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.

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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

ME


I've managed to get around to sorting out some photographs (from 2007!) - if you're interested, there are four more "new" ones in my flickr stream.

THE ENVIRONMENT
Or at least, that's HIS excuse. This comic from The System also features one of the neatest ways of representing pant-lessness iconographically I've seen.


BARBIE BARBIE
I knew about Plastic Peloton People, but somehow Barbie Barbie had entirely passed me by. It's

"a photo-comic inspired by cyclist Heinrich Haussler--nicknamed "Barbie"--featuring him, other members of the pro peloton, and Barbie doll herself. I created Barbie Barbie to help get through the last cycling off-season, and continue to produce episodes, although less frequently, now that the season is back in gear."

THE RAS
There's details of the first stage results of Ireland's FBD Ras over at Cycling Weekly, there are no second stage results because of a collision between riders and a jeep pulling onto the course which resulted in the stage being neutralised. The Ras' own site is here, including galleries from the current and previous editions, and a nice section "Stories of the Ras".

I'd also highly recommend Jack Thurston's Bikeshow programme about the Ras, which is here.

PSYCH COMMUTER BAG
Reviewed by bikecommuters.com, the Psych commuter bag is a different take on the frame bag. It's interesting, but is any solution for commuting luggage more elegant that Brooks + Carradice? I'm also fairly certain that my knees would rub the Psych bag and that would drive me crazy. I'm very jealous of the organiser pockets inside though, one of the few things I'd add to my Lowsaddle longflap, given the chance.

JAMES HINDLE
Drawn.ca featured "Little Wolves" on its site recently - click through to James' site and you can read his other stories - "Unsettled" in particular is a fantastic series.

JEALOUSY

"The Dirty Kanza takes place in a few weeks down in Emporia, Kansas. It is a 200-mile gravel grinder through an area called the Flint Hills. We're sending the Dirty Six...plus Lucky Seven...to take it on.

Each of these guys has his own motivations, and his own fears, for this event. Today they introduce themselves, their goals for the DK 200."

Which is all very interesting - however, what made me green with envy was the look at the setups the "Dirty Six" are riding - lovely stuff, the article is here, and the droolmaking pics begin down the page.

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SUPPORT MACMILLAN, WIN STUFF
Cyclist, triathlete and all round good egg Karl on Sea is spoiling a 112 mile bike ride by doing a 2.4 mile swim before it, and a 26.2 mile run after it, by way of competing in an Ironman triathlon. He's doing this in aid of Macmillan cancer support, a great charity that works to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

You can sponsor Karl at his "justgiving" page here, but if you like, you can also enter his competition to win four "money can't buy" prizes from his sponsors. You can find details of the competition and how to enter at Karl's blog here.

REAL CYCLISTS
Cozy Beehive Blog has been musing on the question of the "Real" cyclist;

Among our available dose of cliches, one you'll hear many say is that real cyclists are the ones who race. Or that real cyclists are the one's who ride fast, break bones, lose skin and come back to bite the tough again. Or that real cyclists have so many well-defined muscle groups. And so on...

He invites your comments on what makes a "real" cyclist, and indeed, whether there's any such thing.

YEHUDA MOON
A lovely comic today dedicated to the "Ride of Silence" in memory of cyclists killed in traffic collisions. Also proof that there's no comic too classy that commenters won't ruin it with a pointless discussion on helmets. Or what type of bike you should ride for commuting.

GIRO D'ITALIA
The most interesting stage of a race that's already been pretty damned interesting unfolded yesterday. Cycling Weekly has an account of Stage 11 here. I can't remember a grand tour stage that has changed the complexion of the race in such a dramatic way. Essentially, the people we'd thought of as being beyond the reach of the two main GC contenders, are all back in the game again, with the GC turned on its head.

Whilst I'm disappointed for Evans, who's ridden a champion's season (particularly so in this race, with his victory on the gruesome, mud drenched Stage 7) for the fans the race has become all kinds of interesting once again, with Sastre and Wiggins among monkey favourites now back in serious contention. Also having an amazing first grand tour is Richie Porte, holder of the best young rider jersey, and now in the Maglia Rosa leader's jersey - superb stuff.

Incidentally, a commenter on Simon Lamb's "La Gazzetta Della Bici" has heard a rumour that the weather had interfered with radio at the giro, and that could be why the break got away. If this isn't proof that a radio ban is a good thing for exciting racing, I don't know what is.

Salsa's Enabler Fork, pic from Salsa Website.

THE THIN LINE BETWEEN GENIUS AND MADNESS
So it's a front fork that runs rear wheels, yeah? Hmm.

This is another really interesting product from Salsa cycles, well worth a look. I can't decide if it's fantastic, or the most barmy thing I've ever seen, personally.

TERPSICHOREAN HIPPACOTORA
More lovely stuff from Lost Myths, "The Dance of the Hippacotora".

STUFFE

MESSENGERS
From sashae's Flickr stream comes this interesting New York Magazine piece on bicycle messengers, originally published in 1986;

"Fast Company: Wheel Tales of Manhattan's Bike Messengers"

"...they are fast becoming folk heroes - the pony express riders of the eighties."

GAZZETTA JERSEYS
La Gazzetta Sportwool Jerseys now available. Made in the UK by the EXCELLENT folk at Shutt Velo Rapide, La Gazzetta's jersey is now available at a special pre-order price. If you've never tried a proper merino jersey, you're in for a real treat - synthetic jerseys will never seem quite as good to you again.

The Pre Order Page is here;
"La Gazzetta Sportwool Jersey"

ADVENTURE CYCLING
I believe there isn't really such a thing as a "do it all" bike. This is why it's ok for me to have three, and be thinking about the purchase of AT LEAST another two.

Fortunately, Salsa disagree, and showed some interesting takes on the idea at the recent "Sea Ottter" show.

Singletrack World has a good run down of the new stuff coming our way from Salsa. The attention to detail is really nice in their new line - swinging dropouts on the bikes (allow single speed or geared setups without the use of half links for the former), and rack beds contoured to hold roll shaped luggage like karrimats or sleeping bags are the standouts for me.

There's a nice looking seat stay/seat post mounted rack too that would make an ideal support for a large saddle bag. Interesting stuff. Road.cc has a "first look" piece on the "Vaya" road bike too.

Is "Adventure by Bike" a better slogan than "Ride and Smile" though?

SKETCHBOOK
It's Marcelle Holt's birthday today. She's splendid, and deserves a large cake, SO I DONE HER A PICTURE.