Bicyculture

BICYCULTURE FALL 2013

THE GOOD BIKE PROJECT One man’s trash is another man’s art.

COLUMBIA

FARMER’S MARKET Every Saturday 8 am - Noon

2

FALL 2013

f

eatures AN UNUSUAL PLACE FOR A NEW SPACE 10 Trail access only: The only way to get Swamp Rabbit Cafe. Promoting green living and healthy lifestyles since 2006.

THE GOOD BIKE PROJECT 14

10

A man’s trash is another man’s art. Take a closer look at Jon Baily’s unique art installments in small town Durango.

OLD BIKES, NEW TRICKS 2O One man’s effort to give old, abandoned bicycles a new life. Bicyiculture takes you through the process of bringing an old bike back to life.

TAKE A RIDE THROUGH HISTORY 24 Journey through time to experience the earliest bicycles and how they’ve evolved in to the machines we know and love.

14

BIKE CENTRAL 30 Get all you need to know about the Midwest’s top biking cities. See if you city makes our prestigous list. If not, do something about it!

NEW BIKES ON THE BLOCK 40 The futures is here. Take a look at what’s new in bike technology as well as what is to come.

Everything you need to know is here.

20 BICYCULTURE

3

Share life in an instant.

“I’m old. Somewhere along the way, I transitioned from trivial problems to finding my mind wandering to which city I’ll be in next year. All I can say is thank goodness for biking. The nature calms me. There’s nothing like hearing the music of the wind to wipe a clean slate in my head.”

4

FALL 2013

Moments like these only come around once in your life. Capture them with Instagram.

d

epartments FEATURED FOLKS 18 Meet Larry, the bearded professor from the University of Missouri and his many bicycles. We go inside Larry’s life as a bicycle enthusiast.

BIKE LIFE 28 Mid-Missouri’s hottest summer bike rides you will not want to miss. Get the inside track on what’s coming and how to sign up.

18

GOOD EATS 36 Spatula Tom takes you inside the founding and special atmosphere of one our Columbia favorites, Cafe Berlin.

28 36 BICYCULTURE

5

6

FALL 2013

Just Another day on the trail.

Come ride on more than 230 miles of pure Missouri.

With more than 14 cities along the route, there are countless opportunities along the Katy Trail the explore the hidden gems of the Show Me State.

What are you waiting for? Get out there.

Missouri Department of

Natural Resources BICYCULTURE

7

e

ditor’s column

We got dropped off in the gravel parking lot outside Jones Skating Rink, and when our parents drove off for the evening, we took our places outside in the line to get in, shy and awkward and self-conscious, but pretending that we were none of those things.

Some kids carried their own skates, dangling them from the laces over their arms, but most of us had to rent. Scuffed white for the girls; faded black for all of the boys.

Inside, our eyes adjusted to the dim light and Rod Stewart rasped about young hearts feeling free tonight and everything smelled sugary and sweaty, a heady mixture of Hubba Bubba bubble gum that we packed in our cheeks and Tickle deodorant that we’d just started to use, a requirement of dressing out in P.E. at school.

In between songs, we traded skinny sticks of Juicy Fruit and Fruit Stripe and Doublemint, peeling off the foil and popping the gum in our mouths in case we got pulled onto the floor for a couples’ skate, which meant holding hands made sticky by pouring “suicides” — a mixture of Dr Pepper and Coke and Sprite from the soda fountain — and trying not to tangle our feet together when we made the crossover turn.

Learning to skate is not easy, but somehow we managed to figure out how to glide side to side, how to push off with our legs, how to hold on to the rail along the wall, how to hold on to a boy’s back pocket, fingers hooked into the slim space next to his comb.

We did the best we could, trying not to look so shy and awkward and selfconscious, by keeping ourselves moving, going around and around in circles, all of us in unison, some of us learning to skate backward, retrograde, flying around the rink with our knees bent and our

8

FALL 2013

necks craned to see if we were going to run into anyone, which we somehow, miraculously, never did, and not once realizing that all life is a series of rotations, of revolutions. Cycles and circles.

Then, in 1979, National Geographic packaged a record inside its pages, a thin flexi-disk that you could tear out and play on a turntable, and I played it — “Songs of the Humpback Whale” — over and over, mesmerized not only by the haunting and lonely sounds of these mammals but also by the record itself, which was an oddly shaped square, but it spun perfectly anyway, around and around, 331/3 revolutions per minute.

And there were other moments of revolutions that now I recognize as revelations: the lazy Susan in the center of the kitchen table at my grandmother’s house that held her W. Dalton china, Serenity pattern; and how my grandmother and I sat at that table and played teatime with her fanciest china, how we spun the lazy Susan, around and around, to turn the creamer or sugar bowl toward each other, and how her entire collection now graces my own china cabinet,; and I remember, too, how later, on the porch at her house, we watched the metal canister down in the wooden ice cream freezer turning, going around and around, churning out the first batch of vanilla that we couldn’t wait to taste for the first time in the summer, and how afterward she let me race to the backyard where she set up a sprinkler, and I ran around and around in wide circles, hearing the ffpp, ffpp, ffpp, ffpp of water arcing across the yard while I flailed my outstretched arms, like an octopus, not shy or awkward or self-conscious at all and never considering how much I would miss when this sprinkler stopped turning, which it most certainly would.

contributors Art Director Jenny Sanchez Visionary Kevin Keith Secretary Samantha Engel

ZOOM IN | the trail

BICYCULTURE

9

10

FALL 2013

By ELEAZAR DAVID MELENDEZ

When Mary Walsh opened Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery in 2011 in New York, the business had all the markings of a venture destined to fail. Rather than open up in downtown Greenville, S.C., the SUV-friendly town where Walsh and her business partner, Jacqueline Oliver, live, the duo set up shop in an abandoned storefront more easily accessible via bike trail. In a part of the country better known for pulled pork and fried food, Walsh’s store offered organic hummus and delicious kombucha.

