Starting Sept. 15th Every Monday at 6:30pm, William E Smith Field, behind the bike polo court, 250 western Ave, the best part it’s FREE BITCHES!

Come race, come watch some races, and have a good time.

These guys are absolutely nuts, certifiable.

Grocery delivery just got a whole lot greener. Harvest Co-op, a local Boston produce provider has teamed up with New Amsterdam Project, a human-powered delivery company, to offer a convenient, affordable new service for it’s customers. Now you can walk, ride a bike or take the train, buzz in any-time, do some shopping and not have to worry about lugging all those bags home. Your order will be delivered to your front door safe and sound -with zero carbon footprint! No longer will you need a car to get food from the store to your home, and no longer will you have to worry about how much gas is being used if you choose home delivery.

At Harvest, nothing is more important than its community. So when customers expressed interest in a grocery delivery service, Harvest responded… thoughtfully, of course. “Harvest is committed to providing quality products and outstanding service to our members and customers, so a home delivery program to our local patrons made a lot of sense. The last thing we wanted to do, however, was to add more cost, carbon and congestion to the local environment,” said Mike St. Clair, General Manager at Harvest.

Hiring New Amsterdam Project, an exclusively pedal-powered delivery company, was the obvious choice. ”They were the perfect partners” says St. Clair, “A like-minded company with a great idea
and a lot of energy”.

Customers can shop anytime during the week and schedule a delivery to be made between the hours of 6 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Charges for delivery are based on distance from the co-op: $7.50 for locations within about a one-mile radius or $10 between one and two miles. Additional delivery areas such as Allston, Boston, Arlington and Belmont are also being considered. Customers will also be able to take advantage of a NAP’s personal shopping service for an additional $20.

While Harvest has added a valuable service for its customers, the benefits to the community don’t stop there. Chris Durkin, Harvest’s Director of Membership and Community Relations: “Our commitment to the environment, to providing healthy food alternatives and to promoting locally owned businesses are not new. It has been our mission as a community owned cooperative since 1971” The deal also helps the upstart Cambridge-based company, New Amsterdam Project, expand its operations while keeping additional gas-powered vehicles off of Cambridge and Somerville streets.

That’s good for the environment and makes for a healthier, more vibrant community. Part of the mission of New Amsterdam Project’s owner, Andrew Brown, is to promote utilitarian cycling in the greater Boston area. “We want to take many of the delivery jobs that are out there and make them healthier” says owner Andrew Brown “We can transform the work experience.”

New Amsterdam Project is quickly proving that cycle-power is a sustainable, profitable approach to transporting commercial goods. As its services grow, the public can look forward to more Project initiatives to create a greener, healthier future for communities. One day I hope to see nothing but these bicycle powered deliver trucks doing all the local deliveries in every city, not just Boston. This is a great idea’s who’s time has most certainly come.

WOW! So this weekend was the bicycle film fest. In a word, AWESOME! Great time, great people, great movies. It was a fantastic time, and if you missed it, SHAME ON YOU.

The whole thing kicked off with a sweet party at Underground video/Revolution Cycles in JP. BoldSprints, over 200 PBR’s (mostly tall boys, all free) veggy dogs, food from veggie planet, and a whole lot of fun. Natasha took some great pictures of the event, here is a taste.

Here is some guy betting five bucks that I wont beat Phil (who is a really nice guy) at bold sprints…too bad for phil, and that guy, I ROCKED HIS ASS.

Faster Phil…faster.

The next Friday was the first round of movies at the Somerville theater, in Davis Square. It rained…a lot, but that didn’t stop a huge number of people from showing up to watch some awesome movies.

Saturday was a blast, much nicer, much sunnier, more awesome movies, there was tricks out front, valet bike parking from MassBike, and a whole host of great bike people around all day. I got to see Lucas Brunelle, got to be at the finish line as Peter Bradshaw WHOOPED everyone (he was in like a couple minutes faster than the person in second place) at the fastforward alley cat, and got to see a lot of nice bikes and meet a lot of nice people.

This was followed up by even more fun at Great Scott for the after party, and if that wasn’t enough a sweet brunch/ride on Sunday. Wow…

Like I said this was a really fun event, thanks to Seth, Dorothy, Brent and everyone else who made this a fantastic event. You guys ROCK. Also be sure to check out a lot more of Natasha’s sweet pictures here.

If you missed it this year be sure to check it out next year.

DotBike is really doing a lot of great things in Dorchester, be sure to check it all out. Below is an email I got today.

—-

RIDE TO THE BEACH WITH DOTBIKE SATURDAY AUGUST 16TH at 10:30 AM.

The Dorchester Beach Festival is happening on Saturday August 16th from 11-4 at Malibu Beach in Savin Hill. Check out their web site for all the fun things to do and see: www.dorchesterbeachfestival.com

DotBike is leading a family friendly ride to the festival along the Neponset River and Harbor Trails. The ride is primarily on dedicated bike paths and low traffic streets. If you’ve never been on these paths you’re in for a treat.

There are two distance options.

