Reader Ryan Stamero is heading out on a quest to ride across the country from Philadelphia to San Francisco on his fixed gear, solo and unassisted. He plans on documenting the trip on 35 mm film, blogging throughout the way on his One Country, One Gear site. The entire trip is meant to bring awareness to Half United, a USA clothing company dedicated to giving away meals to needy children with every purchase—some 30,000 so far since the company founding in 2009. Ryan is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the trip if you’re interested in helping out.
Ride short fiction, not to be confused with The Ride magazine, has entered into the world of bike-related literature with a gathering of independent authors who have all contributed a piece centered around the bike highlighted with cover art by Taliah Lempert. The first issue was released in print and ebook just before the holiday season and they are already gearing up for issue #2.
Ride is currently calling for submissions, of which the deadline is April 30th, and encouragingly, the authors even get paid after hard costs are recouped. The publisher says not to look at past submissions for expectations, but teasers are offered on their blog if you want to get a feel for issue 1.
I’d like to get my hands on one of these, because honestly, sometimes reading gear reviews and ride recaps can get tedious. It’s good to be well read as much as well rode.
Follow on Facebook and Twitter for release dates and other news. Order the print version here.
I hate pants. Every pair that fits my waist has an extra eight inches of leg dragging after me in tatters, and it’s way harder to get someone to put a hand up your skirt in a dark movie theatre if you’re not even wearing one.
Other than the huge stretch of summer where I wear the same pair of black booty shorts for weeks at a time, I wear skirts every single day. I also ride bikes all year round and live in Chicago…
Named in honor of our showroom’s grand, gritty alley, Minna St., with graphics designed by local artist and DJ, Jeremiah Bal, these sneakers are a most fresh homage to an original. All black, they will go with everything, everywhere, and take you back.
SPD compatible
Our custom Variable-Flex Shank
Performance mapped flex for mobility
Strategic stiffness for power transfer
A mix rich mix of leather and canvas
600 luminosity reflective badge
MSRP: $95
When it comes to riding all day or riding hard for just a few hours, I do everything I can to not have a backpack. Seatpacks have long been a mainstay of my stable—the very first one I purchased back in 1994 still sees regular use. When the Green Guru Shifter saddle bag showed up for review, I more or less immediately stocked it for use on my next road or cross ride.
Green Guru is a USA company, producing durable goods out of reused and recycled materials whenever possible. Many of their products utilize reclaimed bicycle tubes from shops, including the main construction of this saddle bag, along with a reused piece of wetsuit for the neoprene strap securing it under the seat. It’s a fairly generous size, easily allowing me to fit two road tubes, a small multitool and patch kit inside the single zippered compartment. The bag doesn’t bulge beyond my seat meaning that I don’t rub my thighs on it as I do some wider profile bags, and the neoprene and hook and loop closure keeps the bag secure. The small light loop on the back is a useful touch as the bag will otherwise likely prevent you from using a seatpost mount blinkie.
While I’ve not used the bag in an all out storm situation to test how absolutely waterproof it is, in my use in light rain and muddy trails I’ve not noticed the contents getting wet in the least. My only real complaint is that the metal zipper can vibrate and jingle when I’m riding—easily fixed with a diagonal cutter and a knotted piece of paracord.
The Shifter saddle bag is available for $25. See the Green Guru website for their entire line of bags and accessories made from similar repurposed materials rescued from the landfill.
Amanda Sundvor, of 21st Ave. Bicycles and Backyard Blam!, and friends are throwing an event that will probably get talked about for quite some time… Or at least until the next one. The event is called Cross Up and is being held at the as of yet unopened indoor mountain bike park, The Lumberyard, in Portland, Oregon. The 50,000 sq. ft. space has been designed in part by Joe Prisel of Ray’s indoor MTN bike park fame.
Cross Up is being defined as an indoor Supercross race, sending a group of riders on singlespeed Raleigh Roper’s around the indoor park space, utilizing the jump lines, rollers and berms that will be incorporated into the park when it is complete. The event seems to draw on cyclocross, motocross, mountain biking, BMX and maybe even some free-fixed skills, so will probably appeal to a wide spectrum of cyclists. I’m guessing the spectator experience will be pretty awesome in its own right. I can also see indoor events like this, as the parks get built, become more popular and imaginative with time.
The sponsor list for Cross Up is fairly extensive and the prize pot continues to grow as well. The winners of the men’s and women’s category will get a Roper built back up with 105 components. If you’re in the area you’d be foolish to miss this event. I’ll certainly be waiting for the race reports.
Year after year the debate continues — does cycling cause erectile dysfunction? Do the benefits of being in shape outweigh any potential risks in this area? The Chicago Reader recently ran a story about a recent University of Illinois-Chicago study on the subject.
Previous research on bike seats and erectile dysfunction has been based on “sketchy” data, Niederberger says. “The problems with the data collected was that it would measure pressure on just the seat. I know that if someone sits on the seat, they’re going to exert force on the seat. How would that help us figure out if the seat is causing erectile dysfunction?”
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Niederberger advises bicyclists not to buy into the hype when a seat design is heralded for preventing blockage and improving blood flow. Bicyclists whose seats are comfortable should stick with their seats “until there are better seats out there actually based on data.”
Urban riders in Cincinnati have been gathering at 8pm on Thursday evenings for 3+ years now for loosely structured group rides around town, starting at Hoffner Park and ending in downtown Cincinnati. Summer numbers can swell to 125+, while winter rides get down to just 15 riders at times. You can read more about the group in this article from back in August from WXVU Cleveland.
The first episode of the newly coined Pedal Powered Talk Show is live, featuring Daniel Baldwin of all people. The entire studio setup is built into a cargo bike, and everything is pedal powered allowing on-site production no matter how remote the location. Links to episodes 2 and 3 and besides the scenes photos are available at www.pedaltalkshow.com
Sunday February 12, from St. Petersburg With Love comes the Bakrupt! alleycat. Check out the start location, The Steel City Brewhouse, clearly a Pittsburgh ex-pat and close to our heart.
Profile Racing is better known for their heavier duty offerings, but they also delve into the lighter weight offerings from time to time. Pictured are their latest hubs, some ultralight road or cyclocross hubs, weighing in at a mere 88 g for the front hub and 300 g for the rear hub. Completely serviceable and USA made, hubs like these don’t come cheap and run $450 retail for the set. See more at www.profileracing.com
The 20th annual Cycle Messenger World Championships will be held in Chicago this year, August 3-5th 2012. Part party and gathering of the tribe, part serious competition to determine the fastest courier rankings, the CMWC is a remarkable event and part of urban cycling history and lore. The Chicago running should be quite excellent, as the core group was involved in the 2008 Chicago running of the North American Cycle Courier Championships which by all accounts went quite well. We hope to see you in Chicago this coming August.
The Good Life community bike shop, out of Calgary, was told last week by it’s landlord their lease was being terminated at the end of the month and there was “no room for negotiation”. The space had already been leased to another business before the shop was even notified of the termination. The founder expressed feeling “hit in the gut” at the news. The shop has been at the current location for years, selling refurbished bikes, teaching repair classes and acting as a community center for the local homeless.
The founders and volunteers are currently scrambling to raise funds and seek out a new location to continue their services. From their Facebook page, it looks like they are conducting a fundraiser soon and other benefit events are being held for them around North America. They have a donation page on their website, but it looks to be more involved than just clicking through PayPal. I’m sure they are welcoming mailed in donations if you’re feeling generous.
This video is a nice overview of the shop and services. Let’s hope they get secured into a location soon.
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