Urban Cycle's helping you come and go!

Getting around in today's time is getting tougher and tougher with gas prices. With bike from Trek coming out with bikes like the Soho 4.0 and at the price that they are offering $1099.00 you can't miss. Oh and that is the top of the line, out of the box $549.00, Style, comfort and utility, with a lightweight and responsive Alpha Black Aluminum frame, all-weather hardware, and efficient starting and stopping performance. Now get ride of the car and get riding, you will save some money and get healthy in the progress.

Michelle Kaufmann Design, SolCycles - Bamboo Bikes

Juniors at Princeton University, Nick Frey, Will Watts, Doug Wolf and Tom Yersak are building bamboo bikes. The bike is light and made with carbon joints to hold it all together. They have a special way that they cure the wood, some sort of heat treatment I am told. The bike that I saw still the beta version was a one speed and was ridged as any carbon frame.

"What started as a homework assignment is morphing into a successful and lucrative business. The four engineers met in mechanical and aerospace engineering classes during their sophomore year and have been friends ever since. They were given an open-ended assignment in MAE 321 to build something, and, partly because Frey is a competitive cyclist, the group chose to build a bicycle. The first bike took about a month to make, but after they mastered the technique, they started making each bike within a matter of days. Shifting from a class project to a full-fledged business, they already have many commissions and are planning to spend the summer building bikes in their professor’s basement.

The bike project, however, is not just a way to make some spare money during college: These four engineers have big plans for their company, which is called Sol Cycles. They have already started talking to an American who lives in Vietnam about outsourcing production there because of the plentiful bamboo, and several companies have already agreed to donate parts.

“We are working with a company called Time Cycle, and they are a very high-end company,” Watts said. “[We are also speaking] with another company that would like to sell their wheels through us.”

Frey, in addition to being one of the creators of the bikes, is also the reigning national time-trial champion for cyclists under age 23. His experience gives the group an advantage as it tries to expand its project: Frey’s position in the cycling world helped the group break into the business. “My connections in the industry and the cycling community have helped me get advice and direction from experienced salespeople and engineers,” Frey explained."
read more at Daily Princetonian

This is one of the most fascinating ideas that has been applied to bike design in quite some time, it also helps they are being green. Keep it simple and affordable and these will sell like hot cakes, I can't wait to either get one of my own or start seeing them in production.

Nice job Guys.

Hot, Hot, Hot, Gir's new bike

New bikes are starting to hit the market and many are incorporating traithlon like geometry, take a look and you will see the similarities. A good thing all want to go fast tucking the rear wheel so a shadow is created is priceless. Another thing with Gir is how they documented the making of the bike in a blog. Really smart and lets us see the problems along with the wins of making this new bike along the way. Nice job Gir.

Clothes That Monitor Your Body!

This really does beat the strap which is troublesome and seems to have trouble reading. The best part is the it integrates with the Polar transmitters, so if you have the system just get the shirt. The only draw back is that they have only three styles and a Triathlon one piece would be great. Just put the shirt on check your watch for the pulse and head out to the gym, bike, run or hike.

Special sensors are knit into the fabric of our seamless athletic apparel. The textile sensors maintain contact with the body, sensing the wearer’s heart rate and relaying it to a tiny transmitter.

The transmitter is snapped into a pocket in the front of the garment. It captures the heart rate data and transmits it to a heart rate monitor watch.

The heart rate monitor watch instantly displays the heart rate for the wearer to see.

Perfect addition to anyones training clothing.

LifeSaver Bottle

Best of the year 2007 Men Journal, that says something, LIFESAVER bottle – Solves Drinking Water Needs of India’s Flood Victims.
This is a great device PERIOD, not unlike the LifeStraw this is a bottle that has the filtration built in, it will remove bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and all other microbiological waterborne pathogens without using chemicals like iodine or chlorine which leave a distinctive foul taste. Soldiers use this device, flood victims are using this, every household should have one of these.
The LifeSaver bottle could not be easier, dip, suck, filter, drink. Image below show how easy the process is.

Now go get one.

Surfers Healing, A Foundation for Autism

Autism has been on the rise every year and now reports suggest 1 in every 150 American children, and almost 1 in 94 boys will be born with a form of Autism. If you are into the outdoors and if you are reading this blog there is a good chance you are, surfing is one activity that brings the sense of freedom and relaxation to mind. Well Sufers Healing Autism is one great cause.

