Huffy has Mickey and Minnie Mouse special edition cruiser bikes

forgotten history of what might have been, the California Cycleway (bicycle only elevated wood road from Pasadena to LA)

In 1897 bicycling was a fad, a craze. The first of many strange compulsions that caught Americans up in a social movement that seems strange to those same people after it's gone (pet rocks, flag pole sitting, etc)

It was soon swept away by the board track racers, endurance runs, and land speed racing on dry lakes. But there was a time when biking was the thing to do, and LA had an entrepreneur that built 1.2 miles of this bike highway to charge a toll for a quick easy way to get from Pasadena to downtown LA.

He had it all worked out, except for the part where it gets completed while it still was in demand.

found on http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/in-1897-a-bicycle-superhighway-was-the-future-of-california-transit from a facebook post by https://www.facebook.com/7Christine but it originates in a 1901 magazine article posted on the  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/the_great_cycle_way_.cfm

"On this splendid track cyclists may now enjoy the very poetry of wheeling. At Pasadena they may mount their cycles and sail down to Los Angeles without so much as touching the pedals, even though the gradient is extremely slight.The way lies for the most part along the east bank of the Arroyo Seco, giving a fine view of this wooded stream, and skirting the foot of the neighboring oak-covered hills.The surface is perfectly free from all dust and mud, and nervous cyclists find the track safer than the widest roads, for there are no horses to avoid, no trains or trolley-cars, no stray dogs or wandering children." 

the article is written in an antique flowing way, eloquent by todays norm, but it points out some interesting signs of it's time... 5000 cycle inventors, nothing worth riding a bike on in the age of steam locomotive prestige but adobe roads and train track crossings of muddy wagon wheel ruts. The bikes would be smoothy riding above all the horse manure, rocks and ruts on a boardwalk with nothing to interrupt a pleasant Southern California sunny day. If you started in Pasadena, you'd cruise downhill the whole way without pedaling at all due to the 600 feet elevation difference and the 20 miles... it's likely if this had occured it would have been an hour of riding downhill.

Throughout the entire distance from the center of one city to the center of the other it has an uninterrupted right of way, passing over roads, streets, railway tracks, gullies and ravines. At its highest point, the elevation of the track is about fifty feet. The maximum grade in the nine-mile run is three percent., and that only for two thousand feet. Elsewhere the grade averages 1^1/4 percent.

Local Motors had a competition, internationally they had 90 concepts for a vintage looking motorized bike, this is the winner

A three-week design challenge took place May 21 - June 14, 2013. At the end of the challenge, Local Motors Community members from 17 countries had submitted a total of ninety (90) finished entries. After a comprehensive design review by the Local Motors team and a global community vote, the winning concept, the Ariel Cruiser by Ianis Vasilatos of Romania, was selected as the first community-designed gas-powered bicycle to be produced under the Local Motors brand. The Local Motors Cruiser will be available for purchase in the Shop at LocalMotors.com later this year.

"The Ariel Cruiser concept presented by Ianis was a compelling balance between the inspiration of vintage boardtrack racing presented in the challenge, and a look that was entirely its own,” said Jay Rogers, Local Motors Co-Founder and CEO. “Ianis' design is extreme, with an aggressive stance, totally custom engine covers, a signature tank shape and mounting style, low-slung handlebars and horizontal body layout totally reminiscent of the boardtrack racer heritage. When so many bicycle styles already exist, it is impressive to see a design that still can stand apart from the masses. It will be even more exciting to see it in physical form, ready for riding."

For his first place concept Ianis Vasilatos (aka vasilatos_ianis) from Romania, will be awarded a $2,000 cash prize and the first production Local Motors Cruiser.

“To design a motorized bicycle reminiscent of the early 1900s was a dream of mine that began a long time ago. And my passion for this era will never stop,” said Ianis Vasilatos. “All parts of my Ariel Cruiser design were intended to give a nod back to the history of boardtrack racing and early motorbicycles: the motor and engine covering, the fuel tank and straps that hold the tank, the other elements of leather and the seat are all very respectful to this history.”

images courtesy of http://localmotors.com/blog/post/nod-to-the-top-five-cruiser-designs/ found on  http://www.carbodydesign.com/2013/07/lm-cruiser-bike-design-challenge-the-winners/  because something about my computer wouldn't pick up the photos on https://forge.localmotors.com/pages/project.php?cg=12060

he knew from a young age that chicks dig the chopper

both images found on http://stiffspeed.tumblr.com page apart... I made the connection and the humor, so for those offended, blame me. If you like it, just laugh and pass it along with a link to my blog and share the entertainment value

the most fun thing you'll see today

found on http://zenmasterthis.tumblr.com

If this GIF isn't moving, click on the link, the car and dog are running while the guy pedals the bike

Bikeville is a blog from a company that is VERY into early to mid 1900's bicycles

these guys go on huge bike buying trips!

they take photos of all sorts of bike events, conventions, swap meets, etc

post info

show collections

they put out info about interesting stuff, like the weight savings method called Drillium, and show photos 

 

and have photos of so many rare old bikes it's like they are on a bike treasure hunt!

their blog: http://bikeville.blogspot.com and their business website: http://www.bikeville.com/

Cool garage door art from a high school student

Found on http://bikeville.blogspot.com/2013/05/via-bicycle-garage-door-diagram.html