Yet Another Awesome Use For Old Bike Parts

Cycle Love recently shared images of a collection of sculptures from Edouard Martinet. These wickedly accurate and detailed insect sculptures are assembled from re-purposed objects - mostly parts taken from mechanical assemblies. Looking closely, you can see a number of bicycle parts that went into the making of each of these. Therefore I felt compelled to share. There a few extra images over at Colossal as well.

Bike Share In Springfield? Nah.

I'm not sure why, but I was reminded of an article from earlier this year on OzarksFirst about a future bike share program in Springfield. The article was certainly attention-grabbing, but gives no indication that a bike share program is even remotely forthcoming. Instead, it gives a brief overview of what a bike share program is and how it would work in Springfield. The language is pretty vague and the article notably short. It was enough to get me excited about the idea of a program in the area. I'm not going to hold my breath, though.

From Annoying Samaritan to Zombie: The BikeHacks Dictionary of Bike Commuter Slang

I've been enjoying the blog BikeHacks since I came across it a couple weeks ago. Today, I was directed to the Bike Hacks Dictionary of Bike Commuter Slang. And now I can't get enough of it. First, I made my way through the entire collection just enjoying the humor of it all - see Eye of Mordor, Grasshopper, Gerbil, Brutus, and Annoying Samaritan. Annoying Samaritan is one I particularly enjoyed because Ginger called out this particular demographic last summer. Once I had thoroughly enjoyed the entries, I went back through to try to self identify. A couple that jumped out at me immediately were Plain Jane and Stagecoach. I'm probably being too nice to myself though. We all know I'm a KSF.

Prepping The Garage For Tinkerization

Ginger shared this image yesterday via Instragram. It's our backyard during day one of a major garage reorganization. It's hard to believe, but we moved into our new house nearly six months ago. All that time, I've been living with a majority of my tools packed away. I'm not going to pretend it hasn't been difficult keeping 5 bikes up and running with very few tools and little space. But it's been a harsh winter, which has kept Ginger off of her bike for all but a few weekend rides, so my machine is really the only one that has required much upkeep.

With the mild weather we had last weekend, I decided it was time to get started on setting up the Tinkery. The breadth of the work involved hanging my canoe on the wall using my canoe brackets. The rest of the day was mostly spent just shuffling stacks of boxes and gear around the garage, clearing space for shelving, and piling tools and bike parts where my future work bench will be located. As some of you may already know, my previous wooden work bench was stolen from behind our house, where it was living temporarily until I could make space for it in the garage - or until someone relieved me of it while I was sleeping.

My next step will be to build a new work bench and install some racks to hang bikes on the wall. I'm considering hanging a couple bikes horizontally and a couple vertically; the tandem may end up hanging from the ceiling. I'm not entirely sure yet. I don't have much room, so bike storage arrangement may be a bit tricky. What can I say? It's a small one-car garage. Then it'll just be a matter of getting tools and parts organized and stored properly.

If Love Is In The Air, Is It Also In Our Tires?

Ginger and I took ourselves out to lunch today - something we rarely do anymore with her working out of town. I couldn't help but notice how cute our bikes looked leaning against each other on a Valentine's Day afternoon.

Good Winter

It's been a cold, wet winter. I know a lot of my friends and colleagues might disagree, but it's also been pretty great. Admittedly, there have been a few logistical challenges when it comes to getting my son to preschool. But I don't mind the cold weather - nor does the boy, as he's been quick to tell me - and the snow that has continued to stick around most of the winter has been a lot of fun. After all, commuting in the nasty winter weather was one of the main reasons I kept my GT mountain bike around, and it's a fantastic machine for doing just that.

It's now mid-February, and I'm doubtful we'll get much more wintry precipitation this season. So as the weather starts warming up, I'll be looking forward to next winter; and in the depths of the dog days of summer, I'll be dreaming of slogging through the snow on my mountain bike during this cold, wet winter.

Check Out This Bishop Randonneur

Ran across this beauty at CycleEXIF, and I just had to share. The overall look of the bike absolutely pops, and the attention to detail - a mainstay of Bishop Bicycles - is just plain astonishing. What's more, I couldn't help but notice some parallels between this randonneur and Ginger's Motobecane Super Mirage. While Ginger's Super Mirage isn't quite as spectacular as the Bishop, the two machines share certain qualities; the strikingly similar frame color, the hammered alloy fenders, the rich antique-finished leather saddle. The bicycles don't share a pedigree, but I was pleased that some of our design ideas that went into the Super Mirage build have shown up independently in the work of a world-class designer. I guess Ginger and I have a bit of a knack for this stuff after all!

How Did I Miss This?

I had a visit from a coworker last week who recently relocated from Oregon. After noticing bicycle paraphernalia in my office, she inquired about my commuting habits. She then mentioned that she has been lobbying the leadership at our mutual employer to institute the federal bicycle commuter benefit. I told her I wasn't aware of a bike commuter benefit. She explained that employers are allowed to provide financial benefit to employees who commute to work regularly by bicycle.

As it turns out, the bicycle commuter benefit - implemented by the IRS - was enacted as part of the Renewable Energy Tax Credit legislation in 2009. It's meant to act as a reimbursement for reasonable expenses associated with commuting to work by bike - purchase of a bicycle, maintenance, parking, cycling accessories, etc. The amount of money we're talking about here is pretty meager: a maximum allowed benefit of $20 per month, or $240 per year. But the benefit is tax free.

I'll be joining the lobbying efforts for the bicycle commuter benefit with my employer. I'm looking forward to seeing if I can help get a little extra cash for me and my cycling compatriots.