Biking Bis - Bicycle Touring and More

Balance, grace and skill on a bicycle -- artistic cycling

Gene Bisbee — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:25:23 -0800

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As someone who is challenged by a track stand at a stoplight or a bunny hop over a stick in the road, I was astounded by the wonderful performances of the artistic bicyclists from Germany at Saturday's Seattle Bicycle Expo.

If synchronized swimming can be an Olympic sport, so should this. In fact, artistic cycling is a popular UCI-licensed sport in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

The Cascade Bicycle Club brought the reigning World Champion in single artistic women, Corrina Hein, to Seattle for the expo, along with leading men's pair competitors Stefan Musu and Lukas Matla.

The UCI competitions ...

BC councilman struck by car while riding his bike

Gene Bisbee — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0800

Just as Colorado's Gov. Bill Ritter gets back to work about a week after suffering a bicycle crash, a city councilman in Vancouver, British Columbia, has been struck by a car while training for an upcoming charity bicycle ride.

Vancouver Councillor Geogg Meggs will require surgery to repair separated vertabrae in his neck.

Meggs is a bicycling supporter in one of Canada's most bicycle friendly cities. The city supported use of bicycles during the 2010 Olympics last month. Meggs, in fact, was expected to attend a ceremony for a new two-way bike lane that he pushed for on a local viaduct ...

David Herlihy tracks "The Lost Cyclist"

Gene Bisbee — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:22:39 -0800

Bicycle historian David V. Herlihy has wrapped up another book, "The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and his Mysterious Disappearance."

You probably remember Herlihy's previous work, "Bicycle: The History." That heavily researched and interesting book recounted not only the technological advances of the bicycle from the draisine to modern times, but also told us about pioneers in the field and the social impact of two-wheeled travel.

In his latest effort, Herlihy examines the around-the-world bicycle journey of bike racer Frank Lenz of Pittsburgh (that's Lenz at right in India in 1893).

Setting off in 1892 aboard a "safety bicycle" with inflatable tires, Lenz traveled the globe for two years before disappearing forever in Turkey.

In an email, I asked Herlihy why he chose ....

Colorado's bicycling Guv not the first to hit the pavement

Gene Bisbee — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:41:08 -0800

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter joined a special club on Tuesday -- "Pols Who Love to Ride Bikes and Have the Abrasions, Contussions and Fractures to Prove It."

Members include other governors, some mayors, and even a president.

Out riding with some friends Tuesday morning, Ritter apparently touched wheels with the bicyclist in front of him and crashed to the pavement.

Spokesman Evan Dreyer said the governor bumped his head as well, but was wearing a helmet. He spent several nights in the hospita for treatment of the broken ribs and previously undisclosed separated shoulder.

We're glad that Ritter is OK. He's been seen riding at the Elephant Rock Ride and has been talking to Lance Armstrong about reviving the Coors Classic.

But Ritter is just one in a long string of elected officials who have been injured in bicycle accidents ....

Bicycle promise an early indicator of bad marriage?

Gene Bisbee — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:12:16 -0800

We all know South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford as the guy who told his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when instead he was paying a visit to his Argentinian mistress.

Now his wife, Jenny Sanford, has published a book, "Staying True," that tells her life with the governor.

There's one odd episode involving a bike. Here it is as reported by a columnist for the Winter Haven (FL) News-Chief:

"On Jenny's first birthday after marriage, Mark made her a homemade card and drew half of a bicycle. She was perplexed; ...

When a bike ride becomes music; 'Eine Brise' in Los Angeles

Gene Bisbee — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:45:16 -0800

It might look and sound like it in the dark, but this isn't a video of the latest Critical Mass ride by bicyclists.

It's the Monday night performance of a musical composition outside Zipper Hall at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles.

The composition is "Eine Brise: Transient Action by 111 Cyclists" by the late Argentine composer Mauricio Kagel. It's a legit piece of music.

Translated as "A Breeze," the composition calls for the 111 bicycle riders to ride in an evenly spaced, choreographed 500-foot-long paceline between 1 to 3 cyclists across. At specific times they ring their bells, whistle, sing a high note, make a flutter-tongue sound and close with a whoosh. .....

Giving your old bicycle a new life

Gene Bisbee — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:59:43 -0800

Bicycles can make a difference to women who need transportation in far-flung rural towns in Africa.

That's why a nonprofit of professional women is making Bicycles for Humanity (B4H) Colorado the beneficiary of its fund-raising efforts this year.

Boulder, Colorado-based BoldeReach supports organizations that aid women and children in need around the world. B4H meets this mission for women by providing bicycles for transportation and employment in its community-based bike shops in Namibia.

Says B4H Colorado president Joshua Price:

“For people living on $2 per day ....

Long Island town can't get historic bike, in spite of $20K offer

Gene Bisbee — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0800

Back in 1899, Charles Minthron Murphy achieved the incredible feat of pedaling his bicycle one mile in a minute by drafting behind a speeding train.

He's probably lucky that he wasn't killed. Since he survived the ordeal, he forever after became known as "Mile-a-Minute" Murphy.

Now the Town of Babylon, on New York's Long Island, would like to commemorate the event that happened there by putting Murphy's track bicycle on display.

The problem is that the bicycle is in storage at the Springfield (Massachusetts) Museums and they won't relinquish it, not even for the offer of $20,000 from Babylon.

At the time, Murphy's feat put Babylon on the map and celebrated human achievement ....

Bicycles in the snow

Gene Bisbee — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:41:45 -0800

www.flickr.com

Snowmaggedon. Snopocalypse. No matter what they call it, snowstorms don't stop bicyclists from hitting the roads.

Here are some random images from the group "Bicycles in the Snow" at flickr.com. Some of the photos might be from the recent snowstorms that have crushed the Mid-Atlantic states the past few days, but most are from other times and places.

The photos remind us that bikes are always there in spite of the weather. They tell the story of how we use bicycles to commute to work and run errands through the slush, or just ride them to play in the snow.

The saddest tales are told by those bikes caught in the snow, left to rust under a snowbank or be mangled by a passing snowplow.

Click on the image to see a larger version or visit the group to see all 900-some photos. You also can submit your bike-in-the-snow picture there.

Montreal's BIXI wins bike-sharing contract in Minneapolis

Gene Bisbee — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:28:01 -0800

Expect to see a lot of these bicycles on the streets of Minneapolis this coming summer.

The non-profit formed to bring public bike-sharing to the city chose Public Bike System, the developer of Montreal's BIXI, to provide bikes and kiosks to the project.

The bike-sharing project, Nice Ride Minnesota, is aiming to put 65 kiosks around downtown, college campuses and surrounding commerial areas by June. In all 80 kiosks and 1,000 bikes are projected in Phase 1.

Currently, there are about 160 bike-sharing systems in the world. The highest profile is the Paris Velib ....