Muddy chain rings, muddy cleats, muddy legs, muddy faces–basically muddy everything. That’s right, last Saturday was the East Bay’s annual mixed terrain alleycat. I went and checked out who was riding, the course and the prizes. It looked like a lot of tough competition. At one point, the guy who won King of the Mountain [...]
Keeping It Wheel
Bike art on Divisadero
March 6, 2010 – 11:28 pm
I know it’s not Oakland, but on Divisadero in San Francisco there’s a bike shop/cafe/bar/restaurant/art gallery called Mojo. I must say that this place has a pretty genius business model. I stopped by there last Thursday during the Divisadero art walk to check out my friend Chris McNally’s show. He does large prints of vintage [...]
Pride and joy
February 25, 2010 – 5:22 pm
Lately, I’ve been taking pictures of people posing with their bikes. These cyclists seem to put a lot of love and care into their pedaling machines—from the paint jobs, to quirky components to customization. I’m the same way about my vintage Mondonico, so can understand the lengths people go to in order to keep their [...]
On the road with the Tour de Taco: Visiting Oakland’s taquerias by bike
February 22, 2010 – 3:35 pm
The cold, gray skies and wind didn’t deter people from riding through Oakland’s Fruitvale district on Saturday to partake in the Tour de Taco.
Down with bike thieves
February 16, 2010 – 11:58 am
Did anyone see this story in the L.A. Times? In L.A., a group of 20 guys on bicycles surrounded two alleged bike thieves, stripped them down to their boxers and sent them on their way. Pretty funny. The L.A. Police Department says bike theft is on the rise there—up 29% last year, with almost 2000 [...]
Keeping it Wheel is back…
February 11, 2010 – 1:48 pm
After a brief hiatus… your original Keeping it Wheel blogger is back. And now that the clouds have finally parted and the rain has let up–I’m going to be out and about, riding around and looking for all the interesting North Oakland (and sometimes beyond) bike adventures, culture, people and news. Please send in any [...]
Moving forward on bike lanes near MacArthur BART
December 17, 2009 – 8:43 pm
After receiving a $242,500 grant to improve bicycle access around North Oakland’s MacArthur BART station, the city is moving ahead on a series of measures. New bicycle signs are being added to to 40th Street, 41st Street, West Street, Webster Street, and Shafter Avenue
Black Critical Mass
December 5, 2009 – 11:24 am
The Black critical mass group, Red, Bike, Green, is a Bay Area urban bicycling group that meets every first Friday of each month to mingle and ride their bikes.
The one requirement: you must be of African descent.
The group, which began a year ago, started to “improve the physical health, individual economy and local environment [...]
A ride into the hills
November 3, 2009 – 2:45 pm
For Bay Area cyclists, November is the cruelest month. Night falls earlier and earlier, and winter winds and rains prompt many of us to place our two-wheeled conveyances into hibernation for the next few months.
Critical Mass Halloween Style
October 31, 2009 – 7:59 pm
Bikers roll in style at Halloween eve Critical Mass in San Francisco.
How not to place bike in car, lesson 1
October 21, 2009 – 10:03 pm
My life–Becky Palmstrom here–is full of time-saving tricks.
My morning shower involves a slightly dangerous but carefully-executed laptop balancing act that lets me listen to the BBC World Service online while washing my hair. I read my course books while I walk to school. I have a vegetable box delivered to my house and buy vitamins [...]
Bicycle Master Plan, MacArthur BART project
October 14, 2009 – 7:09 pm
Imagine it’s a warm summer evening after another monotonous day’s soul-crushing workplace tedium. You get back to your North Oakland abode, slip into something more comfortable, and hop onto your fixie bike, fat-tired mountain bike, or tricked-out scraper bike. You cycle down through Emeryville, onto I-80, and over the Bay Bridge to watch the sunset [...]
Free bike check-ups
October 5, 2009 – 4:16 pm
Next Sunday, while you’re out shopping for pumpkins and tomatoes at the Temescal farmers market, you can also look out for Rick to get a quick, free bike tune-up. He bikes in with all his tools, pumps and work-stand on his hitch and he seems to do it all for the love of bikes–lucky us. [...]
What Oaklanders are riding
September 18, 2009 – 6:04 pm
Oakland is full of unique and pretty bikes. Sometimes I like to just ride around the city and see what’s locked up. The other day I saw three different people riding Bob Jackson bikes. A few months ago I posted some photos of bikes I like–I tend to go for vintage frames–and decided to do a [...]
Even more bike love
September 10, 2009 – 12:12 pm
It’s the season for swapping and this weekend Walk Oakland Bike Oakland is putting on its Bike Love Festival and Swap Meet. As is the fashion with swap meets, you can search for that rare part you need or buy a whole new bike. There will be bike builders, shops and lone sellers hawking their goods.
Dubbed [...]
True bike lovers
September 1, 2009 – 6:45 pm
Only a dedicated bike lover would forever stencil their body with a bicycle tattoo … and they’re a lot more common than you’d think. I’ve been searching around to find people with bike-related tattoos to put here on Keeping It Wheel. Below are a few recent photos I took of bicycle tattoos and their proud [...]