Best Cities for Biking

just some stuff to check out...

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-2-19-17083-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-2-19-17077-1,00.html

Bike PROM Tonight!!!

The Happy Rickshaw World HQ is hot and ready for Bike Prom tonight, 9pm to 2am.
The weatherman is calling for temperatures in the 70's, with increasingly chilled beverages throughout the night, and a 100% chance of sweating on the dance floor.
Yes people, the party is indoors and heated, so you can take that slinky dress off the hanger tonight.
Bring CASH for donations at the bar. We've got Starr Hill, wine, and margaritas on the ready.
We have sequestered DJ Western Front in a dark room where he's been meditating and channeling his chi towards tonight's transcendental dance rager.
There's so much love in this town.
See you tonight,
Happy Rickshaw
www.happyrickshaw.com
Directions from the Corner: 201 Elliott Ave., Charlottesville, VA 22902
· Go down West Main St. until you hit Ridge Rd. (head Downtown)
· @ light, go RIGHT on Ridge Rd.
· @ 2nd light, make LEFT onto Elliott Ave.
· Take next LEFT (Warehouse is far corner of 1st & Elliott)
· Look for flames, lights, or listen for bass.

November Week 2

Bob: 45.6

Butch: 30.1

Frank: 32.5

Mallfellow: 211.5

Week 1 - 2 Submissions...

Butch 30.1

Bob 23

Get those miles in...

I've only seen two people post up their miles for last week.  Get them in today and I'll update later.

James

Oh yeah--

Congrats to Bridge for 6th place.  I don't know how Kyle did, but it's easy to assume he did some spankin'.

I Am Toast.

Got to ride the Urban Cross Race, or whatever it's called, put on by Bluewheel at the IX Building.  Great weather, cool people everywhere, some bikes I actually liked- not just nerdy space-ship looking things.  The course was the brainchild of Scott Paisley, totally killer and with a couple of added features that made for good grunting, cursing and wiping out: the "Stairway to Heaven'', which was a set of about 12 or 15 steps built into to face of the hill, and the "Litter Box"- a sand trap long, deep and wide enough to take down plenty of riders to the delight of picturetakers and supporters who sensed the comedic potential.  This was a fun course.

I actually started in one race and flatted out before I even made the first lap.  Bridge and Kyle were there like an instant pit crew and had me rolling again.  I made it a whole 3/4 of a lap and got a pinch flat.  Doh.  So, I was out of this one.

I went inside to get a tube to make the ride home and was told that I could enter the Master's 35-45 age group.  Sweet!  So, Bridge provided another tube, and I got rolling again, amused that aging had paid off again.

Of course, the age of this group did nothing to stop them from whipping my ass-  I was 23rd out of 37.  But I was satisfied with my performance, considering it was my first cross race in 6 yrs.  I never pushed my bike uphill, all my mounts and dismounts were clean (no stutter steps) and I never went down in the sandpit.  Then I had a PBR with Cholula sauce, and I burrito from Aqui Es Mexico.  A good day of bike fun and positive attitudes.  I am wasted tired.  

Big thanks to Kyle and Bridge for the pit support and cheering, and my house mates Christopher, Grace, River and Holden for showing up and staying through both races.  And getting me a burrito.

Hmm...since it's the only thing in the fridge beer related, I wonder how Country Club will do with some Tobasco?

October Results 2870.2 Miles!

Here they are folks.  First of all, give yourselves a huge pat on the back for the total mileage tallied in October.  

For November's points you will only have to submit your miles once a week.  We'll cut the fat and just base it on mileage.  Long commutes, short commutes, heavy commutes, wet commutes...it doesn't matter.  Submit your mileage by Sunday evening and we'll have the running count on Monday.  

Use the same survey link and if anyone else wants in...just post a comment here.

Nice work folks...any thoughts on a total goal for November?

October Results Coming Soon

Make sure you get all of your October mileage in by this evening.  I'll tally the final results and post them tonight.

Also, hold off on submitting any November miles until I post the October results and reset the survey.  For November we'll just keep it simple and tally miles.

James

Neighborhood Bike Ride

(just got this in an email)

Cyclers,
It would be sweet to have some of you join us for this. Please forward to anyone who may be interested.

