It’s so easy to pull over on a bicycle and watch the sun set. Life is too short to drive past all the beauty.
four thousand mile stare
Jon Triantafyllou‘s 4500 mile stare.
We mentioned him a couple weeks ago in the Surly/Schwalbe portrait, but we wanted to share this photo. Obviously we’re big fans of his epic ride across America last sumer.
If you see him around Denton, say hi. He’s a super nice guy and can tell you what it’s like to ride from San Diego to New Jersey.
Regular folks doing extraordinary things, you rule.
Supernova E3 and Shimano Alfine
Lights without batteries; that’s what I’m talking about. And not those faint lights with whirring, tire-rubbing bottle generators from decades past. I’ve been using the Supernova E3 and Shimano Alfine dynamo hub for about a year, and I love both of these.
The E3 is a ~300 lumen 130 gram beauty, machined from 6061 aluminum. It uses a Cateye style clamp which allows for a decent pivot range. During a recent off-road commute detour, I was able to pivot the light to illuminate upcoming turns. It features a “stand-light”, which means it continues to glow for a few minutes when you stop, despite not having a battery. 300 lumens is about 100 more than the Dinotte 200AA I reviewed last year. While using this light, I’ve been mistaken for a motorcycle, complimented, and cars respectfully yield to me more than ever. You can actually see the road with this sign; it’s not just a faint beacon. If you need more, there’s the E3 Triple with 800 lumens of battery-free goodness.
The Alfine front hub (3D72) is an Ultegra spec 6W generator that can power lights and devices. I had it built up by Anthony at LongLeaf using a stout Velocity Dyad 36-hole rim, good enough for mountain bike duty on my 29’r. It features a centerlock disc-brake rotor mount, and a solid connector for the light. I’ve taken this wheel on and off countless times, and the connector hasn’t ever slipped off or loosened despite all the jostling. At walking speeds the light begins to flicker a usable amount of light, and at what feels like 5mph the flicker becomes a solid beam.
Even beyond commuting and touring, there’s been discussion of using the Alfine and E3 for ultra-endurance racing like the Tour Divide ~3,000 mile race from Canada to Mexico. It beats carrying batteries, worrying about running out of power, and using much dimmer headlamps.
I love this setup. I have no complaints about it, and I love not having to worry about carrying charged batteries. It’s liberating to jump on the bike and ride with hassle-free illumination for the next 5 or 5000 miles.
Querencia opening
After closing in April of 2010, the Querencia Community Bike Shop reopened yesterday at 411 E. Sycamore, next to Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios. They’ve resumed regular Saturday hours (check qcbs.org for schedule), and they welcome volunteers of all skill levels.
If you don’t know Querencia, it’s a 501c3 nonprofit that provides bicycle tools and guidance to teach Denton citizens how to repair their own bicycles. They’ve given bikes to kids, repaired bikes for the homeless, and they’re now working on a kids holiday bike giveaway.
Hit-and-run at Oakland & Locust
Thursday around 5PM, 52 year old Pete Davis was trying to ride across Locust at Oakland, and Denton police say he failed to yield to traffic and was struck by a white car. The driver of the white car hesitated briefly and then sped off, leaving Pete on the ground. According to Texas law, the driver committed a third-degree felony by fleeing the scene. Pete was transported to the hospital where he was treated.
Local church pastor Ross Appleton of C3 Denton explained that the car hit Pete’s back wheel, and paramedics said his backpack saved his life. Ross says Pete’s knee is severely hyperextended and he is in a lot of pain unable to walk. Pete had been homeless recently, but was on the upswing and working at a manual labor job, which may be impossible now.
Without anything to go on besides the car color, catching the assailant seems unlikely, but this story does send a message – if we hit someone, injure them, and fail to remain at the scene, it’s a 3rd degree felony.
If we hear anything else from the Denton PD, you’ll hear about it here.
Surly and Schwalbe portrait
Jon Triantafyllou rode this Surly Cross Check across America, 4500 miles from San Diego to Jersey City, during the summer of 2010. He says these Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires went from Del Rio, TX to Jersey City with only one flat. Jon’s ride charity, Bike Towards the Cure, raised over $18,000 for cancer research, and they’re about to cross over into marathons soon. We always love running into Jon, who can be found riding across America, sailing, studying, running, or volunteering at the community bike shop.
Tribute to Big Mike’s bike rack
I went to Big Mike’s Coffee this week, and to my surprise, the rack was at capacity (13 bikes) and I had to lock to a parking meter. Thus, it’s time for a tribute post to that rack.
If there’s one bike rack in town that’s never empty (excluding the college campuses), it’s at Big Mike’s Coffee. Anyone who’s lived here since Big Mike’s opened can attest to the striking visual presence of seeing all these bikes, parked in what used to be a car spot on the street.
That spot is technically a loading zone, according to the city. Mike has to submit a loading zone application every year, along with $175, and then the Traffic Safety Commission approves the loading zone. The irony is that all those beer trucks that block half a lane of traffic daily at this same intersection are not using paid loading zone spaces, and they do the same on the square. Ugh.
So Mike also has to pay to share a car lot around the corner, for spaces he doesn’t necessarily need, because of a zoning requirement. Should bike parking be required for developers and work in lieu of car parking, as it is in Forth Worth? Should the city provide bike parking stalls, or at least staple racks along curbs?
These are some questions you might consider asking during the upcoming Bike Master Plan meetings for Denton. Fort worth’s city council thought this important enough to add on after the passage of their master plan. Bike parking is one of the top requirements for any bike-friendly city, as you can see from the League of American Bicyclists criteria.
Update on Eagle drive accident – cyclist identified
The man who was hit yesterday on Eagle drive is Mason Lynass, a percussion performance major at UNT, aiming to get into the Jazz Studies program.
Through speaking with him, we learned that his concussion caused memory loss and he doesn’t recall the accident specifics, although his condition is stable. He said he’s glad the hospital allows him to eat solid food today, and he’s still at the hospital for a bit longer, pending tests.
Overall, he sounded stable and optimistic, and we wish him a speedy and full recovery. Having spent time under ER scrutiny for my own bike-related concussion, it is absolutely not fun.
SUV hits cyclist on Eagle
Today around 5:00PM, an SUV struck a man who was cycling on Eagle Drive near Welch, mangling the bicycle, injuring the cyclist, and scattering belongings across the ground. The injured cyclist was taken to an area hospital and is reportedly in stable condition, although a large blood stain is visible in the photo near the cloth bag and shoes. No arrests or charges were made.
According to officers at the scene, the cyclist was riding east in the same direction as traffic, on the south sidewalk, and the SUV was traveling west on Eagle, making a left turn across the street where it hit the cyclist head-on.
In April 2010, city engineers produced a whitepaper and presentation that both suggested Eagle and Welch as possible candidates for bike lane installation.
Sidewalk riding is considered extremely dangerous by most cycling advocates, and it is studied and endlessly debated within the cycling community. We always recommend riding in the street and avoiding the sidewalk, but it’s going to happen, especially in the absence of bike lanes and education. Adding to the confusion, many UNT students ride on sidewalks within the campus and continue to do so off campus. There are at least four college dormitories along Eagle, two of them carfree, so there is quite a bit of walking and biking in the vicinity.
This is a pretty hot topic, so keep the comments civil, please.
Awesome Lube Signage
We saw this in Austin a couple weeks ago. We’ll give away a t-shirt or a beer if you can say exactly where it is.
