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.