As long as you’re blowing off work but still stuck in your cubicle, why not take this downhill big-rig for a ride through the teddy bears?

(Don’t hit them; they appear to be made out of china and filled with C-4 or something. Also, someone appears to have replaced the air in your tires with water.)

American air carriers all deserve a big Bronx cheer for refusing to carry non-folding bikes — or at least charging through the nose for it. For a time, many international carriers were glad to take bikes at no cost, but that’s beginning to change too. Why is the airline business — one of the least green industries; there’s even some chatter about how con trails are contributing to global warming and rainy weekends – working so hard to make life so difficult for cyclists?

El Al, the Israeli airline, is a notable exception who sees opportunity in the sitch. They’re actually promoting bike tours there, and bikes are gladly carried at no additional charge.

You’ve got four days to book in time for Hannukah!

 I happened to discover the very first article on mountain bikes to appear in the New York Times. It’s fun to see how times have changed… and how they’ve stayed the same.

A STURDY MOUNTAIN BIKE WINS HEARTS IN THE CITY

The New York Times

July 30, 1983,

By JOSEPH GIOVANNINI

”My girlfriend whizzes right by me on her 10-speed racer in Central Park, when she goes down the bicycle paths,” said Dike Blair, an East Village artist. ”My revenge is off pavement, where her racer’s wheels sink in the dirt. That’s when I leave her behind.”

Mr. Blair owns the new ”city bike” - also known as the mountain bike or all-terrain bike - a tough-looking, heavy-duty, lightweight bicycle that looks like a cross between a balloon-tired American Schwinn and an Italian 10-speed. It has the gears and light frame of a racer, but it also has balloon tires, wide handlebars and, thankfully, a comfortable seat.

Mr. Blair says people riding racers in Central Park stare at his $200 Ross and, when he’s stopped at red lights, pedestrians ask him about it. He has taken off its red decals and red foam padding around the handlebars so the bicycle is less conspicuous and, he hopes, less prone to theft.
 
‘A Total Shift in Image’

Randolph Ross, executive vice president of Ross Bicycles Inc., said, ”I’d say these bikes are one of the biggest things that ever happened to the biking industry.” Its basic look constitutes ”a total shift in image” for the industry, he said. The Ross company has about 15 models of the city bike on the market, ranging in price from $200 to $1,400.

Schwinn also makes a city bike. ”They make especially good sense in the city, where they can easily handle potholes and curbs,” said Paul Chess, manager of marketing communications at Schwinn headquarters in Chicago. ”Outside the city, a whole sport - mountain bike racing - is building around them, There is even a magazine for them, Fat Tire Flyer, published in California.”

Both the Schwinn and Ross bikes are widely available at stores in New York City along with models made by other companies, including Metro Bicycles. Schwinn’s city bike prices range from $150 to $500.

The bicycle originated on the West Coast, where enthusiasts ride it as a trail bike or a competition dirt bike on unpaved paths, hillsides and relatively rough terrain. With up to 18 gears, the bicycle is sensitive to slopes. Its balloon tires give it good traction and cushion the ride. The handlebars are designed so they do not interfere with the knees of bicyclists doing acrobatic maneuvers…

 

Hard to believe it would be another five and a half years until Maurice and Elaine rolled out Dirt Rag No.1 - but they did, afterall, have to wait for the whole “city bike” vs. “mountain bike” thing to shake out.

Americans are finally catching on to what Europeans have known for a while: Kids learn how to ride bikes much faster and fearlessly if you lose the training wheels — and while you’re at it, lose the pedals. That way, they learn how to balance safely on two wheels while scooting around with their feet, Fred Flintstone style. Naturally, as soon as they exceed a certain speed, they pick up those little stompers and it’s off to the races.

A number of pedal-less push bikes have been hitting the market here, but they’re mostly Euro imports. Now a South Dakota man has launched Striders, and he’s very cleverly positioned his push bikes as dirt-ready and urban-savvy (though I’m inclined to think maybe a single handbrake wouldn’t be a bad idea if you live anywhere near a hill, and you don’t have a huge budget for new tennies every two weeks).

The other huge advance? These little suckers weigh just 7 pounds, making them about 1/10th the weight of your average kids’ bike. See ‘em yourself at www.stridersports.com.

Yesterday the Dirt Rag staff joined about 400 other cyclists, pedestrians and rollerbladers to open a vital cycling link in Pittsburgh that has been under construction since 2003. Hooray! For the Hot Metal Bridge! What is this molten steel-named span all about? Well, the Hot Metal Bridge was once a train bridge that actually transported 3,000 degree hot metal in ladle cars from the Soho and Eliza blast furnaces to the steel processing mills on the opposite side of the Monongahela River. Now the rehabilitated truss bridge connects two paved rail-trails and spans 1,052 feet across the river with an ample 14-foot-wide concrete deck and a beautiful view of downtown Pittsburgh from the east. It also goes over a busy 4-lane wide 2nd Avenue and is the alternative to cycling across its sister bridge that has no sidewalk and barley room for a car to pass a cyclist.

Where once was a steel mill is now occupied by an REI, a movie theater with an awesome Monday special, a grassy square with live music, clothing chains, apartments and new homes. This 11.6 million dollar bridge not only allows me to cycle 10-miles from my house off of main roads to the south side, which is a strip of bars, restaurants and tattoo joints, but it also connects Pittsburgh to the 150-mile-long Great Allegheny Passage that expands to Cumberland, Maryland where it is joined to the 182-mile long C&O Canal trail that continues to D.C. That’s 332-miles of multi-use-trail free from vehicle usage. Awesome!

The phrase I heard repeated over and over yesterday after the mayor cut the ribbon and a swarm of folks meandered smoothly in the 40-degree weather was “It doesn’t even feel like this is Pittsburgh!” Well, it is. Welcome to the revitalized Steel City and its network of rails-to-trails that follow the three rivers, which surround this hilly city. Not only are we a drinking town with a football problem (Go Steelers!), but a city with at least five institutions of higher education, hundreds of miles of off-road trails within pedaling distance of the city, home to the best mountain biking magazine in the world and a community of outdoors people that give a damn.

If you are coming out this weekend for Dirt Rag’s annual Punk Bike Enduro December 2nd (and you should) I highly recommend taking a spin across the bridge and grabbing a beer or slice on the opposite end. It’s a great feeling. –Shannon Mominee

About 150 schoolkids competed in a bike race in Fallujah yesterday. The course was a 5 km sprint across what was formerly known as “the most dangerous city in Iraq.” But violence is down in Anbar province by as much as 50 percent, and that set the stage for the race.

The winner, teenager Haitham Abdul-Razek, won $1000 and a trophy.

(photo: Reuters)

That’s a heckuva purse for a junior race!