Anyone who puts a lot of miles on their bike will benefit from eyewear. Not only can sun damage your eyes, but vehicles throw rocks, many locations have swarms of bugs we inevitably ride through, and wind can dry our eyes. Even in low-light, some cyclists wear clear-lens protective eyewear.
The climate in Kansas City this past week has been bizarre. We had a 115°F heat index afternoon, a few thunderstorms, and morning lows into the 50s. The morning sun has been up early enough that I end up riding straight into it on my way to work. With lots of saddle time and a wide variety of climates to contend with, it was officially the perfect week to put some new shades to the test. Enter: Ryders Eyewear.
Ryders provided Bike Commuters a pair of their Vigor sunglasses to review. At the $45 price-point, it’s one of their middle-of-the-line models.
Many of Ryders’ models feature temples and nose-pieces with adjustable memory-wire inside. With some tinkering, you can get a very comfortable custom fit. Also, thanks to the water-resistant rubber coating on the contact points, they stick to your face and stay where you put them once you adjust them no matter how much you sweat. These are by far the most secure-feeling shades I’ve worn that cost under $100.
One feature I really came to appreciate on the two sweltering evenings we had last week: the vented lenses. While not a completely unique feature, I really like it when the glasses provide exceptional peripheral vision coverage without suffocating my eyeballs.
Like the true commuter nerd, I rock the mirror for my 29-mile round trip commute. Usually, I have the mirror mounted to the tab you see hanging from my helmet, but my Take-A-Look mirror is also designed to mount to glasses. I actually like this mounting position better, and now that both my morning and evening commute call for sunglasses, I’m going to keep it this way.
These came with a protective pouch that can be used to wipe the lenses off as well as keeping them safe and scratch-free in your bags while you’re on the job. I’m not certain if the pouch comes standard with all models.
I’m not terribly picky about my eyewear — I’ve worn cheap $7 Wal-Mart shades and some that were considerably pricier than these as well. All in all, I’m pretty impressed with what Ryders offers. They also have models with interchangeable lenses, and at least one model that is prescription lens compatible.
June 30th, 2009 by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney · 8 Comments
For those of you in the Tampa Bay area, a message from our friends at the Southwest Florida Bicycle United Dealers (SWFBUD). The rest of you are off the hook:
As you may know, Hillsborough County’s proposed budget calls for closing Flatwoods county park Monday and Tuesday.
This is unacceptable and SWFBUD (South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers) is asking bicyclists and park users to join a 5-mile bike ride to the county building on July 16 to tell the commissioners to Keep Flatwoods Open 7 Days a Week at a budget hearing at 6 PM in downtown Tampa.
SWFBUD is announcing a “Keep Flatwoods Park Open 7 Days a Week” Bike Ride from the Seminole Heights Garden Center at 5800 Central Avenue to the County Government Center for the first Budget Hearing on July 16. Email your contacts and tell others.
5PM: Meet in front of garden center on Central Avenue, a half-mile north of Hillsborough Avenue. Lots of space to park if necessary.
5:30PM: Reach county government building in downtown Tampa and sign up to speak.
6PM: Hearing begins.
Also, make your voice heard:
Call the budget hotline at 813-307-8337 at tell the county to keep Flatwoods open 7 Days a week.
Send an email to hcbudget@hillsboroughcounty.org
And show up July 16 at 6PM at County Government Center to speak at the hearing.
I have contacted the offices of all 7 County Commissioners and the aides for each commissioner provided the following information:
Rose Ferlita: Not available. Will get back to SWFBUD possibly tomorrow.
Ken Hagan: Opposes closing the park two days a week. He’s asking budget officials to look for ways to restore the two days.
Kevin White: Aide will pass message to White to keep Flatwoods open 7 days a week..
Al Higginbothom. Supports not raising taxes. Looking for money to restoring those two days by knocking out “dead weight” in the budget and streamlining and cutting other areas. “We’re trying to put money back to parks and see if cuts whether in other places.
Jim Norman: Jim is going to look to do everything he can to keep it open.
Kevin Beckner: Aide doesn’t know and aide said Kevin Beckner will call.
Mark Sharpe: Eric the aide is getting a lot of requests and it’s an issue to be determined. “We’re getting hit on it on a daily basis. We hit a nerve on this one.”
