But would they pay the claim?

This ad for an insurance company was on the flip-side of a USPS Change of Address form I received. Given the lax lock-job depicted, it's no wonder the bike is gone.

My question is whether an insurance provider would pay a theft claim based on someone's negligence?

bicycle art

I stopped in for the first time today for lunch at Renton's new Go Deli (features Vietnamese style 10-inch Bahn Mi sandwiches, most for about $3) and I discovered the bicycle kinetic art below.



Turn the crank and the chains move the wheels.

Pretty cool, huh?

Anyone else know of any bicycle or bike-inspired kinetic artwork in their city?

Note: Go Deli has a nice large sturdy bike rack nearby too.

1st bike-related Christmas e-card

I received my first bicycling-related e-card (or any card) for Christmas this year. The bikes (I assume parked on racks) form a nice snowflake design.

It was from Dero Bike Racks company. I'd ordered products (commercial grade bicycle storage racks) from them before. They have a great variety of products at reasonable prices (I shopped possibly eight other companies before deciding they had the products spec'd the way I wanted for the best price), quick production and shipping, and the products have held up well in the wet outdoors of the Seattle area.

I have a feeling since I am still new to the whole bicycling thing, this might be the only one I receive this year, e-card or otherwise.

Season's Greetings to you all!

Bikes near the Pike

Last weekend, the four of us headed down to the Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle. My wife wanted to pick up some Market Spice Tea. Despite my urging we travel via bus or light rail into Downtown Seattle, we ended up taking the family truckster (our 2003 Dodge minivan). Predictably, traffic around the Pike Place Market (vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians) was heavy and parking, when we found it, was expensive ($17 for about a two-hour stay).

I snapped lots and lots of photos, but below are ones that have some bike-related content. Most are not in the Pike Place Market proper, but on the next street or block over in one direction or the other.

I snapped this one of my daughter Lauren posed near a Walmart type of MT bike. It was locked up.


A Schwinn road bike set up for commuting perhaps. Locked up on First Avenue. The owner must be close by, since it looks like the front wheel is left unlocked.


Isn't the whole point of a folding bike that you tote it with you? Maybe they don't let bikes into the strip club across the street. It was nice of the owner to fold it up before locking though, less for the pedestrians to step around.


The guy riding down Post Alley just prior to me snapping this photo nailed the girl in jeans on the right hand side of the photo and kept on riding, not even pausing to see if she's OK. This is not far from where this bike-ped collision happened recently.


In the far left of the photo above, you'll see the world-famous "Gum Wall". A gross tourist thing to be sure... one that most locals don't even know about. Here's a detailed view...


My daughter was less thrilled to be in photos as the afternoon wore on. Here she's posed next to a cluster of bike racks near the Pike Place Market. I was wondering why so few were being used and/or how they determined how many to install in that area.