If you are going to bike anywhere and leave your bike outside, you need the equipment and knowledge for proper locking so that your bike is there when you return.  While no bike security system is 100% effective, you want to do whatever you can to make stealing you bike harder than the next bike.  If your bike looks inconvenient to steal, there is a good chance a thief will look somewhere else.  Following are some practices to help stop or at least slow down thieves.

If you've discovered the joy of cycling during the pandemic and are now looking for a way to learn more about the sport of cycling and keep up to date on the cycling scene all over the world, you should check out VeloNews.  According to Betsy Welch, Senior Editor at VeloNews the VeloNews team is based in Boulder, Colorado and it publishes a magazine  and website.   Betsy was the guest speaker at the July 21 Evanston Bicycle Club meeting and she provided a glimpse into what are the current trends in cycling as well as some of her own cycling adventures.  

​There are three points of contact between you and your bike: hands, feet, and seat.  Of these three, the bike seat or saddle is the area with the most options for customization.  All bikes come with a saddle, but if you experience pain or discomfort on rides it is time to swap out the saddle that came with the bike for another one.

The bike saddle should support your bones, not your flesh and it is hard to know just by looking at a saddle if it will fit your bone structure.  Also, if you want to give a new saddle a try, it takes more than just a ride around the block to know if it is right your you—you need to take it on a long ride of at least 1 hour so you can settle in and determine how it accommodates your pressure points. 

You’ve discovered that cycling improves cardio-vascular and aerobic fitness, lowers blood pressure, boosts energy, builds muscle, and improves coordination and is just plain fun, so now you need a bike.  But with so many styles, options, and places to buy, how do you know what is the right bike for you?

Cycling is a diverse world and there is a bike for everyone regardless of age, fitness level or riding style.  You can increase your chance of finding your best ride ever by answering a few questions. 

​With all the non-profit bike organizations in Chicago such as Working Bikes, West Town Bikes, the Recyclery, Bikes N’ Roses, and Blackstone Bicycle Works, is there room for another non-profit devoted to bikes?  Free Bikes 4 Kidz, a national non-profit that focuses on collecting and donating bikes for kids, now has a Chicago chapter that promises to fill a void with their focus on bikes for kids.

​The idea behind Free Bikes 4 Kidz comes from these marketplace facts:

• About one-third of all bikes sold have 20 inch wheels for smaller riders which means there are a lot of used kid’s bikes available
• The zip code people live in impacts their life expectancy indicating that living in an underserved area impacts a person’s success

If you are like many other people coming out of a COVID-19 lockdown, you are wanting to enjoy the warmer weather on a bicycle.  Riding a bike is a way to get outside while being socially distant, get exercise, run errands to the grocery store, pick up take-out food, and commute to work, without the expense of operation and parking of a car or risky public transportation.   In many cities including Chicago space is being reclaimed on streets with pop-up cycleways making safer cycling infrastructure.   But unless you already have a bike or acted a month ago, you have probably found it difficult to purchase a new bike today that costs under $1000.  The shortage also includes kids bikes and some bike components like tires and tubes.  Why is there a short supply at this time?  

To have the best possible experience on your bike you need accessories.   Some are essential for safety, like a helmet or lights, some will help you keep your bike working smoothly, such as an air pump and tire repair kit, and others will increase your comfort and convenience if you have the budget and do enough riding to justify the expense.   

How to prioritize accessories?
If you are getting ready to outfit a new bike, or have a bike you have taken out of storage that has not been ridden in a while, there are a lot of accessories available to purchase so what criteria should you use to begin the selection process?   

If you are new to cycling and shopping for your first bike as an adult you may wonder why a bike from a major brand in specialty retail sold at a bike shop or online is so expensive.   To get you from point A to B a new bike will cost you a lot less than a new car, but it may seem that $400 or more is still a lot to pay to own two wheels.  To get a handle on the costs it helps to know a little about the current state of bicycle manufacturing:

• Rapid innovation –Bikes have been around for over 100 years, but we are not done tweaking them yet.  New designs and components debut annually resulting in a pace akin to that of the iPhone. 
• ​Precision – Bicycle components are manufactured in weights and tolerances that are highly precise and as with any precision product, it takes more effort and cost to get that degree of performance

Image you have a superpower traveling around the streets of Chicago—flying down the streets, feeling the breeze on your face, watching the pavement rush past underneath, while making all the traffic lights, and not breaking a sweat.  If you are a food delivery person during this time of COVID-19, imagine experiencing all these benefits AND tripling the number of deliveries you can do in a day and your income?  All of this is possible on an ebike. 
 
Electric bikes (ebikes) have been popular in Europe for over 10 years, but they are now growing in popularity in the United States.  They have traditional bicycle components like wheels, chain, saddle, and a handlebar but they also have a motor, battery and display that provides a boost, also called pedal assist.  This assist can be a huge benefit then trying to haul goods, go long distances, or travel at a faster pace.   

Wednesday, April 22, 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of Earth Day.  Every year billions of people all over the world call for action to protect the environment on this global day of observance.  Due to COVID-19 this year’s call to action is not marked by gatherings, rallies, or group bike rides, but the sentiment still applies.    

With a stay at home order in affect and less fossil fuel vehicles on the road, scientists have reported a significant reduction in air pollution in the last month.  If we could only figure out a way to sustain this trend when our lives return to normal! 

One way is to expand cycling as the preferred mode for everyday transportation.   Cities where residents bike, walk, and use public transportation have significantly lower CO2 transport emissions than those that rely on private vehicles even when factoring in the footprint of a bike’s manufacture and maintenance.