Brisket Bytes

Dragging a palm across his sweaty forehead, Mort gave the console a satisfied grin. Having spent the last sixteen hours modifying the firmware for the deli's auto-chef, he stamped out his cigarette and watched as the filthy monochrome screen flickered updates on the compiler's progress. "This is going to be one hell of a sandwich," he said.


#End

What are those wooden things.... BIKES?!

I have a tendency to save images I find online of cool biking related things. I was going through a few folders today to do a little almost-spring-cleaning, and thought people would enjoy a look at some really fun and artistic designs of wooden bicycles.

First up: a wooden motorcycle. Bad ass!

Next, we have a very utilitarian wooden hauler-bike.

Pretty sure this one is just for show. I could imagine a cave man riding one.

A really well made wooden commuter bike!

A sleek wooden frame for roadies.

This wooden chopper is for serious business.

I'm not much for recumbents, but this one looks pretty great.

A wooden luxury recumbent!
This frame is made from a composite of bamboo and what i'd assume is plastics or resin. Apparently the frame was too flexible for riding use, but they're working on improving it.

I want one of these!

An artsy wood cruiser.

There's a ton more out there. There are even companies that make them to sell! I was pleased to find that we actually index a few wood products, one which I found to be particularly awesome. An all-wood wall rack!

7 Essential Winter Biking Gear Tips

It seems that in the last several years, more and more people have become interested in exploring riding their bicycle in the winter, either for commuting or for fun on ice and snow-packed trails. I've been doing this type of riding off and on for the last four years or so now, and I'd like to share a few tips from my own experience with aspiring ice-riders!

1. Carbide Steel-Tipped Tires: These are definitely the essential component to riding your bike on any kind of ice. Normal tires do fine if you are heading straight and perfectly balanced, but when you go down (and you will!) you will go down fast and hard. Save yourself a hospital bill and trashed bike, and invest early in some good tires. I refer my friends to Nokians, as they are very high quality, and have lasted me for years now.
2. Eye Protection: Depending on the temperature and wether I am wearing a standard bike helmet, or a full-face helmet for video-cam and heavy duty riding, I wear sunglasses or ski goggles. If it's around 30 degrees or below, any kind of riding above a few miles per hour is going to make it extremely hard to see if you aren't wearing any. I picked up a cheap pair of ski goggles a few years ago, and they've been great. I would suggest anything with an orange lens, to help you pick out contours on trails covered in snow or ice.
3. Use the Cold: This is something I recently read about, and it makes perfect sense. If you can, keep your bike in the garage or on your porch in the winter to keep it at a temperature that matches the outdoors. A room-temperature bicycle can generate a lot of extra ice buildup on gears and things as snow and slush collects on it.
4. Lube it: Don't neglect maintenance on your bike, especially in the winter. You can really get hurt if your bike breaks while you're riding it, and you don't want to get stranded miles from home if it's freezing outside!
5. Wear Layers: It's winter. You're going to be experiencing the full effects of windchill as you ride, so dress like a veteran Minnesotan with layers! I recommend some kind of thin, wicking thermal layer (long underwear), a slightly thicker mid layer, and a windproof outer layer to absorb the bulk of the cold hitting you. Plan on sweating just as much as you do in the summertime after you get warmed up, make sure your clothes wick the moisture away fromy our body!
6. Illumination: Unless you're riding to work or on a weekend jaunt, you're probably riding in the evening during the winter, which means it's probably pretty dark out. Be smart, get some reflective tape or clothing on you and your ride, and don't skim on some durable lights that have a decent battery life!
7. Hydration: It doesn't matter if it is freezing out or scorching, your body needs water when you're burning energy! If you are going to be riding long enough to build up a good sweat, you need to plan ahead and bring some appropriate hydration gear. Bottles aren't a great plan in winter, as they easily freeze shut and are a pain to use as you ride. Keep your temp up with a hydration pack so you can take sips while you spin!

There's a lot more to share about riding in the winter, but this should be a great start for people needing suggestions and ideas for gear. Post your thoughts or additions in the comments, and we'll keep this list going!