JPA NEIGHBORHOOD BIKE RIDE!
Sunday, Nov. 2nd
Go on a Bicycle Ride, Talk with Neighbors and Classmates and You may win $1700
1 p.m. Meet at 1900 JPA and go on a leisurely bike ride towards downtown and back
2 p.m. Social and refreshments at 1900 JPA

All ages welcome. Participate in event and you are automatically entered to win! Bring snacks to share if you can.
To find out more or in case of rain, please call Shelly at 434-295-6554
Sponsored by Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation
www.transportationchoice.org

Ozzy Rides A Fixie?

Been sick for a week, haven't ridden since last wednesday.  It's frightening how fast you start to feel like a soft-bellied channel-changer.  On the mend, though...

In other news, if anyone is looking for something to do on Halloween Night, there is a benefit for the Charlottesville Derby Dames at the IX building, complete with DJ and the World's Largest Black Sabbath Tribute Band, MASS SABBATH.

Mass Sabbath only plays on Halloween.  This year, 2 drummers, 2 bass players, 3 guitarists, 1 violin, 1 cello, and 1 Ozzy will deliver the dark sounds of doom and love (B-Sab was kinda, y'know...peace, love) in C sharp.

Yours Truly as Ozzy.

Roller Derby women.  Sabbath.  Blood.

Get yours.

myspace.com/masssabbath

So...

So you've convinced your co-worker that commuting is the new sliced bread. But they say, "I don't have a bike."

I've got one. It's for them. A solid steed. A Trek Multitrack. I've got it back into safe condition. Fresh tires, brake pads, brake cables, and a chain would make it a primo candidate for long term, high mileage service. Yes, it has moustache bars.

It was free to me. Community Bikes gave me the parts to return it to service. Any compensation in-kind should go to them.

2,357.59 Miles

We really aren't supposed to be reporting to the 0.01 mile but whatever.  Let's call it 2,358.  

That's a lot of miles.  These are the points as of 5 minutes ago. 

Keep it going

Hey Everybody--

I was thinking yesterday that it would be fun to do this every month, or as long as we can keep it going.  Plenty of us would be riding every day anyway, but there are some people I have spoken to about this who probably didn't find out about it until a week or two into October and so they didn't participate.  And I personally like knowing that there is a group of people out there who out of competitive spirit and love of biking, and maybe even environmental responsibility are planning trips and days with the idea of "that should get me a few more points!''.

I don't know how much work it takes to make this happen, but a revolving cast could take care of the blog results end of things if it's a chore.  And I imagine that there are a few more businesses out there who might be willing to contribute (5 free cups of coffee somewhere, $25 bar tab, etc...).  Even if sponsors are hard to come by, it's easy to be creative.  5 bux from each rider? (Not trying to make this cost anything- just throwing out ideas.)

It could go all over the place.  Ultimately, it's nice to have this to think about while riding.  It made uphill cold rain more rewarding last friday.

What do you think?

Found Objects

I found two PBR's in my bag saturday morning that I didn't remember putting there.

On the side

Found a new bungee cord on my way into work this morning.

1553 Miles and Counting

Here are the current points for week 2.  Jim B came out of nowhere in the second week to really contend with some of the top dogs.  It looks like Mallfellow is untouchable right now...but anything can happen.

Congrats to everyone that chooses to pedal...nice work everyone!

A different sort of ride stat...

My commuting stats for the day where zero (shame on me, seven miles by auto) but my gameday rickshaw stats looked like this:

7.5 hours, ~5.5 hours moving
0 dropped chains, flat tires, or missed shifts.
58 miles (GPS logged)
12 mini snickers bars
3 gu's
1 apple
4 pop tarts
5 bottles of water
2 bottles of HEED
63 passengers

4 "recovery" beverages
4 burgers
4 potatoes
9 hours of sleep

My morning commute was a nice stretch of the legs.

It's Friday night.

It's 6.5 miles from my house to Cvile Bike and Tri. Yes, that's the longest trip ever on this bike. This challenge makes me do silly stuff.

Somehow, I think the Virginia Department of Weights and Measures specifies that there is a shorter standard distance for a mile when covered on a three speed, towing a BOB, with a case of longnecks inside.

Commuting. So simple, a caveman could do it.

Hey...your Stache...Send it here.

okay, okay. i have ZERO mustache photos in my queue. i NEED more photos. be creative, be hairy, milk mustache, everything counts. SEND IT IN!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Hello, fellow stompers, spinners and coasters!

