Recently, I discovered the world of railroad velocipedes -- bicycles that ride the rails.
What led me there was a TV reality show, "American Pickers." One of the buyers is Mike Wolfe, a bicycle enthusiast who occasionally dredges up vintage bikes; I guess that's what originally drew my interest.
Recently, he dragged a vintage railroad handcar out of a building. It was a 100-year-old one-person machine used to inspect the railroad tracks.
It occurred to me that this might be a cool way to travel on some abandoned railways that hadn't been converted to rail-to-trail bike paths. .... more»
Time-lapse photography demonstrates the life-expectancy of a bicycle on a New York City street -- about 270 days.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised it lasted that long.
The demise of the bicycle locked up in the Soho district by the staff at design company Red Peak doesn't start until about 180 days into the experiment when the water bottle disappears.
By now, just two days before the New Year, the interest in the top stories for 2011 at this blog must be reaching a fever pitch.
While many other blogs already have divulged their top stories, I've been holding back until I show my hand.
Unfortunately, my site stat database only shows month-by-month results. Since I'm too lazy to add them up, here is a monthly look at the stories blog readers found most interesting this year. [Photo above from 2011 Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic.]
January
"Computer snafu ties up registration for Cascade Bicycle Club." Unfortunately, this story was updated so many times ... more»
The Christmas tree lights already are shining in many town squares, but I was glad to see at least one city is using bicycle-power to keep its árbol de Navidad illuminated.
The warmth generated at the Mexican city park might not come from the Christmas lights on the tree, but the 15 volunteers who are pedaling at its base.
Visitors are pedaling to keep the tree lit in the city of Puebla, which is hosting a "Sustainable Christmas" fair this year.
The bicycles are attached to generators that charge two batteries .... more»
A kid with a fishing pole riding a bicycle is an iconic American image. It's so vivid in my mind's eye that I was surprised there was no such illustration in the Norman Rockwell database.
But the bicycle can be used for hunting, too. I'm not into hunting so it never occurred to me, but if you use a bicycle for transportation, there's no reason you can't use one to get closer to your prey.
It's easy to see why. Who hasn't surprised wildlife along the trail? This fall I surprised some turkeys on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail in eastern Washington, and I've scared up browsing deer.
A Corning (CA) Observer reader asked recently whether it was legal to hunt from a bicycle .... more»
Time marches on, pedal stroke by pedal stroke. In a few days, your bicycle calendar will be woefully out of date.
Here are a few suggestions for calendars that you might not mind seeing every day in 2012.
The women's bicycling gang "The Belle Starrs" is entering the calendar madness in 2012 with its "Safety is Sexy: Your 2012 pin-up is a guide to ride." Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, the bicyclists are raising money for their club as well as a local charity. That's Stacy Schroeder on the cover, with other members featured inside.
This is probably the last thing this guy expected to happen when he zipped up his jersey and snapped on his helmet for a mountain bike race in South Africa recently.
According to Wikipedia, there are 130,000 Red Hartebeests living in southern Africa. Evan van der Spuy of Team Jeep South Africa met one of them.
Travis Walker caught the collision while filming the action at the ... more»
Sipping my favorite beverage and watching the latest Ken Burns documentary on PBS -- "Prohibition" -- I couldn't help thinking about what a compelling piece he could create about the bicycle.
Having seen many of his previous documentaries, such as "The Civil War," "Baseball," "Lewis & Clark," "The National Parks" and "Jazz," it seems that many of the same themes he examined in those works would be available with the bicycle.
For starters, bicycling erupted into a craze in the U.S. almost as soon as the first velocipedes began arriving on our shores .... more»
Here's a photo of Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn riding their bicycles one day in Santa Monica.
It's kind of comforting to know that such celebrities as the daughter and mother actresses enjoy heading out for a bicycle ride, even in apparently inclement weather.
Canada's Province website has a long list of celebrities (nearly 100) riding their bicycles accompanied by their photos. Richard Masoner over at the Cyclelicious blog runs a regular feature of "(Famous person) rides a bicycle."
My only problem with looking at images of "stars" riding bicycles is that it's hard to tell who is really out for a bike ride, and who is out for a photo op.
I also suffer the added difficulty of not really recognizing some of the celebrities ... more»
Miss Ohio 2011 has swapped her tiara for a bicycle helmet as she makes her way around her home state on a charity bicycle tour.
Ellen Bryan is in the midst of a 850-mile, 27-day bike tour she undertook to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals of Ohio.
Apparently she never spent much time on a bicycle and is struggling a bit in the hilly parts of the state, but she's doing the miles whether she rides or walks.
Ellen said that as an intern at a TV station ... more»
What's the newest definition of a slow news day in Oklahoma City?
Sending a reporter out to do a story on a bicycle that's been abandoned for a year. Channel 4 did just that on Monday.
As a bicycle nut, I'll admit to noticing locked up bicycles that have been sitting around my neighborhood for a few days. I didn't think the general public would notice, though, or care.
Usually the bikes sit around near a bus stop for a few weeks then disappear.... more»
My son is heading to China for his fall semester and I stumbled across some information about getting around by bicycle in Beijing in his student handbook.
The book says bikes are still very useful for going short distances in the cities. They're not expensive and "if you plan to stay for more than a semester, it may be wise to invest in one."
That's apparently what a person who is selling her bike at TheBeijinger.com did. That bike is selling for 350 yuan, about $50-$55. It comes with that sweet front basket decorated with the butterfly, above ... more»
Here's an interesting connection to ponder the next time you remove your bicycle pedals to box up your bike for air travel:
Either you already know or you'll soon learn that while the pedal on the right side is threaded normally, the pedal on the left side is threaded in reverse with left-hand threads.
So turning the right-side pedal bolt in a counter-clockwise motion will loosen it, but doing the same on the left side will further tighten it.
This wasn't done to confuse and confound home bike mechanics ..... more»
Here are three examples I've stumbled across recently that demonstrate how bicycles seem to attract clever schemes.
It stands to reason -- the bicycle has been considered the best invention in the last 200 years.
The city of Pleasanton, California, is employing microwave technology to sense bicyclists approaching several intersections in the town.
The "intersector" -- a microwave motion and presence detector -- can identify bicycles in traffic. It either extends or triggers a traffic light if a bicyclist is detected.
Cyclists in Pleasanton like the technology because they're not tempted to squeeze a yellow light or run a red light at an intersection .... more»
Recently, I discovered the world of railroad velocipedes -- bicycles that ride the rails.
A kid with a fishing pole riding a bicycle is an iconic American image. It's so vivid in my mind's eye that I was surprised there was no such illustration in the Norman Rockwell database. 
Time marches on, pedal stroke by pedal stroke. In a few days, your bicycle calendar will be woefully out of date. 
Miss Ohio 2011 has swapped her tiara for a bicycle helmet as she makes her way around her home state on a charity bicycle tour.
My son is heading to China for his fall semester and I stumbled across some information about getting around by bicycle in Beijing in his student handbook.
Here's an interesting connection to ponder the next time you remove your bicycle pedals to box up your bike for air travel: