Bike Culture

Several sports have their roots in acts of violence - boxing (OK, that’s still pretty violent), archery, javelin, and of course, motor racing. But how’s about this for a new cycling sport, demonstrated at last year’s Cycle Messenger World Championships: When a driver comes within inches of killing you, this can be pretty tempting. But it’s...
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This is a disgrace. Only Jake and Colin are wearing helmets. Do these people not understand the risks in a typical home? Apparently, the film maker was just 15 years old. Makes me feel ancient!
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I love the lighting, over-exposed feel and focus of this time-lapse film from Budapest’s critical mass. It somehow makes it feel like a stop-motion film instead - there are parts of it where my brain is telling me that I’m watching someone’s Hornby train set rather than real people:
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I knew the ride to work today was going to be WET. But an unexpected tailwind made it surprisingly fun - at one point I passed Rich Rothwell going in the opposite direction. He was going downhill but tucked down and straining into the wind on some svelte road bike. Meanwhile I was sitting...
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Apply Brooks Proofide during the breaking in period, and every 3-6 months thereafter. I did the one on Byron today. But not like this:
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I’m a big fan of Gary Larson’s The Far Side comics. Like all the best surrealism, they have their roots in reality. Like this one: This got me thinking… Diagnosis Treatment Tired Ride a bike Sad Ride a bike Happy Ride a bike Late for work Ride a bike Rainy weather Ride a bike Overweight Ride a bike Look good in Lycra Ride a bike Comfortable clothes Ride a bike Meeting friends Ride a...
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We got factories to build Nissans and Toyotas and Hondas. They got one of these: To be honest, I think we got the rough end of that deal. Though to be fair, poor Noda-san did have to pay the ultimate price price for this bike:
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For the last couple of years I’ve been using a pair of Dawes pannier bags on my Pashley. The trouble is that they’re not really designed for the chunkiness of the Pashley’s rack, and they’d also be really easy for someone to just lift off when the bike’s parked. It was to overcome these shortcomings...
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What could be more Danish than this: A bicycle made from Lego! Lots more photos and pricing (hint: Ultegra Di2 costs a whole lot less) over at the artist, Sean Kenney’s site. He even does a cool little Lego Christiana Bike model, but that’s only in a more traditional Lego scale!
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The Times provides a more realistic analysis of the Institute of Advanced Motorists so-called research on this: Just 2% of cyclists “frequently” jump red lights. Meanwhile, there’s this from a couple of years ago - in 2009, 2.8% of all drivers in a study involving 14,000 vehicles were using a hand-held mobile phone. Let’s be charitable and...
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