Transforming discarded bicycle inner tubes into rugged, useful bungee cords.

by John Zappa - bike advocate and chief rider Plastic litter on beachfront - Photo courtesy of Wikipedia commons Many people celebrated Earth Day last week, and it's essential to reflect on our impact on the planet and explore ways to minimize our carbon footprint. And this is not easy. Where I live in Chicago, the Alliance for Great Lakes just issued a report showing that over 86% of the litter on the beaches in the Great Lakes is composed of plastic, up from 80% since the l

by John Zappa - bike advocate and chief rider The weather is finally getting nicer in Chicago and a lot more people are riding their bikes. While it seems easy to just get out the bike and start riding, there are a couple of important things you can do to make it a more pleasant ride. In this two-part series, we will first look at how to prepare your bike, and in the second article, yourself. 1) Clean your bike A clean bike will not only look better, but it will also perform

It is estimated that over 1.5 million bicycles are stolen every year (National Bike Registry). Who doesn't know someone whose bike was taken? Sadly, my wife has had two bikes stolen in Chicago. So what's an average rider to do? Carry three locks and mount a camera on your bike? I took a hard look at the data behind stolen bikes to understand better what's going on. And more importantly, what good practices you can use to minimize the chances of your bike getting stolen. Perso