Tonight: Critical Mass!

Posted on February 29, 2008 -- Edit Post
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woot


Damn good article on locking your bike

Posted on February 25, 2008 -- Edit Post
Filed Under Bike Kwak, In-the-news, Mechanical, Theft | Leave a Comment

http://quickrelease.tv/?p=327

Lock it or lose it

Or lock it and still lose it? With CTC cash I bought a bunch of expensive locks and watched two burly ‘bike thieves’ smash into them within seconds. But it’s possible to make life difficult for professional thieves: there are locking techniques that will make your precious harder to half-inch.

In short -

1.) Use the shortest U-Lock you can
2.) Lock it around the head tube (not the top tube) at the highest point of a rack.***
3.) Check on your bike off and on between pints at the bar. Locks don’t guarantee security – they buy you time.
4.) Thieves are looking for low hanging fruit – don’t be low hanging fruit.

***(They said bottom bracket in the article, but later they cautioned against locking close to the ground because thieves could use the ground as leverage as pictured above. So unless you’re hanging your bike upsidedown, I’m recommending headtube. If I’m wrong call me on it and detail why.)


Slow Sundayz – Lincoln Park

Posted on February 24, 2008 -- Edit Post
Filed Under Bike Kwak, Maps, Slow Sunday | 3 Comments

We may not be going as fast as .83 rides, but we’re covering similar territory.

Pictures tomorrow. Tonight shower, laundry, sleep.

Whole Album

No commentary this time. Sometimes the story tells itself.


Onward.


My first official .83 Thursday night ride.

Posted on February 22, 2008 -- Edit Post
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Narrative to follow later. Right now I need a shower and bed. Heres the friggin map though. Good ride.

Night


Cyclist hit, dragged and left

Posted on February 21, 2008 -- Edit Post
Filed Under Bike Kwak, In-the-news | 2 Comments

From The Seattle Times
Police looking for driver who hit and left bicyclist in Fircrest
By The Associated PressFIRCREST — Police are looking for a driver who hit a bike rider in Fircrest and stopped only long enough to drag her to the side of the road before leaving.

Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer says 66-year-old Sandy Johnston of University Place was hit about 5:30 a.m. Sunday as she was pedalling through an intersection.

She was found unconscious by a jogger. Paramedics took her to Tacoma General Hospital. Her daughter, Valerie Johnston of University Place, says she has multiple fractures and cuts.

A trail of blood at the scene indicates she and the bike were dragged out of the street.

Troyer says car parts at the scene apparently came off a maroon Mercedes-Benz.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to identify the driver.

Man, there isn’t anything good about this.


Velospace.org is indeed back up

Posted on February 21, 2008 -- Edit Post
Filed Under Bike Kwak, In-the-news | Leave a Comment

“Greg on February 21st, 2008 12:21 pm

After a rock week velospace is back up on a new host!

Thanks for keeping people informed”

Awesome, glad to hear it.

So, you heard it, Velospace.org is indeed back to stay. Go take a look.

Onward!


Ride Green Build Green – Interview with Elise Cope

Posted on February 19, 2008 -- Edit Post
Filed Under Bike Kwak, Events, In-the-news | 2 Comments

I had an opportunity to interview with Elise Cope, founder of Ride Green Build Green out of Seattle. What is RGBG? Well, as taken from the front page of their site:

“RGBG creates awareness, advocacy and raises money in support of green affordable housing. Biking from Seattle to San Francisco riders will volunteer at affordable housing projects with green initiatives and host awareness events as they pedal down the NW Pacific coast.”

SB: What is RGBG?

EC: Ride Green Build Green is a bike tour from Seattle to San Francisco in support of green affordable housing.

SB: Where (and when) does it start, where does it end, how long do you plan to take?

EC: We will start in Seattle, and end in San Fran, although specific locations therein are TBA. We will be riding for 1 month, which gives us wiggle room to stop and volunteer and promote affordable green housing.

SB: Who started it and why?

EC: I did, Elise Cope. I have been working with Habitat for Humanity, East King County for the past three years, building and supervising our Americorps team. In being exposed to the building industry I noticed some trends–there’s an ever growing need for affordable homes with our communities expanding as they are (this is a topic unto itself that could involve consumerism, capitalism, and racism, et. al, but we won’t go there.) Congruently there is an ever growing need for us to expand responsibly.

SB: Is it new?

EC: bran-spankin

SB: What are some of the things you’d like to accomplish with RGBG?

EC: To address the gap between affordably and sustainably built homes for your average joe or jane or family in America that simply wants a simple, decent and responsibly built home. Each rider will raise $2,000 to be donated to Habitat for Humanity East King County to build a LEED certified home. I hope for the ride to continue every year, each time donating to a different affordable housing org. I’m looking for people to take the initiative on in years to come so it continues to grow.

SB: I didn’t realize there was actual money being raised – then this is more than “just” a ride to raise awareness like Critical Mass. How will riders raise the money? Find donors to pay for each mile ridden…?

EC: Yes Yes… riders will raise the money through personal fundraising as well as group efforts. Currently in the works: benefit shows, t-shirt sales, mass emails. There are lots of creative ways, such as having donors pay for each mile and hosting special events that riders can enact to raise their share. I was also surprised to find a great deal of resources online for giving riders quirky ideas on how to raise money. We have a googles group account that we all use to share this information with eachother.

SB: Is this the first time you’ve done the ride? Seems ambitious for a first run. Estimates on turnout?

EC: This is my first time doing such a ride, let alone organizing it and I’m really excited about such an ambitious challenge. It’s a bit unreasonable and that ruffles my feathers. There are others participating that have biked across the country before–some that commute on their bikes every day– some that ride every other weekend.

