The Cycling Dude

The Cue Clip is Your Friend

A few years ago I bought 2 examples of a simple, thin, piece of velcro, with a little metal clip, being sold by some guy in Middle America whose name I forget.

The purpose of this simple gadget was to hold ones route slip in place on the handlebar of your bike.

Over at About Bicycling is a review of a wider, better made, and mass produced version of the same idea.

From the report this item, pictured here, is pretty cool, and works quite nicely.

Among other observations is this one:

Cue Clip can be mounted to handlebars or stem (or anywhere else, for that matter) to fit your need and personal preference.

Read: Cue Clip Keeps Directions Handy.

Visit the Cue Clip Website for more information.

Supremes Affirm Cyclists Right to Bear Arms

The meaning  of the 2nd Amendment is finally settled after 217 years.

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday, 5 to 4,  that American Cyclists have a right to own guns for self-defense while working on their bicycles in the garage, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history.

The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment, in this, or any regard, since its ratification in 1791.

The amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said that the right of a bicyclist to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted, and especially after the invention of the bicycle, and then the garage.

The Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense, including while working on one's bicycle, in the home," Scalia said.

Scalia noted that the handgun is the preferred weapon of self-defense by many cyclists in part because "it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand holds onto the bicycle, and the cyclist yells at the top of his or her lungs for another resident of the house, or a neighbor, to call the cops."

In a dissent he summarized from the bench, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate bicyclists uses of weapons."

He said such evidence "is nowhere to be found, hell, the bicycle hadn't even been invented then, for cryin' out loud!"

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house just because one is afraid of having a bicycle stolen."

Joining Scalia were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. The other dissenters were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter.

Licensing is still required, and restrictions on criminals, and the mentally ill, as well as carrying weapons while riding a bicycle in sensitive places are not affected.

Based on  a story in Yahoo News, this morning. ;-D

Ride of Silence comes to Sedalia, Missouri, for the 1st time

The Ride of Silence 2008, in May, has come and gone, and while many places saw return engagements, some cities saw efforts at holding a first such ride bear fruit.

One such story is told, in words and pictures, by Bradly Fletchall, of Bicycle Frenzy:

...it was an awesome ride.

We had a group of 28 riders that ranged from kids on mountain bikes to full race kit road riders. We also had a police escort. The police escort really made the ride and I’m really thankful the Sedalia Police Department and Officer Dehaven supported us.

The Sedalia Democrat and the Sedalia News Journal covered the ride...

A group of 28 riders moving down the road in a pack not saying a word. The only sounds were of clicking derailleurs and free hubs and the occasional squeaky brake. Then the silence would be broken by a quick burst of police siren as the officer stopped traffic at the intersections. Than, back to silence as the group cruised through.

It felt really amazing to ride down the middle of the road without cars rushing by.

Read:  Sedalia’s Ride of Silence Wednesday May 21 at 6:00 p.m. and  Ride Of Silence 2008.

Kudos to the Pearl River Bicycle Club for their effort at making the motoring public more aware of those who share the road  with them.

EcoWorldly on 17 Different Reasons to Ride Your Bike

Gavin Hudson has written an interesting piece for EcoWorldly about reasons why bicycles are the most popular vehicle in the world today:

Bicycling it isn’t always easy. Busy streets, honking horns, and inadequate city funding for bike lanes and paths can make bicycling an uphill battle. However, with green in the news, the economy in a slump, and summer on its way, it’s getting easier to find reasons why there are some 1.4 billion bicycles and only about 400 million cars in the world today.

EcoWorldly authors from six continents wrote articles on bicycling in their country.

This article exerpts from those and others in the Blogosphere, thus providing an interesting, thought provoking, collection of 17 Reasons Why Bicycles Are the Most Popular Vehicle in the World Today, and links to 11+ more related articles.

Reader Needs Help With Bike Frame Identification

A few days ago I received the following:

Can you tell me what type of frame this is?

