dads: what (not) to wear on the bike

Bicyclists - often critiqued for what they are wearing. In this case, it's more of what they should be wearing more of. Snapped this picture surreptitiously on my way home from work the other day.



There were several things about the "dude where's the beach" twins that irked me. One was that I kept passing them, only to stop at a light that they would run. When the light inevitably turned, I'd catch up with them, pass them, only to have the process repeated.

It's one thing to run a light when no one's around, or when it's dark, or both. It's quite another to do it when another bicyclist is waiting there, patiently, lawfully... for the light to turn. It's this kind of irrational behavior that give bicyclists a bad name.

Of course, if flippant traffic etiquette were their only infraction maybe I could let them pass. But their get ups, or lack thereof - I found to be particularly distasteful. I suppose it could've been worse if they were flabby and hairy, but muscular and glistening, riding around (as twins) is a little contrived, don't you agree?

For everyone's sake - put a shirt on. I don't care if it's a stretched out company polo from your 5 week stint at kinkos. Just cover it up when you are on your bike. If they were on a beach path I think I'd give them a pass, but not 8 miles inland.

fancy new baby tote'n machine

Tonight I was riding home and I noticed this fancy contraption sitting in the front window of a store called Sporteve. I hadn't noticed this store before, so I googled them. Sporteve is L.A.'s first active wear store to understand women's needs.

Pretty shnazzy eh? It appears that the name of this jalopy is a Zigo. Zigo is the first mom or dad powered family transportation. What a great slogan! Now that's the kind of company I can get behind. This looks similar to a product I spotted several months ago in Santa Monica. This one looks a little more sporty, and probably a little less expensive. Retail on this bad boy is about $1300.

Maybe this weekend I'll hop over to Sporteve and take a spin. From their website - they say you can put even newborns in this guy. George and I will DEFINITELY go check this out. Stay tuned for more info.

it takes a village

Riding a bicycle for transportation can be a daunting task... just as an individual. When you throw kids, partners & spouses into the mix, bicycling can seem Everest-ean. We've drug our heels a little bit at biting the bullet. Often times we wish there was a community and people we could dial into who've gone before us - or at least meet with fellow minded folk about biking with their kids.

CICLE to the rescue!

image = Streetfilms

Several months ago... CICLCE announced the formation of a Bicycling with Kids Committee. I'll be serving on this committee, along with several other volunteers highly motivated to make it easier, and more enjoyable to ride a bike with your child.

The Kids and Bikes committee has had one organizational meeting thus far, and will be having another meeting this Saturday. If you are interested in being a part of this committee or CICLE in general, please contact me!

This is a very exciting development for people who want a community of like minded bike/family folk. I'm really grateful to be a part of it.