But two years after launching, Walsh says sales are going briskly, driven by customers who’d rather take their groceries home in a bike basket than a car trunk.

A gym, bike shop and “environmental hair and nail salon” have opened next door, turning a site Walsh says used to be a crackhouse into a bike-focused strip mall.

While some may have called Walsh crazy for choosing to open her store along a cycling path, her success is part of a surge in bike-related business opportunities.

With the initial economic hit from the Great Recession in the rearview mirror, both new and existing businesses across the country are tapping into changing attitudes about biking as a way to drive up traffic and put their sales into high gear.

“It’s really low-hanging fruit changes being put in place that make a big impact,” said April Economides, an urban planning consultant who has advised businesses in the city of Long Beach, Calif., on how to make their shopping bike -friendly.

BICYCULTURE

11

“When you offer things like basic bike repair, events, free bike valet, it puts the idea in people’s mind that ‘Oh, I could bike there’,” Economides said. “That’s good for businesses because cyclists travel at human speed. We notice businesses that we normally wouldn’t notice if we were going in the car. And it’s much easier to stop, park for free and walk right in.”

As a direct result of various efforts to make the city of Long Beach more bike-friendly, Economides said, 25 businesses have opened or expanded there.

Academic studies have backed the idea that promoting cycling can have positive economic effects. Researchers have estimated that all aspects of cycling -- increased sales by bike retailers, out-of-state tourism, a bump in traffic to businesses near bike lanes, gains from positive health effects, and other factors -- contribute $435 million per year to Iowa’s economy. Similar studies have found contributions of $481 million to Minnesota and $556 to Wisconsin. In Colorado, a famously bike-friendly state,

12

FALL 2013

the estimate is almost a wopping $1 billion.

In Memphis, Tenn., the president of a community development nonprofit said that a program by the city government to carve out bike lanes from old trolley tracks and railroad bridges has helped turn a blighted part of central Memphis into a vibrant arts district.

“We have a lot of businesses moving in here because they are seeing the future when the bike connector is in there,” said David Wayne Brown, president of Historic Broad Avenue Arts District. “There’s a lot of expectation and anticipation that this is going to be the central place for people to use as a hub. Maybe stop and get a coffee when they’re on a ride with their friends.”

One of the most exciting projects being undertaken, Brown said, is the rehabilitation of a warehouse that will serve as a community performance space. The center is expected to be an anchor for the business district, with a restaurant on the rooftop -- easily accessible via bike ramp, of course -- as a likely centerpiece.

“We have a lot of plans that are pie-in-the-sky, but also realistically possible in the future,” Brown said. One such plan involves placing shallow pools near the bike lane to serve overheated cyclists.

“It could be a place for people to cool down when it gets really hot in the summer and yell ‘Good luck!’ at the

“...turning a site that used to be a crackhouse into a bike-focused strip mall.” other cyclists passing by,” Brown said.

That encouragement from other cyclists -- really, the development of a bike culture in cities and towns -- is just as important for businesses as biking infrastructure like trails and lanes, several entrepreneurs told Huff Post.

In New York City, designer Sarah Canner has developed Vespertine, a line of couture reflective apparel meant to cater to female cyclists who might enjoy biking for short trips, and want to be safe but also fashionable.

This type of biker is appearing more often on New York City’s streets as cycling becomes more popular and in the wake of the installation of a bike share program in the city, Canner said. In reference to the mayor of New York, who has aggressively pushed the city to build bike infrastructure during his tenure, Canner called this new breed of cyclist “the Bloomberg-model biker” “Necessity is the mother of invention,” Canner said.

“There’s been a number of people that have been inspired to figure out new challenges -- and very much on the fashion side.”

“Bikes are trendy, they’ve been so for a couple of years,” she said. “It’s been a nice time to be involved with bikes.”

BICYCULTURE

13

14

FALL 2013

THE

GB O I OK DE PROJECT

BICYCULTURE

15

J

Jon Bailey fished out the bicycle frame of an old 10-speed Peugeot abandoned in the muck of the Animas River near Junction Creek.

Not wanting to throw it in the landfill, the bicycle mechanic was not sure what to do until inspiration struck one day while working at Durango Cyclery.

He grabbed a ladder from the back of a customer’s truck and hung the Peugeot from the side of his blue house across the alleyway from the bike shop on 13th Street near Main Avenue.

For the last six years, the Peugeot has been suspended in the air by the chain of another bicycle that Bailey wore out riding from Durango to San Francisco.

“I continually have this vision I am going to take it down and make it work again,” Bailey, 31, said. It’s like fruit “hanging on the tree that’s not quite ripe yet.”

In cycle-crazy Durango, some worn-out bicycles don’t die after their last spin. They become art.

16

FALL 2013

Bike frames find second lives as wall ornaments around town, but even the smallest rings and cogs lend themselves to creativity, too.

Deborah Gorton uses spokes and gears to make miniature sculptures of cycling figures with playful names such as “Unspoken” and “All Geared Up.” “I’m finding lots of different kinds of inspiration in bicycle parts,” she said.

