Read the full post on roychristopher.com.

And if you’re more interested in the evolution of bicycle technology and what it meant for women, The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology (MIT Press, 1989) edited by Wiebe Bijker, Thomas P. Hughes, and Trevor Pinch has some great essays concerning both.

Thanks to Laura Brown for the link. Onward.

You’re right, Roy, you’re hopeless. Hopelessly obsessed with a time in your sport that died a long time ago… — McGoo

The experience of a BMXer today is much more likely to be mediated by technology than it was in the ’80s. Given the proliferation of technology into every aspect of our lives, that’s not much of an insight, but hear me out. In addition to the lack of dope video games, the riders of thirty years ago were also missing out on the parks. There were like three ride-able skateparks in the whole country. Now there are at least that many in every city of any size whatsoever. Where the past was spent riding curb cuts, banks, walls, streets, and backyard ramps, today the terrain consists of those as well as many human-made options. It makes for different riding, different tricks, and different values.

Me, Ronnie, BMX: We go back like carseats.

Just sayin’.

Don’t ask me why, but if an airline knows you have a bicycle in your luggage they will charge you—up to $100 each way! Luckily there are ways around it and you don’t have to let that stop you from flying with your bike. With the right kind of bag and packing job you will be able to breeze through check in with no problems, and without shelling out any extra cash.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT BAG
Although airlines charge you if they know you have a bike, they don’t charge you for military gear, hockey equipment, or golf clubs. So here are a few options for “bike bags” that you can take on a plane without paying anything extra.

Read the whole piece–and see the video–here.

Here are the details from Sandy:

I want to formally invite you to the opening of my first group exhibition of the year Storytelling at the L. Nowlin Gallery here in Austin. This exhibit, curated by the Austin Photography Group, features 40 Austin photographers and opens next Saturday, January 15th from 6-8pm. I shall be showing a piece from my Black Friday series from 2009.

Here’s a preview of the show. See you all there!

That is all.

Happy 2011, everyone.

[Art by Cartlon Reid]

If you know me, you know that one of the only things I love as much as music is bicycles. Well, David Byrne’s own Bicycle Diaries (Viking, 2010) explores and explains why they’re so seductive in ways I never could.

This book was written almost by accident. That is, Byrne’s fascination with bicycles and writing about seeing the world from behind handlebars was unintentional. He first started riding them in New York in the early 80s, finding it easier to get around by bike than by cab or subway. Then came the feeling of freedom that riding bicycles affords. Later in his career, Byrne discovered über-portable folding bikes and started taking them with him on tour…

Check out the full post over there.

Here’s what the Okay Mountain site says about the show:

“Paradise Has Relocated” attempts to capture the lifeless remains and emptiness of a once thriving and historic island devastated by Hurricane Ike in September of 2008. Ike was the third most destructive and costliest hurricane to make landfall in the United States, destroying and flooding 75% of homes and landmass. The project deals with the physical dead space and ghostliness of Galveston- post hurricane. Each image whispers of an ordinary past lost to the ravages of Mother Nature. The everyday objects left behind in haste suggest former human inhabitation. The unoccupied landscapes, fractured structures and mundane interiors I have carefully composed compel the viewer to look beyond cultural stature and financial complexities, and question geographical location.

The geographic anonymity of my photographs prove that such devastation is not reserved for the third world but stand right on our doorstep. This is important to remember given the current state of world climate change. Unfortunately some believe that this may be the final blow for Galveston. With an already anemic economy and population decline that predates Ike by 50 years, survivors who are re-building or relocating, feel that their mythical land never fully recovered from the first Galveston Hurricane of 1900.

Sandy’s book Paradise Has Relocated is available from Blurb (where there’s also a full preview!). A percentage of the sales will go directly towards Hurricane IKE relief, so do good and buy a copy.