LJS article

The title of the story is a bit misleading, but good thing they caught him. Dude next time go for one of the expensive bikes

A shoplifting suspect who allegedly rode a bicycle out of Cycle Works on Saturday is suspected of stealing two other bikes from the store.

Lincoln Police were called to Cycle Works at 27th and Vine streets at 5:35 p.m. after a man rode a bicycle out of the store without paying, Sgt. Don Scheinost said.

Officers found the suspect, Robert Aguirre, 34, 2740 Fair St., No. 108, near 29th and Holdrege streets within an hour of the alleged theft, Scheinost said.

Aguirre was cited on suspicion of shoplifting and was jailed on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant out of Douglas County, Scheinost said.

A store employee recognized Aguirre as the person who allegedly had stolen another bike April 24, Scheinost said.

Police still have not found the blue and silver Trek 3900 valued at $380 that was stolen Saturday or another Trek bicycle valued at $260 stolen April 24, Scheinost said.

When police found Aguirre on Saturday, he allegedly had with him a $300 red and white Trek 3700 bicycle that had been stolen between last Monday and Thursday, Scheinost said.

LJS article

User counts conducted twice in 2007 and once so far this year have shown a “significant” increase in bicycle traffic along those streets from before those lanes were installed, said Dave Cary, transportation planner for the city.

And though more bicyclists are taking to those streets, the number of bicycle-related crashes on those streets has not increased, Cary said.

“Motorists, especially those who live in the city and who work or go to school downtown, have learned pretty quickly how to maneuver with bike lanes installed,” Cary said.

During a bicycle count on April 16, about 100 bicyclists used 11th Street during a six-hour period, with only 33 using the sidewalk, Cary said.

On the 23rd, 142 bikes were counted on 14th Street during a six-hour period, and of those, only 17 used the sidewalks, Cary said.

Lincoln is moving in the right direction as far as becoming more bicycle-friendly, Cary said.

When it comes to my rides Monkey Wrench Cycles is the only way to go.

Congrats on your success, although it is no surprise that you guys are doing well.

That is Custeau’s sweet new Hunter above.

Overheated Tandem Bike Rider

I have been mentioning my single speed stuff lately and I had been messing with the chains a bunch. I was using a tiny chain tool that is on my Crank Brothers multi tool. That little guy is fine for emergency trail repair, but is a pain to use. I asked the monkey boys to order me up a real chain tool and picked it up a fortnight or so ago. Well I got to use it over lunch because my chain broke while I was crossing 9th street.

I run a slightly tough gear and I was standing up and mashing the pedals to make the light and the chain blew. If you have ever had that happen you know it is never good. It completely makes the pedal drop and brings you with it. Lucky for me my thigh took most of the impact, but there was a glancing blow to Enrique (my left nut). So crotch on the top tube, feet clipped out and dragging while I tried to gain control and come to a stop. Lucky for me I had a large audience of cars waiting for the light, I played it cool though.

Flipped the bike upside down, walked back to grab the chain on the concrete. Was wondering if it might of just been the power link for some strange reason. Nope the piecing together of chain bits while setting up my current gearing must of been shoddy and caused the pin to come out completely. I have been taking it kind of easy riding the past couple days and three different times I heard a clink and just figured it was nothing. Well I should of checked my darn chain. The new chain tool was awesome though. I completely trust the joint I fixed over lunch.

Wish Lincoln would get on this bandwagon.

“It’s a whole new program,” Simon said of the racks. “With what’s going on with gas (prices), this could be something that people really take advantage of.”

Over the next month or so, MAT will test two kinds of racks and decide which type to buy. The goal is to have all of the racks purchased and installed so that people can use them this summer and fall.

Simon said the bike racks will let people visit different trails without having to put racks on their cars.

“You could ride the bus to the Keystone Trail and then take the bus back home,” he said.

They also made a new bike map for Omaha
article

My friend had never heard of biker fox, he is one strange guy.

My chain fell off 5 times in the last two days. From just plain riding. I take very few sweet jumps on the way to work.