Sandhya Tillotson heats up gears on an outdoor grill and then brands their shapes onto leather belts and dog collars and even keychains.

“I used a blowtorch once (for the branding), but that didn’t work so well,” she said.

She sells the belts at regional art fairs and online for $40 to $65 at www.sundialdesigns.net. The belts have names such as Dirty Messenger, The Paperboy and Mountain Singlespeed.

“It’s fun to make something that’s usable, completely

functional,” she said. “I made belts for all my family members for Christmas. They still wear belts every day. That’s pretty neat.”

Because her fiancé, Joey Ernst, owns Velorution Cycles, she feels their lives revolve around bikes, especially with the number “of bikes we have in our house and in our back shed.”

Her art is a way “to tie everything together.”

“I think there is something beautiful about bikes, in their own form. I think they look so cool,” she said.

Glen Shoemaker uses chain rings as stencils for his paintings, spraying over the chain rings to make designs on a canvas, sometimes using Plexiglas or mirrors as his artistic backdrop.

He describes himself as an “obsessive mountain biker” who moved to Durango for both his art and cycling. His two passions fused together from living here.

“It’s Durango. There are tons and tons of bikes laying

around,” said Shoemaker, a bartender at Carver Brewing Co., where his art often is displayed. “Bike parts are retooled and reused as something that allows you to shout out, ‘Hey, I love bike riding!’”

Visitors soon will appreciate how much Durango loves bicycles when a sculpture by Boulder-based artist Joshua Wiener of cyclists racing toward an imaginary finish line is installed this week at the roundabout on Florida Road.

Wiener does not incorporate old bicycle parts into his art, but he gets the fascination.

“People tend to make art about things they are trying to understand,” Wiener said.

Cycling as a physical experience is beyond words, “so artists try to make things to understand it,” Wiener said.

“Really important things get thoroughly explored, and art can be a wonderful instrument for understanding.”

Bailey also finds an aesthetic in the craftsmanship and simple design of the bicycle.

“It’s the most efficient machine man has made,” he said. “There’s no reason we should be burying it or throwing it in the river. The bicycle can be run down to nothing and still work.

“Because it’s such a powerful machine, with that energy comes a beauty,” he said.

“

It’s like fruit hanging on the tree that’s not quite ripe yet

”

Bailey belongs to a local nonprofit called Bicycle Lemonade that restores old bicycles. Lately, Bicycle Lemonade has been making old bicycle parts available outside the alleyway by Durango Cyclery so people can make art.

Bailey said there is a lot of interest in making crafts for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge because Durango will be the Aug. 20 start of the bicycle race across Colorado.

“You have an event where 30,000 people are going to be here, you have artists getting together to capitalize on it,” Bailey said.

The artists often don’t know what they are going to make when they come for the old sprockets and chains because creativity does not happen until the pieces are assembled for a project. Then “the flow just goes,” Bailey said in describing the creative process.

“A lot of (artists) are probably fresh to working with bike parts as art, so their minds are just rolling in so many great directions,” Bailey said.

Bailey is grateful for the artists because he does not like to waste even old bicycle parts.

“It’s hard for us to take it to salvage because it will be melted down. We keep it alive as best we can.”

BICYCULTURE

17

f

18

eatured folk

FALL 2013

A LIFETIME OF PASSION

I

By JILL RENAE HICKS

f you entered the George Caleb Bingham Gallery this past week on the University of Missouri campus, you would have seen one man’s eyes gazing back at you — an omnipresent, quiet force blazing from every single wall.

Some say he looks like Santa; others, Dumbledore; still others, a Zeus-like figure. Some irrevocably connect him with his motorcycle. Others are drawn to his vintage bicycle seen in photos from the 1970s, and some can’t close their eyes and imagine him without also seeing his worn stocking hat or ubiquitous pairs of high-tops. Whatever the case, Larry Bauer is one recognizable man in Columbia — and he has become even more so after the Bingham Gallery’s summer art exhibition, “The Larry Show,” which was curated by Sloane Snure Paullus and closed this last Thursday.

“I’ve gotten used to it,” Bauer said with a quiet chuckle, referring to stumbling across artistic representations of him around town in a gradually increasing cascade. But, he acknowledged, seeing so many images of himself in one place was a bit overwhelming, even though he had seen many of them before. Bauer has been an art model since 2006 — not only at MU but also Stephens College, Columbia College, William Woods University in Fulton and even Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

He rides his now-iconic motorcycle to those each and every appointment.

The way Bauer began modeling wasn’t exactly something he planned. He moved to Columbia from New Mexico several years ago but also hails from Fort Worth, Texas. An old friend of his from Fort Worth asked him to sit for a portrait. After moving to

Columbia, Bauer needed a relatively immediate way to make some money. Another painter asked him to sit for a portrait — “and I didn’t realize she wanted to pay me for it,” he remembered. “She took me to the art building to sit, and she pointed out as we went in that they were advertising for models. … So I applied to model, and right away I got some jobs.” That was back in 2006.

“They like to use me for portraits,” he reflected, “because the beard is a challenge — it’s especially difficult for students.”

He also mused that the surprising result of being a model is that his self-perception has changed. “I think about myself sort of as a curmudgeon, but other people … perceive me as more lovable than I think of myself,” he noticed. “What is really interesting is to see that everyone sees you differently. That’s really fascinating. It says something about human relations and helps you have a better perspective on yourself.”

And was he initially comfortable with modeling nude? “When I applied at MU at first, they paid slightly more” for nude modeling, he laughed. “So I was greedy, and I agreed to it even though I had never done it before.”

