Top Ten Worry-free Riding Tips

also know as Things You Wouldn’t Assume.

1) wear a helmet that fits snug, starting over your eyebrows.

2) mind your riding tools on every ride: allen set, pump, patch kit, tire levers, tube.

3) put rain jacked in large mouth water bottle and use shower cap over helmet when raining

4) wear socks with flat seams, made out of wool or synthetic material. cotton is rotten.

5) eat carbohydrates within 30 minutes of ending your ride.

6) don’t wear underwear under your riding shorts, but use chamois cream (or noxema)  instead.

7) use front (white) and rear (red) lights as early as dusk

8 ) check your tire pressure and chain cleanliness weekly (use one of the old mismatched socks from your laundry machine)

9) always bring water and a banana or apple.

10) tell yourself “keys, id, money”, as you leave the house.

Pittsburgh Bike Polo

I haven’t had the chance to play polo out here, yet – but I played a bit in the Bay Area before I moved. I’m looking forward to making mallets out of my crutches… and getting some women out there.

Introducing the Commuter Phenom

My coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, and I am pedaling a high cadence in a low gear to warm up my legs, one icy morning. Every morning, I stop at the customized intersection that the presence of the new Oakland Whole Foods solicits. A tear from wind chill falls down my cheek. I wait as the rush hour car traffic crosses my path for the freeway entrance, when a flurry of bike commuters race through the intersection – green light or not – racing to the underpass. Most mornings, this just makes me more grumpy… but today, I am enamored by the specialness of the business suit and foam helmet combination. I find great irony in the juxtaposition of confidence despite their equipment and skill level, in contrast with the racers I have actually competed with. So brave! Indeed, the new breed of commuter does not see threshold as something limited by their heart rate, VO2 max, or power wattage. They see the destination they used to reach by driving, as an obstacle to be surmounted on bicycle – mountain or high water. So strong! I can just see the preoccupied thought bubbles follow behind them, as they put their heads down for the hammer: “Why are there so many cars on this street?”, as they continue with their habitual driving path. My heart pangs for them to know the route I’ve carefully selected, which is much more pleasant.

Of course, still living a rushed lifestyle makes them inherently competitive and prone to overloading their bikes to a burdensome degree. As I let the swarm of businessmen rush across the intersection in front of me, I head towards the bike boulevard one block further and I am hit with a wave of smells. I wonder what their coworkers must think of all this newfound body odor? Are they really that polite? Are the unstable gas prices improving the demand for body deodorant?

Now I am awake.

Introducing the “Bike to Work Pant”

Finally, someone filled the void. Full-length trousers designed for business casual and pavement silly-seriousness. I asked the developer, Chris Lindland, a few questions and got some entertaining responses:



Velomuse: Chris, what did you do before you invented the horizontal corduroy pant?

Chris: I was a mob heavy. This is all part of some bizarre witness location program.

Velomuse: What was the inspiration behind the Bike To Work pant design?

Chris: I make pants and pay close attention to pant phenomena like folks rolling up their cuffs to ride. Since I like to play around with surprise fabrics (see our pockets and reversible smoking jacket), I thought it would be interesting to create bike pants with reflective inner smarts. The mud flap rear pockets sealed it for me.

Velomuse: Who is the typical person you’re designing the pant for?

Chris: Conversational folks. All of our products have a story or two to tell. Our blog is designed to inject new conversations into their heads. When I started this, I had no idea how many ways I could joke about pants or jackets. The current post count is over 100 and there’s some good stuff in there.

As for the bike to work pants, they work best for folks who commute less than a few miles.

Velomuse: What are your future plans for cycling fashion?

Chris: I’ll be making them for women. I also have an interesting jacket idea we’re working on.

Velomuse: How can the fashion-conscious public contact you?

Chris: We’re an online only clothing store, so they can purchase our products from the most remote internet connection, any time of day or night.

Interbike bullets

  1. outdoor demo left me craving a yeti asr-c, which made me feel like I was cheating on my banshee pyre.
  2. climbing to agility ratio is uneven in most women’s FS platforms, still.
  3. first year that they included a cx course for demo, which had mostly babyheads. steel bikes live to tell.
  4. a lot of the bling lacks increase of functionality. more efforts are going to practicality.
  5. the “commuter” is not only going to take over the streets of america by bicycle, but they may also be spiteful.
  6. folding bikes, fenders, mixtes, cork tape, and pedal-powered lighting systems are biggest market.
  7. imba staying true and rewarding the strong with beer for a long day’s work, everyday.
  8. color ways are leaning towards warm complex tones (golden, khaki, burgundy, cream, speckled brown) with a hardened, dry finish.
  9. zip lines are fun, although expensive.
  10. cross vegas was on a grass soccer field, looked painful. lance crashed. amazing energy. biggest cross race ever.
  11. I am the proud new owner of a cowbell.
  12. lots of good-looking men just barely escaping the counter culture movement by wearing pinstripes.
  13. a 7-year old girl gave me the product description for her lime green 24″ bike while she was eating ice cream, as both her parents were deaf.  she wore a matching lime green shirt, although her favorite color is pink.
  14. campy eleven speed – why?!
  15. titanium soon to become affordable.
  16. penny farthing sighting.
  17. color by number toilet paper in the conference stalls, provided by crumpler bags.
  18. i need to develop a plan to integrate my leadership skills into a more meaningful career.
  19. hitting the floor running, sometimes makes one stumble.
  20. federal funds to contribute $1 billion towards safet routes to schools federal transportation improvements for 2009
  21. 75% adults, 28% kids are obese in 2008, according to John Hopkins University study.
  22. 39% of all trips less than 2 miles are done by car.
  23. 48% of all trips less than 3 miles are done by car.
  24. 50% of youth 10 years ago rode to school, while only 12% currently do.
  25. trek bikes commits to donating $10 per bike sold in 2009 to both IMBA and Bikes Belong, a non-profit bicycle lobbying organization.
  26. sedentary lifestyles are the number one cause behind people not riding.  fear of failure is number two.
  27. currently in a place of economic uncertainty = federal deficit -$163 billion (2007)
  28. bike fashion show has a kokopelli sculpture much like the logo i had made for cinderella dirt.
  29. southwest flight left early without me, and then lost my luggage with all the materials from interbike.
  30. i am sure it smells like the custom cedar and money aroma that the venetian hotel manufactured to cover up the cigarette smoke.  unfortunately my cell phone charger is in there, too.

slideshow and video to come…