By Stan Purdum Want to bump up your bicycle mechanic skills and do some good at the same time? Volunteer at one of the nonprofits that recycle old bikes. I live in New Jersey and volunteer one afternoon each week as a bike mechanic in Plainfield, a community not far from my own, at a nonprofit bicycle shop called the Bike Exchange (BEX). It’s a program of the Boys & … [Read more...] about Wrenching at the BEX Pays Myriad Dividends
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Experience Is a Great Teacher, But …
By Stan Purdum When it comes to fixing problems on the bicycle — or in life, in general, for that matter — starting the fix at the right point is a great benefit, but that seems to be a lesson I have to relearn from time to time. My bicycle saddle is a recent case in point. It’s a Brooks B-17, a classic leather model that’s been in production in England since the 1890s. … [Read more...] about Experience Is a Great Teacher, But …
‘Bicycles May Use Full Lane’; It’s About Time!
By John Marsh, Editor & Publisher A little less than a year ago, I wrote about a study by two bike-commuting professors at North Carolina State University who found that a simple change in the wording of bicycle-related roadside signage can help clarify the rules of the road for motorists and cyclists, and potentially make cycling safer. The study, published in the … [Read more...] about ‘Bicycles May Use Full Lane’; It’s About Time!
My Run-In With the Lawnmower Man
By Stan Purdum Virtually every road cyclist has had a few encounters with rude or aggressive drivers, but I may be unique in that one of my most memorable incidents of harassment came from a man on a lawnmower. It happened like this: On ride when I lived in Ohio, I had to pedal a short distance on one of the area’s busier roads to get to a low-traffic side street. The … [Read more...] about My Run-In With the Lawnmower Man