Giving the Term "Airhead" New Meaning

This is a super cool post I got via Treehugger. Basically, all of us at one point or another have decided that we couldn't bike somewhere because we didn't want our hair looking ridiculous when we got there (my hair does this funky thing where it gets flat in all the areas EXCEPT where the air vents don't press it to my head, resulting in my looking like a much less cool Rufio). No longer. Thanks to Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, there now exists an alternative: the Hövding, a sort of air bag for your head.

The Hövding is worn around your neck like a collar (reference the woman in the picture above) and it deploys, just like a car air bag, when internal accelerometers detect abnormal movements. Observe:



Then again, maybe you're better off getting helmet head then riding around with a giant explosive collar around your neck...

Image provided by Hövding

The Worlds First Bendable Bike

As someone who has had plenty of bike pieces stolen over the years (including a carbon fiber fork just this weekend from my LOCKED garage) I like the idea of this bike. It is pretty sweet -- basically the entire frame is made from these short pieces that are connected through some type of ratchet mechanism within the frame itself. When you are riding the bike, the mechanism is in locked mode, and the frame is sturdy just like a metal frame. When you are ready to park it though, you just push a button and the ratchet mechanism unlocks, turning your bike into some kind of mutant gumby transport. You can then literally fold the entire thing around a pole as shown in the picture above and lock it to itself using a small, pocket sized u-lock.

I'm betting the gears only come fixed...

There Goes My $1 Million iPhone App

Bad news first: my latest million dollar iphone application scheme has come to an end (not that it ever got past the initial dreaming stages, but lets not dwell on that). The good news: the reason my app idea is defunct is because Google beat me to the punch, and they most certainly did a better job with it than I ever could have hoped to do. The idea: to add a new layer to Google maps specifically for cyclists.

Google has added two new functions for bikers. First, it has uploaded an incredibly extensive array of bike trails and bike lanes in major cities all around the country. This information is easily accessed by selecting "Bicycling" from the maps layer button labeled "More..." in the top right corner of Google Maps. Making this selection will cause several new symbols to overlay on the Google map: a dark green line indicating a bike path with no motor vehicles, a light green line showing regular streets with MARKED bike lanes, and dotted green lines showing streets specifically for cyclists -- usually streets with low traffic. How they got that last bit of information I can't even begin to guess.

Second, you can now get biking directions the same way you used to be able to get walking, driving or public transit directions (by selecting "Bicycling" from the drop down menu). This is the aspect of this new technology I find the most useful (and that made up my million dollar app idea).

Clearly, this program still has bugs. I tried mapping out several different routes I take on a regular basis and Google keeps telling me to go ways that I know are not the best ways to go. In one case it even told me to go the wrong way down a one way street because that street had a designated bike path (it does, but it too is one way). My guess is that over the next few months cyclists from all over the country will be filing thousands of bugs and Google will use their feedback to get this new feature up to par. In the meantime, I need to come up with a new million dollar app idea.

The Tour de Fat, or Why I Love New Belgium

The Tour de Fat is one of the reasons why the New Belgium Brewing Company is on my top five list of great companies. Some of the other reasons may be found here.

Basically, the New Belgium Brewing Company was created after the founder was inspired (divinely perhaps?) while on a bike trek through Belgium visiting some of the best breweries in the world. Upon returning to the US, he made it his mission to recreate the best of the Belgian beers right here in America. He named his new brewery New Belgium, and named its first official beer after the mountain bike with "fat tires" he had used to ride across the country of his inspiration.

Now that the name of both the brewery and its flagship beer are known from coast to coast, conventional wisdom states that the company should have sold out its original intentions and realized its full potential as a money making enterprise. Not so. Fortunately for everyone involved, while the company is making more money than a 32 year old dude on a bike trek across Belgium ever could have imagined, it is still 100% true to its roots. And that means bikes.

For instance, some of the great perks of being a New Belgium employee (in addition to all the fat tire you can drink) include a free geeked out cruiser bike after you've worked there for one full year, and a parking lot with almost as many spots for bikes as there are for cars. But the coolest thing us non-employees get to enjoy (in addition to all the paid for yet delicious beer we can drink) is the Tour de Fat.

The Tour de Fat is essentially a traveling carnival dedicated to bikes. It begins with a community ride around an area, similar to Critical Mass except that it is actually licensed by the city, and then ends at a fairground complete with a corral filled with awesome art bikes for everyone to enjoy and a giant stage where bands play, contests are held, and a mock New Orleans style funeral is held for car culture.

Now, this is all free. The only thing that isn't is the beer. And when it comes to beer sales, in each major city the tour goes to, it partners with a local bike friendly non-profit (in my fine city that is the SFBC) and gives a portion of all profits to that organization.

The moral of this story? New Belgium is awesome, and everyone reading this should go to a Tour de Fat event if one is taking place near them. To all my SF brothers and sisters, that event is tomorrow, Saturday the 25th of September at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park.

See ya there.

