In case you missed it - The First of At Least A Few Ride To Work E-mails

Yes, it’s coming, and no, I’m not going to shut up about it. Practice your stretches. Dust off your Stackhat. In two short months National Ride To Work Day will be here (October 15^th), and I’m not taking any lip.

Here (in a shameless rip-off of Letterman’s classic Top Ten format) are the

Top Ten Reasons You Should Do It.

10. For registering to ride your bicycle you could win… a bicycle! Last year it was this or this.

09. It’s easier than it looks.

08. All the cool people are doing it.

07. So is this guy.

06. There will be a free breakfast (Kate Guest has promised muffins).

05. There will be prizes (as yet unspecified) for various award categories (also unspecified).

04. I’ll be your friend.

03. Unleaded was about 144.9 per litre last I checked. Think about it.

02. The environment, and all that.

01. You couldn’t look dorkier than Peter Garrett did.

But It’s Too Far

This is one of the most difficult hurdles, and oftentimes it’s fair enough. Look into cycling to the nearest train, or cycle in and then train back, or some kind of cycle/car pool combination. It’s Ride To Work day, after all. Bear in mind that you may have to get up a bit earlier than usual – for capacity reasons Connex have banned bikes on peak hour trains (rather than, you know, running more trains).

I’m Worried That It’s Dangerous

If you need to mix it with motorized traffic, then risk is a factor, certainly. If you’re interested in riding but think you might freak out, let me know. We can always pair you up with an experienced bicycle commuter in your area. Also, weekend practice rides are great confidence boosters. Remember that not only is cycling safer than it seems, but Ride To Work Day is the safest day of the year to do it.

I’m Really Unfit

The great thing about cycling is that you can go as slow as you like. Give yourself plenty of time and enjoy it. Besides which, Cadel Evans just rode the Olympic times trials with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament and placed 5^th. In the world. Comparatively, commuting is a doddle.

I Also Have No Bike / An Un-roadworthy Bike

Well, you’ve got two months, get cracking! Just speak to a cycling co-worker and if they can’t point you in the direction of a decent bike store and a few product suggestions, they will know someone who can. If you are attached to your current bike, but so are cobwebs, get a cycling pal to look it over and recommend a repair store/course of action. Flat tires and a rusty chain are an easy fix! If it’s a matter of moolah, you’d be surprised how many of us have spare bikes…

Okay, okay, where’s the link already?

Click here to go to the Ride To Work Day homepage, and then click ‘Participant Registration’ on the right of screen.

The Omnilab Melbourne Team number is 866733 – you need to enter that number to be registered as a member of Team Us.

I’m hopeless with these entry form things, can’t you just do it for me?

Certainly. Just forward me your name, contact number, and date of birth.

Thanks,

Simon

P.S. I’ll be bugging you all again in a month’s time…

P.P.S. If you’d like to contribute foodstuffs etc, I’d love to hear from you.

If you worked for Little Creatures...

... you'd be riding a very cool bike by now.

Just saying.

Saving Motorists $35m a Year So That They Can Honk at Us for Not Allowing Them to Perform an Illegal Left-Lane Overtake...

Okay, that's a bit bitter of me, but you'd think people would cut bicycle commuters some slack considering all the money we save them.

Thanks to Georgia and Di for the link.

Securing Quick Release Seats - A Tip Both Retro & Green

This unfortunate photo  - taken in downtown NYC - is the sole property of this guy.

I don't understand quick-release skewers. An adjustable wrench is a pretty easy tool to operate, and yet bicycles marketed as commuter bikes are sold with quick-release everything. Front wheel, rear wheel, seat post - everything held in place by these little levers that say "take me, opportunistic bicycle thief, I'm free".

If you park your bike on the street often, and don't remove your seat regularly, here's a trick to take the seat and seat post out of the 'theft of opportunity' equation. This is also good for bikes with hex nut or allen nut secured seats, as it provides an extra layer of protection.

For this you'll need;

1x old bicycle chain
1x old/dead inner tube
12x cable ties
1x roll of black electrical tape
1x pair of scissors
1x chain breaker tool

Ask a fellow cyclist if you don't have any of these.

1. Take the chain and, if it's not already broken open, use the chain breaker tool to push one of the pins out 90% of the way so that you can disconnect the links without completely dislodging the pin. I can give you a demo if you're interested, or you can see a quick 'how to' here.


2. Pass the chain through the rails of the seat (underneath), then under and around the seat stays (the tubes that come up from the rear wheel to meet under the seat) and back to the rails. You should have a loop of chain that (once reconnected) will secure the seat to the frame.


3. Pull the chain tight so that there is little slack. Try to be gentle - bare chain can scratch your frame up pretty bad (we'll get to that later). You are going to shorten the chain using the chain breaker, so make a note of where the chain should be broken to remove the slack. Bear in mind that a chain consists of inner and outer links - you need to place one link inside the other for this to work. It's best to shorten the 'inner' end that doesn't have the pin hanging out.
   


4. Break the chain at the point you have selected using the chain breaker in the same way you did for step one. If you've chosen the correct link the 'new' end should fit inside the end with the pin attached.
   


5. Check that the ends do in fact reach. If they don't you'll have to add 2 links back on. A little bit of slack is ok. 
   


6. Take the chain out from around the seat and frame (gently to avoid scratching) and lay it down next to your inner tube. Cut a section of inner tube to the same length.
   


7. Run the chain through the inner tube and (making sure the chain is just inside either end) use the cable ties to tighten the inner tube around the chain. This is to prevent the chain scratching your bike, and also to prevent the chain from rusting.
   


8. Run the chain back through the seat and frame as before, then use the chain breaker to drive the pin back through the links until it is 1/2mm above flush with the side of the chain (it should be the same on both sides). Flex the link back and forth, side to side to make sure it's back in properly.
   


9. Use the electrical tape to tape the ends of the inner tube closed (this keeps water out).
   

There you have it. Your seat is secure, you've learnt how to use a chain breaker, and you've re-used parts that might otherwise have gone to landfill.

Is it just me?

Or is this the stupidest thing you've ever read?

Not only the little bicycle analogy (let's just put all of Sydney's cyclists in cars and see how fast the traffic moves for you Michael), but the nuclear debate too.

I mean, the Hubbert Peak applies to all limited natural resources. The problem isn't that nuclear as a temporary, base-load power solution is going to mutate our babies - it's that it only puts off the inevitable. One day we'll run out of the raw materials, our electricity usage will have increased exponentially, and our renewable technologies (under-funded, under-researched, under-implemented) will be even more woefully inadequate than we believe them to be now.

Environmentalists have finally convinced the more apathetic members of the community, and they're acting like irritated parents forced to help direct the school play - "no, you're not having costumes, no special effects, no third act".

No repeat seasons at this rate, either.

Annoying...

I rolled out through the front gate this morning just in time to see the garbos hoist a complete bike into the back of the truck, and then compact it.

If you have a bike you have no use for, you can donate it to these guys, these guys, these guys or these guys, and help keep the entry level for new cyclists cheap and environmentally friendly.

Re-use rocks.