Cyclelicious

Highway 9 cyclists save UPS driver

2012-02-10T17:49:50Z

A pair of cyclists riding downhill on Highway 9 spot an overturned UPS truck in a ravine, call for help.

Updated with more details. Thank you to Taylor for the additional info.

I wish I knew who the cyclists were.

Highway 9 is a fairly popular cycling route for road cyclists in spite of the busy traffic and narrow lanes. It rises from Saratoga, California in the foothills to provide dramatic views of Silicon Valley.

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It’s a fun, scenic ride, and it’s not uncommon for motoring enthusiasts to misjudge their abilities and careen from their lane. This apparently happened Tuesday, February 8 a little after noon, when a ~~UPS driver lost control of his truck~~ the driver of a red Corvette had more car than he could handle, rear-ended a UPS truck, and pushed the truck off of the road a little south of Highway 35. The truck tumbled 200 feet down the cliff below. A pair of cyclists coasting downhill saw the aftermath. Neither had a phone on him (wha?), so they flagged down a passing motorist, and then climbed down the cliff to help the driver.

The UPS driver — who, amazingly, suffered only bumps and bruises — was lifted up and out and taken away in an ambulance. Highway 9 was closed for seven hours as it took work crews that long to get to the site of the wreck and extricate the wreckage (and maybe collect packages) from the hillside.

Via California Highway Patrol dispatch and local radio traffic reports.

Carlos my hero!

2012-02-09T23:40:03Z

San Jose bike guy Carlos Babcock tackles a bike thief.

This is my friend Carlos. Carlos is happy in this photo because he is riding his Surly Long Haul Trucker bicycle.

Carlos is normally a very peaceful, relaxed guy. Last month, this bike was stolen from Carlos. Carlos became surly and mean. Carlos is a large man.

Last Tuesday, Carlos saw an alleged bike thief and knocked him to the ground. Richard Higgerson, who had a burglary tools and a broken lock inside of his bag, was riding an allegedly stolen bike in downtown San Jose, California. Police arrested Higgerson and charged him with resisting arrest, grand theft, possession of burglary tools and being under the influence of a controlled substance. Police also located the owner of the stolen bike. Police believe Higgerson may be involved in a rash of recent bike thefts in the area of San Jose State University.

Hurray Carlos, and hurray the San Jose Police Department for chasing (alleged) bike thieves.

More in the Mercury News: San Jose Man tackles suspected bicycle thief being chased by cops.

Good Karma Update: Surly bikes heard about Carlos’s heroism and they’re sending a new LHT for him soon! How cool is that?

In case you wonder what an alleged bike thief looks like so you can say “hello” after he’s released from lockup, here’s his mugshot photo.

(Photo of Carlos by Richard Masoner. Mugshot photo of Richard Higgerson from San Jose PD.)

Prime Beef

2012-02-09T00:39:09Z

Photo from the amazing Chico Gino, who says you can get these from Super Leggera Cycling in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

2012 Tour of California Stage 2

2012-02-09T05:39:37Z

2012 Amgen Tour of California Stage 2: San Francisco to Santa Cruz

The 117 mile Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California begins the morning of Monday, May 14 in San Francisco.

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After a scenic start at Marina Green, the race heads west through the Presidio, then south on Highway 1 through Daly City and Pacifica, across Devil’s Slide into Half Moon Bay.

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Two KOM challenges await the racers in Santa Cruz County, the first after a left turn on Bonny Doon Road with a race to the top of Pine Flat Road. They’ll turn left on Empire Grade and cut right onto Jamison Creek Road (12% grade, very narrow, very sharp turns), which looks like this.

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Those who survive that hair raising descent turn right on Big Basin Highway, dogleg at Highway 9 in Boulder Creek for another KOM up Bear Creek Road. After that, the riders can relax a little on Summit Road and down Soquel-San Jose Road before a left turn on Soquel Road.

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After Soquel Road, the racers cut to Cabrillo College Road for a sprint finish (!!) on the campus of Cabrillo College.

WANTED: Zombie bicycle tattoo artist

2012-02-08T00:38:45Z

Here’s an interesting bit of freelance work for a talented comic illustrator:

I want a sleeve tattoo that incorporates bicycles, zombies, and comics. Unfortunately I can’t draw out my story the way I envision it. I want it to start off with an over weight redneck running down cyclist in his old red pickup truck. The cyclists he hits along the way become undead and begin chasing after him on their bikes. Pretty soon he has a hoard of undead after him untill his trucks dies due to lack of fuel. The zombies eventually catch up to him and eat him alive.

Click here for more info. More bike-related jobs and careers after the page jump.

Marin County (California) Bicycle Coalition seeks bike valet parking coordinator.

Somebody in Vancouver WA (just across the river from Portland, OR) wants somebody to fabricate “extra large bicycle chain wheels”. I think that’s another name for a chainring.

Mikes Bikes in San Rafael, CA seeks a Soft Goods Buyer.

Red Green Bike

2012-02-07T18:13:04Z

Red Green worked their duct tape magic to make their own Canadian scraper bike.

The Red Green Show satirizes home improvement shows and often features the handyman’s secret weapon: duct tape.

Road bike trials riding

2012-02-07T18:22:50Z

Trials riding on a Neil Pryde road bike.

I could do this if I really wanted to.

First seen via Stevil.

Chicago Bike Plan Tracker

2012-02-03T17:22:09Z

Talking heads frequently talk up grand visions of people happily traveling by bike accompanied by colorful visualizations which bike bloggers like me happily repeat. More often than not, the dream fades as it collides headlong with political and economic reality.

