10 smart summer bike tips

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "PeopleForBikes" <info@peopleforbikes.org>
Date: Jun 27, 2013 6:33 PM
Subject: 10 smart summer bike tips
To: "Daniel Stafford" <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Cc:

Hi Daniel! It's officially summer—prime time for a bike ride. Here are two handy infographic guides to help you make it a bicycling summer to remember. Read on and click through to share with your friends and family.  Happy riding!

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Schwalbe Active Kevlar-Lined Tires

http://www.schwalbe.com

I've been hard-riding both bikes the past couple of weeks, 20-30 miles round-trip at least four days per week.

Both bikes had some old tires on them. (The '72 had original Schwinn tires) Both of them have blown tires on me. The '72 dry-rotted at the bead seal and let the steel strings out on the rear. The '75 got a bulge in the front tire and it blew on the last two miles of a 30-mile cruise.

Enough. I got four new Schwalbe's and have them on the '72. Big Blue gets new shoes tomorrow afternoon.

Ride On,

Dan

News Stand All Stickered-Up

Thank you to Bicycle Times Magazine for the stickers!

I now have this set up in our condo building's bicycle room. The little stand holds up to 81lbs, so we have room for a few more issues to share!

Ride on,

Dan

Battery-Operated Black Light LED Strobe

I just ordered three of these (one as spare) to mount on the back of the Lightning Bug. (1972 orange Continental)

I expect to have them on the bike by next weekend.

Ride on,

Dan

Rode Big Blue To Wheaton And Back...

...and the weather was gorgeous. I saw a bald eagle flying North over the prairie path on the way out.

Also, they're building a huge condo complex in down town Wheaton.

Ride on,

Dan

Omelette And New Inner Tubes

I rode my '75 Connie (Blue Bird) over to Omega for a spinach-feta-tomato-onion-mushroom omelette with side of fruit, no potato, no toast with coffee.

After breakfast, I rode up Main Street to the Lombard bike shop to buy inner tubes. (I bought three of them for $24.)

Tack on another ten miles today.

Ride on,

Dan

Mostly Successful First Ride

I got about a six-mile ride between sites and back last night.

However, I got a flat just as I was getting  back to my home base. I heard that sound every cyclist dreads: "POP! Pish...pish...pish...pish..."

Thankfully, I carry a spare inner tube and hand-pump.

Ride on,

Dan

Lightning Bug All Racked Up...

I just got the rack and milk crate installed, and the main LED flashers, head and tail.

I still have to get and add the black light LED strobes under the milk crate, and some red and white LED flashers on the front and rear forks, aiming into the wheels.

Ride On,

Dan

Fluorescent Orange Bike Rack

I spent the day spraying this in Ace Hardware fluorescent orange flat marker paint, followed by Rustoleum gloss clear enamel. It goes on the Lightning Bug today.

Ride On,

Dan

Your first bike:

*Hmmm. I'd have to go with the Rollfast my grandparents gave me on my 8th birthday... Dan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "PeopleForBikes" <info@peopleforbikes.org>
Date: Jun 14, 2013 10:08 AM
Subject: Your first bike:
To: "Daniel Stafford" <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Cc:

Dear Daniel, If you ride, you have had a first bike. Maybe that first bike is still your bike today. Or, perhaps, many two-wheeled companions have rolled through your life since.   To celebrate the start of summer—the time when so many kids are getting on their bikes for the very first time—we want to know:   What was your first bike? Tell us now, and it could be featured on PeopleForBikes!   You might remember your first bike well. It was a gift that marked the first days of summer, glistening new red paint sparkling in the hot sun. Or, maybe it was a well-worn, well-loved hand-me-down from a neighbor or older sibling. On it, you felt real freedom for the first time, flying solo down the road. Exhilarating independence, all through a simple machine.    Maybe you don't remember your very first bike (it was so long ago), but there's another bike that led you to fall deeply in love with bicycling. The one that took you to work for the first time. Perhaps it took you on your first singletrack excursion. Maybe it even took you across the country. This is the bike that changed your life.   So tell us, what was your first bike, or the first bike to change your life? Everyone has a story. We want to hear yours.   Share your first bike story here: http://peopleforbikes.org/myfirstbike   Happy riding, The PeopleForBikes team

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Sweet Little Lightning Bug...

Sweet Little Lightning Bug...



Shiny and nimble and fast,
That's what $60.00 and some elbow grease can get you,
Twelve hours with some four-aught steel wool makes fools,
Fools like those who thought "Old, dirty, and dingy."

