Features

• By Clarissa Ersoz

  League of American Bicyclists 2010 State and Community Rankings

  The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) recently released its third annual 2010 Bicycle Friendly State Rankings and Bicycle Friendly Communities. This year, Washington remained the number one bicycle friendly state, maintaining its 2008 and 2009 status.

• By Bob Freeman

  Age of Innocence, Age of Elegance

  Back in 1978, when I was already in the bike industry but still couldn’t afford a new top end racing bike, I came across a nice 1973 Colnago Super, one of the bikes the stars rode. Eddy Merckx, Giuseppe Saronni, Gianni Motta, Gianbattista Baronchelli, the Molteni Team and the SCIC Team, all rode a Colnago at times. I had to have one.

• By Clarissa Ersoz

  A Different Kind of Economic Stimulus

  Cities, large and small, continually search for ways to stimulate their economy and funnel money into their communities, especially during economic hardship. Many towns rely upon tourism to create revenue and support local businesses. In order to attract attention and travelers, they need to give potential visitors a reason to come and hopefully return.

• By Tom Archer, President, Northwest Trail Alliance

  Northwest Trail Alliance Reinvigorates Off-Road Riding

  In the past year, citizens, bicycle shop workers, and government land managers have remarked that they haven’t seen this much excitement for off-road bicycle advocacy in the Portland, Ore., region in years, if ever. Helping shape the new push is the Northwest Trail Alliance.

• By Christopher R. Shuhart, M.D., CCD, MHA

  How’s your Skeleton Doing?

  I’ve been riding for thirty years and over time I had accumulated a sense of fatalism about cyclists and broken bones: eventually, every rider will either suffer a fracture or know someone who has done so while riding. My work in bone health and osteoporosis over the last ten years has tempered my cynicism, and I think it’s time for road cyclists to understand ... our bones are weaker than we think.

• By Robinson Cano

  BikeSnobNYC Unleashes Himself on the Pacific Northwest

  The inveterate urban-utilitarian cyclist-blogger BikeSnobNYC has taken his new eponymous book on tour this summer, bringing out his “real thorough scouring” of the world of cycling, first to Austin, Texas, and then north and west where it culminated in a signing at Powell’s Books in the bicycling mecca of Portland, Ore. ... he was greeted with the largest turnout of the tour.

• By Bob Freeman

  Age of Innocence, Age of Elegance

  When I first became aware of non-factory produced bikes, there were certain ones that captivated my attention. It was the early ‘70s, long before the internet, and information came from very few sources. The “All Campy” racing bike was the Holy Grail. Clement sew-ups, Binda toe straps, Ideale and Unicanitor saddles, Cinelli bars and stems, and the ever-present and ubiquitous Campagnolo Nuovo and Super Record parts were the stuff of dreams.

• By Darren Dencklau (review) / Claire Bonin (interview)

  The New Ergon GR2

  Ergon’s GR2 grips are designed to provide 100% hand contact, thereby dispersing pressure to the palms and fingers. The wider platforms let the majority of the hand rest on the grips’ tops. I tested them out recently and was pleasantly surprised.

• By Claire Bonin

  JerseyBin — A Genius of a Little Pouch

  They don’t look like much, but appearances can be deceiving. JerseyBin is one of the simplest yet useful products I have found to carry small personal items without fear of losing anything and keeping everything organized while cycling.

« Back   Next »

Opinion

• By Joe Kurmaskie

  Commuting With Angels and Demons ... And It’s Not Even 7 a.m.

  I swear I don’t look for trouble, for things to happen to me on a bike, but it seems that more often than not, when I pedal out the driveway, they do. Is it me? I haven’t conducted a scientific study on why this is the case. No one seems willing to part with grant money for such an undertaking, and the fact that I’m not a trained scientist poses a real challenge.

• By Maynard Hershon

  Not the Same

  As you may recall, I fell off my bicycle in August of ‘08. I landed on a big trail-side rock, broke a femur and hurt a couple of fingers. I say I’m fine but I’ve changed from before I crashed. I have more fear. I didn’t realize it right away or even after a few months, but I sense it now.

• By Joe Kurmaskie

  Helping Out While Wearing Tweed

  Sign of the times: the indication for setting my bottles and cans outside for recycling day was three deep when I came out of the house. This being Portland, though, the trio of homeless gents rode brand name bicycles; one was smoking American Spirit cigarettes.

• By Maynard Hershon

  ...And the Fans Go Berserk on the Roadside

  I’m riding on the road around Cherry Creek Reservoir, a light-traffic training loop for Denver cyclists. Inches from my elbow a cyclist passes without a nod or wave or any acknowledgment of my presence. He’s going one mph or so faster than me, passing as if we’re in a race....

• By Joe Kurmaskie

  Gone To The Dogs

  Panic, adrenaline, flight, that brief window when you don’t know if you’ll outrun chomping canines, until a final kick of speed and a few braveheart howls gets you over. Few activities shock the monkey like a good sprint to safety ... allowing you to live more fully in the present.

• By Maynard Hershon

  Stupid is as Stupid Does

  She rode on the left side of the path, the wrong side, the side oncoming cyclists, skaters and runners use. There was no reason for her choice of the left side, but that’s where she’d stay. Occasionally, she’d drift to the right but soon she’d be back on the left. I remember wondering if she drives her car on the wrong side of the highway.

• By Meghan McCausland

  Custom Bicycles: A Passionate Pursuit - Book Review

  “A bicycle frame builder is no ordinary man. He has given man the ability to travel under his own power at speeds in excess of 100 kilometers per hour.” The book features 39 builders from Australia, Europe and the United States. Colorful photos of handcrafted bicycles fill up over 200 pages, some as beautiful, sleek and thin as a Calvin Klein model.

• By Jana Moseley

  Bicycle Dreams: The Race Across America

  The Race Across America (RAAM) is seen as the single most difficult challenge in the endurance cycling world. It is a testament to the human spirit and the pinnacle of physical limits. Of all who attempt, less than half will finish. For those who do complete the race it’s the accomplishment of a lifetime.

• By Joe Kurmaskie

  Mud, Sweat and Gears: A Rowdy Family’s Canadian Adventure on Seven Wheels

  We got the jump on James, but he came roaring back. It’s quite difficult to outpace a 16-foot, 438-pound bike train going downhill. The Metal Cowboy's second installment of James and the Giant Peach Bicycle.

« Back   Next »