short hiatus

I am taking a brief break from posting as I finish up + present my graduate industrial design thesis on products fueling the urban cycling revolution!

Will return in a few weeks - with my completed projects so stay tuned...

Beauty and the Bike - the (short) documentary

Beauty and the Bike is a cultural urban travel project that looks at one such mobility culture – that of the teenage girl and young woman... Our project is founded on the fact that girls in cycling friendly countries continue to cycle into adulthood, whilst in other countries - like the UK - they tend to give up during the teenage years. Why?

Everyone should watch this!

via Copenhagen Cycle Chic

description via BikeBeauty.org

signature stripes

Paul Smith collaborates with specialist Japanese bicycle saddle makers, Kashimax. Nice. via NotCot

saving the brick and mortars

I saw this poster in the window of a cute little boutique in Portland, Oregon this past summer - and it left a lasting impression. 

If just half the employed U.S. population spent $50 each month in independently owned stores... for every $100 spent, $68 of it returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.

so... SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOPS!!!

and if your a shopkeeper, you can download/print the poster [here]

light + pump

Two city cycling essentials in one. It's funny to see this bike light/pump since JUST YESTERDAY a friend of mine got a flat tire going over the Manhattan Bridge RIGHT AFTER we were discussing how important it is to carry a pump (particularly since we both often ride home alone late at night). The PUYL is "the first permanent illuminating bicycle light which does not need a battery" since it uses electromagnetic induction. The light’s battery gets charged when pumping -- ensuring a long life cycle! Here's hoping that this gets out on the market soon...

Via Core77

nice (info)graphics

Good's Biking to Work infographic last month was great... now this one compares The Effects of Bike Commuting on Obesity.

The average American is both overweight and spends more than 100 hours per year commuting, that vast majority of those hours being spent in a car. Are those numbers correlated? Could we help reduce our societal weight gain by encouraging more commutes by bike or foot? Our latest Transparency is a look at the number of active commutes in several countries, as compared to those countries obesity rates.

You really have to zoom in to read to the numbers - green is # of trips by bike and the orange is the % by foot. While the U.S. has the highest obesity rate according to this graph (66.7%), the Netherlands the highest rate of trips by bike (22%), and Switzerland the highest by foot (45%).

Speaking of infographics, David McCandless' new book The Visual Miscellaneum Book is filled with beautiful two dimensional representations of interesting stats from what colours are "in" to the carbon footprint of weddings...

top via Good.is

bottom via Coolhunting

Oh Joy! gets into the spirit

From Yakka helmets (♥) to Virginia Johnson (♥♥) scarves... Oh Joy!, the blog with consistently beautiful + inspirational fashion/design/style collages (as above), was all about cycle chic-ness yesterday!!!

rings around the city

NYC BIKE RACK DESIGN COMPETITION ENTRY (2008)

CITYRINGS is a versatile bike system that proposes new interactions between NYC's landscapes and bikers of all types. CITYRINGS adapt easily to any urban environment. Freestanding or interacting with walls, meters, signposts and fences, the rings offer an endless variety of combinations to solve any bike rack needs.

I adore simple geometry + particularly like the image of rings emerging from the sides of unsuspecting buildings. Born and raised in Venezuela, Grace Souky trained as an architect before moving to NYC to purse a masters in industrial design from Pratt Institute.

disappearing parking meters/bike parking

As street parking meters become urban relics and get replaced with electronic 'pay and display' parking pay stations, bike parking spots are disappearing one by one. Cyclehoop from British designer, Anthony Lau, is great. The design starts with what exists on the streets (sustainable solution) - simply clamps onto lampposts and signposts (that are typically too large to fit a Ulock around). + the bright and cheerful colours help you spot one!

Images via

Cyclehoop

updating a classic - the bandana

Swallow

Though we are nearing December, the temperature has yet to drop enough to not get away with cycling with a bandana... and Box & Flea presents some beautiful options.

Two architects, Jeremy Barbour and Andrew Woodrum (both whom I've known for years), are the designers behind Box & Flea. A unique characteristic of their bandanas is the silk screening technique they use which extracts the dye from the blank squares of fabric -- printed by hand in small batches locally (at Greenpoint's Pencil Factory!).

I particularly like the minimal...

Pencil Box

wire basket goodness

The Hoxton Wire Basket by Brooks - an elegant addition which includes a wood base and a leather grip (made of leather washers cut from their saddle production).

dapper DC in plaids + tweeds

Photos by Heather Murphy/NPR and Shereen Meraji/NPR

Last Sunday - my own hometown & our nations capital - Washington DC hosted their first "Tweed Ride" with over 300 riders in great style... it is said that Michelle Obama even took notice and came out to shake participants' hands. NPR covered the event and took these great photos (above).

You can keep posted on DC's Dandies and Quaintrelles on their blog - as well as Twitter.

Thanks, Scully

cupcake à la français or American

While not having had the chance to sample myself, I have only heard good things about Butter Lane's cupcakes in the East Village. They also whip up both French and American style buttercream icing (!)

What's the difference? French buttercream is made with egg whites, butter and granulated sugar, while American buttercream is made with confectioners sugar and butter. The French is more like a meringue while the American is like the familiar icing we all know.

A business which bakes cupcakes + includes a bicycle on a promotion material is one worth noting in my book.

Thanks, Masha, for passed on their business card.

Miss Jumpsuit

So, bloomers ARE making a come back...

