Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity

Meet Derek and Moudi, a couple that went car free a year ago in order to save money and live better.


Name: Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity

Home Town
Derek: Salt Lake City, Utah
Moudi: Beirut, Lebanon

Occupation: Student at the University of Utah and after school teachers for elementary students.

Years together: Two years three months

Bikes
Derek: Giant OCR2

Moudi: Motobecan Fantom CX

Why do you bike?
Moudi: It is a good feeling to ride your bike. I really just like riding my bike.
Derek: I gave up my car to ride a bike. Plus, it is a really great way to stay in shape.

Favorite place to ride:
Moudi and Derek: City Creek Canyon road. Through the avenues and on 11th ave. It is a killer view of the city and the smog.

Favorite restaurant:
Derek: Cafe Shambala on E street
Moudi: My own kitchen! (editors note:he makes killer hummus)

Bike accessory you can’t live without:
Derek: My water bottle
Moudi: A good bike mechanic!

Hopes and dreams for cycling:
Derek: I hope to see everyone bike commute some day. I would also like to see bike only streets in Salt Lake, like 200 South or Main Street. A full lane for bikes each way would be great.
Moudi: I want to be able to bike wherever I want. Seeing a bike community that is less pretentious would be nice too. I'm not a high endurance racer, I’m a bike commuter.

Disqus Amongst Your Salty Selves.

The Disqus comment system has been added to SaltCycle.

It features full integration with Google, Facebook, Twitter and many more features.

Let the comment commenting commence.

Test your commenting skills in the comment section.

Salt Decentralized Dance Party

In an earlier recent post the building of a bicycle revolution was mentioned and now here is some inspiration for motivation:





The Decentralized Dance Party is touring to select cities in the USA with cities near Salt Lake City, namely, Boulder, Colorado being visited.

SaltCycle should bike dance, too. Whether or not its DDP or your own transmitter oddity, dance Salt Lake City, dance.

More details about the DDP @ decentralizeddanceparty.com.

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Carly Monahan

Carly Monahan, with her Trek,
posed for a photo. (Photo: Christy Jensen)

Happy Holidays SaltCyclers! As a Christmas present to the community we have started a new column that will appear once a week, “Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City”. This column will feature people we meet who ride bikes, to showcase the diversity of the Salt Lake cycling scene.

Meet our first spot light, Carly, who hails from Wisconsin and recently moved to Salt Lake. Check the blog every Friday for a new edition of Caught on a bike.

Name: Carly Monahan

Job:Fire effects monitoring technician.

Home Town: Milwaukee Wisconsin

Bike: 90’s Trek. I can’t remember the model, I covered the bike in stickers.

Favorite place to ride in SLC: I don’t have a favorite place to ride yet. I like that I can ride anywhere in Salt Lake.

Favorite Restaurant: The Korean BBQ that has the Mexican bakery and ice cream parlor in the same complex.

Hopes and dreams for cycling: Because I move around a lot, it is nice to see cycling become more prevalent. My hopes and dreams for biking are that it will continue to become more prevalent and accessible. I lived in Madison, Wisconsin for a summer and could bike any where. So many people ride bikes, I could set my watch by the people I saw on my commute.

One piece of bike gear you can’t live without: My bike lock! I got my bike stolen once in college (same bike she rides now) and it was so stressful. Luckily the person was really just borrowing it.

Nightmare Before Christmas Alleycat Tonight!

Hey Salt Lake City, Welcome Santa into the city by shredding the streets and wreaking two wheeled havoc wherever you go! This race will be a "medium" on the difficulty level;  Expect a single, complicated manifest but not too intense of riding.

Bring: Bike, Lock, Pen, $5, and all the awesome you can muster. 6:00 pm at Memory Grove! See you there!

Building a Bicycle Revolution

In 2009 during the COP15 UN summit protests in Copenhagen, Denmark an idea for a bike bloc was created from the The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination.

From their laboratories came many ideas including the idea of a mass bike swarm. The mass bike swarming held many pedal powered protesting ideas including a sound swarm in which several bicycles were equipped with bicycle PA systems.

The event happened, the protest occurred and the site which held the information, funbetweenyourlegs.info ceased to be.

Until 2011 when it evolved to the United States.

Deleted post: How Bikes Can Save Us

A post was recently published called How Bikes Can Save Us! and though it was an awesome +1 for bikes, it seems to be "black hat SEO," or a tricky way to mess with search engines through spammy, fake websites. Transit blogger John Hendel wrote up a whole article about it.

