Green Acres

Eddie Albert bike commuter:

“Eddie Albert pauses to catch his breath on Cahuenga Pass, between Hollywood and Universal City, on his way to work at Universal-International studio in “Smash-Up -The Story of a Woman.” Back at the Hollywood grind after wartime service as a naval officer, Eddie couldn’t get a new car, so his wife bought him a bicycle and told him the exercise was good for him.”

If he can do so can you.

Bike or Die

Via comes the story of a man facing invasive surgery or death because he weighed nearly 600 pounds. He chose bikes and life instead. In the picture above he has lost weight and is on his way to an even better life and lifestyle.

Get Yer Kickstands

I have used several double leg kickstands in my life. In my experience, daily commuting requires a kickstand, fenders, and panniers to be effect and fun. Double legged kickstands are not only very functional but nifty looking.

 In order of greatness. The Hebie. Strong and stable as can be last for ever, hard to get in the USA. It weighs a ton but is unlikely to ever break and I am pretty sure that replacing the spring is easy. Not only does  this hold the bike upright under nearly any load but the pedals turn which makes routine maintenance a snap.

Pletscher's two legged. Nice but unlike the Hebie you can not spin the pedals while the legs are down. Plus the legs fold up to fit on one side of the bike. I added the rubber feet. The mechanism can wear out and it isn't nearly as tough as the Hebie.

The above are my current kickstands. I used to have a M Wave. It is designed after the Hebie but is considerable less stout although inexpensive and very good value for the money.

Then there is the Civia. This was unstable and did was designed so that the leg rubbed the chain. I lost at one of the original feet and two replacements. On the whole a rotten  little item in terms of practicality. It is, however, the most aesthetically pleasing of all the kickstands.

The worst of the bunch is Orange Velo's pretentiously named Porteur Double Kickstand.  Out of the box  mine was broken and the nephew, whose at least wasn't damaged, assures me it is a junky and unstable pile of thus and such.

 What is your favorite piece of commuter gear?

Thought For The Day

I've been reading the new edition of some of Count Harry Kessler's diaries, and in it on 30 January, 1869, he made this undeniably true claim after

[s]omeone said that a book dealer had complained recently to him that the people who once bought books now ride bicycles. In realty bicyclists do more for the reawakening and understanding of art than the most diligent book worms in all the libraries put together.

He is, of course, right, although I would replace "book worms" with "anybody" and "of art" with "of everything."

Enjoy the weather.

Want to

see some cool pictures of bikes and cycleing? Of course you do:

More here.

Morning Message

His image is true.

Books, Bikes, and Freedom

I've mentioned how the bicycle liberated women and, just as importantly, terrified men. The freedom engendered by the bike offer women a way out. It also, so the medical profession insisted, turned them into lesbians because of the friction of the seat and women's unmentionables.  The other day, I returned to this site and discovered that it now offers all manner of versions of the various texts it hosts. I found there this H.G. Wells story, which concerns a draper's assistant, a run away half orphan and several different kinds of bicycle.

What's interesting is that in this story it's not just that bikes promote women's freedom but also that it breaks down class barriers and shows how a low-born assistant draper is both better than a well-born intellectual. Crucially, I think, the assistant draper realizes that he's screwed and the brief taste of social equality he enjoyed is unlikely to transform his miserable existence and, in fact, the whole episode, viewed from the Hoopdriver's perspective, achieves nothing but the realization of actual existing misery.

So in this case the bike frees Hoopdriver from a form of false consciousness, lets call it, that he cultivated especially to avoid the actual existing misery of his life.

Odd little morality tale.

Biking Bots

Recently I drew attention to robotic snakes and spiders, which -- should science fiction movies predict the future -- will lead to all manner of mayhem. Today, I want to mention that robot makers want robots to enjoy the rude good health of your average cyclist:



 So now solar  powered robots will be able to survive the loss of man made power and ride their cycles from city to city while enslaving the remaining humans who will be forced to construct nuclear power plants because robots are immune to the environmental damage those mechanical monstrosities cause. Hurray scienctist types.

Bikes Free Us

New Ride

Mine, that is. Nearly perfect, it needs only a  front rack. Oh, and as by the way, I've had just about enough of the bike shop boyos who are under the impression that they know more about how I ride my bike than I do and, whatismore, have no idea how disc brakes work.

These Are The Women Your Father's Father Warned About

Susan B. Anthony famously said "I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world" and Frances Willard structured her book on feminist activism around learning to ride a wheel. While others have shown how the bicycle threatened patriarchal control and gender norms. This picture, I think, tells the whole tale:

The women are about to ride off on their own leaving behind kid and dad in pursuit of their own ends and by their own means. They are moving forward and the men in their lives are standing still. In just a few short pedals they will be free. And now bicycles are inexpensive enough for all.