“I almost got cold feet,” he added. “But actually, it’s very professional.”

Bauer’s modeling schedule changes depending on when faculty members need him, although a few professors use him regularly, he said. As he began coming to the Fine Arts Building on the MU campus more and more, he would walk past the wood shop and feel wistful — “I had wanted to use the facility ever since I’d been going to the building because the door was frequently open. And I’d look in there, and I’d think, ‘I sure would like to be able to use that,’ ” he recalled. Serendipitously, Bauer gained the

opportunity when the wood shop in the Fine Arts Building posted an opening for a lab assistant. Bauer has done woodworking since the 1970s. He was hired on the spot.

A man of many talents and interests, Bauer studied linguistics at Yale in the 1960s, sporting a red beard and only shaving it so he could compete in the Amateur Bicycle League of America’s sponsored tournaments. He won the Texas State Championship in bicycle racing in 1971, but “the most significant victory I had, for me, was racing Harvard” in 1969 and beating its team, he said, smiling. The photo of Bauer and his Yale teammates can be seen on one of the Bingham Gallery walls. But other than that clean-cut representation of Bauer, his trademark beard — then red, now nearly white — has full representation.

Bauer doesn’t officially practice linguistics these days, but his fascination with grammar has continued — spurred by his fourth-grade teacher, who taught him the Reed-Kellogg sentence diagram. Now his main pursuits are construction and renovations coupled with framing for art students and faculty.

Last summer, Bauer built a 17-foot-long, floor-toceiling cabinet structure for one of the art rooms, with the help of graduate student Suqin Jackie Lin. A recent accomplishment Bauer is especially proud of was to construct steps covering a steep ramp at the west entrance to the Bingham Gallery. Bauer had to modify the handrail, carpet the steps and screw the structure into the concrete below. He is pleased his handiwork will help prevent falls and injuries in the now and in the future.

“But it turns out that working with students has been the most rewarding part of the job” he said. “I know ‘The Larry Show’ is not about me; it’s about how many different artists see and interpret me.

BICYCULTURE

19

old bike, new tricks

By LARRY BYERS Like new cars, new bicycles depreciate dramatically the moment they leave the cycle shop. So buying used can be a better value for your money , especially if you can score a decent ride for less than $100.

The problem is refurbishing an older bike to a safe and comfortable riding condition. Fortunately, many bike repairs and upgrades are relatively simple and cheap.

Even if you use a cycle shop to complete the repairs, you might be able to make a $75 used bike road-ready for an additional $50 to $75, said Andrew Bernstein, gear editor at Bicycling magazine. Of course, it depends on what the bike needs.

“A bike depreciates at least 50 percent when you walk out the shop door, so you can get a very good deal on a used bike, especially if you’re just going to be riding around town and don’t need a high-performance machine,” he said. “There are lots of great used bikes out there. For many people it’s a great alternative to getting a 20

FALL 2013

new bike because sometimes you can get a nicer bike than you could afford new.”

Prices of used bikes sold at yard sales can vary widely and aren’t always logical. That’s because people selling the bikes sometimes are unfamiliar with how valuable it really is.

“You could see a $2,000 bike that looks dirty and grubby and pick it up for $50,” said Alex Ramon, who worked in bike shops for 10 years and created BicycleTutor.com, which offers written and video lessons on common bike repairs and maintenance. “Nobody ever needs a new bike, in my opinion . Even the worst bike, as long as you love it, can be refurbished and brought back to life.”

Jeff Yeager, who has bicycled more than 100,000 miles and is author of frugality books, including “The Cheapskate Next Door,” said he regularly shops thrift stores and yard sales for parts for his 30-year-old bike.

“I think it’s fair to say that if you shop carefully, you can find a decent bike at a thrift store or yard sale for under $50, which you can make roadworthy for about the same amount, assuming it just needs simple repairs you can do yourself,” Yeager said.

“Bicycles, like so much exercise and recreational equipment, is an impulse buy for many people, who then immediately lose interest in it. So it ends up in the garage, and then the garage sale, with little if any damage or wear and tear. It’s outdated but still perfectly functional with minor repairs.”

Safety first. “The first thing you want to check is anything that is responsible for supporting the rider,” Bernstein said. For example, make sure the handlebar is secure.

“If it’s not, it could be something as simple as tightening a bolt,” he said.

Check the saddle and make sure the brakes work. And

BICYCULTURE

21

A helmet is a necessity and not something to buy used because the foam padding breaks down and becomes less effective after about three years, Bernstein said.

Brakes. “Any bike that’s been sitting a long time and hasn’t been used much is likely to need new brake pads,” Bernstein said. The parts might cost $7 or $8, plus $20 to have them installed, he said.

“It’s not a hard job, but I wouldn’t suggest somebody who knows nothing about bikes do it on their own,” he said.

Tires. “Dry rot is common in tires and tubes that have been sitting uninflated for a period of time,” Yeager said. “So they often need to be replaced, rather than just inflated and patched. The good news is, new tires and tubes are usually pretty cheap and easy to install.”

Yeager recently found a 1970s-era 10-speed Raleigh bike for $20 at a thrift store.

“I could tell it had probably been ridden only a few 22

FALL 2013

times in its history. Even though it had a little rust on it, it had no measurable wear and tear.” He spent about $40 on new tires and tubes, made some adjustments and it was “good as new.” He figures a comparable bike today would cost more than $600.

Chain. The best thing you can do for many older bikes, especially if they squeak when ridden, is to lubricate the chain, ideally using chain lubricant, which costs about $10, Ramon said. Yeager agrees.