I'm having a good time with this blog communication and reading everybody's stories.  I just tried to copy and paste from my page to here and couldn't make it happen.  So, if yr looking for another proud biker story, come visit.

Thanks!

Butch

My anticar...

Kyle, thanks for adding me to the fold. James and Kyle, it's great to see your efforts in building a community of commuters. I've used a bike to get around for most of my time in C-ville, but had an inspirational moment last spring. You'd like me to share? Great!

About 3 hours into a Saturday night rickshaw shift, four stout guys hopped on while I was parked near Orbits. Where to? Cabel Ave. at the top of Grady. It wasn't a fast trip and it featured plenty of granny gear, but we made it and they had a great time in the process. My 165# motor and a 200# vehicle had moved roughly 800# of intoxicated cargo over a fair distance and gained substantial elevation. That was the moment of a changed perspective.

I live a rather pedestrian life here in town. Work is half a mile from home. The stores I use are less than 5 miles away. If my own power could move such a load, then why do we tend to move cargo with cars of mass far greater than their payload? It's not that cars are bad, but perhaps they're inefficient because we fail to use them to their potential. Maybe all that power and space isn't well used by my needs.

Perhaps by choosing to live close to work, we could use our commuting minutes to run errands by bicycle. Generally I save time by moving faster than traffic and having available parking on the far end of my trips. Recently I discovered the joy of a real rain jacket and rain pants. A rubbermaid tote on my BOB trailer keeps bulky cargo secure, clean, and dry.

So add me to the "fan of bike commuting" list. With a bit of planning, some versatile gear, and a sturmey 3 speed, it's a blast.

492.5 MILES!

That's right four hundred ninty two miles!  The list below has the current points standings as of midnight last night.  It looks like JN has taken the lead with many many short trips.  Other people in the top ranks seem to be racking up the points with longer trips on heavy bikes.

It's still *very* early in the month so we'll see who keeps trucking along steadily and who fades into laziness.  

Remember to submit your miles you must complete the survey.  You must click the "Done" button at the end.  

Note:  The points listed above include all of the bonus points for rain, weight etc.  The total mileage is just the raw mileage that we've all tallied together over one short week of riding to work.  

Bike Bailout

I don't know the details about the Bike Commuter Bill; however, it was one of the pieces of pork added to the bank bailout bill that Congress passed last week.

I found the news on a local blog, it is the Friday, Oct 3 post: http://discoveringurbanism.blogspot.com/

A little good news in a week of crazy news.

bike snob? more like bike blog!

Speaking of blogs, I found this guy's NYC commuter blog. It is hilarious - flush with sarcasm, the occaisonal wit on food, idiots, and living in a massive city, as well as containing ample imagery - I think this one is staying under my "bike" itnernerd linkbar for awhile.
http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/

A Conversation....

between me and the woman and the drive-thru tax window at the county office building. (keep in mind the we were both FRIENDLY to each other)

Woman - Can I help you?

Kyle - I'd like to pay my taxes

Woman - You have to come inside

Kyle - Why?

Woman - Your on a bike

Kyle - I don't understand?

Woman - We don't accept walk ups at the drive-thru

Kyle - But, I'm on a bike

Woman - What's your account number?

Unexpected benefits of bicycle commuting.

In a world with gas prices at $4/gallon and with obesity being nearly pandemic, commuting by bike makes a world of sense. People have pointed this out before and I'm not here to repeat those points. But, with ever more people commuting by bike, there are some unexpected side benefits. Here's mine.

On today's commute, totally unplanned, a friend and I ended up at the same stop light. We ended up riding the rest of the way to work together and had a nice conversation along the way. It wasn't that far, but enough time to catch up on a few things. This isn't the first time this has happened, but it surely doesn't happen daily. But who knows, if everyone takes up commuting by bike, maybe it would.

I got to thinking as I sat down at my desk that people used to bump into friends and neighbors regularly before cars became the primary mode of transportation. I noticed I felt significantly happier having just 5 minutes of social time before having to focus on work, as opposed to running directly from bed to shower to work.

So, I'm going to say "extra social time" is my anti-car. What's yours?

-j

p.s. This also makes me want to set up a "bike pool" (as opposed to a car pool) in which friends in the same part of town meet and ride to work together. Safety in numbers, and all that. Probably a far fetched dream, but who knows.

Commutter Challenge is Open

Here's the deal... 

