BikeHacks

Hacking Bike Lanes

It appears that there is a movement afoot, from coast-to-coast, to hack bike lanes.  The following story from KGW News in Portland, Oregon informs us that a bike lane has been decorated with symbols from the Mario Kart video game (credit to joystiq.com):

And Bike Snob NYC noted the following addition to a new bike lane in Brooklyn near Prospect Park:

Photo Credit to Bike Snob NYC

I really don't care how people choose to decorate bike lanes, I just care that we have them, and that they are used for their intended purpose.  Rarely do I ride in a bike lane for any length of time in NYC before I come upon a car that is parked in the lane or approach a group of pedestrians who have decided to use the bike lane as a sidewalk.  My favorite is when a police car is parked in a bike lane.  It's like the cops are giving cyclists the finger.

Are your bike lanes decorated?  Do feel free to share.

 

Barranquilla, Colombia Bike Photos

Reader Lucas contacted us and sent along the following pictures he took on a mission trip to Barranquilla, Colombia.  If you have interesting bike related pictures you want to share, feel free to give us a shout out.

Take it away Lucas . . .

The first picture is a bike rim used as a TV antenna -

This is a picture of a bike with a cart attached to the front so the owner could ride around selling little cups of coffee.

The next one is my mom on a pedicab in the rain.  I told her real missionaries enjoy the rain.

The next one is a 16 year old boy that I met on a Cannondale with a bike tube in the front spokes.  I told him that I liked his bike and he said "My bike isn't beautiful" so i told him "I think all bikes are beautiful."

The next one is an adorable little boy playing on his dad's pedicab.

This one is my dad on a delivery cart bike outside of a store.  After he rode that he told me we need to build one when we got home.

This last one has nothing to do with bikes, but that sign above me and my friend Aaron says "please don't pee here"  so we take a picture with it every year acting like we're peeing.

 

 

 

MICHELIN Giftcard Contest - Entry 3

This entry is a reminder that we are giving away a $100 American Express gift card to the reader that submits the winning photo in our MICHELIN Giftcard contest.  All you have to do is submit a photo integrating the MICHELIN man in some way.  Full instructions can be found here.  The deadline to submit your entry is this Friday, August 27th. 

Keith from Phoenix did not need Photoshop for his submission.

My real world meeting of BIB.  He was a damn nice guy and a great driver.  Photo taken at Eurofest in Greer, SC at the BMW Zentrum.

And Trevor, who has submitted a few other entries, submitted the following spin off of the the MICHELIN Saddest Road commercial.  

Here is a recap of the contest to date:

Contest Details

Entry 1

Entry 2

Ice Cream Man: Bicycle Style

To get in the mood for this entry you should watch the following video with the volume at 10.  When you hit the 1:12 mark feel free to head bang with reckless abandon.

A couple of readers, Julian and Tom, must be suffering from sweltering summer heat, because they sent along emails to us pointing us to the Gelato Bike.  Via the blog totycle comes the following.  Picture and text credit to totycyle.

Want to build one? It's a day's work, and not hard to do. Get yourself a MADSEN. Buy some 1/2" copper pipe, a pipe cutter, torch & solder kit, and some T-piece and 45-degree bend connectors. Drill with 5/8" bit through the top corners over the bucket but not out through the bottom of the lip.

Full instructions on the totcycle web site.

If you don't want to hack it, you can buy a pre-built bike from industrialbicycles.com:

Or you can make your own ice cream via cool bike hack:

Then there is the Specialized Ice Cream bike:

All this is giving me a hankering for some ice cream.

Bike Camping - Post 8: Nature and Such

Seeing as I spend 99.9% of my time riding my bike in New York City, it was nice to see terrain like this for a change while riding on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal tow path. 

Without multi-ton motor vehicles around me I submitted to the temptation one day of riding without a helmet.  It proved not to be the wisest of choices however because there are always creative ways of falling.  It seems each year for example that I hear of rider going down due to a crash with a wild animal.  See this recent post on BikeCommuters.com for an example - it's about a rather harsh encounter with a 300 pound doe.  

We saw several deer on our ride and I did spook a few of them and they could have easily collided with me and thrown me for a loop. I never did fall, but I ended up feeling kind of naked without my helmet.

We also saw frogs (one of which met it's demise in the spokes of a friend's bike - poor guy jumped right into the rapidly spinning wheel and came out lifeless), chipmunks, squirrels, turtles, Blue Heron, and even some Bald Eagles.  Even if you think you are safe, I personally think it's always a good idea to wear a helmet, and I'm sure now that I've said this we will get comments on how studies show that wearing a helmet does not increase safety. 

