May 2009 Archives

I've been in a bit of a quest to lighten my test bike, a strange, obsessive quest that's led me down the road of pretty continual upgrades. This all started when SRAM released Force and then followed it up with Red and my already-light bike dropped from about fifteen pounds to just under fifteen, and Mavic's R-Sys wheels took the bike down to just about 14.5 pounds.

Then the crew at Road magazine ran a story about the Cannondale 2009 SuperSix HM Project bike they were testing that was just 10.1 pounds with an almost complete build of off-the-shelf parts. That's when the fever really started to set in.

My rule, when it comes to a bike designed to test components, is that I build it and outfit it with my own parts--anything that comes out to test has to compare against the gear I'd really ride. The Cannondale project bike features a frame around 100 grams lighter than mine and some super-fly components that I'd never actually put on a test bike (while the weight savings are significant, tubeless tires aren't the best choice for a non-racing product editor) and there's no chance I'm going to trust my seatpost-clamping duties with a carbon clamp like this but some things on the list caught my eye.

That's when the Project David bike got underway. I created a spreadsheet (that's a bad sign when it comes to obsessive behavior) and tracked the remaining few parts of my bike that could be lightened without being counterproductive. I'm not going to put a carbon saddle on a test bike (because you can't feel anything on a carbon-only saddle except "ouch." A few more upgrades Fizik Antares saddle, Zipp Vuma Quad and 3T stem) brought the weight down to just over the 14 pound mark.

The Moore College of Art & Design celebrates "Philadelphia's passion and commitment to the bicycle with a series of changing exhibitions, programs and events that explore the bicycle both as functional object and as a canvas for good causes, personal expression, civic mindedness and political beliefs."

Bicycle: people + ideas in motion runs from June 19 -- October 13th and features an impressive calendar of events with handbuilt bikes, folding, custom, and vintage. Last Friday, Bicycle Shorts was presented to kick off the exhibition and included vintage short films and poster art.

We'd heard Philly was a bike town from Robert Jolly and Princeton-Tec. It's a well-timed show, as we're working now on bringing a Mobile Social to Philly.

Reader ScottyBoy tipped us to Bicycle City in South Carolina -- we knew about Pla d'Adet, but not this. Their site looks more like a collection of brochure-based, eco-news than a sales center.

More on Wikipedia. Also see More New Urbanism.

Bike valet, cargo bikes and more represented at Maker Faire .

Uploaded by theglife, Marc Arsenault - Wow Cool | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

The Giro ends today on the streets of Rome. We rode there last year on the same streets, spotted a fixed or two. Those are some crazy, winding streets, and more churches than you've ever seen.

• @dzabriskie said the course looks like a plumber made it
• @universalsports is broadcasting an exclused Lance interview today
• @theroaddiaries has live video

And we're chatting about the Giro this morning on Twitter with all the other fans. Follow #giro

We're getting more official with these Mobile Socials (MoSos) -- this is the cover of our sponsorship overview document.

MoSo Info

• Mobile Social page on Bike Hugger
• What's a Mobile Social?
• Contact

Spotted in Metroped's photostream is an A.N.T front-loading bike -- we've been saying, "bring back bike trucks." It's a modified version of the basket bike.

Uploaded by metroped | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Metroped offers pick-up and delivery, courier services in the metro Boston area all with custom cargo trikes. They'll also haul your yard waste away and more with a bike truck service.

We need to get one of these services at our next MoSo delivering all the beer and schwag.

Also see B-Line PDX from Portland. Looks like they're using the same custom trike.

Media Lab Toronto developed an

ambling experience that could make indoor riding actually fun. Imagine pedaling the streets of 1834's Toronto while watching synced video of those streets today.

During Toronto The Good (a party celebrating the City), party-goers pedaled a stationary bike that controlled video of present day Toronto superimposed with maps of the old city. More Photos.

"On a panel with @Scobleizer @stoweboyd @jasonp107 and they told me that my refrigerator wanted to tweet me. Cool, would rather my bike do that. #140tc" -- 6:21 AM May 28th from web

Illustrated by @PDobrowolski.

Don't know that my bike would tell me the Di2 battery was low or the chain running dry, but probably just, "hey fatty! ride me."

Finally met Johnathon Fitzpatrick -- aka JJTweets -- from Velotopia (on the right). We agreed to ride and talk more back in Seattle. I think he should write something for us.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

From the weird news category, a former school board trustee has been convicted of stealing a bottle of ketchup. His version of the story is that the board conspired against him by leaving it next to his bicycle.

He testified Tuesday that authorities planted the ketchup near his bicycle on the campus last year to make it look like a theft when he was actually recycling the bottle.

The only thing I ever seen next to my bike is empty bar wrappers and gel packs from litterers. This one time, I left a bra on Mark's bike. I thought it was heeelarious. He did not.

Maybe the bottle was a plant by the Ketchup Advisory Board?

Lance's foo is still strong. I'm talking about the Lance Effect on Twitter, and more bike-related topics, today at 140 | The Twitter Conference.

Uploaded by mpmcgaughey | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Reading that drivers are furious about Times Square being closed to their cars, I thought "too bad!" Sorry, change is a coming and it's about time.

Photo: Getty Images.

Smaller in terms of media recognition and impact is Car Free Days in Seattle and elswhere. For me, it's always Pike Place Market -- close that to cars and we're making progress.

Dig how they put lawn chairs on the street for people to sit and relax. I'd roll Bettie right up and start blending some drinks.

More somewhere? Is there another bike rack at the Computer History Museum? Fritz, my SoCal bike bros?

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Rusty Springs sounds like the name of a bicycle jug band, playing folk music at various festivals . . .

Uploaded by Georgie_grrl | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

We just saw the news as well that Washington was voted one of the Top 5 most bike friendly states by the Bike League. Who knew?

More details as we get them. Like Cascade grading Seattle a B, I wonder sometimes what routes these reviewers ride and how much time they spend in the saddle in our State or City.