Jai launched their Playfully Regal Spring/Summer 2010 collection "boasting versatile silhouettes made for women on the go". British designer Kizzy Jai Knight's background as a dancer and choreographer taught her about the fluidity of fabrics and how they can compliment and assist the body. via Treehugger

Judging from this jumper alone - the collection also compliments the act of cycling!

Dashing Tweeds - indeed!

More then what you expect... Dashing Tweeds was recently launched by weaver Kirsty McDougall and photographer Guy Hills. Everything about this British company's offerings are enticing - from cut to colour to materials. Their current collection includes hats, capes, jackets, knitwear, suits, bags and waistcoats woven with the EXCITING retroflective LumatwillsTM

"A unique weave of wool worsted and reflective yarn, LumatwillsTM appear by day only in their smart combination of colours. By night, under illumination, hidden reflective lines shine out, offering an inventive and stylish solution to attire for the pedestrian, cyclist or scooter rider."

Their selection of tweeds are exquisite. Above is the a swatch from The Specials collection which "will change each season and is inspired by the zeitgeist. The present collection drew from modernist weaves of the Bauhaus school."

All images via Dashing Tweeds

via the 1890's - via the NYTimes

Tintype photograph by David Solosh for the NYTimes, taken on Governors Island

This Thursday's NYTimes Styles Section was adorned with beautiful tintype plates of men in antiquarian (circa the 1890's) apparel from Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueens, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, and Paul Stuart among others. The article makes mention of London's Tweed Run last January which helped sparked a trend of orderly and stylish gatherings on utilitarian bicycles...

This flamboyance is part of a curious new movement called Tweed Rides, informal gatherings of spiffily dressed ladies and gents cycling leisurely through town and disdaining finish lines. Tweed Rides began in London earlier this year and have spread this fall to Boston, San Francisco and Chicago. As the directions for this weekend’s Tweed Ride in Washington, D.C., put it: “Leave the fleece, Lycra and outer shell at home. This ride is for the dandy.”

via Flickr

Where are the women? Somehow the NYTimes, yet again, has focused on the the dandy culture - with no mention of the quaintrelle? Why would anyone want to exclude bloomers from the comeback.

via Wiki

Just found came across this one from the Tweed Run...

DESIGNER BIKES: Matthew Burger

Matthew Burger, Chair of Industrial Design at Pratt Institute, has one of the finest bikes on campus. A bit of his biography… In 22 years Matthew Burger has developed concepts & products in a number of areas including transportation, consumer products, graphics & furniture with consulting studios, manufacturers, & a government agency. He has a B.I.D. from Pratt Institute & graduate studies in Visual Communication at Hochschule für Kunst & Gestaltung in Basel, Switzerland. But only recently did I learn about Visual Syntax - where he posts on design and education along side his photography. And he loves bicycles.

A couple weeks back I talked shop with Matthew...

German bike tag / two bells, each with their own unique ring
St. Christopher charm below generator lamp / saddlebag from the Netherlands

It is hard not to miss your beautifully equipped bicycle on campus!

Students are always checking out what pen I use, what style shoes I’m wearing… but, recently, when they see me with my bike – “it’s all about the bike”. Can you pinpoint the time you got into bikes? It was 1985 watching the cyclists doing loops in Prospect Park. It was so inspiring, I got an old 10 speed Fuji followed by a brand new 15 speed mountain bike which were “all the rage” at the time. The mountain bike was stolen in seconds - at the intersection of 7th Avenue and Christopher street. Stepped into a store, and it was gone. (Lesson learned. He got an identical replacement immediately afterwards – insurance covered it!)

What are your currently commuting on?

I have a classic Amsterdam style bike made by an American company - outfitted with new equipment. I had been riding a traditional Dutch “Oma” grandmother style bike with oversized 28” wheels, fully closed drive train, and fabric skirt guard - which I gave to a fellow faculty member.

What has been your longest bike commute?

In Boston, a 40 minute ride each way. Though it was partly long due to taking the scenic route along the Charles River and through Fenway Park.

What do you love most about bikes?

The mechanics of a bike. It is easy to be very hands on with a bike and access the components.

How was living in Switzerland as a cyclist?

The Swiss love bikes. You see everyone on bikes… good looking professional men including lawyers and doctors commuting by bike. They are also very well equip with fenders, lights and bells.

You used to have a basement full of bikes?!

When living in Somerville (next to Cambridge, just outside of Boston), I was surrounded by transient college students. I would collect bikes and parts abandoned on the street, keep them in my basement, and once a year filled the back of a pick-up truck and donate them to Bikes Not Bombs – who would then deliver them to Latin America and Africa.

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the new DayGlo?!

If all-out safety/DayGlo/fluorescent is not your thing...

this 'acid' softshell by Nau should keep you plenty visible riding around the city.

mustache on the go

via SwissMiss

There is a lot of mustache love out there these day- and now your bike can sport one too. Hand crafted bike badges by jeweler Laura Crawford and sold on Etsy

So, it turns out Laura is making these while on an "open-ended bicycle tour of the US and beyond"....

The Path Less Pedaled is an exploration of what it means to live outside the lines. In March 2009, Laura Crawford (an art jewelry maker) and Russ Roca (a photographer, writer and product durability tester) made the decision to drop out of the status quo and find others around the world who have done the same. Paring down their lives to just what will fit on two bicycles, Laura and Russ are embarking on an extended bike tour throughout the US and beyond – with the goal of connecting with and collecting the stories of people who followed a calling to live their lives in unique ways.

You can follow their adventures (and people they meet along the way) at pathlesspedaled.com + they have a 'Gear of the Week' feature on the site (!)