Well hello. It’s been awhile since we last talked. I’ve been meandering this great land of ours, sampling it bit by bit, on the long journey across from west to east. But we have finally landed. In glorious Brooklyn, NY. It’s a heady place for a cyclist – the beautiful network of bikes lanes, the homicidal motorists, the bridges and waterways, and even a velodrome. Quite a place. It’ll be a bit before we are up and running again out here in the East but I just wanted to let you know that we yet live. And live well by thunder.
First of all, I’d like to apologize for the extended hiatus. There’s been quite a brouhaha rumbling out here in the West. Both in general, and for me personally. The long and short of it is that we are moving our whole operation to New York City. Why you ask? Lots of very good reasons, and a few not so good, but in the end, it promises to be quite an adventure.
So, as usual, please stay tuned for further developments. And if you have a spare minute to ponder, say, on a bright sunny day with your toes in the grass, please do consider throwing a daydream or two our way. We can always use a few more daydreams.
I say…that cloud…the one just over the hillock…left of the shimmering lake…I’d swear it looks…well…quite like a bicycle…remarkable…
We had the supreme pleasure of attending the North American Handmade Bicycle Show a few weeks ago and are finally getting around to posting the photos. The work that these guys are doing was really amazing. Simple, beautiful, inspiring creations – and some ingenious displays too (see the Vanilla guys pic below). Below is a gallery of photos we took at the show. The last two are from the Smithsonian. We took a side jaunt to DC after the show. Refreshing to see bikes in a museum.
The images are large and the lightbox controls might get hidden. Click on each image to move to the next image. Apologies for the few blurry ones. Enjoy!
The Discovery Channel has a little quiz about green cycling. Part test, part information, it’s an interesting snapshot of some facts about cycling you may not now.
In a small, but indicative we hope, move of gentle municipal courage, the city powers-that-be have extended the Market Street Project traffic diversion for an additional two blocks. And there was great rejoicing throughout the land.
“Beginning Tuesday, January 26, private motorists traveling eastbound on Market Street will be required to turn right on 10th Street instead of at 8th Street.” -SFMTA press release (PDF), January 12, 2010
Could this be an harbinger of larger things to come? Only time will tell. On my better days I like to imagine Market Street from stem to stern as a car-free, tree-lined promenade, populated by happily content San Franciscans strolling to and from work and play. But heck, I’d settle for no cars for now. The trees can come later.
You can submit a comment or suggestion about Market Street Project by filling out their anonymous comment form.
Now, you may be asking yourself, ‘why am I reading about technology on a bike blog?’ to which I would volley, ‘is this maybe the most biking-friendly computer to-date’?
Let’s examine the facts: Weight: 1.5 lbs. | Size: 9.5″ x 7.5″ x .5″ | Display: 9.7″ | Internet: Wi-Fi (+3G optional)
For a light, super useful micro-computer, I think this might be a great travel buddy. And at $499, it’s not too hard on the wallet either.
Experiment #2, The Ancient Raleigh Project, promises to be quite an adventure. We are going to dismantle, clean, and refurbish (within the bounds of reason, sanity, and physics) a very old Raleigh 3-speed with a functioning Sturmey-Archer Dyno hub. The old horse has seen a lot of unkind weather and little maintenance, so it is going to be a labor of love to get her back on the road.
The video shows some of the bike’s features and the overall condition. I’ll be posting photo updates as we work on different pieces, and then another video (with a test ride?) when we’re done. Hope you enjoy it.
No we haven’t fallen off the planet. And no we haven’t wandered off in the San Francisco rain never to be seen or heard from again. Truth be told told we’ve been hold up in the shop working on experiments. Truly beautiful experiments.
Behold the results of The First & Potentially Quite Successful Solid Wood Slat Basket Experiment. I think they came out quite nicely. But then I’m very taken with a fine wood slat. It’s a weakness in my heart but one that I don’t spend much time trying to mend.
This experiment (here-to-fore to be known as Experiment #1) began with a rakish but stately Wald “Drop Top” basket no. 151 in polished steel. To this we added virgin North American pine rubbed to a soft warmth with fine grit no. 220 and then shellacked into the friendliest of honeycomb glows by the power of the female Indian lac beetle. We bound things together with low corrosion, satin sheen stainless steel finishing hardware.
Very soon we will be offering many basket + wood combinations for your customizing pleasure. We are working out the offerings now so, if you have something you’ve always wanted to see (black wire with mahogany slats, white wire basket with white birch marine ply, etc.) drop us a note. We consider all sane and delightful ideas.
The SF Bicycle Coalition is hosting its fourth annual Love on Wheels, an event at the Rickshaw where contestants play a bicycle-geared version of the classic 70’s game show The Dating Game. I didn’t make it last year but, from the video and pics, it looks like a good time.
Here’s how to get in on the action (from SFBC site):
To be a contestant email love@sfbike.org and say which way you roll (girl for girl, boy for boy, boy for girl, or girl for boy). The boy for girl and girl for boy categories are full. We currently have a wait list for girl for girl and boy for boy categories, and there are always some changes before game day, so let us know if you want to play!
Love on Wheels
Friday, February 12, 2010
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St (between Van Ness and Franklin)
Doors open at 6 p.m.; game at 7
$5 for SF Bicycle Coalition Members (Bring your card)
Non-members pay $10, or join at the door and get in free!
All Ages! As always, FREE valet bike parking
How nice would it be if, when you got directions from GoogleMaps, one of the options besides car, bus, and walk, was bike? Well, that’s just what the good folks over at googlemapsbikethere.org thought. They are a grassroots advocacy group working hard to get Google to add bicycling to the list of route options. Their petition has reached over 50,ooo folks to date (sign the petition here).
A recent post on their Web site indicates that Google is open to the idea but needs data to make it happen. Urban cycling, as we all know, is a specialized and challenging endeavor and trying to quantify the experience in a measurable and meaningful way is a big challenge. The post goes on to detail ways you can help by submitting data or spreading the word.
A big data resource, I imagine, would be the iPhone app we profiled here last month. The app tracks bicyclists’ riding habits and supplies the SFMTA hard data that they can use to plan for future bike improvements. It seems like this data would be a real boon to the GoogleMaps effort. I encourage all you iPhoners to download and use the app.
Glad you found us. Bcyclette is a small shop specializing in simple, interesting, and stylish products and accessories for you and your bicycle. We carry a curated, hand-selected product mix of hard-to-find and unique items you won't find anywhere else ( or at least not in too many places).
We have recently relocated our operations from San Francisco, CA to Brooklyn, NY and are still preparing for our grand opening in the East. So please watch this blog for updates and announcements. We look forward to hearing from you.
The Discovery Channel has a little quiz about green cycling. Part test, part information, it’s an interesting snapshot of some facts about cycling you may not now.