SB: What makes it unreasonable? What kind of challenges are you facing putting it on?

EC: I have never done such a ride before, let alone organize it! Also half of the current riders have never riden more than 20 miles in a day. Often there is this little committee inside your little brain that can tally all sorts of excuses for not doing something. It seems RGBG participants are interested in a real challenge at the level of self, and community.

One of the biggest challenges so far is negotiating through all the info and opinions there are about long bike tours. There are so many ways to go about it! There is so much networking, spreading the word and resourcing to be done, that just takes time.

SB: I know the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride costs around $80 to attend – and this covers misc operational costs like food, water, fuel, medical, etc… What is the participation fee for this? A flat rate and a donor sheet?

EC: There is no cost for riders to participate, other than their bike, and whatever they have to do with their lives to accommodate being gone for 1 month. We plan to have all operational costs covered through sponsorship. We are currently looking for sponsors.

SB: Can anyone participate?

EC: I encourage ANYONE to participate, even if they have never been on a bike before. We have the resources and a diverse enough crowd to have patience with novice and beginner bikers alike.

SB: Can you talk a little more about that? What are some of the resources you do have at hand? Is this a sleep under the stars sort of event? Food?

EC: Some of the participants have biked across the country before or have connections to the biking community to support us, answer questions, and provide guidance on training, bikes, and fund raising. We plan to have some “experts” speak at meetings. As we ride, we will be supported by community centers, environmental orgs and churches that will help feed us and rest our heads.

SB: Any tips for people who want to go?

EC: Those that want to participate should come to a rider meeting. They can email rgbgseattle@gmail.com to get on the mailing list, or check out our website for meeting updates www.ridegreenbuildgreen.org

SB: How do you get back home once you finish the ride?

That’s up to the individual. I’m going to fly home. Some will take the bus. Sounds like some might have plans to go to burning man afterwards.

SB: Whats your favorite bike? Is that the bike you’ll be taking on the
pilgrimage?

EC: My favorite bike is my current bike– a teal miada, japanese road bike- i think from the late 80′s. Sometimes I feel as if it’s by best friend.

YT: Do you eat your cereal with a big spoon or a little spoon?

EC: both actually. depend on how ravenous I am feeling.

Visit their site ridegreenbuildgreen.org or their blog rgbg.blogspot.com for current and up-to-date happenings.

Good luck to Elise and crew!

Onward!


Long ride – another Slow Sundayz

Posted on February 18, 2008 -- Edit Post
Filed Under Bike Kwak, Maps, Slow Sunday | 12 Comments

More to follow but heres the route for todays ride:

Roll call – Yeyo, Meg, Kat, Nova, Jay, Ben, Jeff, Chunter, Suzanne, Aden, Andy, yours truly.

Out to Mercer Island – from there to Georgetown, and then back to Capitol Hill for a hippie house party with a band called Maple Rabbit, and then home. I’m pretty tuckered out.

Onward.

Edit: its later and I don’t really have a lot to add to the above narrative. I talk too much anyhow. Well heres the obligatory photo blog. Enjoy.

WHOLE ALBUM

Everyone went inside to stock up on bicycling materials for the day.

Andy and Jeff contemplate their fate

Bike Lock – Check
Rain Slicker – Check
Water Bottle – Check
Commie Manifesto – Check
Half rack of PBR – Check
Note: Next time I’m making room for fried chicken...

These are of course my standard fumble-for-expensive-crappy-camera-through-bike-gloves -pop-shots-one-handed-like-I-know-what-I’m-doing-and-hope-to-god-I-don’t-crash-and- fumble-for-a-pocket-and-hope-the-camera-goes-back-where-its-supposed-to-and-not -crashing-into-the-concrete-wouldn’t-it-suck-if-I-had-to-buy-this-crappy-camera-twice awesome action shots of a most beautiful bike ride across the bridge.

…till we got to the park on Mercer Island where sushi and PBR was consumed.

From left to right: Jeff, Ben Andy, Aden, Kat, J(ay?), Suzanne, Chunts, Yeyo, – below is Meg in the yellow shirt, not pictured: Nova

!!!!!!!!! J !!!!!!!!
wadda bitchass. =)

Question: And how many Slow Sundayz rides have an Abu Ghraib moment?

Answer: All of them.

Pictured: Nova and Adens butt
(This was not my idea, someone (probably J) has a better picture than this on her phone – sorry Aden =) )

Afterwards we were off to Georgetown where we were greeted with…

(Ben)

(Andy)

…the destruction of Georgetown. Too bad it looks so friggin cool. I’m sure some really great condos will go in here in short order. Jerks.

And thats the end of the picture taking. After that we went into the 9lb Hammer, killed a few pitchers and wandered back up Capitol Hill well after dark. Big props to Andy who I conned into coming out, and conned again to coming further still to Georgetown. That guy was a good sport with that crappy hotel loaner bike and its couch like seat. I know he was sore (aka incapacitated on pain killers) the next day but he wanted me to pass along what a good time he had. Welcome to Jeff who was brand new and stumbled across the ride. Welcome Meg who would later detonate her freewheel mid ride at the bottom of 12th and Jackson. It was really nice to meet you all and hope we didn’t scare you off.

Onward!


Man

Posted on February 16, 2008 -- Edit Post
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Its a nice day for a ride!


Thanks!

Posted on February 13, 2008 -- Edit Post
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By the way, whomever took the time and donated their seat cover to my Brooks saddle on Sunday night when it started raining and we were inside eating – thank you.

That was very nice of you.


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