Showing posts with label bicycle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bicycle. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Monday, May 11, 2026
Saturday, May 02, 2026
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Wednesday, April 08, 2026
Lucas Extreme of Poland began cycling from the Bay of Bengal on March 23 and is on his way to Everest, pedaling a vintage folding Polish bicycle called the Wigry 3
According to his website, he and his folding bicycle, with its plastic shopping basket attached to the rear, have already entered Nepal. His latest update reports that he was heading for Salleri, and then Lukla and the Khumbu Valley.
This will be a very modest expedition, probably the cheapest Everest expedition ever.
As with his previous expeditions, he won't even have a base camp pack for the mountain.
He will summit from the village of Gorak Shep, an hour away from base camp, and plans to finance his return ticket by selling his equipment in Nepal after the expedition
Saturday, March 28, 2026
New York had a 2,000-mile bicycle highway system by the year 1900, known as the sidepath system of the 1890s. By the 1920s, most sidepaths had been swallowed by widening roads, repurposed by railroads or overtaken by vegetation.
the State of New York under the Side Path Law / compiled by New York State Division, League of American Wheelmen ; drawn by Walter M. Meserole
https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/2587 for an interactive zoomable map
Charles Raymond, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute-trained engineer and founding member of the Lockport Wheelmen, with a radical yet pragmatic idea: instead of waiting for expensive, politically contentious road reform, what if cyclists built their own dedicated paths alongside existing roads?
in 1892, when Niagara County cyclists raised private funds to construct one of the nation’s first purpose-built bicycle facilities: a 12-mile crushed-stone sidepath from Lockport to Olcott Beach on Lake Ontario. Far from a simple dirt track, the path incorporated thoughtful engineering, with graded surfaces for smooth riding, drainage ditches and culverts to manage water runoff, and carefully tested surfacing materials that proved durable under repeated use.
Recognizing that volunteer labor and private donations alone could not sustain expansion, Raymond took an unprecedented step: he drafted legislation. In 1896, New York State passed a law authorizing Niagara County to create a Sidepath Commission to raise funds by taxing bicycles to keep building out the network.
Other counties took note, and momentum accelerated with the statewide enabling legislation in 1899, signed by Gov. Theodore Roosevelt, which created the first statewide framework for dedicated bicycle infrastructure in the United States.
The New York cities of Rochester and Niagara, as well as Minnesota’s Minneapolis and St. Paul, each built hundreds of miles of these hard-surfaced paths.
Sidepaths multiplied county by county, growing from short recreational segments into connected regional corridors. Cyclists paid small annual fees for sidepath licenses, creating a dedicated, if ultimately fragile, funding stream. Engineering standards spread rapidly, construction costs dropped through economies of scale and counties competed enthusiastically to report new mileage at annual conventions.
By 1901, New York State boasted more than 2,000 miles of sidepaths, the most extensive bicycle path network in the nation.
Riders could travel from village streets to rural highways, from industrial towns to scenic destinations and, remarkably, from Brooklyn all the way to Niagara Falls on nearly continuous bicycle infrastructure
https://www.railstotrails.org/trailblog/history-happened-here-sidepaths-and-the-persistent-dreams-of-trail-building/https://bikebattles.net/2018/01/finding-sidepaths/ includes PDFs of Sidepaths magazine
Sidepaths multiplied county by county, growing from short recreational segments into connected regional corridors. Cyclists paid small annual fees for sidepath licenses, creating a dedicated, if ultimately fragile, funding stream. Engineering standards spread rapidly, construction costs dropped through economies of scale and counties competed enthusiastically to report new mileage at annual conventions.
By 1901, New York State boasted more than 2,000 miles of sidepaths, the most extensive bicycle path network in the nation.
Riders could travel from village streets to rural highways, from industrial towns to scenic destinations and, remarkably, from Brooklyn all the way to Niagara Falls on nearly continuous bicycle infrastructure
six issues of the Sidepaths magazine: from volume 3 (1900), numbers 22, 23, and 24, and from volume 4 (1901), numbers 2, 3, and 4 are known to exist.