“Most used bikes are desperately in need of proper lubrication — think Tin Man in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ — and some adjustments to the gears, cables and brakes,” Yeager said. “But that’s not typically complicated or costly.”

Cables. Brake cables and shift cables are also pretty cheap. Over time, cables stretch and should be replaced occasionally as a maintenance item anyway, Ramon said.

You can replace them yourself, but you’ll definitely need

instructions, he said.

Gear shifting. There could be many reasons why gears don’t shift properly, but often it’s a need for a simple adjustments of the derailleur, Ramon said. Again, you’ll need good instructions. Bernstein agrees. “It’s not a difficult job, but for someone who’s never done it before it’s easy to do wrong,” he said.

How-to advice. Fortunately, you have good resources for do-it-yourself repairs. One is Bicycling magazine’s website, which has articles and videos on maintenance and repair at bicycling.com/maintenance. It also has a book by Todd Downs, “The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair.” You can find online articles and YouTube videos, but results will vary widely in quality. Ramon’s site, bicycletutor.com, costs $5.95 for a month of access to more than 50 professional-quality videos. The fee helps him defray website costs, he said.

Yeager suggests joining a local bike club, many of

Even though it had a little rust

on it, it had no

measurable wear and tear.

which offer repair classes. “And there are always lots of self-appointed mechanics in the group who thrive on fixing other people’s problems,” he said.

Tools. Some repair jobs require tools you might not have. You can get a very limited bicycle tool kit for about $20 or a more extensive one for home use for $75 to $100. Ramon recommends the Park brand of tools and at least getting a set of metric open-end wrenches, a set of metric Allen keys and a tire lever for fixing flats. Of course, buying tools adds to the cost of refurbishing the bike. If you won’t use tools often, it might be better to let a pro complete the repairs.

Lots of rust is a bad sign, possibly indicating it’s been left in the rain, which can lead to a host of problems, Ramon said. Try to raise and lower the seat. Sometimes the seat gets stuck and becomes unadjustable.

Frame problems are bad news , Yeager said. “Don’t buy a bike with a bent frame or any clear signs of frame

damage,” he said. “It probably can’t be repaired and will lead to further problems down the road.”

Similarly, wheels that don’t spin properly could be a problem. It could mean a simple, inexpensive fix such as repairing a few broken spokes, or it could need a new wheel, which can be pricey or hard to find for older bikes . “Unless you know what you’re looking for, it’s probably best to stay away from used bikes that have wheels that are seriously out of balance,” Yeager said.

If you’re unfamiliar with bikes, take along a knowledgeable friend.

“Consider the simplest bike that will meet your needs .

Having 15 or 20 gears or ‘speeds’ really isn’t necessary for most cyclists. It’s just more stuff that can break and cause problems,” Yeager said.

BICYCULTURE

23

TAKE

RIDE A

24

FALL 2013

HISTORY THROUGH

BICYCULTURE

25

In 1817 Baron von Drais invented a walking machine that would help him get around the royal gardens faster: two same-size in-line wheels, the front one steerable, mounted in a frame which you straddled. The device was propelled by pushing your feet against the ground, thus rolling yourself and the device forward in a sort of gliding walk. The machine became known as the Draisienne or hobby horse. It was made entirely of wood. This enjoyed a short lived popularity as a fad, not being practical for transportation in any other place than a well maintained pathway such as in a park or garden.

In 1870 the first all metal machine appeared. (Previous to this metallurgy was not advanced enough to provide metal which was strong enough to make small, light parts out of.) The pedals were still atttached directly to the front wheel with no freewheeling mechanism. Solid rubber tires and the long spokes of the large front wheel provided a much smoother ride than its predecessor. The front wheels became larger and larger as makers realized that the larger the wheel, the farther you could travel with one rotation of the pedals. You would purchase a wheel as large as your leg length would allow. This machine was the first one to be called a bicycle (“two wheel”). These bicycles enjoyed a great popularity among young men of means (they cost an average worker six month’s pay), with the heyday being the decade of the 1880s.

Because the rider sat so high above the center of gravity, if the front wheel was stopped by a stone or rut in the road, or the sudden emergence of a dog, the entire apparatus rotated forward on its front axle, and the rider, with his legs trapped under the handlebars, was dropped unceremoniously on his head. Thus the term “taking a header” came into being.

1870

1817 1865 The next appearance of a twowheeled riding machine was in 1865, when pedals were applied directly to the front wheel. This machine was known as the velocipede (“fast foot”), but was popularly known as the bone shaker, since it was also made entirely of wood, then later with metal tires, and the combination of these with the cobblestone roads of the day made for an extremely uncomfortable ride. They also became a fad, and indoor riding academies, similar to roller rinks, could be found in large cities.

26

FALL 2013

1880 While the men were risking their necks on the high wheels, ladies, confined to their long skirts and corsets, could take a spin around the park on an adult tricycle.

These machines also afforded more dignity to gentlemen such as doctors and clergymen. Many mechanical innovations now associated with the automobile were originally invented for tricycles. Rack and pinion steering, the differential, and band brakes, to name a few!

Improvements to the design began to be seen, many with the small wheel in the front to eliminate the tipping-forward problem. One model was promoted by its manufacturer by being ridden down the front steps of the capitol building in Washington, DC. These designs became known as high-wheel safety bicycles. Since the older highwheel designs had been known simply as bicycles, they were now referred to as “ordinary bicycles” in comparison with the newfangled designs, and then simply as “ordinaries.”