* For a 4.5 mile ride meet us at 10:30 at the southern end of the Neponset River Trail near the intersection of Central Ave. and River St. in Milton.
* For a 3 mile ride meet us at 10:45 in Pope John Paul II park near the Hallet St. parking area.

At the festival DotBike will provide free valet parking for your bike, bike safety checks, giveaways and information on our efforts to close the gaps in the Harbor Trail. We will also be providing escorts by bike back to where you started.

And if you can’t make it to our ride at 10:30 but still want to ride to the festival we will have someone to meet you at Pope John Paul II park every hour on the half hour from 11:30 to 2:30 to provide an escort. Or you can check out our recommended routes on the map on our Beach festival page http://dotbike.bostonbiker.org/dotbike-dorchester-beach-festival/ or at the ‘Directions’ page of the beach festival site.

If you would like to volunteer to help us out or for more information on this event check out: http://dotbike.bostonbiker.org/dotbike-dorchester-beach-festival/, email dotbike@bostonbiker.org or call Andy at 781-367-9200.

OTHER PLACES TO FIND DOTBIKE IN AUGUST

* Representative Marie St.-Fleur Community Hot Dog nights;

Tuesday August 12th 6-7:30 p.m. at St. Peter’s Teen Center 294 Bowdoin St.
Wednesday August 13th 6-7:30 p.m. at Project Hope 555 Dudley St.

DotBike will have demos, safety checks and giveaways at these events.

* Our monthly DotBike commute ride home Wednesday August 13th at 5:30 p.m. from the Boston Common down Dot Ave to Dorchester.
see http://dotbike.bostonbiker.org/dot-bike-ride-home/ for more info

* Boston Bike Friday August 22nd at 7:00 a.m.

Ride with DotBike and others with a police escort up Dorchester Ave. to City Hall Plaza for free breakfast and bike expo. See http://www.cityofboston.gov/bikes/bikefridays.asp to sign up or for more info.

For more information on all these and other upcoming events check out our event calendar at www.dotbike.org or email us at dotbike@bostonbiker.org

So what do you do if you want a low geared drive train for bike polo (with a free wheel) but you want a larger geared drive train (fixed) to get to the game. Well you could buy two bike and strap one to your back, but if you are Gus you build yourself a double drive train bike with two sets of cog/free wheel and double chain rings. This thing is pretty freaking sweet.

More info here.

Here is what Gus Has to say.

This bike was thrown together primarily as an experiment to see if it was possible, much because I had all of the parts sitting around. It is not without purpose however, since a 4 mile ride to the Allston (Boston) polo court on a 34-18 gear ratio leaves something to be desired. This bike will make it possible to ride a street gear to the court and then play on polo gearing after a quick switch of chains.

8th Annual Bicycle Film Festival

A Celebration of the bicycle as art and the diverse sub-cultures associated with cycling

BOSTON DATES: Thursday August 14th through Sunday August 17th

The Bicycle Film Festival is a celebration of all things BIKE!  We guarantee that if you can name it, our bike-savvy team has tested it, rode it…experienced it.  Tall-Bike Jousting, Mountain Biking, Track Riding, BMX, Recumbent cruising, Critical Mass-ing, Bike Polo-ing, Track Bikes, Alleycats, intense road racing; ….clearly cycling speaks to many “walks of life”.  We invite you to join us as we celebrate these diverse lifestyles through art, film, music and performance at the 8th Annual, Bicycle Film Festival.

On Thursday, August 14th, ride on over to the official “kick-off” party hosted by Jamaica Plain based bike shop Revolution Bicycle Repair and Indie film connoisseurs, Video Underground in their outdoor courtyard.  Expect BoldSprints Roller racing, DJ’s, food and fun.  Then on Friday, August 15th we are rolling the party on over to Davis Square, Somerville with screenings at the Somerville Theater and an after party with bike-happy Redbones.  Films continue at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) on Saturday, August 16th and conclude with the “Bikes Rock”, after party hosted by our friends at the The Weekly DIG and Allston’s finest, Great Scott’s. 

Then, join us as we wrap up party-central weekend with a late morning bike ride and brunch hosted by contemporary home furnishings and apparel mavens, Union Square’s own Grand.

Tickets for all screenings of the Bicycle Film Festival in Boston are available for purchase on the website; Full Festival Passes are only $27.00!!

Visit the Bicycle Film Festival online for trailers, complete events & screening information.

Bicycle parking provided by MassBike at all film screenings.

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Boston Producer, Seth Davis seth@bicyclefilmfestival.com

I have been having all these fun video’s clutter up my video in-box. So without further adu here they are in no apparent order (except the best one is first).

Sprint Night from Panda Face on Vimeo.

much much more below…try not to wast an hour watching these all at work…

(more…)

In another world far far away from the internet (the “real” world), I played a small part in helping to organize Boston’s first Bike Friday. It was a smashing success, with hundreds of people showing up to city hall (which I might add is completely deserted at 5am when you are trying to put a tent up). It was wonderful to see so many people riding in from all over town (see map below). The goal of this event was to show people just how easy it is to ride your bike to work. Hopefully this kind of thing can grow and spread and we can be doing our own little bike Fridays all over the city, all year round, every Friday!

