Keeping It Wheel

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 bikes reported stolen. Yes, it’s L.A., not Oakland, but it seems like bike theft is on the rise here too. Two weeks ago a friend…

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 scoops, ideas, events or photos. And in the meantime, Keep it Wheel.

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

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 of African Americans by strengthening the relevance of bike culture within the Black community,” which is pushed by the group’s founders Jenna Burton, 27,…

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.

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 and shampoo in bulk to save time on shopping. I take power naps and I have learnt to touch type. But every so often…

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. Here are a few pictures of the man at work: