STUFFE

BADGER II
From BikeHugger, this Piet Mondrian saddle. So, you grab your Look bicycle, mount this on it, buy the "La Vie Claire" kit from Prendas, and your rolling Hinault/De Stijl tribute is complete.

SPEZI 2010
Velovision has this quick rundown of the recent SPEZI show, with LOADS of pictures.

Spezi is a show for Recumbents, Quads, Tandems, Trikes, Folding Bikes - those slightly out of the ordinary things that you don't see all that often in most bicycle media. Worth a look.

ARTS AND CRAFTS
Simon at La Gazzetta Della Bici shares this post on wrapping handlebars. From an original post by Simon's friend James, the method he uses to make custom finishing tape produces a *really* nice effect. (Manufacturer finishing tapes are crap, as James rightly points out, even, and it pains me to say so, Fizik's).

For wrapping the bars, I think it's hard to beat the guide on Park Tool - use the "self tightening" method described in their advanced tips. And do melt the ends of the finishing tape as both Park and James recommend.

TRAILERS

Biketrailerblog.com is always an interesting place to look for utility cycling inspiration.

They cover a DIY project today, this trail maintenance trailer.

"Dean found that walking to different parts of trails that required maintenance and carrying tools took way to much time out of the day, and sometimes when you only have one day a month do to trail work time is of the essence. Dean felt that pre-made retail bike trailers where not cost effective, So he decided to design a bike cargo trailer that he could attach to his mountain bike and that would allow him to carry the tools he needed for effective trail maintenance."

They also link back to an older post, using the BOB trailer for tool carriage (and as a barbecue grill, as it happens).

PORTLAND
I'm not sure it's even worth linking to BSNYC because EVERYBODY reads it, but on the offchance that you might miss his Portland write up...

"Yes, that's another Rivendell (with wooden fenders to boot), which people apparently even use to ride to the store here. I don't think I've ever seen two Rivendells in a single week in New York City, let alone in the space of a day or two, and I've certainly never seen one locked up outside. ... If I ever were to see more than one Rivendell in a day in New York I would just assume some kind of beard convention was in town."

It's vintage stuff.

JOE PARKIN
Urban Velo review Joe's new book, the follow up to "A Dog in a Hat". "Come and Gone" is;

"...not the book of a champion, but rather of the guy who had a few good rides over thousands of races. This is something that most bike racers can relate to. He talks about cycling in America’s competitive cycling heyday, the 90’s. Most of the races that he competed in are long gone."

LEADERSHIP DEBATE
Charlie Brooker reviews last night's;

"According to some polls, Cameron won, or at the very least tied with Clegg. Which is odd, because to my biased eyes, he looked hilariously worried whenever the others were talking. He often wore a face like the Fat Controller trying to wee through a Hula Hoop without splashing the sides, in fact."