Budget Public Hearings (all starting at 6 p.m.) and Public Comment is taken:
Thursday, June 9, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 (First State-Required Public Hearing to adopt tentative millage rates and a tentative budget)
Thursday, September 17, 2009 (Second State-Required Public Hearing to adopt final millage rates and the FY 10 operating and capital budgets)
Budget Workshops (all starting at 1:30 p.m.) and NO Public Comment is taken:
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 (if needed)
Thursday, July 30, 2009 - Budget Reconciliation
The more the merrier…let’s save this county gem from the budget chopping block!
June 29th, 2009 by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney · 25 Comments
Way back at Interbike 2007, Moe spotted an intriguing line of bicycles new to the market…check out his photos from back then by clicking here. Jango, a subsidiary of bicycle accessories juggernaut Topeak, has a pretty neat concept going on, and we were eager to get our hands on their products.
Well, after much speculation and hand-wringing, we were finally able to score a test model just less than two years after Jango introduced the bikes at Interbike! Sometimes things move with strange timing in the bike world…
What we got was a Jango 7.1 in 700c configuration:
The concept is very cool: what if buying a bike was like going to a car dealer? What if you could walk into a shop, select a bike from a range of models and then select pre-configured “trim packages” or choose dedicated accessories from an extensive menu, all based on your needs? Jango offers seven bike models, nine preconfigured “trim packages” and a list of over 30 unique accessories. That’s a lot to digest!
Our test bike is the 7.1. Here’s a little bit about it from Jango’s website:
Bell: Jango integrated courtesy bell, black
Lights: Jango integrated front and rear LED lights
Pedals: Ergonomic Jango Dual Fit safety pedals
Saddle: Pressure free Allay Racing Sport saddle with AirSpan technology
Sizes: XS (430) / S (475) / M (500) / L (550) / XL (600)
Tyres: Jango light weight 700c x 38c
Wheels: Jango light weight wheel system
Grips: Ergonomic grip
Gears: Shimano Alivio 3 x 8 24 speed
Brake: Levers Jango with integrated bell mount
Fork: Jango suspension fork with magnesium lowers. Oil / Nitrogen hydraulic damping with elastomer spring. Variable compression with lock-out function. 50mm travel
Frame: Jango design with patented modular Plug in Play ports and personalized head badge theft deterrent system. Comfort geometry, high strength 7005 alu, double butted
Kickstand: Jango integrated kickstand
Seat Post: Jango with quick mount socket
Bar/Stem combination: Ergonomic Jango Vario Stem with adjustable angle and height. Forged Alu
Brakes: Jango disc brakes with integrated front disc lock
Colour: Jango Silver
With the bike, we also got a large case of assorted accessories, from cargo-carrying bits to lights, security gear, fenders and a computer. We’re going to have a lot to share, so I’ll try to break things down into a series of articles covering the bike itself, the accessories and the overall experience.
In the meantime, check out Jango’s website for a good overview of their concept and their wide range of models, trim packages and accessories. And stay tuned…the test riding has already begun!
Apologies for all the Long Beach Sharrow posts, but this really is cutting edge stuff and I’m sure more than a few people are curious to see how it will all play out. Firstly, there was a lot of speculation on how cars/bikes would react to the green stripe. Would cars somehow mistake them for a bike lane and not drive in them? Would traffic come to a grinding halt because the street would be flooded by hundreds of beach cruisers?
It’s still a bit too early to tell, but so far, it is not the Armageddon that many (myself included) would think would result. It’s plenty obvious that cars are still driving in the right lane. For me, it seems that motorists have gotten over any trepidation about riding in what could be mistaken as a bike lane.
Have the hundreds of closet bicyclists taken over the streets of Belmont Shore? Not quite. Casually observing, ridership seems to be about the same. Good riding practices (not riding in the door zone) seem to be just perceptibly better, though there are many people that STILL ride too far to the right. I was riding someone today and told him gently that it might be safer to be in the actual green stripe. When we were at a light, he said, “You ride in the green stripe Poindexter and get yourself killed.” As I rode away I could see him in my mirror hugging the parked cars and ducking in and out of open parking spaces.
