renobikeproject.com

Change is good. Be it gears, underpants or websites...



We give the new blog @ http://blog.renobikeproject.com two thumbs up. (Mikey's other thumb is up too...)

Love and kisses,

-M

THE NEW LOCATION

HEY EVERYONE! Reno Bike Project has just moved out of the garage and into our new location Papa Wheelies Community Bike Shop. Located at 250 Bell St. We are working hard everyday to get the shop in tip top shape and new hours open four days a week are coming soon. Stop by and check it out. thanks Management.

Bicycle Commuter Bill

The Bicycle Commuter Act would give people who commute by bikes the same government/employer subsidies as commuters who carpool, vanpool, or ride mass transportation. Makes a lot of sense when you think of the infrastructure requirements of bikes compared to the others. Bikes are the most efficient form of transportation we have at our disposal. Also in the transportation bill are extra funds for bike trails and paths. Which in Reno are quite clearly a popular way to get home from work. In the time it took me to change a flat behind the Riverbend Apartments Thursday I saw a more than dozen bikes including a three-wheeled HANDBIKE!

Then you get stuff like this:

MARY PETERS: Well, there's about probably some 10 percent to 20 percent of the current spending that is going to projects that really are not transportation, directly transportation-related. Some of that money is being spent on things, as I said earlier, like bike paths or trails. Some is being spent on museums, on restoring lighthouses, as I indicated.

Makes me wonder what she thinks is happening when one manages to go from point A to point B on a bicycle. Sometimes I think even if people could fly they'd still be lazy enough to take a car!

Here's some more info.

Commute By Bike
Dirt Rag Blog

Fortunately, it's easy to make your voice heard. Send a note to Ms. Peters. Or if you're concerned about how people in Reno feel, which you should be, take a moment to write a letter to the editor of the RGJ.

Peace out,

-M

Something in the mail...

The Practical Pedal:

There are many elements of a great front porch, chief among them are a good dog, a cold beer and something awesome to read.

Here we have Juniper, New Belgium Sunshine Wheet, and The Practical Pedal, a new magazine edited by Wiley Davis of Bozeman Montana. Inside are articles on selecting the right trailer for your needs, Dutch cargo bikes, and eschewing technology for simpler pleasures. Here's an excerpt from Wiley's introduction to the issue and the magazine:

Things would have been different if I'd owned a bicycle trailer. Like most fifteen-year-old kids, I had a bicycle. But I'd never been exposed to the idea that bikes could be practical, even utilitarian, tools for transportation. Sure I rode my bike to friend's houses, but as soon as something heavy needed to be hauled, I'd call in the big automotive guns... or resort to the desperate measures of the plywood debacle. It took me twenty years to figure out that bicycles are useful, even to someone with a car and a driver's license. But I am heartened to see that bicycles are emerging from their recreational prisons. Bicycle shops are beginning to carry bikes with both the gearing and strength to carry loads. Small manufacturers such as Xtracycle, Cleverchimp, and Carry Freedom are making the kind of gear people need to put bicycles to work as viable forms of transportation. And the large manufacturers are beginning to see that practical bikes can help them reach a huge, untapped market.

Thank you Wiley!!

Sign up for a free subscription.

Join their Flickr community and win a trailer!

-M

Oh, My God. You Want to Start a Bicycle Collective. You Poor Thing.

A very interesting book I recently stumbled across is Recipes for Disaster. Upon skimming the pages and chapters I noticed that several chapters were dedicated to the bicycle under such headings as: Bicycle Collectives, Bicycle Parades, Painting by Bicycle, and How to Make a Record Player from a Bicycle. So if someone out there accuses you of being an anarchist because you are riding your bike, don't get mad, they have do cause for their concern...Bikes are scary things! They encourage self-reliance and sustainability. I thought it funny however, the first line of the Bicycle Collectives section. enjoy. Kyle

dead baby pix

i totally stole these from flickr.
but i know those dudes.
so its cool