Monthly Archives: February 2011

by Christopher | February 20, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Panniers And Me

I have, for a long time, been in a search for good panniers. For the most part it seems to me they pretty much fall into three categories; good panniers that cost a lot of money, alright panniers that cost a lot of money, and absolute garbage.

Recently I have been turned on to a few companies and a great website that has a very good selection of high end panniers that are pretty reasonably priced if you find them somewhere else.

I was digging through the articles bin for something to write about when I saw an article that had been kind of left by the wayside. So for the coast of some duct tape, some cardboard, and a few clamps you yourself and have your own panniers.

HowTo: Make Duct Tape Panniers

Written by Chris Belsole

Perspective Or Truth

I was visiting a friend in the hospital yesterday when a man stopped me as I was locking up my bike. Apparently he had the same one, and we got to talking. We talked about a lot of things from riding in rough weather to sharing stories of our various injuries. I forget if it was him or me who brought this topic up, but when he said this it really surprised me. He said to me, “The drives in Albany give you a lot of room on the road.” Apparently, and I envy this man, whenever he goes out bicycling on the roads, which is not often because he said he mostly rides on the sidewalk, the drivers give him enough room. I never asked him what “enough room” was, but what world is he living in that the majority of drivers are courteous.

Maybe I am just jaded.

Written by Chris Belsole

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by Christopher | February 18, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Only The Best Locks For My Readers

As I said yesterday I love to let other people do the leg work for me, not to say if a company wanted me to test out a product for them I would turn them down, but when it comes to bike security I’ll take any advice I can get lest some wannabe bike thief make off with my main mode of transportation. So in this spirit of combined laziness and safety here is an article from Commute by Bike that talks about the best of the best bike locks.

The Very Best Bike Locks

Written by Chris Belsole

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Filed under Article, Bike Tech

by Christopher | February 17, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Hot Off The Presses From NYSTEA

This e-mail is so hot off the presses I needed to wear gloves just to bring it to you. Apparently, because I let other people do the leg work for me (hehe), President Obama released his FY 12 budget which outlined a few changes in the transportation policy for the country. There are a bunch of intresting points and after the jump you can read the entire e-mail, but I just want to point out the biggest one for ABC in terms of getting funding for projects:

“[The budget] Creates a new livability program-$4.1 billion in 2012 and $28 billion over six years-to promote local control and for projects like multi-modal transportation hubs (where different forms of transportation converge) and streets that accommodate pedestrian, bicycle, and transit access.”

This is huge for future projects that we can do for Albany such as bike lanes and boulevards as well as signage for safe routs to schools and other projects that would make Albany a better place to bike.

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Because Bicycles Just Needed One

Yes you see correctly, a seat collar bottle opener. Apparently the people at Swarm thought to themselves, “You know what is a hassle on a bike; not having a convenient way to open a beer while riding your bike. We should make something to fix this overwhelming problem.” And the bike bottle opener was born. Am I saying we are not adults who are incapable of making our own decisions? No. Does having a bottle opener on hand make it easier to drink and bike? Yes. From their website:

ELIXIR AND NECTAR SEAT CLAMP WITH BOTTLE OPENER // Seat collars designed to make your bike look gorgeous, hold your seat up, and to open your beer. What more do you want to know?