View Larger Map

Here is a bit of video one participant made (from the excellent VeloFellow blog)

If this looks like it would be fun, be sure to check out the next one in August 22 (for this and other events take a look at the event calendar over there on the right) . For more info see the Boston City website for Bike Fridays here. Also be sure to check out the nice picture gallery that Boston.com put on here.

This years International Bicycle Film Fest will be coming to Boston! This looks like a fantastic event. I don’t think I need to tell you that this is going to be EPIC..a must not miss event. Here is the schedule (pdf).

Where
BOSTON
FILM SCREENINGS at SOMERVILLE THEATRE 55 Davis Square, Somerville
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART 100 Northern Ave, BOSTON

THURSDAY AUGUST 14
BFF OPENING NIGHT PARTY!!
7pm till late
383 Centre St, Jamaica Plain
HOSTED BY REVOLUTION BICYCLE RE PAIR AND VIDEO UNDERGROUND
BoldSprints Roller Racing, Music, Food and Beer

After Party
Alchemist Lounge
435 S Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain

FRIDAY AUGUST 15
Film Screenings at SOMERVILLE THEATER
55 Davis Square, Somerville

BICYCLE VALET PARKING PROVIDED by MASSBIKE

Program 1 7:00 PM
DAO & THE ART OF BICYCLE INVENTION
UK 2006 | Various Mediums 3 min.
Dir. Danny Beck
BRIT DOCS Selection.

KEIST PARK
USA 2005 | 16mm 5 min.
Dir. John Ayala
A seven year old leaves his parents and his block for the first time to explore, observe and destroy in a vast new world.

GASOLINE VS YOGURT
USA 2006 | DV 5min.
Dir. Neistat Brothers
The Neistat Brothers have made another short for the BFF. This time Van and his yogurt powered bike take on Casey and his gasoline powered Ducati. You know who wins?

KO MASUDA: LIFE AND PROCESS
Japan 2006 | DV 3min.
Dir. Marc Blake
A short video that captures the unique life and process of Ko Masuda: artist, designer, and Buddhist monk.

ON TIME
USA 1985 | 16mm 7min.
Dir. Ari Taub
This comedy classic short, shown worldwide, marked the debut of director/screenwriter AriTaub and captured the spirit of low budget filmmaking in New York City. Jimmy a bicycle messenger from the Albatross Courier Company, takes us through the streets and boroughs of New York to deliver a package “on time”. Braving the perilous city streets, there’s nothing Jimmy can’t handle, or is there?

TRUNK BOIZ SCRAPER BIKE
USA 2007 | Video 4min.
Dir. Spencer Fortin
Music Video
INES BRUNN – KUNSTRADSHOW
Germany 2000 | Video 5min.
Dir. Masc Coenen & Ines Brunn
Dance, acrobatics, gymnastics—all on a fixed gear. Ines Brunn introduces us to her style of riding called “Artistic Cycling”.

BMX DIVERSION IN BRAZIL
USA/BR AZIL 2002 | 16mm/DV 5min.
Dir. Bobb y Carter
Take a journey to the neighborhoods of Sao Paulo and discover Brazil’s freestyle underground featuring: Balu, Daniel Molina, Leonardo Claro, and Marcos Paulo De Jesus.

BOMB BAY WITH TED SHRED
USA 2005 | DV 5min.
Dir. Matt Goldm an
Legendary ex-skater and DJ, Ted Shred bombs the hills and bustling streets of San Francisco with no brakes… (Seriously, NO BRAKES!!!) Filmmaker Matt Goldman mixes the kamikaze ride with Ted’s own visionary DJ-ing style to create this adrenalized scratch poem.

SKI BOYS
Ca nada 2006 | Sup er-8 8 min.
Dir. Benny Zenga
The lost reels of the Ski Boys document their inventive exploits in rural Ontario during the early ‘70s.

THE RECYCLE A BICYCLE FILM
USA 2007 | DV 22min.
Dir. Marcus Burnett
Recycle a Bicycle offers training and environmental education to youth in NY’s public schools.

TRACK KAIJU
USA 2007 | DV 20min.
Dir. Michael Green
World Champion Fixie King Shino and his travel companion journey from Tokyo to do battle in N.Y.C.’s most legendary, intense alleycat: Monster Track.

LUCAS BRUNELLE WORLDWIDE BROADCAST
USA 2007 | DV 10 min.
Dir. Lucas Brunelle
The famous Lucas Brunelle travels the world from London to Mexico City to New York. In this year’s update of his worldwide adventures, you see the emerging bike movement through his helmet cam.

Program 2 9:00 Pm
BICYCLE SAMBA
UK 2005 | DV 2min.
Dir. Sophie Clements
Samba on bicycles! All sounds directly from the bikes – no added or altered sounds.

SUNDAY SCHOOL
USA 2007 | DV 7min.
Dir. Luke Stiles & Araby Will iams
For the first time in New York City, BIKE POLO made it through the winter, culminating at Spring 2007 Second East Side Polo Invite.

