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!"

유빛결양, 오십킬로 달리다

최근 딸과 함께 매년 데이비스에서 하는 Foxy's Fall Century에 다녀왔다. 만 여덟살인 빛결이가 50k 달리는 동안 엉덩이가 약간 아프다고 호소한 것 외에는 불평해 하지 않았다. 오랜만에 딸과 단 둘이 보내는 아주 즐거운 시간이었단. 처음으로 그렇게 먼 거리를 다닌 것을 축하하는 의미로 종점에 있었던 자전거용품 벼룩시장에서 노랑색 자전거 옷(상의)를 사줬다.




Eight year old Sabine does the 50K (actually 32.5 miles) Foxy's Fall Century in Davis.

the homeless man and the bike commuter

From the New York Times Metropolitan Diary section.

New York Times
Published: December 8, 2008

Dear diary,

I bicycle along the East River bike path every morning before dawn. I often see the same homeless people just north of East River Park between the F.D.R. Drive and the river. Since it is usually dark, I never make any contact with them and I assume they are sleeping. They never say a word.

Between some vacation time and needing a break, I recently did not ride for a two-week period. On my first predawn ride after returning, I rode past a man wrapped on a blanket, slumped on a bench.

Just as I was about to pass him, a loud voice boomed out, "Hey man, where you been? I was worried about you."

I said I had been on vacation, and he simply said, "O.K., glad you didn't get hurt."

The next morning I rode past the same person; he said nothing and has said nothing since.

Forest Markowitz

NYT on cycling in Portland

Anyone who happens along this blog will already have seen this, but how else to find this material myself months from now?

New York Times video titled "The Business of Biking" and the NYT story that comes with it.

favourite colours

My favourite colours (incomplete list):

Molteni orange
British racing green
Bianchi celeste

bike thief

Originally uploaded by schroepfer

This little rascal of mine took a little something from Jitensha Studio. Click picture for more details.

dunlop valve

dunlop valve
Originally uploaded by schroepfer

Because of the nature of dunlop (woods) valves, bike stores in countries where you find these things actually sell parts to them. I knew an American who bought a mamachari. When he loosened the part that holds the valve in (second from right at top, second from top at lower right), the valve doohickey shot out and hit the roof. He found it, but what if he hadn't? In my own experience I've had the rubber part that goes over the valve doohickey (see fingers) dry out like the eraser on an old pencil. It holds air until you loosen the valve to add more air, because the dry rubber won't block the air when the valve is back in place. So it's always good to have a spare little strip of rubber tube like the one in the upper left corner at the ready whenever you're putting air in a tyre that hasn't been ridden in a long time. (And oh yes, the only thing my daughter swallowed as a baby was that little valve doohickey, which perhaps is the reason I scanned this image back at around that time.)

I suppose it's not even ironic that the type of valve probably most common the world over, from Shanghai commuters to Taliban couriers, isn't even known about by avid cyclists in the United States. I've also seen them on sale in the U.K. The store Bicycle Workshop has a setup on the counter with three valves (dunlop, schrader, and presta) so customers can point to them if they don't know their names. Dunlop valves originated in England so I suppose there's still a lot of them around.