Feeling very mid-summer: hot, dry, a bit of humidity, and some of that refreshing ozone haze. A few interesting wildflowers growing along the trail: snow on the mountain, showy milkweed, and prickly licorice. 🚴🏽♂️🌾🌞
Very pretty field art in the Tour de France today in département no. 71 Saône-et-Loire.
#cycling #biketooter #tdf #tdf2026 #procycling #fieldart #france #tourdefrance
Late June, we biked to the south end of Orléans from Nepean. Finding a route away from motorised traffic was a bit of a challenge because of the provincial highways and busy arterials, but we managed mostly on pathways in the end. #ottbike #Biketooter #cycling #Ottawa
hansonthebike.com/2026/07/17/f…
Cycling from Nepean to Orleans in Ottawa is not so easy if you want to avoid busy roads. We found a bypass behind 'Big Al'Hansonthebike (Hans on the Bike - Cycling in Ottawa and beyond)
4/14 completed. I stopped at midnight. Slept in a graveyard. Right at back. Could not have been quieter. Up at 4.00am. Back on the road at quarter past. Egg McMuffin and a cup of tea for breakfast. The next stage is 80k. Nothing too gruesome.
Reminder
#OttawaBluesfest still going strong. Note the new location below as well as longer hours on Sunday, July 19.
Enjoy the #BikePark. Donations go to us as well as Blues in the Schools (split 50/50). #BikeTooter #Ottawa
Going to #OttawaBluesfest? Bike Park (free, supervised valet bike parking) has a new location this year, on Wellington between Mill Street and Lett Street. Still open 3:30pm-11:30pm July 9-18 (except Mon/Tues), and 11:00am-11:30pm on July 19 for #Ottawa200Anyone biking from the west might want to go via the path at Pimisi Station and Lett instead of behind the museum.
Cash donations (optional) are accepted for @bikeottawa and Blues in the Schools.
Do you enjoy trueing bicycle wheels? Replacing spokes? Rebuilding wheels with new rims? Good news! Soon you'll be able to attach an old fashioned wheel bender rack to the back of your car so your bicycle wheels will constantly be in need of repair!
Today's bike ride to work sucked. Wearing a respirator for 30 minutes isn't very comfortable. I had to adjust it a few times and it was much worse breathing in the wildfire smoke so respirator it is.
I can only assume our climate will get worse as time goes on so I figured I might want to get used to this.
Stage 1 done. Its nice in the shade. Topping up food and drink now. Wind behind us for stage 2 to Barton-le-Clay 65km
Only one question in the queue, more are welcome for Friday! See below
—-
Next #BikeNite is this Friday at 4pm Pacific standard time (UTC-8)!
This is our weekly call for questions. Reply with any you'd like me to add to the discussion on Friday. Please add the BikeNitePQ hashtag so it's easier to find a Proposed Question. There is room for more!
(BikeNite is a Q&A type discussion on the Fediverse.) #BikeTooter cc @bikenite
New rear wheel on bike
Old rear wheel cleaned and refitted to commuter. (Finally pushing the cracked rim Hunts to the recycling centre where they belong. 🎉 )
Problem. Old wheel no longer go round & round. IS mount catching on disc.
Why so? Head scratching commences...
Solution. Turns out these hub end caps look the same, they are not.
Gak. Dirty hands #BikeTooter
This could have been a Haiku, but I lack the energy.
Smoke on one side of the Pennines and mist on the other. Also still windy but nothing like Monday. Went full aero and it seemed to help.
OTD in 1944, Sheldon Brown was born.
I cannot really express how grateful I am that he shared his expertise with the whole #Cycling world. I only became a Bike Guy well after his death, but his website has been so very helpful to me.
these days with lithium batteries widely available it's pretty easy. The old days of needing 10kg of lead batteries to drive a 24V truck horn at 20+ amps are long gone.
But back in the day I had much better noise makers on the bike... there's a random MTB with the front wheel removed on the load platform but you can see the speaker box.
Oh Hell No.
Car horns are loud, they have to be to penetrate the sealed box and the distracted attention of the moronist being honked at.
This is how you get me to buy a truck or train horn and ride round with ear defenders on. You want honking? I'm honking.
Attention drivers:
Please honk if you love bikes!
Voor de liefhebbers van echte vintage fietsonderdelen, heb ik nog een mooi setje ringsloten te koop. Ik hoop dat ze bij een echte collectioneur terecht komen, ze kwamen uit de nalatenschap van een oudtante.
#cycling #fiets #BikeTooter
Vintage REINA-BABY-702 ringslot
€ 50,00
link.marktplaats.nl/m241983308…
Aangeboden: twee orginele REINA-BABY-702 fietssloten. De sloten komen met twee sleutels. Eén is nog in de originele verpakking en heeft ook nog klemmenMarktplaats
BRUTAL headwind this morning.
As a licensed motorcyclist, I wonder what model ebike this was. The picture in the article shows "Allegro" decals. Allegro seems to be a Swiss bike maker, but nothing on their website looks particularly fast.
bbc.com/news/articles/czdeee11…
allegro-bikes.ch/modelle/e-bik…
Police say that of more than 100 e-bikes stopped, fewer than a quarter were legally compliant.Greig Watson (BBC News)
Going to be into a headwind tomorrow. It’ll be a refreshing change…
Long day of riding...