It's all in the details,
In knowing what's underneath that thin patina of age,
Vintage 1972 and she's still a stunner today,
My sweet little Lightning Bug,
She gleams and glows and rolls like a dream;
I dream of the big city at night,
Modern LED's to go with the generator light,
Show off some real steel and chrome,
Green that is,
Green gold,
Chicago steel,
Help save the planet a little.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 06/13/2013

*Note: 1972 Schwinn Continental, mens' 24" frame, bought for $60.00 + tax, cleaned up sweet. I'm adding a rear rack that I'll paint fluorescent orange, and I've got a brand new orange milk crate to put on the rack. I found a source for battery-powered LED black lights online, I'm going to put two of them under the milk crate and strobe them on the bottom of the fluorescent orange rack, so that the glow blinks on the ground. Then I'll mount several bright white and red LED strobes so that they shine directly on those shiny wheels. Now you know why I call her Lightning Bug. The idea is to replace as many gasoline-powered trips in the company truck around the city at night as I can with a lot of fun, Dan-powered exercise. Full details and pictures of the restoration: http://1975continental.blogspot.com/search/label/1972%20Continental

*Posted at Poetic Constellations "Constellations Gateway" general poetry forum:  http://poeticconstellations.yuku.com/topic/61209/Sweet-Little-Lightning-Bug

Clean '72 Machine...

Here's the '72 Connie all shined up. She's so bright and sparkly I'm calling her Lightning Bug.

I've lubed all the bearings, deraillures, and chain; she glides fast and nimble.

Next, I'll be adding a rack and orange milk crate, and a bunch if LED's to light up all that chrome in downtown Chicago at night.

I'm stunned at what a beautiful ol' gal I found with $60 and elbow grease. It took me around ten hours to light this beauty back up.

Ride on,

Dan

'72 Continental Half-Cleaned

You can see the front gear and left pedal / left side of the chain guard are all prettied up, but the right pedal and rear gear are still lightly-rusted and dingy. $60.00 for the bike at an old Schwiin shop, $7 for grade #0000 steel wool, $3 for canvas gardening gloves. Wait - I got the canvas gloves to clean up my 26" frame 1975 Blue Connie - so that cost doesn't count here. This is six hours into the rehab.
Next post will be all clean.

Ride on,

Dan

Serial Number CJ600776

I just did the #0000 steel wool treatment on half of the 1972 Connie. I'm going to call her Firefly. OMG, this bike is in FANTASTIC shape under that light patina of oxidation.

All the hardware, including the handle bar tape is Schwinn-approved original. There's a working add-on generator light set too.

This bike glows and gleams where she's been cleaned up. She's going to be highly-visible in the city at night, especially after I point LED flashers in strategic places toward all that chrome.

My, oh, my. $60.00, can you believe it? I'll get some photos as soon as I get her fully-cleaned up, then another round with rear rack and up-lighting system, day and night.

Ride On,

Dan

SpokeSongs Bike Blog

http://www.spokesongs.blogspot.com/

*Musical band that tours the Great Lakes region by bicycle. - Dan

Kicking Asphalt Newsletter

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Better World Club" <marketing@betterworldclub.com>
Date: Jun 11, 2013 8:06 AM
Subject: Kicking Asphalt Newsletter
To: "Dan Stafford" <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Cc:

