As some of you already know, Bike Commuting is really…
Due to my job…you guessed it, an IT Guy. I oversee 3 of our offices in Southern California. Each of them are about 40-50 miles away from each other and on any given day, I have to drive to either one of them. So that leaves me having to drive most of the time. But there are days when I can get a ride in and I have to tell you, I LOVE IT!
There’s just something about riding in traffic and being alert and having a sense of euphoria while zipping away from it all. I simply love having to bunny hop over each pot hole, or racing to make a light and even timing myself. I’m convinced that I can make it to my office in the same amount of time as I would if I drove.
I also have that feeling of satisfaction when I roll up to my office. It’s a great feeling that I know almost all commuters feel. Besides, bike commuting just feels soooooooooo good! I feel relaxed and happy!
October 27th, 2008 by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney · No Comments
If you’re a fan or user of the social-networking “time vacuum” Facebook, you’ll be pleased to note that you can now join the official Bikecommuters.com group there.
Just search under groups for “bikecommuters.com” and we’ll pop up. Come join our small but growing bunch over there!
And, if you have any ideas for content or features you’d like to see on Facebook (topics to discuss, other features), please feel free to comment on the Wall. Hope to see some of you there!
I updated Epicurean Cyclist with a little video I took from a trip I took to Oregon. Laura and I took the train from Los Angeles to Albany, OR and rode to Corvallis. I had a shoot lined up so I brought my camera gear in backpack. Unfortunately, when we got there it started to rain and my backpack wasn’t really waterproof.
What to do? We pulled into the nearest cafe and I asked for some trash bags to keep my gear dry. You’ll also see me assembling the bike at the train station. The webbing I’m wrapping around the front rack is marine safety net. Strong, yet light. It’s not the prettiest looking stuff but it can hold my gear and even adds a bit of suspension for it.
I guess I would classify this as an extreme commute. The train ride took 28 hours and involved boxing up the cargo bike. We were a little under-prepared weather-wise. No outer shells, just layers of wool.
However, everything turned out fine and in retrospect it was a fine mini-adventure.
October 26th, 2008 by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney · 9 Comments
Many areas offer early voting to ease the crush of long lines and even longer traffic jams on Election Day. Last week, early voting began in Hillsborough County, so my wife and I decided to ride downtown to vote at the very best early voting site in the entire county, the Fred B. Karl County Center, home of the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections (among many other county agencies).
I used to work on the 18th floor in this building, and it has some of the best views of Tampa and the waterfront…huge windows all the way around the building mean there’s another spectacular view right around the corner. Voting is on the 16th floor, and while I waited for my wife to finish her ballot, I was able to look out at our neighborhood over 4 miles away…pretty stunning.
So, beat the rush on November 4th — take advantage of early voting if you can; use a bike to get there and you’ll send another message to our elected officials: a bicycle is a legitimate transportation choice for all manner of civic errands!
With gas prices getting cheaper, it seems more and more people are not as reluctant to fill up their tanks and drive more. My concern would be is that the prices would drop so much, making bike commuting an unpopular alternative.
What’s interesting with what I’m reading on the news. Though prices may be lower, the demand for oil hasn’t risen. Perhaps that is the hope that people are taking to the bike or public transportation and possibly sticking with it.
October 24th, 2008 by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney · 14 Comments
Talk about getting scooped — our “blinkie-lighted siblings” (to borrow a phrase from Bike Snob NYC) over at Commute By Bike posted a YouTube video of our own Russ Roca. Russ was featured on the Planet Green TV show “G Word”, and the show did a pretty good job of showcasing the day to day activities of Russ as he pedals around southern California for his photography business. I had caught the show when it broadcast (my wife and I are big fans of the show), but until CbB posted it, I was unaware that there was a Web-based version available.
Check it out:
A special tip of the ol’ “foam chapeau” to Fritz for turning us onto the YouTubed segment from the show.
Here’s your chance to win your very own Official BikeCommuters.com jersey.
All you have to do is answer this question…
Who is Jack “Ghost Rider” Sweeney’s Bicycle Idol?
Please send in your entries…and you’re only allowed one per person. (Duplicate entries will void your chances.) HERE!
Contest Ends Oct 31st 5pm PST
Good luck!
The size that is available is a LARGE. Please don’t ask if I have any other sizes available for this contest…I can only give away the Large. Thank you.
On the last installment of Flip that Bike, I showed you a gem of a find, a Puch road bike.
If you remember, this bike was pretty much ready to ride, it had new tires, cables/housing, and brake pads but it had some weird cut job on the handle bars that made it look goofy.
Luckily my only parts investment was to get a new handle bar at the cost of $20. I even reused the old bar tape, which saved me another $15. So here’s the final look of the bike with the new bars.
I just sold this bike last night for $300! My total investment was $95, total profit was $205! Not bad eh. So now I have set aside $100 from this sale, and will be on the look out for another bike I can flip.
In just a few short weeks, John has rounded up over 130 unique and wonderful Xtracycles (mine is #116) to share via photos and brief descriptions. If you’re an Xtracycle fan, you should check it out; it can be a great resource to get ideas for mods. Bravo, John, for putting together this fun collection for the Xtracycle community!