These issues are collected in the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters library, under call number GV1040 .S53 1901.
1901 issue of Good Roads remarked of side paths: "The cycle paths of Albany, Rochester, Minneapolis, Seattle and Spokane have done more to keep alive the fraternal feeling among cyclists and to boom the bicycle trade in those cities than any other issue elsewhere."
Of course, you know how this turns out. The dawn of the motor age quickly arrived. Bicycles, as well as trolleys, were overtaken. And the side path law was repealed.
As with any fad, interest in bicycling for the general public began to decline and by 1903 there was no longer enough money for repair and maintenance from sales of side path badges.
A 1917 edition of that Albany guide book -- the one that had reported thousands of bicycles in Albany in 1900 -- said of the city's once multiple bicycle clubs: "These all now are practically out of existence."
A 1917 edition of that Albany guide book -- the one that had reported thousands of bicycles in Albany in 1900 -- said of the city's once multiple bicycle clubs: "These all now are practically out of existence."
By 1964, Secretary Stewart Udall’s Department of the Interior was promoting trails, paths, lanes and routes under that catch-all term. The next year, Udall commissioned the study that would eventually produce the Trails for America report, calling for new hiking trails and bikeways. “To avoid crossing motor vehicle traffic,” said the report, “bikeways would be located along landscaped shoulder areas on frontage roads next to freeways and expressways, along shorelines, and on abandoned railroad rights-of-way,” or “along quiet back streets and alleys.” It was a fine idea, but there wasn’t a lot of federal money available. While some bikeways were built, it wasn’t until later decades that “rail-trails” emerged out of the list of suggested bikeway locations as the more successful model.
Monday, March 02, 2026
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
a meteorite the size of a Christmas turkey broke up over a small village 60 years ago, the largest meteorite to hit the UK, was on Christmas Eve 1965. A kid found a 3 pound piece of it, and sold it to buy a 10-speed Raleigh racing bike
When a meteorite the size of a Christmas turkey broke up over a small British village 60 years ago, David Radford was a teenager who had a second-hand bike.
This changed after he found a fragment of the meteorite when he was playing with friends at a park. His foot fell down a hole, and he found the 4.5 billion-year-old piece of space rock.
A week later, there was a knock at David's front door. The late British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, and an official from one of the museums in London
After the two visitors confirmed it was a meteorite, the museum official asked if they could buy it from him.
He said he was given 530 dollars when adjusted for inflation, as the going rate was a dollar per ounce of meteorite.
"I was wanting a new bicycle, and I'd got the family hand-me-down, so I wanted to replace that," David said.
He bought a 10-speed Raleigh racing bike, but said his mother made him set up a bank account with the remaining money.
After the two visitors confirmed it was a meteorite, the museum official asked if they could buy it from him.
He said he was given 530 dollars when adjusted for inflation, as the going rate was a dollar per ounce of meteorite.
"I was wanting a new bicycle, and I'd got the family hand-me-down, so I wanted to replace that," David said.
He bought a 10-speed Raleigh racing bike, but said his mother made him set up a bank account with the remaining money.
Sunday, December 14, 2025
hmmmm, designed for time trial racing, the Battaglin Piranha featured a large, fully solid and bulged front disc wheel, created to minimize aerodynamic drag.
During road testing, Roberto Visentini gained 3 seconds per kilometer compared to his regular time-trial bike.
The plan was to use the Piranha in the prologue of the 1985 Giro d’Italia—until the UCI banned the bike, stating that it gave an “unfair advantage.”
The result: the Piranha never raced.
Saturday, December 13, 2025
Monday, December 08, 2025
about three years ago, Stephen Arthur, a full time IT specialist in Brooklyn, started biking with the goal of cycling every accessible street in New York, he's completed 97.4% of NYC streets — 6,446.3 miles out of 6,618
I asked him some questions I thought we'd like to know the answers to, here's his reply!
