Sean’s Blog

(One of the colder days in the Bay Area. I admit, we have it pretty good here.)

In the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s been pretty mild weathered for the most part this fall and early winter. We’re beginning to see the first signs of heavy rains and some are predicting an El Niño rainy season.

For the most part, I’ve only done rainy day bicycle commuting, but have limited my distance riding to fairer days and more likely to the fairer months of the year.

This year I’ve decided to try commit to train for some longer rides during the wetter, colder months. A friend introduced me to the San Francisco Randonneurs and they are one of the few organizations that hosts cycling events year round in fair and fowl weather. If you are not in the SF Bay Area, you can try to locate a local chapter by contacting Randonneurs USA.

This Saturday is the first brevet of the year. It’s a 200km loop from the Golden Gate Bridge through the Pt. Reyes area. Rain is in the forecast and there has been some discussion about what to wear and what to expect. I’ve picked up tips and tricks ranging from the absolutely best jacket money can buy to the joy of wrapping newspaper under your jersey to absorb moisture.

Read one of the discussions here.

I’ve run across several one or two person bicycle based businesses and really like what I see. I think it’s really nice to see one-off, handmade products and clever stickers and t-shirts that represent bicycling ideals.

Bicycle Bags:

Burro Bags

Acorn Bags

Hambone Designs

Stickers and Tees:

Zero Per Gallon

One Less Car

A coworker, JC, suggested riding in a brevet this upcoming Saturday with the San Francisco Randonneurs. I had heard the word randonneur thrown around in different cycling conversations, but was a bit clueless of its significance.

From what I’ve read on Wikipedia and on the San Francisco Randonneurs’ site, I’ve learned the following. A brevet is non-competitive: there is a maximum time limit to finish the course, but no prize for first. The rides are usually minimally supervised, relying on honesty and check-point controls such as recording a mileage marker on a certain sign or receiving a time stamped receipt from a particular store, etc. And I believe you have to pack your own gear, especially if you plan to stop and sleep.

This Saturday’s ride is only a 115k, also known as a Populaire, and should be a good intro to the sport. The categories of rides go all the way up to 1200+ km spread over multiple days, the most famous being the Paris-Brest-Paris.

It’s really good having an event to look forward to. And we’ll see where this journey goes!

Update

Here’s a picture from checkpoint 2 of the ride: Nicasio General Store.

Me, Eric, JC, Adrienne, and Meli

This month I received an issue of Bicycling “The Buyers Guide 2009” and in big, bold letters the cover reads “Why You Need a New Bike This Year.” The magazine goes on to argue that despite the economy headed south a bicycle is still rated as a “buy.” As they put it, “A bicycle is an investment, and its returns lie far beyond the bounds of money,” referring to the health benefits, life experiences, and social or not-so-social aspects of riding. Then they ease you into pages of bicycle specs and reviews ranging from a Jamis Commuter 1 with a price of $365 (which I think is suggestive of how many days a year you should ride it) to the for-your-eyes-only Fondreist TF1 Anniversary priced at $13,000.

The economy sucks! And as a past small business owner, I know that even the smallest fluctuations in business are felt whether good or bad. Most handmade bicycle builders are small businesses with only a handful of employees and some with only one person taking the orders, building the bikes, and doing the nitty-gritty of business back end. As it turns out, a majority of people in the U.S. are employed by small businesses and I think it benefits our economy greatly to support the small guys.

So this weekend marks the 5th Annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show held in Indianapolis. A few years back, the NAHBS came to San Jose, California. Ever since that day I’ve been obsessed with handmade bicycles. I have two of my own, a touring/cyclocross bicycle and a track bike. And since, I have been visiting some of the builders’ sites and drooling over their latest creations.

I would like to share some of the links that I frequent and hope you’ll find them just as interesting as I do…and perhaps start saving for your dream bike! This is by no means a comprehensive list, so I encourage you to share links.

S.F. Bay Area and Beyond

Innerlight Cycles: The two bicycles I mentioned earlier are Innerlights and they rock! They are built in Davis, CA by Kimo Tanaka.

Sycip: These guys are out of the Santa Rosa area and from what I hear, their bikes are legendary. They offer some really cool two-tone powdercoats.

Calfee Design: I believe Craig Calfee was one of the pioneers of carbon bicycle frames. They also do a beautiful bamboo bicycle.

Ahrens Bicycles: Mike Ahrens is an engineer by profession and makes bicycles on the side. Check out his headset spacer and seatpost clamp bottle openers. Some day I’d like to be like Mike!

Portland, Oregon

Vanilla Bicycles: I saw these bikes for the first time at the NAHBS. They had a tricycle on display with Phil Wood wheels. That says it all!

Hufnagel Cycles: I came across this site when reading about a S.F. pro-skateboarder by the same last name. Props for the pewter head badges.

Keith Anderson Cycles: Keith is actually out of Grants Pass, OR. He does amazing OEM painting for other frame builders and does these wicked looking pursuit track bikes.

Madison, Wisconsin

Jonny Cycles: These bikes probably left the biggest impression on me at the NAHBS. They are just really cool looking bikes.

Banjo Cycles: These bikes have an elegant classic look and the rustic headbadge is a nice touch. Banjo Cycles shares shop space with Jonny Cycles.

ZR Cycles: Classic lugs and beautiful fillet brazed joints. ZR Cycles also shares shop space with Jonny Cycles.

Somewhere on planet earth

Fast Boy Cycles: These bikes are really cool with their wooden handlebars and custom wood handlebar racks.

BME: Homemade carbon fiber and bamboo bicycles. Are you kidding me? Awesome!

UBI’s Links

A handful of the builders listed got their start at the United Bicycle Institute. They have an extensive list of links on their site. I would love to take their frame building course someday.

I hope you enjoyed some of these links and I hope it inspired you to go handmade!