Bikes Archives • FAUX REAL THO

FAUX REAL THO

Biking With Google Maps

A couple of summers ago, my beau and I biked through Chicago from Logan Square to the Chicago Botanical Garden and back. It was a magical day: perfect weather, great company, and a lot of adventure. We didn’t have any maps to guide us other than Google Maps and a vague idea of where the bike…

Biking and Feminism: “I belong on the road.”

I’ve been very fortunate that I haven’t had some of the aggressive interactions with drivers and pedestrians that others have had — mine have been limited to cat calling and the traffic incident that inspired my petulant “red dress” campaign. A guy I know wears an American flag jersey on his distance rides, and has…

Riding Bikes With a Teenager

There are so many pieces out there about riding with young kids, but not many about riding with older kids, so when I started riding with my older child, a young teenager, I felt like we were on the steep end of the learning curve. The Big Kid learned to ride a bike when he…

Riding Bikes with a Toddler

If you’ve considered riding bikes with a toddler, you know the needs and options for outfitting yourself for a ride can be overwhelming. When wee Baby Cletus turned about a year old, I located a helmet that fit her head and promptly began sourcing iBerts on Craigslist. I liked the idea a lot — baby…

Great Local Business: Virtuous Cycles

I’ve had the occasion to visit my local bike shop on several occasions this year, and have been blown away by the fine people at Virtuous Cycles. Their business model coordinates new and used bike retail business, cycling and cyclist rights advocacy, and does so with a very homey aesthetic that’s friendly for die-hard and…

The Quadricycle

I spotted these folks riding their quadricycle to the grocery store the other day in West Lafayette. It was quite a contraption — a four-wheeled, two-person bicycle hauling a long trailer behind it. It looks like you can get a four-wheeler for one person, too. I was grateful that they weren’t too irritated when I came…

Bike Stuff and Ticket Sales

I’m pretty excited about this one. Today Think Lafayette started ticket sales. Our first event is sponsored by Bicycle Lafayette, a national dinner and movie screening tour that will take a stop in Lafayette this May called “Dinner and Bikes.” “Dinner and Bikes” (official site) is a national tour that shows communities around the U.S….

Gallery: Scenes From the Main Street Family Mash

This weekend Bicycle Lafayette hosted their first event, the Main Street Family Mash, a mass bike ride for all ages through downtown Lafayette, in conjunction with the Fall Riverside Bike Polo Tournament. The Lafayette Police Department helped with the ride and Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski came out to support the event. Photos were kindly donated…