Hurricane Sandy on Bikes in NYC

Mountain Biking, Speed, and Common Courtesy

I'm fortunate in that I live near the hub of Cobb County's current trail system.  Within a few miles of my home are the Silver Comet Trail, the Silver Comet Trail Connector, the Rottenwood Creek Trail, the Cochran Shoals Trail, the Palisades Trail, and the Sope Creek Trail.  Some of these trails are for pedestrians only and others are multi-use trails that welcome bicyclist.  And that's where the problem comes in.

Let's take for example, the Sope Creek Trail.  It starts near Sope Creek on Paper Mill Road and runs to the Cochran Shoals Trail along the Chattahoochee.  It's a multi-use trail where people including me, hike, run, walk their dogs, and bike.  But some cyclist seem to confuse a multi-use trail with a racetrack, bombing down into the valleys at pretty much full speed.  Now I understand the attraction of speed, it's fun.  But there's a place for it and it's not on a trail with two way traffic and where around the next corner could be a child or an elderly person.  The same thing applies to a lesser degree on the Silver Comet Trail, where hammerheads in pacelines swerve  around people pushing babies in strollers.  It's crazy, it's dangerous, and it's rude.  Just as the street isn't the place to see how fast you can go in your car, MUPS are not the place to see how fast you can bike.

I fear if cyclists continue to use MUPS as racetracks someone is going to get hurt, and sadly if history is any indication all cyclists will get the blame.

Halloween Bike Parade

I really wanted to get to the Streets Alive: Halloween Bike Parade but I found myself committed somewhere else.  Luckily, Cameron from Atlanta Bicycle Chic was there with a camera.

Bikes Seen Today In Atlanta

A Sears Three Speed

A Fuji Single Speed

A Linus Roadster and it's friend

A Torpadeo, a LeMond, and a Felt

And a Penny-farthing or, if you prefer, an Ordinary

Bicycles Outsell Cars in Italy

The Telegraph is reporting, "In a radical departure for the car-mad country, home to legendary marques such as Fiat, Ferrari and Lamborghini, 1,750,000 bikes were bought in 2011 compared to 1,748,000 motor vehicles."

Now this can't come as a surprise. Cars are expensive. They're expensive to buy, expensive to insure, expensive to maintain, expensive to run, and when times are tough the high cost of cars hits home. Will this happen in the US? Probably not, Italy has an extensive rail network that provides an alternative to driving. The US rail network, is not as extensive or accessible.

Brooklyn Cyclist Killed in Hit & Run

I was looking for an update on Anthony Dixon when I ran across this sad story. "Terence Connor was near Stewart Ave. in East Williamsburg about 5:15 a.m. when he was struck, officials said. He died later at Woodhull Hospital." The driver did not stop.

Speaking of Politicians

Meet Rob Ford. He's the mayor of one of North America's great cities, Toronto. He's also an idiot. Thanks to him Atlanta may be becoming more bike friendly than Toronto.

A Bipartisan Issue- Bikes

In this election year let's see if we can find some common ground between the parties.
President Obama on a bike. But Malia dear if you're going to wear a helmet it's important to wear it properly.

Mitt Romney on a bike, in a suit, and with toe clips. Who knew he and I had something in common.

Ron Paul on a bike. He famously challenged fellow candidates to a ten mile ride in a debate.

Jon Huntsman on a bike. Top Gun style.

Bill and Hillary Clinton on bikes. Hillary must have been the one that taught Malia Obama how to wear a helmet.

Jimmy Carter on a bike, with style!

See everyone loves to bicycle.

There Are All Kinds of Bikes

I spotted this homemade chopper style bicycle outside of the office.

Important Safety Warning from Bike Friday Regarding the Tikit

Tikit Stem Issue

The Mysteries of the Internet

Today's number one referrer, adresultpages.com for buy viagra.  If you came here looking for information about viagra I'm very sorry. 

