The community blog for Bicycles Stack Exchange has this excellent review of 16 bike tail lights, and boy am I pissed off. I’ve been building up to publishing my own version of the best bike tail light review the world has ever seen, and the author, “nhinkle,” has outdone even my grand ambitions — with…
Commute by Bike
The Snoozer Sporty Pet Bicycle Basket: Cute Little Dog Not Included
Karen Voyer-Caravona is an admitted bicycle dilettante in Flagstaff, Arizona, who blogs about her adventures on two wheels, vélo envy, her husband’s cooking, and cross country skiing at www.sheridesabike.com. Visit her Website for her endless opinions on the most stylish shoes for pedaling, critiques of bike parking, and the best bike date dining destinations. I…
Resurrect Your Bike Commute
Today is Easter — for those among us who observe the holiday. You want to debate the true meaning and origins of Easter? Christian, Pagan, Wiccan… For God’s sake, find another site where you can do it. Let’s all agree that it’s Spring! Yes, the first official day of Spring was a couple of weeks…
Signal Pod rhymes with Hot Rod (sort of)
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…
Portland Design Works Loading Dock Rear Rack (and Parquet Floor Flashbacks)
Back when I was single… back when I still owned a car… back before the housing bubble… (Yes, this was a long time ago in Internet years.) I bought a condo. It was the first piece of real estate I’d ever owned. I was very proud and began gleefully nesting like a little girl with…
Congress Fixes Typos and Passes Five-Year Transportation Bill
UPDATE: If you are discovering this article after April Fools Day 2012, now you know what’s going on here. After approving a three-month extension to the multi-year surface transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, Congress met in a special session on Friday to revisit — and ultimately approve — the Senate version of the Transportation Bill. The House…
Tom Bowden's 230-Mile Round-Trip Commute to The National Bike Summit
Tom Bowden is a bike commuter from Richmond VA, a "suit" – a corporate lawyer with an MBA, and a conservative "“ You betcha! He is also a board member of Bike Virginia, a pro cycling and pedestrian group in Virginia that raises money to promote cycling, walking and active lifestyles. Tom’s lawyerly blogging can…
Doug's Big Load Bike Trailer
Thanks for the great pics and write up Doug! “Hey just saw your post about the lack of pictures you’ve received and decided to send this in. The is the trailer I built over the summer. It was made with steel tubing from an old grill and a benchpress bench. I cut and welded it…
National Bike Summit Bike Ride 2012
This year was the second time I have participated in the National Bike Summit. I was one of more than 800 attendees from 49 states. The Summit concludes with a bike ride where people who don’t have to run back to their home states right away go on a leisurely bike tour of Washington DC….
Paul's Heavy Duty Steel Trailer
In Pau’ls words “Here’s some pictures of a trailer I built for a customer. The utility trailer was pulled by an electric hub-motor bicycle, and is capable of hauling 400lbs. Contact BeauSteelFab.com for your hauling needs.”
Tom & Ted's Excellent Public Service Announcement
What is Tom & Ted’s Advocacy Adventure? Read this. The 2012 National Bike Summit wrapped up in Washington DC on Thursday — or on Friday, if you count the Congressional Bike Ride. Needless to say, Tom and I made it all the way to DC — nearly 100 miles on comfy commuter bikes. Which is…
The 'Advocacy' part of 'Tom & Ted's Advocacy Adventure'
What is Tom & Ted’s Advocacy Adventure? Read this. I have some more video, photos, and witty observations from our ride from Richmond. For now, rest assured that we made it to DC and that my butt is sore. Follow my updates from the National Bike Summit on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook Twitter My participation…
Halfway to Fredericksburg: Tom and Ted's Advocacy Adventure
What is Tom & Ted’s Advocacy Adventure? Read this. Here’s the rundown. We’re hanging out resting at a Denny’s in Carmel Church, Virginia. I just ate a hockey puck disguised as a veggie burger. We’re more than halfway to today’s goal: Fredericksburg, Virginia: View Larger Map The television above me is reporting on the two…
A Saddle Bag for Downton Abbey from Kaufman Mercantile
Karen Voyer-Caravona is an admitted bicycle dilettante in Flagstaff, Arizona, who blogs about her adventures on two wheels, vélo envy, her husband’s cooking, and cross country skiing at www.sheridesabike.com. Visit her Website for her endless opinions on the most stylish shoes for pedaling, critiques of bike parking, and the best bike date dining destinations. I…
Thomas' BOB Modified for his Scooter – Against Our Advice
Even though we don’t recommend, support or condone the use of BOB trailers, or any other bike cargo trailers, on any motorized vehicles other than electric bicycles that are regulated the same as standard bicycles, I have to say that this setup sure does look sweet. Given the number of questions that we’ve gotten about…
Tom & Ted’s Advocacy Adventure
Tom Bowden: Months of detailed planning and analysis are about to come to fruition. Ted Johnson, fearless and philosophical editor of Commute by Bike is flying eastbound for Richmond, Virginia, from whence he and I will depart, on our lugged framed steeds of steel, on Monday morning for Washington DC to attend the League of…
Outspoken About Handmade Bikes: Diane Lees at NAHBS
Diane Lees is a 38 year veteran of the bicycle industry. She is a professional bicycle fitter and co-owns and operates HubBub Custom Bicycles in NE Ohio. She is also a registered yoga teacher, a journalist, and the host/producer of The Outspoken Cyclist, a weekly radio show about bicycling on WJCU-88.7FM broadcasting locally and podcasting…
The 12 People Who Block the Bike Path
Samuel Hagler is a returned Peace Corps volunteer and founder of the Ride for Good Foundation. He is a master’s candidate studying Bicycle Activism in the M.A. Sustainable Communities program at Northern Arizona University, and enjoys mountain biking, commuting, and traveling the world by bicycle. Most university towns, including Flagstaff, Arizona, have a bike route…
Portapedal: A Bike Shop, not a Sitcom
A couple of weeks ago, I went looking for Portapedal, a new-ish bike shop in Tempe, Arizona specializing in portable bikes. When I found the correct address, this is what I saw: And this is what I imagined would be inside: And I was partially right. Inside that suburban ranch house was an architect…
Marital Aids
I have stopped trying to turn my wife into a cyclist — a bike commuter; more than just the occasional recreational ride. But I haven’t given up on getting her to drive less. All her driving still drives me bonkers. She drives to work, she chauffeurs the kids around, she does the shopping. Not necessarily…
Tom Bowden on 'The Outspoken Cyclist'
The Outspoken Cyclist’s interview with Tom Bowden, one of our frequent contributors, was broadcast on WJCU recently and can now be heard online. Tom talks about his transition from being a RAAM racer in the 1990s to becoming the tweedy mild-mannered bike commuter and advocate he is today. You’ll get a heads-up on America’s next…
Ten Weeks (and Counting) with an A2B Metro Electric Bike
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…
Safe Yakking with the UCLEAR HBC 130 Bike Helmet Communicator
A few months ago, when the people were screaming a little louder than usual about distracted driving and even distracted cycling, I received an offer from UCLEAR to review their HBC 130 Bike Helmet Communicator. Unfortunate timing. But I took it on because I know that some Commute by Bike readers have longer commutes than…
The HubBub Helmet Mirror: Get used to it
The main reason I wear a helmet is because I really like having a rear-view mirror. I’ve used several mirrors over the years, and I definitely prefer the kind that mount in the vicinity of my left eye over models that mount on the handlebars. I’ve been using a HubBub Helmet Mirror for about three…