1887

The pnuematic tire was first applied to the bicycle by an Irish veterinarian who was trying to give his young son a more comfortable ride on his tricycle. This inventive young doctor’s name was Dunlop. Sound familar? Now that comfort and safety could be had in the same package, and that package was getting cheaper as manufacturing methods improved, everyone clamored to ride the bicycle. This 1898 Yale uses a shaft drive to dispense with the dirty chain.

The bicycle was what made the Gay Ninties gay. It was a practical investment for the working man as transportation, and gave him a much greater flexibility for leisure. Ladies, heretofore consigned to riding the heavy adult size tricycles that were only practical for taking a turn around the park, now could ride a much more versatile machine and still keep their legs covered with long skirts. The bicycle craze killed the bustle and the corset, instituted “common-sense dressing” for women and increased their mobility considerably. In 1896 Susan B. Anthony said that “the bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world.”

Bicycling was so popular in the 1880s and 1890s that cyclists formed the League of American Wheelman (still in existence and now called the League of American Bicyclists). The League lobbied for better roads, literally paving the road for the automobile.

Pedaling History has on display even the recent history of the bicycle in America that we are more familiar with: the “English 3-speed” of the ‘50s through the ‘70s, the 10-speed derailleur bikes which were popular in the ‘70s (the derailleur had been invented before the turn of the century and had been in more-or-less common use in Europe since), and of course the mountain bike of right now. There are also many oddball designs that never quite made it, including the Ingo (you have to see it to believe it!)

1896 1893 The further improvement of metallurgy sparked the next innovation, or rather return to previous design. With metal that was now strong enough to make a fine chain and sprocket small and light enough for a human being to power, the next design was a return to the original configuration of two same-size wheels, only now, instead of just one wheel circumference for every pedal turn, you could, through the gear ratios, have a speed the same as the huge high-wheel. The bicycles still had the hard rubber tires, and in the absence of the long, shock-absorbing spokes, the ride they provided was much more uncomfortable than any of the highwheel designs. Many of these bicycles of 100 years ago had front and/or rear suspensions. These designs competed with each other, your choice being the high-wheel’s comfort or the safety’s safety, but the next innovation tolled the death of the high-wheel design.

1950 1919 Introduced just after the First World War by several manufacturers, such as Mead, Sears Roebuck, and Montgomery Ward, to revitalize the bike industry (Schwinn made its big splash slightly later), these designs, now called “classic”, featured automobile and motorcyle elements to appeal to kids who, presumably, would rather have a motor. If ever a bike needed a motor, this was it. These bikes evolved into the most glamorous, fabulous, ostentatious, heavy designs ever. It is unbelievable today that 14-year-old kids could do the tricks that we did on these 65 pound machines!

They were built into the middle ‘50s, by which time they had taken on design elements of jet aircraft and even rockets. By the ‘60s, they were becoming leaner and simpler.

BICYCULTURE

27

b

ike life // upcoming races

By Judy smalls

Ride the Fault Line is a 7-day supported bike tour through the Mississippi Valley flatlands of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Cross the Mississippi River on an authentic riverboat ferry. Experience the history of the Civil War and the New Madrid earthquakes of 18111812. Visit the home/studio of famed literary icon Ernest Hemingway. See the boyhood home of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and author of “Blue Suede Shoes”, Carl Perkins. Watch bald eagles at the Reelfoot Wildlife Refuge.

The ride features completely FLAT terrain, with alternate routes featuring HILLS for those who simply MUST have “elevation gains”! The tour starts and ends in Sikeston, Missouri, and features enthusiastic host communities anxious to extend their “SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY”. There are optional meal plans and a deluxe supplemental shower trailer with fully private individual stalls and LOTS of HOT water.

Registration is limited to 500 cyclists.

June 22, 2014 Web Site: ridethefault.com Location: Sikeston, MO

The Missouri Trail Summit is an annual conference hosted by the Missouri Park and Recreation Association.

The event includes educational sessions, presentations on important trail projects around the state, and opportunities for socializing and networking with the trail volunteers, advocates, and managers who make the trails possible.

The 2013 Missouri Trail Summit will be held October 14-15 at Stoney Creek Inn in Columbia, Missouri.

October 14, 2013 Web Site: mopark .org Location: Columbia, MO

The Tour of Hermann Omnium Stage Race features 3 stages over 2 days in Hermann, Missouri. The goal of the Tour of Hermann is to bring a challenging professional-level event to Missouri while showcasing what Hermann has to offer its visitors.

Stage 1: Time Trial 8:AM - 10:30AM Stage 2: Criterium 11:30 AM - 5:45 PM Stage 3: Road Race 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM Riders compete for points in each event, and the total points in all events determine final placing. In addition, bonus points are available during the Criterium and Road Race, and are applied to the overall point total. It is not required that racers participate in each stage; individual stage prizes are available. However, racers must successfully complete each stage in order to be eligible for General Classification prizes.

April 5, 2014 Web Site: tourofhermann.com Location: Hermann, MO

Tour de Cure: Kansas City is a one-day fundraising cycling event to benefit the American Diabetes Association, raising funds to help find a cure for diabetes and support diabetes treatment, education and advocacy for both adults and children.

The event begins and ends at English Landing Park in Parkville, Missouri. An 11-mile family route will be offered, as well as 48 and 63-mile routes. All routes take cyclists along through rolling hills, around tobacco fields and apple orchards and back to the finish line. There, cyclists celebrate their finish and relax with lunch, a health & wellness fair, a moonwalk, and face-painting for children!