A lot of criticism about the markings have been from the conjecture that traffic is just too great to have bikes and cars in the same road. I shot some video of Laura and I riding to the supermarket and we rode through Belmont Shore where the sharrows are. It is a .6 mile stretch. It took us 7 minutes to ride through it. That means we were averaging 5mph! As you can see from the video, there may be a lot of traffic, but it’s certainly moving at a speed that a cyclist can keep up with! If we’re going to die of anything in the video, it’s BOREDOM from having to stop every 20 feet.
Furthermore, because it is a shopping district, it behooves cyclists to be in the middle of the lane to avoid parking cars and swinging doors.
Lastly, I’d like to show this video that a fellow Long Beach bike advocate made. Some of the footage is on 2nd Street pre-sharrow. I ride the same way and believe in vehicular cycling principles. That is to say, that I believe cyclist fares best when he/she rides like other vehicles. I feel that for those that haven’t been exposed to vehicular cycling classes, the sharrow/green stripe treatment is a good visualization for good lane positioning. I am hoping that people that use the sharrow/stripe treatment will at some point have an “Aha!” moment and realize that they can ride like that on every street and be safe.
It’s too soon to tell what will happen. The paint is barely dry. People can be slow to adapt to change. I think the sharrow/stripe treatment has some flaws. Visual confusion is among them. The city could have done more extensive PR on the project with mailers, more community education, etc., However, despite all that, I am still very excited and very hopeful about the design.
Today as Laura and I rode through Belmont Shore in Long Beach, we were greeted with what almost every cyclist dreams of - the proverbial yellow brick road for cyclists - a painted lane with Sharrows, that says in no uncertain terms - Bikes Are Welcome Here.
Behold. The Big Green Stripe in all its glory.
It was a long time coming and many of us had reservations about how it was going to be executed, but I think it came out beautifully.
However, not everything is perfect. There is still the public backlash to such a bold and progressive move to contend with. Already, many residents of the area are up in arms -questioning the safety of the sharrows. Like the fellow in this video that interrupted when I was interviewing our city’s new mobility coordinator, Charley Gandy.
To be clear, sharrows are mere reminders that cyclists have the right to be on the road. They are not bike lanes. They do not take real estate from motorists and confer them to cyclists. As a cyclist , you’re not getting any special privilege. Simply, your RIGHT to be in the road and to be in the center where it’s safe is just writ large.
It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds in the coming weeks. I’m expecting lots of heated debate from motorists, residents, business owners and so-called “cyclists”. Ah, we live in interesting times.
June 25th, 2009 by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney · No Comments
From our friends at Xtracycle:
This is your chance to see Xtracycle Headquarters in the flesh, get your BBQ on, and invite your friends: we have a few offices soon to be available for sublease for the right sort of people/enterprise. (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/off/1228575015.html)
The Xtra-Aire Airstream is in mid primp getting ready for her debut hosting the Red Hot Roots (our fantastic fleet of Radish service bikes) at The High Sierra Music Festival. We look forward to giving you the tour.
P.s. No, that is not Richard Nixon pulling an Airstream by bike. It is in fact the French bicycle racer Latourneau towing an airstream in 1947, 50 years before the momentous birth of the Xtracycle cargo bicycle. 9 out of 10 French bike racers agree - if you’ve got to carry your home on your bike, Xtracycle is the way to go.
How long have you been a bike commuter?
Over a year. I started in March 2008 as gas prices started climbing
and fell in love with it quickly. 4,000 miles, 10lbs, and three bikes
later, I’m still having a blast.
What do you do and what cities do you bike commuter?
I ride to work in suburban Santa Clarita, CA, a big suburb of Los
Angeles. The city has a nice network of bike paths; unfortunately my
route includes none of them. I seldom see other bike commuters save
for Latinos riding beater bikes to their jobs.
Why did you start riding your bike to work and how long is your commute?
I started because gas prices were approaching ridiculous levels and I
wanted to get fit. My commute is very easy- only 2 miles- but I work
for a school district and I’m sometimes required to visit schools
during the work day. So, sometimes if I’m lucky, I’ll put twenty miles
in while riding to various schools.
What kind of bikes do you have?