Tell me about the goal, of cycling every accessible street in New York
I never woke up one day, and said, you know, I am going to bicycle all the streets in NYC and make a project out of it. So I never had that kind of plan in mind when I started. The process just unfolded spontaneously, day by day.
Around 3/2023, after I discovered Wandrer, I wanted to only complete Brooklyn and Manhattan, but I never thought it would go this far.
In fact, over this past summer, I was thinking I might not make 99% (the highest bonus level on Wandrer) of NYC completed, because there are so many off road trails in Staten Island (91%+ completed), that is when I flipped to the Bronx (93%- completed). Now I am feeling much more confident I could reach the 99% level for NYC as a whole.
Since I appear to be the first person to accomplish this feat, I want to claim it for all the effort I put into it. I predict I will finish by March 2026 at the latest. But the last few percent are also the hardest miles to get, and I will not settle for less than 99% of NYC as a whole.
In the 4–5 years of effort, what did you see?
Honestly? Everything. Beautiful neighborhoods that rival Beverly Hills, all the way to blighted neighborhoods, and piles of used condoms in secluded parks
Amazing Italian, Irish, Jewish, African American, Caribbean, Hispanic (like every country in Latin American, not just Mexico or Puerto Rico), IndoPak, Middle Eastern, Russian and Polish neighborhoods with all of the delicious ethnic food you could want.
Bridges, canals, dead-end industrial roads, waterfronts, cemeteries, sunken neighborhoods, beaches, and many more bike lanes in places I would never have expected them if I did not visit
Fires, emergency scenes, bizarre street encounters, weather swings, protests, fistfights, street fairs, parades
Streets that literally felt like mini-museums of NYC history You name it — if it exists in the five boroughs, I’ve probably ridden past it.
Advice for cyclists?
* Take the lane
* Don't get distracted by wearing headphones and listening to music, it's not worth it, stay focused on the road
* Always wear a helmet
* Always wear a high vis vest
* In most places in NYC, you don't need strong lights at night, there are so many street lights in the city, but you should always have front white and rear red lights instead of none.
* No one is going to come up and mug you in the City on a bicycle, even at night, it has never happened to me before, just keep moving if something freaks you out
* Find at least one or two bike shops you can trust, otherwise learn how to fix a bike on your own.
* Being able to replace or patch a flat tube is an essential skill, carry two tubes with you, a complete patch kit, some tire levers, and a pump with you, especially if you are biking alone
* Unless you are doing something completely reckless, no good cop is going to give you a ticket for a moving violation. Most the time they do that sort of thing after someone has been killed, to look like they are doing something for street safety
On the other hand, always keep your eyes out for the police, you never know when they might strike
* Be aware of the road in general, 9 times out of 10, yield the right of way to pedestrians
1 time out of 2, yield the right of way to motorists
* Don't yell at people on the street, unless they do something outrageous, or if they yell at you first, for something silly
* When you make a mistake, apologize sincerely, and move on. We all make mistakes at one time or another
* Being an efficient cyclist is not the same as being a jerk cyclist.
* Don't speed through crosswalks filled with pedestrians
* Strongly preferred, when passing a pedestrian, pass on their back side, so that they can continue on a forward motion
* As alert as you are, you are always going to hit a pothole at some point, so have your body prepared for that event, so that you don't lose balance.
* There is a balance between relaxing and being tense on a bicycle, it is something you need to learn
* If you are involved in any kind of crash, call 911 immediately
* If you are in a minor to moderate crash alone, and an ambulance comes, and they won't take your bike, and you don't have any locks, don't abandon your bike, you can always go to urgent care
* Make sure a police report is taken for any crash where you call 911
* The personality of a bike shop is not as important as the quality of their repairs.
It is worth it to pay for a high quality bike repair if you can afford it instead of going back to the shop multiple times, to see if they can fix it properly
* Always fight your tickets, except for the most outrageous cyclist behavior, it is a misappropriation of police resources to ticket a cyclist, and should not be a police priority at all.
