Continental Gatorskin 28s.

After weeks of looking into Grand Bois and Panaracers at Jitensha and elsewhere, I gave up and bought Continental Gatorskins @ 700x28.

So far, far better than I'd hoped. The well-revered Grand Bois will have to wait for another day. And I'll likely be giving up on Panaracer, since the Compe is gone.

it's called iDeath

Don't listen to your iPod and ride your bike at the same time like these people.

It's illegal, but it's also dangerous.

whole family on Iron Horse Trail

The four of us did Iron Horse Trail (철마길) from Walnut Creek to Dublin last Friday. We only got started around 4:30pm, and as expected it was dark by the time we arrived at Dublin/Pleasanton BART.

Bamboo bikes. Nice, but how do they feel?

So there's a story in the NYT about bamboo frames, and even wheels.

Given the ugly fixies you see people riding along Telegraph and the interesting scraper bikes you see kids riding in East Oakland, I can't say I'm shocked.

Not really impressed, except that bamboo bikes might actually be helpful in some areas of the world, and the Bamboo Bike Project looks like a worthy cause indeed.

My first question before I'd ever want one would be: How do they feel to ride? Do they scream like aluminum? Flex like steel? I'm thinking not, so these wouldn't be something you'd want to ride more than a couple miles on.

In the meantime I'm still trying to get used to bamboo cutting boards.

Wal-Mart scraper bike

A much-loved scraper bike in the lot at Wal-Mart at Edgewater & Hegenberger in Oakland.

BTW, don't miss "scraper bike summer camp."

MLK Regional Shoreline

Riding to the 한국일보 and back for work several days a week is nicer when getting there by way of the MLK Regional Shoreline, and not just because I love all East Bay Regional Parks, just out of principle. MLK is a special area because it surrounds the San Leandro Bay and is a well-hidden surprise if you're driving to and fro the Oakland Airport. I would never go there just to ride, but it makes being surrounded by office parks a little more bearable.

kids road bike recommendation

So as seen in a picture in an earlier post, we bought 빛결이 a road bike. There really is a thirst out there for a kids road bike at any price, since they're hard to find in the first place, but especially one that's affordable. The branding is a big strange and we get a lot of questions about it. but if you don't mind the GMC name, we'd like to recommend this one.

As is often the case with 10-ish year-old on road bikes, the lack of adequate hand strength is indeed a bit of a problem. It's hard for her to reach forward that far for that long and hold on that tight to levers that are, having tried them myself, aren't that easy to pull. So I'm considering "interrupter" levers, inexpensive ones of course, and would even if her having to stretch so far forward wasn't a problem.

Thorndale Drive, Oakland

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I went down Thorndale from Skyline the other night. This brought back memories of one of the few things I enjoyed during high school. Good stuff.

빛결이랑 철마길 완주

토요일인 3일 딸 빛결이랑 철마길(Iron Horse Trail), Concord에서 Dublin까지 달렸다. 결이는 아빠한테 새로 선물 받은 싸이클을 처음으로 탔는데 아주 마음에 든다고 해서 아빠도 기쁘다. 22마일을 가는 데 4시간 정도 걸렸다. 결이는 종점인 더블린에 너무 늦게 도착하면 집으로 가는 지하철을 놓칠까봐 하도 걱정해서 빨리 다니자고 재촉할 필요가 없었다. 신나는 하루였다.

bike theft a good sign...

Bike theft is bad. Very bad.

But it's an inescapable fact that bike theft is a serious problem only in cities that have a great bicycle culture.

If your city doesn't have a problem with bike theft, it's probably not a very desirable place to ride.

Such are my thoughts upon reading an article on preventing bike theft in the NYT.

porched bike for Scraper Bike King

Childhood church and school friend Brent Loo had me remove this bike from his garage to make space for thirteen lacrosse sticks and uniforms. Or something like that. We had it in our garage for months, and I've finally done something with it. After considerable email tag with the legendary Scraper Bike King, I just left it on his porch this morning, tying it with a ribbon for extra measure.

Scraper Bike King and scraper bikes have been featured in the mainstream media for some time now. See: NPR, Bay Citizen, and then also this, Scraper Bike King about gang wars in Oakland.

2nd degree murder, well deserved

A sous chief at Google has killed a total of four people while driving recklessly, and for the most recent two he's getting a 2nd degree murder rap.

Bucci was also found guilty of causing great bodily injury to Immanuel's mother, 47-year-old Regina Jackson of Suisun City, who was driving the Toyota, and to another son, Jordan Callison, now 14, who was paralyzed from the waist down.

[...]

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously rejected a series of appeal arguments raised by Bucci, including his contention that he lacked the implied malice or intentional recklessness needed to support a second-degree murder conviction.

The panel said there was substantial evidence for a finding of implied malice.

"Bucci was speeding up a hill going the wrong direction in a no-passing zone on a highway, where he could not see oncoming traffic on the other side of the hill and could not return to his correct lane because of the semi-trailers he was trying to pass," Justice Henry Needham wrote.

"Certainly a reasonable juror could conclude that the natural consequences of his conduct were dangerous to life and that his conduct endangered the lives of others - such as the occupants of any vehicle approaching from the other side of the crest of the hill," he wrote.

Not to miss this from the Chronicle:

A motorist who approached the burning car said she had asked Bucci to help her pull out the driver, but that he had raised his hands in a gesture of futility and walked away.

Remember people like this guy when you're on country highways.

why cables aren't enough

The golden rule is that if you are going to park your bike in public and expect it to be secure, lock it up with two locks. And if you're only going to use one lock, don't use just a cable and a padlock. If I'm parking my best ride somewheres, especially a high-theft area like SF Civic Center, I use a quality U-lock on the frame, then a padlock and a cable for extra measure.

I saw the tragedy you see in this picture on Shattuck Ave in Berkeley on Sunday, June 20th.

A joke from Leiden. A student finds that his bike has been stolen. He sees a cop and says, "Someone stole my bike!" The cop's response: "Well then go steal another one!"