timbuk2 blog

San Francisco Bike To Work Day 2012

2012-05-15T06:00:50-07:00

Last Thursday was a great day for cycling in San Francisco, and Timbuk2 was well represented in all the Bike to Work Day festivities.

Many of us rode in to work, we were present at City Hall with the San Francisco Bicycle coalition and had fun interacting with commuters at an evening energizer station.

And now for the pictures…

Greg and Defne looking good and reppin’ Timbuk2 at City Hall for Bike to Work Day kickoff:

The retail crew rides to work in style:

The Duboce Bikeway energizer station right at the tip of the wiggle was a great success. We handed out hundreds of “soggy buns” seat covers, passed out maps and were happy to be in such a great location.

Contrasts of San Francisco bike commuters: the suite commuter and the Burner.

Cheers to biking to work!

Bike Camping

2012-05-14T09:00:33-07:00

The Bay Area has so many great camping spots just doorsteps from the urban heartbeat. Just a bike ride away, you can be away from the sirens and bright lights of the city. In the last month, I’ve gone on a few camping trips on my bike. It’s a great way to get a good workout in, really deserve that big ol’ camping meal and get an understanding of your vicinity to nature.

Arriving at Pantoll Campground at Mount Tamalpais.

The crew unloading gear.

A shot from Pantoll looking south towards San Francisco.

If you have campgrounds around you, go for a ride and spend the night. You won’t regret it!

Reason to Ride: Feel the Wind Between Your Toes

2012-05-13T05:00:42-07:00

Happy feat in San Francisco.

Via Instagram/Timbuk2.

Celebrate Made in San Francisco

2012-05-12T05:00:12-07:00

Drop by our San Francisco retail store (506 Hayes Street) today (Saturday, May 12, 2012) and we’ll doante 10% of your purchase to our friends and partners, SFMade. And watch TributeSF’s gorgeous new video to learn more about the maker community in San Francisco.

Lessons Learned in the Saddle

2012-05-10T19:34:18-07:00

Today was Bike to Work Day in San Francisco. The ferries ran with extra bike racks, the bike lanes were full, and the fickle San Francisco fog monster stayed away. You could feel the positive energy pulsing through the city. The Bike to Work crowd was as diverse as it gets. There were neon warriors, overflowing with safety gear; father son duos on Extracycles; regulars who couldn’t quite believe their eyes; fixie riders, rolling smoothly past the gears; Amsterdam ladies in tall boots and sheaths; triathletes racing in padded shorts on carbon frames; guy in a suit, who everyone should applaud; and volunteers stoking everyone out with feed bags, bagels, and locally roasted brew.

Bike to Work Day commutes are inherently social. I rode with a friend and we ran into coworkers at the City Hall energizer station. The city felt small riding in a pack of friends, but it also felt diverse. Our group featured three decades, a single speed, a city cruiser, a mountain bike, and a road bike. We talked about why Bike to Work Day matters to us as cyclists and members of the Timbuk2 team. We planned to write it down, commit our two-wheeled feelings to the big bad blogosphere, but then our community took care of it for us.

Timbuk2′s Greg and Defne riding to work in San Francisco.

To Celebrate Bike to Work Day in San Francisco, we took Bike to Work Day banners produced by the SFMTA and made 29 Bike to Work Banner Messenger in our San Francisco factory. We’re donating $50 for every unit sold to the San Francisco Bike Coalition and we gave one unit away on Facebook. To enter the give-away, we asked folks to tell us the most important lesson cycling has taught them. The answers made us laugh out loud, tear up (they were moving!), and exhale with pride. We painstakingly picked one lucky winner, but felt compared to share the greatest hits.

Whether you’re new to cycling or have been pushing pedals since you were seven, read the lessons learned in the saddle below. And raise a glass to the simple pleasure of pedaling.

THINGS WE’VE LEARNED ON A BIKE:

WINNER: Matt McCabe Cycling has taught me that commuting doesn’t have to be smoggy, stop-and-go misery. Commuting can be invigorating, eye-opening, birds-chirping awesomeness!

RUNNER UP: Nicole Elle Cycling has taught me to get out of my head, and get on the road!

Extremely Serious & Important
Jason Carrasco cycling has taught me that even fat mexicans like me can get in shape and have a great time doing it!
Brian Pulliam Drive-thru windows need to stop discriminating! Where is the love.
Bob Nesheim Hard work, while rewarding, sometimes rubs my crotch raw.
Tim Hall Cycling has taught me to love everything that goes between my legs.
Lauren Schwartz Cycling has taught me how to breath through my nose… with your mouth hanging open you tend to eat bugs
Joe Hon Cycling has taught me that I have a really big head, incapable of being contained by any bike helmet on the planet.

Spirit
Emily Benning cycling has taught me that i will never, ever be able to pass up bombing full-speed down a hill while screaming like a banshee and pretending i’m a fighter pilot. dignity? pshaw.
Ryan Horikoshi Cycling has taught me that it is okay with my wife if I buy new toys (read “bike stuff”) if I veil said purchases in the shroud of exercise.

Perspective
Jessica Adler Cycling has taught me that even when my son is perfectly quiet, it doesn’t mean he’s not enjoying the ride. He’s just taking it all in.
Mike Smith That a brisk, sun-drenched ride home turns even the worst day at work into a distant memory.
Lia Keller Cycling has taught me that escape from reality is only a pedal away.
Becky Eaton Commuting via bike has taught me that the rain isn’t as wet as I remember
Ally Farrish that a pothole can ruin your day quickly, but a succession of downhill green lights can make it instantly.
Susan Schmierer Cycling has taught me that I can leave for work on my bike in the worst mood imaginable and when I’m about 10 minutes into the commute, magically, all is well with the world.

