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I must have an abnormal skull. I mean, it seems to be the right shape for a human head, but after trying on dozens of different helmets I was beginning to feel slightly, er, different.

I put each model of Bern on my head at Interbike, hoping that one of their stylish lids would fit my melon. Not a one. Too bad, I liked their brimmed look. I really wanted to join the Nutcase gang with a classic 'Blackdana' helmet, but again no dice. With medium being too tight and large sitting on top like a wobbly Mario Mushroom, I just couldn’t do it. Much to my chagrin, I was left looking at other, less “cool” helmets.

On  a mostly sunny Saturday afternoon in Portland Bonnie Hildebrand and Pete Hoebel got maried.  Nothing unusual about that – weddings happen all the time. But not so often in the middle of a large traffic circle, nor do those assembled usually pedal off to a nearby park for the 'reception' to watch and take part in a bicycle jousting tournament. But these folks did, with the Bride and Groom leading the way on the ride to the park.

I was there with a modestly large Canadian flag flying from the back of my bike. This added a certain poignancy as the groom was Canadian – hailing from the Gulf Islands. That of course required a photo of the happy couple in front of my Canadian flag, which you see at the top of this piece.

Recognizing the 'bikes across the border' nature of this bikey marriage, MOMENTUM magazine will be giving them a free  subscription to the magazine to help inspire them to even greater two-wheeled achievements.

For more photos of this happy event, go to: http://tinyurl.com/m8koj9

On a rainy, muddy afternoon in Portland, Oregon cargo bike builders and riders gathered for a timed contest of cargo carrying ability.

Surprisingly, all survived.  As did all of the eggs involved in the second phase of the contest.

For photos of this part of the Pedalpalooza phantasmagoria, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/mymte2

When I started working at Momentum Magazine in October 2007 I was perfectly content riding my regular ol' commuter hybrid bike around the city.  A bike is a bike is a bike, right? 

Not anymore!  Over the past year and a half I have seen so many different types of bikes on the street, at trade shows, in our magazine, in other magazines and so on that each day I became more and more un-satisfied with my current ride.  I started dreaming about what my perfect city bike would be.... a stylish mixte frame (I love wearing dresses!), internal gears, a basket and a comfortable saddle.  I had already fallen in love with disc brakes (which come in very handy for wet west coast climates) and knew that my perfect bike would have these too.

 

There are many and varied themes for the 200 or so rides that happen as part of Pedalpalooza.  One that inspires cyclists to turn out in droves is food. 

In this case Tacos certainly inspired the 50 or more riders who came for the ride.

You can see photos of this ride at   http://tinyurl.com/lx3hcl

As the ride as become more and more popular it puts an increasing strain on the small places that we visit.  But in spite of that and a few other glitches, a good time seemed to be had by all.

Now about that pizza ride later in the schedule...

I spent a week or so at Pedalpalooza in 2007 and 2008, and this year I am in Portland for Pedalpalooza in its entirety. Why? Lets just say that Portland has an enviable skill and history when it comes to bike fun.

Laura gets to San Francisco via bicycle and BART. Laura picks up Matt Reamer’s Car. It’s an amazing 1997 Toyota station wagon, that to say the least… is battle weary. There is a program on NPR about Piracy in Somalia and International Sea Law. Laura is feeling a bit like a pirate… or a traitor… for driving. Laura heads to the Lower Haight, halfway there she realizes she is driving “the Wiggle,” a bike route from the Mission to the Haight. Laura Picks up a PA from John at Mojos, and is once again reminded of how much she loves Mojo Bicycle Café... double espresso—short pull, Clif Shot Blocks, gold Velocity rims, you want it, they got it!

I made it to Mikes Bikes just before rush hour, on a Thursday, in San Francisco—the new Friday! I had switched the station to classical… Bach, I can’t stand Bach… it’s like the Diet Coke of classical.

Lane, a mechanic at Mike’s bikes, jumped in the car. We A lined to his house to get his DJ equipment. Then we B lined to Exit 154, Jim Swanson’s art space, and ground ZERO for the Momentum party!