For the record, Copenhagen is a A-, Amsterdam a B. As for friendliness, we'll have to figure out how they rate that. The State does make a good effort on cycling, as do many others.

Note: interrupting our regular programming here to talk briefly about Twitter. We use social media in service of our greater goal to change the world with bikes and want to hear from our readers on the topic.

Talked about Twitter in my Interestingness lecture last week at WebVisions and will talk about it more tomorrow at 140 | the Twitter Conference. I'm on a panel with Robert Scoble, Stowe Boyd, and moderator Jason Preston. We'll discuss topics like

• Is blogging obsolete? Will real-time services replace it?
• Is Twitter over-saturated with marketing & business?
• Is the "noise" on Twitter really useless?
• How can microstructure enrich microcommunication?
• How is this all different from chatrooms and instant messenger?
• What's next for Twitter?

and my take on Twitter follows the challenge Brian Oberkirch laid down at SXSW, which is marketers step up your game.

Seen on the How We Drive blog, who found it on Copenhagenize, the Motoring Helmet.

"You have made a sound decision to purchase your Davies, Craig Motoring Helmet. Wear it and don't feel self-conscious. Driving even for the most proficient is dangerous. Ultimately, motoring helmets will be commonplace, but in the meantime, you will be a leader whilst those who may consider your good sense misplaced, will follow."

The motoring helmet was produced in the 80s by a company called Davies, Craig. It's like from a parallel universe.

It seems that Dave Zabriskie took the mic before stage 16 of the Giro and performed an acapella rendition of Sweet Child of Mine. Hasn't turned up on any of the video sites yet, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and promise a prize to the first person that posts a link to video of it in the comments.

A contestant in the 40th annual Kinetic Grand Championship, "The Uncatchable", rolls on by earlier this weekend. The race continues today. Videos.

Photo: Reuters Pictures.

These bike racing shoes are meant just for standing on a podium and the occasional BBQ.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Picked up my favorite biking souvenir the other day here in Portland, a notice from the Portland Police department that I was riding too far to the right in the transit lane. Portland's redoing the Mall, Fifth and Sixth have been completely overhauled (and will be an utter nightmare when they reopen on the 24th). The cop waved me over as I was in the bus lane. Of course, it's the bus lane with no busses, as the mall is still closed to mass transit, but the law is the law, and he hit me up with a "notice." No points or fine, just a dandy little note telling me that they could have fined me.

I think I'll frame this.

Readers have seen the Lazer Urbanize in various photos and a movie for the past few weeks. I've been getting lots of questions about it so let's just get this out of the way: it's a dorkenheimer helmet, dorkiest we've seen, but works and I dig it.

Reactions to the helmet so far include

• Cool! Is it?
• Storm Trooper
• Tron!
• Space Duck
• Twiki from Buck Rogers (not Twiggy from Battlestar Galactica)

I dig it because we live bikes here. It takes the same amount of chutzpah to walk into a grocery store fully kitted up in Lycra as it does to wear bright pocket pants and carry a folded bike around. Same thing when transporting the kids around on the Bettie.

We're bike dorks and this helmet was made for us.

The Urbanize moves a surprising amount of air with a venturi effect, but not when you're standing still. The built-in lights are functional, not very bright, but do add visibility. The best function is you can just put the helmet on your head, spin the Rollsys dial and it's snug.

A flaw is when it's raining hard, water accumulates on the visor and eventually dumps into your face. As skater-style helmets become more fashionable, the Lazer is distinctive and a helmet choice we wear because we can.

Also see David's review of the Lazer 02 RD Helmet.

Readers know that we're fans of Dahons and folding bikes in general. We've ridden them all over the Pacific Rim in our travels and hang with the Dahon crew when we're in Taipei.

I suspect Dahon heard our insistence that they lighten up their bikes, cause they built a super light one, and equipped it with SRAM Red components.

I first rode the Mu Ex during SXSW and took it with me to Portland. A pleasure to ride, the bike is responsive, fast, and performs.

Take a complex, big bike, and make it look simple and clean: well done.

Uploaded by theglife | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

I joined Episode 39 of Spokesmen today -- a cycling roundtable podcast -- with special guest Bob Roll. It was a pleasure.

Topics discussed included

• 2009 Giro d’Italia
• Milan Protest (news story)
• Pedro Horrillo Crash (news story)
• Media Boycott of Lance Armstrong’s Twitter (news story)
• Team Astana’s Financial Woes
• Riders’ Union
• Bob Roll’s Favorite Giro Memories
• Carpet Tacks Halt the Etape Caledonia (news story)
• Rides of Silence
• Steve Larsen’s Untimely Death (news story) (memorial fund)
• Bike to Work Day
• Tips
• Tour Day France

Follow all of The Spokesmen on Twitter:

• David
• Carlton
• Tim Grahl
• Tim Jackson
• Donna Tocci
• Richard Masoner
• Richard Kelly
• Bob Roll
• Byron

Subscribe via iTunes (CLICK HERE), listen to the show directly (CLICK HERE) or subscribe to our feed (CLICK HERE).

The Spokesmen Cycling Roundtable Podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Steve Larsen rides are going on today and I found this report from his Supercup win in 1999.

Related Links

• More rides
• WorldTri
• Remember Steve Larsen
• Twitter on Steve Larsen

Nuun brings the banana flava to the Mobile Social Portland.

Uploaded by davidjschloss | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Bike stencils from Janet Bike Girl's Studio in Toronto.

Uploaded by Georgie_grrl | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

This bike is 3008

other bikes like 2000-late.

Note: lame hip-hop reference to a Black Eyed Peas song is an attempt to stay relevant with my teenage daughter. Hat tip: iamjolly. Bilenky.com.

SmartyPig joined us at the Mobile Social Portland as a new partner -- we gave away 5, $50.00 gift certificates and the winners can use them to save for a bike, upgrades, and new gear.

SmartyPig is for people who want to save for specific goals. Whether it's a family vacation, the latest electronic gadget, a wedding or a down payment on a house, SmartyPig's unique system can help you get there. Just tell us what you're saving for, how much you want to save and when you want to reach your goal, and we'll suggest an automatic monthly deposit you'll make from your existing checking or saving account until you reach your goal.

