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It's all about the bike


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This week on Cyburbia someone posted a link to a piece about a city official (no, not here) who does zoning code inspections via bicycle. (Hey, I used to do that too!) Someone else said he couldn't ride to work because the four-wheeler is needed to haul documents and projects different places. I provided some pics of stuff-hauling accessories, mentioned our two pedicab services.

This just came in over the MichBike news service:

"Governor Jennifer Granholm is riding her bike to work a couple of times a week, an example of a way she says Michigan consumers can save money. The 49-year-old governor lives just southwest of the city center, about 3 miles from her office near the state Capitol. She rode her bike to work Wednesday, accompanied by her security detail."

ETA: request sent to michigan.gov requesting a photo, and mechanical specs.

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This week on Cyburbia someone posted a link to a piece about a city official (no, not here) who does zoning code inspections via bicycle. (Hey, I used to do that too!) Someone else said he couldn't ride to work because the four-wheeler is needed to haul documents and projects different places. I provided some pics of stuff-hauling accessories, mentioned our two pedicab services.

This just came in over the MichBike news service:

"Governor Jennifer Granholm is riding her bike to work a couple of times a week, an example of a way she says Michigan consumers can save money. The 49-year-old governor lives just southwest of the city center, about 3 miles from her office near the state Capitol. She rode her bike to work Wednesday, accompanied by her security detail."

We heard this on the radio today. I thought it was pretty cool. I wonder what kind of bicycle she has. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Your trailer looks just like our new (to us) one. I think we got a great deal for $50, despite the bit of mildew on it. We'll mostly be hauling our dogs and cargo anyways at this point. Maybe I should go pick up that free mulch we've been meaning to get with it. I could hook it up to the "truck" (see below) and fill everything up.

Here's my recent utilitarian photo on Fountain just after leaving the Farmer's Market. I particularly like it because of the random guy with the kid on a bicycle who's staring at me. ^_^

2641385658_6ee18716f7_b.jpg

link: "The Truck"

Also, here's a cool "human electric hybrid drive" that hopefully will be available again soon (the manufacturer was having supply chain issues with the batteries coming from China). It works exclusively with the Xtracycle Free Radical that I have on my bicycle above.

[googlevid]7299806719474456134[/googlevid]

http://cleverchimp.com/products/stokemonkey/

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Anyone see how they're welcoming bicycles in Detroit?

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...0369/1409/METRO

The League of Michigan Bicyclists is advising DPD. It seems there's a state-level statute that prohibits this, and the media picked up on the scary part rather than the benefits (reducing thefts).

Meanwhile, down on the riverwalk, the Motor City now has bike rental.

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...0314/1128/TWIST

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It's still in beta testing and is a little rough around the edges, but George over at http://www.g-rad.org has been working on a new "Bicycle Incident Report Database" to report stolen bikes, accidents, jerky drivers, and jerky bicyclists (among others). I think it's pretty cool.

Check it out:

http://www.g-rad.org/bird/

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You rode all the way to Lansing?

That's not my bike. And I think there might be one or two similar establishments, i.e. Meijer gas stations, right here in the 616.

I do have a four-wheeler, along with a sideline gig that ocassionally takes me to far-flung places like Northville. (Lansing is en route.)

HTH

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Yesterday's Sunday New York Times did a nice piece on the Velolib rental bicycles in Paris.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/world/eu...aris&st=cse

I was just in paris and those things are everywhere. it looks like a great idea until you end up like the tourists who we saw got to thier desitnation and all the bicycle drop off racks were filled. it seemed that there were tons of locals who rode them for basic transportation instead of owning their own bike. I guess if makes sense if it is free for the first thirty min.

This sentence was interesting though:

"But even the most hardened cyclists still try to avoid some parts of Paris. The Champs-

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I was just in paris and those things are everywhere. it looks like a great idea until you end up like the tourists who we saw got to thier desitnation and all the bicycle drop off racks were filled. it seemed that there were tons of locals who rode them for basic transportation instead of owning their own bike. I guess if makes sense if it is free for the first thirty min.

