Monday, January 30, 2012

Product Review: Po Campo Logan Tote


When it comes to bike accessories, the norm is function over fashion. Utilitarian and stylish are two words that are not commonly associated with each other. But with the recent increase of commuting cyclists, companies that focus their goods around being hip and durable have popped up around the globe. One of these companies is Po Campo, a utilitarian hand bag company that focuses their products around cycling.

Not typically a handbag type of girl, I gave the Po Campo Logan Tote a go after seeing it at Interbike and on the Terry website. Coming in various patterns, I chose the waxed canvas for its classic look and water resistant properties. This spacious yet mid sized bag can be attached to the top of a rack while you ride and slung over your shoulder when you are walking around town.

I put the water repellent feature of it to the test while biking around town during a sudden down pour. My laptop and various accoutrements inside stayed dry and the reflective strips on the side helped keep me visible. Road grime that got on the bag wiped off the waxed canvas easily. The bright blue interior color of the Logan Tote also made finding small items easy while fumbling around under a street lamp for my bike lock. Over all, this bag does what it is intended to do, hold a lot of stuff and look great.

To purchase a Po Campo visit Mark down at Saturday Cycles, he stocks three different styles and two colors.


Friday, January 27, 2012

New SLC transportation director, Hutcheson, appointed by Mayor Becker

New transportation director, Robin
Hutcheson (Photo: Salt Lake City)
Following former Salt Lake City Transportation Division director Tim Harpst's retirement earlier this month, Salt Lake City mayor's office has appointed Robin Hutcheson as the city's new Transportation Director. She brings with her many years of national and international experience in transportation planning and sustainable planning initiatives. More locally, Hutcheson has been a key player in the development and design of the Complete Streets ordinance, the Sugar House Streetcar corridor, and other sustainable transportation projects.

From a press release dated January 26th, 2012, Hutcheson is described as an effective bicycle transportation planner and dedicated cyclists and outdoor enthusiast. In addition to other traits, Hutcheson will provide excellent leadership and expertise in furthering the City's initiative to be increasingly bicycle-friendly,

"In her new position Hutcheson will manage programs for sustainable transportation modes such as bicycle and pedestrian travel and streetcar network development as well as lead evaluations of transportation  issues, traffic operations and parking. As director, she will contribute to  policy development to support Salt Lake City’s livability goals, focusing on key transportation initiatives to improve mobility, access and quality of life.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Tonight! 4th Annual BIKEDANCE - 2012

Free food and drinks! Critical Mass! Film screening! Music by Holy Water Buffalo!

BIKEDANCE 2012 will start at 5:30pm on Thursday, January 26th, at White Pine Touring (1790 Bonanza Drive, Park City, UT). We'll have free food and beverages from our generous sponsors Sidecar Pizza, Back Door Delicatessen and Moab Brewery! 

Once you are properly fueled we'll have a critical mass ride from White Pine Touring to Flanagan's on main. Once we hit the door at Flanagan's we'll showing 2nd Base Films "From The Inside Out". After the film we'll be presenting city leaders and Charlie Sturgis, Director of Mountain Trails Foundation, with Park City's IMBA Gold Level Ride Center award! This is a huge honor for our town and you won't want to miss it. As soon as the award presentation is over Holy Water Buffalo is going to rock the house! 

We will be requesting a $10.00 donation to participate in the event. A portion of the proceeds will go to purchase one World Bicycle Relief bike with the remainder of the funds raised

Thursday Night 999 Ride (Tonight!)

Everybody loves a casual ride around town with friends, right? The Thursday Night Ride (now commonly known as the 999 ride, formerly known as Evening in the City with Naresh) was started months ago by Naresh, a popular face in the SaltCycle community, and happens every Thursday night. The ride meets outside Coffee Garden on 9th South and 9th East at 9 pm (but this ride isn't exactly known for leaving right at 9:00, so hang around if you're the first one there).

What to expect: casual speeds, group-minded riding, friends (old and new), and sometimes a drink at a local bar. Bring your friends, come alone, ride your cruiser, commuter, carbon frame or beater bike. Anything goes!

Naresh, founder and faithful leader of 999, pictured with his beloved "Gail" (right).

