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Columbus Bum Shuffle 2007 Ride Report

View Larger Map I didn't know what to expect when I showed up to the Seagull Bags store. I conveniently parked across the street and the entire sidewalk in front of the store was filled with bikes and people milling around. Of course, I look like an outcast with full spandex compared to the jeans/jacket/courier bag look. But, I look like an outcast at every MNR so I am used to it. I registered in the store and I was number 47. I got my map/manifest and spoke card. The basic premise of the Columbus Bum Shuffle is to ride to various points in the city where bums are known to hang. Your manifest is stamped at these checkpoints and you can get bonus points for the "crack" run cards. These cards given at the stops and at certain checkpoints they can be stamped for bonus points. Other bonus points could be gained by finishing in less than two hours (conversely points lost after two hours) and picking up aluminum cans. The start was in an empty parking lot a few blocks from the

Bicycles with sick soundsystems

In today's NYT, a feature (with lots of great photos) about folks who build elaborate stereo soundsystems for their bicycles. It's not a new phenomenon, but it's neat to see it treated with such formal examination. Link , and pix here shot for the Times by Tyler Hicks. Thanks Jim for finding this story!

Got stuff you don't want, but don't want to throw it away?

Welcome! The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,152 groups with 4,026,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box. Have fun!

Van Dessel Country Road Bob

The Van Dessel Country Road Bob was reviewed in the latest issue of Bicycling Van Dessel site

The Flying Scotsman Review

I watched "The Flying Scotsman" on Saturday night. This autobiography covers the life of Graeme Obree who challenged the status quo by fabricating a bicycle with washing machine bearings and custom tubing and ultimately beat the hour record. His design was so revolutionary that the WCF outlawed two of his designs/positions, the Flying Scotsman and Superman. Graeme battled despression throughout his life but the movie insinuated that he overcame it later in his life. It is a very inspirational movie and I recommend even the non-cyclist to watch it. Official Movie Site

Columbus Fall Challenge

Columbus Fall Challenge September 29-30, 2007 http://www.outdoor-pursuits.org/biking/cfc.htm There will be no more updates to this article. Most unknowns about Columbus Fall Challenge are resolved. CFC was at one point canceled and got resurrected on September 1st. As such there will be no patches or T-shirts this year. CFC will start at Berne Union Schools in Sugar Grove and end at the Betsy Mills in Marietta. Breakfast will be served at the Marietta Middle School. Located on Seventh St. by the YMCA. The routes are finalized. Expect a hillier route than the past several years. For a detail of the ride see ride detail. The Saturday route should be around 112 miles, the Sunday route around 103 miles. The course profile is by Delorme Topo which overstates the actual climbing so reduce the numbers by say 10%. Registering Late Try to get your applications in such that they arrive no later than Thursday September 27th. If you have doubts about your application arriving by Thursday

Millersport Corn Festival Ride

Millersport Corn Festival Ride • Carroll • Saturday, September 1 9:00 AM 30, 50, 75 Miles. All classes. This is JET's and Al's yearly ride to the Millersport Corn Festival. Corn is ready around 11:30. We start at Bloom Carroll High School,5240 Plum Rd. NW,Carroll, Ohio 43112 and ride to the festival. Bring $$ for food. Janice "JET" Thomas 614-837-1873 or Al Moore 740-756-9218

Critical Mass Ride, Columbus OH - 08/31/2008

Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate and promote cycling as an alternative form of transportation and to declare cyclists' right to the road. We meet on the last Friday of every month, at 5:30pm on High Street in front of the Statehouse in downtown Columbus. The course is not chosen in advance, and we ride regardless of the weather. All cyclists are welcome. A very thorough and informative international directory can be found here: http://critical-mass.info/

National Bike Registry (NBR®)

Don’t let it end up at a police auction! Since 1984, the National Bike Registry (NBR®) has been working with law enforcement to return stolen bikes to their rightful owners. A bike registered with NBR, the only true national database, can be identified by police and returned to you instead of being sold at an auction. Protect your bike and your investment!

