The sun was probably setting as I was helping park (and un-park) bikes in San Francisco, but I couldn’t tell because of the tall buildings surrounding me. A friendly-looking man approached with a slight look of concern on his face. He needed to retrieve his bike because he knew our event was ending, but he also needed to stay for a couple of extra hours. In search of a solution, he had done some research – there were BikeLink lockers nearby, so he rode off to park his bike in one of their storage lockers. Unfortunately, he came back a few minutes later. He didn’t have a BikeLink card, and couldn’t purchase one (and load funds onto it) until the next morening. Some BikeLink lockers accept Clipper cards (our local transit cards), so I quickly checked my phone to see […]
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Protected bike lanes separate people on bikes from moving cars – and parked cars.
I rode my bike down the protected bicycle lane on Telegraph Avenue in downtown Oakland the other day. It was not as pleasant as I’d hoped, but still way better than what it was like riding a bicycle on Telegraph Avenue before the lanes were installed. Back then, it felt like riding next to cars on a highway, with some obstacles in between. Traffic speeds are slower now, but there are still a lot of obstacles. Most of the obstacles were at driveways and intersections, and were mostly drivers who were trying to drive their cars somewhere. When the bike lanes ended downtown though, the painted bike lane became an auxiliary parking lot for cars. This was frustrating, as the parked cars render those bike lanes useless. I guess one could argue that they were already useless to start, since […]
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Hiding my AirTag on my bike: 6 months in with the AirTag bike mount
(can you see the AirTag above? It’s hidden under the water bottle.) 6 months in: How’s the bike AirTag holder? The Bike Sight AirTag mount has been working great. It’s been through 2 or 3 atmospheric rivers so far (so a ton of rain) and I haven’t had to touch it. Physically, how is the AirTag bike mount doing? I haven’t had to touch it it at all, but visually it looks great. I’m confident that there’s been no water ingress due to the weatherproofing gasket. I forget that it’s there most of the time. I also don’t really notice it because it’s hidden under the water bottle cage. When do I use the AirTag with my bike? I find myself using the AirTag when I have left my bike parked somewhere for a while and just want to make […]
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Frog 55 20″ Kids bike: Quick thoughts
We briefly had a Frog 55 kids bike (20″ wheels) to try out for a bit and so I wanted to share some thoughts about it. Frog Bikes is a UK-based company that designs and makes lightweight children’s bikes. Like other bike brands (Islabike comes to mind) they were founded by parents looking for nicer bike options for their kids. Their goals are to make riding easy, comfortable and enjoyable for kids. The Frog 55 is a slightly larger 20″ bike than the Frog 52, where the “52” and “55” correspond to the child’s minimum inside leg measurement to ride that bike. Slightly aggressive geometry My kid currently rides a bike that is the same size (20″ wheels). She said that the Frog 55 bike feels more stretched out than her other bike, but she didn’t mind too much. On […]
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Biking the kids to school in light rain? Not too bad of a Bike Bus today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nSk8ngGlwI&feature=youtu.be We might have overdressed today but it was not a bad ride to school in the rain. Our fingers got a little cold but the rest worked out fine. Here’s what made the ride more comfortable: Fenders Waterproof pants and jackets A bike safety flag for visibility Bike Bus Friends! A waterproof backpack cover Good headlights Riding through puddles Here are some general tips for riding your bike in the rain. And here are tips specifically for riding bikes with kids in the rain. Or follow along for updates:
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Cars parked in the bike lane. It’s dangerous, but surprisingly not illegal.
The other night, I was riding home from UC Berkeley with my kid. We rode through a bad stretch of Dana Street, where the bike lane is on the left side. It’s a one-way street with heavy car traffic. As usual (unfortunately), someone was parked in the bike lane, blocking us. We scanned for traffic behind us, looking for an opening in traffic. We found a break in traffic, and tried to go around as fast as possible. More cars arrived as we started to go around. The driver blocking the lane was playing on their phone while idling their car. Oblivious or ignorant to the problems they were causing. Perhaps they were waiting to pick somebody up? It’s unsettling to watch your child ride while surrounded by moving cars. You already feel vulnerable, and your child looks even more […]
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How to attach a bike flag (Bike Beam)
How to attach a bike flag, a guide Bicycle safety is probably a top priority for you, and one way to increase your visibility is to attach a bike safety flag. Where do I mount the bike safety flag? Attaching the bike safety flag is a relatively simple process. First, you need to choose a suitable location to mount the bicycle flag. The Bike Beam comes with either a rack mount or axle mount. But you can also attach it to a trailer. Other safety flags usually come with an axle mount or can also fit into the bike flag mounting hole of a trailer. You’ll usually want the flag at the rear of your bike. Different types of bike flag mounts There are 3 main types of bike flag mounts: Axle or quick release bike flag mount: This […]
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BikeIndex: the best place to report your bike stolen online
Bike theft sucks. A couple friends reported having their bikes stolen in the last 2 months, and it got me to thinking about how worthwhile it is to list your bikes on BikeIndex. If you’re worrying about your bike being stolen, or if your bike has been stolen and you need help getting it back, BikeIndex can be a really helpful resource. BikeIndex is the best place to report your stolen bike online BikeIndex is a free, online, non-profit, database where people can list their bikes and report their stolen bikes. It’s the biggest database that I know of, so if your bike is stolen, you have a better chance of searchers finding you. BikeIndex sends out alerts when bikes are marked stolen to broaden potential group people who can find your bike. As of this writing, nearly 12,000 bikes […]
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Which 3 settings should you use for AirTag (anti-theft bike GPS tracker)
Recommended iPhone settings for an AirTag bike mount If you’ve bought our weatherproof AirTag bike mount (style: under water bottle holder), Apple’s FindMy app is what you will use to locate your bike. It functions as a bike GPS tracker by harnessing Apple’s network of hundreds of millions of devices. Here are the settings that I recommend and why I think they’re important. Notify when found: usually Disabled, Enabled if you bike has been stolen. If this setting is disabled, you will need to visit the FindMy app to determine whether your bike can be located. You probably want to keep this setting disabled so you don’t get false positive notifications if your bike is in a known location. You cannot enable this setting if the FindMy network has located your bike. Notify when left behind: Enabled, except for at […]
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How much does a bike light cost?
How much does a bike light cost? I was chatting with another parent at the school bike racks last week, and he mentioned how his kid’s been inspired to ride to school lately but was a little concerned about riding home in the evenings. School’s over around 2:50pm, but often kids have after school programs and as such, many kids don’t leave for home until maybe 5:30pm. We chatted about types of bike lights that are available and how he just wanted to make sure his kid was visible on the road. There’s a wide spectrum of different bike lights available at different prices (I looked at a bunch of different ones in the bike lights for kids guide) and here is a summary of what one can expect. Bike headlights: Great for being seen, lighting up the road, and […]
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