A brief excerpt:

The legitimately pretty and well-done infographic has made the rounds of several news sites and blogs in the last two weeks. People saw the visual, loved it, published and commented on it, all the while linking to and supporting what would seem to be a link farm, a spammer, a farce of a website called HealthCareManagementDegree.com, which exists to game the Internet. The bare-bones, purposeless Health Care Management Degree website was created in 2004 and registered to Mascot Media Circle LLC, based out of Austin, Texas. This shadowy entity also created OnlineBachelorDegreePrograms.com in that same year, RatedColleges.com in 2004, and Computer-Colleges.com in 2002, among what I would imagine are many other bogus web addresses likely meant to take advantage of Google's search engine selection and enjoy a little SEO payoff.


"As a blogger that works very hard to make his own Google juice, I occasionally speak out about Black Hat SEO mischief like this," DL Byron remarks in his Google+ post. "You've probably noticed how irrelevant, at times, Google's search is. That's because of sites and tricks like this." 

We are pro bikes but anti spam, so we decided to remove the post. To see the well made graphic, check out that article. It's a happy, feel good link, but unfortunately somebody out there is taking advantage of our passion for spreading bike love. We hope you understand.

Thanks,
SaltCycle Admin

Tales from the Top Tube #1: Fog City

When I left the apartment building at 1:00 AM to head home after a long and eventful night with great friends, over great food, and listening to great music, a dense fog blanketed the city and the temperature had dropped well below freezing. It was an unusual night for Salt Lake City. Fog isn’t a common occurrence, but it brought a great serenity to the roads and made me feel like I was the only one around. Visibility was about a block, or less than ¼ of a mile. I could see my light, like a solid beam, way out in front of me, and everything was wet. The ground had what looked like snow on it, but it wasn’t slippery. I couldn’t see anyone around, and counted four cars during the three miles back to my house. It was solitary, quiet, and wet.

When I was riding on 8^th East, I noticed more white on the road ahead. It started snowing lightly and I realized that for one short block, the ground was blanketed with an even layer of snow. Then it was gone. The snow turned back to fog and the anomaly of a weather system had passed. I rode the rest of the way home without seeing anyone, alone in the city, with all the streets to myself. At one point, my eyelashes froze together when I help my eyelids closed for too long. It was solitary, quiet, wet, and frozen.

Rides home like the one I had tonight remind me of how safe and how perfect the bicycle is. Gliding through the fog and snow, I remembered all of the other great rides I have had. It gave me time to think, and I always think best on my bike. To quote the late John F. Kennedy,

“Nothing compares with the simple pleasure of a bike ride.”

(Note: Tales from the Top Tube will be a regular feature on SaltCycle.com, chronicling adventures and tales of the big city, from a bicyclist’s perspective.)

State of the SaltCycle

The recent direction that SaltCycle has taken has opened us up to more followers and views every month. The facebook group, SaltCycle team, new weekly rides, etc, have made our community blossom. We want to keep the momentum going and since a rolling stone (wheel) gathers no moss (mud), we are making some improvements to the site (and not just boring html stuff). Here are a few things you can look forward to in the next few weeks:

New weekly columns:

• Tales from the Top Tube: Essays on bikes and riding of all kinds, fiction and nonfiction. If you have an essay on biking, here is the place to have it published.

• A weekly spotlight on people who ride bikes in Salt Lake City. Everyone rides a bike for different reasons; we want to celebrate the diversity this little town contains.

• The SaltCycle twitter account has been revived which means we will now be populating the Library of Congress with 140 characters of bike hashtags and goodness.  Follow us and use the #bikeSLC hashtag when you have the chance.

• There is talk of the website getting a facelift in the next few months. This means more features, pages, better layout, and a few new things here and there. Along with all of these changes and addition to the website/blog, we have some great events in the works for the spring.

• A digital SaltCycle calendar is in the works and will be featured monthly on the website. If you are interested in having your picture taken for this, let us know. We would like feature lots of people who love bikes.  

We are happy with the direction SaltCycle is going and the contributions everyone makes. Thank you for continuing to help build a successful bicycle community. We look forward to more bicycle fueled discussions, adventures, dinner parties, late night rides, meetings, and laughs.

-The SaltCycle Family

        Jessica Judy Gilmore

        Tom Millar

        Christy Punkin Pants Jens

Jordan River Commission Awarded Grant to Develop an Interpretive Trail Map

Good news for those who enjoy the Jordan River Parkway Trail. The Jordan River Commission and Salt Lake County are pleased to announce that they have been awarded a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service’s River and Trails Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program. The grant will focus on developing an interpretive trail map for public use of the Jordan River Parkway trail system. Read the details on the Jordan River Commission's blog:
http://jordanrivercommission.com/2011/12/jordan-river-commission-awarded-rivers-and-trails-conservation-assistance-grant/

Local cycling blog, Spoke(n)

Check out Spoke(n), a local blog about cycling, has great stuff to read and watch, including a video highlighting local BMX events and riders! (sneak preview below)

Music Video: SLC + bikes + sex, drugs, & rock'n'roll

Check it out: Local musician Secret Original recently released this music video, "Arson," filmed all over SLC and including a few shots of some local urban riders!

