From GearPatrol: Hundreds of Bike Helmets on a Brick Wall (at Portland Art Museum)
A giant grid of bike helmets affixed to the brick exterior of the Portland Art Museum serves as signage for an upcoming exhibit. Nutcase donated 475 Helmets to the museum so its staff could build this one-of-a-kind sign. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (06.08.2013): Helmet Wall, Strava Suit
While we never really understand the lyrics to the loopy late 1960s song “MacArthur Park” we have to wonder if any parody song (not that it needs any more parodies) to note a decision to introduce mountain bike trails into San Francisco’s McLaren Park.
The San Francisco Urban Riders are pushing for a plan that would create a bicycle skills park inside the second largest park in San Francisco. Currently there are 312 acres of nature trails and recreational amenities, and the group is looking to convert areas that are currently unused or affected by water erosion. Given that the Bay Area is the birthplace of mountain biking it seems natural to bring it to the city by the Bay. We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops.
Sturdy bike racks are a necessary component to ensuring that people can ride their bikes to work, but aren’t the most pleasing things to look at. A new “artful” attempt to provide new racks, made of recycled cast iron might just change the way people see the racks.
Last week the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency along with the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District unveiled and installed its first recycled cast iron “artful bicycle racks.” These are the first of 250 to be placed in the Yerba Buena neighborhood, and are meant to help meet the growing demand for bicycle parking download. The racks have been paid for by local property owners, and are designed to give a little more style than the usual utilitarian bike racks.
[Via KTVU: Unveiling “artful” bike racks at Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens]
Earlier this week we noted that treated waste water is going to be used to make artificial snow in Arizona this season, and we heard that recycled water from the wastewater treatment plant in Daly City will be used on the TPC Harding Park golf course in San Francisco.
This is reportedly the first recycled water project from the Public Utilities Commission, and it is estimated that the $9 million project could save an average of 230,000 gallons per day. While that is a drop in the bucket compared ot he 70 million gallons used per day city wide the plan is that this could be a good start. The idea here is that this will help save more drinking water for people and serve as a way to use this recycled water for the grass.
[Via San Francisco Chronicle: Recycled water in SF starts on golf links]
Instead of heading to the end zone in an NFL game, last week players from the San Francisco 49ers helped complete the new outdoor 49ers Fitness Zone at Peterson Middle School in Santa Clara. The 49ers reportedly traded in their cleats, shoulder pads and even game faces and picked up power tools, put on smiles and helped install seats and hang two gates at the new center.
The 49er Fitness Zone features green technology, and requires no electricity or scheduled maintenance. It is designed to increase physical fitness and encourage healthy lifestyles among the youth. Several philanthropic community businesses joined the 49ers and United Healthcare in erecting the outdoor fitness zone as part of the NFL-United Way Hometown Huddle Day of Service.
The dedication of the center also correlated with the NFL’s Play 60 program, a campaign to encourage children to be active for 60 minutes a day in order to help reverse the trend of childhood obesity.
NFL’s Play 60 Official Website
49ers Foundation Official Website
[Via Santa Clara Weekly: A Different Kind of Touchdown – 49ers Foundation and United Healthcare Join in Construction of Outdoor Fitness Center for SCUSD Students]
While many hardcore cyclists have no fear of riding in traffic, for many commuters, younger riders and those with an actual fear of death likely avoid riding on streets at all costs. But several cities are working to make for safer and stress-free. Top transportation officials from across the country, including Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, headlined the launch of a new initiative to bring protected bikeways to six U.S. cities including Austin, Chicago, Memphis, Portland, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
This is the result of the Green Lane Project, which was created by the national bicycling nonprofit Bikes Belong Foundation.
Green lanes are dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes in the roadway, protected by curbs, planters, posts or parked cars. The goal of the Green Lane Project is to support the selected cities in their efforts to develop and install these kinds of facilities. Recent studies have demonstrated their benefits nationwide. In Washington, D.C., bicycle volume tripled after protected bikeways were installed. In Portland, Ore., more than 70 percent of survey respondents said bicycling is easier and safer with these dedicated lanes, while motorists said the facilities did not make driving any slower or less convenient. Continue reading Bikes Belong Calls for Protected Bikeways
Hewlett-Packard, Mattel, and Apple Computer – what do these companies all have in common? They started in someone’s house or garage and have grown into multi-billion dollar corporations. The bag company, Timbuk2, was also started in a someone’s home, but unlike those other companies, they have chosen to keep the design and manufacturing of a number of their products close to where it all began for them in San Francisco, California. Continue reading Made in America: Timbuk2 Bags
From BikeRadar: USA Pro Cycling Challenge partner with Gran Fondo: Texas TMCO
The USA Pro Cycling Challenge, one of the largest professional cycling races in the US, have teamed up with the second-annual Gran Fondo: Texas TMCO to create the KOM (King of the Mountain) Challenge. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (3.17.12): Pro Cycling Challenge Goes Gran, CDC Butts Out, Fat Cells Burn, MLB Social Swing
