Anniversary

It's been a year since I started this blog. My first post on Nov 10th, 2006 is here. I've nothing deep and philosophical to say about this fact.

Check out the bike above. That bike belongs to my buddy Patrick. As far as I know, that is his first set of coroplast fenders. Nicely done. Great coverage.

You can tell a lot about a guy's patience threshold, general sense of aesthetics, and of course how he votes, by studying his coroplast fenders.

Richard Rush just sent an email asking for his campaign signs back. Sorry Richard. There are not many green/white campaign signs. I'll be hording mine for just the right bike. And I'll probably grab my neighbor's too.

The Oregon bike builders show was this weekend. My buddy Alex went. He's sure to post a blog on it. But I see he's uploaded his pics here.

click to go to James' site for more pics

Finally, in the "yet another person designing what they want and just getting it built themselves

department," here is James Black's "cargo truck" bike. It's got twenty inch wheels, removable/convertible racks. The idea is that you could have a child seat or a bigger rack with universal fittings that you can slide onto the main "mast." Dig the NuVinci hub. I like how small the bike is and I like his idea of providing two dropouts on the front fork to adjust trail for the load. According to this thread, he says that changing trail does not require a brake adjustment. Smart stuff.

The same fork concept was used on some random and rare GT bikes in the early 90's. It's a great idea. A friend of mine has one of these GT bikes. I think I want to get a hold of it so it doesn't disappear.

Ye Ol Workbike

I spied this 'merican made beauty in the passage way between Madeline's and the Pita Pit downtown. Turns out it belongs to the Pita Pit. Pita Pit delivers, but according to the woman at Madeline's, the Pita Pit person is "rethinking the bike delivery" bit.

I'd say if anyone was in the market, this bike may come cheap -- at least save shipping if you've been thinking of ordering one.

This bike is great for downtown. But since it's a single gear, any dreams of it going up and down the south hill are out -- as long as I'm the guy riding it.

However, a certain ice cream shop on the south hill is co-owned by a certain couple who happen to live in West Central, which happens to be a flat ride into downtown, where folks -- I'm sure --would love to buy locally made ice cream from a guy-or-a-gal-on-a-bike.

Cleverchimp -- Good Stuff.

This is one of many super cool bikes on the Cleverchimp Flikr site from a trip to Holland. I am such a sucker for curvy cantilevered frames.

As I click through these wonderful load-hauling bikes I am inspired to think there is a society in the world today that spends so much money and thought on designing and manufacturing bikes that are optimized for load hauling and people carrying.


Aside from the obvious load-carrying capacity, there are lots of reasons these bikes rule. These bikes really can replace a car. They have integrated lights, fenders, simple lock. Many have covered passenger areas where kids can sit, strapped into the front where the view is the best.

Aside from well-baked-into-the-culture bike infrastructure of Holland, the flatness makes riding these big ass bikes accessible to most who live there.

However, even with a low-geared internal 8 speed hub or a super-fly Rohloff, pushing such a bike loaded with a couple kids and groceries up the south hill of Spokane would be a chore.
The folks at Cleverchimp, have developed a rechargeable pedal-assist motor specifically for load-hauling bikes. It's called the Stokemonkey and could be the answer to getting rid of at least one of your cars. In addition, Cleverchimp has started importing these wonderful load haulers, called bakfiets.

There's no doubt that these will be expensive packages. They are well-designed products from a country where likely all of the folks involved in the production of the bike are making a living wage and full benefits provided in large part by the payroll taxes they generate. So, you're paying much closer to the true cost, which is rare in the bike world. My guess, with a Stokemonkey and a decked-out Holland load-carrying beauty, you'll be in the $4-5k range.

But that's money well-spent in my book.

Here's a great photo and ride if you're in Seattle tomorrow and happen to have your cargo bike.

