Stupid Ad

This morning while I was getting ready for work I saw an incredibly stupid ad on the television.  It basically consisted of a businessman in a suit and tie riding a pink children’s bike down the road and then pulling into a parking garage, followed by the tag “Need something.”  What made this ad especially stupid was the words that appeared at the bottom of the screen as the man pulled into the parking garage, “Do not attempt.”  What the hell does this mean?  Do not attempt to ride a kid’s bike; don’t tell that to the Zoobombers.  Do not attempt to ride a bike in a suit; don’t tell that to the Dutch.  Do not attempt to ride a bike into a parking garage; don’t tell that to me.  Everyday I commute to work by bicycle I ride into the parking garage where our two bike racks are located.  Maybe the message is do not attempt to ride a bike if you’re an adult, you really need a car.  In fact on reflection I’m sure that’s it.    

How to cut back on bike riding

Enroll in law school.

July 2006 Bar Exam

The questions from the July 2006 Georgia Bar Examination have finally been posted to the Georgia Bar Admissions website.  If you’re curious take a look here.  What’s the Georgia Bar Exam like?  Well just read the opening sentence of the first question from the July exam, “A member of the Georgia legislature was blinded in one eye when a player accidentally poked him in the eye during a basketball game.”

 

That my friends is comedy gold.

A few photos from a short ride

This is the new Cobb Performing Arts Center and soon home to the Atlanta Opera. Evidently the Opera's move from downtown to the suburbs has caused quite a bit of controversy from the supporters of the opera.


Have I mentioned we have a lot of hills around here? This one is so steep at the top that it's tough to keep the front wheel down.


Vinings Georgia also known as Cobb's fake small town.


Down by the river.


This is the usually very busy Cobb Parkway.

Bicycle Riding Candidate for Governor

Unfortunately he’s not in Georgia

 

I was reading the Economist when my eyes were drawn to a photo of a man standing astride an Xtracycle. Rod Byran, an independent candidate for governor in Arkansas, is getting international press with his outsider campaign. Mr. Bryan believes that making it easier for people to ride bicycles would improve the quality of life, make everyone healthier, and lessen Arkansas's obesity rate.

You sir have my respect

I just saw a cyclist ride by Moe’s wearing a black jersey and black shorts when it’s 93 degrees and sunny outside.

From the comments section

John from Savannah fills us in on the Georgia State Bicycle & Pedestrian Conference, October 24-25 at the Decatur Holiday Inn.  Thanks John!

A good sign?

Rising oil prices drive Professor Gordon Smith to bike to work.  Will others follow?

It's Hot All Over

Here in the south we’re used to the heat but when you see temperatures like 97 in Chicago and New York you know it’s a nationwide heat wave. 

Are Fixies Illegal In Oregon

 

Maybe, Bike Portland has the details.

Jennifer Ewing

I wanted to post about Jennifer Ewing yesterday but I just couldn’t find the right words.  Jennifer was murdered while on her regular ride, a fifty mile run on the Silver Comet Trail.  Her partially clothed body and bike were found just off the trail in Paulding County.  I can make all kinds of lofty pronouncements about not living in fear but the fact remains that Jennifer is dead today just because she was a woman and she was alone.  I have a 13 year old daughter who is a great rider and soon she’ll grow tired of having to wait around for dad to catch up and want to ride off on her own.  I always thought that when that day comes I would be able to let her go, today I’m less sure.

Ok

No sooner than I write that last post MSNBC posts the news, it was Floyd.

You knew this was coming

After missing Acht van Chaam and now the Grand Prix Jyske Bank race speculation is flying that Floyd Landis in the unknown Tour rider who failed his doping test.  I love how people jump to the doping conclusion even though we all know Floyd’s hip is in bad shape.  I really hope this doesn’t turn out to be true because it would really ruin what I thought was a great Tour.

Finally

The Atlanta Business Chronicle is reporting the flex-car is coming to Atlanta.  The pilot program kicked off at Emory on June 19^th.  More details to come.

A good ride and around the cycling blog world

Saturday I had to run over to REI so instead of spending 15 minutes to drive there in the car I spent 45 minutes riding the bike.  Traffic was light and it wasn’t too warm so it had all the makings of a great ride.  I saw a few cyclists on Mt. Vernon Highway, I waved at joggers on Heards Ferry Road, I enjoyed being outside and exercising, in short I enjoyed everything that makes cycling such a great way to get around.  My only complaint was a section of Mt. Vernon where they had torn up the road for the construction of a new neighborhood, it was four hundred feet of grooves and being peppered by rocks.

 

Over at Oil is For Sissies, we have a great discussion about cul-de-sacs and what they mean to those of us who bicycle for transportation.  This is a real problem here in North Atlanta, it’s damn hard to find truly connected neighborhoods.

 

Interestingly enough Todd over at Clever Chimp touches on a similar theme.

 

At Two Cities Two Wheels Matt express frustration at being refused service at a drive-through while on his bike.  This has happened to me at Wendy’s but never at the bank.

 

Commute By Bike reviews Ergon Performance Grips.

 

Let’s Ride Year Round has a rainy Monday ride.

 

 

 

Tour de France Live Tracker

Here’s a pretty neat way to spend your morning at the office.

Wow

Wow.

Peep's New Bike

Last night we put the finishing touches on Peep’s new bike.  Of course Peep’s new bike is one of my old bikes; we built up my old Gary Fisher Wahoo frame into a nice all around bike for my youngest kid.  It’s probably just a hair to tall for her but she’s still growing and I’ve always preferred my frames to be on the big side.  This weekend we’re going to ride over to the Silver Comet Trail and give it a proper shakedown. 

 

Building this bike with my kid has been a great experience.  Not only did it provide a lot of father daughter time it also allowed her to learn the basics of bicycle mechanics including how to use most of my tools.  Photos to follow soon.

Midtown & Downtown Bike Suitability Map

There’s a new bike suitability map available covering the midtown and downtown areas.  You can download it here.

 

A big tip of the hat to Atlanta Bicycle Commuter for this one.

Expressway Craziness

What’s crazier than making I-75 in Cobb County 23 lanes wide?  How about adding extra elevated lanes to I-285 across the top end perimeter?  Despite the huge costs of these projects nothing seems to indicate that Atlanta is anywhere near breaking its addiction to the automobile.  Now the Cobb County project is priced at 2 billion and the elevated lanes have to at least cost that much, so imagine how many of these we could build with the same amount of money?  Imagine a climate and grade controlled bicycle expressway that would link residential, business, and retail areas.  Visit Velo-city to learn more about the idea.