MONSTER TRACK VI
USA 2005 | Video 7min.
Dir. Lucas Brunelle
This alleycat is fixed-gear only. It was set on one of the coldest days of the year in New York City. Catch the intensity of riding in New York with some of the world’s most-skilled city riders.

BIKECAR
USA 2006 | DV 65 min.
Dir. J.T. Fountain
Travis Parker, Louie Fountain and Scotty Wittlake approached travel differently last winter. Putting snowmobiles and 4×4’s to shame, the crew traveled across the great Northwest in a bikecar: a four-person, pedal powered vehicle that was the vessel of the adventure – part bike, part car. Pulling a trailer with snowboards and gear, the crew pedaled in search of snow for one month. “Bikecar” is a one-of-a-kind documentary that brings a new perspective to travel, adventure and snowboarding.

AFTER PARTY TBA

Film Screenings at
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART
100 Northern Ave, BOSTON
BICYCLE VALET PARKING PROVIDED by MASSBIKE

Program 3 1:00 PM
STANDING START
UK 2007 | DV 12min.
Dir. Adrian McDowall & Finlay
What does it take to be the fastest track starter in the world? Standing Start gives insight into Olympian and World Champion Track Sprinter Craig MacLean’s life, his unflinching focus and preparation to battle it out on the world stage – portrayed like a gladiator.

MILLAR’S TALE
USA 2007 | DV 11min.
Dir. Nigel Dick
David Millar, one time prologue winner of the Tour de France, talks about his fight against doping and his future with Slipstream Sports.

ROAD TO ROUBAIX
USA 2008 | Video 75min.
Dir. David Deal and David Cooper
This film features the most difficult and prestigious one-day cycling race in the world: Paris-Roubaix. First held in 1896, now more than a century later the race is still a grueling contest over 160 miles of narrow, cobbled farm roads in Northern France with a finish in the historic Roubaix velodrome. Long known as the “Hell of the North”, this film is a visual narrative of an old school clash of the finest athletes in the world. The filmmakers tell the story of the riders, the fans, the mechanics, and the unpredictable landscape that is the setting for the Paris-Roubaix.

Program 4 4:00 Pm
MONSTER TRACK VI
USA 2005 | Video 7min.
DIR. Lucas Brunell e
This alleycat is fixed-gear only. It was set on one of the coldest days of the year in New York City. Catch the intensity of riding in New York with some of the world’s most-skilled city riders.

BIKE KILL
USA 2005 | DV 5min.
Dir. Rachel Meyrick
The Black Label Bicycle Club puts on the most amazing bicycle events—that is, if you live to tell.

RIDE ON
USA 2006 | DV 12min.
Dir. Kim Jensen
Kim Jensen the founder of MIDNIGHT RIDAZZ has given us a peek into the monthly ride that began as a fun Friday night amongst a few friends. These creative, celebratory rides have gone on to attract up to a thousand riders from around the Greater LA area. This has definitely left an impact on the way many live in LA. The mostly woman production team was lead by Elizabeth Ai.

PEDAL
USA 2001 | DV 52min.
Dir. Peter Sutherland
Acclaimed NYC filmmaker and photographer, Sutherland is known for his work as Director of Photography on the skateboarding film “Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator” which played to audiences nationwide, as well as the photography book AUTOGRAF. Pedal is a fast-paced documentary film about surviving in the streets of New York City as a bicycle messenger. It features messengers from all walks of life as they battle traffic in a race to make their next delivery on time. It premiered in 2001 at the South by Southwest film festival and in New York at the Bicycle Film Festival, and later was acquired by the Sundance channel, where it aired until 2004.

Program 5 6:30 Pm
fun bike Shorts

GOD’S LESSON
Czech Repu blic 2004 | 16mm/Digital Beta 4min
Dir. Petr Bednar
Sometimes bike lessons can be divine.

THERES A FLOWER IN MY PEDAL
Ca nada 2004 | DV/16mm/Sup er 8mm 4min.
Dir. Andrea Dorfman
A rhythm of mixed media reminds us to dust off the old bike and go for a ride.

BIKE RIDE
USA 2000 | 16mm 6 min.
Dir. Tom Schroeder
James rides his bike 50 miles to see his girlfriend, who dumps him. He rides home.

BAREND JAM
UK 2006 | DV 3 min.
Dir. Al ex Rankin
Two fun BMX shorts from the UK

The Bicycle : Beryl the Champion of the World
UK 2006 | Various Mediums 3 min.
Dir. Kate Siney
BRIT DOCS Selection.

ORANGE BIKES TAKE MANHATTAN
USA 2008 | HD 6min.
Dir. Kalim Armstrong
Captures the response to DKNY placing orange-branded bikes throughout New York.

PTERoDACTYL “Polio ”
USA 2007 | DV 3min.
Dir. Matt Marlin
Music Video

D.I.Y. Emancipation 101
USA 2007 | Animation-Xerograph y 1min.
Dir. Lynn Robinson
Bicycling brought freedom to women!

