What really makes Mooney stand above the rest was his attempt in 2007 and 2008 at getting the World Record for the Tallest Bike. Mooney was trying to blow way past the current record set in 2005 by Canadian Scott Graham for a bike only 18ft tall. The bike Mooney attempted to ride was a whopping 44ft high!

Michael Mooney on his 44 foot tall bike, photo by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine

Sadly both times he fell off before he could ride it the required 100 meters to beat the previous record holder. Even though he failed two years in a row, Michael Mooney’s story needs to be shared because even with a safety line Mooney’s story gives a whole new meaning to “safety third.”

Why did he fall off the bike almost immediately when he tried in 2007? Partially because he didn’t have enough sleep.

Did he not sleep because of nerves? No, he was up until 4am finishing building the bike and only got a 2 hour nap before having to be at the festival.

That’s only part of the reason?!? The other reason was because he couldn’t pedal very well.

Why couldn’t he pedal? Because he was trying to pedal with only one foot duct-taped to the pedal.

Duct tape ?!? Why in the world would he use only one foot? Because the other leg was useless.

Useless how? Because he had just recently broke his kneecap in 4 pieces while training on his 12ft tall bike.

Yeah this guy is nuts or awesome or both—probably both.

Mooney’s first attempt in 2007:

Mooney’s oh so close second attempt in 2008:

There is also a video online of him training on a 12ft tall bike. More info on Michael Mooney can be found in this interview in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine and this interview in Mountain Xpress.

And yes I know this is something that happened in 2008—ages in internet years—but Mooney deserves more attention for being so crazy awesome.

Other Johnson transportation ideas do move increasingly, if not entirely, toward practicality, like the clever albeit cumbersome Bike Vest:

Steven M. Johnson Bike Vest

Stephen Johnson creates illustrations of really fabulous mock inventions. You really should click through and see more of them.

Posted via web from CatCubed’s Random Snippets

Also, keep a monocle peeled for the dashing wheelmen (and women) of the San Francisco Tweed Ride ( www.sftweed.com) and their occasional sartorially advanced jaunts through the city.

Rock! …I mean what a positively smashing turn of events we were mentioned in the SF Chronicle!

Posted via web from CatCubed’s Random Snippets

This labor of love has taken longer than I expected ‚Äî live’s been busy ‚Äî but I’m quite happy with the results. A big thanks to Rubin Starset for buying the domain, setting up the WP install, and most of all motivating me to kick out a design and get this thing happening!

I expect to see y’all at the next Tweed Ride as we have some great things planned.

Just last night, I put the finishing touches on the SF Tweed website and created the initial post! Big thanks to Rubin Starset for taking the initiative, buying the domain, setting up the wordpress install, and overall motivating me to work on it! We’ll be meeting this weekend to plan the next SF Tweed Ride and I have plans for more posts about all things Tweed including getting some guest bloggers. You can also follow @sftweed on twitter!

Lastly, Balsa Man 2009 “Big Dreams Writ Small” is brewing! I’ve designed iron-on patches for this year’s Balsa Man ‚Äî they’re awesome, you all will want one! I’ll be releasing more info about the patches and other details about soon on a new Balsa Man website that is also in the works. At least it’s in the works in my head. I haven’t taken mouse to photoshop yet, but I have a good idea of where I want to take it.

And with that I’m off to get a little invigorating Nature!

Knickers from the London Tweed Run (photo by Matthew J. Shaw)

It’s about time our fair city celebrated the fine pleasures of Herringbone, Bow Ties, and Bicycles! We refuse to endure anymore spandex! Nor will we sully ourselves by “corking” — or whatever it is the kids call it these days.

Our fine brethren in jolly old England really know how to sport a cap, so I say, so shall we!

Thus, February 12th will mark the inaugural Thursday Tweed Ride!

Break out your dashing wool finery, smartly set that cap on your head, straighten your tie, and join us for a fine ride through the grand city of San Francisco!

We will sally forth from the gorgeous Dolores Park near the majestic bell at the 19th Street entrance. The ride will begin at 6:30pm and from there we will peddle a winding course through the streets — waving to all the beautiful faces we see along the way.

Of course as it is February, it may be brisk out and maybe even a little wet, but your wool should keep you warm and dry! However, if the cold still seeps through never fear as our destination is Irish coffee at the marvelous Tosca Cafe!

As a note to all you Tweed Riders: Thursday’s weather shows a small chance of light showers. While dry would be ideal, this is fine as Tweed’s great in rain — it’s made for the outdoors. Also, if it begins to really rain, we’ve planned spirit stops to stay warm!

UPDATE: Contest Details!