BikeDex Reborn

We've relaunched BikeDex with our new design! Eric really did a great job with the layout and color. We've added a ton of cool new features, with many more that are in the wings, but needing a little refinement before we bring them onto the live site. One cool new feature, our recently viewed products area, is a real-time feed of what products our users have most recently been looking at! Our product browsing system is nearly complete, and we've overhauled it from the ground up to be as useful and simple as possible.

We are going to be doing a contest soon, once our re-launch is totally finished and perefected, so stay tuned!

Amazing Bike Furniture

An article over at Inhabitat, one of my favorite green-oriented blogs gives a great overview of Andy Gregg's fantastic furniture creations, built with repurposed bicycle parts. I think this is a really cool idea. It promotes cycling in a way, and links cycling to being green!

Here's one from the front page of BikeFurniture that really caught my eye. Awesome!

They have a ton of other really cool pieces, and some interesting details about where the idea behind all this came from. Check it out!

77% of Americans Drive Alone to Work

According to the 2005 census (click here for the press release) 77% of Americans still drive to work alone. On top of that, 87.7% of workers prefer driving to work over alternative modes of transportation.

Top ten cities, ranked by percentage of bicycling commuters:

City - Percentage

1. Portland - 3.5
2. Minneapolis - 2.4
3. Seattle - 2.3
4. Tucson - 2.2
5. San Francisco - 1.8
6. Sacramento - 1.8
7. Washington DC - 1.7
8. Oakland - 1.5
9. Honolulu - 1.4
10. Denver - 1.4

It will be interesting to see what the next census says. I'm going to guess that these percentages go up, by just a little. An interesting fact: The national average according to the census is 0.4%. The lowest ranking city is Kansas City, MO with 0.0%. Apparently there's a ripe market in KC for selling some bicycles!

Urban Commuter Cycling: Save the planet and get in shape!

Here in the icy lands of the north, known by many as Minneapolis, Minnesota, we are blessed with one of the highest cyclist-per-capita ratios in the United States. Every day, rain or shine or snow, I see people spinning to unknown destinations.

Put simply, it's a great thing. I'm becoming more and more of an advocate for the environment, and have been making efforts to curtail my own daily resource consumption. To my dismay, most days I still need to drive the 1 mile to work, because I need to transport myself between offices.

Recently, a massive walk bridge has been installed that completely alleviates the inconvenience of crossing the busiest intersection in the neighborhood. Now, trails permeate the entire suburb, and I look forward to seeing even more cycling going on.

This led me to thinking, "What is the main factor limiting people to cycling for fun, and not for a commute?" It's not for lack of bike trails and lanes. It's not crowding, either! I know for some people, planning the extra time in the morning and after work for a cycle commute seems like a major inconvenience. But, with all the additions to the trails, walk bridges and tunnels should reduce many people's commutes, as the only time you generally stop on your bicycle is at an intersection. So, if time really isn't that big of a difference, what is it? For some, it is most likely the effort needed to get the bike to move. But I would still say that it's mainly due to the huge amount of buildup around driving a car, and all the conveniences it can provide you with. Now, what they don't illuminate quite as well are the huge inconveniences that also accompanies owning a car.

Let's look at a few: (Commenters, please feel free to provide ideas to add to this list!)

-High maintenance cost (My average repair bill has stayed around $400 for my vehicle!)
-High insurance cost (You don't need insurance to ride your bicycle!)
-High infrastructure cost (This correlates with a high cost to the environment, and burdening every state's meager budget with yearly upkeep and employment costs)
-Environmental impact (Your car still kills the planet, even if it runs on batteries and sunlight. If not while operating, certainly while being constructed.)

I still forsee a large amount of growth in the USA for the cycling industry. As gas prices are still on the rise, environmental concerns are becoming a reality that can't be overlooked or refuted by shoddy journalism, and people are more concerned about maintaining their health with exercise, more and more people will turn to cycling, a fun and environmentally concious mode of transportation. Don't forget to wear your helmets!