Tonka Days, Xtracycle Life

Spot the changes?

2008-11-17T21:18:00.001-05:00

Ride of Silence

2008-05-21T21:07:00.004-04:00

Humbling.
Amazing too, that Orlando did NOT have a Ride of silence tonight. Well it did, really. I was it. Me.Solo.
At the last minute I realized that there was no organized ride, and pulled out a few stops to attempt to get one rolling.
Well, too little too late.
It was a pleasant ride, if a little lonesome, but the quiet streets and gloaming made for a pleasant ride home after I completed the nearly 9 mile loop into and out of Downtown Orlando.
I think our area might have been the only one on Florida to not have a ride. I think Lakeland did. ~~Lakeland?~~ They cancelled. Tallahassee, Miami, Tampa. Who fell asleep at the switch O-town?
I guess I did.
Rest in Peace, Riders.

B.C. Clettes

2008-05-10T20:29:00.001-04:00

click above to watch the B.C.Clettes. Hot Stuff!

BikePortland.org » Blog Archive » A movement for a million new riders begins in Portland

2008-04-21T21:32:00.001-04:00

BikePortland.org » Blog Archive » A movement for a million new riders begins in Portland

Sign me up. I'd like to see Washington.

Shoes

2008-04-18T09:27:00.001-04:00

Scott Cutshall found a neat pair of non-cleated shoes that he likes. Check out his blog here

Flintstone Stylin'

2008-04-14T07:53:00.002-04:00

This brings interesting questions about car culture merging with bicycle culture

Streetsblog » Ad Nauseam: State Farm on the Humiliation of Biking to Work#more-3638

2008-04-03T22:53:00.001-04:00

Take a moment and watch this video. Then, if you are a State Farm Customer and a bicyclist, please take another moment to register your displeasure, if you feel it. I'm not a customer, an probably will never be if this attitude continues.

Streetsblog » Ad Nauseam: State Farm on the Humiliation of Biking to Work#more-3638

Want to Trade: Xtracycle Cargo bike for large SUV

2008-04-03T17:33:00.001-04:00

Hahahaha. I'm just a couple days late, having been hip deep in family this past week, but you know what some people say: laugh last and laugh longest.

Want to Trade: Xtracycle Cargo bike for large SUV

Ride 2008-03-30

2008-04-03T13:21:00.001-04:00

Ride 2008-03-30 008, originally uploaded by Kelt..

We went on a family bike ride, everyone on wheels, and completed over 11 miles of trail riding. I spent a few minutes demonstrating the human carrying capacity of Tonka in the parking lot.

Great Bike art

2008-03-22T12:23:00.004-04:00

I found this on the Bike Portland blog. I love the artwork.
Picture link here
If you follow the link, there's a whole gallery of River City Bicycles advertising artwork. Not so much advertising though, and lots more statement making.

Damn, right in front of me!

2008-03-16T21:06:00.002-04:00

Driving home tonight from an early St. Patricks' celebration with friends; my wife driving, my son behind me, we stopped at a red light and witnessed a t-bone collision that left one pick-up truck on its' side ans the other seriously damaged. Everyone involved appeared to be ambulatory after the incident, and the blue lights were at the scene before the lights had cycled but once.
It was like a John Woo movie scene, vehicles flipping over and screeching of metal, then silence. Nothing more. A view of the underside of an F-350 and the sight of people clambering out of a truck wrong side up. I'm still numb, especially from the realization that it could have been us, so easily could we have been a second earlier, or later..engaged in a puzzle of twisted, screaming metal, but not only us, and the runners, but our son, in the rear facing baby seat.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that it would have been any less damaging if we were the only bicyclists. I do think that we would have been safer if we all were bicyclists, but really , there are so many possible scenarios that comparisons are odious. I pray for the folks involved, (who all were moving when we left, and in the process of receiving help) and for all who ride or drive after dark.
We're thankful for our safe situation in this event, and so glad that our son is safe too. I also dream of a time and place where accidents like this are much less frequent due to a higher percentage of bicycles on the road at all times.
Have a happy and safe St.Patricks' Day.

Do the Test.