What I mean is what company makes it?

I bought it at a garage sale, but no one has been able to identify it.

Please someone help me!!!!

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Thank You!!!

Lyle Shapiro

telelyle at yahoo dot com

Any answers?

Any suggestions on where to look?

Contact Lyle ;-D

Obama on a Bike Ride, Will McCain be Far Behind?

You knew this was going to happen sooner or later, admit it. ;-D

Just count your lucky stars Hillary didn't win the nomination. ;-D

There I am watching the news, this morning, when this story shows up.

Barack Hussein Obama on a Bicycle!

The first question is: Is this just a cute photo op to show that he's one with us regular folks, or does he actually ride regularly, and care about issues important to bicyclists?

The 2nd question is: What's he doing riding a mountain bike, and not a hybrid?

UPDATE - 6/10: As can be seen by the 1st comment below...I may stand corrected! Um, hee, hee!

As regular readers have long known...I've made no secret that I'm no expert on all things bicycling.

In asking the question I was hoping to get some possible answers on exactly WHAT he was riding, from readers. ;-D

Thanks to, to LAist, for the link, and for a larger, better, picture that confirms the brand name, and for this glasses wearing Conservative, that the tires ain't knobbies, hee, hee! ;-D

The 3rd question comes from seeing the image below: Is his back tire going flat, and if so did he get it fixed?

In recent years we've been treated to Presidential candidates, and the President, tooling aroung the countryside on bicycles.

I suppose we should count our lucky stars that none of them have taken up Rollerblading, or Skateboarding. ;-D

So, is there anything on his Official Website even remotely related to Bicycling?

What about John McCain?

I am a Republican (One who has never owned a car, BTW, and walks, bikes, or uses transit to go everywhere!), and plan to vote for McCain, but Bicycling Issues are extremely important to me, and what the candidates say, have said, and have done, related to Bicycling, is extremely important to Cyclists of all varieties, and all political persuasians.

I went looking so you don't have to! ;-D

On the Obama Site I found something. ;-D

From page 3 of a document with this imposing subject: Strengthening America's Transportation Infrastructure - Investing in 21st Century Transportation.

Strengthen Metropolitan Planning to Cut Down Traffic Congestion:

Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars, to walk, bicycle and have access other transportation alternatives.

As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that
smart growth considerations are taken into account.

Obama will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks.

As president, Obama will work to provide states and local governments with the resources they need to address sprawl and create more livable communities.

So, um, is there anyone out there who can verify that he DID make "efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks" ?

What's his record in his home state?

On the Official Website of John McCain I found no Issues Subject titled Transportation, and a search for anything with the words Bicycle, or Bicycling, in it turned up...no documents.

Is there anyone out there who can tell us what he's done for cyclists, nationally in the Senate, and in his home state?

***UPDATE - 6/24***

Matt O'Toole, of the Blog of the Va. Bicycle Federation, has taken my report and pedaled a few blocks farther with it, in an interesting, and informative follow-up.

Check it out.

***END UPDATE***

Melancholy not Compatable with Bicycling

Thoughts Colored With Words of Wisdom is a website whose writer is a man with a lot to share:

Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. you just have to live life to the fullest...

Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back.

A recent post touched on the subject of bicycling by sharing some familiar, and not so familiar, past quotes on cycling:

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.

The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets.

The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine.

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles.

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.

The rest of the list is here. ;-D

Celebrating the Spirit of Cycling Through Art 2

Back in October I introduced readers to another artist who bicycles, and whose art often features cycling:

Steve Dennis, of Velopaint.

On Friday he sent me the following e-mail:

Kiril,

Thanks for your post for my site when I launched back in October '07.

8 months later and not only do I now have a wonderful 2 month old daughter but I have a second gallery page on my site and am currently working on a large portrait commission. 


Also keep visiting my blog for the latest updates and other cycling related bits.