Images provided by New Belgium Brewing Co. and The Green Dude

San Franciscans - How to Get a Free Bike Rack

When the bike improvement injunction is lifted in mid-2009, San Francisco is planning on installing nearly 1,000 new bike racks throughout the city. Make sure you get one where it will help you.


The SFBC (San Francisco Bike Coalition) has a handy little form you can fill out to request your bike rack. Just go to the Fix It! page and submit the quick form to let the city know. All they need is the address or business name and street. The city still needs additional requests to meet their goal, so keep them coming!

Image provided by LancerE

GM-Segway "PUMA" Hybrid - ROWR?

Wow, the blogosphere is really blowing up over this announcement. Apparently, GM and Segway are partnering to design a new "car" called the PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), a small, two wheeled vehicle designed to ease congestion and pollution problems in cities. So far, it seems to be getting mixed reviews.

According to GM, the PUMA runs on lithium ion batteries, can reach 35 miles per hour, and can travel up to 35 miles between charges. It also boasts some other sweet futuristic features, like the ability to know where other PUMA's are on the road, leaving the door open to the possibility of an eventual autopilot feature.

The attacks are coming from several places. Many people believe (I think correctly) that this is a PR stunt to clear GM of the stigma associated with the fact that it killed the electric car, and to boost its general standing as it attempts to restructure with help from the Obama Administration. I think these both go without saying, but it doesn't really bother me as long as we get a sweet, viable electric car out of it.

Others are miffed that a bicycle, a pair of shoes, public transportation or even a rickshaw are cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternatives. To these people I reply that comparing a bike or a pair of running shoes to the PUMA is comparing apples and oranges. We can't compare two products based on what they can do (get a person from place to place), but rather based on who will buy them (ie. potential market share).

I had an argument along these lines with a good friend back when the Segway first came out. To me, it seemed like the Segway was just the lazy person's bike (or worse, feet). Years before Wall-E, I was already envisioning a world full of fat lazy people who never had to walk anywhere.

The point my friend argued, which I now (mostly) agree with, is that the intended market share for the Segway was short distance commuters, ie. the people currently driving their cars short distances, not biking or walking them. The Segway was not meant to decrease market share for bikes or take over sidewalks -- it was intended to serve as a viable replacement for cars in urban areas. And it would have too, if not for the fact that (guess who!) the major car companies successfully lobbied to have Segways declared not street legal.

I see this new Segway/car the same way. The main difference is that this new version will now be labeled street legal because one of the Big Three has a vested interest in it. I have no intention of turning in my bike for one of these things, but I know a lot of short distance commuters who might be easily convinced to substitute it for their cars.

Although PUMA, guys -- really? I understand that you have a cool acronym there, but can't you at least come up with some sweet animal name that hasn't been used yet?

Ford Puma:Not so sweet.

Actual Puma:
Sweet.

Images provided by coltmaverick, exfordy and bslmmrs

Six of the Coolest Green Work Policies

LOVE the latest article from the people over at SustainLane - looking at the best workplace bonus policies from a green perspective. Some quick highlights:

The New Belgium Brewing Company gives all employees a free bike after one year on the job, in addition to offering an on-site climbing wall, yoga classes, and a 50-acre cyclo-cross track.

Clif Bar & Co. lets employees work incredibly flexible hours (80 hours per 9 business days rather than the standard 9-10 hours per day) so employees can take longer blocks of time off for outdoor trips.

One of the coolest packages I have ever seen, REI offers everything from health care for part time employees, flexible schedules and 50 percent public transit subsidies for commuters to lunchtime bike rides and Ultimate Frisbee. To help people pursue their passions, the clothing giant even allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a year.

I wouldn't put these on par with working at the Google campus (funnest afternoon I ever spent "working"), but I wouldn't complain about any of them either.

Puma pimps out with a glow in the dark bicycle

I think this would look pretty slick at the next Critical Mass (Burning Man too, although at more than $1,600, I don't think I'll be taking it out to the salt flats anytime in the near future). Comes in two colors: milk to green (pictured below) and a dull orange to bright day-glo orange. Oh, and did I mention it folds?




Images provided by highsnobiety

Live in San Francisco? Get a Free Bike Rack Installed Wherever you Want One

As most of you know, a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled San Franciscan (did I spell that right?) halted all bike improvements to the city of San Francisco until a full environmental report was drawn up to prove that bike improvements are actually good for the environment. I love the fact that I live in a city where one crotchety dude can have such an impact, but I am pretty bummed that the impact happened to be negative to biking. Got to give him credit for the environmental argument though -- very creative.

Anyway, the city has completed its review and is now waiting for the injunction to be lifted. When the bike improvement injunction is lifted in mid-2009, San Francisco is planning on installing nearly 1,000 new bike racks throughout the city. Make sure you get one where it will help you.

The SFBC has a handy little form you can fill out to request your bike rack. Just go to the Fix It! page and submit the quick form to let the city know. All they need is the address or business name and street. When the injunction is lifted in mid-2009, the City has a goal to install nearly 1,000 racks on sidewalks. The City still needs an additional 200 requests to meet their goal, so keep them coming!

Image provided by Adam Pieniazek