It is hard to splain why one would take 26 of their 27 gears off their bike, but being single speed rules.
So I got my bike back and it was set up as a single speed in a pretty easy gear. Commuting on my old full suspension bike let me adjust to a tougher gear pretty easily. I had tried a new system called a Rennen Rollenlager which worked well in some ways on my full suspension, but bad in others. I did not realize how much the rear suspension flexing affected chain tension. It just was not gonna work.

I figured the Rollenlager would rule on my hard tail commuter. And once again I had issues. They offer a 1/2 link to get the chain length within the adjustable range. This prob works most of the time. Problem was the rear triangle chain stays got in the way of the rollenlager working correctly. When it comes to rock solid chain tensioning I still recommend the rollenlager, but a Surly singlerator solved my issues.

I think the reason I disliked the singlerator was because I simply did not know how to adjust it. I have that down pretty darn good now. MWC had a larger front chain ring at the shop and it rocks now. Fuggles got a darn good ride out of it. I am so tired of her going faster than me.

more info

I saw this a few places and thought it was silly, but after seeing the vid I still think it is silly.

What a beautiful day for a ride through the park Sunday was. Unfortunately I was hung over and tired as heck from geeking out on guitar hero till 4 AM. Kit and Brandon forced me to get out of bed and head out. The park was surprisingly dry and we made it to the 14th street parking lot where we saw the demo truck and rows of bikes. We signed the waivers and headed out on the trail.

I Started out on a hi-fi 29 inch dual suspension (blue below) and liked it. It is light and the rear really sucked up the bumps. That would of been the bike I would be rolling now if I had not decided to get my moots. Then I switched with Brandon and found myself on a 69′er. O that is a 29 inch front wheel and a 26 inch rear. There is reasoning behind that, but I think it is just a gimmick. The geometry is corrected so it felt pretty close to normal. Supposedly you can carve corners better, but I just was not all that impressed with it. We checked out some other bikes they had and talked with them for a hour or so. Nice guys who fed us and let us ride their bikes.

The guy pulled out his pearl white hardtail single speeded 69′r and it was set up really nice. The thing was beautiful. He says he loves it and I bet it would grow on me after a while. I am currently uber happy with my Moots and have two other bikes in the stable. Not looking for a new ride at all.

Felt really good to be back on the moots heading home. That trip through the park put the hurt on my all butt. I could feel it this morning on the ride in. I need to get back on top of my game.

Got a call from the police today. He informed me that the bike finally showed up at the BB&R pawn shop. I have to pay whatever the pawn shop paid the guy who turned it in to get it back, but that is fine with me. i hope the parts are still on it and it is not too banged up.

was stolen late 2006

That is one wore out puppy there. Jon T said the park was rideable so the Monkey crew headed out there for the tues ride. I showed up early and ran through a few miles with her. She was lucky enough to get to chase 4 deer two times. She took off out of my site and when she came back she was drooling like a garden hose. Not sure if she got a taste, but she apparently likes venison.

The park is about 90% there. No standing water, but some soft areas where you have to ride on the grass off the trail. Still it was good to see the guys again.

This is a continuation of BorK’s “Bikes in Showers” post — it’s almost like mechanical porn. Too bad we couldn’t find a Japanese girl in the shower with a bike. That could probably make a cycle-enthusiast cream their jeans 0.002 seconds … Until then, here’s what I got to offer:

Article

Stonehenge Management, a developer, has offered a 2,600-square-foot lot next to an apartment building it owns on the north side of 33rd Street, Mr. Biederman said.

The partnership, which is financed by businesses and property owners in a 31-block section of Midtown, has developed a preliminary design for the lot and has ordered up a prototype of the racks it would contain, Mr. Biederman said. Initially, it would hold 100 bikes, with room to expand if there is more demand, he said.

Regular users would pay a fee, but some spaces would be free, for short-term use by visitors to the neighborhood. Those fees will depend on how much the partnership can raise from a sponsor, Mr. Biederman said.

“There’s a huge demand out there for this kind of parking option,” said Caroline Samponaro, bicycle campaign coordinator at Transportation Alternatives, a group that advocates for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Ms. Samponaro said a similar concept had worked in Chicago, where McDonald’s became the long-term sponsor of a bike parking lot that charges $149 a year.

I know Lincoln has plans for this at the centrum parking garage, but has not done anything with it for 1/2 a year now. That is only a few blocks from my work, but I doubt I would use it.