Posts Tagged ‘cycling’
Oakland Grand Prix whirls through downtown
The race remains vibrant despite a shoestring budget and being run by only a couple dozen volunteers.
Read MoreBikers race in Grand Prix in downtown Oakland
Cycling enthusiasts gathered downtown on Sunday, for the Oakland Grand Prix Bike Race. 305 cyclists of all ages competed in ten events, slicing through the streets surrounding the Kaiser Center.
Read MoreOakland biking group Fix Without Dix puts on a heated alley cat race
For the past five years, Fix Without Dix (FWOD), an Oakland-based biking group for girls and transgendered people, has hosted Wednesday night social bike rides throughout the city. Sunday’s race, dubbed “The Tumbleweed Race,” was their first foray into hosting co-ed races, but certainly wasn’t their first time hosting an alley cat race.
Read MoreA weekend getaway in Oakland’s own backyard
For less than a quarter of a tank of gas and 25 minutes of driving, Anthony Chabot Regional Park and campground is an easy, mini getaway from most anywhere in Oakland.
Read MoreBike Man Dan offers an alternative take on the traditional bike shop
Behind a small grey non-descript house near San Pablo Avenue and 60th Street in the Golden Gate neighborhood is a different kind of bicycle shop. As you walk down a path alongside the house, you pass chicken coops, Birds of Paradise and a vegetable garden full of beets, bok choy and broccoli. Past the garden, a door leads to a clean little studio full of tools and bikes. This is where Dan Woloz just opened a service-oriented bike shop called Bike Man Dan.
Read MoreHere comes the rain: Oakland North’s tips for biking in wet weather
It’s time to break out the fenders. As last week’s balmy weather changes to winter rain, people who rely on their bikes have to switch gears, sometimes literally, and prepare for drenched roads and clothes.
Read MoreExtreme Biking: dangerous, dirty and tons of fun
Cutting your gas bill, your carbon footprint, or your waistline: these are some of the reasons to bike more. But how about extreme bicycling only for bikers in-the-know? That’s the goal of one Bay Area group that organizes secret, competitive rides covering varied terrain.
Read MoreFree bike check-ups
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.…
Read MoreRide the Port of Oakland
Every Tuesday evening, dozens of roadies suited up in spandex and cleats head down to the Port of Oakland for the “POO ride.” This ride is not for the everyday bike commuter or even avid weekend rider. It’s as close to a bike race you can get without being in an official race — there…
Read MoreSpoke cards
Once used mostly by messengers for identification in alleycat races, spoke cards have blown up. Although you still get them in alleycats, I now see all sorts of different decorative cards, birthday cards, and gang membership cards. In its bio on spoke cards, Wikipedia has this hilarious explanation on why non-messengers put cards in their…
Read MoreMagical bike
From quite a distance down Adeline Street in West Oakland, I could see this multi-wheeled contraption covered in plastic ribbons. It was slowly creeping down the very center of the road, making it easy for me to catch up. I pedaled alongside the man, snapped a few photos and asked him some questions. His name…
Read MoreI’m movin’ on my scraper bike
Scraper bikes and their loyal followers (including me) took to the streets of Oakland last weekend. Over 100 people (this is my own unscientific guess) got on bikes and joined the “Healin’ from Killin’” bike ride for peace. With 60 murders in Oakland so far this year, the scraper bike crew wanted to come out…
Read MoreBazillions of bike baskets
I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m seeing more bikes with baskets than ever before. Maybe it’s more people commuting? Or maybe folks are giving up their cars and use baskets to grocery shop on their bikes? Maybe it’s just a cool trend? Whatever the reason, some people get really creative in constructing their…
Read MoreRad Massaker outtakes
With a total of 40 miles, six checkpoints and throughout six cities in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, El Cerrito, Albany and Richmond) last weekend’s Rad Massaker alleycat race was all sorts of fun. The winner, Ricardo Moran, clocked in at around two hours and 30 minutes, coming in ahead of over 150 other…
Read MoreOakland’s very own alleycat
The same folks that brought you the Oakland Scrape alleycat last year are putting together the Rad Massaker alleycat this Sunday. The race will be throughout Berkeley, Oakland, Piedmont, Richmond, and Albany and will “finish bbq style.” It’s ten bucks and all proceeds go to the local non-profit-Cycles of Change. For those of you who…
Read MoreLoaner tools and repair classes? How cool
I had to do some tinkering on my bike the other day and didn’t have all the tools I needed–so I headed over to the Missing Link Bicycle Cooperative in downtown Berkeley. Their tool library is so cool. You just have to give them an ID and you can work up to two hours on…
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