BikeRumor.com

Put out by MakeTV, the video side of Make Magazine, the video features some crazy bike mods. My favorite is the “wrong way bike”.  He can’t even ride it.  All made by Cyclecide, an artists collaborative in San Francisco, CA.  Why can’t they teach practical stuff like this in high school shop classes?

Timbuk2 bags recently launched a new Travel line of bags, suitcases and pouches designed to make airline travel easier and less stressful.  Most items are only available in three colors; the “brown/flame” shown above on their Checkpoint wheeled bag, an “army green/spinach” combo and all black.  For now, you can’t custom order your own color pattern…we’re waiting on their marketing rep to call us back with plans for future customization options.

Color selections aside, there are some cool features among the 10 items offered, like removeable laptop/accessory pouches to speed security checks, clear pouches for your toiletries and liquid explosives (have you ever tried to light an astringent?  Good times…).  The Checkpoint, above, is Timbuk2’s first-ever rolling suitcase, and it has a couple of niceties.  You know that strap on top of your suitcase that you never use and just flaps around?  They’ve hidden it.  That crappy handle that extends?  This one’s shaped like a shovel handle.  It also has some useful interior pockets and sections.

There are also some messenger bags that have a few new features…but they’re still mainly messenger bags. Check out more pics and a couple of the more useful looking items when you read “more”…

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This article was inspired by a humorous little post from Ron at CozyBeeHive about making some serious commitments to reducing your cycling carbon footprint (get it?) in 2009.  It starts off with alarmist language, charts and graphs…which is funny (to me, anyway) because my friends and I have recently been debating whether or not humans are actually causing global warming or if there’s something larger at work (ie. the Sun).  If you’re interested, there are some links that attempt to debunk the “myth” of global warming when you read “more”…

As for me, I ride my bike for most errands and do what I can to reduce my own energy consumption, but my reasons for doing so center around fitness and reducing pollution.  I’m on the fence as to what the real human contribution to global warming is.

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Trek has officially announced that the Trek-Volkswagen team has come to an end, leaving a large group of top pro riders without a team for 2009 (and no time to find one).  The demise is largely due to Volkswagen’s non-renewal of their title sponsorship and Trek’s prior commitment to increasing its European presence in 2009.

Some of the riders interviewed by VeloNews seemed really caught off guard by the news, but my conversations with Jeremiah Bishop (pictured above winning the ‘08 Iceman Cometh) over the past few months showed he knew something was up.  He, along with “Rad” Ross Schnell, will have partial sponsorships from Trek, and Chris Eatough has one year left on his contract.

Other big names affected include Sue Haywood, Travis Brown, Alison Syder and Roland Green. We’ve got some interview requests out there, we’ll keep you posted on what these riders are gonna do.

OK, not really, but that headline sure is catchy… What Ironman has really done is licensed their name to a new mattress by Spring Air and T3 Recovery.

Designed by T3 Athletic Recovery Products, the mattress uses Energia foam technology “reduces motion transfer and average stress on key pressure points, allowing major muscle groups and core stabilizers to relax and repair.” The densities can be customized to your sleeping style, and it’s made of an environmentally friendly material. It claims to sleep cooler than memory foam type products…which is good, because memory foam doesn’t really breathe, making your skin very warm. T3 was founded by a triathlete with the goal of making products that allow better rest and recovery.

The new sleepsets debut in February at the Las Vegas Furniture market (thanks a lot Vegas, you stole our thunder), which is perhaps why there’s nothing about this mattress on Spring Air’s website.  Read the press release here.

Jackson County, Alabama, tourism director J.P. Parsons is pitching the idea as a way to build tourism revenue for the area…which is smart.  Not only are then in a good area for potential trail building (good terrain, close to several major urban areas), but there’s precedent for believing a quality trail network and facilities can bring riders to the area.

Our friends at BMCC in Wilkesboro, NC used an initial $10,000 grant from their local Chamber of Commerce to build the incredible Dark Mountain and Over Mountain Victory Trails, and they continue to build more.  This has helped the area land several large events (BURN 24 Hour) and let’s the club host their own events.  Ski resorts like Mammoth, Whistler (photo above is from Whistler’s online gallery) and more use their growing mountain bike parks to keep business up when the snow melts.

Even IMBA supports the concept and offers seminars and training for areas that want to develop mountain bike parks and resorts.

Read “more” to see a map of the area…

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There’s no big ceremony on ESPN or fancy trophy, but if you want to see who and what CyclingNews.com readers voted for as best in the following categories, click here.

• Male Cyclo-crosser
• Female Cyclo-crosser
• Male Mountain Biker
• Female Mountain Biker
• Product
• Team Bike
• Photo
• Most Improved Rider
• Stage Race
• One Day Race
• Male Track Rider
• Female Track Rider
• Male Road Rider
• Female Road Rider
• Legend of Cycling

Florida Women’s Cycling Network, Swamp and Bent’s Cycling and Fitness present Advanced Skills Mountain Bike Clinic for Women on Saturday, January 31 at Alafia State Park.  The Clinic starts at 9am.  Registration closes on January 28.

This clinic will be instructed by Shelly Allen (UCI World Master’s Champion and Multiple Florida State Champion) and Barbara Shircliffe Perigard (Expert Level Mountain Biker).

Clinic Topics:
• Bike fit/bike setup for technical trails (suspension, tire pressure)
• The importance of looking down the trail
• Body position for confidence on difficult trails
• Shifting and gear choice
• Braking skills, smoothness and control: sometimes less is better
• Cornering skills on tight and fast trails
• Descending skills
• Climbing skills, including switchbacks, and slow speed balance

Read “more” for additional details…

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Giant and Specialized have launched www.test-the-best.co.uk in advance of their forthcoming 2009 Test The Best Series. The Test The Best Series will give consumers the opportunity to test ride the very latest full suspension offerings from both Specialized and Giant.

For 2009 Specialized and Giant will be taking an extensive range of Mountain bikes for both men and women to some great locations in England, Scotland and Wales. At each venue riders can expect a hive of activity with both Giant and Specialized Technical representatives making sure that your demo experience truly allows you to Test The Best.

Read “more” for dates and locations…

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Urban Velo magazine issue #11 hits newsstands, both real and virtual, today.

Download the PDF here, or view it in your browser here.

Contents include: Ghost Bikes - Remembering our Fallen Friends, Fixed Freestyle Evolution, Fyxomatosis Gallery, How to Tie & Solder Spokes, The Rotafix Method, Residue, Black Sea by Bicycle, A Legacy of Bicycle Advocacy, I Love Riding in the City and No Exit.

Following in the footsteps of NYC, Washington’s Golden Triangle Business Improvement District is calling for entries to design creative and functional bike racks for the area.  The winning designer gets $1,500 and a two night stay in a posh DC hotel, and the pride of having their design installed across the city.

Entries are due February 9, 2009 at 5pm, and the winning design will be selected in March.  Download the informational/entry form PDF here.

Seriously, we get a huge amount of “stolen bicycle” stories coming across the wire, but this is ridiculous:

(AP) A former Fort Lauderdale city commissioner who helped create a program to combat bicycle theft had his own bike stolen while trying to help people involved in a vehicle crash.

Tim Smith said he witnessed the traffic accident as he was cycling to the beach on Monday. He said he left his bike on the sidewalk to rush to the cars involved. But after finding both drivers uninjured, he went to retrieve his bike and discovered it was gone.

To add insult to injury, Smith, as a commissioner, had successfully pushed for a citywide bike registration program to help police track stolen bikes. But when he contacted police to report his own stolen bike, he had to admit it was not registered.

I came across this site a while back researching another story, and kept the tab open for a long, long time. If you’re looking for a weird but strangely compelling website about Japanese cycling culture, check out Pedal Mafia. There’s a lot to explore here, like the Bike Check with literally thousands of user submitted photos of their bikes (there are a few pics of some excellently bizarre samples when you read “more”…).

But to really get into the “culture”, hit up their blog. There are as many photos of food and people eating that food as there are of bikes, but you’ll also find gems like this video. It’s only three minutes long, but I probably went through this thought process five times watching it:

1. Man, I should turn this off, this is stupid. 2. I just can’t stop watching. 3. I really wish I could rip that road a new one on my bike.

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