The Tour de Cure event offers full route support including breakfast, lunch, snacks and hydration at the rest stops, SAG, medical support, bicycle mechanics, and more.

All cyclists must meet the fund-raising minimum in addition to the registration fee to participate and will receive a commemorative Tour de Cure T-shirt on the day of the event. Raise more to qualify for exciting thank-you gifts of cycling apparel and accessories.

June 8, 2014 Web Site: diabetes.org Location: Parkville, MO

The Missouri Trail Summit is an annual conference hosted by the Missouri Park and Recreation Association.

The event includes educational sessions, presentations on important trail projects around the state, and opportunities for socializing and networking with the trail volunteers, advocates, and managers who make the trails possible.

The 2013 Missouri Trail Summit will be held October 14-15 at Stoney Creek Inn in Columbia, Missouri.

October 14, 2013 Web Site: mopark .org Location: Columbia, MO

The Tour de Bass offers scenic routes through the beautiful Ozark countryside around Springfield, Missouri during foliage season. Each rest stop has a restaurant sponsor providing a gourmet specialty item in addition to normal fare. Physician cyclists and members of the St. John’s Semi-Pro Cycling Team will participate in every ride. Regardless of your fitness level, the Tour de Bass has an event for you.

The ride offers distance options of 9, 20, 35, 70, or 100 miles. All rides begin and end at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World , 1935 South Campbell in Springfield.

The Tour de Bass is part of Bass Pro Shops annual Outdoor Fitness Festival, an event for individuals and families consisting of fitness events, health & wellness activities, outdoor adventures & outdoor skills and wildlife conservation programs.

In addition to the bike ride, events include outdoor adventures such as 50K and 25K Trail Runs, kayak and canoe races, a GPS geo-caching competition, a marathon, a Wellness Walk, and Fitness and Health Fair.

October 13, 2013 Web Site: fitness.basspro.com Location: Springfield, MO

28

FALL 2013

Pedaler’s Jamboree is Missouri’s first bike-powered music and camping festival.

Welcome in the summer with a slowpaced, family-friendly, two-wheeled celebration on the Katy Trail!

The family-friendly event will take place over Memorial Day weekend and will take participants on a leisurely ride from Columbia to Boonville and back again over two days for a total of 75 miles.

Riders will depart from Flat Branch Park in Columbia after dropping off their overnight bags for separate transportation to Boonville. Once on the trail, riders will be able to stop at various locations, including Katyfish Katy’s, Les Bourgeois, Rocheport General Store and Cooper’s Landing for music, food and drinks before ending their first day in Boonville with free entry to Boonville Beer Garden, the Big Smith performance, and a crazy bike show at Boonville’s Kemper Park.

The next day, riders will be able to depart Boonville at their leisure for the return ride to Columbia. Along the way, riders will again experience musical performances before ending their ride back at Flat Branch Park.

May 24, 2014 Web Site: pedalersjamboree.com Location: Columbia, MO

The Route 66 Mother Road Bicycle Tour takes place in October each year in Joplin, Missouri. It is the only century ride in America to go through 3 states on historic Route 66! The ride is sponsored by the Joplin Trails Coalition with proceeds to develop and maintain a regional, multiuse trail system.

This is a road ride on quiet country roads. Rest stops with food and water are provided every 10 to 15 miles. There are 12, 33, 66, and 100 mile ride options. Rest stops spaced along the route will provide food and refreshments. All routes start and end at Joplin Athletic Complex (near Schifferdecker Park) in Joplin, MO.

October 12, 2013

Web Site: route66bicycletour.com

Location: Joplin, MO

The Cotton Ramble is an annual bicycle ride that takes place in Sikeston, Missouri.

There are 13, 26, 65, and 100-mile routes, which start at the historic train Depot in downtown Sikeston and move through town passing by shaded, tree-lined streets with majestic homes. Leaving town, you travel along fields of cotton, as well as soybeans & corn. The longer mile routes take you by working cotton gins which will offer free tours for the riders. All routes are well marked, with rest stops offering refreshments and toilet facilities.

The ride takes place in conjunction with the the Cotton Festival, and participants will be able to enjoy the festival’s food, crafts, live entertainment, and family fun before and after the bike ride.

October 12, 2013 Web Site: cottonramble.com Location: Sikeston, MO

BICYCULTURE

29

30

FALL 2013

N E T C R E AL K I B

E

IE

S

T

H

M

ID

W

ES

T’S

IN YCL

G

T CI

V E RY B E S T C by jo s h u a li m e m a n n

BICYCULTURE

31

BIKE LANES & TRAILS

BIKE CULTURE

1

2

3

NEAPOLIS MIN

MADISON

CHICAGO

TOTAL SCORE : 38

TOTAL SCORE : 37

TOTAL SCORE : 36

7 9

10

10

9

Despite the cold wintertime climate, Minneapolis has a thriving bike community. It has 120 miles of on and off street bicycle facilities, plus indoor bike parking and other cycling-friendly facilities.

32

FALL 2013

9

9

10

9

Madison introduced its first bicycle transportation plan in 1975 and has been making bike-friendly improvements ever since.

9

10

10

Mayor Richard Daley might have more enthusiasm for cycling than any other mayor in the United States. The city has bike lanes, valet bike parking, indoor bike racks and more.

BIKE SHOPS

ACCESSIBILITY

4

5

6

ARBOR ANN

AUKEE MILW

UX FALLS SIO

TOTAL SCORE : 36

TOTAL SCORE : 35

TOTAL SCORE : 32

9

6

7

7

10

10

In a state known for the automotive industry, the home of the University of Michigan is an outlier. Five percent of state gasoline and weight tax revenues are used toward non-motorized projects.

