In New York City, a cyclist got a ticket for riding outside of the bike lane and decided to make a movie showing why it’s often necessary to do so. He was fined $50 for his infraction and he really, really wants his money back, so much so that he decided to smash into anything blocking the bike lane to prove his point. This guy has got to be a stuntman because there is no way that anybody in their right mind would pull these kinds of shenanigans without wearing a helmet.
As a side-note, according to the video, it’s not even illegal to ride outside the bike lane anyway. Did he prove his point or simply trash his body and beach cruiser for internet views?
This clock we found on Etsy is absolutely perfect. Elegant, modern, and understated, it’s one of those simple things that makes you say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” This is probably the best use of bike parts for home decor since Picasso put together some handlebars and a bike seat and made his famous bull’s head.
This particular one seems to be sold, but browse through Pixelthis‘ other recycled items (the bike crank clocks are also pretty nice) and there’s a good chance you’ll find something that will make counting the minutes until your next ride a little easier.
I’m kind of obsessed with porteur bicycles, simply because they are so damned beautiful in their simplicity. Though variations of this style of bike have been used around the world for transporting goods on the flat rack over the front wheel, Parisian newspaper couriers owned these utilitarian rides in the mid 1900s, the Porteurs des Journaux.
This obsession, along with the need for a commuter bike, resulted in my buying a plug-and-play version of a porteur last year—a basic Linus Roadster with a Velo Orange Porteur rack. The bike has served me well for the last year on my 10-mile daily commute. I just strap my laptop to the rack and go, no need for a sweaty backpack or unbalanced panniers hanging over the back tire.
But recently I have become interested in the modified, motley porteurs I see around Portland that are jimmy-rigged from old bike frames and clunky racks, and the one above is my favorite of that style. I first saw it parked in front of Whole Foods on Sandy and 43rd and I had to drive around the block to get a second look (and to snap this drive-by photo). I love its garish colors, hot pink heavy-duty rack and mismatched rims, not to mention the green seat and pink break lines. It’s a complete 180 from the precious porteurs I had been fetishizing before—those hand-made versions that take years to actually get underneath you (and to pay for).
A month or two later, I saw the bike again. It was being pedaled down Sandy Blvd. by a guy in lime green coveralls. I think he had dreadlocks. He may have been wearing a pink hard hat. Anyway, we’ve been doing series of posts here called “This Is My Bike” for a while now, and what I loved about that was how it showed how bikes can be a reflection of the rider—in the same way a dog and its master strangely resemble one another. This was one of the most overt expressions of that. It reminded me that we need to resurrect our TIMB posts. And that I should have been on my bike next to him instead of in my car.
It’s Friday and the sun has broken through, giving us a taste of spring. Biking with somebody you’ve got a crush on to somewhere you can get a buzz on is one of the things we look forward to most when the mercury rises. Which brings to mind a couple pieces of art that capture that feeling, no matter what the weather is doing. The top image is a poster available for $10 from Buy Olympia and the second is from PaperCutsbyJoe on Etsy, the ideal $40 “paper anniversary” gift.
Posted by Alex | December 9th, 2010 | Filed under Bikes, Music
What do you do when you’re an Australian in London without a car or a drum kit, but have a serious need to create beats? David Osborne turned his bike upside down, designed a mobile drum set, and set off busking:
I was originally thinking of carrying around a small drum kit on the tube and buses but then one day when I was looking at my bike I just thought it was the perfect drum frame for some toy drums!
A profile of David’s one-bike band, Puncture Kit, is in the first issue of Boneshaker magazine, recently released as a PDF. Check it out. Live busking video below—skip to 1min where the action starts:
Have you caught the film profiles accompanying Nau’s new portrait series, The Provacateurs? Going behind the scenes of photographer Eden Batki’s location shoots, filmmakers Thomas Oliver and Jordan Strong capture the subjects of this seasons portraits at work. Check out the first four profiles, launched last week at nau.com, or have a look at these two new clips, which just dropped Tuesday:
What’s not to love about Daniel Sharp? We first hired him to shoot with us three years ago, and he’s been the principal photographer for Nau ever since. His photos are spontaneous and real, smart and unfettered, which, we’ve found, is a lot like him.
Designer by day, cyclist all the time, Shannon Holt doesn’t draw a line between her work and her play. After designing a cycling jersey four years ago that spun the notion of cycling attire on its head (goodbye corporate logos), a new anti-brand was born.
Apropos of our earlier post about Mast Chocolate and “Sailing The Beans,” we recently spotted the new delivery vehicle belonging to our favorite provider of early morning wake-ups and late afternoon energy, Stumptown Coffee. Very cool.
Posted by Alex | September 27th, 2010 | Filed under Bikes, Design
Spotted this bike shelf from Knife & Saw over on Coolhunting. Beautiful design, simple solution, elegant execution. If I had a wishlist, this would be on it.
A week ago, Brett and Edie got married. Three days later, they set out from our home of Portland, Oregon back to their home of Brooklyn, NY, aside a matching pair of neon pink and yellow Independent Fabrications bikes. Today, they’re somewhere east of Pomeroy, WA.
Pedaling across the country might not be everyone’s idea of a perfect honeymoon, but these two seem up to the challenges that 60-100 mile days with loaded panniers present. After all, covering that distance is one thing; having the wherewithall to upload erudite posts every evening afterward? That’s tough.
The Thought Kitchen is our effort at collective inquiry and its power to affect change. Have you ever noticed how the party is always in the kitchen? There are more walls to lean on and people are energized by the proximity to food and drink. Well, welcome to our kitchen, where we hope to tap into everything we love about that feeling—community, vivacious exchange, food for thought.
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