Chicago Bike Blog

Vegas detox

It really takes a while to recover from Vegas. It's been, what, three or four days, and my head is till buzzing from the pinging sound of those one-armed-bandit machines. Or was it Chris ringing a bell in an uncharacteristic macho moment?

Yes, really, he whacked that weight all the way to the top, as Deb and I jumped up and cheered in unison (that's why the picture is blurry). Only in Vegas. In real life, Chris wouldn't be caught dead participating in such displays of prowess.
Vegas has a shifty geography. It's enough to make everyone's head a little askew.

You really have to enter at your own risk. Why is it, for example, that when you are staying at a premium hotel on the strip, the cab ride there from the airport takes you through several freeway overpasses, and costs $35, and when you stay at a business class hotel a mere half mile away, you can get there in less than ten minutes for under ten bucks? Why is it that when someone says a place is two blocks away it takes you 45 minutes to get there?

Like the bike polo match that was supposedly just around the corner. By the time we got there, it was too late to take a decent picture.
I believe that the giant Vegas casinos sit on tectonic plates, and actually change position as you fruitlessly try to navigate its streets.
Interbike is no less confusing. Before I get to the important business of telling you about the great new finds, I'll leave you with a few impressions.
Take this frame, for instance.

Really , the perfect vehicle for your fishnet stockings, don't you agree?

Lusting after an Airstream?

Well, you could always do a pop-up while you let your savings account grow.

Does this message (ahem...) stop you in your tracks?

Well, maybe this one will get you going?

The excesses and the silliness of Vegas sometimes overshadowed the fact that we were really there to celebrate the vehicle that will save the world. Give me just a little more time to recover, and I'll tell you how.

What's in your bag?

This post comes to you from Boblo Island in the straits of Mackinac. I am siting at the only public establishment with wi-fi available on this small snippet of land.

ChicCyclist has invited some people to disclose the contents of their bags. Here's my contribution.

We can debate the relative merits of messenger bags, backpacks and panniers all day long. If you've read this blog before, you already know that my favorite bike bag is the humble grocery pannier.

Because I almost always use it when I bike, and certainly every time I run errands with my bike, I keep the most necessary essentials it it at all times.

Here's a close-up:

And some debris, it seems.

If you take away the debris, these are the essentials that are left:

• Two bunji cords for carrying unexpected loads.
• Kryptonite Evolution mini-lock.
• I can get away with the mini-lock, because I use locking skewers on my wheels. But that means I must always carry the wheels removal gizmo with me, I case I get a flat. That gizmo is attached to my bike lock key, which always lives in the grocery pannier.

Speaking of flats, you doubtless noticed that any flat-repair items are conspicuously absent from my bag. That is because, attached to the seat of my bike at all times, is a bag that contains the flat-fixing necessities. I don't have to remember to bring it. It's always there.

Of course, when I go places with or without my bike, there are other items that I inevitably need.

• Notebook (after trying every day planner in existence, I have settled upon a blank, plain paper Moleskine pad (link) to contain my tasks, to-do's, shopping lists, phone numbers, directions, recipes, and letters to be mailed tucked into the little pocket on the back cover).
• A few business cards, if I happen to remember them.
• Energy bar (a current favorite is one made for kids)
• Tea tree oil (for mosquito bites)
• Nail file
• Tea bags
• Lip balm
• Pen
• Cell phone

But I don't have a special bike bag. Sometimes I use a small shoulder bag, sometimes a canvas sack, other times a purse. Any bag I happen to choose fits conveniently inside my grocery pannier. Which is why it's my favorite bike bag.

What bike would Obama ride?

Well, apparently an ordinary hybrid!

"Obama's geeky get-up: bad fashion, good politics" sez the ever-fashionable Newsweek. Cool or uncool, he appears to be doing what we advise people to do every day: ride your ordinary bike, wear your ordinary clothes, tow your child in a trail-a-bike (ok, he needs to raise his seat).

I mean, what were they expecting?! Obama doing a track stand at the corner of State and Jackson wearing a cycling cap and an overstuffed messenger bag slung over his shoulder?

But maybe we could spiff up his ride a little, heh? Like so:

Good thing Chris is not running for political office. The press would have a field day.

Junque Bikes

What could this have been used for?

Just take a look at that sweet fork! And the cool main frame design. And how about those multi-position handlebars. What the heck did they haul around in it?  Anybody?