October 19th, 2008 by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney · 7 Comments
The 2008 Bicycle Bash by the Bay was held today at Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The weather was gorgeous, the crowds were thick and the enthusiasm for all things bicycle was strong and friendly. Of course, Bikecommuters.com was there to tell folks about our website, meet fellow commuters and give away some goodies provided by our wonderful site sponsors KHS Bicycles and the good folks at Xtracycle. We gave away literally HUNDREDS of flyers, “Gas Sucks” stickers, Bikecommuters.com stickers, KHS and Xtracycle catalogs, Hillsborough County Bike Maps and a variety of other pamphlets, pens and literature, and we spoke to hundreds of bike fans of all types. Great times were had by all!
For those of you unable to attend, I shot a bunch of photos and a couple videos to share so that you can experience this event “virtually”. Let’s proceed, shall we?
My partner for the day was Terry Eagan, fellow librarian and employee of the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission. He was chosen by his agency to represent sister agency Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization. Terry was extremely helpful and friendly and helped get the Bikecommuters.com word out, allowing me to wander the event, schmoozing with friends and strangers alike for most of the day.
Check out some of the crowd — bicycles and bicyclists of all types…recumbents, roadies, fixed-gears, ratrods, choppers, trikes, BMX bikes and mountain bikers galore:
Here’s a wide shot of the enormity of this event — 70+ tents, thousands of visitors (estimated at 3000 or more):
Vendors were varied this year…everything from bike shops to component manufacturers, advocacy groups, regional transportation planning agencies, bike clubs and co-ops. Here we see the lovely ladies of The St. Pete Skirts, fixed gear badasses and incredible vegan bakers:
Right next door we have the Tampa Bike Co-op. The Co-op volunteers did seminars and demos throughout the day, from repairs to loaded bike touring. They were selling really incredible t-shirts to raise funds for the Co-op, and I was happy to add one to my shirt collection. Here they are fixing bikes and telling folks how they can do it themselves:
Here’s another one of the Co-op demos — this one the finer points of loading bicycle touring. This demo drew quite a crowd, and they had a sweet tourer to show off:
Manny Sierra of Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium chatted up passerby and did some bike tuneups of his own. CBE is my absolute favorite bike shop in the Tampa Bay area — they’re super-friendly, talented and knowledgeable. They have a really good understanding of the needs of bicycle commuters, as many of the employees there are out mixin’ it up with traffic every day.
Next to them, we’ve got the cool folks and ultra-badass wheels of American Classic. American Classic’s headquarters is right down the street from my house…too bad they don’t give “good neighbor” discounts!
Here’s the line for the St. Petersburg Bike Rodeo program. These folks gave away hundreds of bicycle helmets to kids in attendance today…each one with a personalized fitting. Bravo, Bike Rodeo!
The custom-printed Bikecommuters.com jerseys were a gigantic hit at the Bash. We were asked dozens of times if we had any for sale, and were asked to get some made pronto in sizes all the way up to XXL. We’re sitting on a fashion goldmine, folks! Here, the boys from Bikecommuters.com model these awesome jerseys…comfortable on a hot and breezy day — we’re bringin’ sexy back:
(Thanks, Moe, for the wicked “One Speed” socks…another big hit)
Speaking of sexy, my wife and son came over and spent most of the day with us. Leah helped out a bunch, chatting up visitors, fetching lunch for us and passing out stickers and flyers. She’s a dedicated bike commuter, too, so advocating for us came naturally:
I brought the Recycletron 1000 to display — man, the Xtracycle was a HUGE hit with this crowd. We gave away dozens of Xtracycle catalogs and literally hundreds of business cards. Folks had a million questions and most came away convinced to add one of these to their lives. Xtracycles sell themselves, really, but the real thrills came when I took my son out for loops around the park — we were being stopped every 20 feet or so to answer questions and we received lots of smiles and thumbs-up. One of the shops had a Kona Ute under their tent…and it languished all day in the shade. Xtracycle ruled this day! People were truly excited by the prospect of hauling groceries, children and anything else aboard an Xtracycle.
Toward the end of the day, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker made an appearance and spoke to the gathered bike throngs. This guy is SERIOUS about making St. Pete a truly bike-friendly city, and he’s made tremendous progress in getting things done there. I had a chance to speak with him during his tour of the event, and he’s very personable, passionate and dedicated to bicycling as a valid transportation alternative. Kudos, Mayor — you rock!
Here’s a Flip video I shot — one quick loop around the park. I’m calling out highlights as I see them, and you’ll be able to see what a huge event this was for the Tampa Bay area:
We’d like to thank site sponsors KHS and Xtracycle for sending goodies our way to distribute (we’ll be giving away some KHS “Gas Sucks” t-shirts and cycling socks soon…stay tuned for details) and Alan Snel and the shops of SWFBUD (Southwest Florida Bicycle United Dealers) for putting on this amazing event for its third year.
I hope you enjoyed this virtual “taste” of the Bicycle Bash. Perhaps we’ll see you next year?