Bill McKibben, a writer and climate activist I've been inspired by for decades, wrote a post about transitioning to bicycles as a powerful climate action. I am honored he used one of my watercolors to frame his post. billmckibben.substack.com/p/to…
ps: You can get my work as postcards AND most of my illustrations are available in larger formats, as greeting cards, and even some originals are still for sale. Just drop me a line and ask. cathy@ cathytuttle.nl
We’re grateful to @matthiasK / Matthias Kamm for donating today to support the Bicycling Monterey website and public outreach. Matthias is a repeat donor. Why? See what people say about this work, including comments from bike advocates; transportation professionals and municipal leaders; media professionals; people who live outside #MontereyCounty; and #Monterey County residents. bikemonterey.org/comments.html
#BikeTooter #biking #bicycling #cycling #ActiveTransport #ClimateAction #gratitude #donations
A7: this might be helpful:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_ch…
copenhagencyclechic.com/2009/0…
letsgorideabike.wordpress.com/…
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite @juliette via @sam
As you may have noticed, I enjoy wearing skirts and dresses, which means that I often cycle in skirts and dresses. Last summer, I posted about cycling in a long dress on a bike with a chainguard a…dottie (Let's Go Ride a Bike)
I've pinned larger skirts using safety pins and used ankle straps for trousers, but I haven't needed to as much since a mechanic at a bike shop put a large sprocket cover onto my bike. (Apparently, my bike isn't designed for a chain guard.). It's helped.
A1a: Posting from Seattle, WA. The weather has been perfect for the last few days.
A1b: A saddle with a cutout is massively helpful in removing the discomfort in men's private parts. I rode a standard saddle for a few years, putting up with numbness down there after 10+ miles. A Specialized Power saddle completely resolved that issue. #BikeNite #MastoBikes #BikeTooter
A1a. Eurotunnel Folkestone terminal, thinking I should probably try to get a bit more sleep before our crossing in ~90 minutes.
A1b. Cadence… I somehow thought faster cadence was "better" unless you'd run out of gears, but I'm slowly figuring out that that's not necessarily the case.
Welcome to the UK @ascentale!
I'm posting from Saskatoon, SK, CAN.
A rack and basket made such a huge difference to my cycling experience that I wish I would have had one from the start.
I went from trying to fit groceries, books, and other stuff in a backpack (which was heavy and awkward) to being able to ride unencumbered. My bike doesn't have a super conventional design, but the staff at my then-favourite (now-closed) bike shop were able to rig up a rack for me, and I've since replaced it with one designed for bike packing with mountain bikes so I can carry heavier loads. Even on a recreational ride, I can toss my phone, wallet, jacket, water bottle, whatever, in it, and I never have to be concerned with deciding on route to stop to pick something up. It's fantastic!
Exploring a bit this morning
A8. Beautiful morning for an early dog walk yesterday, before it got too hot, long enough to make sure that @ivan_t_dog was sufficiently tired before being left with F-i-L for a couple of nights. If I hadn't had to work, I'd have been straight back down with my paddleboard.
A6: no, I rarely wash my bikes. I use a wax-based chain lube, Squirt, for all but my single speed MTB, so my chains don't need cleaning, and while my bikes get dirty from riding on dirt trails and roads, I rarely wash them because the dirt does less harm than water does. Water - especially at high pressure - gets into bearings, closed systems like free hub pawls and cable housings, not to mention electronics. (Ebikes) Unless dried properly and quickly, it causes corrosion, both rust and electrolytic. (Stuck seatposts, etc) I'll wipe stanchions of dropper posts, forks and shocks with a dry rag. In our wet season I will wash a muddy bike, but with low pressure water, indirect spray, minimal detergents. If a bike needs to be pretty, I'll first knock off dust with an animal-hair brush, then wipe with a dry rag.
A bike that gets used should look like it, unless someone is paying for it to look pretty.
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@sheromon asks:
Q3. Where do people buy bike parts and tools? Do you buy from a local shop? Do you buy online? If online, where?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@oheso asks:
The sun and weather have taken their toll on my six-year-old Kärcher spray (pressure) washer. I'm not sure what to do for a replacement. There's a newer model with a collapsible water tank, which I suspect will be even more prone to cracking. There are a number of knock-offs, but not a whole lot of competitors. I looked at an Iris Oyama -- I'm happy with my cordless drill -- but reviewers mentioned too many issues.
Q6. Before I just order the same again (and make an effort to protect it from the sun and weather), does anyone have any alternatives to recommend? I need a water tank model (no faucet in the Workshop in the Sky) and rechargeable battery (no outlets either).
I also would like something quieter, if possible. I'm always concerned this one is bothering the neighbors (although none has complained). #CondoLife
(Do you wash your bike/cycle with a spray washer?)
Photo: ieji.de/@oheso/116865955982577…
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
Attached: 1 image The sun and weather have taken their toll on my six-year-old Kärcher spray washer. I'm not sure what to do for a replacement. There's a newer model with a collapsible water tank, which I suspect will be even more prone to cracking.oheso (ieji.de)
I've had this ridiculous idea bouncing around my head for years, and tonight I finally did it. Take that, overhanging greenery!
And our last question this week as usual: your week in a photo.
Q8. What did you see this week? Reply with a photo if you'd like. Cycling related or not is fine. Tell us about it!
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
Welcome to #BikeNite on Friday, July 10th.
Thanks for joining our chat. Anyone can join, now or later. Reply to what you like, and boost for visibility.
Our intro, and question from @MartyCormack
Q1a. Where are you posting from today?
Q1b. What's a thing (technique, gear, equipment, accessories, etc) about cycling that you wish you knew about when you started, but took a couple years or longer to find out, presumably the hard way?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeTooter @bikenite
(Hopefully I’ve scheduled this correctly given the time difference here in the UK!)
@nev asks:
Q4. Do you ride your bike in marches/at protests? How do you deal with crowds, carrying signs, potential arrests/police violence, etc.?
Since an experience where I locked my bike up where the protest began, we ended up marching elsewhere (never let the cops know your next move), and I had to go back later, I always keep it with me, but it gets unwieldy in a crowd. Curious about other people's experiences.
