Wheel Mag

Fahrstil: Das Radmagazin... a new magazine from ze-Germans. Gonna have to see how to get my hands on a hard copy, as seen at the European Handmade show:

FAHRSTIL - Das Radmagazin. from e r t z u i ° film on Vimeo.

Week One: DVS Milan CTC Cadence thoughts

Let's get a few things straight. I'm bias. I'm stubborn. I judge and because of this, often I feel I am right. I know that I am not alone in this and sure, some might write this off another way for me to feel superiority over the next guy in being able to acknowledge this. This does not mean that I am afraid to engage in discussion on any number of topics or perspectives. I'll value your insight, thought and will challenge you with questions as I wade through what I may believe.

Wow, talk about dropping a bomb just to say I got some new shoes that are 'cycling' specific.

I am privileged to be able to spend a few minutes out of my day roaming the internet super highway looking to see what's being said and done in the cycling world for work. One of the sites that I frequent like many is over at Prolly is not Probably via Fourteen Teeth. He's had a DVS banner up for some time and has been rocking the DVS/Cadence collaboration for most of the summer. Ever since I caught wind of these I've been interested in getting a pair but didn't find a need since my Adidas Sambas have been holding up great after around a year of use, along with a dip in the Louisiana swamp back in March. All good things must come to an end, as 3 weeks ago the heel began to finally give way and so I ordered up a pair of these.

I had my hesitations about a pseudo-cycling shoe by DVS, given the obvious fact that they have primarily been a skate company. Don't get me wrong, I rocked DVS's back in my emo kid days but having aged to become the grown-up emo kid/hipster [yes, I don't deny it like some] of sorts, the width of my shoes have become rather important for a few reasons.

First, let's not deny aesthetics. The downfall of skate shoes can be the brick like appearance, especially with the wave of bootcut/girl pants. Yet at the same time, too narrow of a show can give the impression of... well, I don't know but I think we can all agree that some thing isn't right. Secondly, as mentioned before width. Width comes into play especially when running toe clips, thus was my draw to the Adidas'. The last thing I want to have to do is struggle to get my foot in the clip while riding. With DVS's background in skate was afraid that problem might occur.

After receiving the shoes in the mail around a week ago, when I opened the box I did have a little buyers remorse. Why? I ordered the gray instead of the black. As any of my friends my attest, black is kind of my color. Although I love the look of the gray, I immediately realized that the gray would never quite look as good as they did the day before as I continued to wear them. But I took a breath, laced them up, slipped them on and...

Foot Nirvana. A tight heal, firm yet highly walkable soul, and a toe box that felt very similar to my Samba's in their prime.

Over the past week, I've been rocking these as my everyday shoe, at work and play. riding around on my cruiser and then with Red. Red is the only bike that I have toe clips on, the All City with their double strap and needless to say, the transition was not noticeable. All in all, so far so good; I'd more than willingly put my stamp of approval on these. Every now and again I'll do a check in of sorts on these shoes and see how it goes.

As Guitar Ted has said many times, when people buy some thing they are more likely to not admit to problems with the item when reviewing it because of the expense they incurred in purchasing. I bought these and thus my bias. Take it or leave it, Prolly has been rocking the DVS Milan CTC Cadence shoe for some time and gives plenty more insight here.

From around the Globe...

From our friends up north...

Bixie not Fixie.
_

From Grand Rapids, in the Grand Rapids Press...

Editorial: Michigan lawmakers should approve Complete Streets bill to focus on more than motorists


We’ve all seen it when we’re driving along in our automobiles. The cars are clipping along just fine. But there on the side, you spot a fellow traveler on foot, pushing a stroller, riding a bike or using a wheelchair. And that person is in peril. The road was built with zero thought for him or her. No bike lane, no sidewalk, nothing for safe transit for those outside a car. All a passing motorist can do in that instant is slow down, pay extra attention and pray for safe travels.

But Michigan can and should do better. It’s time for the state to motor toward smarter transportation planning. “Complete Streets” legislation pending in Lansing would help get us to that destination. The Senate should pass it promptly, following the measure’s recent wide-margin approval in the House. Complete Streets is a movement gaining ground nationally. More than a dozen states, plus Grand Rapids and a growing number of cities nationwide, already have passed bills that encourage planning for safer, more livable and welcoming roads. Upgrading or building a street? Good, but how about planning for a sidewalk, bike lane, good crossing spots and pedestrian signs? How about a bus lane and pleasant bus stops?

The goal is to modernize transportation policies that for decades focused solely on accommodating motorists, and often were blind to needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, older citizens and those with disabilities. Too often, transportation planners had a default setting that forced people into cars for safe travel. The result is people have been robbed of options for getting around.

The legislation in Lansing is largely a planning tool for state and local government. It begins with establishing the premise that Complete Streets are important to the livability of communities.

Local road agencies already are required to develop long-range plans, and the legislation requires that smart streets are part of that conversation.

The state transportation agency would be charged with making it easier for communities to accomplish that through goal-setting and planning expertise. A Complete Streets Advisory Council would be formed within the transportation department, with representatives from government (such as traffic engineers, road commissions and transit planners) and a variety of community groups (including AARP, bicyclists and disability advocates).

The legislation has broad support from community groups, including senior advocates, Safe Routes to Schools group, environmentalists, cyclists and others.