Recycling Links and Info

I will be adding more links when I get a chance Apparel www.dressforsuccess.com www.salvationarmy.com www.buffaloexchange.com Eyeglasses www.givethegiftofsight.org Shoes www.nike.com/nikebiz/reuseashoe Motor Oil Jiffy Lube and Kragen will recycle oil Tires Big O and Goodyear will recycle tires Cleaners www.freecycle.org Medications www.thestarfishproject.org Paint www.earth911.org Batteries www.rbrc.org Cell Phones www.collectivegood.com Computers www.cristina.org Fax Machines www.throwplace.org Ink www.fundingfactory.com www.recyclefund.com Appliances www.habitat.org Carpet www.carpetrecovery.org Plastics Plastics #1 and #2 are accepted by most municipal programs. Roofing www.earth911.org Wallboard www.earth911.org Books www.bookcrossing.com Computer CDs, DVDs, jewel cases, VHS tapes www.actrecycling.org www.greendisk.com

Takes Two to Tandem Ride

ACB-Ohio Tandem Bike Rally to be held September 16, 2007 Kokosing Gap Trail Mount Vernon, Ohio Sign-In Times: o For 65 mile route—8:00 a.m. o For 30-mile route-9:00 a.m. o For 15 or fewer miles—10:00 a.m. Lunch—11:00—1:00 a.m. at the Shelter House at the trail head Registration includes: Maps, directions, in print and Braille, water, snacks, lunch, free stuff, and chances for door prizes. One registration form per person, please. The American Council of the Blind of Ohio, (ACB-Ohio) is hosting its first annual tandem rally-fundraiser. Visually impaired stokers and sighted captains will have three routes to choose from, 15, 30, and 60 mile-routes, each starting and ending on the beautiful Kokosing Gap Trail. Sighted tandem teams and single bikes are also welcome. The two longer routes will include the gently rolling hills and some more challenging ones through the beautiful Amish countryside, while the 15-mile route will stay on the trail, which is noted as one of the prettiest and m

Garmin Etrex Vista Cx Review

I purchased the Garmin Etrex Vista Cx ($235) from PCntion.com. I was looking for a cheap turn by turn routing GPS. I originally was going to purchase a black and white model, but for $20 difference I went with the color model. The screen is visible and readable in daylight. It does have a backlight function, but I rarely need it. I already owned the Mapsource software ($100). I loaded most of Ohio, western PA, and a route down to MD into the stock 64MB memory card (upgradeable). The routes are turn by turn and if you plug in a destination the unit will auto route to your destination. One warning. If you purchase the handlebar mount ($15), the replacement back does not fit the Cx because of the memory card slot. Garmin tech told me to connect the clip to the existing back and clip it to the handlebar mount. I have taken it on about 5 rides without a problem.

Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail Ride Report

On Saturday July 28 we rode the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail. We drove from Canal Fulton north to Brecksville Reservation. We rode south toward Akron for about 20 miles. The path is flat and is crushed limestone. It was wet from rain the night before so we were covered with the limestone dust. The ride is beautiful. It parallels the old canal and the Cuyahoga River for sections. The locks are still visible, but the canal itself is filled in for most of its' length. Canal Fulton does maintain a working section of the canal with mules and canal boat. Most of the path is protected by tree cover, but the path does cross cornfields and major roadways. It follows the river valley so the river is visible for most of the ride. It was fairly busy with foot and bicycle traffic. I would recommend a mountain or comfort bike with wider/knobby tires. We stopped at the Valley Cafe for lunch. We all had their gyro sandwiches which were delicious and quite reasonably priced.

Eddy's Sweet Corn Challenge Ride Report

On Sunday July 29 we headed up to the Sweet Corn Challenge in Richfield Ohio. I have ridden the Sweet Corn for the last three years. The first year I attempted the century and came up short at 88 miles. This year and last I rode the 50 mile option. They throw some hills into the ride and try to keep riders on their toes by changing the route each year. This year was no exception. The hills were loaded into the second half of the ride. I was averaging 16mph until the mid 30 mile range. I ended up with 14.4mph average over 50. Snowville Road was pretty tough and the organizers threw in a hill at the 49 mile mark. The ride starts and ends at the park in the center of town. They had massage tables setup and a live band. True to the name of the ride the corn this year was very sweet. The corn was part of a plate of food that is included in the admission.