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tales from the Top Tube: It's not always sunny



The worst day as a bike delivery guy begins in New York, with a snowstorm. Icy tracks that grab your wheel and slip the ground out from under you. Your breath freezes on your face and your chest shudders as the air rushes down your zipper into your core. 

Sugar House Streetcar Public Workshop this Thursday!



Calling all cyclists in the Salt Lake Valley! The Sugar House Streetcar project is holding a public workshop THIS THURSDAY January 26 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Kimball Distributing, 2233 South 300 East, South Salt Lake City. Attend this meeting to  help design  and critique the open greenway space and trail which run alongside the streetcar. This is important: let's show them that bike trails and other human-scaled infrastructure is important to us by showing up to this meeting and sharing our opinions. Check out the website here, or click more for more information. 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Martie Nightingale

Meet Martie Nightingale, nurse midwife, member of the Cutthroat racing team,
high heel cyclist, and all around bad ass. (Photo: Christy Jensen)

Name:
Martie Nightingale

Hometown:
Lafayette, Louisiana

Occupation:
Certified Nurse Midwife

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Tales from the Top Tube: Italy By Bicycle, Sola.

The first night on my bike I slept in a little trench on the retained side of a retaining wall. It had poured rain for three hours, the nearby ocean dumping its contents onto the coast. I was exhausted. It was around 1 AM (I sat out much of the rain under a bridge), I had just biked through the treacherous sprawling city of Genova, Italy, and the campground signs I had followed up a big hill and past an eerie cemetery led me to a very closed “terreno per campeggio.” Not feeling up to sneaking in on my first night, I opted to riding further up the hill, battling the overwhelming desire to drop right where I was, and not exactly sure what I was looking for. A few hundred meters along I saw the retaining wall and the overhanging trees. Perfect. I tossed my paniers onto the 4 or so foot wall, laid out my tarp, took off my wet shoes and socks, and curled up inside my sleeping bag, half of the tarp folded over me. Loud raindrops dripped onto the tarp. I was asleep in seconds. 

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Salt Lake DOT director Tim Harpst retires after 25 years

Salt Lake City Transportation Division Director, Tim Harpst, retired today,
after 25 years as director, and 33 years with Salt Lake City (Photo: Tom Millar)

Prohibited On Sidewalk

An editorial in tomorrow's City Weekly is about the writer's frustration with the downtown 'No Bicycles on Sidewalks' law: How he got a ticket and why he's asking the judge to find him guilty. Check out the article here, and let us know what you think below!

Tales from the Top Tube: Discouragement and Optimism on a Bike

We always hear of the indescribable joy that is experienced from the seat of a bicycle, or the sheer bliss one experiences when all the parts of the bike are moving in fluid harmony, propelling you forward with greater ease than ever before, even riding with less effort along the same road that you always take. Perhaps we romanticize bicycling too much, as the cure for all societal and emotional ills.

There are some days where a bicycle seems to be my worst enemy. These days are very, very few and far between, but when they hit, they seem to come with full force, and try to knock me off my saddle for good. I returned from an amazing Christmas break in California a few weeks ago, during which I spent the majority of my time riding my bike up and down mountains, over bridges, and through the fog. It was a delightful time, full of that bliss that defies all words. Upon my return, I spent most of the day unpacking, putting bikes back together, getting a little riding in, and having dinner with my sister. It was a great day and it felt good, though bittersweet, to be back in Utah.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Wildflower Pedalfest! Summer Event for the Lady Cyclists!

Attention cycling women of Utah, keep August 18th clear on your summer calendar! The Wildflower Pedalfest is a huge cycling event for women, held in Mountain Green, Utah, a rural and scenic road biking area nestled in the mountain valley of Morgan County.



The all day event consists of a fully-supported ride with courses for all abilities, followed by a delicious catered lunch, raffle, live band, a Women's Cycling expo, and more! 
"If you are a beginner, come to our Beginner Bike Class and choose the 20 mile Sunflower course. For those with a competitive edge, choose the Mountain Bluebell 75 mile course and complete the Wildflower Hill Climb for a special gift and a chance to win a free jersey."
Registration opens February 1st, with a discount for those who register in the first month. This will be a great event and a fun way to ride with or compete against other female riders in Utah. Not to mention all the food and music during the after party. Check out the website, wildflowerpedalfest.com and spread the word!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Ken Gronseth

Ken poses with his commuter.
He built the frame himself.
Meet this week's "Caught On A Bike", Ken Gronseth. Builder of his own bikes, sewing repair man, and one of the nicest people you could ever hope to encounter in a bike lane.

