Google Maps, my go to website for directions and maps, has now added "biking" for directions. Prior to this update you could only select car, public transit and walking for mode of travel.  Google would then calculate the best route, distance and time dependent on your mode of transportation. Quickly looking at my home town of Charlotte, NC, this morning, you can see a few different colored lines.  The dark lines seem to be the bike paths or greenways in the area and the dotted lines are what I think to be bike friendly roads. Anyone who has ever tried to bike across San Francisco knows the value of a good bike map in helping to avoid 200-foot hills and city streets ...

A little preview of the Raleigh Clubman that we recently took in for review. In this 6 minute clip we go through the basics of unboxing a bicycle.

A colorful duck Cotton Canvas bag with an minimalistic approach to a messenger bag. Details from the company Tucker & Bloom Simple Messenger Bag MSRP : $99 Made from 100% Duck Cotton Canvas, with optional water resistant backing. Adjustable strap inside of flap for fastening a bike lock, newspaper, or umbrella. Removable cross-strap for biking Heavy duty cam buckle or metal slide adjuster on shoulder strap Rugged metal alloy quick release buckles on flap. Exterior pocket on flap for easy access to cell phone, mp3 player, or keys. Front organizer panel with pockets for pens, business cards, wallet etc. Roomy main chamber. 16" Long X 11.5" High X 3.5" Deep. *Prior to releasing this article, Tucker & Bloom contacted us to tell us that the bag will now be available in ballistic nylon Some ...

The bicycle shop I manage, Cool Breeze Cyclery, and sister store, Trek Bikes of Charlotte, have brought in a fleet of the new electric assist bikes, Trek Ride+.  One of these, the FX+ is a demo bike that our co-owner with an engineering background took for this past weekend.  Below is his original experience.  We will be trying out this bike ourselves, as well as possibly building up our own with the Bionx or E-Bike Kit. Trek FX+ The new Trek E Ride bikes arrived last week so I took the demo bike home for the weekend. This FX+ model is very normal looking at first glance with all the great Trek features built into the 7.5FX, including the carbon front ...

While at NAHBS one of the busier booths all three days was that of Brompton.  Brompton is a folding bicycle company out of West London, England.  They are actually built in England and take great pride of their English background.  Their bikes span a wide spectrum and meet many peoples needs for the folding bike market. Brompton also holds a bicycle race in England, they call it a World Championship.  I will call it amazing entertainment.  Guys and gals in tweed or full suits, with racing shoes and helmets going full speed on these mini wheeled Bromptons.  This year they will be holding a U.S. Championship in Philadelphia, PA on March 20th. Brompton US Championship 2010 The Philly Phlyer Collegiate and USA Cycling ...

Thanks to covering the North American Handmade Bicycle Show for Versus.com I was able to get a few really good one on one interviews with builders that may never of happened. Here is the first with Sacha White of Vanilla Workshop.

Thanks to Brad from UrbanVelo.org for the use of his photo for official business.