It’s also important to note that Michigan’s proposed Complete Streets law does not over-reach, or encourage senseless expenses or government intrusion. It acknowledges that road-planning needs vary according to urban, suburban and rural settings, and that local context and cost factors must be taken into consideration. One size does not fit all.

But it does accomplish making room for Michigan to show how it can be a leader in all forms of transportation. Complete Streets doesn’t knock the car from its perch as king of the road and as a central force in Michigan’s identity and economy. It simply establishes that two-footed or two-wheeled travelers also are good for our streets, our downtowns, businesses and neighborhoods.

Safe travels and Complete Streets: Both are good for Michigan.

A head scratcher.

Being the main contributor of the blog for my 9-5 job, I stumble on a few things from time to time that I can't post there but are definitely I feel a need for a repost. Here is one that I saw from the Phil Wood Twitter feed from the Core777 website.

Head scratcher? Yes.

Interesting? Definitely.

Will we see it make it to production? Probably not.


Enjoy.

Kevin Scott's bike design gets around the theft problem

Posted by hipstomp | 8 Jul 2010 |

I'm not sure about UK slang, but in America if I tell you "I'm gonna wrap my bike around a pole" that means I'm gonna crash it. But Kevin Scott, an industrial design student at the UK's De Montfort University, means it in a different way.

[image credit: Tony Kyriacou/Rex Features]

Scott has designed a bicycle that the user wraps around a pole literally. A ratcheting mechanism transforms two parts of the bike's frame from stiff to bendable, and once wrapped, a single bike lock can be passed through both tires and the frame, which Scott hopes will decrease the bike theft rampant in London and so many other of the world's cities.

For his troubles, Scott won Runner-up in the UK's Business Design Centre New Designer of the Year Award. Which does not mean he's done with the bicycle design; he's dumping the award money back into the project for further development.

Alo Here.

Well, it's been far to long between posts with lots of talk of revived passion for the site. No Drive is not dead just in hibernation. My computer recently took it's official walk to the dark side and is a nice Apple logo-ed paper weight. Right before this occurred I had renewed the nodrivejustride.com for another 2 years. I'll be getting my hands on a new computer in the coming weeks and hopefully in that time Alex and I will be able to put together a new look for the site and potentially move to another site to host it other than blogger. We shall see.

Keep riding.

finding the hidden

on wednesday i went for a ride on the trails in the cedar valley. i packed my bag with the usual stuff; my sketchbook, pens and markers, camera, a book, and a journal. i had the intention of riding for a while and then stopping off at a coffee shop to read and sketch. a short ride followed by a long chill time. i started my ride and, eventually, ended up under a highway bridge looking at the pillars that held it up. it was there that i saw some of the best art i have seen in a while. there was graffiti on each pillar. some it was thin and novice, but there were a few that inspired me, since i am an artist myself. i parked my bike [lucy] and pulled out my camera. i spent a good 45 minutes exploring this make-shift gallery, taking photos and admiring this unnoticed art. in the end, i pulled out a marker and added a statement to sum it all up. i wrote "this is real art." nothing profound, just simple.

now, i have driven on that bridge at least 100 times and never have i known about the incredible work that was displayed below. i only noticed this art because i was riding a bike. it reminded me of an email i received from my dad, who is also a cyclist, last fall. he sent it to me and all of his friends who had hung up there bikes and bought motorcycles. it talks about noticing the little things, the things unseen when driving a car, the things revealed when you are "one with the road."

here is the email from my dad:

Today I saw the blackbirds pestering a hawk as he flew from perch to perch, a deer, horses playing in the barn lot because they didn’t even know I was there, a new hole in the abandoned barn roof that wasn’t there in the spring, a tall pine tree standing like a sentinel in the middle of a country cemetery as if it was standing guard over the loved ones who had been buried there, roadkill, the shadows on the crops as the sun rose higher in the sky, a new strip of gravel that had just been place the day before along side the road, a patch of yellow wild flowers dancing in the gentle breeze. Today I heard crickets and other insects looking for one more mate before the seasons changed and the cool weather drives them into hibernation, the pop of an American flag and the clink of the chain as it slapped against the flag pole, the sound of a distant bird singing as it sat on the telephone wire and the sound of small kids playing in the yard. Today I could smell the fragrance of purple cone flowers as they fought out the remnants of an old barnyard and the sweet scent of the corn and beans as they begin to dry down and drop their leaves as they prepare to be harvested.

Why did I see, hear and smell these things? Because I was cruising by under my own power and not that of 1200 cc engine.

Peddle on.

Dam the Dome: Urban Ride!

Well, I'm heading home for an extended weekend. I figured, why not, let's kick off the No Drive rides back in the homeland. Here's the information:

Meet: In front of Bike Tech, Cedar Falls, IA
When: 2pm-ish Sunday
Pace: Casual, with the occasional sprint [no one left behind]
Bring: Helmet, Lock, willingness to have a great time!

This will be a nice urban ride from the dam up to Uni-dome and back. I'm still hashing out the route, but I'm thinking after the ride, food and drink at one of the fine downtown restaurants.

As always, questions? Ask. Let me know if you're coming via the Facebook event page.

*Monday, I will also be doing a little bit of a dirt ride to break in my new mountain bike. Interested in joining let me know.