EcoVelo, one of my favorite bicycling blogs, is running a series on Bike Commuting 101, which is shaping up to be very nice. Today Alan posted a bit about a subject dear to my heart: lights. While Alan is based in CA, the law is pretty much the same here. More importantly, the message is applicable here.

how to be nice to someone in two simple steps

Digging these tweed messenger bags from SF. Eighty bucks? Seems like a steal to me.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, is not exactly the sort of place you’d imagine to be in dire need of a facelift and urban renewal. Images of a gorgeous coastline and old colonial architecture come to mind, but guess what? The old part of the city, “the Isleta,” is rife with poor urban planning scars, such as inaccessible beaches due to ports and an excessive reliance on cars. The government has decided to infuse the city with $1.5 billion dollars to re-develop San Juan and, most of all, make it a walking city, with no cars allowed.

More here.

I’ve written about Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac before. This past week I had the pleasure of finishing my second issue. Definitely interested in more.

The Practical Bicyclist’s Handbook, the Basic Field and Street Manual for Utilitarian Riding, features

• Farming By Bicycle
• Riding in Cleveland and Pittsburgh
• Bamboo Bicycles
• Bicycles, Women, & The Vintage Posters Bearing Them Both
• Two Gears Better Than One
• Bicycle Lights
• Shame & Guilt On The Commute
• and a bunch of other stuff worth reading.

Boneshaker is available from Wolverine Farm Publishing for $6.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here, but my first book of poetry, Unexpected Sunlight, will be out soon from FootHills Publishing. You can read my work at jasoncrane.org.

Here’s a poem I wrote this week based on a bike ride:

“North Greenbush To Albany”

That bike in the garage or basement has been collecting dust and spider webs for how long? What about the closet or shelf containing all those unused, not needed, parts or accessories? Give it up!

R Community Bikes could recycle that equipment that would benefit those that need new wheels, a bell or horn, cables for brake or derailleur, whatever.

You don’t know about the best bicycle community service organization in the world!
Read on.

R Community Bikes is a grassroots, 501(c)3 organization that collects and repairs used bicycles for distribution, free of charge, to Rochester, NY’s most needy children and adults. Our mission is meeting the basic transportation needs of those in the community who depend on bikes for recreation as well as for transport to work, school, rehabilitation programs, and training sessions. For this segment of the population, both quality of life and the ability to participate in our community are greatly enhanced when our mission is achieved. R Community Bikes also provides a venue for the Rochester bicycling community to conduct educational programs relative to bicycle safety and maintenance.

R Community BikesWe are open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm at our warehouse at 226 Hudson Ave. (at the intersection with Woodbury Street). In addition, on Wednesdays in the summer we conduct bike repairs at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality at 402 South Avenue.

We welcome donations of bikes, bike parts, tools and money to cover expenses such as spare parts. We are always in need of volunteers to serve as mechanics and a variety of other positions. We provide the necessary training. http://www.rcommunitybikes.net/

‘I now have a fairly clutter free basement and more room on the shelves to store the latest bicycle gadgets,’ says Richard DeSarra

This looks heavenly. I’d definitely like to do some sort of tweed ride and pizza run this spring/summer. I need to get myself a nice tweed jacket. (Yard sale season is coming.)

This is a good read. Funny and true. And I’ll second Jarred Walker‘s favorite:

9) It’s just as fun as when you were a kid. You go zoom! and whoosh! You’re a sky creature, not a miserable earth-crawler. And you get to the end of your commute feeling invigorated and intensely alive.

Via FAIL Blog