Kickstarter is a Web site that allows creative people to raise money to realize their ideas, whether it’s a movie, an art exhibit, a video game, or a cycling accessory. People running Kickstarter projects contact me all the time. Sometimes I ignore them. Sometimes I write about them. Sometimes I ignore them for awhile, and…
Peter Sutherland is a NYC-based filmmaker, photographer and artist who has made a series of documentary films about passionate cyclists. “Sutherland,” says the press release, “has followed athletes, bike makers and enthusiasts on their home ground, biking and talking about their strong passion for the bike culture.” The series is called “The Way I Roll,”…
BluesCat is a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, who originally returned to bicycling in 2002 in order to help his son get the Boy Scout Cycling merit badge. His bikes sat idle until the summer of 2008 when gas prices spiked at over $4.00 per gallon. Since then, he has become active cycling, day-touring, commuting by…
Eugene Bicyclist posted a thinker today in a post titled “On getting yelled at by a guy in a pickup.” Like me, he says he doesn’t get yelled at much. (See my post, “I Feel Your Rage.”) But he got yelled at by a guy in a pickup after making an “assertive” move in traffic…
Look: I don’t expect you to believe that the Freemasons control gravity, that Facebook is a CIA program, or even that General Motors killed all the streetcars in America. But there is a real conspiracy I learned about years ago when I got involved in e-commerce, product development, and the shadowy world of the nonprofit…
The Growler Crate is designed to carry half-gallon (1,900 ml) bottles of beer. It was not designed to to be carried on a bike. John Coe (RockyChrysler) asked, “Why the hell not?” To which Commute by Bike replied, “Yeah! Why the hell not?” Two rigorous and independent tests began immediately. John Coe Carrying my undeniably…
There’s a new infographic making the rounds. If you follow bike-related blogs, Facebookers, or Twitterers you might have seen it. And it purports to provide “Depressing Statistics of Bicycle Accidents” on cycling in Great Britain. The only thing depressing to me is how many bloggers, Facebookers, and Twitterers uncritically regurgitated this — as they always…
If my recent screen test video worked as intended, it was like a Hollywood teaser trailer that left you mad with anticipation for the full feature. The wait is over. Actually, it was over a few days ago when we launched our Kickstarter project for the Wandertec Tuba Bike Trailer: That was me in the…
For every crazy cat lady, there must be dozens of women who are (as the bumper sticker says), “One bad relationship away from having 30 cats.” There is a bike equivalent to this phenomenon: Guys (as long as we’re indulging stereotypes) who can’t stop collecting stray bikes. In my town, that guy is Elson Miles,…
BluesCat is a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, who originally returned to bicycling in 2002 in order to help his son get the Boy Scout Cycling merit badge. His bikes sat idle until the summer of 2008 when gas prices spiked at over $4.00 per gallon. Since then, he has become active cycling, day-touring, commuting by…
The Current is an Urbana bike integrated with a BionX electric assist system. We’ve had a really, really, long term test of this bike — like more than a year. At first it was, Oh God! It’s so cute! Can I ride it can I ride it? And now it’s, Hey, I’m taking the Urbana…
Every dog owner knows that face. That sad, adorable, convincing, and slightly threatening face. Yes, it’s the face of your dog when you are about to leave home without him or her to embark on some activity that will obviously be fun. “How dare you?” your pooch seems to be saying. “I see that you…
Josh King lives in Seattle, where he commutes by bike every day, rain or shine. He switched to full-time single speed commuting in 2010. You can read his thoughts on going gearless at www.singlespeedseattle.com I’ve been a pannier convert for the last few years. But before that, I commuted using a backpack — which I…
Because bike commuting isn’t a sport, this site has made no mention of the Tour de France this year — and nobody seemed to notice. I haven’t mentioned the 2012 Olympics either, and I had no intention of doing so. But now comes a twofer. Britain’s Bradley Wiggins, winner of the Tour de France and…
Tom Bowden is a bike commuter from Richmond VA, a "suit" – a corporate lawyer with an MBA, and a conservative "“ You betcha! He chairman of Bike Virginia, a bicycle advocacy organization in Virginia that raises money to promote cycling, walking and active lifestyles. The New World Bicycle Dictionary, 3rd Edition (2012) contains this…
A reader sent me a screen shot from the curriculum of Texas Adult Drivers Education.com, an online driving school. They promise to “give you all the secrets” to pass the driving test of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The “Right of Way” section of the curriculum has a sub-section on Bicyclists, and this is…
I’m involved in a soon-to-be-launched Kickstarter project for a new bike cargo trailer. Yesterday I was in video production mode, and set up the shot where Josh will speak inspiringly about the trailer, and the project. I put myself in the shot to frame things. My co-worker Robert was used as a stand-in for Josh…
I was probably six or seven years old when I watched a car summarily buried in a huge grave. It happened right in front of the cabin my dad used to own in Frisco, Colorado.The reason for the burial, as explained by my father, was that water flowed under the street, and needed a place…
The “War on Cars” is a manipulative framing. And the media can’t resist regurgitating a “War on” anything. So as I listened to this recent NPR piece, “Motorists To Urban Planners: Stay In Your Lane,” I was ready to be annoyed, and NPR delivered. The report leads with a reference to a claimed “war on…
I consider myself The World’s Leading Expert on BionX Retrofits… who has never actually done a retrofit himself. In a previous post, I talked about the natural ride of BionX — and I referred to bikes that come from the manufacturer with the BionX system already installed. But what about someone who wants to put…
On Sunday I picked a fight with a stranger. It wasn’t a fair fight. My retelling of it won’t make it fair, and won’t make it right. Our frequent contributor Tom Bowden posted this photo to Facebook: The photo was accompanied by this bit of Bowden snark: To those who say roads are for cars…
Seth Muller is a writer for Mountain Living Magazine who does as much of his job as possible by bike — not the writing part, which he probably does sitting in a chair with a computer in front of him — but the part where he rides around reporting, and interviewing people, like me. I…
I’m a fan of the BionX Electric Assist System for bikes — whether it’s on a retrofitted bike, or integrated on a bike right from the factory. Make that, especially if it comes on a bike right from the factory. (I’ve never done a BionX retrofit, but I think I could. Seems easy. I’ll explain…
BluesCat is a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, who originally returned to bicycling in 2002 in order to help his son get the Boy Scout Cycling merit badge. His bikes sat idle until the summer of 2008 when gas prices spiked at over $4.00 per gallon. Since then, he has become active cycling, day-touring, commuting by…
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