Temperatures this past weekend were in the teens on the American Freedom Degree scale, so I kept my velocipeding offroad and extremely local: Including a little more time on those bamboo bars from Passchier: [This bike really needs a set of silver cranks now, I try not to be superficial but it's preying on my... Continue Reading →

As I mentioned yesterday, I recently received a pair of bamboo handlebars (why do we think of a single bar as a "pair" anyway?) from Passchier: I knew I'd use these on my artisanal singlespeed mountain bike from Engin: So I opted for the 650 width, since it was close to what I'd already been... Continue Reading →

As I continue to live in the midst of an ongoing hot tub installation project, my day-to-day affairs are in slightly more disarray than usual. However, limited time and frigid temperatures provide me with a perfect excuse to nip over to the park and trot around for a little bit: Such forays are not, strictly... Continue Reading →

Well, it was bound to happen: https://twitter.com/bikesnobnyc/status/1480159638180012032?s=20 In case you don't know who Doug Gordon and Peter Flax are, they're two of the more prominent voices in bicycle advocacy. Doug tweets as Brooklyn Spoke and is one-third of the "War on Cars" podcast: While Peter has held a number of editorial positions in outdoor media... Continue Reading →

As the snow fell this morning I took the opportunity to do some maintenance on my Fender Bike: My intent was simply to install the new and much-needed brake pads I'd just received: So I headed to the basement and got to work: I recently decided to start wearing latex gloves when working on my... Continue Reading →

This morning I headed out for a short ride: As I rolled along the mighty Hudson River, it occurred to me that it's supposed to snow tomorrow, and that I should make the most of the favorable conditions. So I kept going. After 20-ish miles or so I found myself in South Nyack, a place... Continue Reading →

Hokey as it may be, the beginning of a new year is an opportunity for change and self-improvement, so I'm pleased to announce that this year I've resolved to learn how to ride a bike with flat pedals: More specifically, I'm going to learn how to ride an all-terrain bicycle with flat pedals: My immediate... Continue Reading →

It is my great pleasure and privilege to continue offering you this blog in 2022, long after the very idea of blogging went out of fashion and most practitioners of the craft either moved on to creating other forms of content or simply got real jobs. So as we ceremonially unwrap the brand-new pair of... Continue Reading →

I'm deep in holiday mode, but I'm climbing out of the punch bowl to let you know that I've got a new Outside column up on the Internet: TLDR; we're all a bunch of hypocrites. And now back to the punch bowl!

Today is December 23rd--Christmas Eve Eve, or the day some people observe as Festivus by erecting an aluminum pole: ["It's made from aluminum. Very high strength-to-weight ratio."--Frank Costanza] By the way, you'll note there in the lower right-hand corner of that Cannondale catalogue page that their Festivus technology yielded frames that were "light as metal matrix."... Continue Reading →