* Don't be scared, pay attention to the road. You are the best judge and caretaker of your own safety.
* Don't get too angry at ebikers, they are increasing the need for the city to build more infrastructure, even though many of them can act like jerks.
* If a motorist yields right of way to you, thank them either by waving to them, or nodding your head. Not all motorists are your enemy, and most are responsible, respectful people and should be courted.
Favorite bike shop?
Sanba and Ride Brooklyn are my two main shops for repairs both nearby in Brooklyn
What bike and gear did you use?
I currently mostly ride a 25 year blue old steel-frame Bianchi Brava road bike (my second one), entry level in its day, practical for NYC riding.
I currently mostly ride a 25 year blue old steel-frame Bianchi Brava road bike (my second one), entry level in its day, practical for NYC riding.
The first Brava I owned was destroyed during a hit and run after 22.5 years of riding in 6/2021, maybe 100,000 miles? Can't know for sure as I only started using Strava regularly in 2017. Fortunately, I was able to find another Brava, same color on Craig's List from a legit seller. Funny thing is, I think the Brava was marketed as a women's bike, and I am a man! Normal shoes when going into work, clip-ins on weekends. Durable wheels and tires that can handle potholes and debris respectively. I don't wear too much bike specific clothing besides shoes, and a cycling hat I wear under my helmet, I never wear tight spandex padded biker shorts. I like baggy, and breathable. Quick dry for long rides, and summer, not cotton. I am not a racer so comfort is at a premium for me.
What would you do differently?
What would you do differently?
I would have recorded my rides on Strava a lot earlier. I think I started with the app in 2013, but didn't get serious with it until 2017. I would have liked to have had those rides recorded. I am not sure when Wandrer started, but I would have liked to have that earlier too. I would have never owned a car.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/fitness/the-biking-workout-that-hit-10-000-miles-in-a-year-11608980447
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
I am about to unleash on you, a piece of bicycle trivia, that probably none of you have EVER heard of
The annual spring "Panty Raid" by the Notre Dame boys was symbolized by the raising of a bike up the flagpole. The University of Michigan created this college prank in 1952...
You did NOT see that coming!
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Saturday, October 18, 2025
the ingenuity utilized during “The Depression”, to keep tires in use once they had blown. Kids would use oats or cottonseed in bicycle tires because they couldn't afford inner tubes during the depression too, and soak them in water to swell the material
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10233927740107755&set=a.1590567076712
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Awwww , this is the cutest thing I think we'll see all month
It even has a windscreen on the handlebars!
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
A modified electric assisted pedal cycle with that can reach 80mph has been seized in Sunderland (a port city in England) because the pearl clutching old maids there are freaked out at anything over 15 mph. Yes, they passed a law
Monday, August 11, 2025
Update, to the post on the art of Mateusz Urbanowicz Tokyo Storefronts
When you take the loose cover off, (Left) you get the (very clever) architecture under the paint, tiles, and color
and the cover when removed and opened, has the map inside of where these storefronts are located
this one store front is a cargo business, and that's a forklift in the front
this cool bike shop used to sell motorcycles, but the bike symbol up top is very cool!
even this one shop, under a bridge. It's known as Radio Garden, but, I think it's the same as Radio Shack
and there are 3 businesses, that he even details the inside of
I was so impressed with the art, I looked around for the least expensive copy online, and this one, is in Chinese and English.
Wednesday, August 06, 2025
I'm guessing most of you, like me, have heard of the Stirling engine. Hell, some of you are probably familiar with the historic thing, I only recall that I'd once been taught about it in nuke power school. Patented in 1816
Tom Stanton, an aerospace engineer, has crafted a bicycle powered by a Stirling engine, a technology that was patented in 1816
Unlike conventional engines that rely on gasoline or batteries, this bike runs solely on heat. The bike can produce 100 to 150 watts, allowing it to move at 15 mph on flat terrain.
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