"Surfers Healing was founded by Israel and Danielle Paskowitz. Their son, Isaiah, was diagnosed with autism at age three. Like many autistic children, he often suffered from sensory overload-- simple sensations could overwhelm him. The ocean was the one place where he seemed to find respite.
A former competitive surfer, Israel hit upon an idea--with Isaiah on the front of his surfboard, and Izzy steering from the back, the two spent the day surfing together. Surfing had a profound impact on Isaiah. Israel and Danielle decided they wanted to share this unique therapy with other autistic children. They began to host day camps at the beach where autistic children and their families could be exposed to a completely new experience of surfing."

Please check it out!

Ultimate Survivor in a Bottle Kit

Not sure Bear Grylls carries one of these, but the rest of us should. Since it is shatter resistant it might not be BPA, but would you care if you needed this to survive, every thing has perspective.
Prepare for life's unexpected adventures with this compact survival kit – in a bottle.

Includes:

1 32 oz. water bottle
1 carabiner
1 multi-function tool
1 multi-function whistle/compass
1 flashlight
2 batteries
1 survival blanket
2 hand warmer packets
1 candle
1 box of waterproof matches
1 emergency poncho
1 20 piece first-aid kit
1 reusable zipper-lock bag
This 32 oz. shatter resistant water bottle contains essential items for any emergency.

Nutcase, protect the dome!

Project the dome, no matter what, protect the dome. With all the extreme sports that we all do Nutcase has the right helmet for you. The best part is that they fit kids and adults, you can hang with your kids and not look like you are doing the Tour de France, embarrassing yourself and your kids.
Go protect your Nutcase.

MARATAC ZULU WATCH BANDS

For those with tiny wrist or don't like the feel of rubber against you skin, then the Maratac "S-Series" Zulu Bands is for you. Now a days watch bands are pretty comfortable and easy to get used too but if you have small wrist the band gets bunched up and is always hanging on something. These can be trimmed since they are nylon and what is nice is they have two rings to hold the strap in place. Another advantage is the band goes through the pin, in case one pin lets go you won't lose your watch like traditional watches. If you are really using your Polar there is a good chance it will get hung up on something pop the pin and by, by $300+ watch, the Zulu watch band is only $17.00.
Check them out. Maratac "S-Series" Zulu Bands

RUSH, Action Camera

Camera's, camera's everywhere and yet we have another one. The RUSH by Martin Ruegg hopes to better the odds of more people capturing stupid, sometimes useful footage. Hey for training and finding where you might be doing something wrong video camera's are great, still they are better for capturing going over the handlebars or even your Mate taking a dive.
"An innovative sport camera for unlimited action during all kinds of sport. The camera is waterproof and has a shock-resistant body. The quintessence of RUSH is the multifunctional attachment tool, composed of three specific parts. In order to activate the camera in any situation, the trigger is placed at the finger and can be pressed with your thumb.
The idea behind this design is to motivate people who enjoy sports to experiment. RUSH hopes to inspire users to experience the dynamics of sports from a unique perspective.
A project by Martin Ruegg."
Cheers

Relax, enjoy some old time sidewalk surfing.

Sometimes leaving the iPhone or Blackberry behind is not such a bad idea. The Arbor Pocket Rocket allows you to do just that. Arbor brings back memories of when you were a kid assuming you were born in the late 1960 early 70's, just cruising around waiting for your mom to call you in for dinner.
It has Gullwing trucks and a bamboo deck, for those thinking to much about the environment while you should be enjoying the day letting all trouble float away.
"The Pocket Rocket is a compact mini cruiser built for snappy, thread-the-needle maneuverability and all around stashability. Made from 100% top quality bamboo, an amazingly renewable, environmentally friendly material. It's incredibly strong; yet light, flexible, and resistant to compression. Resilient with a clean, Zen flavor. Length: 26"; Wide Point: 7.25"; Wheel Base: 14"; Wheels: 65mm-78a"; Trucks: Gullwing 9"; Shape: Concave. Arbor."
Cheers

SUPER SOAKER BOTTLE SHOT

OK summer is almost here and what better way to kick it off, no matter what your age, then a SUPER SOAKER. There are so many models to choose from, but when they start to look like Paintball guns you have to appreciate getting wet. Store up as many 2 Liter bottles as possible fill them with water and when one runs out screw your reserve on. No more running to a pool of water or facet to get things going again.
"Make almost any plastic bottle (not included) your water supply! No more trips to the hose for a recharge – fill as many plastic bottles as you can carry with clean, clear tap water. Attach bottles (up to two liters!) to the blaster and launch a soaking blast to targets up to 20 feet away with every pump! It’s non-stop soaking fun, anytime, anywhere!"
Also at $7.99 you can't lose just don't buy that triple shot mochachino at Starbucks for one day and problem solved.
Cheers

Dive, Dive, Heads Up Display!