• Most Dapper Chap
• Most Snappy Lass
• Most Stylish Vintage Steed
• Most Inspired Interpretation of Tweediness
• Best Mustache ‚Äî open to both lads and inventive lasses
• As Feb 12th is also Darwin’s Birthday, we may have a special prize for any Darwin look-a-likes that show up!

With smashing prizes donated by Velo-Orange, Manifesto Bicycle, The Freewheel Bike Shop, Refried Cycles, and Prof. NifNaks Fine Moustachios!

More contest info and prize details can be found on A Tweed Primer.

Qarly in Tweed Rider Summer Attire (photo by ioerror)

For more Tweedy inspiration, traipse on over to A Tweed Primer. Also, I suggest perusing photos and video of the recent Jan 24th London Tweed Run:

• Write up and photos from the London Tweed Run on Arkitip
• London Tweed Run photos by Matthew J. Shaw
• London Tweed Run photos by Roxy Dammit
• Video from the London Tweed Run (via the Riding Pretty Blog)
• The Tweed Cycling Club
• The London fixed-gear and single-speed forum post that started it all The Tweed Run

*NOTE: The first BART train that allows bikes into the city arrives at 16th St. at 6:45pm. For more schedule info visit Bart.gov

NEW WEBSITE! For more Tweed and info about the next Tweed Ride visit SFTweed.com

During the NY Critical Mass a rookie cop charged a biker on foot, slamming the cyclist off the bike and onto the sidewalk — this incident was caught on video. It is unclear if there was any previous provocation for the action, but it certainly seemed in the very least to be excessive use of force, if not downright assault. There is a bit of justice in this instance: as of this writing, the cop has been stripped of his badge and gun and is doing desk work while the action undergoes investigation.

Peddlya Haters

The blogging of both of these incidents on Checksum Arcanius, Gothamist, and Boing Boing has brought out the Critical Mass and cyclist haters:

• “Like many (most?) urban pedestrians, I have little sympathy for Critical Mass thugs.”
• “this mob is out of control”
• “I say it again (as ignorant as it sounds), the cop should get a medal. Good for him.”
• “As an avid road cyclist I have big problems with things like ‘Critical Mass.’ What they do is extremely unsafe and gives responsible cyclist a bad name.”

The last quote makes me recall the June Critical Mass here in SF, where there was one corked in car with two fancy carbon road bikes on the roof rack. The passenger of said vehicle, who obviously was driving somewhere outside the city to ride their bike, proceeded to furiously yell insults out the window at all the Critical Mass cyclists — massive cyclist culture difference.

Of course, some of these commenters are just semi-professional trolls, and there was also a decent share of people who support the rides. I see these supporters on the comment threads and out during the Critical Mass events themselves, happily waving at us as they remain stuck in their cars. However there are also a good number of people who hate the rides and hate any cyclist who “breaks the law.”

Who’s Breaking the Law Now?

Car drivers break the law all the time, as do pedestrians, but they do it in different ways: drivers speed, drive recklessly, roll through stop signs and more; pedestrians jay walk. Everyone breaks the rules here and there when they feel that the risk is lower than the reward; and for cyclists going through red lights and stop signs is less of a risk than it is for cars. The WashCycle blog wrote an excellent article called The Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist, which does an excellent job discussing this very topic, so I won’t be going into it more myself.

Reclaiming Streets For Fun

Culturally, Critical Mass is an interesting issue. As much as many Critical Mass riders claim it’s a pro-city-cyclist political act, it is also frankly just a way for a whole lot of cyclists to get together and have fun once a month. In many ways, it shares a relationship to the Running of the Bulls, Carnival, New Orleans Running of the Roller Girls, Songkran, and any other traditional or nontraditional roaming street festival. Like Critical Mass, all these events are all reclaiming the city streets for fun and enjoyment rather than the hoo hum of business and the daily grind.

I’m sure that many of the same people who bash Critical Mass in the Boing Boing comment thread would call other moving street festivals “AWESOME!” It’s all a matter of perspective: for them, as long as your fun doesn’t get in their way it’s great. In reality, most of these drivers stuck corked in have lost maybe 10-15 minutes of their day.

For all of the above reasons, whenever I am talking to a frustrated stuck driver in the middle of the CriticalMass, I don’t tell them “we are traffic” or get abrasive. I just tell them to think of it as a parade; a bicycle parade that happens on the last Friday of every month. Frankly, I think it’s a better way for Critical Mass riders to frame it for themselves as well. When your out there, don’t think of yourselves as political rabble-rousers, but as a leaderless parade celebrating the joy that these city streets can bring.