XOBA: Across Ohio Bicycle Adventure

COP 10th XOBA: Across Ohio Bicycle Adventure, Day 1 Date: Saturday July 21, 2007 Time: 7:00 am - 9:00 am Location: See Notes and XOBA Web Site Notes: FULL Light House Maritime Heritage Tour. Indiana to Pennsylvania with a happy combination of food, fun, friends, and frolic. Average daily mileage: 60. Rider limit: 200. Info at http://www.outdoor-pursuits.org/xoba/ or XOBA, 1525 Bethel Rd., Suite 100, Columbus, Ohio 43220-2054. Walt Williams 614/442-7901 xoba (AT) outdoor-pursuits.org

Wheeling WV Bike A Thon Challenge - July 21

To all Nail City Bike riders, or any other riders in the Tri State area.....Taylor McCluskey, Doug Pettit and I [Marty Morrison] are on the Young Life committee, and we spoke to a number of the 'hard core' cyclists who went to the mountains in April about the YOUNG LIFE bike a thon to be held Saturday morning July 21 at the Warwood [Wheeling, Wva] park and shelter adjacent to the bike trail. The distances are 20 miles [on the bike trail, flat] 40 miles [up the bike trail to Short Creek, up to Mcgraws run down to 40, east on 40 to Atkinson crossing rd, and Atkinson crossing back down to Short Creek road and reverse the bike trail home. The 80 miler runs out the same start as the 40 mile, but on rt. 40 continues east on rt 40 to the OLD RT 40 that cuts up to West Alexander, following that back to 40 just below Claysville Pa., stay on 40 to Rt. 231 north out of Claysville 10 miles to Old Washington Pike [P.A. 644] left about 3 miles to Highland Springs G.C, left on 88 to Bethany,

From the mailbox

After numerous pre-championship races, two points races (in which I took 5th both weeks), and in an absolute down pour of a rain storm I finally pulled out a victory. Yep, after the women's race began last night, they had to bring the race to an end short of a finish due to lightning as the storm approached. Then around 7pm the lightning had ceased but the rains continued. In a 30 lap soul soaking, I embraced the rains from heaven and clinched a win over my team mate at that. In second place, our 17 year old not only surprised me by winning the most aggressive ride category for an unprecedented 3rd straight week, but was hanging on my wheel to the finish. This puts me one point behind the leader for the points championship as well. Tonight, I may either race in the category above mine or go out on a training ride with a team mate. Tomorrow the race results should be posted. As soon as they are available, I will send everyone the link. Until then, I hope everyone is having

Biomega Bicycles

The Biomega Philosophy is a part of Biomega's stronghold of ideas. We believe a strong vision and belief is a necessity for any post-millennium company. Conceived by Jens Martin Skibsted in the midst of Gaudi buildings in Barcelona, child of aesthetics and ethics, Biomega's Philosophy is a bastard. A new breed set out to make towns and cities lovelier, beautiful and cleaner places to be. We want to spread the love we put into our bikes to the people who ride them. We believe that a kind osmosis from the bike to the rider takes place, spreading our feel for quality and originality. When Biomega decided to make these marvelous new machines for our towns and cities, new values had to be produced and implemented: "New Tech, New Ethics and New Aesthetics" was Biomega's immediate response. It came naturally to fuse the innovation and urban commuting part and a set of new and simple product principles: Biomega Website

Bicycle Fixation Website

Bicycle Fixation is for the practical and passionate cyclist...it is about urban bicycling & culture; sprawl & suburbs; sustainability; politics, paradigms, place; and planetary community. The bicycle is antithetical to sprawl, to isolationism, to waste. The bicycle is complementary to community, economy, sustainability, and self-reliance. In this age of mindless consumerism, of atomized populations living in boxes, working in boxes, and traveling in boxes, almost always alone, with only the electronic voices of their new feudal lords to guide them through life, the bicycle becomes an instrument of gentle revolution. Multiply the strength of your body with each turn of the crank, and multiply the strength of your heart with each fellow rider you meet, on the street and in these pages. Find yourself here.