Name: Ken Gronseth

Hometown: New Mexico, but has lived in Salt Lake City since the 1970s

Occupation: Bike mechanic at Bicycle Center, consultant, and sewing repair rock star

Number of Bicycles owned: Four. But my favorite bike is my commuter. I built the frame myself. I have four bikes because you need the right bike for the job.

Favorite Restaurant: The Red Iguana, because it is all around good Mexican food

Favorite place to ride in Salt Lake City: Millcreek for all around riding, but I probably ride Emigration more.

How has cycling in Salt Lake changed since the 70’s? You see more people giving the right of way to cyclists. But going east to West, whew, there are only a couple of ways to get to West Valley on a bike. Urban development has made biking more of a challenge but there are also more bike lanes. The bike path to the airport is nice.

Why do you ride a bike? Two reasons, I don’t have to pay for gas and it is great exercise for the body and mind.


What are your hopes and dreams for cycling? More bicycle infrastructure in Salt Lake City. If you look at other big cities, Portland, Denver, city officials have done more to create bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Salt Lake City keeps talking about an East to West corridor to parley for 30 years, it would be nice to see that happen.


It would also be nice to see more businesses with decent bike racks. It is rare to come across a decent rack. More people on bikes would be great. Lighter weight bikes have made it easier to get people on bikes all the time. I bike in the dark two nights a week. Modern day technology has made it possible to bike in the dark, but people are always seem so amazed when I ride my bike in the dark.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

TOUR DE ALPINE POSTPONED: 2nd Annual Tour de Alpine Saturday, 1/14 (important pre-race info)

RACE AND AFTER PARTY POSTPONED TILL JAN 14th.
SAME TIMES, SAME PLACES. SPREAD THE WORD. 


Spread the word!!! Invite anyone you know who has a bike. After a postponing of the race last Saturday due to snow, we'll now have the Tour de Alpine and after party on Saturday, January 14th, at the same times and same places. Mark your calendars for the coldest race of the year. January 14th can't come soon enough.

The Tour de Alpine was postponed till January 14th.
More info on flyer above.


Updated race info, Strava account info, and sponsors list after the break...

Friday, January 6, 2012

Tales From The Top Tube: A wrencher's manifesto

I went to work today knowing I had at least two bikes to tune and felt giddy to get the day rolling. Not every day is like this at the shop where I work. Although I am a bike mechanic, some times my days are filled with writing copy, talking with customers, and taking care of the shop. The days that I get to work on customers' bikes are the days I love the most. Cleaning, adjusting, lubing, tightening, loosening, straightening. I live for these days. The days where an “impossible bike” comes in with a person who just wants it to run for a few more months. Or the woman who wants to get her husband's Peugeot restored because that is the bike he rode in grad school, twenty years ago.

Each bike tells a story of the person who owns it. Red sand caked on the crank arms means that they have been to Southern Utah recently. Salt residue means they commute in the winter. I love getting to know these bikes and the people who ride them. I occasionally see these people at a stop light, in the bike lane, or at the grocery store. Being able to ask how their bike is doing, or how their new panniers are treating them and hearing them say, “Great!”, brings joy to my day. Seeing how my work has kept them liberated from the confines of an automobile, seven days a week, is the most satisfying of all feelings.

When people ask how I found bicycling, I always tell them it really found me. It sounds cheesy to say, but it is true. I have always ridden bikes, for one reason or another, but wrenching on bikes and myself collided into each other. Being a bike mechanic doesn’t pay well but that isn’t why I have stayed with it. The joy I get from fixing a person's bike, or selling them one that they will love just as much is more satisfying to me than making six figures.

I never planned on falling in love with having greasy hands, facing tools and allen wrenches, but my life has been all the better since.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity

Meet Derek and Moudi, a couple that went car free a year ago in order to save money and live better.


Name: Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity

Home Town

Derek: Salt Lake City, Utah
Moudi: Beirut, Lebanon

Occupation: Student at the University of Utah and after school teachers for elementary students.