10

8 10

A “marsupial” bike-pedestrian bridge was recently completed. The bridge hangs beneath an existing bridge for motor vehicles.

8

9

9

Sioux Falls has an urban trail that circles the entire city. Two more miles were recently added, along with sharrows and bike lanes.

BICYCULTURE

33

7

8

9

SAS CITY KAN

M COLU BUS

ST. LOUIS

7

8 10

9

The trails at Landahl Park in nearby Blue Springs are used almost exclusively by mountain bikers; you can ride 25 miles or so without crossing your own path. They also hold “Tour de KC�.

34

TOTAL SCORE : 30

TOTAL SCORE : 31

TOTAL SCORE : 32

FALL 2013

9

8

7

7

Columbus celebrates Bike Month city-wide, and has a corporate challenge to see which company can get the most employees to bike-commute. In 2009, the city launched an aggressive 20-year bike plan.

6 8

7

St. Louis has 73 miles of on-street bike routes. The city participates in National Bike to Work Day and provides cyclists with breakfast.

9

ZOOM IN | bike log

BICYCULTURE

35

ZOOM IN | bike rack

36

FALL 2013

BICYCULTURE

37

38 22

FALL 2013

NEW

BIKES on the

BLOCK 2013 Bicycle buyers guide: New Trends & Technology

by Larry Byrne BICYCULTURE

39 22

40

FALL 2013

BICYCULTURE

41

42

FALL 2013

ZOOM IN | locked

ZOOM IN | LOCKED

BICYCULTURE

43

22

g

ood eats // cafe berlin

By Emmay rae

44

FALL 2013

Spatula Jones, as he’s been known for about 10 years, tips his crumpled white cowboy hat to the final departing patron one afternoon around 2 p.m.

Café Berlin is now closed for the day, and employees start to clear dirty dishes and wipe down tables before throwing the chairs on top of them. As Spatula Jones, also known as Eli Gay, the owner, moseys to the door with his wife Allison and 8-year-old daughter, Delphi, in tow, he belts it — “EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!” — a regular occurrence.

“It helps move the energy,” the 33-year-old says of his singing. “People are always asking me ‘can you sing?’ But I can’t do it when they ask. It just has to come. I think it’s a combination of too much coffee and that we’re really busy.”

There’s no doubt Café Berlin is an extension of the owner’s sporadic bursts of ideas, which affect the décor and food.

“I like cooking a lot. That’s what I do,” he says. “I’m constantly thinking about new dishes. I go through really creative spurts where I’ll look for anything that inspires me.” For example, a “cakeadilla.”

“I use a really thin pancake with eggs and cheese and sausage and fold it and just cut it like a quesadilla.” Then there’s the egg pizza, the pancake pizza and the reverse quesadilla, too. None of these items are on the menu, but that shouldn’t stop you from ordering it.

“When people come in and just say surprise me, I like that,” Spatula says. I’ll just make you something that I just make up on the spot. Feel free to say surprise me, I eat meat or I don’t, I like it spicy or I don’t. And I’ll make you up something hopefully that’s really good.”

It’s not hard to have fun, even if you are just sitting at a table. In addition to Spatula’s singing and coffee that will make you go BIZOINGA after the first sip; an all male staff outfitted in dresses is not unheard of.

“Two years ago during the Citizen Jane Film Festival for some reason we had all guys working one weekend, so

we all wore dresses. All the servers, all the kitchen staff, busser, host, everyone.

We have a lot of fun here,” he says. On an unrelated note, Cafe Berlin also features a full bar all day. Some of the beer on tap comes from Mother’s Brewing Company in Springfield, Missouri.

It’s not uncommon for customers to wait an hour or more for a table during the weekend brunch hours. They don’t mind, though. A hutch on the right side of the restaurant holds an abundance of coffee mugs, and anxious patrons are welcome to pour themselves a cup while they wait. As they do so, a small army of chickens looks down upon them and a psychedelic Chihuahua with four eyes hanging inside the left-hand door says, “Your body needs coffee for your mammalian nutrition.”

“I got one and then some of them started appearing,” Spatula says of his poultry armada. “I don’t know where half of these came from, but I love them. If anyone wants to bring one in, free coffee for some chicken figurines. I have this idea about coving the place in chicken figurines. or some other animal” To say the atmosphere and the employees here are eclectic is too obvious.

Employees range from teenagers to adults, hippie-types to clean cut. Most of them have been working here for a number of years, some since the original location opened at Providence and Walnut.

In September 2009, Café Berlin moved to its current spot at 220 N. Tenth St. As it just so happened, though, the move came during PedNet’s No Car, Low Car, Whoa Car Challenge, which Spatula and Allison have participated in for the last couple years. Determined not to break his oath of getting around solely by bicycle for the entire month of September, the crew attempted a bike move.

“Thirty or 40 people showed up with trailers and bikes,” he says. “We moved it in like five trips except for the giant coolers. Even the grill came over on a bike.”

KLUNK B I C Y C L E S

211 E

Broa

dwa

y, Co

A N D

lumb

ia, M

O 65

R E P A I R

203 -

573.8

74.00

90

EVERYDAY

’SFOREVERDAYPEOPLE.

where everybody is important

BICYCULTURE

45

ZOOM IN | brake

46

FALL 2013

All fresh. All BICYCULTURE the time.47

48

220 North 10th

Cafe Berlin

FALL 2013