Month: October 2006

Biking in Astoria

I miss biking in Amsterdam

Great photo blog journalism of bikes and one intersection in Amsterdam at http://www.awfulgood.com/doa-archives/000185.php.

Just call me Mr. Astoria Bike

If you Google “Astoria Bike,” a link to my blog comes up first. Cool. Since there’s no “Mr. Subway,” and my friend Tamara already has dibs on “Ms. 30th Avenue,” I’ll gladly settle for “Mr. Astoria Bike.” I can’t wait till posters go up with my picture and are defaced with devil horns, blacked-out teeth,…
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Oh, those sexy French ladies’ frames

I bought a bike on Ebay. I’m really not sure why. I wasn’t even drunk. Well, I do know why I bought it. I really like French frames. And French Bikes. They’re really good sporty practical urban bikes. The problem is that it’s a French Bike. ALL the sizes are different. Updating/conversion will not be…
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Hot Karl update

The last bike I assembled for a friend is the Hot Karl. It was a SRAM shifter and it just isn’t very good. Shifting problems keep re-happening and the foot hits the guard. The former is exactly the kind of pain-in-the-ass I don’t want to deal with. The latter is a basic design flaw that…
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Folding bikes

My mother writes:What is a good folding bike for me? I am interested in a bike that is light-weight and can be easily folded. It does not need to be too compact. I want to put in in the car, drive somewhere and explore the neighborhood. A few gears would be nice, but I do…
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Biking the beautiful Triborough Bridge

Check out the lastest on the bike ride on the Triborough, from Randall’s Island into Harlem. Normally the blog is about food. I’m glad she didn’t eat anything on they way. I’ve had some issues on the bridge myself. But I can’t really blame the bridge. It keeps it real.

On why bikers don’t obey the law, part I: the Queensboro Bridge

It always pisses me off when people complain about bikes running red lights and not obeying traffic laws. Traffic laws are there for cars. Cars kill people. Not bikes. We wouldn’t need red lights if it weren’t for cars. Running a red light on a bike is akin to jaywalking: nominally illegal but something we…
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Bike to Train

I got a call from some pollster asking me about my latest Amtrak travel. Sure, I’d love to talk about my train travel. It was horrible designed, by the way. And asked me about 30 slight variations regarding price and time and whether I would chose faster Acela or slower regular train. I can’t believe…
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