The Bacon Strip » biking-OFF

Sweet Salty Salvation

Wolfy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:28:04 +0000

Great meetup @ The Great Basin with VNasty, LowCO2, Margtet, Jwox, and Bustigator last night!

Your next chance to get socks is Friday @ 5:00 @ the Critical Mass in Reno. Here’s the deets on that event.

Cool Bike Tool

Wolfy — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:48:55 +0000

Prototype fish bone bike tool from Sean Michael Ragan Make Magazine

Looks handy. I’d buy one.

-M

d is for douche

Wolfy — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:01:35 +0000

Just saw this tweet from Photo John:

RT @alandavisphoto: A new fear for America, Big Bicycle? http://www.dowdmuska.com/index.htm douchebag alert right here! RT @portlanddesignwless than a minute ago via TweetDeckPhoto-John
Photo_John

I won’t go into the arguments for bike transportation. They are pretty obvious. I will say that I have 2 cars and burn about 20,000 miles worth of gas a year. So I think i deserve those gas tax dollars that get spent on bikes. Here’s the article in full so you don’t have to click on his site link. Also, there’s no permalink, so if he takes it down it’s gone…

If you think he’s a douche, email Douche Dowd Muska here. Emphasis is all mine.

Four Wheels Good, Two Wheels Bad

June 3, 2010

There is something profoundly wrong with a nation where more adults ride bicycles than children.

America might now be such a nation.

While kids sit at home texting their friends and slaying computer-generated monsters, a growing number of their parents and grandparents are clogging the roads atop a contraption that was once considered a child’s toy.

We will have accurate data when the 2010 census is complete, but there are already strong indications of bicycling’s rise in popularity. Fortunately for red-state America, the phenomenon is more common in urbanized regions along the coasts. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia recently gushed that the “2009 American Community Survey found that the number of commuters [in Philadelphia] who rode a bicycle to work rose from 4,778 to 9,410 between 2005 and 2008: a 97 percent increase in 3 years.”

Two odious ideologies fuel the popularity of bicycling: anti-obesity extremism and eco-lunacy. Pedal power, we are told, will not only make you thinner, it will reduce your “carbon footprint.” (It’s a Nanny State twofer.)

Already slim, or pursuing other means to lose weight? Like your SUV, and don’t swallow the discredited theory that man is baking the planet? Then obviously you’re an idiot. In 2003, BusinessWeek asked Andy Clarke, director of state and local advocacy for the League of American Bicyclists, to respond to the fact that 500,000 Americans commute by bicycle. The figure was “pathetic,” he snorted, “for a nation that should be smarter and wiser.”

Feeling themselves superior to their countrymen in both health and environmental consciousness, many bicyclists flout road rules. Last year, The Boston Globe reported: “On any hour of any day … bicyclists routinely run red lights, ride the wrong way on one-way streets, zip along sidewalks, and cut off pedestrians crossing streets legally — even though bike riders are supposed to obey the same traffic laws as motorists. Sometimes, a bicyclist will do all of these things in one two-wheeled swoop. The city seems unable to stop it.”

Writing in the Rocky Mountain News, Arvada, Colorado resident J.M. Schell admitted that there was “a very, very good reason so many view those of us who are cyclists as rude, arrogant jerks. Most of us are.”

Recklessness and lawbreaking notwithstanding, Big Bicycle has attained the status of a lobby that cannot be ignored. “Bikes Belong,” an agitprop shop “sponsored by the U.S. bicycle industry with the goal of putting more people on bicycles more often,” boasts of “12 professional staff, 18 volunteer directors, and a $2 million annual operating budget.”

“Maximizing Federal Support for Bicycling,” a page on the organization’s website, explains that it spent $1 million on lobbying between 2002 and 2005, which ultimately produced “$4.5 billion for bicycling and walking in SAFETEA-LU, the … transportation law passed in August 2005.” Where did that money come from? You guessed it: the federal gas tax. (Four out of every ten dollars raised by the levy are diverted to non-highway expenses.)

Where did the dough go? To state and local pols, who gleefully commit drivers’ forced contributions to dubious bike schemes. “There’s never been so much attention from cities collectively for cycling as a mode of transportation,” the executive editor of Bicycling magazine swooned to USA Today in 2007. “Bike to Work” days and weeks are commonplace. “Bicycle planning” is providing lucrative jobs for bureaucrats eager to wield the coercive power of government to change commuting habits.

Remarkably, Big Bicycle was able to get in on Wall Street’s bailout. The National Center for Bicycling and Walking notes that fedpols’ 2008 rescue of financial firms included a rather unrelated perk: “Starting January 1, 2009, employers who provide bike parking, bathing facilities, tune-ups, or other support for bicycle commuting, can deduct up to $20 a month per participating employee from their own taxable income.”

Is bicycle-commuting a credible traffic-fighting tool? No, says Cato Institute scholar — and avid cyclist — Randal O’Toole. “I don’t think encouraging cycling is going to reduce congestion or significantly change the transportation makeup of our cities,” he said. “There really is very little evidence that any of [these efforts] are reducing the amount of driving. They’re just making it more annoying to drivers.” (O’Toole observes that telecommuting is far more common, and growing faster, than getting to work on a bike.)