There were lots of picturesque scenes as we rode . . .

There were some caves along the path and some acted as shelters during Civil War battles.

Each night we were serenaded by thousands of cicadas.  These are interesting little creatures.  We noticed one morning that a tree on our campsite was covered with the discarded exoskeletons of the bugs. There were tons of the empty shells clinging to the bark of the tree like this one.

Cicadas literally crawl out of their shell and leave it behind.  You can see this example with the back split down the middle. 

This creature was also enamored with the Brooks Saddle on the bike of a friend.  He or she stayed on the saddle for about 10 minutes. 

One of the places we stopped had mobiles made out of old chain rings. 

It was nice to get away from the urban jungle for a while and take in some different scenery. If you have awesome camping scenery you would like to share, feel free to send it to bikehacks.com[at]gmail.com.

Berlin Bike Shop Advertising

Via the msnbc photoblog comes the following picture.  The caption reads:

Co-owner Christian Petersen looks out of a window at his bicycle shop in Altlandsberg, north-east of Berlin August 17, 2010. The owners attached about 120 bicycles on the facade to advertise their shop.

I'd say this is hacking traditional bike shop signage for sure!

Bikes and Opening Bottles

Reader Duann sent along a link to a product called the "Road Popper."  It's a little doodad that attaches to your seat rails and is meant to act as a bottle opener.  The following text and picture are credited to the shapeways web site:

The Road Popper is a bike-mounted bottle opener that we developed for our own use and decided afterward to share. We designed it to fasten discreetly to the rails on the underside of the saddle to help keep your bike looking crisp. So far, it's worked on all the bottle caps we've tried it on. Material options are bronze infused stainless steel. Finish options are plain (on the right in the photograph), matte gold, glossy gold, matte antique bronze, and glossy antique bronze. The Road Popper is not intended for alcoholic beverages. Chromoly does not condone cycling while under the influence of alcohol.

While I also do not condone riding under the influence, I wholeheartedly condone consuming copious amounts of beer when your ride is finished.  After all, science says its a good idea. Since this product is not for opening alcoholic beverages, I am never interested in owning one . . . but that's not the only reason - let me count the ways . . .

While this product is nice and all, it does cost $40.  Think of all of the beer you could buy for $40.  Well, in Manhattan not much, but everywhere else, sure!  Recently I was in Atlanta and something a tad ironic hit me.  I ate a bar with some friends and when I picked up the menu I thought I had entered the Twilight Zone - pitchers of beer were the same price as pints would have been in NYC. 

The irony to me is this - in NYC very few people I know own cars and thus do not have to drive after a night of fun, however alcohol is incredibly expensive.  But in places like Atlanta, where owning a car is part of the territory, alcohol is cheap.  One thinks this might encourage people to drink and drive.  Shouldn't it be the other way around?  Wouldn't expensive alcohol in places where driving is common possibly reduce the risk of alcohol related driving?  I certainly would not win any election campaigns on that premise but it appears logical to me.  Anyway, back to the "Road Popper" . . .

Readers, feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't practically every multi-tool known to man have a bottle opener built into it?  And aren't there hundreds of ways to open a bottle in a creative fashion?  For example, this creative bottle opener hack comes from mtnbikeriders.com: 

Or if you are married or wear a ring, check this out - it will make you want to get married:

Or if you don't really care much about your spokes  . . .

This video shows how you can open a bottle with another bottle, a pot, a water jug, a soccer cleat, a cutting board, money, a toothbrush, a bucket, and with the buttons on your jeans.

Heck, you can even use a bikini to open a bottle as done by this daring pool dweller:

All of this really leads to the question, "What can't you use to open a bottle?"  If you have creative ways to open the beverage of your choice, feel free to share in comments.

Wine Cork Puller Bike Hack

Bikejuju sent us a hack discovered on the blog Go Means Go.  You could say this is a vintage bike hack.  It might be a brake, or it might just be a tire brush.  Either way, it's very cool.

Photo Credit to Go Means Go

Active Lifestyle Products to Review and Give Away

One of the challenges of bike commuting is dealing with getting hot and sweaty on the way to work.  Some people have access to showers at work and others don't.  I don't.  I take a "commuter shower" which I have been meaning to detail on the site for a while and will do so soon.  Two products that I use daily for my commuter shower are baby powder and antiperspirant.