This sentence was interesting though:

"But even the most hardened cyclists still try to avoid some parts of Paris. The Champs-

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V:

I saw this at the Make Magazine site today and thought that this might be the next addition to your cool bike:

How to attach a camera to your bike

There's a neat video of the result too - clicky

Interesting. I do have a tiny tripod with velcro that I could use sometime. And I know of a pair of bicycle safety instructors with helmet cams; they create "double chase" videos to demonstrate proper lane positioning and traffic-safe cycling maneuvers.

Does the Make set-up have a cute little dollie detector that swivels to follow attractive pedestrians? Looks like it!

Thanks for sharing.

(velcro camera bag on bars, stop to take stills)

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V:

I saw this at the Make Magazine site today and thought that this might be the next addition to your cool bike:

How to attach a camera to your bike

There's a neat video of the result too - clicky

A friend of mine from high school made a "bike commuter" episode on his video blog using a helmet mounted camera. It starts out pretty cheesy/dorky in an amusing way. I'm sure he looked pretty funny riding around with it mounted on his head. The music is cool, too. :)

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  • 1 month later...

Bicycle repair noobs, your savior has arrived and he is a quirky Canadian named Alex Ramon.

http://www.bicycletutor.com/

If you've ever wondered how to change a flat, how to adjust your brakes, how to adjust your derailleur, there's a video for it here, along with dozens of others you haven't even thought about yet. Most of the videos are under three minutes.

He even covers how to shift in a concise, easy to understand way, for people mystified by all those gears that come on modern bicycles.

He also has covered a good number of more advanced repairs as well.

Oh, and here are a couple of more photos of me making use of my Xtracycle, as well as my favorite PedalGR photo:

2750732909_31bb8ed24c.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/2750732909/

2721720471_d83a2fec0a.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/27.../in/dateposted/

2740621674_70f3e5e6aa_b.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/27.../in/dateposted/

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Here's a bike for you fotoman:

http://www.bilenky.com/orangeblue_cargo.html

Funny you should post that. My wife and I already own the precursor to the Bilenky Viewpoint ( http://www.bilenky.com/Photo_Gallery-Viewpoints.html ), the Counterpoint. It's basically that cargo bike with pedals and a seat on the front instead of a cargo platform.

Veloise has one, too. She's the one who put us in contact with the people we bought ours from in Ohio.

I don't think we have room in the garage for another one. :)

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...Veloise has one, too. She's the one who put us in contact with the people we bought ours from in Ohio.

I don't think we have room in the garage for another one. :)

http://home.earthlink.net/~veloise/cpoint.htm

Two or more 'points fit in less space than one regular tandem. (I just downsized my four-wheeler; need to update my back-of-car photos.)

Since you're going to ask...anywhere from $2-4k on the aftermarket. (Saw one on Ebay last year that sold for the upper end.) If Bilenky's website were up, it might be possible to find a brand-new custom price on there (about $5k).

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A bit off-topic, but there's a bicycle right in the middle of the Grand River near the blue pedestrian bridge, standing upright. Anyone know what the scoop is? Junk?

Hey, it's all about the bike in the river. You're not off-topic. I'll try and give it a looksee and then give my opinion. :) I'd guess junk, but if it's standing upright, someone probably put it there like that. Maybe a random act of art? :dontknow:

Speaking of bicycle art...

Check out this cool bicycle wheel arc

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Hey, it's all about the bike in the river. You're not off-topic. I'll try and give it a looksee and then give my opinion. :) I'd guess junk, but if it's standing upright, someone probably put it there like that. Maybe a random act of art? :dontknow:

Speaking of bicycle art...

Check out this cool bicycle wheel arc

I too thought that maybe it was "art". Either that or some drunk was trying to ride it across and got it stuck in the muck and rocks.

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http://home.earthlink.net/~veloise/cpoint.htm

Two or more 'points fit in less space than one regular tandem. (I just downsized my four-wheeler; need to update my back-of-car photos.)

Since you're going to ask...anywhere from $2-4k on the aftermarket. (Saw one on Ebay last year that sold for the upper end.) If Bilenky's website were up, it might be possible to find a brand-new custom price on there (about $5k).

Ahhhh. That answers some of the questions I had about those bikes. Very nice.

Now to see if my 20" Dahon is fit enough for tonight's PedalGR ride.

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