Anyway, this cool thing is available at a junque shop in Glenn, Michigan, one of my favorite places to stop whenever I'm in the area.

Maybe they are celebrating bike month, because they seemed to have a bit of a bike theme going.

Junqui cruisers galore!

Apehangers!

Safety first! (I think this distiguished gentleman looks a little bit like a certain former executive director of the CBF, no?)

For more on Sunset Junque, click here.

This is not a post about biking

Indulge me.
I'm going to write this post in blue, because, well, I feel blue... It has been so %@#&**#! cold, that I just haven't felt like setting foot outside, let alone get my butt on a bike. But today, it warmed up a bit. Enough for me to venture as far as my garage to see if anything useful was lurking in the freezer. And while I was poking around the garage, I happened to gaze upon my cross country skis.

It is a little known fact, that cross country skiing is my absolute favorite outdoor activity in the whole world. Yep. Even more favorite than, gulp, biking. Maybe it's because where I live it can be enjoyed so infrequently. Who knows? I love it!

In no time, I pulled on a pair of tights and a jacket and hat, and set about making some tracks in the woods. As my body was unused to this type of movement, it was a bit slow going at first. My feet cramped, my fingers froze, I kept getting out of breath, and losing my stride. Why did I ever think this would be fun? I pushed on, and came to the gentle descent that took me from the old railroad embankment down to the edge of the river and into the woods. Although I could hear the noise of cars from the interstate, the snow covered branches closed over my head and muffled the noise.  The swoshing of the skis was like a soft presence over my shoulder. It became rhythmic, and comforting, and soon my mind began to wander. And as my skis and I glided through the fluffy snow, I noticed that my mood began to lift, and despite that grey sky, the world appeared more colorful.

And the river? Yes, where was the river? Just a few days ago is was flowing right through here...

Oh, here it is!

Let's take a closer look.

... closer... closer...

Oooops! That was too close!

Seriously. I'm still here. But I've managed to get myself out of my funk, and as long as I already have my tights on, maybe I'll take my bike for a little spin.

Dearly Departed

OK, this post has nothing whatsoever to do with biking. You could say it is seasonal in nature. Since Halloween this year falls midweek, many of us will celebrate it today. I am going to resurrect (pun intended) a nifty little post I ran on another blog last spring, because I think it is fitting. I really should have waited until All Saints Day, but I don't think it would get as much traction then. So, here we go:

What's this?

(For the record, this photo was taken through a hole in the fence located just east of the defunct train track at Bryn Mawr and Kostner. The Sauganash Woods residential development is visible in the background.)

It all started when Chris and Peter discovered a granite headstone on a disused train track that runs behind our house. Chris dutifully notified the authorities at the local cemetery, who took keen interest in the abandoned stone, and vowed to return it to its rightful owner, ehm... resting place.

For as long as we have lived in this neighborhood, there have been rumors that when the cemetery sold the land that would later become the Sauganash Woods development, graves were displaced to make room for the homes.

Seems that there is a little more substance to these rumors than I thought. While on a family walk earlier this year, we spotted something weird. Don't be shy. Follow me, as we go exploring. Enter here:

The picture becomes clearer and more puzzling at the same time.

Flipping for bikes

Check out these photos on Chicagoist.com.
Years ago (about 13 or 14), we were at the Interbike show, which back then was held in Anaheim, and we saw some kids outside the convention hall trying to steal the spotlight. One of the kids was riding something very much like this.
Is there a connection?
Does anyone know?
BTW, I love the fact that in the photos Travis D. is wearing a ONE MORE BIKE tshirt.

Polo!

For all you bike polo afficionados in Chicago, here is something for you in merino wool from Earth Wind & Rider, modeled by Chris:

Kindred Spirits in San Francisco

Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw this sight in San Francisco!

Bike'n Roll is part of a bike rental, and repair chain, plus they also run tours of the Golden Gate Bridge by bike. At this location in North Beach, when a problematic repair bike was abandoned at their store, they decided to put it to creative use. (BTW, Rapid Transit's bike is an old stingray from a childhood friend.)

May the bikes fly!

Schwinn - Reincarnated

My neighbor has this interesting lawn ornament. He says it was his wife's garage sale find.

He also happens to be a metal worker, so when a brace rusted out at the bottom, he replaced it with -what else?- a piece of an old Schwinn.

The bike lives on.