Klunkerz - A film about mountain bikes.

My first "mountain bike" was a Peugeot 26 inch urban bike my brother brought back from Boston MA. I high-jacked it and added a triple and some Peterson SE brakes (helical post mount cantilevers). Let us know your first mountain bike model. Hopefully Klunkerz will be available on DVD soon. Unfortunately the Bicycle Film Festival does not come near our area. New York - May 16-20, 2007 Los Angeles London Paris Chicago Minneapolis Toronto Portland San Francisco Vienna London Milano Roma Barcelona Tokyo Sydney

StreetFilms.org - Filming the New York City Streets Renaissance

StreetFilms is a project of the New York City Street Renaissance (NYCSR), a collection of non-profits geared towards re-imagining the city’s public spaces and making our streets safer for pedestrians, bicycles and non-vehicular modes of transportation. The goal of the NYCSR is to engage the Department of Transportation and the city’s elected officials in a dialogue about how to best improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. The NYCSR includes The Open Planning Project , Transportation Alternatives and Project for Public Spaces , and maintains Streetsblog , and the StreetFilms video weblog. The NYCSR and the StreetFilms project have grown quickly in the past year. The short-form videos that have marked the StreetFilms campaign thus far have raised awareness on topics as varied as physically separated bike lanes and neighborhood re-design led by residents. Our continued work in video is aimed at achieving a measure of equality in terms of the way space is allocated to the p

ellsworth "The Ride" bicycle

It rides like no other bike on earth – a smooth, almost silent glide. It’s The Ride™ by Ellsworth – the first bike to use the revolutionary gearless NuVinci™ Continuously Variable Planetary (CVP) drive. Built from the finest materials, The Ride offers not only ground-breaking new technology in its drivetrain and frame geometry, but also a sleek, stunning design that will turn heads wherever you ride. No off-the-shelf parts would do when Ellsworth created this complete bike. The patent pending frame and fork, as well as many other components were specifically designed for The Ride. It’s a piece of art and a piece of history, all in one package. Website

What is the toughest hill climb in the Ohio Valley?

I nominate a few that I have ridden... Airport Hill (Girty's Point Road) - Ohio County Airport Kirkwood Heights - 18% Bridgeport Stone and Shannon - Wheeling Wheeling Park Drive to WPHS - 16% Wheeling Rt 88 south of Bethany 1st Street - Wheeling 29th Street Hill - Wheeling Boggs Hill Road - Wheeling Miller Hill - Wheeling Bellview Heights Rd - Bellaire Kilgore Rd. - West Wheeling Post hill climbs that you consider the toughest. If possible mileage and percent grade. I know I missed a few or more. I have only rode in the Ohio County/Belmont County area.

From the mailbag: Tappan to Tuscarawas Ride

Sunday, May 20, 2007 is the date of our ride. So mark that date and get back to me as soon as possible to enroll. This is a day ride. All you need to do is show up with your bike at the starting point, County Home in Cadiz, Ohio. This ride is a loop and will bring you back to your car in the late afternoon. There are many options off of this loop, from the full Century (100 mi), to a metric (60 mi) to as little as 36 mi. We all start at the same time, meet at the Lunch stop in New Phila. and return back to the County home. So .... imagine biking in the morning with Tappan Lake on your left shoulder and the afternoon biking through the quaint Ohio countryside and towns along the lazy Tuscarawas river. We all LOVE this ride and we are approaching 20 consecutive years doing it. I have done this ride in the past and it is a great ride. I plan on going this year. This would be a great tuneup for the Heritage Trail ride the following week. If you are interested in more information please ema

D.R.E.A.M. Ride

http://www.dream-ride.org/ The D.R.E.A.M. Ride is a non-profit bicycle ride created to raise funds for international development and relief work in order to educate, aid and mobilize those most in need around the world. The 2 routes and their ambitious daily paces are challenging, yet are meant to show that anything is possible if we work together as a group - just like the end of global poverty.

