Go Clipless

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.

MTB wedding rings, no respect from the prez, safety is sexy, sock wars, and rolling up my sleeves blue collar style

Been doing a lot of riding and working lately. More like working and riding. Still, there has been some riding mixed in there, which is nice. Anyway, here's a few crazy/wild/interesting stories since last we talked:

How about a ring shaped like a mountain bike tire? With two different tread patterns to choose from. The silver version starts at $75 but the gold and platinum versions go up to a few hundred dollars. Shit, if you marry a honey you meet on the trail, you may even get away with making this your wedding band. Ha. (via Dethroner)

Looks like Go Clipless carries no weight with POTUS (President of the United States). Does anyone? I'm just asking. Freewheeling Spirit tried to call his attention toward National Bike Month and get him to encourage bike commuting. Still waiting for an answer...

Gwadzilla reminds us that safety is sexy. Oh yeah, then why do so few naked chicks on bikes wear helmets??? (Warning - last two links are NSFW).

And...in the ongoing saga known as the cycling sock wars... I sense DeFeet is starting to pick up some momentum. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News is reporting that they hired a sales rep from SockGuy. A game changing event to be sure.

Finally, I've always been curious about the new Internet Bike Dealers (IBDs) made possible through low cost overseas manufacturing. Are they really a better deal than comparable bikes bought at your local bike shop? I've begun testing a full-suspension rig from one such IBD, Woodstock Bikes. Through a partnership with the Crooked Cog I will be reviewing the Woodstock 707 for Blue Collar Mountain Biking and recording my thoughts a long the way. So far the experience is positive and I've posted up my first impressions already. I'll also be exploring other aspects of the process of buying a bike online. So check it out...

Here's a fun online mountain bike video game

This mountain bike video game is similar to Bike or Die for the Palm platform that I wrote about previously, except you can play it online for free. It uses Flash and is worth a few minute diversion if you're daydreaming about mountain bikes while you're on your lunch break at work.

As for today...what are you doing playing this game? I'm going out for a ride...and you should too!

(Via Pedaleiro)

Get a load of this amphibious-recumbent-tall-couch-bike!

Steer with a beer baby...

(Via Patent Pending Blog)