Biking Bis - Bicycle Touring

Railbikes ride in the tracks of the iron horse

Gene Bisbee — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:01:00 -0800

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. ....

Deteriorating condition of bicycle parked in New York City

Gene Bisbee — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:58:00 -0800

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.

Oddly, the U-lock disappears ...

George Carlin: bike hater, lover, or just playing it for laughs?

Gene Bisbee — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:12:00 -0800

George Carlin was one of my all-time favorite comedians, and I loved to hear him ridicule our institutions.

So I was seriously distressed to hear what he said about bicyclists in this short piece posted on YouTube a few years ago.

It wasn't the profanity that got to me, it was his apparent unbridled animosity toward bicyclists.

So I was ...

The most popular 2011 stories at BikingBis; month by month

Gene Bisbee — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:45:00 -0800

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 ...

Passersby pedaling to keep Christmas tree alight

Gene Bisbee — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:33:00 -0800

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 ....

Turkey warning this Thanksgiving; bicycles can be used for hunting

Gene Bisbee — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:52:00 -0800

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 ....

12 bicycle wall calendars for 2012: The sexy and sublime

Gene Bisbee — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:27:00 -0800

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.

Although not as sexy, the Adventure Cycling Association's 2012 Calendar will feed your interest in bicycle touring. The nonprofit used photo entries ...

Mountain bike racer survives the unexpected

Gene Bisbee — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:39:00 -0700

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 ...

Still waiting for Ken Burns documentary about the bicycle

Gene Bisbee — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 08:30:00 -0700

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 ....

Celebrities ride bicycles too

Gene Bisbee — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:38:00 -0700

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 ...