The marketer's at Knog always make me smile, shake my head, and make me wonder what they will come up with next.  We received some comments about the Knog ad in Issue #38: Knogucation, both positive and negative.  What did you think about it?

Check out the latest Knog marketing stunts here:

http://www.youtube.com/knogtv

 

 

I have already blogged about my view on helmets.

My view on bicycling helmet and other bicycling related "crackdowns" like the one the Vancouver police are currently conducting is that the police should be consistent and rather than gratuitously giving tickets out where it is easy for both them and an easy media opportunity like relatively safe bike lanes, the police should be giving out tickets at places that are actually dangerous (and I am not the first to blog about this see the comments on the this bicycling "crackdown" over at pricetags such as the following (in no particular order):

Just a quick one...

I was at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show this past February putting on an ArtBike! event and happened to meet Amarins Harrison as she and her young daughter we looking at artwork children in Indianapolis had made about bicycles.

She told me that her, her husband and their three young children!, were preparing to embark on a bicycle journey from Kentucky to Alaska... I was floored!

Now we can all follow the Amarins all the way.

http://www.pedouins.org/

A while ago I wrote an article for the Momentum print magazine, arguing for the use of cyclo-cross (CX) bikes  as sporty city bikes:

http://www.momentumplanet.com/node/326

After the article was published, I had a number of bicycle geeks personally comment to me on how CX bikes may seem appropriate on the surface, but that their choice is way off due to issues like bottom bracket height (CX bikes are higher for the clearance needed for off-road riding).  I personally felt this was a great point in theory, but of limited practicality in reality.  I ride a variety of bikes on a daily basis, from twitchy race road bikes,  CX bikes (my commuter), to trail bikes and quite frankly I don't particularly notice the geometry differences in CX bikes on day-to-day riding.  I would if I was trying to push the bike to the limits of its handling, but for commuting, bit of touring and running erands I think the isue is silly.

Anyway, most of these were just my thoughts that I wasn't about to articulate in a public forum, until I received this email:

As a bicycling photographer, I have a perpetual pain in the neck from lugging my gear around on my shoulders and back. I have my eyes on an Xtracycle and can’t wait to build up my old Marin frame with the FreeRadical Kit and get down to some serious hauling (lights, tripod, cameras, lenses, models, etc).
But that’s a few months down the road, so I jumped at the chance to try out the largest bicycle basket I have ever seen – the Wald 157 Giant Delivery Basket. We got a variety of front baskets in at Momentum, and we’re doing a little shakedown for our next issue.

Having never ridden with a front load, I must say this thing has taken me by surprise. It’s a small adjustment but before you know it I was feeling the “swoop” that comes with turning under load. And I liked it! Almost like skiing fresh powder, you glide along and the momentum moves you. I also feel somewhat more invincible, the basket acting as a kind of front bumper for those close calls in traffic. I suspect this could be a downside…false security will only get you so far.

Transport for London has done it again with a great follow-up to their "Do the Test" Cycling awareness video (remember the one on the basketball court?)

Thanks to Chris Brennan of Toronto for sending this in.

It's been approximately 2 years (I started June 27, 2007 a few times a week and worked slowly up to daily commuting) since I started commuting from East Vancouver to Gastown Monday to Friday, 5 km each way for a grand total of 10km and here are some reflections:

In an unexpected development in the world of cycling, Walmart has started selling recumbent bikes.  As befits a big box store, it is not a great recumbent, but at $ 275 US - roughly half the price of previous introductory recumbents -  this may open the world of recumbent riding to more cyclists.

 

While most cycling sites and blogs focus on bicycle shops, it is a perhaps sad fact that over 80% of the bicycles sold in Canada are purchased  not in bike shops, but in large chain stores like Walmat, Canadian Tire, and the like.  So to understand trends in bicycle sales we really need to also pay attention to these sources, distasteful though that may be to some.

So what does this represent?  A brave new world for mass acceptance of recumbents?  Or proof positive that it is truly the 'end of days', at least for recumbent bikes?