"Three feminist PhD candidates at a Midwest university, on a crusade against the ill-fitting polyester suit of academic yore," also ride their bikes around campus and town.

This photo is from Bike to Work week. Also see Pinned skirt and Flower Skirt.

Uploaded by academichic | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Big Blue

Little, Yellow, Different

Big Blue Uploaded by Jeremyhughes | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

We've just uploaded pictures from the Mobile Social. Right now, they're on my Flickr site, as Byron is off being all fancy and speaking at the WebVisions conference, with the Hugger Industry's Flickr feed's username and pass.

Still, I know a lot of the attendees wanted to see shots, and wanted to see if any of my one-handed-while-riding shots came out, so here they are to peep.

She was just at Rontoms (didn't ride with us or know what we were doing) and saw us with that wheel and likes wheels, so she came over, and liked the wheel even more. Spinning it, demoing it for us, all part of the bike fun at the MoSo.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Just back from the Mobile Social in Portland. More pics and stories to come, but a great turnout, a beautiful ride along the water and a great group of folks.

And special thanks to the sponsors, including Breezer, HED, Princeton Tec, and Smarty Pig for such a great night. Also Nuun.

Zoobombed last year. Hope to see some min-bikes this year.

Uploaded by random dude | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Along with the BikeHugger crew, I'm in Portland for the Mobile Social, and while I'm looking forward to riding it, meeting Hugger readers and giving away prizes (I've been told I might be doing the raffle), I'm equally excited for the next few days of riding.

I arrived in Portland last night and set up my trusty Bike Friday, after a walkabout looking for an 8mm Allen for my pedals (thanks to Waterfront Bicycles at 10 SW Ash for giving me a 6mm to 8mm adapter so I didn't need to buy a $40 wrench) I'm all ready for a week of riding and I couldn't be happier.

Last night I remembered why I like Portland so much as I came across the carnival being set up by the river, without a soul paying any attention to it. Rows after rows of amusements and vendors waiting to open on Friday, but not a local in the park.

Now I'm going to head up to the hills (after some Stumptown coffee) and stretch my legs before coming back to ride over and be mobiley-social.

A spy with a nice bell.

Uploaded by Georgie_grrl | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Practice in a feed zone helps when handing the MoSo attendees their schwag bags . . .

See you in Portland. We've got Crumpler bags just like these all packed up and ready to handup.

Byron is always making up names for things, and normally I abstain from recreating the English language. But for some reason I couldn't hold back once Byron started spouting MoSo instead of Mobile Social. I was thinking PoMoSo for "Portland Mobile Social", but apparently Byron grammar has it as "Mobile Social Portland," so we'll have to go with MoSoPo.

But wait...I guess it might actually be "Mobile Social Webvisions"....hmm.....nope, MoSoWebo just doesn't make as much aesthetic sense as MoSoPo.

Regardless, we'll be in Portland tomorrow, having good times rolling around like the pied piper, gathering cyclists to foamy pint at Rontoms. We'll be giving away another load of goodies from companies who believe in the Hugga way, like Breezer, Princeton Tec, Smarty Pig and HedCycling.
Something bizarre always happens when I go to Portland. This year I wonder if I'll have a weirder story than the drunk guy who randomly walked up to us in the hotel lobby before last year's Mobile Social Portland, started speaking German and then gave us a Hitler salute before walking back out into the street. It was one of those events where Byron and I were speechlessly confused. Just trippy weird

We're expanding the bikes we cover to include choppers yesterday and the work of Jason Battersby today. Jason is a transportation design student and creator of the Tequila Sunrise and Eye Candy.

I'm usually either on a racing bike, travel or cargo bike and would like to ride a beach bike path on one these concepts.

Hat tip: matthowie.

For more on Civia, watch the 3 previous Huggacasts.

Uploaded by EcoVelo | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

The Bike Pittsburgh blog posts on the 500 cyclists who delivered the first batch of Pedal Pale Ale

The annual ride, now in its fourth year, has literally experienced exponential growth, beginning with a modest 60 riders four years ago and doubling every year since. Organized by the East End Brewing Company and BikePGH, the idea of the ride is to deliver the first batch of the seasonal ale by bike. This year's ride was part of the Bike to (and from) Work Day events.

That's one massive beer ride. Hat tip to evanoneil.

Quick reminder that we're in Portland tomorrow for the Mobile Social WebVisions.

Details

• Event: WebVisions Portland 2009
• When: May 20, 2009, 6pm-10pm
• Where: Portland, Oregon
• Who: locals, WebVisions Attendees, Bike Hugger
• RSVP now at Upcoming or Facebook

"We're exploring the future of the web and riding bikes at WebVisions 2009 in Portland Oregon. We'll urban ride, party at a local pub, and then put the "blog" in blogtastic at the conference."

Directions

Meet at the Oregon Convention Center at 6:00 PM (MLK side near the bike racks) and urban ride to Rontoms. Bike Portland is leading the ride. It's a relaxed, no-drop pace with Podcast Hotel bussing us back.

How to Win

Ride with us during the MoSo and when we arrive at Rontoms, we'll hand you a raffle ticket. Hold onto it with all your hope, like Dorothy wishing to go home, clicking your bike cleats together. If we call the number, boom, you're riding a Breezer 8 around town. We're also giving away Hed Wheels, Princeton Tec lights, SmartyPig gift certificates, and more.

Attend WebVisions

If your attending WebVisions, along with all the other great content, I'm talking about interestingess. I'll go over how we built Bike Hugger, what's next for us, and more.

Our posts on electric bikes have been limited to city and cargo . . . check the Electric Beach Cruiser from Marrs Cycles

On the Microsoft Campus, during Bike to Work Day 2009, we spotted a Front-Wheel Drive Recumbent.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

iPhone Users

iPhone users can access our Huggacasts via the iTunes Store on a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

More

• Watch now on YouTube
• More videos
• Huggacasts are also available in the iTunes podcast directory.

