
When I bought the first-generation iPhone, it took me all of four days to leave it in a cab, never to see it again. Meanwhile, the phone it was meant to replace, a not-remotely-smart Nokia brick dating from the previous century, had weathered a drop into a toilet and traveled with me to Europe and back -- twice. It still works. Sound familiar? Maybe not, but there's something to be said for......read more
New York-based photographer Bridget Fleming spins street style around with her unconventional take on fashion blogging. Fleming's Downtown From Behind blog features backside views of bike riders on the streets of Lower Manhattan, creating "an environmental portrait for each street and its subject." The project is nothing if not ambitious. With subjects ranging from musicians and models to chefs......read more
In an announcement that will surprise approximately nobody, Portland has been named America's Top Bike-Friendly City in the 2012 rankings from Bicycling magazine. Bike culture reigns supreme in the Pacific Northwestern city, which boasts 180 miles of bike lanes and 79 miles of off-street bike paths. Always quick to embrace cyclist-friendly innovations, Portland was the first city in the United......read more
In all types of design, the happiest place is where simplicity, utility and beauty intersect. Pave, a Barcelona road bike shop designed by architect Joan Sandoval, is nicely ensconced in that happy spot. The clean, minimal build-out features back-lit boxes for displaying bikes, a cycling lit library where visitors can hang out and drink coffee, a lounge area for watching races, and showers for......read more
Mayor of London Boris Johnson, a man perhaps best known for a zip wire gaffe during the Olympics, may soon take to the skies again. This time, though, he'll be on bike. Johnson is reported to be considering an architect's proposal for a network of elevated bike lanes between London's mainline stations. Designed by Sam Martin of Exterior Architecture, the "SkyCycle" network would truly separate......read more
There's no denying the practicality of having a bike basket. With capacity for everything from carry goods to groceries, baskets make bombing around town on your bike way easier. The problem is that they they're generally clunky and ugly. This design from Copenhagen Works, spotted at Cool Hunting, answers the call and then some. Dubbed the Bike Porter, the design integrates a front basket with......read more
When you ride a bike, your legs generate power (duh), and no small amount, either. According to Mapawatt, pro cyclists riding the Tour de France generate as much as 430 watt-hours. What if we could capture that energy and use it to power other stuff? That's the question asked -- and answered -- by Fenix, an SF-based tech company focused on creating renewable energy products for emerging......read more
The website Walk Score has announced the extension of its "Bike Score" rankings for neighborhoods and places to 25 cities. The ratings seek to educate riders on how bikeable their city, neighborhood or block is based on a specific set of criteria, using an easily digestible scoring system that ranks bikeability on a scale of 1 to 100. Heat maps show the most bikeable areas in green, and least......read more
Having grown up in the age of the automobile, North American cities aren't generally the most bikeable places in the world. In a recent international ranking of the world’s best cities for biking, only one North American city (Montreal) made it to the top 20. Of course, that doesn't mean there are no good places to bike in the U.S. and Canada. There are, and the scene is getting better all......read more
At an age when most kids are just learning to not pick their noses and eat it, Vanis Buckholz is running a business with an eye on helping not only the planet but also the less fortunate folks in the community. The 10-year-old from Corona del Mar, CA is the CEO of My ReCycler, which collects recyclable waste for delivery to the local recycling plant. Launched when he was only 7, My ReCycler......read more