BIXI Public Bike System

Ever a proponent of eco-friendliness, our buddy and AR team mate, Dave Lighthouse Lilley, sent us a note last week about a bicycle commuter program operated by Cyclochrome in Montreal called Bixi.

No doubt about it! Bicycling is enjoying increasing popularity in Montréal and BIXI is certainly one of the reasons why. More and more people are adopting the bike as an alternative means of transport.

The basic premise is by installing automated bike rental stations all through the city, people can rent a bike from one location and then return it to another without any hassle. The byproduct – a healthier, happier community to live in and visit. The key to success for program like this for me would be convenience of rental locations, and it seems Montreal and Bixi have done a pretty good job. By Dave’s description he has co-workers who have been using the service all summer and found it to be perfect for day to day use.

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New Cockpit

I’ve been riding the Epic, ‘au original’ since I took it off Ken’s hands. The stubby stem, and short straight handle bars gave the bike a super responsive fell and promoted a pretty aggressive body position that I liked a lot. It was made for zipping through tight, twisty single track. That said, this week I swapped it all out though. Although the original set up was nice, in my opinion it was set up for shorter distance races. After 2-3 hours on the bike, my wrists, shoulders, and neck would really start to ache. Booo hoooo, I know, I know… But this wasn’t something I was thrilled to have to deal with on the TR. Given the discomfort after 2 hours, 6 hours would be horrendous.

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On the future of gadgets

As a self-confessed gadget geek and data whore, it’s really exciting to see the technology that’s starting to become available, and at moderately reasonable price-points to boot (ie. power-meters, heart-rate monitors, iPhone apps, etc.).

When a friend of mine forwarded me this Wired article highlighting some neat cycling-specific applications for Apple’s iPhone and it got me thinking about where sporting gadgets are headed and, after further reflection, I concluded that we’re still just scratching the surface of what can be done with our devices.

Some of the iPhone apps mentioned in the Wired article touted routine bicycling needs like speed, distance travelled, and brake lighting, but some went a little deeper – like calculating gear ratios based on crank lengths, wheel sizes and cog/sproket sizes. Definitely some interesting thinking happening here.

Despite some nifty functionality, none of these applications are going to revolutionize cycling as we know it just yet, but they do open the door to combat one of my most hated gadget by-products… Gadget clutter.

The by-product of which is my elusive search for the uncluttered handlebar…
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RadioShack + Lance for 2010

For those that missed it, the Livestrong blog announced today that RadioShack will be partnering with Lance Armstrong to form a new cycling team for the 2010 season.

Apparently big Lance will not only be competing as a cyclist under this banner, but also as a runner and a triathlete. To tempt us as the 2009 Tour is nearing it’s finish, they’ve also announced that Lance and Team RadioShack will be present for the 2010 Tour.

An American hero, an american brand. If nothing else I see this as a huge help to the Livestrong foundation, since I’m sure it will share a robust integration with this new team!

Read more here:

• Press release
• Lance’s Video Message

MTB Trail Maps Care of RVCNS

Being a little city (just over 1 million) in the middle of the prairies, great mountain biking might not be the first thing you’d expect to find here. But, that’s what you’ll get if you’re here during our brief, but beautiful riding season. I’ve often said that even though I’ve been riding the valley for around 15 years, I can still come across trails, or whole pockets of trails I’ve never ridden. Going out with team/group rides has always been the best way to discover a new stretch of single track,or choice riding area. This year the BIG discovery for me was on the Gary Fisher ride when we rode on the east side of the river in the Strathcona Science park area. There is a maze of single track in there, and all of it technical, with twisty, tight sections and lots of steep drops and power climbs. I go back there quite a bit now that I know it’s there. 

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A little sluggish

A quick note to apologize for the slightly sluggish performance of the site lately…

We’re working closely with our great hosting partner Dreamhost to rectify the problem. New posts and a more responsive site coming shortly!!

The little company that could

This is what building a brand is all about…

Show me the people behind the bike, the thinking behind your engineering, the science behind the performance… Having a hot bike isn’t enough anymore. Almost every company out there is building a great bike, tell me why I should choose yours…

Make me believe.

One company that has always done a great job of this is Cervélo, a small Canadian company out of Montréal. Just prior to the dawn of the 2009 Tour de France Cervélo launched Beyond the Peloton, a behind the scenes documentary of the creation and first season of the Cervélo TestTeam.

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Versus “Race Tracker”

A few months ago I posted about the great “Tour Tracker” Amgen had pulled together for the Tour de California. Well, Versus has refined the approach and delivered a really nice, polished offering for those of us who need to follow the Tour de France no matter what.

From the “Race Tracker” dashboard you can stream the race live in a very respectable 695×390 video pane as well as browse current stats and the stage overview at-a-glance. As if that weren’t enough, the lower panel allows you to switch between:

• Live Map – Shows progress and route info as well as the elevation profile
• Video – Brings in additional video content (ie. Stage recaps, Ask Bobke, etc.)
• Standings – Sortable by Overall, Sprint, Mountain, and Young Rider results
• Twitter – See what the world is Tweeting about the Tour
• Stages – See the outline of stages past, present and future. Complete with key mile markers and elevation profiles.
• Schedule – Let’s you plan when you need to schedule your “meetings” at work, so you can duck out and watch the Tour ;-)

Not that this is a revolutionary statement, but I think we’re honestly previewing the future of TV here – Depending on the type of viewer you are you have pretty much everything you need to satiate your Tour de France needs at your fingertips, from stats and standings, to enriching video and route maps.

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Trek Commercial

I saw this commercial during Saturday’s broadcast of the Tour, and I have to admit, I thought it was pretty powerful. Trek makes good commercials. I love the look of determination on the face of the ol’timer :-) I hope that’s me one day.

Jonny ‘Spaghetti Legs’ Hagan

Continuing with our Feature Rider series, installment two is from Jon Hagan. He’s a passionate rider, not for competitive reasons, but more so for the simple joy of getting out on the bike. I think if you were ask Jon, he’s into riding for the lifestyle more than hardcore fitness. He commutes to work all the time and gets a lot of pleasure out of it. That said, Jon has been known to take on some pretty difficult challenges and his annual ride to Pigeon lake is certainly one of them…

I bought my bike just over a year ago with the hope of fulfilling the modest goal of riding to my family’s cabin 120 kms southwest of Edmonton. Experienced riders don’t find this to be an overly challenging distance, but for me it was a start. It was a start that I had tried once before about five or six years ago. Riding a three hundred dollar mountain bike (a sparkling gold Raleigh Tarantula) and really only being a casual rider, I naively thought I’d be able to average 20 km/h; thus making it to the cabin in about six hours. What I didn’t take into account was the fundamental rule of preparation. As far as success goes, this rule applies to everyone. However, thinking will power would be enough, preparation was something I overlooked.  

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