Things change in every area, military comes to the normal John. This really does change things. Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. The DataMask is not just about having a computer in your mask – it is about the many practical benefits provided by truly “Hands-Free” diving.
"The DATAMASK contains a miniature liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, proprietary Digital Optic System, microprocessor, depth transducer, wireless cylinder pressure receiver, diver replaceable battery, and controlling software. The miniature LCD allows you to keep your eyes focused on the dive while presenting critical dive data including: current depth, elapsed dive time, cylinder pressure, and dive time remaining. The Digital Optic System provides a clear, highly magnified image of the LCD, which is viewable regardless of environmental conditions and may be seen clearly by the vast majority of people, regardless of vision."

GPS Tuner - Offroad Navigation

If you send more time off road, via running, biking, walking, hiking, etc., and you have a watch GPS that keeps you data then you might want to look at this software.
GPS Tuner is an off-road navigation software for Pocket PC devices. While most car navigation software gives you the possibility of planning your route based on a road network, GPS Tuner gives you the ability of navigation where the roads end.

GPS Tuner is an excellent tool for hiking, geocaching, boating, flying, driving and many other sporting activities, where the monitoring of duration, distance and speed can be important.

If you are in possession of our 'Geo license' with extended features, the Area Calculation function is available to you, which makes it easy to measure perimeter and area. All you need to do is activate GPS and walk (or drive) around the boundary. The created area (shape) can be saved, exported in DXF format and even reloaded.

Features:

Multilingual
English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Dansih, Czech, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovakian, Russian, Hungarian, Finnish, Afrikaans, Romanian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean
Units and National Grids
Selectable Metric, Imperial or Nautical units
24 National Grids are supported (like WGS-84, British (OSGB36), NAD27, NAD83…)

Mapping
GPS Tuner supports JPG files as maps
Online map downloading from Google Maps, TerraServer, Open Street Map
Easy Calibration on Pocket PC or using Desktop Map Calibrator (free) program
Auto map loading feature
Zoom and Pan by pen or joystick
Flexible layer and track/route display
Distance measuring and route defining by drawing on map
Map image rotation according to your heading in 90 degrees steps
Blank map support

Navigation, Digital Compass
Real time rotating compass with big target arrow
Sun's direction
Custom target from entered coordinate
Any waypoint, trackpoint or point of map can be selected as target
6 different types of Compass views
38 selectable Compass tools
Voice navigation and next turn indication for routes

Trip Computer
Monitor your whole trip
Save, Load and Reset is possible
31 selectable Trip Computer tools
Graph for Altitude and Speed
Selectable tool window size
Push track data into Trip Computer to get a full track analysis
Speedometer with speed limit warning

Waypoints, POIs, Track, Routes
Waypoint, POI: GPX, LOC, KML, SDF files supported
Track, Route: GPX, TRK, KML, SDF files supported
Data exchange with Suunto X9i/X9Mi GPS watch (wristop computer)
Track recording by configurable Auto, Time or Distance interval
View your waypoints and tracks in Google Earth directly (KML export/import)
Flexible waypoint management
You can easily convert track to route and reverse the direction of route
Area Calculation feature is also available in our Geo version

NMEA
NMEA recording
NMEA playback (with selectable speed)
You can jump to any position of NMEA file (skipping unnecessary data)

GPS Share
Share your position in real time with other users
See your friends position displayed in GPS Tuner
Monitor your (and your friends’) position on your web browser
Ideal for personal and vehicle tracking purposes
SMS interface

Learn to Kayak

Kayak Paddling is a multi language, several chapters, just a wealth on information for the paddler in you from beginner to advanced. You would find a site like this on most corporate intranet sites, even Lynda but just for general knowledge, Kayak Paddling is incredible. Full flash based so it's just not one image to the next, the kayak actually bobs in the water. Each Chapter has many sub chapters that you can run right through. Explains boat dynamic, parts, nomenclature, even keyboard controls.
Just plain Awesome.