West Virginia Bicycle Law - from massbike.org

West Virginia Bicycle Law §17C-1-8. Bicycle. "Bicycle" means every device which does not have a motor attached and which is propelled by human power upon which any person may ride, having two tandem wheels either of which is more than twenty inches in diameter ARTICLE 11. OPERATION OF BICYCLES AND PLAY VEHICLES. §17C-11-1. Obedience to article; duty of parents and guardians; applicability of article to bicycles. (a) It is a misdemeanor for any person to do any act forbidden or fail to perform any act required in this article. (b) The parent of any child and the guardian of any ward shall not authorize or knowingly permit any such child or ward to violate any of the provisions of this chapter. (c) These regulations applicable to bicycles shall apply whenever a bicycle is operated upon any highway or upon any path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles subject to those exceptions stated herein. §17C-11-2. Traffic laws apply to persons r

Wheeling Heritage Bike Trail Bicycle Tour

The Walkable Wheeling Task Force, a group consisting of local community and business members, is developing an annual bicycle tour of the Wheeling Heritage Bike Trail system to celebrate the existing trail and encourage future trail development and use. The date is set for Sunday, May 27, 2007, at Heritage Port in Wheeling from 12p.m. to 5p.m. Long distance riders will start at 11am. This is a non-race event for cyclists, walkers, runners, rollerbladers and other trail enthusiasts. Pre-Registration is $20 ($25 on the day of the event). The family fee is $10 for each additional family member to a maximum of $50. Children under 12 are free but must be accompanied by a registered adult. Registration covers a pre-tour bicycle safety check, snacks at rest stops along the way, lunch, t-shirts to the first 200 pre-registered, and ride assistance provided by Quick Service Bicycle Shop and Wheelcraft. The tour will take place rain or shine! Cyclists will choose one of three rides that may inclu

Ohio Bicycle Law Revisions as of 8/23/06

Changes to the Ohio Revised Code’s Bicycle Laws Effective September 21, 2006 House Bill 389, The Better Bicycling in Ohio bill, results in the changes detailed below: 4511.07 Local Traffic Regulations and 4511.711 Driving on a Sidewalk Continues to allow local authorities to regulate the operation of bicycles as long as such regulation is not inconsistent with the uniform rules of the road prescribed in Ohio law. In general, local authorities may not prohibit the use of bicycles on any public street or highway. Local authorities may prohibit but not require bicycle riding on sidewalks 4511.22 Slow Speed. Current Ohio law prohibits operating a vehicle at such an unreasonably slow speed as to impede or block the normal flow of traffic. Now the courts must take into consideration the capabilities of the vehicle and its operator in deciding if an infraction has been committed. 4511.25 Lanes of Travel upon Roadways The law removes references to the curb or edge of road

Have you ever wondered what bicycle components weigh but were afraid to ask?

Weight Weenies Why this site? Postings saying "How much does X bike component weigh?" can be found on almost every bicycle related message board. Often the same parts weight is stated several times further down the board. So, why isn't there a website that already lists component & bike weights? Well that's what we do. Component lists are updated almost daily.

Japanese Bicycle Tram/Coaster

Paris-Brest-Paris is August 20-24, 2007

From the official website; In August 2007, more than 4 000 randonneurs will gather in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to enter into the legend of the PARIS-BREST-PARIS (P.B.P.) Randonneur. Since 1931, thousands of randonneurs have tried their hand at the most famous brevet at “allure libre” (self paced rides), the 1200 km PBP, which must be completed in 90 hours, the present maximum time limit. By entering this mythical ride, you will test your cycling agility and your human endurance. They will strive to obtain their Personal Best or they will try simply to rally the arrival… but they will always do their best to live this adventure while supporting each other and building friendships with those who participate in this endurance monument, which is much more than a simple hike. No place of honour, nor any podium, only the pleasure of the challenge alone will help them to overcome the suffering... and the magic moment of the arrival will obliterate the doubtful moments on the roads

Klein 2007 models available in the US

I am a big Klein bicycle fan. I own three. I was unhappy to hear that Klein would only be sold in Japan for 2007. But, last night when I was at Wheelcraft I was talking with Andy about the situation. We looked at the site and it was updated with the new 2007 models. Unfortunately the coolest model, the Karma, does not look like it will be available here. And the high end models have moved from aluminum to carbon and lost the internal cable routing. The Klein 2007 Catalog

