Tag: Gear

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If you don’t like long text posts, stop reading now. This is a scratchpad for thinking I’ve been doing about travel bikes, S&S couplers, bike cases, and related topics (inspired by a lot of recent travel without a bike), to jot it down somewhere outside of browser bookmarks and chats with friends. Bringing a bike with you on a trip shouldn’t be as expensive and logistically complicated as it is. I’ve been tempted by S&S couplers or the Ritchey Breakaway, two methods of having a frame that you can break apart and pack down into a box just small enough to check as luggage on an airplane, saving fees. ...

Interesting bike softcase for flights

Bay Area bike maps– a few-paragraph review. Google Maps and OpenStreetMap both have decent bike path coverage in the Bay Area, but they’re not perfect, and they often don’t show hills or road conditions. They’re also both weak when it comes to off-road bike trails. Here are a few notes on the other bike maps I’ve picked up over the years (starting in the upper left and going clockwise): Bay Trail maps (6-map set, though I’ve read there’s a single-map version now as well). These cover the present and planned multiuse paths that run around the Bay, from SF down the peninsula, up the East Bay, even to Richmond. They’re an interesting set, with trivia on the back, and useful for finding hidden little parks in nooks along the bay… however, they don’t have bike route coverage once you get away from the Bay, and many sections of bay trail aren’t fully connected. So I’ve only used them a few times. ...

Beer Growlers by bike. Sure, it would be easy to just carry them in panniers or mesh bags… but for the heck of it, I made some minimal webbing-and-elastic structures custom fit to Speakeasy growlers, and which clip to a rack with three-point restraint so they don’t bounce around. Started a few weeks ago, but finally found time to finish (and test!) them. People at the brewery were amused. And the coffee porter made it to a friend’s party without getting too shaken up.

I recently went on a solo ride to San Rafael, and checked out the Re-Cyclery Bike Thrift Shop (and fundraiser for Trips For Kids) while I was there. Quite a place. Outside, a classic Schwinn (for sale for $125): The back patio had many more used bikes, in both adult sizes and kids’: There were many other sub-$150 used bikes: ...

A rare “gear” post: A few people have asked me about my handlebar bag. It’s the Rivendell Brand V Boxy BarBag. Unlike most decent-size front bags, it doesn’t require a rack for support, which is nice, it’s easy to access while riding, and fast to detach and bring indoors at a stop. I keep my valuables, camera, small jacket, snacks, maps, and so on in it. ...

Winter is coming… time to put various accessories back on the bike.

Quick lunch BBQ in a park with a friend, by bike.

Made a very simple bike-mounted cooler. Arkel pannier hooks plus two bolts, fender washers to spread the force, rubber washers to help seal the holes drilled through the side, and some webbing at the bottom of the cooler to help a hook hold the bottom of the cooler against the rack (not shown).