Bike Hugger 

Besides the shirts, socks, stickers and other schwag, another product we’re working on now with SchoonerExact is Bike Hugger Brown, a mellow, nut-brown style ale, brewed for cyclists on skinny tires.

The 10th annual Downhill & Messenger challenge is Friday August 4th. This legendary race starts at the Church of Bicycle Jesus and goes somewhere downhill really freakin’ fast. The race should offer all the thrills and spills of Nascar without the internal combustion, of course.

Reader Brian Langdon sent us Twin Six, who make and sell Alternative Cycling Apparel, including The Cabby that won recently won Bicycling mag’s jersey of the month.

Added to the list of things I’ve done on a bike is “unplanned ride with Critical Mass.” Pam and I were riding, stopped at an intersection and here comes one big horde of cyclists – it was the last Friday of the month. So, what else to do then join them! It was mostly an orderly ride, lots of mashup bikes, no arrests like the last time, fun, and when they turned left back into the city, we kept going straight and towards home. Later on the bike path, I talked to a commuter that had just given up his car, citing Peak Oil and had also just ridden with Critical Mass. He thought it was great and I thought I wasn’t sure how effective making already angry drivers angrier was.

A reader submitted Bikely today, a site that “helps cyclists share knowledge of good bicycle routes.” Bonus about bikely is that you can just say, “check bikely!,” when asked repeatedly how to get on the i90 loop.