more evidence of highly advanced civilizations

here's a photo i took in Amsterdam a few years ago. this is the bike storage facility (3-story parking garage, more like) right outside the Central Station where the trains take passengers to and from the airport and other destinations all around Europe. they sure make it easy to get around, even for Americans who are unaccustomed to efficient, clean transportation. you can even take your bike with you on the trains.

my other favorite city by the bay is without a doubt San Francisco. here's some music to set the mood, so crank up the volume and rock out like it's 1982 all over again:

say what you want about San Francisco- the weather, the traffic, the tourists, the cost of living there, the food, the bike culture... i love it there anyway.
ah, yes, the San Francisco bike culture; something near and dear to my heart.
as far as living in a big city is concerned, San Francisco would be at the top of my list of favorites. it is unquestionably the epicenter of the fixie movement on the west coast. it would be easier to count the riders who are not riding fixies than to count those who are.

fixies. whatever.

for an urban area it is a cyclist's dream come true, even though there are the usual motor -v- bike conflicts and cyclists (mostly in the downtown financial district) getting squished on a fairly regular basis. the city has committed in a big way by investing in alternative transportation solutions, cycling being one of them.
they have trains out there that go all over the place- and are hauling people instead of cattles or coal. the people can bring their bike onto the trains with them when they commute into the city or out to the 'burbs. imagine that.
or if they want, there is plenty of bike parking and safe storage facilities available at the BART stations.
on top of it all, the city has just approved 34 miles of new bike lanes and 45 of 46 proposed cycling-related capital improvement projects. those bikeys out there in SanFran sure get it all, don't they?
anyway, i commend the people who stuck with it and made it happen and raspberries to the naysayers and the guy who sued to try and stop civilization from moving forward.

here's today's good news story from the San Francisco Chronicle.

pop-culture tribute for friday

having learned yesterday of the passing of two pop-culture icons, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, it gave me pause and an opportunity to reflect back on the good ol' days for a while. a lot of good things came out of the 70's... customized vans, disco music, polyester shirts, cheesy tee vee shows, micro-wave ovens and Jiffy-Pop and feathered hair doos to name a few. my favorite 70's inventions were bmx bikes and the 2nd wave of skateboarding (urethane wheels, quality decks and hardware, skateparks, etc.). while i never much cared for the music of the Jackson 5, or Michael's stuff that he put out when he finally ditched his abusive father/manager and struck out on his own, i will never forget the first time i cast my gaze upon that famous poster of Farrah in the red swimsuit... to a bug-eyed 13 year old she seemed too beautiful to be real. she probably was. i also knew that the only opportunities i would have for gawking at that poster would be over at my friend's house; there was no way in hell that my mom would be letting me have that thing hanging on the wall in my bedroom. anyway, here's the AYC tribute to those two who so profoundly influenced pop-culture and changed the way the rest of the world viewed the U.S., for better or for worse. thanks to both and rest in peace.


i'm not really sure what's going on this image- she doesn't look like she's actually dressed to go out and suffer on a 5 hour training ride. the shoes are ridiculous at best and the bike doesn't seem to be much more than a prop. what exactly is being sold here?

Farrah rockin' some good form on an old school skateboard- looks like a Logan or a Sims with Tracker half-tracks. love those vintage Nikes, too. this image has a lot more credibility than the one above- she actually looks like she might be able to skate better than she bikes. at least she dressed sensibly this time...

Michael's all time best seller album Thriller served notice that things were definitely tilting heavily towards the realm of the bizarre... yo, wassup supa freak?

summer solstice

wishing a festivus solstice to everyone- especially cousin Andrew in the southern hemisphere. hang in there mate; the days are getting longer for you again and it's only two weeks until the Tour de France.

let the product sell itself

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