Strollerderby : cycling

Morning News: Of Obama, Blagojevich and Bicycles

Shannon LC Cate — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:15:00 GMT

Barack Obama's internal investigation cleared his staff, yesterday, of impropriety regarding Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich. The report found that Obama's top advisers (in particular, Rahm Emanuel) had contacts with the governor and attempted to influence his choice for Obama's vacated senate seat, but indeed offered the governor nothing but bleeping appreciation in return.

Blagojevich is not appointing senators these days, but he is signing bills. Yesterday, he signed one requiring that products marketed to children under 12 come with a warning label if they contain more than 40 parts per million of lead in either their base materials or surface paint. It is currently illegal to market products for children containing more than 600 parts per million of lead, but experts say far smaller amounts are a danger to children.

In happy news for some of the sellers of cheap toys, Walmart settled 63 of 75 lawsuits against the company for cheating hourly employees out of wages:

"The dozens of wage-and-hour lawsuits against Wal-Mart accused the company and its managers of various illegal stratagems, among them forcing employees to work unpaid off the clock, erasing hours from their time cards and preventing workers from taking lunch and other breaks that were either promised by the company or guaranteed by state laws."

The settlement amounts to at least $352 million and perhaps as much as $640 million, depending on how many employees and former employees file claims.

Even as SUVs see the end of their days, cyclist, Ryan Bowen left Los Angelos in early December on his bike. Yesterday, he crossed the continental divide as he pedals 4,000 miles to Washington, D.C. to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration. Bowen is hoping to pick up some more cyclists along the way.

Image: Chicago Tribune for more photos of Ryan Bowen's cycling trip see the Tribune's photo gallery

Bike-Friendly Cities Also Family-Friendly

Karen Murphy — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:30:00 GMT

I'm something of a cyclist. It happened when I moved to a town not far outside of Boulder and I saw that bikes were pretty much standard-issue in that area. It was great: cyclists were everywhere! In the city of Boulder they seemed to be well-respected by drivers and well-taken care of by the bike lane and bike rack gods and it wasn't unusual to see Burley trailers being towed along which contained a kid or two next to the groceries. And it spoke to me about a very different way of life from the isolating car-centric society we seem to have built. Since then, I've had to move again to eastern Pennsylvania, where things aren't nearly so bike-friendly.

This article in Wired about bike-friendly cities around the world got me to thinking about how being bike-friendly also means, by extension, that a city is family-friendly:

Cities with a lot of bikes tend to have less pollution. Unless they are Beijing. Or Bankok.
People who ride bikes as transportation (sweeping generalization here) tend to be more eco-friendly in other ways too.
Cities that are friendly to bikes tend to be more people-centric in general, which is good for families.
Cities with thriving neighborhoods that are bikeable or commute-friendly attract families.
Biking is wonderful exercise and can be part of an overall healthy family lifestyle.

If you live in a bike-friendly city, I am envious. Can I move in with you? (You don't mind a few extra kids, do you?) Seriously, I think a wonderful way to raise kids is in a smaller city that's bikeable and walkable.

For My Kids, Summer = Tour de France

Karen Murphy — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:24:00 GMT

Yeah, maybe my kids are weird. And they definitely are at the mercy of the one in the house who wields the remote, but this is our 4th year watching the 23-day bike marathon event that in my house spells summer. After all, there are quite few important family-type values expressed during the Tour de France:

1. Being good at something takes hard work. The fact that these guys ride 5-6 hours a day, sometimes up grueling mountains, and can still sprint at the end is not lost on kids. When they ask how these guys can do this, about all I can say is, "Practice." Oh, and seeing these guys get up and ride after they crash is pretty inspiring too.

2. Riding a bike is fun. I admit, I'm something of a cyclist. Or, er, a wannabe anyway. But my kids really get into the elation that's evident on the faces not just of the winners but even of the guys who just finish this thing. 3000 miles or so over 3 weeks? Riiight. That deserves elation. And it makes my kids want to ride more (even though one is having trouble making the transition away from training wheels).

3. If you break the rules, you're out. My older son (11) can't help but notice the talk of drugs, drug screenings, and the resulting rider bans. Some of his favorite riders aren't riding the Tour anymore because of it. Which I think sends a huge message that needs no embellishment from me (though we have talked about WHY they might choose drugs).

4. If you're a kid, you can make play out of anything. Though it's a little weird hearing my 7-year-old discuss the relative merits of her favorite riders, I have to remember that these are the kids who can get competitive about racing snails and assign candy colors to represent Top Chef contestants. So naturally they get into the drama of a three-week bike race.

Join us? It's not too late. Though today's Stage Four has already been ridden, there's almost 2 1/2 weeks left. Oh, and fair warning: it took me the entire first year to figure out what was going on: the races-within-races, the strategy, understanding the commentators. Which was all just part of the challenge and the fun.

Pimp Your Kid's Bike!

Patti — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:00:00 GMT

Kids go through bikes fast. My four year old's bike lasted one year before she started looking like a circus bear when she rode it. It's an expensive enough hobby for adults; for kids you're pretty much losing money from the very start. Decent bikes are expensive, and if you try and buy secondhand you're limiting your options to what's available--if the only 16" boy's bike you find is green, you're getting a green bike, so tough shit, kid.

This Instructables article walks you through a step-by-step process of stripping and repainting a bike, with clear descriptions of each steps and photos of the procedure. The commenters weigh in below the instructions with their own experience and pictures, so be sure to read through before you begin for more ideas and inspiration--a bike remodel can mean more than just a color change.

Instead of having Santa bring the latest cartoon character shilling bicycle this Christmas, why not find a solid pre-owned bike and customize it to your child's taste and interests? Why not take the hand-me-down edge of a bike that's being passed to a younger rider by tarting it up with new paint and accessories?