KEIRIN
Japa n/Italy 2008 | HD 5min.
Dir Giovanni Giomm i
A beautifully shot portrait of Japanese Track Racers directed by the director of LES NINJA

DU JAPON. GOODBYE TOMORROW
CANADA / AFRIC A 2008 | HD 8min.
Dir. Benny Zenga & Brian Vernor
This year BFF alumni, Brian Vernor and the Zenga Bros., rode with cameras in hand across Africa. Back in America just in time for the 2008 NYC BFF, they’ve compiled this special presentation, a glimpse into the footage gathered over the last four months and 12,000 kms covered by bicycle.

JIM’S LINES
USA 2008 | HD 5min.
Dir. Patrick Trefz
Artist and chef, Jim Denevan, creates land
art by bicycle.

“WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO”
UK 2007 | 35mm 3min.
BAT FOR LASHES
Dir. Dougal Wilson
Music video

SOME THINGS RIDE A BICYCLE
USA 2006 | Video 45 sec.
Dir. Chris Joll y
This is a series of chalkboard animations of various funny objects riding bicycles.

BICYCLE STORIES
USA 2008 | HD 14min.
Dir. Daniel Leeb
Three different portraits: Matthew McGuiness, George Bliss and Matthew Modine discussing their passions, inspirations and obstacles as they work to build the bike movement.

SKI BOYS
Canada 2006 | Sup er-8 8 min.
Dir. Benny Zenga
The lost reels of the Ski Boys document their inventive exploits in rural Ontario during the early ‘70s.

LUCAS BRUNELLE WORLDWIDE ADVENTURE
USA 2008 | DV 11min.
Dir. Lucas Brunelle
Lucas gives us a look at riding like no one else. London’s underground, the English Countryside, LA’s palm tree lined streets and Tokyo’s freeways are some of the backdrops for alleycats seen through the helmet cam.

Program 6 9:00 PM
URBAN BIKE SHORTS

KING OF SKITCH
USA 2008 | HD 2min.
Dir. Daniel Leeb
The King of New York, Felipe Robayo, will always find the fastest way on a bike to get from A to B.

BIKE THIEF
USA 2004 | DV 4min.
Dir. Neistat Brothers
This is a study of stealing bikes in New York City.

MYSTIK MOOD
USA 1988 | Sup er 8 4min.
Dir. Dieter Runge
A day in the life of a NY bike messenger in the 80’s edited to the song Mystik Mood by the New York band East of Eden.

BALORDA
Italy 2007 | DV 8min.
Dir. Luca Bedini & Marco Brandoli
In Northern Italy, 3000 people come together for a slow orgiastic 3-mile ride feasting on Lambrusco, pasta, and song.

THE MAKING OF BOOTLEG SESSIONS V.2
USA 2008 | DV 5min.
Dir. Burd Phill ips
A short on the efforts of wayward cyclists proving there’s infinite ways to have fun on bicycles.

AN APOLOGY
USA 2007 | DV 3min.
Dir. Neistat Brothers
The Neistat Brothers make a movie for the BFF every year. Here is an apology.

BELLE EPOCH
Italy / USA 2008 | Video 3min.
Dir. Robert Chynoweth
Italian cyclist Giuliano Calore (aka “Cyclist of the Impossible) rides on Europe’s steepest mountain roads playing different musical instruments along the way.

WAFFLE BIKE
USA 2008 | DV 7min.
Dir. Neistat Brothers and Tom Sachs
Tom Sach’s rides his Waffle Bike to Brooklyn.

MACAFRAMA
USA 2007 | HD 11min.
Dir. Colb y El rick
& Colin Arlen
Beautifully shot video showcasing some of the most talented street track riders on the west coast.

Lucas Brunele ’s Greatest Hits
USA 2006 | DV 12min.
Dir. Lucas Brunelle
Over two million people have downloaded his videos. Lucas takes a bike and a camera where no
woman or man has biked before.

WARRIORS: THE BIKE RACE
USA 2004 | Video 21min.
Dir. Christopher Ryan, Michael
Green, Jesse Ep stein
In August of 2002, over 800 bicycle riders descended upon New York City in the form of 89 gangs. Their goal: to live out the epic gang warfare movie known as THE WARRIORS. During the all night race from the Bronx to Coney Island, riders got lost, blood was shed, police outwitted, and countless brain cells destroyed. Most of what took place that night was thankfully never to be discussed again until…WARRIORS: THE BIKE RACE.

BIKES ROCK! Afterparty
9:00 pm
Great Scott
1222 Commonwealth Ave. Allston
Presented by THE WEEKLY DIG FREE Admission for BFF ticket holders Till 11:30PM
TEAM ROBES PIERRE (Brooklyn)
Truman Peyote
DJ Etan (Ninja Tune)
DJ Mark Pearson (Neptune)

SUNDAY AUGUST 17

BIKE-IN BRUNCH 11:30 AM
Urban Bike Ride 11:30 AM
Christian Science Center Plaza 175 Huntington Ave., Boston

BRUNCH 1:30 PM
Hosted by Grand
374 Somerville Ave, Somerville

For the most up to date information about the Bicycle Film Festival and related events
go to: www.bicyclefilmfestival.com

Admission price per program is $10.00 Order your tickets online before they sell out!! Presented by Brendt Barbur and Friends , and dedicated to the loving memory of his mother Toneta.