We will tally results via a simple survey.  You will basically tally your mileage as often as you need to.  

You must complete the survey for the miles to count.  So even if you only have one leg to input, just click through the second page until you are finished...It's very quick. 

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/67330/c-ville-commuter-race

If you do not see your name in the first question, let me know.  I'll have to add you to the list so we can compile all of the results.  

If you have any questions, feel free to post here. 

Enjoy! 

Commuter Challenge Starts Tomorrow

The timing is perfect considering Bridge's news.  

I've decided to rename this slightly to the commuter challenge vs the commuter race.  I would like this to be as much of a cummunity effort as it is a friendly competition.  Of course the guys at C-ville Bike and Tri are talking all kinds of trash but we'll see what happens when it's time for the rubber to meet the road.  

Trash talking aside I would like to see how many miles a small group of commuters can actually rack up with a single concerted effort.  

You will need to quickly register with me to start getting your miles counted...I'll post all of the details tomorrow.  

If anyone is interested in making a flyer for the event let me know and I can send you the details.  I think we'll run a monthly challenge through the end of the year.

Good Morning News!

CNN just reported that the gas shortages should be slowly moving northwards through the south, so that about mid-next week Virginia should be seeing signs of this "issue." Any leavening of the gas shortage will not be noticeable until mid-next MONTH! If you ride a bike as your main source of transportation, is it still an event of contention? Obviously, just not as big as one.

Need Some Beta Testers

I've got an idea for submitting miles as part of the commuter race series but I would like a few people that I can use as beta testers.  I just need you to try out the system and give me feedback.  It's pretty quick but this will help me figure out a good way to compile the scores and hopefully improve the submission system before the live release.  If you can help out reply here and I'll send you an email.

A brief word of thanks

To Johanna for holding the MTB Rock Garden clinic today at OHill.
There was a better turn out than I expected based on my own reticence towards it this morning.
It felt good to cheer for others. I think I will do it some more.
50 or 60 more of these clinics and i might be a good rider.
Thanks Johanna and James

The Commuter Race

I was hanging out with the boyz at C'ville Bike and Tri the other day and we came up for an idea for a commuter race.  It's not a race in the sense that we go head to head on the same course to see who's the fasest, but it's more of a points series.  You accumulate points based on mileage, weather conditions and the weight of your gear.  

We are still working out the kinks but this is what we have for the scoring so far.  

• You get 1 pt for every mile that you ride (partial points ok)
• Rain during that leg gets double points for that leg only.
• There will be extra points for riding a fixie (maybe 1.25-1.5x)
• You get extra points based on the weight of your bike and gear (backpack, panniers, etc) 30-40 lbs = 1pt  40-50 lbs = 2pts  >50 lbs = 3pts. 
• Sending in a mustache photo earns 5 points, being selected is another 5 pts.

Additional guidelines

• The commuter challenge will begin October 1.
• You must have a calibrated computer to account for the miles.
  
• Joy rides, training rides, etc do not count towards the mileage.  Grocery trip however DO count.
• You will most likely have to register for the race and submit your times a few times a week.
• Current standings will be posted every Monday AM.

Stay tuned for additional details...

Gettin my rage on.

In the past week or so I have seen twice some iteration of the parable that says basically "Don't look where you don't want to go."
The last time I saw it was on the CAMBC site. Fitting. I think that you could apply it to every aspect of life though. I'm gonna try it and get back to you later. But before then... Tomorrow at 10:30, I'm going to try and not look at a whole bunch of hard and unforgiving things at O Hill.
For those of you who don't know me, I work at C'ville Bike and Tri as a wrench. I have more than one tattoo and I smell like a rock star. Naturally one would surmise that I am a badass mountain biker like Kyle. One would be wrong. Ask Eric, he'll tell you.
I like it though. I think I could love it given time.
I need some skillz.
Lucky for me I found this...