Inspiration
Nancy XiáoRong Valentine Cycling has taught me to be brave. Weaving through traffic along side cars going twice your speed is intimidating, but having the guts to be good to your body and the environment through cycling instead of driving builds a courage that motivates them to take risks that the ordinary citizen wouldn’t think twice about.
Ryan Wilkerson Living well does not have to feel like a chore
Erin Murray It has taught me to focus on the here and now. To see the path I need to take. And how to time the lights.
Mel Dixon cycling has taught me that you are never too old to own your first bike.
Daniel Renteria It has taught me to check out the smaller nooks and crannys of SF I would’ve otherwise never have seen.

Community
Mike Masters It taught me that my love of cycling grows every time I bring in another person into it. Or ever time I build a bike for someone to make it possible to ride more . CYCLING IS ABOUT SHARING CYCLING!
Jennifer Privat I’m new to biking to work. I love the exchange with other bikers of good mornings with a smile and nod, and the burst of energy that comes from riding to work (versus the drag&frustration of driving to work). I’ve learned that biking to work just makes the day better.
Tony Bonomolo Riding bikes had taught me many things… It has taught me to enjoy late night rides. It has taught me were the Honeysuckle bloom, when the bakery down the road is making sugar cookies or coconut creams. It has taught me to be patient and smile at the things people in cars do not notice like squirrels chatting and birds playing. I know my neighbors down the road on, the next block and around the corner. But most of all it has taught me to live in my community rather than in my city.

Bike To Work Day and The Team Bike Challenge

2012-05-10T06:00:39-07:00

Today is Bike to Work Day and we’re all geared up for some fun riding at Timbuk2.

25 employees registered for the Team Bike Challenge which runs during the entire month of May. With 5 teams going head to head, everyone is trying to rack up as many miles as possible and enjoy all the benefits of bike commuting. We’re also stoked to be one of over 200 Energizer Stations in the Bay Area passing out good cheer, snacks and beverages to those who are riding their bikes to and from work. We’ll be posted up at the start of The Wiggle at the Duboce Bikeway (more to follow!)

Bike to Work Day…that is all

The Team Bike Challenge is well under way. The Timbuk2 crew has racked up just about 800 miles with the 5 teams coming in neck and neck after week 1.

Here is our company leaderboard:

These girls are up to the challenge!

The teams are looking like this…

Cranky Pedals: 194 Miles
Wheels of Steel: 178 Miles
Commutants: 177 Miles
Terminal Ferocity: 123 Miles
Wheels of Thunder: 127 Miles
it’s still much to early to tell who will pull away at the end of May.

Cheers to all the riders and to a great Bike to Work Day!

Bike Commuting for the First Time

2012-05-09T01:00:28-07:00

The very first bike commute can be the hardest; the first cut is the deepest. Presuming you’ve decided you want to bike commute and you have all the requisit gear — bike, helmet, shoes you trust, perhaps a bike lock, etc. — your commute route must be tackled. And even if you’ve discovered a fabulous bike map like this or used Google bike directions to diligently plot your route, you still have to remember it. Checking a map on your phone while riding can be awkward, inconvenient, and dangerous — unfortunately devices like this have never caught on — and a paper map is impossible to read while pedaling. Timbuk2 CEO and road warrior Mike Wallenfels prefers the hand-drawn-map-stuffed-into-leg-of-bike-shorts move. Presuming you sort out your route, you still have to ride! It’s a lot to tackle on your first bike commute. Enter bike commute buddy.

A buddy can be a new bike commuter’s secret to success. Riding with a buddy enables you to focus exclusively on riding; you can blindly follow your experienced (and safe) leader while blissfully paying no attention to your route, lights, doors, etc. In fact, we recommend riding with a buddy as many times as needed until you feel comfortable riding on city streets. Once you have some experience under your belt, you can make the great leap to a solo ride.

So onto the next challenge of finding a bike buddy. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) has created a commuter convoy map to help fellow cyclists connect. So ask a friend who rides or check in with your local bike coalition to find yourself a bike commute buddy and learn more about how to make your first bike commute a success here.

The San Francisco Bike Cooalition Commuter Convoy Map:

What does a bike commute look like?

Mike’s Bike Commute from Novato to San Francisco.

Lizzy’s bike commute in San Francisco.

Swig Hack

2012-05-08T05:00:41-07:00

Many of you remember Nadia. She hacked her messenger and inspired our Nightrider Messenger.

Now look what she’s done.

The hack that inspired the Swig.

SFMade Week

2012-05-07T01:00:38-07:00

We’re proud to celebrate SFMade Week May 7 – 13. SFMade Week provides opportunities to discover made in San Francisco products, tour local factories (including Timbuk2!), and support local manufacturers by shopping local on SFMade Day (Saturday, May 12). See all SFMade Week events here.

Timbuk2 has continuously manufatured products in San Francisco since 1989. We want more company, so hats off to SFMade for supporting local manufacturing!

Timbuk2 Custom Products: Made with love, worn with pride.

Timbuk2′s San Francisco factory. Get inspired by real custom Timbuk2 products made by real people here.

Reasons to Ride: Right of Way

2012-05-05T06:00:33-07:00

Via Instagram/Timbuk2.