We rode over to the East Side to commute with Sam Lester from Microsoft on Bike to Work Day 2009.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

iPhone Users

iPhone users can access our Huggacasts via the iTunes Store on a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

More

• Watch now on YouTube
• More videos
• Huggacasts are also available in the iTunes podcast directory.

Rode the Lapierre X-Lite 400 this weekend on a fast-paced team ride around the South end of the lake with Mercer Island and in a smaller group to Kent and back. The routes had flat sections with rollers and a few steep climbs. Performing very well, the bike also attracted attention with lots of questions from cyclists.

The white and black paint job is a handsome and looks good in the Sun -- thank you Sun for showing yourself! White is the new black in carbon, so you could really euro out with aftermarket parts like TRP brakes and PRO bars.

The Ride

First impressions are a smooth comfortable ride. It's plenty stiff and responsive and rides like a solid road bike. Accelerating well, it moves fast down the road, but is less a crit or climbing bike and instead designed for long miles in the saddle.

The X-Lite handles as expected, but does shudder on big hits. I think that's the super stiff fork and chain stays. It feels like you're suspended comfortably well between the wheels, until a large pothole or bike-path root gets your attention abruptly.

I also noticed that the front end steers like a rudder at speed. Rather than turning the handlebars when I pulled through to the front of the pack, I could just steer the bike with body english and thinking of where I wanted it to go. It was like riding atop a solid wedge of carbon: point a knee to the right and go right instantly.

I agree with RBA's review that the 15-centimeter tall headtube offset my normal fit. I was more upright than usual. That's a Grand Fondo, tourist-style geometry and intended for all-day comfort and to appeal to a broader range of cyclists. Trek does this as well with their performance Fit and so does Specialized with the Roubaix. Added benefit is less stack height and spacers for the steerer tube.

The X-Lite is similar in ride to the S-Lite I rode last year, with more stiffness in the bottom bracket.

Best Ride to Work Day Schwag EVER! Free Smartwool Socks AND a branded tail light. REI was there with the SmartWool Rep Tracy Ross. I've got more waterbottles and mini-Clif bars than I'll ever use, but $15 socks as a giveaway is nuts!

Cascade Bicycle Club releases a report that gives Seattle a B for bicycling. Do you think Seattle deserves a B?

Highlights

"After only two years with an adopted Bicycle Master Plan, the city's service toward bicycling has been commendable," the club said in its 2009 Report Card on Bicycling. "Seattle has nearly doubled the miles of bicycle routes since 2006, added several hundred bicycle racks, decreased the number of bicycle thefts, and maintained a consistent, if not decreasing, bicycle crash rate."

Since 2007, the city has made integrating cycling facilities routine and started finding "innovative and expressive" ways to support cycling, the report said. "In other words, cycling is becoming an icon to Seattle."

Grading

• Satisfaction with pavement quality, D plus
• Bicycle safety, B; satisfaction with bicycle safety, C
• Gender distribution, C
• Satisfaction with bicycle routes, C
• Bicycle participation, B
• Bicycle network, C plus
• Bicycle support facilities, B
• Bicycle counts, B
• Level of bicycling, A minus
• Bicycle Master Plan implementation, B plus
• New bicycle racks, A
• Bicycle service on public transit, B
• Parking and 'end of trip' facilities, C plus
• Bicycle crash rate, B
• Reported bicycle thefts, A plus.

Seattle has certainly improved with wayfinding signage, sharrows, lanes and awareness, but a B? Readers?

Most of the good training programs advise that riders take a day of easy spinning after a hard day in the saddle. The theory is that the blood and oxygen flowing through the legs flushes out the toxins that build up during a hard ride.

I've just pioneered something new, a Zero-Recover Ride--this is a ride where you spin easily and for short distances after not a hard day in the saddle, but a day of doing nothing athletic at all. My only-semi-ridiculous idea is that you don't want to end up shocking the system, but rather gradually working back into a stronger ride. Preferably with a mocha.

There's a definite element of style to transporting a pineapple on your city bike. Place it properly on the custom wood rack, of course, and make sure it's ripe. Get to the office and slice it up in the lunchroom. Share it with your fellow commuters.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

For Bike to Work Day 09, we rode over to the Microsoft Campus and met commuters along the way. The first stop was at the West Seattle Station were Aaron was unoffcially mixing up power drinks.

On the Eastside, we met up with Sam Lester an Microsoft employee in the SQL Server group. We rode with him to the campus and had breakfast at their reception. Then we checked out bikes at another reception and toured the on-campus bike shop.

We were impressed by the turnout and met Microsoft cyclists like the jokester in the photo above and the proud owner of a Silvio Cruz below.

I'd not seen a Cruzbike before. It's a front-drive recumbent. It looks like someone chopped up a bike: put the front on the back, the back on the front, and then bent it with a seat. Crazy and gadgeted out by the owner.

Also saw the skins of a shirts and skins bike to work team. He was funny, just likes to ride with no shirt.

More photos here and we'll upload video shortly.

Bike Hugger has been picking up traffic and attention recently as more people get turned on to our bicycling ethic--it's clear we're not just another website spewing out the same churned-over content about pro racers, doping and product upgrades.

Recently we've been approached by a lot of companies for some exciting new projects, and one thing that they've asked us is "What does Bike Hugger do? Really, what are you?"

Here's our answer

Like you, we love bikes. We love to talk about them, we love to ride them, and we really know that they can change the world. That's our approach, it shapes what we do. It makes us want to hug our bikes. Get it?

It's why we love the small frame builders of the world (and if we were better with torches and wrenches than we are with code and images than we might be building bikes too) and we love crazy things like teens going to their prom on a tandem.

We don't spend a lot of time with metrics (though we've got them if you need them) and we're not all that concerned with things like bounce rates and marketing jargon like stickyness. We dislike the term stickyness. We do like the term "stiction."

We are however dedicated to making an extremely high-quality site--truly a cut above a lot of the dross out there--that brings bikes to the people, in the same way that a rally or a Critical Mass does, except without all the time spent pissing off the cops.