The Gear Revival

One of the problems with Atlanta is that it's so spread out and composed of so many individual neighborhoods, it's hard to know about all the good spots. Well today I discovered a good spot. The Gear Revival is a neat little shop on Marietta Street on the westside of town. Now I don't get to this part of town very often but TGR is worth the trip. If you're the kind of person who loves outdoor activities, you'll love this store. Now I'll go ahead and warn you, this store isn't huge and it doesn't have everything under the sun, but it does have what you need. The proprietors have obviously spent time hiking, climbing, and biking because the store stocks the essentials and skips the crap. Stocking both new and lightly used equipment it's a great place if, like me, you have to live on a budget.

Oh yeah, they have bikes too. A really interesting selection of used bikes several of which I wanted to bring home with me. So make some time this weekend head over to the westside and visit Mitch or Jen at the Gear Revival, it's worth the trip. Don't believe me, maybe you'll believe Fox5!
The Gear Revival

 You might me wondering how I discovered TGR and what I got there. Don't worry all will be explained soon.

Ann Althouse and I Don't Agree On Much

But we agree on this. "Pushing helmets really kills cycling and bike-sharing in particular because it promotes a sense of danger that just isn’t justified..." "... in fact, cycling has many health benefits." Now I mostly wear a helmet but there are times I don't. The solution for cyclist safety isn't more helmets, it's more cyclists, and more cycling infrastructure.

Atlanta Bicycle Chic

A great Atlanta based cycling site I just stumbled across. They're getting a link in blogroll. Atlanta Bicycle Chic

Why is the Scattante Emerald City So Popular

In the six years this blog has been around, one post is by far the most popular. On January 8, 2009, I made a comment about how nice the Scattante Emerald City looked. For some reason that post has almost a thousand more hits than my next most popular post. So what gives? I also happen to notice that much of the interest in the Scattante comes from Greece, Poland, and Russia. Are those counties filled with single speed enthusiasts? Inquiring minds want to know. http://atlantabybike.blogspot.com/2009/01/scattante-emerald-city-single-speed.html

Predawn

New Trails in Cobb County

This is part of the new trail that will eventually connect Cochran Shoals to the Silver Comet and Kennesaw Trails.

Update on the Anthony Dixon Hit and Run

According to WSB's Carl Willis, cameras near the accident scene have been able to identify the vehicle that hit Anthony Dixon as an older model black Honda. The police say it will likely have damage to the passenger side and possibly the windshield. Police also say the suspect may have decided not to drive the car following the accident, so if you see a car matching the description or know someone will an older black Honda who has suddenly stopped driving it the police ask that you look for evidence that they may be involved. If you know anything please contact the Cobb County Police Department. Anthony Dixon's neighbors say he rode his bike to work everyday and often had to start before the sun came up. His bike was outfitted with lights, he was likely doing everything right and yet he was still hit from behind. As we hope for Mr. Dixon's recovery please remember to be careful out there.

Flying With the Bike

I really don't like renting cars when I fly to other cities. The cars usually suck and it's expensive. So the logical solution is to take one of my bikes with me, but that's not as simple as it used to be. To bolster their profits airlines have started charging bag fees and evidently they see cyclists as cash cows. Delta will charge you $150 each way to transport your bike. Southwest is more reasonable at $50 each way but neither is as good as Denver based Frontier. Frontier charges just $20 for economy ticket holder to fly with a bike that's less than 50 pounds. However, there's a way to avoid these high fees through the magic of folders. A boxed folder will usually be treated like any other checked bag. But until I get my Brompton, if I want to fly with my bike I'll have to pay. Bicycling Magazine has more details.

Canton Hwy Hit and Run

Yesterday, Anthony Randolph Dixon, of Marietta was riding south on Canton Highway when he was struck from behind near the East Piedmont intersection and critically injured.  Cobb County Police are searching for a dark compact car that left the scene of the accident.  Anyone with information about the accident should contact the Cobb County Police at 770.499.3900.

Lazy Lazy Lazy

Last post July 2010!  Let's see what we can do about that.