Riding can also cause redness and irritation in your eyes.  I have contacts but I rarely use them.  I suffer from astigmatism and contacts for this symptom are typically weighted and have to sit in your eye a perfect way to see clearly.  If wind causes the contact to shift, I have to furiously blink to try to get it back to the right position.  Just so happens I deal with a lot of wind while cycling.  I thus wear glasses most of the time but whether wearing glasses or contacts, riding can really put the hurt on your eyes.

We recently received three different active lifestyle products to review and I am happy to say that the manufactures have also agreed to let BikeHacks run a contest to give away free product packs. 

The first product is called Anti Monkey Butt Powder.  When choosing a name for a product it is wise to link the name to the purpose, and the name Anti Monkey Butt pretty much says it all. 

The product rep who contacted us wrote the following:

It’s 85 degrees out, but with the humidity it probably feels like 100, right? You’re halfway through your ride, your shorts are drenched and the chamois butter you caked on earlier is history. Monkey butt is in full swing and there’s no stopping the chafing and irritation that’s about to ruin your ride!  As an avid mountain biker and roadie, I too, have had run-ins with the dreaded “monkey”…. which is why I wanted to let you know about a really great product called Anti Monkey Butt Powder (AMBP).

The great thing about Anti Monkey Butt Powder is that it’s like a two in one product. There’s talc to help reduce excess sweat and calamine soothes the chafing. Good luck finding a chamois butter that does both! Plus, you can also put AMBP in your shoes, leg pads, helmet, etc.

Anti Monkey Butt Powder also has a special bottle for the ladies, which I use. Lightly-scented Lady Anti Monkey Butt Powder still delivers the same great results as regular AMBP, but the calamine is combined with cornstarch (vs. talc) for a silkier, feminine texture.

Both products are available in mass market retail nationwide, as well as via online retailers and at www.antimonkeybutt.com. Suggested retail price is Anti Monkey Butt Powder is $5.95 for a 6-ounce bottle.

The second product is Certain Dry antiperspirant. We got two sticks in the mail, one is to help fight sweat and the other is focused on scent. The product description follows:

Monkey butt and sopping wet jerseys (from high intensity sweating) usually go hand in hand. One way to fix that is with Certain Dri Anti-Perspirant, the number one over-the-counter antiperspirant recommended by doctors for treating excessive perspiration While other over-the-counter antiperspirants claim to be “clinical strength” and “waterproof”, the Certain Dri formulations – 12% aluminum chloride –Roll-On and 25% aluminum sesquichlorohydrate – New Solid - are the strongest available without a prescription, providing 72-hours of protection with each application.

And the third products is a set of Rhoto eye drops.  There are four kinds and the description is as follows:

Eye Irritation: Sun, dirt, leaves and bugs are just a few of the things that irritate my eyes after a long ride on the trail or road. ROHTO Cooling Eye Drops, a favorite among endurance athletes, are a great way to relieve irritation and redness, and restore moisture. More than just “eye drops,” they provide a cooling “kick” that helps refresh and rejuvenate your eyes, helping you stay focused.

Rhoto is also running an Endurance Sweepstakes and the details are as follows:

Your readers may also be interested in entering the ROHTO Endurance Sweepstakes through September 30, 2010, where two grand-prize winners (one male and one female) will receive a men’s and women’s Ceepo® bike, respectively. The sweepstakes also includes weekly prizes of ROHTO Training Kits that will include a valuable assortment of training gear and nutritional items.  Go to www.winrohto.com to enter or print a $1.00 coupon.

BikeHacks will be reviewing these products and we will be running contests to give away free product packs to readers.  The BikeHacks brain trust will be working on ideas so stay tuned for your chance to win. 

Bike Shed: Primary Example is Hope for Future

In a recent post I expressed dismay at the lack of options to carry bicycles via mass transit.  My hope was that increased demand would prompt companies/organizations to consider becoming more friendly toward helping people to transport their bikes between cities. 

I stumbled upon a great example of demand leading to bike friendly policy when cruising the Interweb.  In the UK a program focused on getting primary school students to bike to school has been so well received that the school has now constructed a bike shelter.  I hear it rains in the UK a little bit so the shelter is a great idea to keep the whips of young tikes safe from the weather.  The following comes from Echo News:

The outdoor shed has been built at the school to cater for a huge surge in the number of youngsters who want to cycle to school.

The facility has enough space to accommodate the 60 children at the school who now regularly pedal their way to classes – compared to just eight cyclists at the beginning of the school year.

More pupils have been inspired to get on their bikes after representatives from the Bike It scheme visited the school and worked with pupils, to improve their cycle safety.

By the day I grow older and more cynical, but stories like this give me hope that perhaps bikes will be a major part of our transportation infrastructure in the future.