile bicycle-riding goal for 2008, I didn't want to have to resort to fulfilling my resolution on New Year's Eve.
Of course, that's what I ended up doing today.
I completed 4,002 miles in 2008 with a 10-mile ride up to Lewis Creek Park on Cougar Mountain this morning. My son suggested that route, because it's all downhill on the way home — a good treat for my accomplishment.
Now, I'll probably spend the first week of 2009 cleaning my bicycle. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/31/that-4000-mile-goal-for-2008-nailed-it-barely/
Sand covers the drivetrain of my bike.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/31/dirty-bike-2/
The East Coast Greenway is a 3,000-mile bicycle-pedestrian route from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Florida.
The route is proposed as an off-road path that links cities along the eastern seaboard. Currently, about one-fifth of the route is on traffic-free paths with more on the way.
But before things get too far along, however, the Greenway wants to establish a set of uniform signs that can be used along its length.
To get some public feedback, the Greenway folks are distributing an online Bicycle Signage Survey that takes 12 minutes to complete (your time may vary) …..
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/30/take-the-sign-survey-for-east-coast-greenway/
[Update: Tuesday, Dec. 30 — The driver of the first car turned herself into police Monday night, accompanied by family members and her pastor. Her story to police is that she thought she hit a bicycle in the road, not a person. She was booked on of hit and run, vehicular manslaughter and driving with a suspended license. The driver of the second car hasn't come forward.]
Does anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area take responsibility for their actions while driving?
Authorities in Conta Costa County are trying to solve another hit and run bicyclist fatality, this one on Saturday evening involving two motorists, neither of whom stopped. It follows by a month the hit and run death of bicyclist Mark Pendleton in a rural part of the county.
The latest fatality occurred about 6 p.m. in urban Richmond. Police say Laura Casey was riding her bicycle south on a sparsely populated portion of Carson Boulevard when she was struck from behind and knocked to the ground. Reports the Chronicle:
As Casey screamed for help, several people ran to her aid, officials said, but before they could reach her, a second vehicle hit her and dragged her about 25 feet …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/30/another-bay-area-bicyclist-hit-both-cars-left-the-sceneone-motorist-comes-forward-48-hours-later/
Adventure Cycling Association Trail biking Rails to Trails Conservancy League of American Bicyclists
Recent Comments