From the CAMBC website:
http://www.cambc.org/boards/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=353
"
Sunday September 14, 2008 – MTB Rock Garden Clinic – Free
O-hill, 10:30 AM, Meet at the upper gate near the observatory. For questions or to RSVP:Johanna.Kraus@gmail.com

Johanna Kraus (Velo-Bella Pro & CRC member) will be leading this skill session focusing on the low speed balance skills that will help riders effectively navigate technical terrain. Specifically we will focus on climbing technical switchbacks and riding rock gardens. The clinic will include trail riding and drills on body movement, shifting and braking. All skill levels are welcome. This is agreat opportunity to practice those tricky sections that have been hanging you up on group rides, or that just get you frustrated. Amaze your friends:) "

I get frustrated and would love to be able to amaze my friends! I think I will go there.
Apparently James held a clinic on all things turn-y on Saturday. He said it went well. Yay! I wish I could have gone, I like to turn. It helps me avoid all those things that I'm not looking at. Maybe he will hold another...

Stay tuned for the update. Also, stay tuned for info on October's Commuter challenge (It's going to have prizes and heartbreak I swear.) and also also we will be holding a 3 day (I think) "Get off your lazy butt and do it yourself" home bike mechanics class some time in the fall or winter, or both. So stay tuned for that as well.

latest

just in case you haven't gotten around to picking up the current issue of the C-ville, their feature story is about Bikes vs Cars. i was going to copy and paste some of the article on the blog but, i decided to post this video i found on the C-ville website.

go get you a copy of the paper and read it.

C'ville Bike & Tri Swap & Sale Sept 6th + 7th

The 13th annual "stir the pot" will be held at 8am Saturday- sell your stuff, get some cool new old gear or new new gear. It's all there. Come early for the good stuff, or sleep in for junk.

details: www.cvillebike.com

Road Shwag?

Has anyone found any cool stuff on their morning or evening commute? I am sure there's plenty of interesting items littering the roads of Charlottesville. I found a hat this morning. It was rain soaked and grungy and I certainly will not put it on my dome until it gets a thorough laundering, but I will post a pick once it's fit for human consumption again.

What have you found on your commute to/from work (that was worth keeping)?

Stache

alright y'all,
send in your mustache photos. we all know Marty is the coolest but, can you top him?
let's see 'em

send to: kylerodland@gmail.com

MCP

Hopefully a lot of the folks reading this blog have heard something about the "MCP" project. If you haven't here's the translation:

MeadowCreek Parkway (aka MCP)

This project has been around in the Charlottesville/Albemarle region for decades. Tonight, by a 3-2 vote, Charlottesville's City Council gave the green light to move forward with the final land acquisition in order to build a significant portion of the project. This portion will cut through McIntire Park. Since this is a cycling blog, I'll keep this post relevant to cycling.

The project calls for the development of a two-lane parkway beginning at Route 250 and McIntire Road and extending through the park past Melbourne Road to Rio Road. The plans call for pedestrian and bicycle facilities to be built along with the roadway.

Tonight, the city council gave the green light to move forward with the development of this project. As a cyclist there are reasons you should be concerned about the project. As a citizen of Charlottesville there are even more reasons to be concerned. First, as a cyclist this project is yet another example of how most of our public dollars get spent on infrastructure supporting motorized transport. Fortunately we've made a little progress as a society to the point that some of that money at least gets allocated to support basic bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. But, if you look at the percentage of money spent on supporting motorized transport, only a very small slice of the pie goes to non-motorized transport. Second, as a citizen of Charlottesville we should all be questioning this project based on its merits as a transportation project. Basically, it has little merit in terms of transportation. It is essentially an economic development project that everyone wants to call a transportation project. It solves no significant transportation problems in the city or the county according to any studies that I have seen. Yet, most of the city council supports the project because it will help downtown business. Thus, it is an "economic development" project masquerading as a transportation project.

I realize that this may not be directly related to cycling but as a cyclist you should be concerned. The more that we allow our governments to build unnecessary road projects that serve to support urban sprawl and do little to address real transportation problems, the fewer resources we will have to dedicate to improving our existing infrastructure to make it usable by all modes of transportation. If you have an interest in cycling as a mode of transportation beyond sport you should consider paying some attention to this issue and others like it. There are numerous ways that you can support cycling in Charlottesville. One way is to get involved in the public participation process for transportation projects.

Electric bikes

Today I encountered an news article on the use of electric bikes for commuting, which would seem to be an interesting way to make bicycling as a way of commuting more accessible to more people. After all, with an electric bike, it might be that much easier to get up those hills with your child(ren) and groceries in tow, or to even commute longer distances. (Or, to help you keep up with your riding buddies who are much faster than you.)