If you would like to download this whole thing and take it with you hit up this schedule (pdf)

Sure BostonBiker.org wants to be your one stop shop for all things bike in Boston, sure I spend way too much time scouring the nets/streets/email lists to keep the event calendar up to date and brimming with the latest and greatest goodies, and sure I am fantastically handsome, but the real stars of BostonBiker.org are the bloggers.

In case you didn’t know ANYONE is able to sign up for a fully featured, FREE, website though BostonBiker.org. If you look over there on the right you can see a list of all the people who already have, in order of when they last updated their sites.

We have an amazing array of people who have chosen BostonBiker.org as there platform of expression. We have bicycle retailers, advocacy groups (two!), personal bloggers, indoor racers, outdoor racers, you name it, if it has to do with bikes in Boston it’s here.

With that in mind I thought I would highlight some of our more active bloggers, I read there stuff every day, you should too! In no particular order here they are.

Allston-Brighton Bikes
This new, but growing fast, bicycle advocacy group sprung up in the Allston/Brighton area this year. They are already off to a good start, with monthly meetings, a planned helmet giveaway, and other events in the works. Keep an eye on these people, they are doing good work in AB. If you live in that area be sure to check out their site and get in contact with them.

DotBike
Dotbike…one word “WOW!” These people came out of nowhere to take Dorchester by storm this year. Monthly meetings, monthly rides, amazing website, great events, T-shirts, stickers, working with the city to improve bike facilities, working with the T, they even got mentioned in Bicycling magazine! If you live in Dorchester, bike through Dorchester, or have ever heard of Dorchester you need to check these people out. DotBike is a force, and anyone thinking of starting their own group would do well to check them out.

What I think
Everyone has their opinion, and What I Think is no different. Their fun sense of humor, and sometimes raw emotion make for excellent reading. Throw in a mix of bicycle racing humor, and bike industry insider gossip and you have a very excellent read. What I Think actually used our “import” feature to take a previous blog and import it wholesale to BostonBiker. If you want to import your blog simply sign up for a site, export your old blog (or use the tool we have) then import it into our system. All your old posts, pictures, everything will magic themselves into our system. If you blog with BostonBiker for a while and find that you don’t like it here, you can also use our Export feature to move your entire blog to a new home.

Right On Ride On
Another personal blog, Right On Ride On is a great at finding interesting tid bits from all over the web and sharing them with the readers. I always like checking out this site for the latest in bicycle related goodness the whole net over. Recently Right On has also been posting some interesting rides, and cool DIY projects.

Boston Bold Sprints
This winter there was a fun new racing activity in town. Two people, two bikes, and 1 minute of vomit inducing indoor sprinting fun. Bold Sprints was so much fun, and promises to be again, from what I have heard they have plans of brining it back this winter for more indoor racing action! Do you have a racing event and need a central repository for all your results, pictures, news, and events? Give Bostonbiker.org a try!

s-class
Wow, this one surprised me a bit. This mysterious person is making and giving away AMAZING bike hats. Something you would expect to pay $25+ for, he/she/them are giving away FOR FREE. I have been hoping and looking for one of those cool paper bags hanging on my bicycle. So far no luck. Give it a look, it looks like the project is just getting started. These hats are CHERRY, see a sampling below. If you like them perhaps you can beg whoever is behind s-class to send you one. Dear s-class if you read this, my head is without hat, perhaps you can send me one? You know just saying…

This is just a sampling of the people on this site, If you want to join the growing community of Boston area cyclists sign up now! It’s free, we offer lots of fun features, and I have been known to build custom themes for people who ask nicely. So what are you waiting for? Join now.

I’m still on that cheating high where you feel totally awesome because at least one person is sweating you hard enough not to care that you might actually be dating someone else.

Like when you get compliments and looks because of your shiny new bike and you totally forget about your trusty old beater and how you’re not even going to look at that new ride once it starts snowing.

Or like when the cute bike mechanic abandons the bike s/he’s fixing to look at yours. (But come on, like some dude’s mountain bike can really compete with your carbon frame, brakeless, fixed gear with 52/12 gearing, 650 on the front and 700 on the back?)

So I sent this hat out - to a (yet) undisclosed location. Via mail.

My bike probably hates me. But USPS is loving me…right?

You know you love watching these crazy people do amazing things…Enjoy.

(suck on that stupid!)

(watch close at the end, is that guy with the camera helmet someone we know?)

(I saw the fellows in wrestling masks playing this Saturday)

More below

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The City of Boston is going to extend Bay State Bike Week all summer long. In this first of a kind event the city is going to be actually escorting people from all over the city to downtown. If you missed the very fun and very cool bay state bike week bike to work day you really should check this out.

Bike to City Hall Plaza with DotBike and others on Friday July 25th and again on Friday August 22.

City of Boston Bike Fridays

WHAT: SAFE, GUIDED CONVOYS WITH POLICE ESCORT Lead by experienced cyclists and escorted by Boston Police, convoys follow a fixed schedule and route and originate at locations throughout metro-Boston. All convoys finish at City Hall Plaza Boston.

