Video Sunday: Victorian Hipsters

Two Thomas Edison films that prove the existence of fixed gear bike riding hipsters in the late Victorian era.

Film Industry Blocks Bike Lanes, City of LA Doesn't Care

Film industry trucks block bike lanes all the time here in Los Angeles, particularly along busy and fast moving Sunset Boulevard. Shutting down a bike lane on Sunset forces cyclists to merge into traffic that is sometimes going as fast as 50 miles an hour. It's a tragedy waiting to happen.

Not much room between a fast moving bus and a film industry truck.

As to the legality of blocking a bike lane I don't have a good answer, but in my opinion it doesn't matter. Even if it is legal, that doesn't make it right or safe. Is a film production worth a traumatic brain injury or a death?

Those of us who ride a bike in Los Angeles need your help. I want get the word out that:

• Elected officials in the City of Los Angeles (in this case, Councilman Garcetti's district) do not take the safety of cyclists and pedestrians seriously enough.
• The film industry values profits over human lives.

Please Tweet, Facebook and link to this post even if you don't live here. Appeals to the police department and elected officials in the past have done nothing to fix this problem. All we get are excuses and, once LAPD calls the film crew, hand made signs like the one below:

In Portland, Oregon cyclists get a detour:

To contact those responsible for this situation please email the following:

Film L.A. (the non-profit entity that coordinates and processes filming permits): info@filmlainc.com
Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti: contact form 

Like most cyclists here in LA, I also drive, walk and take public transportation so I understand this issue from all sides. We need equity in our transportation choices and we all need to stay safe.

UPDATE: Looks like the city has "fixed" the problem with slightly more official looking signs:

Too bad it's still dangerous. I guess it's going to take a death to fix this problem.

UPDATE 8/29/12: More coverage in The Eastsider and Streetsblog.

Picture Sundays: Bike Rack With Bee Smoker

Bike Snob NYC predicted back in 2010 that beekeeping would be the new fixed-gear. Don't know where I found this picture (Facebook?) but it looks like bikes and bees are achieving a kind of synergy. I think this is a custom rack just for that handsome Dadant smoker, which like the design of the bicycle, has not changed much in a hundred years:

Dadant smoker in 1910.

Does this mean that Dadant will come out with a titanium smoker?

Barfing and Bikes: Why You Might Want Fenders

Barf Blog reports on an unusual study that took a look at why a an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness occured at the world's largest bike race in Norway. In short, mud from cattle grazing areas splashed up onto the faces of participants.

Now I wouldn't see the need to repeat this if I hadn't met a cyclist here in Los Angeles that something similar happened to. In his case it was a case of giardia--his doctor theorized that the little buggers came up from the gutter via the wheel and landed on the top of his water bottle. He was very sick for months and lost a lot of weight.

Portlandians will laugh at our lack of fenders down in sunny Los Angeles. Perhaps this study might be enough to convince even roadies to get some. Well, only if there are $2,000 titanium fenders.

My Trip to Maker Faire

Getting ready for the earth oven workshop this weekend meant that I never got around to reporting on my trip to Maker Faire up in San Mateo on the 19th. I spoke in the low-tech "Homegrown" shed far away from the high powered tesla coil displays happening elsewhere. To add to the low tech/high tech irony, I was not able to use my PowerPoint and had to speak extemporaneously. This worked out for the better, as I was able to pull up a member of the audience to demonstrate her solar cooker--much more fun than showing pictures of solar cookers. And, after all, maybe it's time we retire PowerPoint.

Some of the things I spotted at Maker Faire:

Long lines for the tiny house. I'll review Lloyd Kahn's awesome tiny house book later this week (he gave a talk just before me). Not sure what's up with the white robe outfit in the foreground.

Also spotted: bamboo bikes!

Cornelia Hoskin, who curated the Homegrown Village part of Maker Faire, her husband and new bambino. Cornelia also runs homegrown.org.

