21. June 2008 by admin.

Commuting by bicycle to work everyday is a great way to get into shape, save a ton of cash on gasoline, and emit less pollution. I love riding to work everyday and it seems to get more enjoyable everyday. There’s nothing like getting some endorphins flowing while feeling the wind flowing over you, smelling the sweet morning scents in the air and waving to other cyclists commuting to work. It is the perfect way to start your day. However, as you continue your cycle commuting lifestyle, you find ways of making your commute more useful and enjoyable.

One of the best investments I’ve ever made is buying a Wald Bicycle Basket! When cycling home after work, I like to stop by a local grocery store and pickup some ingredients for dinner, beer, or both. Previously I had been carrying my stuff home by cramming it all into my small trunk rack, but I soon realized that better solutions had been invented for transporting items by bicycle. I had seen bicycle baskets before on old bicycles and in movies (think Elmira Gulch’s bicycle in the Wizard of Oz) but you really don’t see them very often nowadays. Searching Google’s Product Search, however, brings up quite a few good deals.

After measuring the interior distance between my drop handle bars, I purchased the Wald 198GB Multi-Fit Basket from one of the Google search results. I bought this model since it is the most versatile of all the baskets as far as getting it to fit on your bike. My drop handlebars were just barely wide enough to fit this basket, by the way, so make sure you measure carefully.

And as you can see from the photos, this basket works great for transporting quite a load of groceries. I decided to buy a six-pack of my favorite beer, Pilsner Urquell, to christen my new bicycle accessory. I quickly found that I needed to buy some bungee cords to keep things from bouncing out of the basket, and I also found that the basket I bought can hold a lot more than a tiny six-pack. On my next ride, I bought a couple of six-packs and rode home fine with them (didn’t have a chance to shoot a shot of that, sorry folks). On grocery ride number three, I bought a couple of large bottles of wine and some frozen veggies, also part of the gallery. Are you seeing a pattern here? Yeah, I’m a cyclist who loves his beer and wine

Today, I use my basket every day to carry my lunch to work in a cold-food pack that fits perfectly in my basket and a few of my co-workers have asked where they can get one. Just remember, get the black painted models if you don’t want your bike to look too feminine! And be extra careful when you’ve loaded up some heavy items into your basket since the bikes handles differently. But, don’t worry, you get used to it quickly. It’s a snap.

Happy cyclo-shopping!

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21. June 2008 by admin.

If you are interested in leisurely group rides around town with some friendly folks, you don’t have to move to Portland.  Pocatello has its own groups of cyclists who love to get together to show the locals that bicycling is fun, healthy, safe, and a viable alternative to motorized traffic for getting around locally (see Paul Dorn’s Bike Commuting Tips for more information).

On Earth Day every year, Idaho State University’s Outdoor Club has a bicycle parade.  The route starts at the Student Union Building at ISU, loops down through old town Pocatello, and finishes back at the SUB.  It is quite a fun ride and I especially love the old town section; cruising between all those old and ornate buildings and shops is awesome.  Here are a couple of videos I shot from my bicycle of the Earth Day 2008 bicycle parade:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pj21JlmHpA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAuq63okBLs

Yeah, sort of a new and cooler version of cyclophotography, aye?  I got the idea from my friend Travis Poppe when he did the same thing the previous year (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaqSV9QQzTo).

This year I’ve participated in the Pocatello Critical Mass once, which is an event that happens on the last Friday of every month.  Stay informed of this event by joining the Pocatello Critical Mass Facebook group!  See you on the next ride!

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