Thanks, Steve

He's only posted 34 times on his blog since he began it but, hey, he's an artist, not a writer, so I'll cut him some slack. ;-D

His blog, Velopaint Blog, is "A way of sharing the stages of a work in progress, ideas for future pieces and any news relevant to Velopaint".

My favorite posts?

1. His wonderful "classic portrait of Eddie Merckx".

2.  Tribute to Eddie Mundy:

Eddie was the first person most people met when going to the Addiscombe Cycling Club Wednesday night socials, he was there every week amongst his life long friends. I am sad to say that on Wednesday 9th Eddie collapsed whilst at the club and passed away the following morning.

Eddie welcomed me to the club in 1999 and over the coming years he wowed me with his generosity and commitment.....

3. A visit to the Brooklyn Museum of (Bicycle) Art (Includes pictures).

4. Having fun with some oils: Century RC Complete.

5. Sharing a fascinating YouTube Video:  This is one way to park a bike - the Japanese way.

It's not what they say that matters, for those of us who don't sprechin' zee Jap, but what they show. ;-D

A visit to his website, Velopaint, is a great visual treat.

I'll end this update by sending hearty Congrats on the Newborn! ;-D

Lemons in Orange Lead to Sour Encounter All Around

Last week a group of bicyclists pedaled into the eastern reaches of the city of Orange, Ca. on what was supposed to be the usual breeze of a weekly ride.

Anyone familiar with how Chapman Ave. winds its way into the foothills, east of town, probably would wonder, first of all...why didn't they turn left, or back, at Rancho Santiago? " ;-D

After all... there's hills in them thar hills! ;-D

Everywhere ya look, up here, there are hilly stretches, even in the residential neighborhoods.

I'll get to the reason for their choice, in a minute, but it's what took place up here that is the story.

A story about sharing the road.

As a member of the Orange County Wheelmen, I've yet to have the chance to go on a ride, even after a year, but this summer that is going to change.

As a member I am on the e-mail list and that is how I learned of this story.

The following comes from Wednesday, by a member named Alan:

This Tuesday ride’s first group had a potentially serious encounter with two trucks after our left turn onto Orange Park from Chapman.

We had taken the one lane on this road and a small truck roared past us, going outside the lane divider.

Then at the first stop sign on Orange Park a large double wheeler truck came really close and just about cut us all off to make a right turn.

One of our riders looked at this driver and noticed that he appeared really angry.

Did we do anything to provoke these drivers’ behavior? Well, - - yes:

When we had reached the left turn lane onto Orange Park from Chapman the two trucks were waiting for the green arrow. Rather than waiting behind the trucks our group of about 8 riders slid around their right and stopped in front of them.

At the green arrow, we took the one lane on Orange Park, preventing the trucks from passing without going into the opposite lane.  This action did provoke the drivers, creating a potentially dangerous condition for us.

If we bikers expect motorists to share the road with us, we need to respect their rights and give them their right of way when appropriate.   

We should have stopped behind the vehicles at the left turn lane and followed them on the turn, not scoot around to get in front of them and then block their way on the one available lane.

If anyone else has a different point of view on this situation, I invite them to share it.

Well, now, this was interesting.

He is right, of course.

The group SHOULD have kept their place behind the trucks, they were not in any hurry to get anywhere  were they?

I do not know how far down this mile long stretch of road, with a nice downhill near its end, the group was headed, or their route through the neighborhood, if they planned to do that, but, unless they rode single file or, when possible, in pairs to the right, for the duration, anyone behind them would have been stuck, unless they did what the first truck did, and went around them.

As for why they were riding around up here well, um, besides the answer "because it was there", the truth is the whole area up there, not just this community, makes for a great location for a ride.

Orange Park Acres, established in 1928, is a community for horse lovers, and anyone who enjoys a little hiking, and the outdoors (Map of Trails), sort of like the city of Norco, Ca., in the Inland Empire (Pictures included), but on a much smaller scale.

