An ode to the potato.

Being my favorite food, other than cake, I was excited to see Bicycling cover the potato, with an albeit short story, not delicious crispy, crunchy skins and fluffy moist soft interiors, smothered in steamy luscious baked beans with a touch of cheese.

So sexy. So fine.

The article features quotes from a dietitian, who resides in the aptly named “Crested Butte”. Sultry sentence segments such as  “general face stuffing”, “gussied up into”, “creamy goodness” and “on-bike noshing” fill the page. All this talk of tubers and buttes is getting me all worked up…this after the veggie schmear on a bergen bagel at penny house cafe. If you are a consumer refugee fleeing the war ravaged Target store at Atlantic terminal, and looking for a safe haven, you’ll find it at Penny House.

Nattefrost=Cycling

A perfect title for a black metal album or for a day of cycling.

On the back of the CD case it promises that it is “The Best Album In The World”. While that is up for debate, it did make we want to vomit, and thats not a bad thing, as sometimes cycling does too. Worst album review ever?

 

Forkless Bicycle?

Over at http://thedesigninspiration.com/articles/forkless-bicycle-design-by-olli-erkkila/ theyve got a forkless bike designed by Finnish bicycle designer Olli Erkkila.

Looks…um…great?

It reminded me of this time i saw a man shouting at a statue of a boy “playing” in a fountain. “HEY GIT YER KID OUTTA THE FOUNTAIN”…I’m sure this bike will cause some confusion amongst the populace.

New Shoes! Bontrager RXL Road.

So my izumis delaminated and I needed a new pair but im fairly skint at the moment, not like I used to be but not in the market for sidis or anything did some research and found these:

I like them, price is right and im gonna take them for a test ride now.

Rafael Concept Bike

I guess the easiest way to break it to you is with the gentle touch such as George W. Bush would use. The caring and delicate “shock and awe” approach:

Characterized by a town and its Japanese fans it combines old-school with the unquenchable thirst for innovations.
The pure simplicity of the first bikes – two wheels, one gear – nothing else, together with a bespoke carbon frame made in a Formula 1 company and an innovative drivetrain.

Advanced but Reduced.

Ahhhhh yes, nothing like the simplicity of a carbon frame made by a formula 1 company. Can’t argue with that. And the unquenchable thirst for making an completely unrideable bike. I for one cant wait to put the entire weight of my body on my genitalia. But I didn’t want kids anyway, I suppose they could start using this in place of vasectomies or to sterilize sex offenders.

If you want to view the carnage for yourself head over to the horribly graphic rafael concept site at: http://vonrafael.com/en/concept-spyder.html You know how when soldiers are killed in battle the government doesn’t want pictures of the bodies or even the caskets shown? Well someone should have intervened in this case because these pictures are much too awful to be seen by the general public.

Surprisingly Wikileaks didn’t even see this coming.

Bike Divorce

Luckily I’m still in love with my bikes, so I guess that makes what most refer to as their “stable” into a “harem”. And lately ive been thinking about adding another to my polyamorous relationship. A “beater bike” to use, abuse, and cast aside when I’m done for this coming winter.

Cycling Board Games

Since im a designer, well an awful one anyway, I found this interesting from an aesthetic and historical standpoint. Its a pretty nice collection of cycling board games.

A PACKET OF CRISPS.

NOW. I WANT ONE.

NO I HAVEN’T BEEN DRINKING.

ONE OF THE HORRIBLE WALKERS FLAVORS WOULD BE QUITE NICE, THATS ALL.

Foul Fixed Gear Velocipede

From Married to the Sea

I totally know how she feels. I mean at least about getting off the fixie.

Bicycle Wins Race vs. Car, Motorcycle, even Helicopter!

http://www.psfk.com/2009/09/bicycle-beats-helicopter.html

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Being the business hub of South America and one of the largest cities in the world has its bitter side: São Paulo has been drowning in a sea of automobiles (6 million and counting) for quite some time, and the future doesn’t show any signs of improvement. Insufficient buses and subway lines, together with private vehicles mostly with single occupants, compose a scenario of daily chaos, with frequently over 80kms (50mi) of traffic jams in the main avenues.

This car-centric urban transport model is showing signs of exhaustion. The average São Paulo inhabitant spends almost three hours a day stuck in traffic jams. That’s about 15 hours a week – or almost 2 working days. Apart from the economic and psychological damages, let alone the carbon footprint, this situation is a true hindrance for the city’s development and for the well-being of the people who live in it.

It was in this scenario that the São Paulo Intermodal Challenge was held. The challenge was simple: to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible – during rush hour – using the mode of transportation of your choice. The goal was to raise awareness regarding a number of alternatives to cars, and to promote the World Carless Day, by proving that avoiding traffic – and its consequences – might just be a matter of choice.

The means of transportation chosen ranged from cars, bikes, motorbikes, and a helicopter to buses, metro, their own feet and even a wheelchair. Contrary to all forecasts, a biker won the challenge, with a total time of 22 minutes – more than 10 minutes faster than the person on the helicopter, who spent a total of 33 minutes and 30 seconds between going to the heliport, waiting for takeoff clearance, flying and landing.
The car came way behind, with a total time of 1:22– slower than the runner, who took 1:06, the bus (1:11) and just 10 minutes faster than the person who chose to walk the whole path (1:32).

To move beyond the car paradigm is a necessity, one that gains an even greater importance due to São Paulo’s size and economic relevance. The Intermodal Challenge may not present any real solution to the problem, but at least it brings some attention towards a fundamental question that is urban mobility and how it impacts the ecosystem we live in every way.

Contributed by Mauricio Soares