Bicycles are wonderful, of course. For children. Only misanthropes complain about stopping or yielding to safely accommodate a couple of twelve-year-olds pedaling their way to the fishin’ hole.

For adults, bicycling has become a finger-wagging, revenue-pilfering, and increasingly obnoxious crusade.

D. Dowd Muska (www.dowdmuska.com) is a writer, commentator and lecturer. He lives in Connecticut.

Monster Bike

Wolfy — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:03:54 +0000

No suspension, but i bet this thing would do pretty well on Peavine! Made by some goofball in the netherlands, where they looooove bikes…

It’s like they devolved bicycle technology to the Penny Farthing, then pumped it full of brawndo and steroids…

-M

These guys should be on the team

Wolfy — Fri, 28 May 2010 21:41:35 +0000

Anyone else think the red and white ones look like bacon?

“”In order to become a member of the Original Scraper Bike Team, you must: Be a resident of Oakland, CA. Be at least 7y/o or older. Retain A 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA), Create your own Scraper Bike…(It Has To Be Amazing, Or Else You Can’t Ride.) A single-file line when riding. After 10 rides The Scraper Bike King and his Captains will decide if your bike is up to standards and if you can follow simple guidelines. After your evaluation we will consider you a member and honor you with an Original Scraper Bike Team Shirt. Only worn when Mobbin’ Stay posted to our website for all upcoming Scraper Bike Rides…” — The Scraper Bike King”

Check out the original Scraper Bike video. I’m going to go home and look for that old roll of foil tape. Check out more stories like this one from California is a place.

Photo by dmourati

-M

Trucker Bike

Wolfy — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:16:33 +0000

Sometimes it can seem a little silly to throw the bike, the dog, the friends in the car and drive across down to the trailhead. What’s the point? You should just ride. Well, in a perfect world you would, but it’a not always practical. Except when it is…

Stites Design, Portland Oregon:
“The Trucker Trike is intended for business, with a universal flat-bed that can be customized for any use.

All-wheel drive, where the front wheel is driven by human power, and both rear wheels are driven by electric motors. Front Wheel Drive is pedal powered, with a patented mid-drive system that provides high drive power without steering pull.” Read More

Looks like it’s like LowCO2′s Optibike with the added benefit of being able to carry a combined 400 pounds of bacon and beer.

More photos/videos here.

SWEET!

-M

Vote for Tour de Cul de Sac!

Wolfy — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:06:14 +0000

[NOTICE: They changed the Survey link, If you already voted, please vote again!]

The official Team Bacon Strip video for Tour De Cul De Sac has been selected for the top 20 in the Reno River Festival’s Humans in Motion video contest!

Show your support for The Team, The Tour and Jerz falling off a bike by voting for the TDC video here.

Vote at work, the vote at home, then vote from every computer you have, then tell all your friends. If–WHEN–we win, I’ll use the money to bankroll the TBS t-Shirts and Sock Guy Socks!

ALSO be sure to click the “resommend” button below and share this will your Facebook friends!

-M

fantastic Fall

japhyrider — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:14:39 +0000

watching the movie about the Leadville Trail 100 last night was pretty cool. did it make me want to give it a go, again? maybe… it definitely reminded me of all the great people we’ve raced with, who’ve volunteered at and organized those races, and who’ve become such good friends along the way. they’re what bring me back year after year and keep me looking for new and fun events to try. in the mean time, i keep on riding the local and near-local trails we are soooo lucky to have around here.

cheers to all the folks that make this sport fun at multiple levels!

Tour de Cul de Sac 2009

Wolfy — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:39:33 +0000

It was an incredible race. Stubbie got the fastest time in the time trial, but was beaten in the demolition derby. All in all TBS did really well, with Stubbie, Aaron and Bustigator in the finals. Tennile won the pink jerzy, and Griz was the only one to crash going over the jump backwards. I did ok considering I took a beer to the face (thanks Aaron) while coming down the starting ramp on the tandem with Ryan.

Best crash of the night was when the Jerz boys planted face off the end of the starting ramp. Finally a bike took some payback. Stings don’t it…

Thanks to the Race Committee for another AWESOME tour. Onesie was a kickass race director and announcer and though it was a bit of a drive, the venue was perfect.

-M

bike hero

Wolfy — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:45:59 +0000

In latest mobile video game news, nintendo, or sony, or x-box, or someone has developed a new interactive mobile video game version of the popular Guitar Hero game from one of those companies that makes video games. (i could google it, but don’t care). This version blends the wonders of technology with a newly invented personal gaming console. This new gaming console has two wheels mounted in tandem to a steel or aluminum frame.

The one seen in the above video is a cheap mass produced aluminum product, but already a few craftsmen are designing and building these so called “bicycle gaming consoles” by hand in makeshift one man factories.

This new personal gaming console looks like it could be a big hit with the kids. Not only can you play Guitar Hero, but some gamers are already figuring out other tricks such as what they are calling “The Wheelie” and “The Power Slide.” The gaming consoles are also being spotted now and then parked @ mini marts where gamers are stocking up on beer and doritos. Some have even fashioned cup holders out of wire and are going on extended Video Game Adventures amount the consoles. This one looks like a video game that Team Bacon Strip could actually endorse!

TBS has acquired several test samples which will be distributed to the membership for our review. Full report to follow…

-M