2008-03-13T07:38:00.002-04:00

Check out this simple test, it will only take a minute.
TEST

Dry Leaf: An Eco-Skate Prototype with Innovative Materials from Brazil : TreeHugger

2008-03-04T08:05:00.001-05:00

Dry Leaf: An Eco-Skate Prototype with Innovative Materials from Brazil : TreeHugger
It's not a flip flop, it's an idea for a sustainable composite to be used (in this case) as a skateboard deck. Does anyone else have bells ringing?.

Bamboo Snapdeck

2008-02-29T10:45:00.001-05:00

Bamboo Snapdeck 2008-02-27 015, originally uploaded by Kelt..

yup, it will make a snapdeck too!

Home Made Footsies

2008-02-25T21:25:00.001-05:00

Home Made Footsies, originally uploaded by Kelt..

Following up on a post to the Rootsradical Garden: bamboo flooring. This is actually a thin layer of bamboo on top of "engineered " flooring ..cheap, but pretty. Snapdeck material? we'll see, as I have more offcuts saved from flooring the "east wing"

Please Google let's Bike there!

2008-02-25T20:54:00.001-05:00

Hey check it out, this looks like a good idea!

The Green Life

2008-02-19T20:38:00.001-05:00

The Green Life
Interview with Ross Evans in Sierra Clubs' "The Green Life"
Probably old news to harcore Freeradders, but cool nevertheless.

Lights OUT!

2008-02-17T10:04:00.000-05:00

See the difference you can make - Earth Hour 2008

Another way to post to blogger. Neat.

Lights OUT!

2008-02-17T09:20:00.004-05:00

On MARCH 29, I am committing to turn out my lights for an hour, along with hopefully millions of other people around the world.
The event is organised by the WWF and is titled "Earthhour".
Go check out their webpage, and perhaps sign up. EARTHHOUR

Peekaboo!

2008-02-16T23:40:00.000-05:00

Grimbergen

2008-02-16T23:11:00.006-05:00

After taking a leaf from Fixedgear http://fixedgearcycling.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default (not a huge leap, as we appear to have similar preferences, though he waaay outranks me in meticulousness) I dedided to add Beer to this stream of conciousness.

Enter a glass of Grimbergen for your enjoyment, certainly for mine.Thanks to our neighbors Bob and Connie for hosting Crystals' wonderful cooking and the whole fam dambly for making us supremely welcome. Such an enjoyable time.

STAND

2008-02-16T23:05:00.003-05:00

STAND, originally uploaded by Kelt..

I answered a question recently about the homemade bike repair stand. It's within reach of all, even without the welding and turning, but ingenuity will pay dividends. My good friend and sounding board Paul Brown did the work once the brainstorming was over, and he was gracious enough to give me the clamp featured in the picture. I'm certain if you contact me we could make one for you...

GAS POWERED?

2008-02-15T20:56:00.004-05:00

GAS POWERED?, originally uploaded by Kelt!.

This was earlier in the week. I got a lot of clearance from most drivers, but a lot of interest (though no comment) from the passing FD. Definitely better to balance the load though. Notice the flash from the huge amount of DOT2 reflective tape cut and pasted onto my helmet. There's and equal amout of the white tape on the other (right) side of the helmet.

I carried this on my bike!

2008-02-15T20:48:00.004-05:00

I carried this on my bike!, originally uploaded by Kelt!.

My "Current life" Blog seemed more like a place for life here at home, specifically with regard to my son.
Here is where I will add all the stuff that relates to Tonka, my Xtracycle. How I load it, ride it, maintain it and keep things rolling.

There's more for this picture: the description on Flickr has it, but the skinny is this... buy a new chain before you build up your Xtracycle. I did not and paid the price..two new chains and a packet of derailleur please! I had used the old chain. (in discussion with my wife, who gave me the bike to be made into Tonka, I discovered that the chain was original, and she'd had the bike for over ten years) It broke as I was leaving the big box store, with a moderate load. Thankfully it's near to the bicycle shop. Big thanks to Brian of Davids' World Cycles for finding what I needed and making it easy to be mobile again really quickly.http://davidsworld.com/