Like Norco, you have to watch out for foot traffic, and horseback riders, not just your fellow cyclists, and vehicle traffic, on the narrow roads, all the time.

I'll be very curious to see if anyone, in the club, or among the readers of this blog, has a different view of how this situation should have been handled by the cyclists.

The neighborhood is peaceful, and beautiful, but I didn't do the tour, this morning, since I am unfamiliar with the streets.

I followed Orange Park to its end at Santiago Canyon, and turned left, eventually finding myself in familiar territory, from a previous ride, part of which passed the Santiago Creek Recharge basin (Pictures included), and the street  continued on through Villa Park eventually becoming Katella, and re-entered Orange.

My 2 hour excursion took me over 18 miles of territory. ;-D

A block from my home, as I entered an intersection (I had the green) with a freeway exit on my right, a small car pulled up, and I and the driver looked right at each other.

As I pulled even with the front of his car, he began to suddenly move, jolting to a stop inches from my moving bike!

I did a sudden brake, and release, causing me to pause, and looked hard at him as I began to move again, calling out a loud "What are you doing?"

Seconds later he roared by on my left, wagging his middle finger out the drivers-side window.

What part of "Share the Road" do some people, both motorists, and cyclists, not understand?

Pipeline Pirate: Cyclist, Hiker, Bold Adventurer, and All Around Nice Guy

As readers know I get my bike fixed at REI.

There are several of these fine establishments in Southern California, including at least 2 in the OC, and at one I've met an interesting chap in the Cycling Dept. who has helped me in more ways than with a flat tire.

Steve Kennedy is a fan of this blog, and has often told the customers he deals with about it, and helped me place my flier in the store.

Recently he invited me to be one of 2 speakers at a presentation he gave at the store.

It was there that I learned that Steve has been in preparation for one hell of a Grand Adventure. ;-D

He will soon be departing for a trip around the world, or across much of it anyway. ;-D

The first parts of his journey will be as part of 2 groups going to specific places for 2 specific purposes, one related to Astronomy, and the other to hiking.

After that there's hiking in Greece.

In October his bicycle will finally join him in Europe. ;-D

He hopes to travel around Europe on his bike, thru the end of  the year, at least, based on the time of his leave of absense from work, before coming back home.

He has set up a blog, and is learning how to use it, the better to share his journey with friends, family, and any other interested party that might come across it.

His Blog is called Freeway Soul, and there are only 8 posts so far, most back dated in order to tell his tale from the begining of planning, but it is a good start to what will be an interesting blog.

It all began on in November:

I'm starting this blog from the point when I made the decision to embark on this expedition. It took several weeks of thought and planning before I decided to go. I struggled with many issues. What about the unexpected? There wasn't any way at the time to foresee the complexity of this endeavor. Another problem was that I wasn't going to anounce that I was going and then cancel. If I say I'm going to do it, I will do it. It all started with a guy that came into the store at REI who was walking with a slight limp...

Planning for the first stages soon began.

Getting in shape was soon on the agenda:

Its fortunate that I have been commuting on a bicycle to work for the past five months. back in May I started a workout routine every morning to get myself in shape. The bike riding and workout routine has served me well so far but I need more. I will be the oldest member of the team going to base camp of Everest and I don't want to be the slowest.

In December he realized he wanted to do more than originally planned and, by May, also lost his taste for golf, too. ;-D

I thought this isn't that much fun anymore. I would rather be enjoying myself near a mountain stream or meeting some new interesting folks somewhere. Its funny how things change.

Yes, it IS funny how something happens that takes your life in directions you never dreamed possible. ;-D

He soon discovered the complications of using a laptop computer in a public place, especially the ones where the access is not free. ;-D

He asked me to help him understand a few things about this blogging thing, and so we met for breakfast the other day. ;-D

I wish him well on his trip, and will keep an eye on his blog, Freeway Soul, to see how things go. ;-D