Bike Drool

War Games

2008-10-08T04:47:00.003-04:00

Was the war in Georgia just an agreement between Putin and Bush? One Latvian NGO put this poster all over Riga as part of their project.
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An animated interpretation...

2008-10-06T17:24:00.001-04:00

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Don't Vote

2008-10-03T20:05:00.001-04:00

I'm neither here nor there on the message of this video. However, the line, "I haven't done shit on drugs... except play HALO 2" is good stuff.

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Bike Clown Brigade

2008-10-01T22:30:00.002-04:00

Bike Clown Brigade - WTF?

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On the way...

2008-09-30T09:53:00.002-04:00

Best get your umbrella.

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A Nonpartisan Message from Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton

2008-09-17T20:54:00.001-04:00

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Tour of Missouri!!

2008-09-07T19:52:00.001-04:00

Tour of Missouri

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Duck Blind

2008-09-05T15:23:00.002-04:00

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G to the C

2008-08-31T21:46:00.004-04:00

Labor Day weekend in St. Louis means Gateway Cup! The Tour of the Hill neighborhood, or "Giro della Montagna" is always good times.

The P/1/2 racers take a moment to refuel...

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Beauty.

2008-08-28T23:26:00.002-04:00

Yet another gem from Craigslist:

Looking for a new bike?

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More travel?

2008-08-22T16:07:00.000-04:00

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Moonlight Ramble

2008-08-16T21:00:00.002-04:00

Ride the Ramble!

I think I've only done the Moonlight Ramble once; maybe twice. The time I remember, I met up with friends from school, and that year's 'Ramble seemed more like a "Tour of 7-Eleven" convenience stores of south city. Getting split up from said friends somewhere along the route, and riding home alone along Lindell Blvd. at about 2:00 AM.

The 'largest night time bicycle ride in the world'... it's certainly interesting! But I'm definitely not among those that make it a must-do year after year.

2005 Participant Demographics

Approximately 15,000 riders participated.
Approximately 25% came from outside the Saint Louis Area.
10% were under the age of 12.
Riders came from at least 26 states and a dozen countries.
Scouts were offered special group registration and private staging area.
100 "Premier Riders" with commemorative jerseys lead the first wave from their VIP staging area.

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Festival of Nations - St. Louis

2008-08-13T20:39:00.001-04:00

Have you been bitten by the international spirit of the Summer Olympics, but don't have the scratch to fly to Beijing? Well, if you're free the weekend of Aug. 23-24, and in the St. Louis area, be sure to check out the Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park! It is hosted by the International Institute of Saint Louis.

Sat., Aug. 23, 10am-7pm

Sun., Aug. 24, 10am-6pm

Admission and entertainment are FREE!

So, stop by and check it out! Lots of great food!

More info: HERE

Or check out pictures from last year's event: HERE

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Bike to class?

2008-08-11T23:00:00.000-04:00

Forget parking, bike to class

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Baby bird rescue.

2008-08-09T22:32:00.005-04:00

Right around 7 this morning I walked out to get the newspaper, and on the front walk next to the paper was this bird. At the time it's wings were not out like in the picture. It wasn't moving so I thought it was dead; especially since a train of ants had started to surround it. But when I went in for a closer look, the bird leaped up at me and let out a menacing hiss! It then proceeded to chase me around, for what had to be pure comedy if anybody was watching... as I was momentarily terrified of the little hissing creature.

Well, something had to be wrong with the bird. It couldn't fly, and wouldn't normally make itself so vulnerable. I couldn't identify it, but knew it was more unique than a Robin or Sparrow, or some such common bird around here. I kind of hoped it was a baby eagle, owl, or something.

I took it to the Wild Bird Rehabilitation center on north Midland, up past Overland. At first they thought I had removed a baby from its home and asked me to put it back where I found it. I told them the story, and they decided to keep it for "observation". They identified it as a Nighthawk, or Lesser Nighthawk, and said it was in good health apart from being a little dehydrated. Cool bird, I hope it goes on to have a nice life.

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Another way to "spin"...

2008-07-30T20:43:00.002-04:00

This is what the FBC needs on its Full Moon Fiasco rides if they are to take it to the next level - A DJ Rickshaw! This is in Austin, TX which makes sense, I suppose.

As borrowed from Faster Panda Kill Kill.

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Two seater

2008-07-16T19:48:00.002-04:00

This looks like a good way to injure yourself... and your friend.

But does it fly?

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More Cube bike...

2008-07-11T16:14:00.002-04:00

I first mentioned the Cube bike on the Future Bikes: Part Deux! post, way back in January. It was not in production then, and is still not, but looks to be getting closer to hitting the market.

Carbon Fiber Gear has an interesting post on it over HERE.

And there is always Cube's official website. Or here.

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A slow death?

2008-07-09T23:00:00.003-04:00

This blog sucks, and is dying a slow death. My apologies to those that actually click back here from time to time to see if I've posted anything new.

At least it's July which means Tour de France time!

I saw a bald eagle in Michigan. That was cool. I took the above picture at maximum zoom on my little camera, so it is not the best quality.

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Tour of Missouri - Part Deux!

2008-06-24T11:06:00.003-04:00

The Tour of Missouri is back! Flood walls be damned!

A stop in Rolla this time.

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Webster Crit '08... BE THERE SUCKAS!!!

2008-06-16T18:48:00.001-04:00

* * * RACE INFO HERE * * *

It's worth the price of admission just to see the massive Hub Team leadout train!!! (F to R: David Mark, Ron Clipp, Kevin Wayman, Chris Miller.)

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Charlie don't surf!!

2008-06-05T19:09:00.003-04:00

"You either surf, or you fight!"

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Bike to eat?

2008-05-27T14:07:00.003-04:00

"Hunger justifies the means"

But it's cool that their advertising folks are thinking stuff up for rental bike fleets... over in Europe. Here too maybe, if gas keeps going up.

Borrowed from Tinsie.

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The Prez and his Treks...

2008-05-22T16:09:00.001-04:00

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Puzzle of the Platypus...

2008-05-20T10:11:00.004-04:00

Puzzle of the Platypus solved at last

The unique creature shares 82 percent of its genes with other genetically mapped mammals.

By Blythe Bernhard
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Is it a bird? A mammal? Reptile?

An international team of scientists led by the Washington University School of Medicine has finally solved one of nature’s wildest puzzles: the duck-billed platypus.

The scientists spent two years decoding the genome sequence of the Australian platypus, which has boggled mankind for centuries.

Historically the platypus has gotten a bum rap as an evolutionary fluke. Researchers had two goals in mind: to learn more about the inner workings of the wacky critter, and to translate that knowledge into better understanding of human evolution.

“We weren’t evolved from platypuses, but we and platypuses had an ancestor in common millions and millions of years ago,” said Richard Wilson, director of The Genome Center at Washington University and the lead author of the platypus study, which was published in a recent issue of Nature.

Female platypuses produce milk for their young like a mammal, but also lay eggs like a bird. They have duck-like bills that help them find food underwater by smell and thick fur to survive freezing waters. The male platypus produces venom like a snake through his hind legs to protect against predators and to keep romantic competition at bay.

Researchers compared the platypus genome with those of humans, mice, dogs, opossums, chickens and lizards. Turns out the platypus actually shares 82 percent of its genes with other mammals whose genes have been studied.

The scientists can use the knowledge to figure out which mammalian characteristics have been gained or lost through evolution.

“We don’t just do this because it’s a crazy animal and we’re trying to figure out what it’s all about,” Wilson said. “It’s to better understand ourselves and why we develop the way we do and why when we get sick, what goes wrong.”

bbernhard@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8129

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