Glowing Bicycle Wheel Rims

The glowing wheel rims on the bicycle in the two photos above is not due to any kind of special wheels that produce their own light - although that is an interesting idea... Nor is it the result of trick photography or photoshop.

Nope, all that happened is the camera flash created a glare off of the very shiny wheel rims, creating a split second of very bright light reflecting off the rims. Thus in the photographs the rims of the bicycle appear to be glowing, as if they were producing their own light.

The basement bicycle repair "shop" belongs to Smokey Dymny of the Quadra Bike School (one of the best bicycle mechanic instructors in North America), whose main shop is on Quadra Island in British Columbia, but this is his winter shop in Toronto where he keeps a number of tools during the off season when he is not currently teaching. I took the photos while visiting with him back in December to hang out and talk bicycles.

People looking to become trained bicycle mechanics are encouraged to visit the Quadra Bike School's website at bicyclemechanic.ca. (Yes, I know, he beat me to it. I will just have to content myself with a blogspot domain name.)

Solar Roadways? The future or just a vivid imagination?

I admit cyclists as a community don't normally think about the quality of the roads except in relation to potholes and bicycle lanes, but this video caught my attention because the concept of solar roadways would affect cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.

The video is amusing (and possibly not suitable if you are watching this at work because the guy says "freaking" so much it sounds like he is swearing), but it does make you wonder whether it would be economical to actually build what he is talking about. If the math works for building the materials, installing, and the cost savings is enough - then yes, I guess we could really have solar roadways as an option.

Obviously solar roadways would be more advantageous in the USA than it is in Canada. The cost of heating the roads in Canada would be too prohibitive, but it would make total sense in southern states and even a few northern ones where it doesn't snow that much. We could probably even get away with it in southern Ontario, but I don't think it would work in the prairie provinces.

Dandyhorse Magazine, Bicycle Mechanic Training

If you are looking for places to get trained to become a bicycle mechanic here is two articles in Dandyhorse Magazine on the topic:

Dandyhorse asks Toby Bowers and Eugene Chao: How did you learn how to fix bicycles?

Central Commerce Collegiate’s innovative and popular Bike Repair and Maintenance Course

Moscow cyclist survives car and truck collision

Watch the video below and be amazed as a Moscow cyclist counts his lucky stars.

Danny MacAskill's Imaginate, Bicycle Stunts

Danny MacAskill has been up to his old bicycle tricks again. This time in "Danny MacAskill's Imaginate", a 7 minute video supposedly to give us a glimpse as to what goes on in his brain when he is thinking up bicycle stunts.

You can see some of his previous bicycle stunt videos here on The Bicycle Mechanic just by clicking stunts on the side bar.

If you have Netflix you can also watch the documentary about the making of Imaginate. (Although I will admit I skipped forward through some of the boring bits of the documentary. I just didn't have the patience to watch the whole thing.)

The stunt video is below!

Premium Rush - Bicycle Courier Movie

I just finished watching the 2012 bicycle courier film "Premium Rush" on Netflix. (And yes, I realize the film came out 2 years ago and I only now got around to watching it. Whatever. Sue me.)

Anyway I really enjoyed the film. Hence why I am sharing the trailer for the film on here.

So yeah, watch it on Netflix, buy the DVD, download it for free - it matters not to me. I just felt it was an enjoyable movie and wanted to share it with my fellow cyclists who may not have heard of it.

I also find it interesting that the film didn't pull any punches when it came to crazy cyclists, stupid car drivers, and idiot pedestrians. (And don't forget the police, who are often corrupt or clueless.) They all got slammed. Proof positive that drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians are equally stupid when it comes safety issues.

Demystify Your Bicycle at HUB (Vancouver)

HUB in Vancouver B.C. is offering a series of small 3-hour long introductory classes to teach people how to fix and maintain their bicycles. The classes are held at The Pedal Depot (1830 Ontario Street) in Vancouver.

More information on this topic is available at https://bikehub.ca/bike-education/maintenance-mechanics

The introductory classes only cover brakes, gears, hubs and wheels and cost $200 to sign up for all 4 classes.

The graphic below lists the classes as "intermediate", but the classes really are designed for complete beginners.

The "beginner" 2-hour class is more of a "complete basics" class which covers jargon, terminology, etc and almost no mechanical skills and is designed to teach people how their bicycle works, and what the different parts are called. The beginner 2-hour class does a basic inspection, how to clean and oil a chain, check for wear and tear, and patch a flat - basically all things you could learn from a YouTube video or by reading The Bicycle Mechanic.

So if you already know how to fix a flat, you probably don't need to take that course.

On the other hand if you are looking to become a true professional bicycle mechanic, you are probably best off taking the six week bicycle mechanic training course at Quadra Island (which is not far from Vancouver), which costs $2500 for tuition and residence. Students come from all over the world to take the course at Quadra Island because it is the most intensive and comprehensive bicycle mechanic training course in the world.