Since I don't really know much about electric bicycles, I pursued a few of the links to sites which promote electric bikes, in particular NYCeWheels, and was fascinated with the variety of models out there. If one is not interested in purchasing a whole bike, there are bicycle conversion kits, which can convert your existing bike (any type, apparently) into an electric bike. The one system that I read about was the BionX bike motor system. I thought the video below about the BionX motor system, though slightly cheesy, was fascinating. There's even footage of a guy riding his newly motorized Trek mountain bike off-road.




Also, for you weight weenies out there, don't worry!

"Depending on the system you order, the Bionx kit will add as little as 15 lbs to your bike."

I also ended up at the site for BikeLid "secure" bike parking systems. It's being demonstrated in NYC in the next couple weekends during the NYC's Saturday Summer Streets events in August (involves at least closing some streets to automobile traffic, allowing more comfortable bike commuting to newer riders).

I'm not sure what I think of the system in terms of its claims for superior security. I'm sure it protects bicycles from the elements, but takes up lots of space. But, it seems to me that the weakest link in the system is that it relies on the security of the user's lock. I'm pretty sure that bike thieves are pretty familiar with how to get around most lock systems these days.

-mc

Bikes vs. Cars

There is an interesting story on the VeloNews website about bikes, cars and road rage.

This issue has been around for a long time, but is getting national press given the increase in commuters.

http://velonews.com/article/81778/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske---bikes-v-cars

I'm sure most everyone reading this blog has a few stories about confrontations with cars.

"Moving Targets", decent NYT article

In retrospect to G-Money's latest post,
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/fashion/10bikewars.html?_r=1&scp=9&sq=cyclist&st=cse&oref=slogin

I was catching up on my news this week since I've have miraculously fallen into 2 weeks off from work: a decent article in the New York Times concerning the rise in cycling in the commuter realm of the transportation world. Gives both sides of the story, though, slightly pointed to favor the cyclists (of course, certain parts make the non-cyclists look a little... puerile). Interesting, no matter which perspective.

-Bridge.

More bicylists on the road -- good news?

Guest Editorial

I'm not sure how broad the readership is on this blog, but hey, if I'm preaching to the choir so be it. I've been wanting to get some discussion going and this blog seems like a good forum for it. Ok, so ....

Anecdotally, I think most people have seen that there are more bicyclists on the roads these days. Here in Charlottesville it is very apparent due to the small population and geographic area, but across the country most cities are reporting substantial increases in bicycling as a mode of transportation. This is the good news. And, from what I have read, most reasonable people see this as a positive development.

There are however, a significant number of people that see bicyclists as an irritation. This is the bad news. My sense is that as the number of cyclists on the road increases, driver frustration will increase as well. There are some reasons to be worried about this as the combination of inexperienced cyclists and hostile (even homicidal) motorists comes to a boil.

This is my first post to this blog (or to any blog for that matter), so I intend to tread lightly here. But, I'm curious, how other Cville cyclists are feeling these days out on the road on their bikes. Are the drivers the same as usual or have you noticed things getting better or things getting worse? My own experience has been a little worse here in Cville. Inattentive and hostile drivers. What about other folks? Leave your observations in the comments section.

Its an interesting time for cycling in general. This summer a young woman was killed by a garbage truck while riding legally in a bike lane in Washington, DC in the Dupont Circle area. The reaction was impressive. There were vigils, news reports, and an ongoing investigation. My sense is that cycling has reached a new segment of people in big cities that previously had ignored cycling as a hobbie or sport. These people are professionals with influence and they are getting behind cycling as a legitimate mode of transportation. I would like to see more of that here in Charlottesville. If you have thoughts on how to broaden the reach of cycling here in this community beyond enthusiasts please also leave your thoughts.

Ride safe.

Out

...i'm gone to the beach to check out the cursers. this week, the blog's all up to you!!

and send more mustache photos!!

-kyle

Wednesday

okay...the News spot will be on the news WEDNESDAY.

On the news TODAY!!!

i just ran into Marty Quinn. he was on his way to NBC29 for an interview about the "Bike Mentor" program. he mentioned that the meeting had gone well the other night and i assume he will be talking about that. he said it should be on the news today, so...tune in. NBC29: Channel 4: on the TV.

10% off Everything

maybe this would work?? i got this in an email, and have been sending it to local businesses.
Pass it on to some of the shops you like!