Here's an Idea

Sometimes when I take a long ride some germ of an idea gets planted in my head and I work on it. Mile after mile, the idea grows and grows. In many cases, the idea eventually turns into a wild fantasy: I've built and grown a bike shop; I've spent the rest of my life riding around the world with my wife and daughter; I've created a community cycling center; I've started a bike fabrication business that employs a hundred Spokanites; I've convinced the world that bike lanes are not the only answer to "getting your mother out on the roads."
My latest fantasy keeps coming back. I don't know why. Maybe because I have a 4 year old daughter whose future I ponder, and that I think about there is a significant shift in our lifestyle that is eminent. It may be 5 years, it may be 20, but it will certainly come and it's not likely to be a pleasant shift for most. I refer to this future thing simply as "Peak Oil." For anyone that cares to look or examine the realities the global economy, Peak Oil is obvious and well-understood. Peak oil brings with it some pretty grim economic baggage. There are signs that we are already entering a global recession, though it would be hard come to this conclusion if your only source of information is the mainstream media.
Anyway, the last time this country was hit hard economically was in the thirties. I'm no economist, nor am I a historian, but I do think it's hard to ignore the effects of the New Deal and programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps. Roosevelt, or his handlers, saw that we had all of the natural and human resources we needed to build a great country. So, he made the government useful in a way that we've not seen since: he took care of the people, which is what a government should do that is run by and for the people. Among other things, he built the national park system, provided power to rural areas, built public works projects (not the Interstate -- thanks Steve) -- see a full list of New Deal Programs here: http://tinyurl.com/ys4wcn).
He put America to work by making America better. Folks that could not previously find work were given work that made America a better place to live and do business.
It seems very likely to me that we could enter a similar economic recession in my life -- and certainly in my daughter's life – where we may actually need to once again rely on our government to look out for all of our economic interests, not just the interests of the biggest campaign contributors and insider pals. As cheap oil becomes not cheap, and an entire global economy that relies on cheap oil adjusts, we'll have a few years, maybe a generation, of transformation. This would be a good time to implement my latest fantasy.
In this fantasy, the idea of driving a car every day, with a single occupant, to and from work -- over 20 miles or so, will be a luxury only the very wealthy will indulge in. Cities will have to become more compact; the suburbs and exburbs will revert back to locally-grown agriculture; and regional transportation systems will become requirements.
Utilitarian bicycles will become worth their weight in gold. Bikes that are well-integrated machines that can haul a child and groceries through the rain over tough surfaces, and at night will be required. The silly racing bikes that are ubiquitous today will have no place in this fantasy.
A forward-thinking president, or his/her handlers, will see the obvious American industry: producing a utilitarian bicycle for the masses. Manufacturing and delivering cheap bikes from China and Taiwan will not be economically feasible. Further, the department-store-quality bikes that have traditionally been delivered from these countries will no longer be suitable for people who must rely on them day in and day out as reliable transportation.
The president will create a program to produce an American-made, high-quality, high-performance utilitarian bicycle. The bike will be a steel-framed bike. It will take disc brakes, so different size wheels can be swapped out on it. It will have integrated lights, racks, chaingaurd, and fenders. It will have high-output, low resistance hub-driven generator lighting. It will have an internally geared hub for low maintenance. It will come in multiple sizes and in a mixte version and in a multi-rider version. It will excel at hauling loads. Every part and piece of the bike will be made in America and it will be heavily subsidized so every able-bodied person in this country who wants to ride a quality bike can own one.
Anyway… back to the world of dreams.

If I was the king of the world...

I would require all citizens to have at minimum, one bike outfitted with a basket capable of transporting at least one half-rack of bottled beer.
Such a bike, especially if ugly and not-steal-worthy, is an essential component for all households.
We have this old Fuji outside, under a tarp, at the ready at all times. It's really uncomfortable to ride for more than a mile or two, but it's perfect for quick grocery runs and for hauling our daughter in a trailer.
Many "serious" cyclists only have their 'road' bike and their 'mountain' bike, or maybe their 'rain' bike... typically such a bike requires the usual ritual to ride: suiting up, special shoes, etc. You miss out on a lot of spontaneous riding opportunities when you are required to "gear up." Additionally, a beater with a basket is made way more useful when you put fenders on it. Come to think of it, all bikes are way more useful when you have fenders on it... At the moment, I don't own a bike that doesn't have fenders. Seems like an essential piece of gear that is just crazy to go with out... yet 90% of new road bikes do not have room or eyelets for fenders.
So, if you don't have a beater, spend some time on craigslist or at Goodwill and pick one up... get a wald basket and some fenders and you're ready for a ride at the drop of a hat.