Steve Vance @ GRID Chicago helps hold people accountable to their promises with his Bike Plan Tracker for Chicago. The tracker displays the status of various elements of Chicago’s bike plan. Steve also breaks the plan elements into chapters and themes for quick and easy reference, with detailed drill downs available for each aspect of the plan. It’s an amazing level of work.

Steve also has a notion to spread this concept nationwide. The first thing I thought of is San Francisco’s proposed bike share, which has been promised for “next year” since at least 2007.

Go visit –> Chicago Bike Plan Tracker.

Bikes as a job benefit

2012-02-01T18:17:17Z

Many companies offer discounts on things like amusement park tickets or (*koff*) early access beginning today for San Francisco Giants tickets, but who offers discounts on custom bicycles as a side benefit?

Tech startup Pantheon in San Francisco, that’s who. Sure, they’ll pay you a and give you vacation time and holidays just like anybody else, but working at Pantheon also entitles you to deals on custom bikes from Mission Bicycle. They’re looking for a Linux systems engineer, a Drupal developer, a web front end developer (CSS, Javascript, HTML5, jQuery), a “Growth Engineer” (aka marketing), product designer, technical sales, and technical support expert.

More bicycle jobs

TriBike Transport delivers bikes for triathlons. They’re looking for truck drivers to pick up and deliver these bikes. You pick the bikes up from “partner bikes shops”, drive to an Ironman event, deliver bikes to athletes, hang out to watch the race, then return the bikes after the event.

Streets of San Francisco seeks bicycle tour guides.

Blazing Saddles Bike Rental in San Francisco: still hiring.

Currie Technologies hiring a sales person for their flagship store in Venice, CA.

Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition seeks Safe Routes to School Assistant to administer on-site bicycle and pedestrian safety education to elementary and middle school students.

Marketing Intern in Henderson, NV for a company selling a flat-free, polyurethane bicycle tire. They’re looking for somebody to analyze the current market for such tires. Good luck with that.

Use a bike to pass out flyers on the Las Vegas Strip. I’m surprised to see this on Craigslist — I assumed these guys recruited from day labor lots.

Facebook goes crazy for bikes in Menlo Park

2012-02-01T00:14:31Z

Facebook to invest in bike facilities to improve bicycle access to new Peninsula campus; challenges other employers to step up their game.

Facebook’s move from Palo Alto to their new headquarters in Menlo Park means an environmental impact review (EIR) and city council meetings to discuss the impact Facebook’s employees will have on the area. Bike advocates from the San Francisco Peninsula took the opportunity to press for bike facilities to improve bicycle access to the campus at the end of Willow Road.

As a result of these efforts, Facebook has agreed to these actions:

Pay to extend the San Francisco Bay Trail by creating a connection from the San Francisquito Trail in East Palo Alto to the Dumbarton / Bayfront Trail, which in turn connects directly to Facebook’s new campus on Hacker Way (nee Network Circle). There’s about a one mile gap between Ravenswood Open Space and the Bayfront Trail.
Facebook has already gotten approval from Caltrans to restripe the bike lanes on Willow Road from Newbridge Street (north of Highway 101) to Facebook’s entrance on Bayfront Expressway. I’ll be interested in seeing if they plan to reconfigure the bike lane approach at the double right turn lane on Willow.
The old, decrepit pedestrian tunnel from Facebook underneath Bayfront will be cleaned up and re-opened later this year.
Facebook has started a campus bike share in Menlo Park, which has already exceeded their wildest expectations.
Facebook also plans a staffed on-campus bike shop (!).

Facebook also challenged other large Silicon Valley corporations to join them in funding the missing sections of the San Francisco Bay Trail. The San Francisco Bay Trail, when completed, will be a 500 mile walking and bike trail looping through all nine Bay Area counties to allow continuous, car-free travel around the entire SF Bay shoreline. Currently, 300 miles of the trail are complete, with the longest segments in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Read more -> Almanac News: Facebook unveils bike plan, which includes photos of Facebook’s indoor bike racks.

I used to work at this campus when it was Sun Microsystems. Here’s a pair of short videos showing my bike commute from Menlo Park Caltrain to Network Circle (now renamed Hacker Way); only the last hundred yards or so even touch Willow Road.

The first video begins at the alley by the 7-11 near Menlo Park Caltrain, runs past Stanford Research Incorporated (SRI) and the US Geological Service on Middlefield, and alongside drop off traffic for Menlo-Atherton High School and Laurel School.

The second video begins at the Ringwood Avenue pedestrian bridge over Highway 101, through Menlo’s Belle Haven Neighborhood (which Microsoft’s “avoid ghetto” map patent would likely tell me to avoid, though I and dozens of other bike commuters who ride through Belle Haven have never been hassled), then cut through a parking lot on Hamilton & Willow, wrong way on the dirt track alongside Willow Road, in the crosswalk and position myself to go across Bayfront on Willow. Willow Road is completely avoidable.

Win a bike trailer

2012-01-30T20:26:45Z

Win this bike trailer — the hardshell covered ONDA Go.

This trailer is first prize at the Yehuda Moon Virtual Alleycat. Register NOW for a chance to win.

ONDA is an established manufacturer in Boulder, Colorado who are breaking into the bike accessories market with trailers like the Go. Check out their other trailers and trunks here or like their Facebook page for updates.

Friday…

2012-01-28T00:04:16Z

Happy Friday.

First of all, apologies to all of you expecting an alleycat for this Monday. Because of a ridiculous January, I haven’t gotten it together enough to create a manifest. Never fear, though: it gives you an extra week to register to win some fabulous prizes!

San Francisco public radio station KALW publishes “top five bike lists” from their staff while they discuss bike safety, bike facilities and the history of Critical Mass.

TN: Bikeshare in the Burbs and Bikeshare to the Alamo.

Flickr Link Love from Susan Gladwin on more sustainable transportation.