Man bites dog.

Dateline Santa Cruz, California.

1. Motorist and cyclist get into argument.
2. Cyclist kicks car door.
3. Motorist gets out of car and assaults cyclist, hitting him on the head with a broom handle.
4. Cyclist, defending himself, pulls out a knife and stabs motorist.
5. Cyclist rides away on his cruiser bike.
6. Police on manhunt for the cyclist, who they name as a suspect in the crime of, umm, defending himself I guess.
7. Okay, maybe the knife was a bit much.
8. But if I'm a Latino on bike in Santa Cruz, is it really a good idea to wait around for the police to sort out who started the fight?

Santa Cruz Sentinel: Man stabbed on Santa Cruz west side.
KSBW News: Bicyclist stabs driver.

In other news, Man bites dog.

Rain cover bicycle rack

Here's a bicycle rack with a built in rain cover for the saddle.



Seen in Copenhagen. Photo by David Baker and used here with his kind permission.

Ian Hibell RIP

Legendary touring cyclist Ian Hibell was killed in August after he was hit by a hit and run driver in Greece.

Ian Hibell is one of the greats of cycling -- he left his job in 1963 and never went back, becoming the first man to ride pole to pole from Africa to Alaska. He rode, dragged, carried and pushed his bike to every corner of the planet and continued his cycling adventures until his death in Greece at age 74. He inspired many cycling tourists with his book, Into the Remote Places, which highlights his adventures touring the world by bike.

More:

• Eco Velo: Ian Hibell passes.
  
• Grant Petersen on Ian Hibell.
  
• Times Online: Ian Hibell, cyclist who pedalled world, killed by hit-and-run driver.
  
• Bike Brothers: Tribute to Ian Hibell.
  
• Bike Biz: Cyclotourist and author dies.

How NOT to introduce your sons to mountain biking

Jim's a 41 year old dad from Ohio. He's vacationing in Colorado in Breckenridge. He takes his two boys -- age 8 and 9 -- mountain biking for the first time at elevation 10,000 feet. Maybe you've been there.

Little Fritz mountain biking through Wilder Ranch, Santa Cruz County, California.

That reminds me of the time my son and I were mountain biking through the Santa Cruz Mountains and he got a little over enthusiastic during what was supposed to be a short one hour ride.

"Let's go this way," Little Fritz says, pointing downhill toward the San Lorenzo River.

In the best tradition of fatherly advice, I try to discourage him. "Umm, no, it's a rock garden, a river, and then about a thousand feet of uphill before you finally reach some decent trails. It's pretty tough and long."

"It sounds like fun!" responds Little Fritz. "Let's do it!"

Charged by his youthful energy, I go with my son's recommendation and we dive headlong down the trail, through the rock garden, ford the river, go uphill, and ... Little Fritz runs out of steam inside an isolated valley. Downhill isn't an option, because downhill only leads down the valley and through the River, from which you must go uphill again. He's bonked in an isolated valley, and we have little water and no food, so our only real choice is for me to walk both bikes uphill so he rest a little.

We finally make it to the UC-Santa Cruz fire trails, from which we eventually get to Bay Drive, then Pacific Avenue Santa Cruz and Jamba Juice, where we refuel for the arduous trip back uphill to home. We took the bus home from Santa Cruz that day :-)

Drill, baby, drill

I watched the GOP convention speeches last night. This part where Michael Steele enjoins Americans to "Drill Baby Drill" -- likening our thirst for cheap energy to the uncontrollable, hedonistic, libertine, self-destructive frenzy of a disco inferno -- was just freaky, but there's no denying that this gesture resonates with many many voters.



Even George W Bush said in his State of the Nation speech that America is addicted to oil. And here's T. Boone Pickens explaining why we can't drill our way out of the current (and perpetual) energy crisis.

Pearl Izumi ad

You rock, says Pearl Izumi.



Via Pedaleiro in Brazil.

Funding your school bicycle project

Do you know a teacher or school administrator who wants to start a bike education project but needs some funding help?

I will participate in a blogger challenge in October from Donors Choose, an online resource to connect teachers needs with people who would like to give. For the October fund raising challenge, I'd like to pick a project that encourages cycling for transportation, fitness and fun. If you know of a project that needs some funding to get off the ground or has a matching grant requirement, let the teacher know about this upcoming challenge and encourage him or her to sign up and fill out the details at Donors Choose. Leave a comment here if you know of a proposed project that could benefit.

How it works A teacher signs in and writes a short essay outlining his needs. Once Donor Chooses approves the project and notifies the school administration, fund raising can begin. When the needed funds are raised (along with the fulfillment fee), Donors Choose buys the request materials and delivers them to the school teacher. The teacher also receives a feedback package -- the teacher photographs the students, sends the photos and feedback to Donors Choose, and Donors Choose distributes the feedback and photos to donors who contribute $100 (tax deductible) to the project.

Donors Choose charges a "fulfillment fee" of up to 25%, though this rate is discounted to 15% for high poverty schools.

Projects I'd consider promoting include:

• Safety education for children similar to the LAB "Kids 1" curriculum. Donors Choose will not pay for teacher professional development -- sorry, you have to pay for the LCI education yourself -- but it will pay for handouts, supplies and goodies that are used by the students.
  
• Incentive programs to encourage children to ride their bikes to school (but I have no idea if Donors Choose would consider this project eligible, unless maybe there's an education component to it). This might be something like the amazingly successful Freiker (Frequent Biker) program in Boulder County, Colorado.
  
• At the secondary school level, bicycle repair or building instruction. Perhaps your school needs some tools, a frame jig, or a welder?
  
• Let your imagination run wild and post your idea below!

Projects I will not support are:

• Programs that solely promote helmet use, including helmet giveaway programs. Corporate resources for these are widespread and easily available.
  
• Appeals for tricycles for pre-school children.
  
• Fitness room equipment requests for the school gym.

Please spread the word to your teacher friends, let them know about Donors Choose and let them know I want to promote their bicycling related project. Cyclelicious.

Photo Credit: "Walk & Bike to School Day" by Jonathan Maus. CC "Some rights reserved" license.