Years together: Two years three months

Bikes
Derek: Giant OCR2
Moudi: Motobecan Fantom CX

Why do you bike?
Moudi: It is a good feeling to ride your bike. I really just like riding my bike.
Derek: I gave up my car to ride a bike. Plus, it is a really great way to stay in shape.

Favorite place to ride:
Moudi and Derek: City Creek Canyon road. Through the avenues and on 11th ave. It is a killer view of the city and the smog.

Favorite restaurant:
Derek: Cafe Shambala on E street
Moudi: My own kitchen! (editors note:he makes killer hummus)

Bike accessory you can’t live without:
Derek: My water bottle
Moudi: A good bike mechanic!

Hopes and dreams for cycling:
Derek: I hope to see everyone bike commute some day. I would also like to see bike only streets in Salt Lake, like 200 South or Main Street. A full lane for bikes each way would be great.
Moudi: I want to be able to bike wherever I want. Seeing a bike community that is less pretentious would be nice too. I'm not a high endurance racer, I’m a bike commuter.

Disqus Amongst Your Salty Selves.



The Disqus comment system has been added to SaltCycle.

It features full integration with Google, Facebook, Twitter and many more features.

Let the comment commenting commence.

Test your commenting skills in the comment section.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Salt Decentralized Dance Party

In an earlier recent post the building of a bicycle revolution was mentioned and now here is some inspiration for motivation:





The Decentralized Dance Party is touring to select cities in the USA with cities near Salt Lake City, namely, Boulder, Colorado being visited.

SaltCycle should bike dance, too. Whether or not its DDP or your own transmitter oddity, dance Salt Lake City, dance.

More details about the DDP @ decentralizeddanceparty.com.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Carly Monahan


Carly Monahan, with her Trek,
posed for a photo. (Photo: Christy Jensen)
Happy Holidays SaltCyclers! As a Christmas present to the community we have started a new column that will appear once a week, “Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City”. This column will feature people we meet who ride bikes, to showcase the diversity of the Salt Lake cycling scene.

Meet our first spot light, Carly, who hails from Wisconsin and recently moved to Salt Lake. Check the blog every Friday for a new edition of Caught on a bike.

Name: Carly Monahan
Job:Fire effects monitoring technician.
Home Town: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Bike: 90’s Trek. I can’t remember the model, I covered the bike in stickers.
Favorite place to ride in SLC: I don’t have a favorite place to ride yet. I like that I can ride anywhere in Salt Lake.
Favorite Restaurant: The Korean BBQ that has the Mexican bakery and ice cream parlor in the same complex.
Hopes and dreams for cycling: Because I move around a lot, it is nice to see cycling become more prevalent. My hopes and dreams for biking are that it will continue to become more prevalent and accessible. I lived in Madison, Wisconsin for a summer and could bike any where. So many people ride bikes, I could set my watch by the people I saw on my commute.
One piece of bike gear you can’t live without: My bike lock! I got my bike stolen once in college (same bike she rides now) and it was so stressful. Luckily the person was really just borrowing it.

Nightmare Before Christmas Alleycat Tonight!

Hey Salt Lake City, Welcome Santa into the city by shredding the streets and wreaking two wheeled havoc wherever you go! This race will be a "medium" on the difficulty level;  Expect a single, complicated manifest but not too intense of riding.

Bring: 
Bike, Lock, Pen, $5, and all the awesome you can muster. 6:00 pm at Memory Grove! See you there!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Building a Bicycle Revolution








In 2009 during the COP15 UN summit protests in Copenhagen, Denmark an idea for a bike bloc was created from the The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination.

From their laboratories came many ideas including the idea of a mass bike swarm. The mass bike swarming held many pedal powered protesting ideas including a sound swarm in which several bicycles were equipped with bicycle PA systems.

The event happened, the protest occurred and the site which held the information, funbetweenyourlegs.info ceased to be.

Until 2011 when it evolved to the United States.

Deleted post: How Bikes Can Save Us

A post was recently published called How Bikes Can Save Us! and though it was an awesome +1 for bikes, it seems to be "black hat SEO," or a tricky way to mess with search engines through spammy, fake websites. Transit blogger John Hendel wrote up a whole article about it.

