Autumn never has a bad hair day--even when the weather is wet and foggy it looks fantastic: Then again it's also losing that hair, and in another week or two it will be bald: Of course autumn also means Halloween, and I'm going as someone 20 years younger by riding a fixie: That creaking isn't... Continue Reading →

Bike lanes. Bike lanes are the green screen upon which we project our values and our identities; our hopes and our dreams. For some people, bike lanes mean we're leaving car dependence back in the 20th century where it belongs, and returning our automobile-ravaged cities to the people. For others, bike lanes represent an encroaching... Continue Reading →

In case you wonder how the New York City motor scooter situation is going, here's your answer: https://twitter.com/JackKaplanNY/status/1717605837823205453?s=20 Motor scooters should certainly have license plates, but I don't see how that's going to keep idiots from riding them on the sidewalks--next time someone in a vehicle with a license plate does something reckless, go ahead... Continue Reading →

I was surprised to learn recently that the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is "anti-cycling:" https://twitter.com/StreetsblogNYC/status/1716988454381179121 The reason, apparently, is that they recently closed a section of park path to bicycles in Queens: I happen to know this section of bike path very well and have ridden it often. The pathway that... Continue Reading →

The sport of cycling has been no stranger to tribulation over the years: there are the doping scandals; the crashes caused by fans with stupid signs; and of course the doping scandals. Fortunately, the UCI has its priorities in order, and they know exactly what they need to do to make cycling both safer for... Continue Reading →

Speaking on behalf of the retrogrouches of the world, it's not that we're against new things, it's just that we don't understand why when new things come along we're supposed to completely renounce the old things: https://twitter.com/bikesnobnyc/status/1715386694545903881?s=20 We also don't understand why people think that just because you still use something that must mean you... Continue Reading →

The reappropriation of my Midlife Crisis Fixie Mark II turned out to be quite timely, because subsequent to that post it then rained for like two days straight. Bikes without derailleurs and stuff make very good rain bikes, so it wound up being my primary one for several days: If it's been awhile since you've... Continue Reading →

Here's my latest Outside column, which is about why cycling should never have surrendered completely to Big Dick Disc: And before you get all indignant, I'm not saying there shouldn't be any disc brakes. I'm just saying it's silly that most bicycles now have them. Pulling a number out of my ass, I'd say it... Continue Reading →

Nature doesn't need much help with color this time of year: Still, yesterday I figured I might as well throw a little purple into the mix: This bike began life as my Midlife Crisis Fixie Mark II in the summer of 2021: Then my son grew into it so I set it up for him... Continue Reading →

As I mentioned recently, the NYPD is cracking down on motor scooters on the bike paths, so I was tremendously excited yesterday as I followed a moto-scooterist off the Brooklyn Bridge and right into the open arms of the law: https://videopress.com/v/dAhmwYeq?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true Alas, the law was preoccupied with what appeared to be a phone-shaped object, and... Continue Reading →