I've written about that before in a post and our about. Yes, we're a blog. Yes, we're a business. We do this full-time. We're not here just to score schwag and bike parts.

The reason we're doing this, and not making a living creating a score of soul-crushing corporate websites is the knowledge that what we're doing is helping make things better. We don't believe that in some new-age-hippie, social-media-ego bullshit sort of way. We just know that incrementally, with good energy, talent, and the fellowship of our readers, we can change the car-based landscape.

I think it's working.

We noticed Mission Bicycles last year for making fixies with no visible branding. They sell, "a blank canvas for design." Mission is opening a new store this weekend in San Francisco.

As I said then, we'd want ours in Hugga green with our badge on the headtube.

Levi Leipheimer, the threepeat winner of the Tour of California is planning to have a Gran Fondo event (Gran Fondo simply means "long distance") to raise money for the Tour of California and for an animal charity in Sonoma. Called the King's Ridge Gran Fondo, this ride is planning to showcase some of the best routes in the area. As someone who has been cracked on that road before, I can tell you it's going to be an incredible ride.

The ride will be fully supported, there are different speeds and routes, and Levi and his "pro buddies" will be on the route. The route is past vineyards, over pastures and past redwoods--possibly the best place to ride in the country.

Leipheimer, who lives in Sonoma County plans to ruin it for all of us tourists by showing the world how perfect the region is for cycling. Sonoma is one of my favorite little private spots, and now he's going to go and ruin it for everyone by leading a series of bike rides across my favorite routes. Nuts to that, I say. Of course, I'm already booking my lodging for the event.

This isn't a race, although they'll be prizes, medical support and lots of post-ride pasta. There are smaller routes (a "Medio Fondo and a Piccolo Fondo") as well, for those who aren't up to the full route. It's only $75 a person to join up, and $150 for a tandem.

Full details are at http://levisgranfondo.com, and the whole press release is after the break.

It's bike to work day tomorrow and we're starting off by riding with Microsoft. We're going to check out their on-campus bike shop and their bike to work festivities. Then it's onto the trails to ride with all the commuters.

We'll have our cameras with us and saying, "hello."

We're easy to spot in our green hugga gear.

Jamie and Katie got married and set off on a Metrofiet. Cool and best wishes!

Photo: Metrofiets

When Pam and I got married, we toured SouthCentral Alaska. To not end our marriage before it got started, we each rode our own bikes. Too exhausted after 6 hours in the saddle each day, we mostly just slept and rode and ate.

There's an old bikeshop joke about every shop should have a marriage counselor in the back. I've seen the bike break people up, bring them together, and a few can carry on together. Some couples can ride tandems. Others a cargo bike.

What about you? Did you get divored, married by bike? Met by bike? Hate the bike for what it did love life?

Bike Hugger is available now on Kindle, via Amazon's publishing system for blogs. You can take us with you on the plane, ferry, bus, and wherever else you use a Kindle. With the Kindle iPhone App, you can also read us on your iPhone or iPod touch.

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My book about blogging is also available on Kindle.

We were exited like everyone else about live coverage of the Giro and wanted to know what fans thought of the coverage. We're talking with Universal Sports about the show, the live tracker, and so on.

Tell us what you think and we'll tell them. It's a coup they got a Grand Tour and we do dig their straight-up feed.

Check the paint job on Lance's bike -- that's Shepard Fairey of Obey Giant and Obama posters fame. Damn. We posted earlier on Lance working with Fairy on a mural, but didn't know a bike was commissioned.

Photo: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com

Notes

• Was just talking about Obey Giant with Simple Scott during Mobile Social @ An Event Apart -- Scott designed the Obama campaign.
• Mellow Johnnys has many of Lance's art bikes, including the Baba Ganoush
• More details on the bike.
• More on Obey.

Another great example of how bikes are part of pop culture and crossing over into modern art. Now to see art merged with transportation and cargo bikes.

Breezer Bikes is joining us during WebVisions in Portland for the Mobile Social. Besides riding and talking bikes, they're giving away an Uptown 8. A bike that won Bicycling Magazine Editor's Choice Award 2009 for Best Commuter and is equipped with Nexus and Busch & Müller generator lights.

How to win

Ride with us during the MoSo, get your raffle ticket, and clutch it lovingly while we call out the numbers. If you're number is called, boom, you're commuting on a Breezer 8. If you don't win the Uptown, well we're also giving away Hed Wheels, Princeton Tec lights, and more.

This bike route deserves a hug.

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Plentymag writes about Chicago-based Working Bikes Cooperative, a bike recycler. WBC sends bikes to Maya Pedal who in turn "concocts bike-powered water pumps, grain grinders, and corn de-huskers, among other ingenious machines."

Basket bike with flowers.

Uploaded by Georgie_grrl | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Well-timed for National Bike Month, another New Urbanism piece and this one is focused on how destructive cul-de-sacs are. In the years I've been riding in Seattle, Lake Washington Blvd (a standard Seattle-area bike route) went from a quiet road to a highway when I5 is gridlocked. Farmland I'd ride out and back to is covered in houses and the State widens roads just to have them fill up with cars.

Slow Down

Going out for coffee in Girona, we noticed that no one got "coffee to go." They ordered a drink and then sat down to drink it.

Point is that part of a new urban community isn't just less cars, road diets, and biking to work. We need to shift our thinking and slow down. An adjustment I made riding Bettie was that bike is slow and low. It takes double the time to get anywhere and I eventually got used to it.

If we're to depend less on cars, we've got to eventually accept that we can't zip around everywhere. Ride to get coffee and take a few minutes to enjoy it.

Hat tip to Seattle PI.

We got a tip from a reader about a fun new event launching in Seattle this weekend. After starting in Eugene, Oregon, Kidical Mass will ride in Seattle beginning Friday, May 15th.

Kidical Mass is a fun, safe, easy-going, and law-abiding family bike ride for kids of all ages. It started last year in Eugene, Oregon, and has since spread to other bikey burgs, like Seattle!

