STUFFE

ANTI-MONKEY BUTT POWDER
A new product tested at Urban Velo. Clicking through to the manufacturer's site, the ad videos are really very funny.

LONDON CYCLING
Some interesting stuff from Karl on Sea on his recent visit to the capital.

He compares London's hire scheme with others.

He looks at how driver behaviour can make even a fairly straightforward route an intimidating experience.

And lastly he observes the dominance of the Brompton in multi-modal commuting.

OTHER PEOPLE'S PROJECTS
I'm really enjoying Kim Harding's account of his bike build. The build is based on a 2009 Genesis Croix de Fer frame (one of the "do it all" cross bikes that are becoming more and more popular), which was an unusual bike at the time it was introduced because of its disc brakes.

It should build up into a really nice commuter/light tourer/off roader.

CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE DEPT.
I've been irritated by Copenhagenize's occasional jabs at the "sport" cyclist, so it was nice to see him speak favourably of Robert Penn's "It's All About the Bike" here.

SHOULD IT BE CALLED THE ROULEUR'S JERSEY?
A great article on why Petacchi's disqualification from the Tour would not mean Mark Cavendish taking green, here on the Pave blog.

VELOCLUB DON LOGAN DOES LE TOUR
...and has an international incident afterwards too.

REDUCE SPEEDS, AND THEY WILL COME

Copenhagen's Car-free streets & Slow-speed zones from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

The Utility Cycling blog had this nice Streetfilms film about Copenhagen's people friendly spaces. It's good because it shoots holes in many of the reasons people give for not taming the car a little in our cities. As has been said before, if we can make the spaces between our buildings into more than the parts where motor traffic goes as fast as it can, good things happen.

ARTHUR DE PINS AT THE BEACH
Drawn.ca features the work of French artist Arthur De Pins, here. Appropriately for the time of year, if not the weather *I'm* experiencing, it's beach themed.

THEY DRAW AND COOK
Artists and illustrators write and illustrate their favourite recipes. Featured on the Lines and Colors blog.

SALSA UPDATES
Salsa have an update on the clever Wanderlust, and downright nifty minimalist racks they showed earlier in the year.

They're also making a Snowbike, the Mukluk, which looks very cool - check out the design features they've put on the frame.

STUFFE

THE JOURNEY THAT SAVED CURIOUS GEORGE
I'm not sure how well known Curious George is in the UK - my daughter loves him, and had several of the books (and the dvd on repeat) when she was younger.

Urban Velo points us at "Curious George Saves the Day", an exhibition of the art of Curious George, and the history of his creators.

the authors who created him, Margaret and Hans A. Rey ... were German Jews living in Paris when they fled Nazi persecution on bicycles Hans fashioned from spare parts. Their journey is documented in Louise Borden’s 2005 picture book, The Journey That Saved Curious George.

It's odd to think of such a joyful, innocent character coming out of the horror of the second world war, something Rey mused on himself;

At such a time, Hans A. Rey wrote in a letter, “it feels ridiculous to be thinking about children’s books.” But that is what they were doing, prolifically, including a book about a monkey named Fifi, who later became known as Curious George.

To link back to cycling, anyone arriving at the exhibition (which is at the Jewish Museum in New York) will get a $2 discount on admission throughout June.

CYCLING INQUISITION
I'm surprised more people don't know about Cycling Inquisition - the writing is great, and his focus on Columbian cycling and cyclists is, as far as I know, rare in English language blogs.

Yesterday saw another good piece on Columbian Cycling culture, the race report that runs long because riders have to tell their mothers they've finished safely, the rider who works as a coal miner. It's great, and you should read it.

THE ELECTRIC TRAILER

Power assist can make a lot of sense for Cargo Bikes - but if you're not hauling stuff all the time, you end up with an e-bike whether you need the assist or not. So what about an electric trailer?

COMMUTING IN THE HEAT
Bikecommuters.com rounds up its posts on riding to work in the heat - if our hot spell continues here, this could be one to bookmark...

CLAMPDOWN
The Police in London began a crackdown on road users who disobey traffic law yesterday. Whilst I question slightly the implicit assumption that an equal risk is posed by all of them, enforcing traffic law can't be a bad thing. Cycling Weekly has more.

COMICS
Nedroid Picture Diary, and Savage Chickens both contain valuable life lessons in their latest comics.

TENNIS
Not a sport I follow, but the epic match between Mahut and Isner caught my interest. The Science of Sport blog deconstructs the match here.

WWII URBAN SKETCHER
Wonderful stuff from wartime artist William A. Smith, over at the Urban Sketchers Blog.

FARGO ADVENTURE RIDE
Great pictures of what looks like an awesome ride.

This ride is about fun, adventure, challenge and friendship. It could be argued that the routes and adventures are designed to highlight the versatile and capable Salsa Fargo, but I would argue the routes and adventures are planned to challenge folks and that the Fargo is simply the right tool for the job.

More detail, and a link to Gnat's flickr set of event photos at Salsa's Blog.

YORK CYCLE SHOW
A great piece at Velovision with lots of pictures. Look at the lugwork on the Hetchins, for one thing (third pic down).

THANKS
To those of you who made kind comments about "STUFFE" posts - it's appreciated. I'm still figuring out what the format should be (just links, some commentary) and you may have noticed it isn't daily any more. I'm playing it by ear, truth be told.

STUFFE

LE VELO
My French isn't really up to making much of the lyrics, but I love this video and the tune. It's by Eddy la Gooyatsh, and the video even features a cameo by Richard Virenque. Eddy's album "Chaud", from which this track comes is available on eMusic.

GET IN SHAPE
This post from tredz make me chuckle. Lots of sites are full of earnest advice about how to prepare for your first big cycling event. At tredz, they do things a bit differently...

THE GOOD NEWS...
Citycycling #58 is out today- read it here. It also doesn't feature anything by me.

...AND THE BAD NEWS
Issue 59 will be the last City Cycling. Anth explains why here.

Anth is one of the few people to read this blog, and has been kind enough to publish some of my writing in City Cycling, along with more talented and more reliable contributors.

City Cycling formed part of my education as a nascent bicycle commuter, filling the gaps experience had yet to fill, as well as giving me numerous laughs and pauses for thought. The magazine also was an early example of a publication catering to those not interested in yearly "Which £1000 bike" pieces - a bikeshow in pdf form, if you like. Anth can be rightly proud of what he's acheived in 5 years of publishing, I think.

THE RIDE JOURNAL #4
Issue 4 launches on 27th May 2010, and features a piece by Anth on grasstrack bicycle speedway. If you've not read "The Ride"before and wonder what it's about, issue 2 is available as a free download from their site here.

SHUTT VR
The nice chaps at Shutt have doubled the discount available to clubroom members to 10% - all you have to do is sign up at the clubroom page on their site. If you're thinking that you'd look and feel great in sportwool (and you're probably right) head for the clubroom here.