Yes, there were paintings done by snails.

 

Solar popped popcorn.

A rep from Sweet Maria's Coffee gave a great demo on all the ways you can roast your own coffee.

Expensive AK-47 toting garden gnomes.

And solar powered bikes. Not sure how this would work out on an LA street.

Someone in the Homegrown area was processing greywater in bulk containers planted with bamboo.

Overall I had a great time. It was a wee bit heavy on the robots and 3d printer gadgets but that's to be expected. At least there were a few chickens present to balance out the proceedings. However, next year I'm coming with an overhead projector:

A Bike Tent Trailer

Now this is a cool idea. The Midget Bushtrekka is a bike tent trailer with room for camping equipment.

Like car camping with a bike.

Via Dornob.

Al Pacino Closed My Bike Lane

It's the classic urban cycling problem: when faced with the indignities of riding in a car-centric city like Los Angeles, do you make it all one big fun challenge or become what Bikesnob calls "the righteous cyclist?"  Righteous cyclists, according to Bikesnob, are "convinced that the very act of turning the pedals will actually restore acres and acres of rainforest, suck smog from the sky and refreeze the ice caps." In short they are sometimes so obsessed with the issues surrounding cycling that they fail to enjoy actually, well, cycling.

So one rainy day earlier this month, heading down busy Sunset Boulevard, I came upon a film crew blocking the bike lane. This happens fairly often, especially at this section of Sunset. Your choice is to hop on the sidewalk, rarely a good idea in my opinion, or merge into fast moving traffic.

Normally, I take the stoic approach and treat a situation like this as a challenge, an opportunity to practice living in a real life version of Frogger, somewhat like Laird Hamilton might treat a particularly gnarly big wave. But on this dark and rainy morning, I thought I owed it to any cyclist pedaling behind me to try to do something about the situation. So, acting the role of the righteous cyclist, I rode up to the security guard and asked if the film permit specified a bike lane closure. He said he'd get the production manager for me.

The production manager introduced himself and I said hello. I again asked if the film permit allowed for the closure of the bike lane. He said no, that it allowed for the closure of the "curb lane" and that it was not his fault that the curb lane was too narrow to fit his trucks. He said that originally the trucks were supposed to be parked elsewhere but that the "talent didn't want to cross the street."* The "talent," I later found out, was Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. He also said that film companies only need a permit to close the "special green bike lanes downtown" (not true).

I decided to keep my cool. What I really wanted to say at this point was something along the lines of "you Hollywood folks haven't made a decent movie in around 30 years." And, "I want to put Lars Von Trier in charge and force you all to go Dogma 95--then I'd have my friken' bike lane back, not to mention decent movies."

But I kept my cool. I thanked him for his precious Hollywood time and rode off, promising to take it up with the entity that issues the permits, Film LA.

First though, I called my friend Colin Bogart at the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. He called the police who looked up the permit and found out that, indeed, this film company did not have a permit to block the bike lane.

Now, on my last trip to Portland during our book tour I snapped a picture of what happens in that city when a truck blocks the bike lane. Portlandians put up some cones to route cyclists around work vehicles:

Now here's how we do it in Los Angeles. LAPD heads down to the location and finds out that they don't have a permit to block the lane. Then, I'm guessing, Al Pacino comes out to sign some autographs and we get a "compromise":

The bike lane was still closed, cyclists still had to merge into fast moving traffic, but we got a bunch of "bike lane closed" signs. Problem solved! Note the production manager on the right, none to happy to see me again. I resisted the urge to ask him if he thought he was John-Luc Fricken' Godard.

So the Sunset Boulevard bike lane remained closed for three days all for yet another crappy Hollywood action movie. I may make my boycott permanent.

Should anyone in a position of power being reading this post, this closure was against the state's traffic rules, "Section 6D.101(CA) Bicycle Considerations . . . E. Bicyclists shall not be led into direct conflicts with mainline traffic, work site vehicles, or equipment moving through or around the [work] zone." 

