I came across a running series on StreetFilms today that caught my eye. I love how NYC gets all of this attention in terms of bicycling, and I hope it continues to grow in strength and popularity. In that spirit here is a group of films made from stories of the different riders in NYC.
This is certainly not the end of the series. So keep an eye out for the last two videos.
Filed under Article
We all, I assume, like to help people once in a while. It makes you feel good, and it helps people in need. Well here’s your chance. We got an email in our inbox recently that might peak your mechanical interest.
“I am a volunteer with the Diabete’s Associations “Tour de Cure” bike event. I am writing because we are in desperate need of some volunteers for our event. I am specifically looking for people who could help for a few hours with some bike repair on the routes. The ADA has cars, drivers and HAM radio operators, but we still need some people with basic bike mechanic skills. If anyone in your organization would be willing to help, it would be greatly appreciated. You contact me at bpierce@nycap.rr.com . The event is Sunday, June 5th, at Saratoga High School. Thank you.”
Filed under Volunteer
Do you ever find yourself in this situation?
You need to know something pertaining to bicycles, something specific like the proper foot pounds of tension for a freewheel or the proper chain stay length for the use of panniers, but there is just no one you can ask. Sure we can bug the three or four people we know who understand bikes back and forth, but do they really have enough time and energy to field all of these questions?
Well you are in lunch luck; man I’m hungry. Introducing a site called Bicycles.Stackexchange.com! This site is part of a larger collection of sites that I will go into later. Essentially it is a Q&A website dedicated to bicycles where you can ask questions and get meaningful answers. The thing that makes this site different from let’s say Yahoo.Answers is that both questions and answers get up and down voted based on usefulness and compliance with the rules of StackExchange. This ensures that good questions and answers float to the top of the list while bad ones sink down. Couple this with a community that cares about giving good meaningful information and you have a recipe for a smart knowledge base for bicycle questions and answers ranging from the difference between full and fingerless gloves to how to properly calculate wheel diameter.
Bicycles.Stackexchange.com is just a small part of a much bigger network. In their words:
“Stack Exchange is a fast-growing network of 51 question and answer sites on diverse topics from software programming to cooking to photography and gaming. We are an expert knowledge exchange: a place where physics researchers can ask each other about quantum entanglement, computer programmers can ask about JavaScript date formats, and photographers can share knowledge about taking great pictures in the snow.”
I encourage you guys to log on and share your knowledge with the world. Who knows, maybe you could teach the next Lance Armstrong what clipless pedals are.
Filed under Article
Here at ABC we got an e-mail recently informing us on a meeting happening in East Greenbush. From the e-mail:
“The Town of East Greenbush will be holding a public workshop on May 23rd @ 7pm in the Town Hall to discuss potential ideas for new recreational amenities in the town. Such amenities as park improvements, trails, bike paths and other recreational improvements residents would like to see are being considered for discussion. The public is invited to come and share ideas. Check the town website for more information or updates. Thanks!”
For more information visit the meeting’s official site.
Honestly I love when people alert us to these kinds of things. We are called Albany Bicycle Coalition, but when we have a chance to help citizens outside of Albany we take it. We could change our names to the Capital Region Bicycle Coalition, but ABC is too good of an acronym to give up.
If anyone out there has any tips on bike news or improvement projects feel free to drop us a line or send us an e-mail. We are always glad to hear from you.
Albany Bicycle Coalition 