cycling (kottke.org)

kottke.org posts about cycling

How a bicycle is madeMay 11 2012

From British Council film, a short film from 1945 that shows how a bicycle is designed and manufactured.

It's easy to steal a bike in NYCMar 13 2012

Casey Neistat tries to steal his own bike in several locations around NYC and finds it's pretty easy...even if you're doing so right in front of a police station.

I recently spent a couple of days conducting a bike theft experiment, which I first tried with my brother Van in 2005. I locked my own bike up and then proceeded to steal it, using brazen means -- like a giant crowbar -- in audacious locations, including directly in front of a police station. I wanted to find out whether onlookers or the cops would intervene. What you see here in my film are the results.

This is a video of the earlier attempt he mentions. (via ★ironicsans)

Robot rides bicycleOct 27 2011

Watch until at least 45 seconds in.

I wanna see three of these riding a team sprint in a tiny velodrome.

Danny MacAskill rides againNov 17 2010

Danny MacAskill, the fantastic Scottish trials cyclist, is back a new video packed with gravity- and death-defying stunts.

I had a special screening of this with my three-year-old son this morning before I came into the office; he gave it two thumbs up. Way up! (via @mathowie)

Jure Robic, RIPSep 27 2010

Jure Robic, the world-class ultra-endurance cyclist I wrote about earlier this year, was killed in a traffic accident in his native Slovenia late last week. He died as he lived: on his bike. (thx, @ddewey and several others)

19th century bike tricksJun 15 2009

In 1899, Thomas Edison filmed some very contemporary looking bike tricks.

This seemed fake when I first watched it but here it is at The Library of Congress.

More biking = safer bikingJun 05 2009

The "safety in numbers" effect is proving true in NYC: the number of bicycles on the streets has more than doubled since 2001 while casualties have fallen. The increased prevalence of bike lanes in the city has to be helping too. (thx, david)

Parkour on a bicycleApr 21 2009

Street rider Danny MacAskill starts off by riding his bike across a narrow fence about four feet in the air...and the video only gets better from there.

Stunning. I want to see MacAskill in the next Bond film. (via waxy)

Update: See also Ryan Leech. (thx, courtney)

The state of cycling in NYCMar 10 2009

Long-time NYC cyclist Robert Sullivan writes that the city is a much better place for biking than it used to be and that the number of cyclists on the street are way up.

Today, the Transportation Department has gotten serious about biking, and in just three years, the agency has painted bike lanes (good), constructed bike lanes separated by parked cars (great) and bike lanes separated by medians or barriers (the best) and installed bike signals, bike signs and many bike symbols painted on the street.

Sullivan also notes that because of this increased use, pedestrians and car drivers (usually natural enemies) now share a dislike of bikers who run red lights, ride on sidewalks, weave through traffic, and blow through busy crosswalks. He offers four ways that bikers can improve their perception with the public.

NO. 1: How about we stop at major intersections? Especially where there are school crossing guards, or disabled people crossing, or a lot of people during the morning or evening rush. (I have the law with me on this one.) At minor intersections, on far-from-traffic intersections, let's at least stop and go.

Suggestions for pedestrians (don't cross against the light when a bike is coming, don't stand in the bike lane while waiting to cross the street, etc.) and cars (don't park in the bike lane, don't wait to turn in the bike lane, etc.) would be helpful too.

Biking terminologySep 12 2008

From a Copenhagen blog that highlights biking style, a plea to cool it with all the subculture cycling attitude and terminology already.

Let's straighten things out, shall we? What you see in the photo above, taken in Copenhagen, is something we call a "cyclist".
Not a "bicycle commuter", nor a "utility cyclist". Certainly not a "lightweight, open air, self-powered traffic vehicle user". It's a cyclist.
The Copenhagener above is not "commuting" - or at least she doesn't call it that. She's not going for a "bike ride" or "making a bold statement about her personal convictions regarding reduction of Co2 levels and sustainable transport methods in urban centers".
She's just going to work. On her bike.

(via gulfstream)

Update: The problem with biking in America: people don't feel safe, mainly because people in cars just aren't that aware of people on bicycles.

Lance Armstrong returns to cyclingSep 09 2008

Vanity Fair confirms: Lance Armstrong will return to cycling with the goal of competing in and winning the Tour de France in 2009.

Lance Armstrong returns?Sep 08 2008

Sources are saying that Lance Armstrong will come out of retirement to race the Tour de France in 2009. (via clusterflock)

From Google Earth to a gold medalAug 29 2008

Kristin Armstrong, the Olympic gold medalist in the women's individual time trial in road cycling, took a GPS unit along with her when she previewed the road course in Beijing in December 2007. When she got home to Idaho, she d/led the data, put it into Google Earth, and found a similar local loop on which to train.

This capability along with having the elevation profile proved invaluable in my preparation for my Gold Medal race.

(via matt's a.whole)

Last place in the Tour de FranceJul 29 2008

The last man to finish the Tour de France gets the unofficial title of winner of the Lanterne Rouge. Finishing last is not as easy as you might suppose.

The designation falls somewhere between insult and accolade. Mr. Vansevenant, who after Stage 18 sits in 150th place, some 3 hours and 45 minutes behind Mr. Sastre, is indeed the worst-placed rider in the Tour de France. But, in turn, he has outlasted those who abandoned the Tour through illness, injury or simple exhaustion; those who were eliminated for failing to finish within each day's time limit and are forced to withdraw; and those who were banned or withdrew for doping-related causes. From year to year, about 20% of the riders drop out. In other words, you can't simply coast to last place; you have to work for it.

Wim Vansevenant did hang on to become the first three-time winner of the Lanterne Rouge.

Amateur runners, cyclists, and triathletes are startingJun 25 2007

Amateur runners, cyclists, and triathletes are starting to choose to compete in lesser-known smaller races in order to have a better chance of placing higher in the results. "Some are trying to gain an edge by finding where the fast racers aren't. Instead of training harder, they're spending hours online to scout out the field, and they're driving hundreds of miles to race against thin competition in out-of-the-way places."

Fascinating story of an amateur cyclist whoOct 27 2006

Fascinating story of an amateur cyclist who starts taking various performancing enhancing drugs to see how they affect his performance. "I had a life once, and now I'm standing in the Easton WaWa in the middle of the night, looking like a cyborg, with thousands of dollars of drugs coursing through my veins. I started looking forward to the moment when the whole thing would be over."

Wu-oh. Floyd Landis had "an unusual levelJul 27 2006

Wu-oh. Floyd Landis had "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone ratio" in his blood after stage 17 of the Tour de France. If his backup sample also tests positive, the title could be taken from him. You may remember stage 17 as the scene of Landis' remarkable comeback. Cyclingnews.com says that "some athletes have naturally high levels, and can prove this through a series of tests"...is it possible that Landis was just super amped up from the effort that day?