Go Clipless

Put down those pork rinds

Gwadzilla's latest rant on discourteous drivers ignoring cyclists:

I was being tailgated by a victim of the obesity epidemic
she was in her native habitat; pinned between the tilt steering wheel and the driver's seat
cell phone in hand pressed to her ear
the pork rinds were out of sight... but I am sure they were within reach

Chrome Milo - urban cycling shoes that don't suck

Gonna get me a pair of these new urban cycling shoes from Chrome. Yeah...yeah...I know, I live in the suburbs, but their so fucking cool and I'm a new-economy-urban-sport wannabe anyway. Besides, they're a perfect match to my Chrome Backbone messenger pack.

Chrome manufactures the shoes in small batches and will only have 330 pairs each of the canvas and suede versions. Here's Chrome on the inspiration behind the new Milo:

We made these shoes for all the people working in bike shops, coffee joints, and record stores – people who bike around the city and then work on their feet all day. Like most of our designs, the Milo allows riders to transition from the street to the bar without looking like a spandex bike dork. There’s a lot more to come, this is just the beginning.

Last year Chrome moved beyond bags to add apparel to their lineup and it sounds like they will be continuing in this vain based on their declaration that this is just the beginning. A good thing too...it's high time the cycling world move beyond the team kit look.

(Via PinkBike)

The S&M big wheel

Ouch. From an ad for Puff brand fabric softener. (Via AdGoodness)

Mountain biking is too broad of a term

Fat Cyclist on why mountain biking is too broad of a term:

So here’s the thing. If someone tells you they went out road biking, you have a good idea of what went on. You may not have an idea of how far, how fast, or how steep, but you know what road biking looks like.

If someone tells you they went mountain biking, on the other hand, you still don’t know anything.

Ain't that the truth?

Bike Magazine and Dirt Rag start blogs

The biggest problem magazines have in this Web 2.0 world of citizen generated media is that by the time their publication comes out each month the news that they report is already old. Bloggers and forum participants have already discussed and analyzed it all before the magazine even goes to print.

Nevertheless, magazines have a role to play in that they have considerable resources that the everyman blogger does not. One of the biggest advantages is that they are able to attend numerous press events, trade shows, festivals, and races. This gives them access to breaking news and information as well as the ability to interact face-to-face with industry insiders. Its the monthly publishing cycle, however, that limits their ability to leverage this advantage over the many bloggers out there trying to keep up with happenings in the sport that they love.

How do you solve this problem? Why, start a blog, of course.

Well that's exactly what both Bike Magazine and Dirt Rag have done. Good for them too. Now they won't be letting that first mover advantage go to waste. This is a great move for each of these publishers as I am sure that over time they will find that the blog will only serve to bolster their credibility. In addition, the blog will serve to humanize the magazine a bit more. While there is no doubt that the magazine itself takes on a personality of its own, it is sometimes difficult to get a feel for the individual voices that do the writing. Not only that, but readers will be able to comment in real time which will no doubt help the writers of feature stories for print get an idea of how people may react to certain points of view, product launches, news, etc.

Ok...enough pontificating. Here's what I suggest. Now, keep in mind each of these blogs is brand new and have not yet hit their stride. Head on over for a visit and subscribe to the feeds as I have done. In a couple of months I'll do a follow up and we'll see where they stand.

(Photo via Flickr)

Wife's first mountain bike ride

I finally did it.
Got my wife out on the trail this weekend.
First time since college...gulp...nearly 14 years ago.
She's only truly mountain biked maybe 3 or 4 times.
So for all intents and purposes, this was really like a first ride.

And she's damn good too.
Great actually!
I really believe that she's got some serious potential to go far on the bike if she wants it.

She's strong...works out nearly every day.
She cleaned just about everything the trail threw at her.
She rolled over logs like they were nothing.
I couldn't believe it actually.
Showed much poise and balance.
Very light on the bike.
Learned the attack position...downhill stance with weight over the rear wheel.
Rarely needed to take a break...even after walking a short stretch up a steep hill...
She'd get to the top...take a gulp of water and say 'let's go.'

Shit she's hot.
A regular milf, if I do say so myself.
Well...from your perspective, since I already do that...but I digress.

Said she may try to hook up on some beginner rides with the other 'girls' in the area.
That would take things to a new level.
Means that she would need to get more comfortable doing things with the bike on her own.
Load bike into car...check tire pressure...reset the chain when it falls off...you know...stuff like that.
All stuff that she currently takes for granted that I will do.

The best part was that we didn't argue at all.
Well, there was that scuffle in the parking lot as she changed into her bike shorts.
Had to wrestle that thong away from her as she was convinced I had ulterior motives for telling her that you do not wear underwear with padded bike shorts.

Says she wants to 'go clipless.'
A couple more rides and she'll be ready.

She does seem to be getting a bit cocky though.
When we arrived home and I was lifting her bike off of the roof rack she said, "are my tires flat? I rode pretty hard today."

Ok, baby, you're not that good. Yet.

Don't worry...she wore a helmet on our ride. These photos are from a staged photo shoot we did in the early spring - I forgot the camera. Flirtees sent K-girl the Dirt Flirt t-shirt to try and we had one of our friends, a semi-pro photographer take some shots. Pretty cool stuff (check out more from the shoot)...if you're in the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. area and want some quality photos of the family or an event check out James Harrington.

TeamSnap makes it easy to manage your club cycling team

There is no bigger pain in the ass then managing the logistics of a league or club sports team. Schedules, announcements, fund raising, and general communication amongst team members ends up as a million emails in your inbox and no one central place to go for the latest information. Inevitably, lines get crossed.

Enter TeamSnap, a new web-based service to help manage the logistics behind any club or league sports team. While, it is clearly aimed at the little league set, I can definitely see its application for cycling teams. The service covers most everything with features to help manage:

• rosters
• schedules
• messages
• payment or dues
• statistics
• photo albums

There's no doubt in my mind that with a front-end blog to communicate to the public (ie. your team's adoring fans) and a password protected management site like this on the back-end will make for one hell of an efficient team - if not a successful one.

If anyone tries it, let me know. I'd love to see how your team is using it. Meanwhile, you can bet I'll be using TeamSnap for my kids soccer teams. What a mess that is...snacks, money for trophys, end of season party...just think, this may put the "team mom" out of a job.

(Via 37signals)

The pedaling pedestrian

Destined to be a classic, don't you think? (Via Bike Darlington)

World Naked Bike Ride in a city near you this weekend

While I'm on the subject of naked cycling, Michael Green of BikeBlog reminds us that the World Naked Bike Ride will take place this weekend. Nearly 70 cities around the world will be taking part in this peaceful ride to "to celebrate cycling and the human body. The ride demonstrates the vulnerability of cyclists on the road and is a protest against oil dependency."

Here's a trailer to the 63 minute video titled "Indecent Exposure to Cars," which documents past World Naked Bike Ride events.

So this is my question. Do you think these types of events achieve their goal? Do they really bring the right kind of attention to help change minds? I'm all for getting together and riding naked around the city (done legally with permit and all), but do it for the fun and frivolity of it all. I have to wonder if these kinds of protests only serve to demonstrate to the wider public that cyclists are just a bunch of crazy anarchists?

Spencer Tunick nails it in Amsterdam

I'm sure you've seen the Spencer Tunick en masse nude photography before. He travels around the world and gets hundreds of people to pose naked in the center of some world city or another. Here, Tunick visits Amsterdam and poses naked people on bikes. A classic!

Especially since his photos have been getting boring recently. Nothing changes from one city to another, except the scenery. Add the quintessential component that makes that city great and you've reinvigorated the genre.