I started out on a standard Trek hybrid. After having a few
reliability problems with that, I sold it and got a Swobo Dixon, which
was my main commuter for much of the last year. As I took up road
riding, I found I had a need for speed, so I’ve shelved the Dixon to
beer-bike duties and I now ride a rack-equipped Jamis Quest road bike
to work. It’s so much faster!
How does Bike Commuting help you with your lifestyle (economics,
health, relationships)?
Let’s see. I’ve saved hundreds in gas, car payments, and insurance
since I got rid of my car last year and we became a one car household.
I’m in much better shape, I get to be outdoors, and I’ve lost weight.
Any experience that you can share with us about ‘learning the hard way’?
In my first week of cycling to work. I got into a very minor accident.
You see I wasn’t paying attention closely enough and ran into the back
of a stopped car. I wasn’t going fast and no damage or injuries
resulted but it taught me a valuable lesson- pay attention!
Situational awareness is king when you’re cycle commuting, think ahead
100 feet, 500 feet, a half mile etc. Make plans and signal your
intentions!
What do you do for a living?
I work as a database administrator. I’m not sure why so many tech
people ride to work, but I’m pleased to be one of them. Just wish I
had more commute buddies in this car-dependent town.
What do people (coworkers, friends) say when you tell them that you
are a bike commuter?
Jerks say: You’re weird. Skeptics say: How are you going to handle the
heat this summer (it gets up to 110 in Santa Clarita)? The
Unimaginative say: I could never give up my car, I have
kids/dog/insert special problem here. Girls say: Nice, I bet you’re
going to lose weight and look good!
How about bicycling advocacy? Are you active in any local or regional
advocacy groups?
I monitor local cycling situations and blog about them at my new blog, soulcyclist.blogspot.com . I’ve also spoken before the city council on
issues pertaining to cycle commuting. I’m thinking of starting an
advocacy group as well, but, I’ll be honest, it’s hard to find bike
commuters out here. I’m so jealous of the success I read about in
other places.
Two years ago, I posted an article on beating the heat. It basically boiled down to the following advice which I still stand by.
Wear sunscreen and eye protection
Stay hydrated
Replenish electrolytes and calories if needed
Stay cool by packing ice in jersey pockets or riding through shady areas and sprinklers on the route
Reduce sun exposure by shifting your work schedule or mixing your bike commute with transit if possible
Finally, recognize the symptoms of heat-induced sickness. These are bad news!
Dizziness
Nausea
Sudden fatigue
Headaches
Blurred vision
A few other things to consider (some of which were from the comments two years ago!)
Learn where you can top off your water bottles. If you drink a lot of water in the summer, you might be tempted to wear a hydration pack, but your best bet is to keep your back free and able to stay cool. Parks, convenience stores and walking trails will usually have somewhere for you to get more water.
Ditch the helmet if you start to get too hot. A bike helmet will protect your head in the crash, but as Fritz points out, there’s irony in suffering heat illnesses because you have your head stuck in a well-insulated heat trap. Fritz also noted that while it feels good to douse yourself with water, the liquid does a much better job when you DRINK it, so if your water is in limited supply, refrain from dumping it on your head.
Some say Cotton is Rotten. Cotton t-shirts are cheap, but they don’t breathe well when they’re soaked with sweat. Pick your clothing carefully. Discount warehouse stores often sell inexpensive running or golf shirts that wick water away from the body and breathe quite well. You don’t need to spend $40 and up for a fancy brand-name running shirt or jersey. Stick with light colors in the summer. That dark blue jersey might look nice, but it’ll soak up heat from the sun quickly.
What do you do to beat the summer heat? We had a 110 degree heat index here in Kansas City this afternoon. I spent a few minutes on my way home sitting in the shade and filling up my bottles at a local park.
June 19th, 2009 by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney · 15 Comments
Forwarded to me by our pal Shek Mukherjee, this is a handy guide for bicycle sellers who advertise on Craigslist. In the famous words of Fat Tony from the Simpsons, “it’s funny because it’s true.”
PLEASE NOTE: This probably doesn’t apply to you. But some sellers need to have a good long look at this.
Everyone has the right to sell their bikes for whatever they want, but those who do not know what they are talking about need a sanity check. Granted, I know the economy is bad and you might have found a “jewel” in the rough - but for crying out loud, do some research beforehand.