This is a way of supporting local business, bicycle commuting, and the environment. It allows local businesses to offer patrons, who traveled by bike to the store/shop, a discount on all goods and services. The amount of the discount (in the range of 5%-15%) is for the business to decide.



This proposition will not be posed to non-local business



Advantages include:

Increased business/sales.
More customers/clientele
Publicly supporting alternative transportation
Being networked with many other Charlottesville businesses who participate.




To get started, decide how much of a discount you will offer. Then start giving that discount to people who have a helmet in hand, bike with them, or obviously look like they are riding a bike. After people know about the discount you offer, they may inform you that they rode in by bike. You may choose to advertise your discount and or involvement. Choosing to put the bicycle wheel “logo” on you door, window, register, or somewhere else, will be a good way to inform patrons easily (logo should be attached in the email). Feel free to use it in other form of advertising, or alter it, there is no copyright or regulation.



You may decide to be strongly active in this or just a little active, is completely up to you.



Nobody will be “in charge” of this movement. It is simply an idea thrown out there, and it’s free to become whatever Charlottesville makes it. So, feel free to put any twist on it that you see fit.



This idea was thought up by a few local commuters who work at local businesses. Please help advocate bike commuting and local business by participating and spreading the word. You may pass this along to other businesses.

New Bike Mentor Program for Charlottesville!

Shawn Strubee teamed up with ACCT to start a bike mentor program for Charlottesville this month. The first volunteer meeting to sign up bike mentors and get help with advertising and program development will be on Tuesday, July 22, at the Charlottesville Community Design Center (100 5th St NE, Charlottesville) at 7:00pm. Come out and help more people to get comfortable bicycling in our community!

An interesting sighting on my commute

I probably ride my bike to work 4 out of 5 days a week from Locust Grove to the UVA Hospital to the construction site on work at. Same route every day, but it seems there are always different things happening. On the beautiful morning yesterday 7/10/08, I happened to have my camera and snapped a few pics of this hot air balloon, which I see on a regular basis.

The pictures don't quite do it justice, it seemed a lot closer at the time!

I thought it was going to clip some trees!

Unfortunately, a little further down the road Locust Ave was closed off because two large trees had fallen the night before at Martha Jeff and took down some power lines.

carry me to the...

ahhhh....pegs!!

who could resist asking for a ride when one of your friends has a ride like this? i know that everyone has (recently) seriously considered riding on your firend's handlebars or that "i'll sit on the seat, and you stand up and pedal" thing. But when you know folk who hook it up with a sweet set of pegs, you can piggy back in style and comfort!

and check out that rockin' basket up front!

-kyle

Write is right

Commuting? Riding to the store? Hate traffic? Love your ride? hate your ride? Got a photo? did you hit roadkill?

LETS HEAR IT!

POST. and pass it on.

dreaming of awesome

i was in Boston last week and stoped by the IF shop to check it out. you wouldn't believe the amount of amazing bikes there but, this it the one that stuck out the most. IF's Coffee Shop bike!! it was made as their commemorative 10th anniversary bike but, quickly found it self pulling coffee duty. everyone at the shop jumps at a chance to push it's pedals, and break in that brooks a little more.

it's got dried up coffee on it, and plenty of wear from "parking." Aahhhhh.....sounds perfect!

cold one

Dave Tevendale, your mobile charlottesville bike mechanic, and Nolan, your local tuff man, take a few to help re-assemble a rear derailleur, so this guy can ride to the store to buy a frosty late morning/early afternoon beverage.

this was during the, now, second annual Rivanna Trail circumnavigation ride. the ride moved at a blistering pace, for an average of 5 MPH. also included were a few flats, a Bodos break, 7eleven stop, a little back tracking, and a killer BBQ at James and Johanna's.

Seen this one?

Bike rack at McGuffey Park.

go to work early, work until the sun is almost down, then walk around McGuffy park. this rack will make you jump out of your pants.

it's good.

Ride to Work, Work to Ride.

a few days ago i was trying to come up with reasons to give my employer to offer incentives for folk who ride into work. i started scanning the web and i came across this. http://www.bv.com.au/file/file/RTW/BICY%20-%20Cycle-Fndly%20Workplaces_v12.pdf
it's basically a presentation on bike commuting benefits, for employee, and employer. it outlines necessities, accommodations, and rewards really well. Since i shared this with everyone at work, 3 other people have joined in on riding to work. now a coworker and i meet up three times a week to ride in together.

-kyle