--------

* Note from the Mrs.: Perhaps Messrs Pacino and Walken didn't want to cross the street because they've heard that we had two tragic pedestrian fatalities in the immediate neighborhood last month. Both of those persons were simply attempting to cross the street. They died because our city streets could be mistaken for freeways.

Cargo Bike Roundup

First, thanks all, for your help with my cargo bike review that I'm writing for Urban Farm Magazine. For those of you not familiar with the new crop of cargo bikes here's what I'm writing about:

Longtail Bikes

Xtracycle FreeRadical

The "longtail" revolution began with the invention of the Xtracycle "FreeRadical" back in 1998. The FreeRadical extends the back wheel and allows for the installation of two huge pannier bags and a seat. You provide the bike--I used a cheap 1980s era hardtail mountain bike. I've had my FreeRadical since 2006 and can't say enough good things about it. I can easily pack four bags of groceriesin the generously sized bags and still easily glide through traffic in Los Angeles. And I've used it to go bike camping.

A few years ago Xtracycle teamed with Surley to make the "Big Dummy" a bike frame with a FreeRadical welded in. This reduces the shimmy under load that happens sometimes with a DIY FreeRadical/bike combo. Xtracycle also started producing their own bike/Free Radical combo called the Radish.

Yuba Mundo 21 Speed

Some other companies have since introduced products very similar to the Big Dummy and Radish. One that I really like is the Yuba Mundo. It'a a very sturdy bike with fenders and a two-legged kickstand.

Kona Ute

There's also the Kona Ute.

Trek Transport

And, in this now crowded longtail market, the Trek Transport.


Bike Trucks

Cetma Cargo

If you can afford one, these are probably the best option for hauling kids. Your cargo or passengers have a lower center of gravity (important especially as those kids grow). Plus, with the passenger seat up front, you can keep an eye on them!

Other Options I'm not Reviewing

When I visited Copenhagen a few years ago I saw a lot of big cargo trikes like the Christiania Trike above. I'm not looking at these because I have my doubts about how practical they are in most US cities. We just don't have the kind of bike infrastructure they have in Northern Europe. Plus, a lot of Root Simple readers wrote to tell me they don't handle well on turns. Please correct me if you think I'm wrong. I'm also not considering trailers, because that would be another article.

While not cheap, all of these bikes are less spendy than a fancy carbon fiber racing bike and a lot more useful. My Xtracycle has allowed us to get by with just one car between me and Kelly. While I realize that cargo bikes aren't practical for everyone, I suspect we'll be seeing more of these beasts on the road soon.

And, a bit of a tangent here, but if you don't know the story of Freetown Christiania, where the Christiania bike is made, it's entertaining.

Seeking Opinions for a Cargo Bike Review

A Christiania trike

I'm reviewing a few cargo bikes for Urban Farm Magazine and I'm interested in hearing opinions from you, our dear readers. Leave a comment or send me an email. Let me know what cargo bike you have and what you think about it. What do you haul? Did you give up a car? Note: I'm not reviewing trailers, just cargo bikes.

I have an Xtracycle that I've used for years and am very happy with. But there's a lot of new options out there.

In Seattle, Headed to Portland

Photo from bikejuju.com

Dig that tallbike, welded up by our host in Seattle Tom, a.k.a. "bikejuju" who has a blog at www.bikejuju.com. His wife Lyanda is the author of a book readers of this blog will enjoy, Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness. And they have the prettiest mixte I've ever seen in their living room.

This afternoon we head to Portland. Hope to see you at one of our appearances.

Mad Hen

One of our hens will be featured in the new Coco's Variety ad campaign. What's Coco's Variety you ask?

