Cold Ride Blues

Washington DC is south of the Mason-Dixon line and is supposed to be warmer than this in winter, or so it seems to me. Even last year when it snowed quite a bit, there was more up-and-down variation in the winter temps than this year when it seems as though it has been more consistently below freezing at night (and during the morning bike commute). I am tired of it. (Poor poor me . . . )

Winter Biking Primer from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Anyway, then I found this video (above) on another local bike blog and I'm afraid it had the opposite of the intended effect for me - instead of seeing how easy riding in winter is, I was reminded of various aspects of winter riding that I have been finding annoying, like how long it takes to get all the winter stuff on and off. The "model" in the video has her clothes put on in double time yet it still takes her a while to get on all the layers. Oh for summer and a pair of shorts, a shirt, socks and shoes . . . And not to mention dealing with ice hither and yon on the bike trails.

Of course, it could be much worse for clothing, like this getup my daughter wore when we lived in Russia more than ten years ago ~



Is there a child in those clothes??

Soviet Time Trial Bike (Unusual Design)

Found in Flickr - a Soviet bicycle design from the 1980s. The "Takhion," (Tachyon in English) - used by Soviet Olympic teams among others.

(I had a different photo from Flickr, but it disappeared, so I have substituted this one from user Anders.)

An article translated (by Google) from cyclepedia.ru, a Russian site devoted to cycling (in Russian). The translation is a little wonky, but you can get the basic idea and see more photos. Since only 400 Takhion cycles were made of various types, they are pretty rare!

As noted in several sources, it isn't a Russian bike design but from Kharkov, in the Ukraine. The designer's name was Vorontsov and his signature is on this card in the upper left.

Bicycle Messenger 1896

Nice photo of a bike messenger in New York in 1896 from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.



Item's record with details. This was taken by Alice Austen, a photographer who did the photographs of a woman rider for Bicycling for Ladies also published in 1896.

More about her photography is available at the "Friends of Alice Austen House" site.

Wheels of Change - Women Cycling 1890s

Wheels of Change is a brand new book about the liberating influence of bicycles on the lives of American (mostly) women in the 1880s and 1890s.

The bicycle craze swept the nation and allowed women to ride into a new world full of all sorts of freedoms.

Dust jacket blurbs often resort to hyberbole, but this volume really does include "an astonishing number of primary source research gems" that I have been enjoying.



The author, Sue Macy, has her own author site where she uses as part of her web design the picture I have above, so I know we have been looking at some of the same stuff that is out there!

I suppose this is intended for a teenage audience, but I find it excellent.

To be a Russian Wheelwoman . . .

(Scroll down the above image if you wish to see text in original - lower right of page). Under "Wheelwomen in Europe" in the February 1901 issue of L.A.W. Magazine we read ~

In Russia everything is managed "by order of the czar," and cycling is no exception to the rule. Before a woman can possess a wheel she must obtain royal consent, and as this is granted quite sparingly there are but few wheelwomen in Russia.

Can this have really been true???

Self Defense for the Cyclist (1901 article)

Self-Protection on a Cycle is an article in a 1901 issue of Pearson's Magazine, a British magazine. I found reference to it (albeit a bit obscure) in a Russian web site (where some of the illustrations have been posted).



The article covers the following~

How you may Best Defend Yourself when Attacked by Modern Highwaymen, Showing how you should Act when Menaced by Foot-pads, when Chased by another Cyclist, and when Attacked under various other Circumstances ; Showing, also, how the Cycle may be used as a Weapon.

explaining that

Self-protection awheel is an art full of possibilities. The cyclist who is a skilful rider, who possesses pluck and dash, who has mastered the elementary rules of defence on a bicycle, and who is armed with a knowledge of how to use a machine to the best advantage as a weapon, may rest content that he is able to defend himself perfectly when attacked under the majority of likely conditions.

The article then goes into considerable detail, with photographs of the "tactics," on how to achieve the best defensive results.

Rocket Scientists Think Cycling is Safe (Enough)

NASA pulls injured shuttle astronaut off flight (Associated Press item)

An astronaut who crashed his bicycle last weekend won't be taking part in space shuttle Discovery's final voyage next month.

. . . . .

To cut down on preflight injuries, NASA has a whole list of prohibited activities for astronauts assigned to space missions. Among the banned high-risk sports: motorcycle riding, skiing, parachuting and acrobatic flying. Bicycling is not on the list.