The following is an elementary guide for those of you who are absolutely clueless about your garage sale or thrift store finds:
1) Just because your bike was made in Europe doesn’t mean you’ve got a winner. They made a lot of junk, too.
2) A low end bike that was $97.00 in 1976 is not, magically, worth $400.00 now.
3) Adult bikes do not have goosenecks.
4) If the chain is conspicuously rusty and kinked in the picture, nobody is going to fall for your claims of “mint condition.”
5) If you get asked how many speeds it has and do not know nor care, pull your ad. Immediately.
6) Telling us that you found it in a barn is not a rationale for overpricing it.
7) Take OFF the $10 price tag from Goodwill before you take your Craigslist picture and ask $250 for it.
8 ) “Light and FAST!” . . . Ok, if you say so.
9) Not everything with those kooky, curvy handlebars is a race bike.
10) Neither is a race bike “improved” by flipping those curvy handlebars upside down.
11) Don’t be offended if someone offers you an insulting amount that is far less than you want for your bike - they’re just smarter than you.
12) Don’t get ticked off if someone low-balls you when you state “make offer” in your ad. You asked for it.
13) Tires are tires and wheels are wheels. These terms are not interchangeable.
14) Breaks should be referred to as “brakes”, petles or petals as “pedals”.
15) Your bike was not made by Shimano, Suntour, or Campagnolo. I know you saw that name somewhere on it, but just trust me on this one.
16) Vintage implies it was worth something when it was new, otherwise it’s just OLD.
17) High tensile steel - yeah, they put a sticker on the bike that says it but I wouldn’t be bragging about it.
18) Go ahead and repost that 10 speed Huffy every week - no one will tire of its charm. If you’re willing to endure the humiliation, we’ll be there for you until you reach your target market.
19) ALL CAPS DOES NOT MAKE IT A BETTER BIKE.
20) Pictures of the LEFT side of the bike aren’t worth much of anything, nobody can see the drivetrain. All things considered, perhaps you’d rather want to hide it anyway.
21) Blurry pictures add a negative symbol to your price tag.
22) If you steal someone else’s photos (not the manufacturer’s) from the web and use them to represent your own bike, you are absolute scum.
23) “Suitable for fixie conversion” doesn’t make a POS frame any more valuable. For that matter…WHAT makes it suitable?
24) If you think your bicycle is worth a four figure sum ($x,xxx), the LEAST you could do is to spell the brand and component names correctly (eg. Trek, not treck; Schwinn, not shwin; Campagnolo, not Campagnola; and Shimano - not shmano, shimono, or shamano)
25) Include the size of the bicycle! No, it’s not the tire size. It’s measured from the center of the cranks (the big sprocket) to the top of the seat tube (before the silver or black post that holds the seat [saddle].) It needs to be in either inches or centimeters. Both if you are nice.
26) NEXT, Magna, Huffy, Roadmaster, and Murray are NOT highly-respected brands. Get over it.
27) Taking a nice multispeed road bike that was posted here two days ago for a reasonable price raping it of all good derailleur parts, making it a single speed with a $22 Chinese bmx cog from performancebike.com does not double or triple its value or make it a “race bike” or “fixie”.
28) There is no such thing as a road mountain bike
29) Just because you are selling it for a friend doesn’t make you an expert if you are not
30) If you don’t list the brand and it is unreadable in the photos, we will assume it is a POS
31) Research the going price of your bike before posting
32) Just because it cost a lot 10 years ago when it was brand new and you have barely rode it, doesn’t mean it is worth 50% + of new price (see #31)
33) Just because you bought it within the past year doesn’t mean someone is going to pay close to what you paid, especially if the new model years are coming out and yours is now discounted
34) Don’t use terms you do not understand - if it does not have rear suspension, it is not full suspension
35) Proofread - I have never seen a bike measured in feet but I’ve seen a lot of 26′ bikes posted
36) If it is a *mart bike and you just paid to have it “tuned up”, you probably just wasted your money as the tune up was probably more than the bike is worth
37) We don’t want to call for basic information you should have posted or to have you send us pictures
38) Don’t sell a used helmet unless you really did just buy it, otherwise it may have been crashed and is a safety hazard
I hope this has cleared up some things for the cycling-challenged sellers .
