Bike Hugger 

Messengers on break near Market Street in San Fran.

We’re rush ordered another run of Bike Hugger shirts to meet demand and we’re currently sold out of the mediums! Wow. And the others come in waves from Amazon, with a rush just this week.

Our friends at REI sent a link to Novara Flicks, an action-packed video of their 07 product line, including behind-the-scenes with the designers.

Of note is their updated brand and it’s focus on “freedom” and grabbing yourself some. I’ve talked a lot with Novara about brand and they’re very passionate about cycling. Also, having ridden with them during their legendary lunch rides, I also learned that they can take pulls, and ride you mercilessly into the ground.

Coffee and cycling go together, always have, and I travel with my own grind and french press to make sure wherever I am, I’m fully caffeinated. I use a Bodum travel press and it works great.

Now, I just discovered the Aerobie AeroPress and it looks a little big for travel (would work in the Scicon bag), but I bet makes one mean cuppa joe. It’s a french press with a filter and air pressure.

A reader sent a blog about riding in San Fran and a 925 at the Golden Gate Bridge.

I’ll be in San Fran tomorrow for a seminar about blogging. It’s a day trip, so I won’t have my bike, but San Fran is a great town for riding.

6 seater…people mover, by pierre pouliquin.

World’s greenest minivan.

A reader sent us a post from Stippy.com on bike valets in Japan, who keep all the bikes orderly. Imagine that, riding up to a building, handing your bike to a valet, and having it parked!

Ask MetaFilter | help me equip my bike with gps | Ask MetaFilter

There’s a good post over at MetaFilter asking about using GPS on bikes. The original poster was interested in a GPS solution to fight theft (LoJack on two wheels), which is still pretty impractical.

But the post does mention some interesting applications and products. There’s the Garmin Edge 305, a GPS with cycle computer and heart rate monitor in a unit small enough to strap to your stem (or its little brother, the no-heart rate Edge 205).

Of course, you can just use a handheld GPS, as well. Once you’ve got a route in the GPS, you can track your rides and share them through MotionBased (here’s a MB example ride).

Addressing the original question, I found this article at Popular Science about using mologogo and a prepaid cell phone. I’m just not sure how you could effectively hide the cell so it doesn’t invite the theft the original poster was trying to prevent.

New York Times | You Paid How Much for That Bike?

The New York Times looks at the high-end bike market, especially in Manhattan.

The article focuses on boutique custom-bike shops, one (Signature Cycles) whose fitting studio is open by appointment only.

The current top end of the top end, according to the times, is about $23,000 for a carbon time-trial bike sold at Signature Cycles that comes with handmade German wheels at $5,500 a set. Judging from the Signature site, above, I’m guessing that’s a Seven Diamas, but who is making $5,500 wheelsets? Even the pro-level Corimas, Zipps, and Rolfs seem to run circa $900/wheel or less.

The lead is a woman who bought a $9,000 bike as she neared 39 so she could learn to ride. First question: Who doesn’t learn to ride a bike as a kid? Second question: Isn’t that a beautiful leap of faith?

The Hugger ethic even makes an appearance:

Dr. Levine bristled slightly when it was suggested that people like him may be a little, um, obsessed with what is, after all, just a bicycle. You do feel a connection with it, he said. But I don’t think anyone in our group takes it to a psychotic, unreasonable extent. He paused. But my wife might disagree with that.

Treehugger | Performance Bicycle Rides With the Wind

Bicycle catalog specialist Performance Bicycle of Chapel Hill is making an effort to use renewable power at all its locations. They’ve partnered with Renewable Choice to purchase clean fuel credits equivalent to more than 5,000,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which reportedly equates to more than 7,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emission reduction.

Performance Bicycle | Renewable Energy