"Coco's Variety's primary business is bicycles. Additionally, we sell Japanese figural pencil erasers, used bike parts, old toolboxes, books worth owning, bike pumps, balsa wood gliders, pocket knives, Lodge cast iron frying pans, glass water bottles, Park bicycle tools, wicker bike baskets and Dutch bicycle cargo bags for the carting of fresh produce, the transportation of books of French poetry and the rescuing of kittens."

If you're not in Los Angeles, you can get a virtual Coco's experience on their awesome blog at: http://www.cocosvariety.com/.

Via the magic of the interwebs we offer you an exclusive behind the scenes look at Coco's proprietor Mr. Jalopy making advertising history:

Piano Bike

Seen in San Francisco during this past weekend's street closin' party Sunday Streets, an upright piano bike. Not only did this guy play while peddling, but he was also a damn good musician. He said it took several years to perfect the bike which, while you might not be able to tell from the photo, was nicely crafted. Not sure about the steering but it seemed to be by pushing the keyboard itself. This may have influenced the choice of a ragtimey repertoire. Also kinda funny to have a musical performance affected by potholes.

It seems that this is an old vaudeville stunt.

Yet more reasons not to wear lycra

Towards a more bikable/walkable US on this 4th of July, a nice quote about America's silly relationship with cycling from bikesnobnyc:

"I may be naive, but I continue to believe that one day humanity will reach a point at which we will no longer need to feel special while we do something normal. Putting on pants will cease to be the subject of a feature article. The notion of a "bike culture" will dissolve like body paint in the rain. Riding a bicycle in street clothes will no longer be "cycle chic." Best of all, we will no longer need to be cultural aspirants or fashion models to ride to the store, and the simple act of buying something at that store will not need to be a statement about "sustainability." Instead, we will be regular schlubs doing regular crap, and we will be confident enough to do so without naming it and without baring our inner thigh sideburns in the process."

Appropriate Tech

Via BoingBoing..

An Earth Day Rant

There's a logical fallacy called argumentum ad novitatem or the appeal to novelty, i.e. if something is new and clever it must be worthy of attention. It's the fallacy that the mainstream media inevitability falls into when discussing bicycles. Witness an article in the LA Times, Going Beyond the Basic Bike, wherein we learned about the treadmill bike pictured above--a bargain at $2,011--the kids can use it in a science fair project to simulate inefficient energy transfer! But they'll also have to bust out the Foucault and Baudrillard to explain how a simulation of running becomes a means of locomotion. [Update: a reader points out that the treadmill bike is a joke--kinda proves my point considering that the LA Times took it seriously.]
 

The article goes on to, I suspect, regurgitate a press release the Tribune Company received from the inventors of the StreetStrider, "Only $1,699" with "special financing available." I bet the folks at Goldman Sachs are busy packaging that financing right now.

Then we have the RowBike, created by Scott Olson, "inventor of the Rollerblade," the RowBike is yours for a cool $1,188.

Memo to the Times: I can guarantee that anyone foolish enough to buy any of these things will soon relegate them to the dusty rear of the garage along with other late night infomercial impulse purchases.Now, can we please, for once, have a review of a practical, inexpensive commuter bike in a mainstream publication? Even the bicycling magazines get caught in the novelty of $30,000 carbon fiber road bikes. Can we treat the bike reviews with the same level of seriousness and utility that we do cars and computer reviews? Can we drop all the other "green" argumentum ad novitatem, such as endless stories about vertical vegetable gardens and algae energy schemes while we're at it?

Nutria Trappin' by Bike!

I like to keep up on all the "urban homesteading" trends, but bikesnobnyc beat me to this one: nutria (Myocastor coypus) trapping via bike.

"We then returned with our catch and skinned them, prepared the hides for tanning and butchered the carcass and cooked up a bit of the meat. Most folks seemed pleasantly surprised at the "chicken- like" taste of the meat."

Read more about it at dellerdesigns.blogspot.com, "Maker of Fine Hats for Town and Country Cyclists."

They want to ride to school. So they do.