FREE BREAKFAST, BIKE EXPO AND MUSIC Whether you ride in with a convoy or ride along, join us at Boston City Hall for free food and fun, courtesy of 100.7 WZLX, Mass Commute, Mass Bike, and all our sponsors.

SCHEDULE:

WHERE: Rides start from various locations in metro-Boston. Cyclists can join the convoy at start location, or at any point along the route. See map for locations and times. Police escorts only available within Boston.

See the link above to register for free and more information including route maps.

Thanks for the heads up DotBike.

Barney’s Bicycle and the Seven Hills Wheelmen present:

The seventh annual
GEORGE STREET BIKE CHALLENGE for MAJOR TAYLOR … an uphill time trial …

Sunday, July 27, 2008
10:00 a.m.
Main & George streets
downtown Worcester, Mass.

See how fast you can pedal up one of Worcester’s steepest hills, a 500-foot quad-buster where “the Worcester Whirlwind,” 1899 world cycling champion Major Taylor, used to train. The average grade is 18 percent.

Open to ages 12 and up.
Entry fee $15.
Helmets required.
One rider at a time against the clock.

Got a minute? Check it out on video! (The video is only a few seconds longer than it takes to actually bike up the hill.)

QuickTime:

Windows Media Player:

REGISTER ONLINE

Race-day registration: 8:30-9:45 a.m.
First rider starts at 10:00 sharp.
Medals will be awarded in various age categories for males and females, plus a tandem category.

Proceeds benefit the Major Taylor Association, Inc., which put up a statue of Taylor in May 2008 at the Worcester Public Library in Salem Square — the city’s first monument to an African-American. Proceeds will help MTA continue to educate people about Major Taylor’s life and legacy and to support the library’s statue maintenance fund.

BIKE RAFFLE! $5 per chance.
Win a 24-speed Giant OCR3 road bike from Barney’s, or a custom, limited-edition Major Taylor cycling jersey, or other cool stuff. Prize list and raffle tickets (click here)

You can order raffle tickets online or by mail: $5 per chance, or three for $12, or six for $20. Or get them at Barney’s Bicycle, 165 Chandler St., Worcester. Prize drawing will be approximately 1:00 p.m. July 27, at the conclusion of the George Street Bike Challenge. You do NOT have to be present to win.

Major Taylor cycling jerseys ($79):

Major Taylor books & posters:

WHO WAS MAJOR TAYLOR? Marshall W. “Major” Taylor (1878-1932) of Worcester was the world’s first black sports superstar. Known as “the Worcester Whirlwind” and “the colored cyclone,” he was world cycling champion in 1899, American sprint champion in 1900, and broke numerous track cycling records, at a time when cycling was more popular than baseball. He was the second black world champion in any sport (after bantamweight boxer George Dixon in 1891). He had to fight Jim Crow prejudice just to get on the starting line, and he faced closed doors and open hostility with dignity.
The Major Taylor Association is dedicated to honoring his athletic achievements and strength of character — sportsmanship, devotion to God, caring for those less fortunate, and personal struggle for equality.

More information, including last year’s results:

Barney’s Bicycle, 508-799-BIKE (799-2453)

Whirlwind Sponsor: Puma
Pacesetter Sponsors: Standard Auto; AdventureCORPS Media sponsors: Worcester Telegram & Gazette; Charter Communications

Printer-friendly event flier:

Hill profile:

Map:

New this year:
Garden Fresh Courthouse Cafe is open at the foot of the hill. (menu)
I recommend their performance-enhancing muffins and cookies.

Got this great email today. I helped to start DotBike (and BostonBiker.org provides them with their website) so I am pretty proud to see them in Bicycling Magazine!

Got this email today.

Hi all,

We knew that Steve Madden, the editor of Bicycling magazine,
is from Dorchester and that the magazine had routinely ranked Boston as
one of the worst cycling cities in the country, so Debbie said “let’s
send Steve a shirt to let him know that we’re trying and besides he’ll
love the shirt”.  So she did.

We came home yesterday to the new issue of Bicycling magazine in our mailbox
and in a sidebar of Steve’s editorial there was this - and I quote:

“There was a time when to ride a bike in Dorchester,
Massachusetts, my hometown, was to take your life into your hands. Not
anymore, thanks to the hardworking advocates at dotbike.org, who are
making the streets of Boston’s coolest neighborhood safe for things
besides hockey and loitering. Cool T-shirts, too.”
Steve Madden August Issue Bicycling Magazine

So thanks Steve and Bicycling magazine for the shout out, Andrew and
Urban Adventours for helping us with the shirts and Debbie for the
fantastic idea to send Steve a shirt.

And for those of you who aren’t bike geeks like us this magazine is by far the most popular bicycing magazine around with a circulation of 410000 (according to their site). 

And by the way, a couple of issues ago in their annual Best Biking Cities piece Boston
was no longer grouped with the worst but instead was given an “Heading in the right direction - future best” designation. We don’t think that the t-shirt had anything to do with this but you never know.

cheers,

Andy

I have certainly seen a whole lot more bikes on the road since gas hit 4 dollars a gallon.