Our group rides include a nice mix of experienced cyclists, and folks just getting started. We hope to educate bike-curious parents about ways to bicycle with children, help kids learn to ride safely in the city, and increase the visibility of family biking on Seattle streets. Kids are traffic too! All manner of bikes and high-occupancy velos are welcome.

I'm pretty particular when it comes to helmets. They should fit well, ventilate my head well and not cause any painful pressure points. And generally I like them to be light, which is why I often opt for the top-of-the-line models from most manufacturers. Turns out I could be saving my money if only I'd found the Lazer O2 earlier on.

Available at retail for around $109 (vs. the $230 or so that I paid for my Giro Ionos) I didn't expect the O2 to be particularly comfortable based on sticker price, but the well-padded lid and rear dial-tightened Rollsys fit straps seemed sufficiently beefy and secure.

I spent a week with the O2 replacing my Ionos on every ride, and found myself impressed with the Lazer, with a few caveats.

The New York Times and other sources are reporting that Team Astana might be about to go the Kazakhstan version of Chapter 11. Only without that whole "restructuring" part.

Astana was launched by a number of Kazakhastan business leaders who wanted to promote tourism and business development in the country. (That's a great trivia question for cyclists incidentally--no one I ask knows what Astana is.) Seems that the economy is not exactly booming in the former Soviet republic, and the holding company that pays the bills, isn't.

The UCI has given the team a deadline of the end of the month to get their ducks in a row, or they're out of the UCI.

There's not a lot of chance that the Astana team will be saved internally, it might be up to Lance to purchase himself the team in order to compete in the Tour in July.

If not, I'm looking forward to the ebay listing for the team. "Professional cycling team, slightly used but in A++ condition. Includes three Tour de France contenders, one who won eight times. Includes bicycles, uniforms, team trailers and more. Some small unfounded doping allegations, and a recently fractured collarbone. No reserve."

The photos coming from the Giro are incredible, including these two showing Christian Vandevelde down and out of the race (sucks! Get well and back on the bike.). Reader IronmanBobby noticed on Twitter

Photo: Reuters/Stefano Rellandini

"it looks like the front wheel is sheered all the way up to the handle bars!"

Photo: AP

Damn that bike looks folded. Reminds me of Hincapie's sheered steerer tube and that scene from the TDF, where a racer hits a dog and the frame turns in on itself.

As Matt White said in the NYT

"There's no soft landing at 50k."

Word.

Material debate? Too light?

From NYT today, an article on residents of an upscale suburban community where they've given up their cars mostly. To us here in the States, that's like an episode of the Outer Limits or the Twilight Zone. With the catch being yes we're all riding bikes, but the cyclists have pig faces or are actually in some alien lab, or something weird like that:

"Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park -- large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home."

Photo: Martin Specht for The New York Times

Vauban Germany reaches this carless nirvana by designing the community around pedestrians and not cars

"Cars are forbidden on most of Vauban's streets, and houses cannot have driveways or garages."

Readers?

Is this possible? Has anyone been to Vauban?

Update

NYT republishes the article on their blog.

Bike Rescue recycles bikes like this Ripley carrier bike

or Pashley Postie

and puts them back to work in the city of York. They've rescued 1000 bikes to date and are part of the larger Freecycle network.

Here in Seattle, Recycled Cycles has bins of used bike parts and Bike Works! recycles bikes for urban kids.

Does your community recycle bikes?

Zibebe takes a break from, "cruising through the city on a lovely sunday afternoon," to photograph her outfit and bike. She's a fashionable, plain-clothes cyclist. Also see her pants outfit.

Uploaded by zibebe | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Attached the GoPro Video Cam to the Hotspur and went out for or a sunny, Spring day ride.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

iPhone Users

iPhone users can access our Huggacasts via the iTunes Store on a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

More

• Watch now on YouTube
• More videos
• Huggacasts are also available in the iTunes podcast directory.

I stumbled across this on an episode of The Road Diaries posted to Twitter. I don't watch much of the twitter noise, but this video had a compelling snapshot. Apparently it's a one-off SRAM RED TT chainring in Red anodizing rather than the boring black. It looks like a big version of the backside of the signature RED cassette. A 54t RED chainring would look awesome on my team SCOTT if anyone has an angle on getting one of those babies.

Props to Universal Sports for the Giro coverage with a good, quality stream. We're watching it here in the mornings live on the web land then recaps on TV. Mac users will need Flip4Mac a plugin that decodes Windows Media.

Universal Sports is on Facebook and Twitter. We're watching and commenting with the #giro hash tag.

Attached the GoPro Video Cam to the Hotspur and went out for a ride. Huggacast to follow.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Nabiis goods. Bike parts, DVDs, from the fixie scene in Taiwan. We missed this crew during our trips to Taipei -- won't do so again.

Uploaded by Αdward | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Pam found this ad in a Women's magazine and said,

"hey, when the rain finally stops, I'll get out my bikini and ride my bike around like this model."

Yeah, and do so in heels on a rusty cruiser. That ad alternatively could've been for an ingrown hair product, if you're riding around in a bikini all day.

Can't decide if the heels match the bike or the other way around.

The 2.5 version of our blog features visual refinements, accessibility improvements, and lots of tweaks.

Shift + Reload to refresh the page and see all the changes.

Props to Jay Allen of Endevver Consulting, Benish, and Steve Axthelm for the work. I'll talk more about our design and what we're doing during my talk at WebVisions 2009.

Seattle Beer Week starts today -- just last week we rode to Schooner Exact, a micro-brewery in South Park, during the Mobile Social.

Beer and bikes go together nearly as good as coffee and bikes. Peas and carrots. Ginger and Maryann. Brad and Angelina. Fixies and brakes.

The festivities during beer week include a brewery-to-brewery bike ride.

