These guys are doing a whole lot of right. Pants that reflect when you roll the cuffs? Sign me up.

The Hardcourt Bicycle Polo Federation World Championships are happening this weekend directly across the street from my house here in Philly! I’ll be able to watch from my bedroom if I wanted.

File under: WANT. The ingenious folks at the sustainable product design and engineering shop called Studio Gelardi came up with this masterful lil’ tool for your bike. Seems as thought it’s still in ‘concept’ mode, but I can’t wait until it gets manufactured. Given the buzz it’s getting, I won’t be surprised if that happens soon.

Cool Hunting sez: “The small apparatus attaches to any bike’s seat tube and applies a thin layer of chalk powder in one of several colors to the rear tire. The result is an eye-catching streak that traces wherever you ride. In addition to visually enhancing the street, it serves as a directional guide for subsequent cyclists and a constant reminder to motorists that they should share the road.”

So I’ve been riding my trust old steel Schwinn single speed bike for about three years now and the poor thing is getting mighty ragged. I’ve been thinking about an overhaul, but also perhaps a whole new purchase. Every once in a while I see this one amazingly sexy bike parked where I park at the train station on my morning commute and I just salivate over it’s shear beauty.

All of a sudden, rather out of the blue I come across Republic Bikes of Dania Beach, Florida. They’ve got this slick web site where you can ‘build your own‘ track bike from the colors and sizes they have in stock. And wouldn’t you know it, a complete bike is just $344 bucks. Hmmmm. I may be on to something here. Just look at the fun designs you too can make:

Bright Bike from Michael Mandiberg on Vimeo.

Bright Bike is a Retroreflective Vinyl coated bike. It is like coating your bike with a big sticker that turns ultra-brite in headlights. Right now we are in the prototyping stages, and hope to offer a DIY Kit soon. If you can’t wait that long, contact Beacon Graphics in NJ for Scotchlight 680.

[Thanks, Rocketboom!]

This short film is about champion mountain biker Dave Wiens as he recently took on a late entry by Lance Armstrong into the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race.

Sadly, I haven’t made that statement in quite some time, though it remains extremely high on my list of lifestyle priorities. Over the past year, I’ve worked too far from home to effectively bike. Recently, my company moved to a suburb a *little* closer to my house, so after some prodding by my friend Stellargirl, a gorgeous sunny spring morning and an overwhelming need to get my blood pumping, I gave it a whirl today. Just shy of 12 miles according to Google Maps. And boy did it feel good. Now, as I sit and type this on my lunch break, I realize – oh shit. I have to bike all the way home again! My legs are still sore.

If I did this every day, though, I can tell you I would be fit as a fiddle. And I like the sound of that!

Coincidentally, once I got to work, I discovered that this is Bike to Work Week thanks to my pal Sara. Cool!