Friday, September 21, 2012

Updates and Cupcakes


There has not been much bicycle advocacy news here at Rigid Bicycles for a few months now so let's get right into it.

Last week was the national conference called Pro Walk Pro Bike went down in LA and they made the announcement that Pittsburgh will be hosting the shindig in 2014, so we're looking forward to that.

Secondly, The folks at PTAG need help to finish the second jump line at their North Park Freeride Skills area, so if you have some free time on Sunday, and are not committed to the first Month of Mud race of this season, then head up to North Park and throw some dirt around.

Also, the League of American Bicyclists announced that in addition to bicycle friendly city awards in the categories of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, they will now be adding an even more pretentious category called Diamond.  Set your municipal sights high because it takes a lot of self-aggrandizing to reach that level of precious gem-ery.

Some time ago I mentioned how passionate I am about texting while driving. I still see many drivers using phones--they could be texting, or they could be updating these myspace pages that I've heard all about--and it still makes me angry. I previously wrote that we could use some marketing creativity aimed at eliminating texting and driving, and that is exactly what the Department of Transportation has done. The campaign is called It Can Wait, and we all agree that if you want to send a text from your car, just wait until you're parked. They have a page that lets you put a little symbol next to your profile picture for various social media platforms (medias?) (mediums?). Go check it out; use it or not, but spread the word that texting and driving kills people.

I have a great friend, a big brother of sorts, a former coach, and all around great guy who deserves a little hype. Rich Vossler, the workhorse behind Rich Vossler Photography, has been creating some amazing images in and around Boulder Colorado for many years now. So for the parting shots on this episode, check out some recent shots of the world famous Valmont Bike Park and then head over to Vossler's site to see lots more photos.

Guidance.



Monday, September 3, 2012

The Labor Day Lab: Creating the Future

If you're located in these United States then this weekend's Oreo cookie sandwich is made a little sweeter with the addition of an extra dab of filling for Labor Day. This weekend is double stuffed. So let's twist off the crumbly black cookie wafer of Friday right now because we have nothing but sweet creamy white paste all the way till Tuesday.

This guy Chris Akrigg was pretty seriously injured last year, and now he's back riding bicycles through the abandoned detritus of exhausted industrial landscapes. This type of thing may not be for everyone, but it really is amazing to think about how the sport of mountain biking has evolved in my lifetime. To be fair, it's not just mountain biking, because it seems like all the adrenaline-fueled sports have changed. The rate of progression has been phenomenal. People are doing backflips on snowmobiles. Anyway, I wonder what riding bikes will be like when my children are grown?

Through the mill from chris akrigg on Vimeo.


Have a great weekend everyone. Try to keep the rubber side down.