Details

Tour de Pints Bike Ride. Meets at 11 am at Pike Brewery downtown...rolls out around 11:45. We hope to have Charles and Rosanne along for the ride. From Pike we will head to Dexter and Hayes, then to Brouwer's Cafe. In this ride at times there will be options for those who want it to give themselves a challenge, leaving Brouwer's is the first time for those that want to take on the feats of strength to do so. The options are the Park Pub or the Dray....we will all meet again at Naked City....then those that want to take on another feat of strength can do so and head to the Fiddler, those that don't will head to the Duck Island...we will all meet again at the Big Time, then those that want to take on the feat of strenght will head to Smiths, those that don't will head to Feierabend and we will all end the ride at Elysian Fields, and the 40 beers of Elysian event.

Links

• Site
• Blog
• Twitter
• Yelp Point83

Also see Kulture Freaks @ Brouwers

Robert Jolly wrote this post. He is the Client Relations Director at Happy Cog Studios and is an avid cyclist and triathlete.

With An Event Apart (AEA) Seattle over and my temporary captivity on a flight back to Philadelphia, I thought it would be good to recap the Mobile Social (MoSo) ride and event that happened this past Sundayr. This was my third Mobile Social event and my first time to ride a bike in Seattle. Byron was kind enough to allow me to borrow the Brompton folding bike to use before, during, and after the MoSo.

Hello, Sunshine!

Philly has had it's usual mix of schizophrenic Spring weather to really make a trip out to Seattle appealing--with or without all the rain. I awoke on Sunday morning early--body still operating on Eastern Time--and put in a solid, 9-10 mile run. This happened while the rest of Seattle attended early morning religious services to thank their respective higher powers for the AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL SUNNY MORNING. I say this only because it seemed like there was a distinct lack of people outside enjoying the day.

After burning up my legs on the hills around the Queen Ann neighborhood, I hooked up with the Huggas at Hugga HQ to pick up the Brompton. I got a quick demo of how to fold and unfold the bike before taking it out for a spin.

Later this month, the Huggas are making our annual pilgrimage to Portland for Webvisions (May 20-22)--one of our favorite Web conferences of the year. In conjunction, for the second year running, Bike Hugger we're throwing a Mobile Social for all local riders and Webvisions attendees. We'll be taking a ride, drinking beer, and giving away a ton of schwag--last year's WV Mobile Social was a gas.

Hugger-in-Chief Byron is speaking at Webvisions this year on the topic "Try Making Yourself More Interesting," but the top of the bill is especially spectacular this year with Mark Frauenfelder (Boingboing.net), Tara Hunt (The Wuffie Factor), and Jared Spool giving keynotes.

And for those of you in the interactive industry, don't forget that there is still time to enter the 2009 Webvisionary Awards. With judges like Jeff Veen, Lynne d Johnson, Molly Holzschlag, and Roger Black, it's a web award that actually means something. Hurry: deadline is May 8.

Mark and I attended SHINE: Tell us your Story last night with a fisheye-immersion camera. While not a bike-specific event, SHINE is a big film about small business. Bike shop owners, bike builders, designers, devs, and us bloggers can all relate to that.

At the event, a dozen professional videographers, expert interviewers, and Bizink members all collaborated together to tell small business stories. We took the camera into the moment. If you'd like to tell you story and join the Shine project, upload it to YouTube.

Notes

• We used a GoPro video attached with body strap and handheld.
• More Shine photos.
• Bike Hugger participated in Bizjam last year.

Old man banging a bike from a tree, messengers, city bikes, bmx, and more in this video from Velo-City.

Velo-City is a unique conference about how cycling transforms cities and is happening May 12 in Brussels. I'm riding in SoCal that week. Anyone going?

In the effort to be fair and balanced (otherwise I'd fall off my bike), after last week's posting about a cyclists v. cops run-in I thought it might be nice to mention the Police Unity Tour, which was launched to raise awareness to police officers who died in the line of duty.

Say what you will about the police, but they put their lives on the line every day to help keep us safe. I grew up around cops and they're some of the best people I've ever had the privilege to meet.

The ride will kick off May 9th in scenic Newark, NJ at the Ramada Inn, and will end on the 12th in Washington DC.

I live at the top of a mile+ climb. On days where I take the bus rather than ride - I can either wait for a connecting bus (up to 30 mins) or hoof it/ride it easy. I'd really love to build up an electic assist commute bike to bring into the office making that ride home a breeze.

Any of you ride assisted bikes? I know Betty rocks a StokeMonkey. Any other suggestions?

Check mathowie's new Trek District:

I swear, last new bike for a very long time. So far rides like a dream, the single speed gearing is just right for the flats and no grease needed ever with the carbon belt drive.

I've been riding a Belt Drive prototype and had it out during the Mobile Social Seattle. If you follow our tweets, you've read my belt skepticism and I've ridden systems that skipped, felt like I was pedaling in sand, and so on. Not the Gates Carbon Drive.

For shock value, grab the belt, then put your hand on your bro's manpris. The result? No grease.

Uploaded by mathowie | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

LA Times columnist Steve Lopez writes about a bike path battle of wills in Santa Monica

I used to ride my bike on that path when I lived in Santa Monica in the late '90s, and the hazards were no less frustrating back then. You'd see a clot forming ahead and have to slow down or change lanes, which sometimes meant getting brushed by rollerbladers or cyclists who thought they were in the Tour de France.

I have a bell on my urban bikes and rain bike for the purpose of using it on the bike path. The worst are roller bladers whose stride takes up two body lengths. Starbuck's moms with their suburban sized strollers who walk three abreast are also dangerous to the cyclist.

I'm courteous with the bell unless I see white earbud cords and then it's rapid-fire blinging. A few years ago, a skateboarder doing a board flip, flipped his board right into Pam's wheel and took her down. Beware of skateboarders.

In this video, I thought that Santa Barbara had the world's best bike paths.

I didn't see pedestrians on those paths.

How are the bike paths in your town? Do you even ride on them?

The Amazing Race host, Phil Keoghan, is riding a bike across America and stopped in DC for a photo opp yesterday. He's been riding for more than 30 days now and is somewhere in Maryland at the moment.

Read more about the ride on Phil's blog. Photo credit: Getty Images.

