Take a look at this new bicycle light … this is amazing if it really works. This is a development I really want to watch. Check it out for your self at LightLane.
This light does what I want a light to do … show drivers where I am.
Placement on a recumbent or touring bike with panniers may be a problem but I can see at the very end of my pannier rack, closer to the ground, the lane width narrower but the lines even brighter. I am excited by the concept.
My belief is that the best thing we can do to make the roads safer is to get more folks out cycling so drivers get used to looking for cyclists. Data shows that as the number of cyclists and pedestrians increase the accident rate decreases. Here’s a way to help, Teach Cycling.
The week before the Maine Bike Festival the League of American Cyclist will be conduct and CI Certification Course in Fryeburg. These don’t happen very often in Northern New England so if you would like to participate sign up right away.
Becoming a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) certified to teach BikeEd is a great way to help cyclists in your community. Certified instructors can teach BikeEd classes to children as well as adults. Help bring the joy of safe cycling to others. If you are an experienced cyclist and would like to teach others please consider taking the next step towards certification. Road I is a prerequisite for a certification seminar. Instructors are trained at seminars held periodically throughout the year.
The week before the Maine Bike Festival in Fryeburg, the LAB will be conducting cycling courses. They aren’t offered very often in this area and space is limited. So sign up quickly if you are interested. I’m planning to be there.
Date: Tuesday July 7, 2009 from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm
Instructor: Charles Laflamme
Location: 52 Bradley St., Fryeburg, ME 04330
Fee: $75.00, $50.00 for BCM members
Description: FUN, is our objective while cycling in this beautiful area along the Saco River with the White Mts. in the background and getting our exercise at the same time. Come learn how to have fun and ride your bike safely. The topics covered will be; The Bicycle, Clothing & Equipment, Basics of Handling, Traffic Law, Cycling in Traffic, Crash Avoidance, Road Hazards, Educating Motorists, Etiquette & Enjoyment
To register for this course, contact:
Charley LaFlamme
Phone: 207-646-0635
Contact Email: chazbikeed@maine.rr.com
Website: bikemaine.org
Signup required in advance? Yes
Special signup instructions: Deadline for sign up June 26 and the first dozen paid enrollments will get into the class on a first come first served basis. Contact Chrley
Equipment required: Fun attitude, Bike in good repair & helmet.
I am working on documenting a series of moderate day rides (30 to 50 miles) near New Hampshire and Maine’s seacoast. The rides are thought some of the oldest settlements (area settled in 1623) in the United States along back country roads with little or no traffic. The rides feature great views of bays and rivers and historic homes.
They are not on the seacoast with all of it’s traffic and wonderful ocean views; but are on back roads that very few visitors to the area would find. I think of them as hidden gems. They are the roads I ride while training.
This is a departure from my emphasis on self contained recumbent touring and I am wondering if this is of interest to readers. They also take quite a bit of time and work to create. Please let me know what you think.
Tightening the linkage didn’t work for very long. So back to my orginal premise .. loose headset.
Once I loosened the retainer bolt it was obvious that the headset was loose. A quick 5 minute adjustment and things were fine again. I must not have set the lock nut tight enought last Fall.
Nuts and bolts are in your future. I try to keep the nuts and bolts on my bikes tight … if I don’t over time they loosen and fall off. Also, nuts and bolts on some components aren’t the best, over time corrode and need to be replaced. After a few years of riding I have some that definitely need to be replaced.
Finding good nuts and bolts isn’t easy … the best are a good grade of stainless steel and have nylon binders in the nuts or on the bolts.
A source that a recumbent/trike rider friend recommended is PowerOn Cycling. He buys most of his parts from them. I recently bought replacement idlers from them and can say they are quick and easy to work with. They definitely have some hard to find parts that most recumbent riders will need. They only show a few nuts in their online catalog but have more.
Another more complete source is Allen Fasteners. Ordering from they is more complicated because they sell all kinds of fastners and you will have to look through a lot more items to find what you need.
When in doubt about what you need talk with your local bike shop and buy from them.
The 21st Annual Maine Bike Rally is July 10-12, 2009. This is a fun and affordable event. The $110 nonmember registration fee for 3 days includes tenting, meals and 1 Tee Shirt if you register by June 25th. I am planning to be there and hope you will be there also.
The Bike Rally will be in Fryeburg, Maine again this year. That is great bicycling country and near the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Fryeburg is out of the hustle and traffic of North Conway, NH but close enough if you want to hit the restaurants or outlets (no sales tax in NH).
The Maine Bike Rally is a much-beloved tradition that brings together hundreds of bicyclists from throughout the United States and Canada. The 2009 rally offers three days of road and off-road bike rides in beautiful western Maine and the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire for all levels of cyclists, plus a full weekend of family entertainment.
Rides from five to 100 miles showcase covered bridges, woodland trails, historic sites, local swimming holes and the historic Fryeburg Fairgrounds. There will be a Time Trail (where each bicyclist races against the clock), two century rides, several metric centuries, sunrise rides and stargazing night rides. The rally also will appeal to the non-cyclists in your family with canoeing, hiking, shopping and other attractions nearby.
Now in its 21st year, the rally features a colorful bike parade, ice cream social, music and other entertainment. Camping, food (including big breakfasts, picnic lunches and all-you-can-eat dinner), all rides, entertainment and a bike rally T-shirt are included in the affordable, weekend price if you preregister by June 25th.
An adult bike driving class (Smart Cycling-Traffic Skills 101) and a League Cycling Instructor training course will be offered in Fryeburg during the week before the rally
I am not a coffee drinker and almost never drink coffee except on moderate to long bicycle rides. I find the taste of coffee too strong and that it hides the taste of food.
I don’t drink energy drinks and gatorade upsets my stomach. My favorite Power Bars are Fig Newtons. I just don’t think expensive speciality food does much for most cyclists. I am a believer in the Laws of Thermodynamics and am skeptical of any claims that seem to violate them.
But I may be wrong. I do feel that a hot cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee helps get me over the mid-ride energy dip I often encounter. The combination of caffeine and sugar gives me a boost that gets me to the end of a 50 to 70 mile ride feeling better than if I hadn’t had one.
For my wife there is no intelligent life before a Starbucks Venti Carmel Macchito but she is addicted and must have her coffee. Lots of riders want an ice cream, for me it’s a hot Dunkin Donuts regular (lots of cream and sugar) coffee and I am ashamed to admit a blueberry donut.
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I can’t find my favorite jerseys any more but these are as close as you can get and at a great price. BTW: this is the same company that produces Duofold. Here’s their write up:
Register Online
