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Colorado bicycles at rest and in use
Peorian Lar Davis headed out to Colorado to visit his niece in Wheat Ridge over Christmas. He recently talked to me about three pictures I spied on his Facebook page. A bicycle that once belonged to...
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The war between the bicycle and roses is over
Don Eberle was born just over a year before my dad, in 1926. As far as I remember, they never met. But dad bought me my first three bikes, and Don, by cranking out the miles, showed me how the fourth...
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Kickstand down at Peoria’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument
I like a ride with a turnaround point. Usually the point is breakfast. Since Wednesday was a surprisingly unstructured day off for me—morning had somehow turned into afternoon—I decided to aim the...
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Bicycling by sweet corn signs
After a while in Peoria County, you know where just about everything is. One reason is that most of what you see during the spring, summer and fall is exactly two things: corn and soybeans. In the...
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Back road: Fish Creek, Wisconsin
A smooth road, a few trees, a destination: What makes the trip isn’t what you bring; it’s what you find along the way. Unless you have a flat tire–then a spare tube and a pump come in handy. Filed...
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Quick trip: Trek Transport+
The Trek Transport is a cargo bike with extended chainstays that push the rear wheel way back to make plenty of room for whatever you might like to carry. The 2011 Trek Transport+ is the same bike...
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The bicyclist on foot
The best road is often the one that isn’t there. A simple path will sometimes do the job, connecting beginning to end, past to present, season to season. Unless it’s muddy. Then the problem is more...
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Past pedal
Big helmet. No cattle. 1984. What do you look like in your mind’s eye? Are you the kid on the tricycle, about to topple over into the street and win a scar worth bragging about? The bigger kid on the...
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Window beyond the wheel
Sometimes a great day to work on bicycles is a great day to simply enjoy the view. Filed under: Report from the road
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Ice road truckin’ on the Paisley tricycle
Sleet overnight in central Illinois. Perfect weather for a shake-down ride on the Paisley trike–and to take a few pictures of my new/old machine. Riding a tricycle on ice-covered roads is an exercise...
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From the top: Retroshifting the Fisher on Centerville Road
A few notes before my Retroshift CX2 review: 1) The difference between a cold day and a miserable day is whether it’s raining. This was a cold day in central Illinois. 2) When you’re out of shape,...
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Giving Shimano SPD pedals the boot, or half of one
These SPD pedals seemed like a good idea at the time. Clip in when it’s warm and I’m wearing my Shimano SPD sandals, or spin the pedals 180 degrees when it’s cold and I’m wearing my boots. The problem...
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Rolling Blue Ridge on the Fisher
It may snow tonight, but Saturday was a great day for a spin out in the country. Centerville to Streitmatter to Blue Ridge to Santa Fe in northern Peoria County. A little gravel here and there, but...
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Atlantic Street High and Dry
Beautiful day for a ride. And given all the flood coverage on regional media, I thought I’d ride one of the driest streets in Peoria: Atlantic. At the end of the day, it’s all uphill–and marked by...
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Spring on Atlantic Avenue, Peoria
I added fenders and lights to the Fisher just in time for that part of spring that requires neither. Given the dunking the area received earlier this year, I can’t say I’m disappointed that the new...
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Pedalling Peoria’s pavers. Or, biking the bricks
You don’t see a lot of new brick residential construction in Peoria. When you do, the brick often appears only on the side of the home facing the street. Sometimes it’s limited to narrow columns on...
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Bus boy balances bicycle beautifully
Mountain bike pioneer Tom Ritchey says he thought all bikes were gravel bikes. Now that I’ve ridden with David–that’s him in the picture above–over an unfinished portion of the Rock Island Trail...
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The art of the sale: Visiting Artcrank St. Louis
Seen at the St. Louis Artcrank show: a worthy rival to the Nelson Marshmallow Sofa. Cheap bicycle seats were never this attractive, or comfortable, and yet, there they are. The show, which runs...
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Bullhead beside the Missouri
A Co-motion tandem passes my Dahon Bullhead on the Katy Trail between Page Bridge and Weldon Spring on Saturday. I added a Blackburn rack to the Bullhead. Yesterday, I was carrying a small pair of...
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Bicycling the 2013 Illinois Bike Summit
Before 170 people–representing metropolitan planning organizations, city and state governments, non-profits and other organizations–headed inside the Normal, Illinois, Marriot hotel on May 15 for the...
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