Instead of posting these one at a time I figure you all need a big dump of awesome. Enjoy.

Unfinished from Tony West on Vimeo.

Many More below the fold

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The Mass BikePike Tour: August 14-17, 2008 Be part of this celebration of cycling in Massachusetts. This year, the bike tour travels from Sudbury to Northampton, with daily riding options ranging from 30 to 65 miles. Overnight camping (alternate options available), luggage transfer, transportation back to the start, breakfasts, catered dinners and a farewell lunch are all included.

Riders will receive maps, cue sheets, event SAG support, a commemorative T-shirt, and the camaraderie of friendly folks having a good time. And the final day will feature a parade of bikes along Main Street in Northampton.

Registration is limited to 100 and there are already over 70 people registered. So if you are interested, sign up soon. And best of all, proceeds go to support MassBike.

For more information and registration details, visit the web site at www.MassBikePike.org or call Bruce Lederer at 617-710-1832.

Nice work BNB, your bike-a-thon was AWESOME. To all the riders that braved the near 100 degree heat and suffocating humidity to ride your little fannies off for a good cause here is a message from the good folks at Bikes Not Bombs for you. With your help they raised over 100,000 dollars!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU BIKE-A-THON RIDERS AND VOLUNTEERS! Over three hundred of you riders braved the sweltering heat on Sunday June 8th and made heroic rides. What a day! At 8:30 in the morning people were already sweating and looking for shade from the punishing sun as the line to check in for the 62 miler stretched across the field (we had about double the riders this year than last). Heat and humidity made the hard pedaling on the rides all the more challenging for all you 15, 25, and 62 riders, but reports are pouring in from riders who had a great day, who kept cool with fun and camaraderie.

You all accomplished an amazing thing for Bikes Not Bombs with your fundraising - $95,000 has come in so far and when the remaining pledges come in we’re looking at $105,000! Our most successful Bike-A-Thon before this raised $42,000, so we’ve more than doubled that record. This is an unbelievable success for Bikes Not Bombs! With your help, BNB is keeping up with its expansions in youth leadership and international work.

* Top fundraising riders were: JON McCURDY, JIM CAMPEN, VINCA JARRETT, JOHN-PAUL FERGUSON, and ESTHER CERVANTES
* A special thanks to BNB supporter STAN CHEN, who matched all BNB youth fundraising!
* Top fundraising team: ARON BOROS, ESTHER CERVANTES, JOHN-PAUL FERGUSON, RICHARD GRIJALVA, WILLIAM HUTCHINSON, PAULIE PENA IV, RACHEL TABAK, & SCOTT THOMSON as BIKES OVER BAGHDAD.

A great big thanks also to the VOLUNTEERS who made June 8th possible: and there were a lot of you, every one so vital to pulling off such a large event!

We still want to hear from more of you on your experience - what went well and what we need to improve, and thanks to you who had to deal with the problem spots. Email Jasmine, Carl, and/or Arik. OR just fill out an online survey for Bike-A-Thon riders here.

The Green Roots Festival afterparty was fabulous, Elijah Evans, David McDonald, Nzhinga Webster, and Darren Fenty of BNB’s youth programs were amazing with the 30+ piece Branches Pan Groove Steel Orchestra (Dave and Elijah even rode the Bike-A-Thon before they played), and the keynote speakers: Bill McKibben, Khalida Smalls, City Councilor Chuck Turner, and BNB Director Kim Foltz made inspiring speeches – tying together the workshops’ themes. The Green Roots Festival was a great sharing place for folks of all different walks of urban life to explore ways to deepen their environmental knowledge and action, and it made some true connections for BNB to work with other environmental organizations more closely in the future.

Thanks to all of you who helped lead an environmental workshop, and to groups who came out to spread the word from info tables.
(see a list of workshops and organizations involved at http://www.bikesnotbombs.org/greenroots)

Have a look at some of the some of the first photos to hit the web! These were taken by the photographer Silke Hase (of creativemomentz.com). Let us know if you have more to share.

An edited overview of Bill McKibben’s speech at Green Roots can be seen here:

Laurie Dougherty, Bike-A-Thon rider, posted a video and information about the Green Roots Festival on Dot Earth, a blog at the New York Times online run by NY Times science reporter Andrew Revkin. Dot Earth is about sustainability, energy, population, and environmental impacts of human behavior. Laurie’s great video covers some of the history of the SW corridor park (where the festival was held) which was saved from plans to put the interstate through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, and instead became the park with bike paths, walking paths, green space, and submerged public transit and regional rail. Here’s the link to her blog post.

Amazing camera work on this one.

SF Track/Fixed Night Edit from Fonsecafilms on Vimeo.

This man is not un-small, his wheels are impressive in their toughness.

A Slow Wednesday Jam from Bootleg Sessions on Vimeo.

I have been getting lots of reports that the “death trap” tracks on Centre street in JP have been paved under! Hurray! No longer will you have to worry about your bike being snatched out from under you by vicious train tracks.

While I am not a big fan of removing public transport, it is clear that the trolleys in JP were not coming back, better to make the area more bike friendly by paving over them.

…crap this guy is fast.