Marta Blocking The Path

On my commute home in the cold, windy, and rainy weather; I was almost home when I run into 2 Marta maintenance vans blocking up the PATH.  This isn't the first time Marta maintenance vans have blocked the PATH.  Does the PATH foundation know about it?
Is this really necessary?  There is a Marta driveway about 100 feet West of the entrance fence that they could have parked in but yet time and time again the maintenance vans block the PATH.

Riders In The Rain

Even with the rain, people are still riding.

Monday Commute

It was cold, windy and wet.

Hillarious 3

Hillarious 3 has come and gone.  In my experience it was the hardest time I have ever had on a bike.  The cramps settled in and would not relent.  For those who are not familiar with the Hillarious ride, it is Atlanta's take on the Dirty Dozen ride in Pittsburgh.  It happens the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  It is a fun challenging ride.  If you ever have a chance to ride it, start planning for it in 2011.
No pics yet of my suffering.

Bandit Cross

Why not something like this in Atlanta...

See more from the Bike Jerks blog here.

NYC Share The Street

Hal Grades Your Bike Locking

Bombing Broadway NYC

Broadway Bombing 2010 from crihs on Vimeo.
Why not Peachtree St from Buckhead to 5 Points and maybe beyond?

DIY Tool Pouches

I like DIY.  This is one of the easiest tool pouches you can make.  I don't have step by step pictures but you'll get the idea.  While riding, every once in a while I'll see a backpack getting thrown away.  Usually it's the ones with wheels and a handle with the handle or wheel broken off.

With a pair of scissors, I cut out the small pouch from the backpack and simple enough, I have a zippered tool pouch.  The first pic is the tool pouch I use and it's contents.  There's room for more if needed.  I had recently found another backpack and cut out another tool pouch, second pic.

If someone really wanted to, they can sew belt loops and make a quick hip sack.  Here's a DIY hip pouch from lockedcog.com.

In the future if I find another backpack, I will actually put together step by step instructions.  Till then DIY Rocks!

Turds For Gold - My Story

I have been meaning to write something about how awesome Chrome is so this is a little late.
Chrome held a promotion called Turds For Gold.  Send them a pair of ratty shoes and they will send a new pair of Chromes.  So I did and that begins a whole story.

Let's Get Visible

Bike Lock

Winter Bike League

What is it?
The Winter Bike League is a series of winter training rides that take place in Athens, Georgia during December, January and February. These Events take place every Saturday and start at Sunshine Cycles at 10 a.m.  Rides are ridden at a steady tempo and there is no attacking (until the Attack Zone- see below). These rides are designed to be smooth and steady. We ride double or single file AT ALL TIMES. WE NEVER ALLOW YELLOW LINE VIOLATIONS AT ANY TIMES FOR ANY REASONS. We have the best structured training ride series on the planet. There is NO ENTRY FEE. Just show up with your bike (and a few essentials listed below) and ride. We do not have many rules, and if you will follow the guidelines below, you will have a successful WBL ride.
Read the guidelines and more here.

Bike Lanes In Decatur

Home Bike Shop

Found this interesting article online on www.mtnbikeriders.com, if you don’t want a whole shop, just go to your LBS or SoPo.

So you want to build your own “bike shop” in the garage?

Posted by RL Policar On November - 16 – 2010

I’m not necessarily speaking in terms of selling bicycles out of your garage, but a place where you can wrench on your own bike and perhaps a few of your friend’s bikes. For those that have been to my tornado torn garage, they’ll know that I’ve got a pretty messy set up, but it works for me. Here’s a few tips to help you create your own repair shop.

Read on here.

ABC Fall Quarterly Bike Train

Led an ABC bike train this morning from Oakhurst to work. Catching the PM bike train from the ABC offices at 5:15pm.
The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition puts together quarterly bike trains.  It's great fun.  It's a chance to meet other commuters and give new commuters a chance to try bike commuting to work.
Today was a perfect day, not too hot and not too cold.  The last quarterly bike train was a rain-fest which I discovered how to properly dry your clothes while at work.

The Puzzle - Saturday 11/20/10

Am I a hipster?

Essay from the NY Times...

The Hipster in the Mirror

By MARK GREIF

Published: November 12, 2010

A  year ago, my colleagues and I started to investigate the contemporary hipster. What was the “hipster,” and what did it mean to be one? It was a puzzle. No one, it seemed, thought of himself as a hipster, and when someone called you a hipster, the term was an insult. Paradoxically, those who used the insult were themselves often said to resemble hipsters — they wore the skinny jeans and big eyeglasses, gathered in tiny enclaves in big cities, and looked down on mainstream fashions and “tourists.” Most puzzling was how rattled sensible, down-to-earth people became when we posed hipster-themed questions. When we announced a public debate on hipsterism, I received e-mail messages both furious and plaintive. Normally inquisitive people protested that there could be no answer and no definition. Maybe hipsters didn’t exist! The responses were more impassioned than those we’d had in our discussions on health care, young conservatives and feminism. And perfectly blameless individuals began flagellating themselves: “Am I a hipster?”

Read on here.

Cat 6

I guess I am a Cat 6 rider also...

Cat 6: Competitive Commuting Turns Bike Rides into Races 

November 9, 2010 • 9:00 am PST

Every day in New York City, young cyclists—fueled by gender battles, competitiveness, and good old-fashioned fun—race each other to work. Welcome to the world of cat-6 racing.

Cyclists have a joke about “racing in cat 6,” which, despite the name, is not exactly a race nor does it refer to an official category of cyclists. Cat 6 refers to commuter cyclists, and racing each other to work is their sport. Also called "the great commuter race" and "hipster racing," cat-6 racing is the unspoken urban tradition of trying to go faster than, and not get passed by, a stranger on your bike.

Read more here.

A Day In The Life (for a bike messenger)

Southern Discomfort

Bicyclists Just Want to Have Fun

Bicyclists Just Want to Have Fun
 

Martinis & IMAX®
at Fernbank Museum of Natural History
767 Clifton Rd, NE
Atlanta, GA 

Date: Friday, November 12, 2010
Time: Cocktails at 6:30 pm;
          Grand Canyon Adventure movie at 8:00 pm.
Cost: $7 to enter museum for cocktails only,
          $10 for entrance and the movie.
          Cocktail hour is a cash bar and food is extra.

Visit www.fernbankmuseum.org for more information.

With special pricing from Fernbank, come out and mingle with members of Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG), Southern Bicycle League (SBL), PATH Foundation, Metro Atlanta Cycling Club (MACC), Atlanta Bicycle Coalition (ABC), North Atlanta Riding Club (NARC), plus many others

Offer valid November 12, 2010 only with code: Cycle-M&I - $2. May not be combined with any other discount or offer. Seating is limited. Advanced reservations are recommended. Please call 404-929-6400.

Classic Bianchi

 

What I first noticed was the head tube badge.  It was an intricate badge but I didn't realize it was a Bianchi.  Those bars were stock and a thing of beauty.  Even the bell gets treated with the same intricate badge detail.  I believe the owner said it was a Bianchi Sportster from the 70's with mostly all original parts.  The phone cam didn't do the photo justice.

Paul Frank Monkey DJ from Bell

Photo: © James Huang

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