In Orlando Florida, one of the worst places to ride a bike in America, some high school students are taking back the streets:

High School Bike Bus from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo. Via Streetsblog.

Meanwhile, here in Los Angeles, elementary and high school groups go on field trips to the auto show:

No doubt our educational dollars were well spent showing the kids the informative educational displays:

I noticed that some of the students at the car show had been given traffic safety pamphlets about how to safely ride bikes. Car companies have been producing pedestrian and bike safety info for years. At the risk of being somewhat conspiratorial, auto industry produced safety materials often carry a hidden message that walking and biking are dangerous, marginal activities. Actually biking to school together like the Florida students as well as walking school buses send a much better message, in my opinion.

The good news is that, in car-centric cities like Orlando and Los Angeles there is a growing awareness that alternative transportation arrangements need to be made quickly. Here in LA we've got a lot of work to do.

Thanks to Elon Schoenholz for scoring two free passes to the car show. It's good to check out how the consensus trance is holding up.

The Human-Powered Home: Choosing Muscles Over Motors

We've reviewed Tamara Dean's new book The Human-Powered Home: Choosing Muscles Over Motorsin this month's issue of Yes Magazine. As we say in the review, don't expect to be able to run your plasma screen with a bicycle (a lot of our favorite appliances take a hell of a lot more energy than pedal power can provide), but you will be able to grind grain, press apples, operate a sewing machine, and shell nuts. Dean's book tells you how to harness human power in clear step-by-step instructions.

Read our complete review here.

Read excerpts from the book on Dean's website.

Lord of the Flies Inspired Bike Rack

Homegrown Neighbor here. When I saw this unique piece of public art/functional bike rack I just had to stop and take a picture to share.  I was on my way home from the Central Library, where I had checked out some books on Belgian beer for a project I'm working on. I walked up Broadway to catch the bus home, stopping at Grand Central Market on the way. But outside the market I saw this truly strange sculpture with many bikes locked to it. Obviously it was designed to celebrate the market, where meat, produce, spices, nuts and almost any imaginable type of ethnic food can be found. The top is adorned with two pigs' heads. The corners have fruits and vegetables in them. I think it is kind of grotesque but very eye-catching. I also like that it has  four posts, allowing a lot of well spaced area to lock your bike to.

Bicycles and GPS

So at a time when the whole hipster stripped-down fixed-gear bike phenomenon has just passed its inevitable pop cultural zenith, this post will come across as impossibly nerdy. Yesterday I finally got around to strapping my small handheld GPS unit to the handlebars of my road bike and I can say that this particular combination of 19th century technology and 20th century electronics rocks.

The only sane way to get around Los Angeles and most large American cities on a bike is to find alternate routes: quiet side streets well away from the major arterials. Over the past few years I've gotten pretty good at studying a map to find bike friendly streets. I go well out of my way to avoid six lane boulevards, not so much because I think they are more dangerous, but simply because I don't like getting into altercations with motorists. I'll zig and zag, hopping from one residential street to another. The problem has been having to print out maps and pull them out of a pocket every few blocks, since I tend to easily forget directions.

My GPS unit (an earlier version of this Garmin handheld with a handlebar mount) and the accompanying software nicely solves this problem. I can use the mapping software to draw a route and load it into the handheld. The GPS unit beeps before I approach a turn and points the way. I generally don't like anything that distracts from the craziness of our roads, so I've never used a cyclometer. I've found that the GPS unit actually cuts down on distractions since I don't have to swivel my head around to figure out where I'm going. I can just pay attention to the road and let those GPS satellites tell me when to make a turn. It's kinda like the way the military guides in "smart" bombs, except instead of an explosion you get me, a middle-aged eco-blogging dork on a bike.

The next step will be to try the even more incongruous combination of a camel and a GPS, though I'm sure that this high-tech/low-tech combo is being done quite effectively elsewhere in the world. But here in LA, a surly camel might come in handy the next time someone yells, "get off the road!"