2014 – Week 21 – Internet Round Up

2014 – Week 21 – Internet Round Up

News

Unpredict Your Journey

Unpredict Your Journey – Need bikepacking gear in Los Angeles? Look no further than Topanga Creek Bicycles. Their new section is awesome! It’s a great resource to see what the shop has to offer in terms of bicycles for your adventure and gears you can purchase to go on that adventure.  Look for their Unpredict Your Journey series every Wednesday as I will be joining them on some of their overnight shop rides.  If you would like to join them, let them know!


Meet Skylock, the smart bike lock that can save you after a crash – A bike lock that alerts emergency service if you are involved in an accident.  Engadget features this piece of technology which also warns you of thieves tampering with your  lock plus has solar panels to recharge the lock when not used.  1 hour of sun time gives you a week of charge.  It’s expected to be on sale for $249 after it’s gone through their crowd funding.


Protected Bike Lanes Next to Cars Make Drivers Realize They Could Ride – Protected bike lanes promotes bicycling as drivers are parked next to them during traffic hours.  This shouldn’t come as any surprise when infrastructure like this is laid out for drivers to see, which also serves the entire transportation purpose of providing cyclists a safe way to travel and tells motorized vehicles where to expect cyclists.  It may very well let drivers know that there are other options to get around besides sitting in their own cars.


Don’t Salmon, Don’t Shoal: Learning The Lingo Of Safe Cycling – Many great bike terms here one should review and see if you’re doing anything that may be offensive to others.  I learned a new term called “shoaling” which is more of a courtesy thing when you’re riding with a fellow cyclists to avoid unnecessary passing which may put them at risks.  Lots of interesting things you can learn here so read more about it.


Across The U.S., Bicycle Commuting Picks Up Speed – The good news = commuting by bicycles on the rise. The bad news = we’re still an exclusive bunch. NPR reports what several other sources are saying from the recent census results stating that bicycling has been on the rise.  A 60% jump from the last decade is huge but cyclists are part of minority bunch still compared to Copenhagen.  I still believe we have a chance to continue to increase bicycle commuting in many cities.


Online vs. In-Store – Bike shopping online versus in person. How to shop in today’s marketplace.  This article gives you a good pro and con lists for each of the way to buy your bikes and accessories.  I’m sure you’re already aware of some of these on the list but this is a good list to give to new bicycle riders in your life.


Russell Brand dishes out hugs to stop road rage in central London – So an altercation that took place between a van driver and cyclist in England got heated on the streets and stopped traffic.  Out comes Russell Brand, the actor/comedian, talks to the cyclists and gives him a hug.  The situation resolves and everybody is back on their way.  Russell Brand saves the day with a little bit of love.  I wasn’t much of a fan but he’s won me over.  Good for him!


Is Bicycle Commuting A Bad Goal? – We have to start somewhere but this article is asking if bike commuting is a bad place to start to improve cycling.  The author points out that many people live far from where they work.  For those that are willing to bike long distance to get into work, the perception is not appealing as riders come into work needing to shower and change.  He calls for better biking infrastructure as well as suggesting people to take trips for closer locations.  He also thinks that we should probably focus more on bicycle commuting in about 10 years when our infrastructure improves and bicycling is more common.  I personally think just getting out there riding is important whether you are using your bike for recreation, commuting, or just because.  It is better to be out there for others to see the possibilities and be use to cyclists on the road.


Most L.A. Bike Riders Are, By Far, Dudes – Breaking news (not really), majority of riders are guys. This article is based on of the LACBC’s bicycle and pedestrian count that was conducted last year and was highlighted in an article in last week’s Internet Round Up.  Only 1 in 5 bicycle riders were women.  Infrastructure improvements should help provide a better experience to bring out more riders, especially female riders.


Alec Baldwin Detained by Police, Calls NYC a ‘Mismanaged Carnival of Stupidity’ – Come one Alec Baldwin. You’re better than that.  Mr. Baldwin was ticketed for riding against traffic or “salmon riding” (look above article explaining what that is) on a one way street in New York City.  He became belligerent as police officers hand cuffed him as he did not provide an id and had to bring him into the police station.


Smart Bike Brings GPS Directions to Your Handle Bars – This bike, Venhawks Valour, is planning to create a Smart Bike in which GPS is fully integrated in the bike’s handle bar.  This is another crowd funded project in which backers can get a bike for $1049 for single speed or a $1999 for multiple speed bike.  The bike’s software can keep track of calories burned as well assist on riding on a bike friendly route.  It will warn bikers to avoid potholes as well as assist in seeing if they can switch lanes.  The software will be opened for other to develop things for the bike.


Google Just Added An Awesome New Maps Feature For Bikers – We already love Google Maps for bicycling, now it’s even better with elevation info.  This can help you decide on a flat route for wherever you want to go.  This future only works on the desktop version of the site but not on a mobile app version yet.


America forgot about bikes. Now it needs them more than ever. – The article points out now is the time for Americans to jump on their bikes to fight 2 big issues: global warming and obesity in this country.  Unfortunately riding a bike seems to be portrayed as something negative in society as well as fearful as we share with motorized vehicles on the road.

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15 of World’s Best Urban Bike Infrastructures – Check out 15 of the world’s best biking infrastructure. Gizmodo showing lots of bike love these days.  Majority of these infrastructure is found in (you guessed it) the Netherlands.  We do however have the bridge shown in the image above which is in Cuppertino, California.

Videos

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Sweet Ride USA Episode 4 – Our favorite web series about desserts and bike rides. In this episode, features the first public ride in which Johnny participated in last November.  We visited Donut Friend in Highland Park that day who lets you build your own donuts with various toppings.  The video gives you a better of the different type of donuts people built so check that out.  Be sure to check out the other 3 episodes to see where they’ve been.

Photos

My food haul from our #biketoworkday2014 pit stop with Walk Bike Glendale. #bikeweekla #plentyoffuel #bikela

Chairs and bike valet ready for @cicleorg Bike-In Movie night. #bikeweekla #bikela #bikepasadena #pasadena

Basking in the sun with the @goalzero charging. Bike love in Cal Tech campus. @cicleorg

Our contingency getting ready to roll with @cicleorg. #bikeweekla #bikela #pasadena

Rolling with a 100 of my friends through San Marino. @cicleorg #bikeweekla #bikela #bikeinmovie #pasadena

Bike-In Movie Night in full swing with Goonies on. @cicleorg #bikeweekla #bikela #pasadena

Clif Bar patch kit #bikelove #swag #bornonabike #clifbar

Yup.

Only you can prevent a forest fire! #smokey

Stunning views at #sedona #arizona #cathedralrock

Good bye #Sedona. See you next time. #mydayinsedona #arizona #selfie

My co-pilot for the day. #selfie #arizona

Another day, another closed freeway. This time it’s the I-10 back to LA. Fatal bus accident. Spent time writing at a rest stop. #inlimbo #blythe

Couldn’t avoid it. #blythe #accident

Roaming around #Cabazon outlet looking for food and found this impressive storefront. #allsaints #windowshopping

Found dinner at Blaze in #cabazon. Build my own halfsie pizza. #foodporn #allgone

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