Ever wonder what the current air quality is like? I do.

U.S. Counties violating PM2.5 Standards

It's schiesty right now considering this island of haze floating around us. We have a fine particulate problem (PM2.5), the kind of problem that is very damaging to everyone's health. As with any outdoor sport, you're breathing in a lot of air so I wanted to share my way of knowing if I should wear my Respro hepa-filter mask or not. If you don't own a mask, I urge you to give it a chance, they save your lungs and heart. The Utah DEQ website makes it easy to check major population centers such as Salt Lake, Cache or Weber counties just to name a few. And another site I find useful if travelling abroad is AIRNow simply because they have a database to check many locations AQI or Air Quality Index. One last crucial thing to announce: the Wasatch Front is one of the few places in the U.S. to be currently violating PM2.5 and PM10 standards, which means you really need that protection.


"The primary cause is the burning of fossil fuels by transportation and industrial sources." Lets slow down the burn by cycling, not polluting.

Respro Techno

Wild Rose bike shop in the Avenues hosts Christmas Party

I apologize for the late notice, but Wild Rose bike and mountain sports shop is throwing a Christmas Party right now for all valued customers, friends, new-comers, and strangers alike. The party, which includes food, drink, and a live band, will run today, December 9th, from 1 PM - 6 PM. The address is 702 3rd Avenue, Salt Lake City Utah. Click here for directions, or see the map below.


View Larger Map

How-to: Travel with a bike on Amtrak

Welcome to a new series of informative pieces on how to do some pretty fun things on and with bikes to make your bicycling experience all the more simple and seamless. This inaugural how-to article will deal with how to travel by train, and bring your bike along for next to nothing.

Repost: How the Dutch Got Their Cycle Paths

(Projects for Public Spaces - Nov 30th, 2011) Given the reputation of the Netherlands as a cyclist’s paradise, you might think that its extensive cycling infrastructure came down from heaven itself, or was perhaps created by the wave of a magic wand. Not so. It was the result of a lot of hard work, including massive street protests and very deliberate political decision-making.

Updated: Girls on bikes, etc.

With all the talk by the more afeminate side of the cycling community, and amid today's Women's Night meeting at the Bike Collective, I thought that this article written by Jessica Gilmore a few months ago would be an appropriate reminder. Enjoy.

                                                                                                                 - Tom Millar

In 6th grade I was playing goalie at recess when I got hit in the face with a soccer ball. You know that feeling, a sharp throb prickling like thousands of needles. The numbing sting made my eyes water and lip quiver. But I didn’t cry. There were boys around, including the one who kicked the ball and I knew I’d get more respect or maybe less crap from the boys if I didn’t cry. [click more for more]

After wind storm, UTA shuttles passengers, bicyclists between Layton and Farmington

After this week's wind storm (which reached a sustained 100 mph in Farmington, Centerville, and surrounding municipalities) several public facilities and transportation outlets are out of service. A situation that poses difficulties for commuting bicyclists is the closure of the Farmington FrontRunner station. After winds ripped through the narrow stretch of Davis County between the mountain and lake, the station was left in shambles. UTA has instructed train operators and has informed commuters that, till the station can be repaired and cleaned up, the train will not be making stops at the Farmington Station.

After the Farmington Station was left in shambles after
Thursday's windstorm, UTA has begun to shuttle commuters
and bicyclists between stations (Photo: Tyler Lloyd)

Women's Night Open House at SLC Bicycle Collective

We're looking to revamp Women's Night at the Collective, and this coming Wednesday, 12.7.11 from 5:30-9:00 PM, will be the first big push to get more ladies to the Collective. Please invite your friends!

Please share this event with all of your cyclist friends, Salty Spokes Ladies, SaltCycle aficionados, newcomers to Utah and anyone who you've ever heard say, "I wish I had a bicycle." Let's make this place more friendly for cyclists by getting more of us on the road with the skills and tools we need to keep our bikes running well.

Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective operates on the philosophy, “Teach them to fish, and they can feed themselves,” but many students won’t even ask for lessons.

Walking into a warehouse full of gearheads can be intimidating, especially for fiercely independent women who are embarrassed to admit they can’t change a flat bicycle tire. The collective understands, completely. Female mechanics teach women how to work on their own bikes in a friendly, pressure-free environment. Come learn how to build a bike yourself, fix that flat tire or just meet other women who love to ride their bicycles.

All ages and levels welcome, first Wednesday of the month.The SLC Bicycle Collective can be found at 2312 S. West Temple

             801-328-2453      

Link to Facebook Event

Tribune article on bikes gets some negative attention

This article in the SL Tribune is getting a little bit of attention on SaltCycle's facebook page. Check out the article and post a comment - How could have this article better represented the concerns with bikes and cars?