Remember, Interbike is still a trade-only event and is not open to the public. Sorry guys…

And don’t forget about your hotel and travel needs. There are still rooms available at special Interbike attendee rates here.

Blatant sales pitch over…

So forgive me if this next video interview seems a bit tech heavy. While I think the tough and tiny GoPro is a cool gadget, I really only started to take interest in it after considering all the social media possibilities that it opens up. Think sharing point-of-view videos of your commute, trail, race course or group ride. GoPro have apparently sold a lot of cameras, but I don’t think the potential for sharing has been really exploited. 

We’ll be getting a few cameras here for our office soon to film our rides, waves, powder, sails, rock climbs, etc. to share. I’d love to hear of some interesting uses for one of these.

After finishing this interview, I ran into the folks at Vholdr who make their own helmet/bike/gear-mounted POV camera. Look for that interview shortly.

For more info on GoPro, visit www.goprocamera.com 

The station around the corner from our office in San Juan Capistrano, California, had these prices posted this week as I walked to lunch. We’re well on our way to $5/gallon and there still seems to be no major shift in driving habits. Minor adjustments and more hybrid car sales, yes. But no major impacts that I can see on true alternatives to car use at this point.

Speaking of shifts in driving habits, at Sea Otter I overheard someone commenting on how places with poor weather seem to have more utilitarian bike use than those places with more agreeable weather. Think Portland, Seattle, New York, Boston… Now think L.A., Miami, Phoenix. Which ones come to mind when you think “city with lots of bike commuters”?

Ge t more of Ted at:

www.twentynineinches.com

www.g-tedproductions.blogspot.com

The new club is designed to encourage women to overcome real or perceived challenges to riding by being a part of an online community of fellow women cyclists. Members can share stories and successes and follow the blogs of 5 women selected from a writing contest to describe their journeys in cycling.

Programs to encourage greater women’s participation in cycling are important to me not only as the father of a girl, but as the husband of a Cat 2 racer (semi-retired) who credits a women-only, season-long race series as getting her started in racing. If it weren’t for her racing, we never would have met on that Tuesday night training ride.

Along with their “One World, Two Wheels” advocacy program (which I called “Two Wheels, One Planet” in the interview), this new effort shows Trek’s continuing commitment to getting more people riding.

You can read more about the club here: www.trekbikes.com/women

Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong, kindly accepted my request for an interview during his busy schedule at the Sea Otter Classic when I called him a few days prior to the event. Tim is always a pleasure to speak with and I’ve been lucky to be able to spend time with him at the last two Sea Otter events now. He’s a great advocate and representative for the industry. And he tells a great story. 

The theme of this interview is advice for cyclists wanting to effect bicycle advocacy on a local level. Good stuff.

Technical note: I need to figure out how to turn my left channel only sound (from my mono microphone plugged into the stereo input on the camera) into left and right mono. Not so bad through speakers, but very noticeable with headphones. Maybe I just need to invest in some better video editing software.

“As part of the General Plan Update, we are evaluating the City’s existing network of pedestrian and bicycle trials(sic) and examining how this network can be improved. Ultimately, we will be creating General Plan policies meant to promote walking and biking as safe, viable and appealing transportation options for both residents and visitors.”

The first meeting is tonight. By the quote above from the linked flyer on the city website, things sound encouraging. Then again, since they failed to respond to my email to them last week indicating that I wanted to volunteer, I hope that this isn’t just lip-service and they’re, in fact, just hoping that it will go away quietly. We’ll see. I’ll refrain from condemning them until after the first meeting.

There are four scheduled meetings over the next month listed on the flyer so, at the very least, this should make for a few interesting post topics. Having participated in a number of national advocacy efforts like the Bike Summit and working with groups like Bikes Belong and Trips for Kids, I’m looking forward to actually having a local impact through advocacy.

“Act Locally” as they say. I’ll keep you posted.

And, sorry about the late notice, but… if you live in Vista, California (or work here in the bike industry, for that matter: Haro? Masi? Canari? Electra? Trek Bike Superstore?) come on down. The meeting’s at 5:30.

While I never buy from this station, the overall trend is now REALLY starting to play with the economics of bike and mass transit commuting options versus driving. SoCal is not exactly designed for easy mass transportation use given the infamous suburban sprawl of the region and car-centric mentality of the original urban planners (effectively the developers and politicians), but I think it will finally start to noticeably affect pocketbooks and wallets.

I’ve got to start up the bike commute again now that there’s enough daylight at the end of the day for the 14 mile bike leg of my multi-modal commute (which includes a train ride up the coast to Orange County). With my kids’ school schedules in the morning and wife’s work, I can only do it two days per week, but gas prices should now make it a financial win as well as a Wilford Brimley-esque “right thing to do”?

So the high gas prices are painful, but it’s a good thing for the bike industry, right?

The dead giveaway is the quote from supposed GM VP, “Flora Lopi” - an anagram of the words April fool.

Carlton at BikeBiz sent his news flash out just after midnight in the UK, so he’s safe, but what about the SJBJ sending there’s out on the 31st? Did they jump the gun or did they fall for it (like I was for a bit I’ll admit)?

If it were true, that would be quite the little family of brands: GMC, Buick, Pontiac, Hummer, Specialized…

At least we got an Interbike mention circulating out there.

Update: Looks like the hoax is more elaborate: the url given for the SJBC is fake. A certain bike blogger has been pretty sneaky. Nice job…