Imagine - kolelinia

A friend of mine turned me onto this provocative transportation concept based on the idea of flying over problematic transportation areas. A writeup from the site:

"Everything started in the summer of 2008. I decided to participate in the international architectural competition „Line of Site” on the „City Transportation Interchange” brief. The first crazy idea which came to my mind was to make flying bicycle-lanes, using steel wire, something like ski lift but working on the opposite principle in which the wire is static and it doesn’t need electricity. Ultimately I sent only a pencil sketch and the idea placed for the final, which was held on February 2009 in London. My detailed presentation won the „City Transportation Interchange” brief. During the autumn of the same year I decided to develop the idea in further details. At the same time I received an invitation to become presenter for the Sofia’s TEDx conference, something that additionally stimulated the development of the idea. Many of the principles have been changed. For example the personal safety device, which is a prior-art itself. This site presents the third step of the development. Time only will show what will come out of it…"

Click on the image to check out the project.

T-day Break Riding

Although the weather wasn't ideal for riding during break, we did get some nice pedaling in. On friday we went down to Redwood State Park with the intention of riding for the day and heading south from there to sleep in tents and hit some more single track the next day. Unfortunately (or not so unfortunately) my chain broke and not a one of us brought a chain breaker. Because of the cold and rain I think we were all secretly stoked to load up the bikes and head back north for some dinner and great beer at Eel River Brewery. We decided over dinner to go home, warm up, fix our bikes and head out early with Don's Donuts in hand. But not before heading to Scott's for another round of great homebrew and viewing of "Seasons" by the Collective. The next day turned out to be magnificant, and Kevin decided to be a macho man and take along Scott's 7 inch travel Iron Horse. We all got to sesh out some sections of single track with the steel horse while Kevin got the honors of lugging the 40 lb. tank up the climb. Thanks Kevin.
Click on the pic for a slideshow.

Bogstomp '09

Yesterday was the second annual Bogstomp race put on by the guys at Revolution. There was a pretty good turn out for all the races: kids, 30 minute, and 50 minute. From what I've been told and from what videos I've seen of last year, it was a lot less muddy out there too. I partook in the 30 minute quick death portion, and with seven years since I've raced that was about all I could handle. Luckily I've been getting on my bike a few times a week, so recovery wasn't that awful. I was, however, only 1 of maybe 4 dudes without glistening legs. There was some heavy hitters out there for the 50 minute race. Luckily I took my camera to capture some grins, and grimaces. Click on the link to check the gallery. For all of you at the race that want a high res print hit me up, and help out a poor college student.

Times are now up on the revolution website.

So... where is that bike made?

Ever wonder where the heck your bike was made? Me too. The problem is, it isn't that easy. This is a great article that emphasizes the abstract process a bike travels through before getting that "Made In..." sticker. This article by Kerry Roberts, past president of the National Bicycle Dealers Association, demystifies the profiling of bicycle origin. Check it out.

Paradise Royale round II

Got a chance to head down to the King's Range again with a great crew. There had been some recent rain so the trail was perfectly tacky, making a lot of the steep uphill sections easier to bite. The weather was great, a bit chilly when we first got there, but with the climbing we warmed right up. Chris took a spill this time, pasting his blood on some trail stones. Click on the pic to see a sideshow, although I didn't get a chance to take many photos. Enjoy.