A Bike for Your Kid

Sometimes I think those families out on the Greenbelt aren’t there ’cause Mom and Dad want to ride. They’re riding ’cause they’ve got to get all those kids out of the house. If taking your kid for a bike ride gets you on a bike, great. Let’s make sure those kids have bikes that workk for them, though. –Corrie

Don’t spin your wheels: Pick a bicycle that your child will like

Published May 27, 2008 by theMorningCall.com

The biggest mistake parents make when choosing a bike is getting one that is too big. ”If it’s too big, it’ll be harder for a child to control it,” says Stephen Madden, vice president of Bicycling magazine, which is published by Rodale of Emmaus. ”They could hurt themselves.”

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Buy the Right Bike

If you’re looking for a first bike, here are some tips–Corrie

Bike Buying Tips

Looking to buy a new bike? It can seem overwhelming with all the choices and options out there. But the process can be easy when you work through these guides to help you make a smart decision:

Bike Commuting Links to get you started

Don’t subscribe to Forbes? Neither do I but Forbes published an article about commuting and sited Commute By Bike, a blog dedicated to commuter cycling. As we close out Bike Month, it is fitting to share Commet By Bike’s welcome links covering posts to get you started and keep you commuting.–Corrie

Welcome to New Readers From Forbes

This is a site dedicated to helping the bike commuter get where they’re going safely and efficiently. Here you’ll find tips, product reviews and news on all things related to commuting by bike.

Below are a few links that will help you get started.

Idaho Gas Prices

The Bike Nazi of Boise is back with his ever-irascible opinions. I can’t help thinking about all the homes–not just ranches–but homes that do not look to be working frams–that we saw on the way to Heller Bar a couple of Sundays ago. Sure there are ranches but these are self-contained. I’m talking about those big ol’ shacks we see popping up on both sides of the river. Isn’t it a God-given right to get away from the madding crowd? Gas prices are just un-American, aren’t they? Read the Nazi and be sure to follow the link to the Statesmen article on Idaho gas prices that set him off.–Corrie

Are the good times really over?

Merle Haggard - a favorite of mine - penned a song a few years back by that title. The chorus goes like this:

Are we rollin’ downhill like a snowball headed for Hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the Liberty Bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now, and are the good times really over for good?

TRC Shirts and Socks

Lance is holding the bag–literaly. He’s got a bag full of cotton Ts from the Winchester Bite  the Bullet ride as well as some good cool max socks with Bite the Bullett embroidered in red.

He’s letting the shirts go for $1 but he says the socks are too nice. $5.00 for a pair of coll-max socks. Still not bad.

He hasn’t given me an inventory, so if you are interested email Lance at lance@clarkston.com

Weekend Ride Invitations 5/31-6/1

Anybody up for 100 miler on saturday……kind of like the cherry on top of the bike month sundae?

That’s was Doug’s innocent inquiry. Did he really have to ask? Up for a century, Me? Well, if you insist.

Actually I was considering calling for a long ride on Sunday as a way of getting a good start on June mileage, my May mileage already at over 1,000. Still, an offer’s an offer. I suggested Pullman, Moscow, Kendrick. This is 110 miles figuring from the boat launch. I plan to ride to Pullman and across the Chipman Trail. Let’s hope for a west wind though that’s unlikely given recent patterns.

Hey, good news. We actually had an ice cream ride on Tuesday despite threatening clouds. I checked the radar and saw them heading north and west. We had a great ride at over 70 degrees. Oh, and the ice cream is still good, especially Baseball Nut.

Don’t forget the time trials on Thursday on down river road. I don’t ride ‘em myself much, but if you want to feel like you’ve ridden 100 miles and want to puke up your guts without the trouble of actually taking the time to ride 100 miles, the time trials are just the thing. Chris likes ‘em better when the temps are high-say 90 to 100. You can almost always count on a head wind too at least one way or maybe both. Do I make them sound too attractive?

Saturday, June 1 7:30 start from the Southway Boat Launch for Doug’s May Mileage Cherry Topping Century.

You do ride the Spiral highway just to get you started, but once you’ve hit Pullman, the ride gets easier. Sure there are some climbs maybe even some little hills but nothing anything like the Spiral and its mostly rolling hills, one steep down hill, and then just the ride back from Kendrick. Chocolate sundae with a cherry on top.

Sunday, June 1 1pm start. Southway Boat Launch

Aren’t many of these left. A couple of Sundays in June we’ve scheduled longer rides. By July, we like to start earlier to beat the heat.

Standard Disclosure: If it’s rainin’ I’m not spinin’ from the Southway Boat launch or anywhere else that may be noted above.

–Corrie

Women’s Lib Arrived on Bicycles

Women liberated by the creation of the safety bike. .–Corrie

Published May 20, 2008 by CNN
By Christopher Connolly

Susan B. Anthony once said, “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.” A woman on a bicycle, the equal rights champion observed, presents “the picture of free and untrammeled womanhood.”

Pedalers 4 a Cure

The club got a letter from the Anna River Pedalers in support of this cross-country fund raiser/bike ride which will be coming through Lewiston on the 1st of August.

My mother had breast cancer and a club member, Maureen, I think, recovered from the disease recently. Some of us might wish to support the group with donations or just ride out to meet them on Friday, Aug 1 or ride a bit with them on Saturday as they head toward Walla Walla. I’ll let you know when they are expected if the schedule changes. Or, you can follow their progress yourself at their website. Pedalers 4 a Cure

–Corrie

Now that’s noisy

The thing I like about my bike is not its speed. Rather, I love the silence. Don’t think I’m picking up one of these jet powered versions anytime soon.–Corrie

The 75 MPH Bicycle That’s Powered by a Jet Engine

Robert Maddox is a builder and seller of real pulse jet engines with powers up to 1000 pounds… and if that’s not a cool enough hobby, he’s also bolted one to a bicycle. The 50-ish pounds of thrust developed by the engine could push the bike up to 75 MPH, which would be a real bone-shaker of a ride. And a deafening one too: the pulse jet engine makes a frightening racket, and its humming sound earned the 2nd World War cruise-missile V1s which used similar engines the nicknames buzzbomb and doodlebug. You can hear and see the results of this DIY craziness in the video.

Illustrated Bicycle History

These 8 short pieces give a quick over view of the evolution of the bicycle. One caveat. The article on the bicycle in World War I misses the fact that There was a US Army bicycle unit created and stationed in Missoula, Mt before the turn of the 20th century.–Corrie

An Illustrated Bicycle History

The celerifere - one of the earliest bike prototypes - had no pedals or steering.

Library of Congress