June 2013 TOP STORY: BWC Sponsors World Naked Bike Ride Don't worry. BWC is Only Sponsoring From The Neck Up. BWC Also Sponsors a Disability Services Bike-A-Thon, Pedals4Push. BWC co-sponsored Portland's World Naked Bike Ride on June 8th. *Disclaimer: The word "naked" is not used sarcastically, metaphorically, or, dare we say it, tongue-in-cheek. You should be comfortable with the human body before viewing the following link.* World Naked Bike Ride originated as a protest against society' s dependency on oil. On this day, we can now celebrate cycling as a viable and vibrant mode of transportation! Read and watch a short documentary on why we support this event . Along with supporting the event, BWC staff got our buff on and handed out reflective wrist bands and stickers for as many of the 11,000-13,000 riders as we could. BWC sponsored Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity in a 48 hour bike-a-thon, Pedals4Push, on May 22-24. The event, hosted on Oregon State University's campus, boasted just under 120 participants riding the equivalent of 3415.7 miles in 48 hours. While weather kept some riders at home, the event was a great success. All proceeds raised for the event were donated to Push America, an organization dedicated to providing support for our fellow peoples with disabilities across the country. Bryan Williamson, the Push America Chair, told us "It was a ton of fun and we had 18 different organizations come out and ride with us. The Beaver News Network did two pieces on the event and it was really neat for a lot of the riders to get interviewed and be broadcasted for the whole area to see." Because of the enthusiasm of participants, we are looking forward to even more participation in next year's Pedals4Push. Contact Us.  AAA WATCH AAA against Oregon's Clean Fuels Program What does AAA Support? The "Organic" Coal Industry? In late April, BWC joined with Clean Fuels Now and more than 100 other companies to encourage our Oregon members to consider contacting our state officials and voice their support for Oregon's Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, the Clean Fuel Program which the Oregon legislature had scheduled to sunset in 2015. AAA believes the Clean Fuels Program is a bad for the economy. Read More.  Get Out of Town in a Hurry With Our Spiffy Booking Engine Washington Watch United States Is World's Number One Fossil Fuel Subsidizer You Thought Green Energy Projects Got More Subsidies? Take a Closer Look The most significant finding is that most of the problem - a little over $1 trillion worth - is the failure to properly price carbon pollution. Global warming is the ultimate example of a "negative externality" - a market failure in which one market actor enjoys the benefits of an exchange while another actor pays the costs. Read More  IN THE NEWS Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations Surpass Dangerous 400 PPM Climate Deniers High-Five For Reaching The 400ppm Milestone. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide surpassed a notable milestone this week. They reached a daily average above 400 parts per million, reported NOAA, for the first time in human history. The milestone, hit on May 9, may be symbolic, notes Climate Central, but manmade CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels continue to rise, bringing greater atmospheric warming and exacerbating the effects of climate change. Read more  BWC Highlight Calculate Your Carbon Emissions With Our Carbon Calculator Choose to Offset Your Carbon By Supporting One of Two Great Environmental Projects. Click Here to calculate the carbon emissions of your vehicle. The New Bedford Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project collects methane and carbon dioxide gas from a landfill, which prevents its release into the atmosphere. Methane is approximately 23 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Bakersfield, California, two steel recycling facilities employ Mega-Shredders which, can process up to 300 tons of steel an hour - up to 10 times an ordinary shredder; recycling large structures such as trucks, busses, and even airplanes. Carbon Calculator.  Partner Discount CREDO Mobile Offers 25% Off Monthly Fee for First Year, ContractBuyout, and Free Samsung Galaxy S III A Dab of BBQ Sauce, And We'd Eat This Deal For E V E R Y Meal. BWC members who switch to CREDO receive an early termination fee buyout of up to $350 per line (up to 3 lines per family), 25% off their voice plan for a full year, and a free Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone (a $599 value). Other great phones are available too. To take advantage of this offer, Login and select Credo from the Member Discounts page. Member Login.  BIKE NEWS Dozens of U.S. Cities Board the Bike-Sharing Bandwagon Producers of The Flintstones Receive an Award For Reminding Us Foot-Power is a Great Way to Travel. By Janet Larsen When New York City opened registration for its much anticipated public bike-sharing program on April 15, 2013, more than 5,000 people signed up within 30 hours. Eager for access to a fleet of thousands of bicycles, they became Citi Bike members weeks before bikes were expected to be available. Such pent-up demand for more cycling options is on display in cities across the United States-from Buffalo to Boulder, Omaha to Oklahoma City, and Long Beach in New York to Long Beach in California-where shared bicycle programs are taking root. Read More  Portland's "Bike killer" grates slowly going away -- but not without your help By John Killen, The Oregonian Officially, they are known as rectangular catch-basin grates with vertical slots. But if you ride a bicycle, they have a shorter, more pointed name: bike killer. They're a dying breed here in Portland, but there's still a few of them lurking out there, waiting for the unwitting and the unwary. The good news? Help is on the way. Slowly, but surely. Read More  Green Car Insurance Get a Quote Green Car Insurance Get a Quote Car Tips: Improve Fuel Economy 14 Easy-to-Follow Tips to Increase Your Fuel Economy Hint: None Involve Cramming Vegetables In Your Gas Tank (At Least Not Whole). Did you know that the average car releases about one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile driven? Driving a fuel efficient car, driving to maximize fuel efficiency, and maintaining your car properly can greatly reduce your car's impact on the climate. Here are 14 Easy-to-Follow Tips to Increase Your Fuel Economy Read More  Parking Apps Proliferate, But Can They Solve The Problem Of Traffic Congestion? Is There Really an App For Fitting 10,000 Cars Into a Lot Built For Four? By Richard Read [In May, Green Car Reports] received a press release from a company called Pango, which makes an app that allows motorists to pay for on-street parking. ( Click here for the Pango's demo video.) If you live in a city of any size, this isn't especially newsworthy. Products like Pango have been rolling out for years: some work through apps, some make use of simpler text-to-pay features. In fact, we've seen municipalities deploy more than one such system, perhaps to see what works best. No, the question here isn't about novelty, it's about ease of use and impact on the community. How do such products measure on those fronts? Not as well as we'd like. Read More.  Tesla Model S Vs Chevy Volt: Owner Compares Electric Cars What's The Difference Between Duracell and Energizer? Who Cares, Check Out These Cars! By David Noland Although not precisely comparable--the Tesla is pure electric, while the Volt has a range-extending gas engine to back up its battery--driving the two cars back-to-back on a daily basis has highlighted the pluses and minuses of each. Read More.  Join now and save 10% Travel Tips Five Travel Problems and the Sites That Try to Solve Them On a Trip? Having Difficulty With Your Boss or Travel Buddy? Try Ditch-em.com! By Seth Kugel Ah, the problems budget travelers used to have. Hours on the phone with the airlines trying to pin down the cheapest fare. A bargain B&B that looked great in the brochure - if only there were a way to access feedback from previous guests. I wish there was a way to tell the world in 140 characters or less that I made it to the top of this Mayan temple! How quaint. But there are still plenty of problems out there, just waiting to ensnare the traveler. Below are five, along with relatively new Web sites that are trying to solve them. Note: "trying." None of them work perfectly and some have a long way to go before they become household names. But they all get an A for ingenuity. Read More  Have a comment, rant, or suggestion? Email us!

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