David Byrne's bike racks

When I was little my parents played the Talking Heads a lot...and True Stories was a great movie, but when I saw that David Byrne was a bicycle enthusiast as well as an artist,musician,director,and adventurer I gained instant respect for him.

                  In 2008 he designed some artistic bike racks in NYC, adding some fun and creativity in the city!

                                                   The racks have even inspired bicycle scavenger hunts!

                           If your lucky you may even spot the 30 year avid cyclist cruising around Manhattan.

                                                                 Listen to his commentary while riding!

Some may say he is a genius... maybe even eccentric, but to take a ride with this guy would be great fun and hilarious to boot!

Bicycle School

Looking to improve your wrench skills but not sure how? Want to build your very own bike frame?
Whether your looking to build your own wheels or become a certified mechanic I've got the info for you!

USA

Barnett Bicycle Institute - Colorado Springs, Colorado

United Bicycle Institute - Portland, Oregon

Canada

Winterborne Bicycle Institute - Guelph, Ontario

Quadra Island Bicycle Mechanic Training Program - Quadra Island, British Columbia

Technocycle - Montreal, Quebec

UK  (Cytech Accreditation)

ATG Training - Manchester, UK

PJCS Cycle Training - Milton Keynes, UK

 

If you can't find one near you there may be a vocational school that offers a bicycle repair class. Local bike shops also have bike repair classes taught by mechanics through the Park Tool School.

 

If you would like to start making your own frames why not learn from Master Frame Builder Koichi Yamaguchi!

 

You may have to wait awhile though... he only takes on about 3 students at a time and is fully booked for 2011. For around $3000 and 2 weeks of your time you will get to learn how to make a bicycle frame for personal use or just for art. Yamaguchibike

 

But remember a bicycle mechanic is 95% experience 4% intuition 1% certfication... and maybe part super hero.

Bicycle Photos and Art 3

 Here are some more interesting finds!

                                                                               Crash and Burn.

                                                                      Country of Smiles and Peace.

                                                                          I hope that net worked.

                                                                    What is she doing with my bike?

                                                                         Faster than a mosquito!

                                                     In 1910 $17.95 would be the equivalent of $420 today.

                                                                 Wonder how much this costs now?

                                                                           She will pump you up.

U.S. Bike/Pedestrian Funding is preserved in last minute Senate deal

Hopefully everyone has been riding their bikes and enjoying the great weather lately!

Some of you may or may not of been aware of Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn's amendment to eliminate bike and pedestrian funding from the Transportation Enhancements Program.

The funds are used to create more bike lanes, widen rural roads, recreational trails, safer routes to schools, and overall add accessibility and safety to bicyclists. These are all good investments that pay off in the long run and it is hard for me to understand why people choose to oppose it. As a fellow Oklahoman and bike rider I am upset to say the least that my own Senator spent time and effort to eliminate essential bike funding. Glad I didn't vote for him and maybe he should spend a few hours on a bike so he can see for himself how the funding is used and/or should be used.

But after a few thousand phone calls and emails from citizens the U.S. Senate forced Senator Coburn to withdraw his proposal yesterday and as a result, funding has been extended for all federal transportation programs to March 31, 2012. A big win for bikes!

However, Senator Coburn has been at this since 2009 and will not stop, so you can be sure I will be sending him a detailed letter soon about the importance of bicycle infrastructure in Oklahoma and in the United States.

Remember bike riding is fun and always should be! But there are people out there who don't like bikes and actively work against them.

Don't let them get in your way.

Bamboo Bikes

What if you could grow your own bike?

 The bamboo bicycle is a cool new alternative for a bicycle frame, and it's getting a lot of attention these days.

Bamboo bikes have been around since 1894 but only recently have companies started specializing in it.

 Organic Bikes makes the Caleb frame which I plan on getting soon. They also make other bamboo products such as fenders and grips as well as reclaimed bike packs and saddlebags and biodegradable water bottles.

Bamboo bikes are also helping empower people in third world countries by creating jobs, increasing carrying capacity by 5 times, and increase the distance a person can travel by four times compared to walking.

  Zambikes is one such company using bamboo and steel bicycles to help citizens improve their community.

The Zambulance is helping ferry patients from home to a clinic comfortably as compared to a wheelbarrow or an ox cart which I assume wouldn't be a smooth ride.

Links to some other companies and projects- http://bamboobikestudio.com/ http://www.bamboosero.com/ http://bamboobike.org/ http://www.bikebamboo.com/

Girls on bikes

 To me, there is nothing hotter than a girl on a bike. Even more so if they know how to ride!

                                         I wonder how she got up there, or how she got down for that matter.

                                                                  I heard tires taste like asphalt.

                                                             I think I need a new paint job on my bike.

                                                                              Like a boss.

                                                              Not too sure what is going on here.

                                                                  My, how the times have changed.

Self Inflating Bicycle Tire

Bicycle tires lose pressure due to air molecules diffusing through the rubber sidewalls.  This requires cyclists to air up their tires often due to the high operating pressures (up to 120 psi) and thin sidewalls of most bicycle tires.

I recently found this project on kickstarter.com called PumpTire.

They have almost raised $15,000 for the worlds first self-pressurizing bike tire. As I understand it the PumpTire inner tube clips into the tire to enable air to pass from the tire to the tube and you are able to change tire pressure on the fly.

You can check it out for yourself and pre-order @ PumpTire.com

Until this comes out you will still have to air up and change your tubes the old fashioned way. Or will you?

The Flybikes Cobra tube may make it a little easier for you 20 inchers out there.

The cobra tube from flybikes on Vimeo.