Some are actually in production

I saw this over at Homegrown Evolution a blog based in Echo Park (L.A.) focusing on DIY gardening and biking and just self-sustainability in general. They’ve got some cool pics of cargo bikes. But anyways. This is totally nuts and illegal but it looks fun. In the middle of the video they take a flyover from I-10 to the 405 freeway.

Pedal Powered Tennis - Ball Launcher - video powered by Metacafe

They are starting under the A street bridge and heading north. 4th street is really nice to have and I have been giddy for a while seeing the wide curb ramps. Got Fuggles out for a run before the storm and saw a portapotty in the distance. We raced sown there and I saw this beauty. Oh man it is going to be pretty cool.

When they paved 4th street it was a bunch of work. It was a rail line with gravel roads on both sides. The paving gave folks on both sides more lawn which was seeded late last fall with some sort of seed spray. It sat like that all winter till it started to grow this spring. Last week they used a huge tractor mower and cut the grass from A to J. It seemed kinda odd to me, but now I know it was because they are paving the trail

So bummed to see this. Shawn Doné sent me this vid he made of the storm and the state of wilderness park. I know wilderness park is supposed to flood when the salt creek gets too high, but this is very sad to see.

the storm from Shawn Doné on Vimeo.

Thanks for the vid Shawn. Hope to see you on the trail if it ever dries.

Check out his amazing lightning photos here

EDIT: Karl checked out the trail and provided an update.

I went back in there last weekend to check on a few spots, and
clear blow-down. It was very wet, flooded in spots, and not in
any way rideable. As it goes with floods, some places are
eroded, other places have had silt and sand deposited. I
saw some places that had gained 6 inches of silt, and that helps
fill in the “cupping” we get in the tread.

The first repair you folks did, the “dam” held up very well!
I seeded it with blue and side-oat gramma, and the roots kept
the soil on top.

The second repair, under the bridge did well. there was some
erosion, but not much. the only real problem is that the north
side ditch filled in with silt. On the bonus side, there is a
large deposit of white sand on the bank or the creek that cam be
moved into the trail.

The third, where we just placed rock over the fabric… well
we didn’t put soil on that because we didn’t quite have a
handle on where the water was going to go. Now we know. Lots
and lots of water comes right down the trail, over the berm
in the corner and down to the “dam”. The water moved quite
a bit of the rock around, and the fabric is exposed in places.
It won’t be hard to fix, but something will have to be done
to keep it from happening again.

Post this if you want. The important message is:
DON’T RIDE IN THE MUD…Please!

(BTW, I found someone’s cell phone out there, contact me to reclaim it).

.karl

Article

“I’ve been riding my bike for nearly 40 years in the city, and it’s high time we have something like a union,” Ms. Marks explained last weekend. “I don’t fly around like the youngsters. But if we were able to have better bike lanes and benefits like a union, you’d see more people out here who are my age.”

Believed to be a global first, the union already has enrolled hundreds of card-carrying members since it formed in May. Modeled on auto programs like AAA, the union plans to offer members insurance, roadside assistance, and advocacy on their behalf – all for a $24 annual fee.

“Our primary goal is give a voice to urban cyclists who use their bikes in their daily lives as a mode of transportation,” explains David Meslin, founder of the Toronto Cyclists Union. “Cyclists don’t feel safe on the streets, and if they know there is a group fighting for safer conditions, I believe a lot more will join.”

Over on folks from Lincoln the challenge has been made again this year. Ride your bike to work every day.

What: Commute to work or owe your challengers a 12 oz. beverage (Old Style, High Life or Budweiser, Guinness, or Busch)

When: Memorial Day to Labor Day 2007

Why: Bikes are fun and cars suck

Official rules:

1. You must ride a bicycle to your primary occupation or forfeit a 12 oz. beverage of your opponents’ choice on Friday of each week.

2. The 12 oz. beverage may be either Old Style, High Life, Budweiser, Busch or Guinness. You can choose to buy cans and give them to your opponents or buy downtown. Beer payment can be either off sale cans/bottles or beer boughten at any establishment in Lincoln, but I encourage Yia Yia’s, Oso, Bricktop or O’Rourkes.

3. Kids and injuries are the only excusable reasons to drive to work. Limit 5 free passes for the duration of the event.

4. This is the honor system. Big brother is watching.

NEW RULE ADDED!

5. If you fail to ride to work you must submit a pic of your pathetic self driving to work and get it up on the internets. The pic must clearly show the utter disgust on your face for helping kill the planet. Please be careful while taking pic.

from boing boibg gadgets, this little bugger looks like fun.

from the side

My husband built a pedal/electric hybrid 4-wheeler last summer. With the current gas prices, it’s now our “errand car” — we use it for one-person errands within a 10 mile radius. It gets a lot of interesting looks!

The only drawback to this is that it is not waterproof; the electronics aren’t protected from the elements.
My husband is currently in the process of designing and building Version 2; its frame will be welded steel or, maybe, aluminum. Yes, it creaks horribly, but it’s a sturdy little beast!

Maximum speed is over 30mph but when you get it that high it tends to be a little “squirrely”; it’s happy cruising along at 25 (it even has cruise control!). The motor is 80+% efficient; because it’s a hub motor, it’s direct drive, so you don’t lose anything to a gear. It is designed to seat two but only has one seat at the moment. It can be pedaled, so it qualifies as a bicycle for road rules and can be ridden anywhere a bike is allowed.
He built it from plans he got at www.electricrider.com.

I park my bike behind the state IT bldg (501) and have enjoyed the whole bike rack to myself for a good couple of years, but today there was not an end spot for me with the 5 bikes already locked up. I had to use one of the middle spaces and try to get my faghettaboutit U lock to fit. It took a while.

A couple cool guys I work with started riding in to work as well. They all like to make sure I know since I am the “biker dude.” They have much longer commutes though. Both are looking to get more fit and use less gas. Pretty cool. I will gladly give up my side spot for that.