Archive for August, 2009

Dan Savage weighs in on cycling fatalities

Posted by Erik on August 30th, 2009 filed in Don't read the comments

Sex columnist Dan Savage has weighed in on cycling fatalities. For some reason
It took a whole seven comments for someone to say that because bicyclists are small and unprotected by a giant steel cage, they should go ride elsewhere.
Erik Ryberg

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Have a great weekend everybody

Posted by Erik on August 28th, 2009 filed in Joie de vivre

Now go ride your bike.
(Image brazenly stolen from drunkcyclist.com)
–EBR

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Sidewalk bike repair shops in NYC

Posted by Erik on August 27th, 2009 filed in bike shops, opportunity knocks

The New York Times has a great article on the sidewalk bike repair shops that are starting to appear in New York, probably as a result of more cyclists and a growing market.
I’ll never forget sitting in a cafe in Mexico City and watching a delivery boy with a flat tire make a call on [...]

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Trolley tracks in Fourth Avenue Underpass claim two on opening night

Posted by Erik on August 26th, 2009 filed in safety

It appears that at least two bicyclists suffered broken bones from falling on the trolley tracks when the Fourth Avenue Underpass opened last Thursday night.
It seems every time the Tuesday Night Bike Ride goes past the tracks, somebody goes down. It happened again last night, but the cyclist was fortunately not injured.
You [...]

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Geocaching and ghost bikes

Posted by Erik on August 25th, 2009 filed in memorial

Geocaching is a kind of high-tech treasure hunt except mainly without the treasure.
I got an email not long ago from a person asking my thoughts on placing geocaches at ghost bikes around town. I spent some time thinking about it but never got back to him since I didn’t really know what [...]

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Available only in Denmark

Posted by Erik on August 25th, 2009 filed in Cool bikes

Behold the Raleigh Glorie.

Available only in Denmark. Sigh.
–Erik Ryberg

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Breaking News: drive-thru bike ban killed by text message sent by woman on four-person bike

Posted by Erik on August 21st, 2009 filed in Carhead

Only in Portland, Oregon.
A mom rides up to a wind-powered, locavore burger-joint on an Xtra-cycle with all three of her kids on it, and gets refused service at the drive thru window. So she tweets about it and the next thing you know the Burgerville is changing their policy and she’s in USA Today.
What [...]

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Fourth Avenue Underpass is open — what do you think?

Posted by Erik on August 21st, 2009 filed in Joie de vivre, safety

I am hoping to try it out by bike sometime today. My friend A went through it and reports that navigating the tracks and trolley scared her to death.
Meanwhile, as we celebrate getting the underpass, Copenhagen will get 13 new bike super-highways.
According to the article, 55 percent of Copenhagen citizens ride their bike daily! [...]

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Rockpile

Posted by Erik on August 20th, 2009 filed in I am in slack-jawed awe

Tucsonbikelawyer was vacationing/researching a case in the mountains of Colorado last week. The nice thing about this case is it required me to go to some very remote places that were not accessible by road. So I took my trusty mountain bike, a Surly Karate Monkey single-speed that I had the folks at [...]

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Charles Nystrom family thanks those who were present with him

Posted by Erik on August 20th, 2009 filed in getting off easy again, memorial

This letter to the editor was published today in the AZ Daily Star:
Share the road
Aug. 14 marked the anniversary of Chuck Nystrom’s death on Tanque Verde Road. My husband was struck and killed by an impaired and impatient driver that day. Also, that day, four nurses stopped to offer the benefit of their professional skills. [...]

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