ROVAL RAPIDE STAR CARBON WHEELSET

FACT carbon rims increase vibration dampening and it's aerodynamically superior design yields 50% less frontal area, dramatically reducing wind drag. The Rapide Star Wheelset is ideal for high performance race / all-around riding. Intended use: High performance race / all-around riding Aerodynamically superior design yields 50% less frontal area, dramatically reduces wind drag 100% FACT composite Mid V profile clincher rims provide optimum smoothness and stiffness Super-stiff and strong cold forged 7075 Al 5-point star hubs 20 front / 20 rear 2-Into-1 extreme spoke lacing pattern maximizes power transfer Custom DT Aerolite butted spokes, 2.0mm round / 2.3x0.9mm bladed Roval custom self-aligning hidden nipples with nylon threadlock Titanium Quick-release axles, forged alloy levers Comes with Shimano Dura-Ace 10 spd compatible cassette body Campy 10-Spd and Shimano 9-10 spd compatible cassette bodies available separately Padded cordura nylon double wheel bag Weight: Wheels = 17

The new "Wednesday Night Ride" bicycle

A-Bike Invented by Sir Clive Sinclair "..the idea is that if you have a bicycle which is seriously lighter and more compact than anything existing at the moment, it will change the way in which people see bikes.” "...it's so well built it could have been machined in a Formula One factory .. this is the ipod of bicycles, a fantastic feat of engineering.." Time Out Magazine November 2006

Bicycle Film Festival - Not Coming To A Town Near Us

Bicycle Film Festival

UPDATED From the mailbag - A suggestion for upcoming Wednesday night rides

ORIGINAL POST In response to the growing demand in making Wednesday nights more like happy hour, John Cusack has invested in PedalPub to bring the dream to reality in the Wheeling area. With the growing number of Wheeling cyclists complaining that Wednesday nights are too hard, while some want a warm-up and other just want a nice easy ride, Cusack believes the market is ripe for this new business. PedalPub will only offer premium quality draft beer and once a month, it will offer the best of the local brewed beer. We're even considering making changes to the vehicles structure so that we can enclose it for the winter months. This way the boys can train all winter long on the PedalPub Mobile and bring their wives along for the ride too. Please take some time out of your busy schedule and view our website. www.pedalpub.com We look forward to serving you in 2007. Finally, thank you to all those that are making this dream come true. John Cusack AL FROM PEDALPUB.COM RESPONDS I don

Biking Resources

I have setup my own website at www.raymondmgeorge.com Please don't be scared of my image on the homepage. Click on the biking link. Through my exhaustive research I have compiled links to a variety of websites. Please feel free to email me any links that I may have missed or that you would like added. I will also add topics/subpages if people would like to suggest them.

Wheeling Heritage Trail Expansion NEWS

Wheeling Heritage Trail Expansion January 29, 2007 update: We are currently waiting on approval for Phase 1 grant application submitted 8 January, 2007 for $470,000. If approval is received construction should begin in late Spring and completed by the end of summer, 2007. Phase 1 will connect the West face of Tunnel Green with a ramp down to the abandoned rail line on the south bank of Wheeling Creek proceeding west downstream to the Ogden Tech Center, cross Wheeling Creek at the Green Bridge, and continue on the north bank of the stream through the West Virginia Northern Community College Campus, passing under Chaplin Street Bridge and exiting onto 18th Street adjacent to Electrical Contractors Supply. This route will eliminate the need for the trail on the East Wheeling Streets, resulting in safer egress from the Ohio River Trail to the Big Wheeling Creek Trail. Grant decision for the Phase 1 application is anticipated in late April, 2007.

Riding Weather?

Some shots from this morning

Happy New Year

Looks like I have 3000 miles to reach my goal. Unfortunately due to the mix of sickness and the holidays I was not able to get out to ride before the end of the year. I ended 2006 with 2958 miles. It easily beat my old record of 1775 set in 2003. Saturday I was cleaning the house and peaked outside only to realize that it was almost 60 degrees. I should have rode then, but I needed to get chores done. I am almost over my sickness. Go Mountaineers.

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