More Keys Found!

We got 5 more keys turned in this week. I don't have the list on me but the important bit is that the bike is still up for grabs!

August 17th Chain Links

With the fall semester just a weeks away, today's chain links focuses on choosing new bikes. If you're relatively new to biking the links below can help. However before you buy anything, make sure to do your research. A local not-for-profit bike shop is a great place to start!

First: The Dothan Eagle takes a stab at helping out those in need of a new bike. While we can't fault them for trying, the helmet should be mentioned sometime BEFORE the last sentence.

Second: The Buffalo Examiner (that still exists?) has a list of questions to consider before making your purchase. And before you ask, riding a bike will not give you chronic 80's hair like the woman in the picture at the beginning of the article. No promises about THIS hair though. Stache not included.

Third: Wired has a review of a sweet bicycle from Swobo. Note the non-flip-flop hub. If I had $1000 I was going to throw away I'd so buy this bike!

If none of the above links helps, there's always wikihow.

August 14th Chain Links

With school starting hundreds of bicycle riding teens and 20 somethings are descending on the capital city. What does this mean? More bikes to steal! While FSU students are providing more opportunities for thieves, Drexel students can feel a little safer. If you're a potential thief and use the Internet to improve your stealing abilities I'd recommend avoiding wikihow.

First: Bike theft affects us all. Whether it's our bike or someone we know, all who bike have a story ends with a bike that's gone forever. Well, students at Drexel University can rest a little easier knowing that at least one thief has been caught.

Second: Thieves in the know use a pen cap to crack most Kriptonite locks. Thieves trying to learn might use a trick they learned from wikihow. Let's just say that if you see someone lugging a car jack toward a bike rack you might want to call the cops. (NB: They're still looking for someone to explain how to "pick a bike lock.")

Finally: I love bike cops as much as the next person, but I still find this article hilarious. My favorite line "Among the tips they've picked up: your chin strap can choke you in a fight, it's not good etiquette to ditch your bike in front of your partner and it's important to stay in shape — if you arrive at the crime scene out of breath, you're not much use." This is what they came all the way from Canada to hear?

(Photo Credit: "Cop on Child's Bike" from txroadrunners.com)

Friday Take Apart

I don't care if Monday's blue

Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too

Thursday I don't care about you

It's Friday, I'm involved

Monday you can fall apart

Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart

Oh, Thursday doesn't even start

It's Friday, I'm involved

Saturday, wait

And Sunday always comes too late

But Friday, never hesitate...

To come and take apart.

(Stolen and butchered from The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love")

This Friday from 6-9pm we're having a party! Yes folks it's that time. We've sold, given away, and even forced them upon our unsuspecting friends, family, and even customers but we're not quite done. There are 30 bikes left that have gone unclaimed and now are doomed to the recycler.

Fear not, they will live on in everything from baseball bats to buildings to even other bikes. Some of them will even wind up in (I'm sorry to say) cars. However, every pound we recycle is one less pound we have to dig out of the ground.

Before they can be recycled, we will endeavor to reduce and reuse every bit possible. To do so we must pull all the usable parts and separate out the non-metal pieces for specialized recycling. This requires disassembling of all 30 bikes! EG: THE FUN PART! If you have no clue how a bike works, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn without worrying about breaking something!

This Friday from 6-9pm (and every Friday till we're done) we will be stripping these bikes down to bare frames. We'll be cranking the music and rocking out while stripping down (the bikes). Pizza and soda will be provided.

(Picture Credit: Atomic Zombie's AfterBurner Chopper Bicycle from Instructables)

August 13th Chain Links

Going to Montreal, London, or Boston? Don't worry about renting a car. Those three cities provide free (for 30 min) bikes for anyone with a credit card to use! However, if you're going to Portland you may want to bring cash or check to pay for your bike permit. No money to spend on bikes? If you're down on the gulf coast make sure to bring plenty of gator spray!

First: Several weeks ago I linked to the Bixi project in Montreal. The idea was to have dozens of self sufficient checkout stations for renting bikes. Well, the idea worked so well that Boston and London have signed up! Expect 10,000 Bixis roaming the streets of London in the next few years (Boston is still negotiating).

Second: Portland has always been on the bleeding edge of bike awareness. Now they're redoing their bicycle master plan for 2030 (it's never too early to be thinking about bike advocacy!). BikePortland is doing a multi part series on the project. (Via BikePortland)

Finally: I've heard of odd riding gear but this is ridiculous!

(Photo Credit: "Bixi" from trendwatching.com)

August 12th Chain Links

We have a new feature here at the GBP Blog. We call it "chain links." In this section we'll be posting links to fun or interesting bike stories around the world. All the links will be SFW (unless noted) so make sure to click through to get all the tidbits the bike world has to offer.

First, what do you do when you're a nature lover, bike lover, and unemployed? How about ride 4000 miles to raise money for the Nature Conservancy? Nathan Winters is doing just that, and of course blogging, twittering and uploading to youtube along the way. (Via Cool Green Science)

Second, while Nathan's motives may be true, cockeyed.com took a slightly less altruistic approach to Google's "Chad Bikes America" trip back in 2001. The outcome is amusing (to say the least) and NSFW if your boss frowns on sporadic laughing fits.

Finally, Clean Technica has a gadget designed for those of us who can't live without our Iphone or crackberry. (My Iphone is currently sitting forlornly looking out the window hoping for even the merest signal. I'm not a fan of my Faraday Cage of an office.) The only drawback is it takes 2 hours to fully charge (if you call 2 hours on a bike a "drawback"). (Via Clean Technica)

...and the sign said closed!

I've gotten several emails from people wondering why the shop was closed on a Wednesday at 2pm or a Friday in the early evening. I kind of don't have the heart to tell them the world doesn't revolve around you so all I say is "Our hours are Saturday 12-5." We're working on pushing those hours to earlier in the day or adding another day, but for the moment it's not in the cards.

In fact, we've been forced to keep the doors shut this weekend due to a surprisingly heavy demand last Saturday. We're down to 4 bikes (from 12 at the start of the day) and just don't have the inventory to open up. Actually, it's quite a nice problem to have. We're ordering parts for some of the long term projects and taking some time to get all the work we've been putting off done. Here's a preview of some of the things you'll see in the shop when we reopen on the 15th.

-A police surplus TREK hardtial bike! It's a 19.5" monster with a brand new wheelset! No price yet but it's a beauty to behold.
-A 54cm lugged frame Panasonic road bike (previously referenced)! We're pricing it at $150.
-A high end dual-shock mongoose MTB. It's a welded aluminum frame with a mechanical front disk break. We also haven't priced this bike but it'll likely sell in the low end of the premium range.
-A tandem cruiser bike. I've never had one of these in the shop before but i'm excited to get it up on the stand. Price is TBD but it will be less than 1/2 of what a new one would cost.
-A tandem road bike. We're still working on this one. I hope to have it ready on the 15th!
-We also will have one more "special" road bike in stock. No more hints.