A brief excerpt:

The legitimately pretty and well-done infographic has made the rounds of several news sites and blogs in the last two weeks. People saw the visual, loved it, published and commented on it, all the while linking to and supporting what would seem to be a link farm, a spammer, a farce of a website called HealthCareManagementDegree.com, which exists to game the Internet. The bare-bones, purposeless Health Care Management Degree website was created in 2004 and registered to Mascot Media Circle LLC, based out of Austin, Texas. This shadowy entity also created OnlineBachelorDegreePrograms.com in that same year, RatedColleges.com in 2004, and Computer-Colleges.com in 2002, among what I would imagine are many other bogus web addresses likely meant to take advantage of Google's search engine selection and enjoy a little SEO payoff.


"As a blogger that works very hard to make his own Google juice, I occasionally speak out about Black Hat SEO mischief like this," DL Byron remarks in his Google+ post. "You've probably noticed how irrelevant, at times, Google's search is. That's because of sites and tricks like this." 

We are pro bikes but anti spam, so we decided to remove the post. To see the well made graphic, check out that article. It's a happy, feel good link, but unfortunately somebody out there is taking advantage of our passion for spreading bike love. We hope you understand.

Thanks,
SaltCycle Admin

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Tales from the Top Tube #1: Fog City

When I left the apartment building at 1:00 AM to head home after a long and eventful night with great friends, over great food, and listening to great music, a dense fog blanketed the city and the temperature had dropped well below freezing. It was an unusual night for Salt Lake City. Fog isn’t a common occurrence, but it brought a great serenity to the roads and made me feel like I was the only one around. Visibility was about a block, or less than ¼ of a mile. I could see my light, like a solid beam, way out in front of me, and everything was wet. The ground had what looked like snow on it, but it wasn’t slippery. I couldn’t see anyone around, and counted four cars during the three miles back to my house. It was solitary, quiet, and wet.

When I was riding on 8th East, I noticed more white on the road ahead. It started snowing lightly and I realized that for one short block, the ground was blanketed with an even layer of snow. Then it was gone. The snow turned back to fog and the anomaly of a weather system had passed. I rode the rest of the way home without seeing anyone, alone in the city, with all the streets to myself. At one point, my eyelashes froze together when I help my eyelids closed for too long. It was solitary, quiet, wet, and frozen.

Rides home like the one I had tonight remind me of how safe and how perfect the bicycle is. Gliding through the fog and snow, I remembered all of the other great rides I have had. It gave me time to think, and I always think best on my bike. To quote the late John F. Kennedy,

“Nothing compares with the simple pleasure of a bike ride.”


(Note: Tales from the Top Tube will be a regular feature on SaltCycle.com, chronicling adventures and tales of the big city, from a bicyclist’s perspective.)

State of the SaltCycle

The recent direction that SaltCycle has taken has opened us up to more followers and views every month. The facebook group, SaltCycle team, new weekly rides, etc, have made our community blossom. We want to keep the momentum going and since a rolling stone (wheel) gathers no moss (mud), we are making some improvements to the site (and not just boring html stuff). Here are a few things you can look forward to in the next few weeks:

New weekly columns:

  • Tales from the Top Tube: Essays on bikes and riding of all kinds, fiction and nonfiction. If you have an essay on biking, here is the place to have it published.
  • A weekly spotlight on people who ride bikes in Salt Lake City. Everyone rides a bike for different reasons; we want to celebrate the diversity this little town contains.
  • The SaltCycle twitter account has been revived which means we will now be populating the Library of Congress with 140 characters of bike hashtags and goodness.  Follow us and use the #bikeSLC hashtag when you have the chance.
  • There is talk of the website getting a facelift in the next few months. This means more features, pages, better layout, and a few new things here and there. Along with all of these changes and addition to the website/blog, we have some great events in the works for the spring.
  • A digital SaltCycle calendar is in the works and will be featured monthly on the website. If you are interested in having your picture taken for this, let us know. We would like feature lots of people who love bikes.  

We are happy with the direction SaltCycle is going and the contributions everyone makes. Thank you for continuing to help build a successful bicycle community. We look forward to more bicycle fueled discussions, adventures, dinner parties, late night rides, meetings, and laughs.

-The SaltCycle Family

        Jessica Judy Gilmore
        Tom Millar
        Christy Punkin Pants Jens