Spotted outside Bell Harbor Convention Center, Seattle Waterfront.

Next Mobile Social is at WebVisions 2009, after that Interbike.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Thanks Seattle for a good Sunday afternoon ride during the Mobile Social. We rode along the waterfront to South Park and Schooner Exact for some fresh keg beer. Gave away the Yuba Mundo shown in this photo, Princeton Tec lights, and schwag from our friends at Internet Explorer 8.

The next MoSo is in Portland during WebVisions and we hope to see you there.

Photo: Box Turtle Design

During each visit to my doctor's office the nurse who escorts me to the exam room swings me by the practice's ancient Health-O-Meter scale and takes a quick check of my weight. She then looks at a BMI (Body Mass Index) chart, and makes a note of whether or not I'm at risk for a myriad weight-based diseases. According to the BMI number, I'm pushing obese but if you look at me you'll see pretty quickly the problem with the use of BMI as a benchmark for fitness--the calculation assumes a sedentary subject and I'm anything but sedentary. As I ramped up my workouts this winter at the gym my weight increased as I put on muscle. But the BMI number crept up even though I was getting healthier.

A much more accurate measurement would be that of total body fat, which looks not at total weight but the total amount of a body that's fat, giving a much better picture of overall health. Previously it was difficult to get an accurate reading, but electronic devices such as body fat measuring scales from companies like Tanita have simplified the process. These devices use a low-level electrical current passed through the skin to measure the resistance to the current, and based on the delay in the signal can determine how much of one's mass is fat. Fat and muscle have different densities so the signal travels differently though each--you can think of it like sonar for your body.

Their newer scales take this a step farther with "segmental body composition," which indicates not only the total percentage of body fat but the amount in each limb in the body's core as well. I've spent a month with the new scale, and it's changed how I look at me, from the inside.

As schwag goes, that's damn good -- from Princeton Tec, Internet Explorer 8, and more. Giving all that away today at the Mobile Social Seattle. Also a Yuba Mundo cargo bike.

Our Hugga Spring Sale has been extended through the end of May and we've increased the discounts to 30% off. The sale is on our Hugga Jerseys and Shirts. We've also got 2 for 1 socks.

I wasn't even thinking about Cross until I spotted this bike with these TRP Euro-x brakes. And the bike was light-ass light. Like, carbon road bike light.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Reader Eric Shalit sent us this photo of his son Max and prom date Fiona. They rode a tandem to prom and looked stylish doing it.

Brooklynites looking to experience a car-free tour around New York's best borough still have a little time to sign up for the 5th Annual Tour de Brooklyn. The ride, which starts and ends in Coney Island is a 23-mile tour (complete with police escort) that rolls though Ditmas Park, Bensonhurst, Prospect Park and more, and even takes a trip though GreenWood Cemetery.

Registration is required for this free event, which is produced by Transportation Alternatives

Kicking off the month of may — National Bike Month — with some links and bike lane opinions.

• Commuter: A ‘multi-modal’ journey — from the Sacramento Bee
• Cycling into the Sunset — from the Bike Biz Babe
• Bike Friendly Communities — from the league of extraordinary cyclists.

As it was Told to me by Val

Val and I occasionally meet on Marginal way and debate topics like internal drivetrains and mainstream longtails. I’m heading one way, he the other, and we stop. The latest topic was Portland’s Cycle Tracks (dedicated bike lane) and a new one going on Broadway.

Separated cycle facilities such as the new cycle track to be built on Broadway in Portland are surprisingly controversial, even among fervent bicycling advocates. Those in favor insist that they are safer and more convenient, and will encourage those who do not ride now to start, while those opposed feel that they are largely unnecessary, create new safety hazards, and promote the idea that bicycles should always be segregated from motorized traffic, and never allowed on streets.

My personal feeling is that, like anything, these facilities can be extremely worthwhile when done right, in the appropriate circumstances, and can be worse than useless if done poorly. Even if such projects are poorly done, however, anything that creates interest in cycling or encourages people to try riding instead of driving can only help in the long run, since the one thing that always improves transportation overall, and the safety of bicyclists in particular, is to get more people riding. — Val.

Dura Ace 7970, or Di2, is the much anticipated, electronic shifting system that Shimano debuts this year. It will be the most technologically advanced and, not coincidentally most expensive, shifting system ever offered to the public. The debates rage about what Di2 will mean for Shimano's future market position as well as cycling in general. But who cares about that? I don't buy bike stuff as collectibles, I buy bikes like drugs...they're only fun if you use them...and I'm always looking for a bigger rush. Di2 is premium-grade for sure, but is the party worth the price of admission?

When Shimano said they wanted to give me a little sample ride of electronic Dura Ace, how could I just say no? I had to try it once at least.

We've always dug the Kona Ute and like it even more with those orange bags. I could see a Plain Clothes Cyclist plan a whole outfit around the bike. Pair it with some bike to work pants, these shoes maybe, and a comfortable shirt.

Matching functionality with style doesn't just happen. Considerable thought went into this bike. You can tell from the color palette that's matching bags, wood plank, and seat.

The Kona Ute with bags pops on the sale floor.

Sure, the Cargonistas would complain, "but it's not an X or have 26 inch wheels -- boohoo." Who cares, really? Straight up it's a great, simple, stylish cargo bike. Not unlike another fav of ours the Cargo T.

I've only seen these bikes in China and spotted one yesterday while running some errands on Bettie.

You see these everywhere in China with a kid on the front, another on the bike, and a pet.

Correction: that's a Taiwan bike -- made in Tainan.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

What I like about the Torker Cargo T: is the simplicity. US customers would call this a grocery getter. Or errand bike for the Plain Clothes Cyclists.

It's based on the Batavus Personal Bike and made for the city. Nothing much to explain. Put some groceries up front and a backpack on the back. Pull it up and onto the center stand to park it.

To ride it just pedal. Sit upright and twist the shifter. I spotted it yesterday in West Seattle.

We rode a prototype earlier this year. Cyclelicious also has been riding one.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.