Posts

Bike Light Blowout!

/in /by

Bike Lights and Bike Kitchen Cards – Great Holiday Gifts

For the rest of the month of December our Bike SLO County light sets (One Clear Front Light, One Red Rear Light) are on sale for only $10 a set (normally $15 a set). These basic lights will help you be seen at night while also making your bicycle night ride legal. It’s hard to have too many lights on your bike, but with this set at least you won’t have too few. Batteries included? Heck yeah!

Also available now are our Bike Kitchen Cards, prepaid cards allowing the bearer to use the Bike Kitchen. Cards come in three different versions: KitchenCardHolidaysOne Visit Card ($5), Four Visit Card ($18) and 8 Visit Card ($35).

Bike Light Sets and Kitchen Cards make unique & useful holiday gifts or stocking stuffers and are both available at the Bike Kitchen, 860 Pacific St, Suite 105, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 at the corner of Morro and Pacific (map). The Kitchen is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Noon – 5 PM.

The Bike Kitchen is a program of Bike SLO County. We have all the parts, tools and knowledge you need to fix your bicycle! We can help you build a bike from the ground up, fix that junker you found at a garage sale, or simply tune up your bicycle. We serve all types of people, and are committed to creating a safe space for everyone. We have provided guided instruction to over 8,000 people since opening our doors in 2010.This bike not your cup of tea? Still looking to buy a gently used, ready to ride bicycle? We sell all kinds of bicycles! Come in and see us!Have a bike you’d like to donate? Your generous gifts help the Bike Kitchen thrive and give even more people the chance to experience SLO County by bike. Thank you!

Like Bikes? Join us! It’s free! Click here to join and we’ll keep you informed about all things bike in SLO County: JOIN

 

 

 

 

Light Up SLO County

/in /by

The San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club (SLOBC) and the San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition are using Rideshare’s Bike Month and the region’s bicycle and pedestrian safety campaign, #LetsGetVisible, to kick-off a unique bike safety program, Light Up San Luis Obispo County!

The SLOBC and the Bicycle Coalition have partnered to purchase a supply of bicycle lights that have been provided, LightUpSLOCountyLaw440without cost, to all of our local law enforcement agencies. Patrol officers will have the opportunity to give a free set of lights to any person riding a bicycle at night without the legally required lighting equipment. SLOBC President Will Benedict said, “This effort will help cyclists be lawful and more visible at night and greatly improve safety for all users of our roadways.”

Cal Poly Chief of Police George Hughes said, “This program will give our police officers a positive way to encourage students to comply with bicycle lighting requirements on and around our campus.”

“The community support for Bike Month is overwhelming”, said Stephanie Hicks, Program Manager for SLO Regional Ride Share. “Light Up San Luis Obispo County”, in conjunction with Bike Month activities and the region’s new bicycle and pedestrian safety campaign #LetsGetVisible underscores our region’s commitment to safe roadways for all users.

Participating agencies include the Police Departments of Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, CHP, Cal Poly PD, Cuesta College PD, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department.

The SLOBC, founded in 1971, is a non-profit organization that promotes safe and legal bicycle riding for recreation and transportation. For more information about the club and our activities, please visit our website at www.slobc.org and our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/slobc.org

Let’s Get Visible and Light Up SLO County!

Like Bikes?

Become a member of The Bike Coalition – it’s free to sign-up and we’ll keep you informed every month about bike events and issues in SLO County. Click this link to join: I Like Bikes!

Bike Hack: DIY Bike Storage

/in /by

Guest hack provided by Tony Baldick on his MASHIRA site. Indoor bicycle storage can be tricky, as space is always limited, but with some simple IKEA parts, Baldick was able to create a pretty awesome 3-tier system…

Presenting the 3 tier stacked IKEA storage bicycle rack!  All rack components are from the modular (and very inexpensive) Stolmen series from IKEA.  Using this post for inspiration, I used two telescoping posts, two clothes rails, ten end fixtures, and six hooks.  This, in my mind, made the system more secure and stable for three bikes.  All tools for assembly are included with components.  In a nutshell, use the Ikea instructions for assembly.  Padded strips with adhesive backing placed on the inside of the Stolmen hooks will prevent scratching.
Like :   No drilling is required!  All components are matte white, which will probably look good against any interior.  This being a modular system, you can add or subtract other add-ons from the same model family.  Put some plants on it, or a mirror, maybe a cat bed?  And lastly, 3 stacked bikes!  Who has that?  Watch friends marvel at your mad hacking engineering skills.  Cost : $100 – $120ish.
No Like :  Yea, getting that top bike kinda sucks.  I stand on a chair to grab the highest bike and put said bike back.  Obviously, having the lightest bike on the top helps.
Looks pretty great to us… got more bike hacks? Share them with us, we’d love to show-off your innovation!

Bike Hack: DIY Bike Light

/in , /by

When it’s dark outside, riding without a white front light can get you a ticket, but more importantly, it’s super dangerous. Sometimes cars aren’t looking for bicycles on the road, so when you are riding without a light at night, it makes it even harder for them to notice you.

Bike-specific lights aren’t necessary to accomplish this (although they are nice and can be found in the Bike Kitchen) you can use an existing smaller flashlight you might have lying around.

  • Find a smaller flashlight that works and isn’t too large to put on your handlebars (don’t prevent yourself from braking or turning)
  • Using an old intertube, cut two small circles in it, about 3 inches apart
  • Stretch the intertube under your handlebars and place the flashlight in the holes
  • Make sure the flashlight is held on tight and will face forward while riding
Being visible while riding at night is extremely important to avoid collisions with cars, other bicyclists, pedestrians and inanimate objects.

“Hi, Cyclist!” A Simple Idea from Copenhagen

/in /by

Copenhagen has always been a famous city for bicycling, no matter what the weather is, there are always people out on their bikes getting around the city. The city is full of cyclists who have their own unique ways of waiting at a red light:

Some cyclists will be able to rest even more comfortably at lights now, thanks to low-tech additions by the City of Copenhagen. These rails are simple solutions for making stopping at red lights more smooth, and act as an effective way to make bicyclists seen at busy intersections.

The bottom portion of the rail reads “Hi Cyclist! Rest your foot here… and thanks for cycling in the city.” a nice reminder to encourage cycling for everyone. Kudos to Copenhagen on offering uniquely simple and detailed bicycle facility for its residents.