Cool Bicycle Art

I spotted this sign along the bike path the other day.  The art is very well done. I like how the artist tied in the themes of country and city.

Well as far as bike to work goes for me and many other bike commuters every day is bike to work day.  So I'll just roll my eyes and keep my comments to myself.  But the bottom line is any advocacy to get people out of their cars and onto bikes even for a day is a good thing and I support it. 

Here's a great Time article that sums it up quite nicely.

Cool Bicycle Art

Many years ago my mother started a tradition at Christmas of giving a Christmas tree ornament to myself and my sister as a stocking stuffer.  A few years back I began a similar thing when I started collecting bicycle themed ornaments to decorate my tree.  Always clever and thoughtful and knowing I'm a bike nut my mom gifted me this box of long stemmed matches.  She transformed the box into an ornament by attaching one of those little metal hooks to one end.

   

Of course the best part is the old-timey bicycles on the front and back of the box.  Even a tandem!  So with this post I'll kill two birds;  Display some very cool bicycle art, wish a Merry Christmas and hope that you all enjoy your holiday traditions whatever they may be.

"Keep Calm And Pedal On"

Cool Bicycle Art

Here's some cool bicycle art on an old tobacco tin from the 1890's.  L.A.W. stands for the League of American Wheelmen.  This was probably the very first cycling advocacy group formed in America and still survives to this day as The League of American Bicyclists.  

At the tail end of the 19th century the L.A.W. had a lot of political power and championed the cause which they called "Good Roads".  At that time the bicycle was undergoing a surge of popularity and roadways were rutted dusty paths at best and virtually impassible quagmires if they were wet.  Today it is a little known fact that bicyclists were responsible for the push to pave roads making travel easier, not the automobile.

The Petition That Paved America

Cool Bicycle Art

Form and Function

More than just a collection of welded steel tubes to please the eye this sculpture doubles as a bike rack.  Cleveland, Ohio

Cool Bicycle Art

Spotted this bikey vinyl graphic on the side of a Honda Odyssey.  While not something I would want on my Honda I still have to admit it's cool bike art.

Cool Bicycle Art

My mom gave me a gift certificate for Christmas from a shop uptown.  While browsing around I found this wall hanger made from steel wire and rod.  There just happened to be a nail centered up on a bare wall of my kitchen and the penny farthing fits perfect.  It is quite large; the big wheel is about 20 inches in diameter. 

Vintage Bicycle Art

 

 

I saw this antique metal sign at the Mid-Ohio Insulator Show last month.  The collector that offered this one up for sale explained that back in the landline telegraph era dispatch riders used bicycles to deliver telegrams.  100 years ago just like today bikes were a great way to get around town.

 

I would have loved to have this cool old sign to hang in my bicycle garage but as one of only four or five examples known to exist the seller was asking $600 for the sign.  I guess I'll just enjoy my digital photograph.

 

 

 



Cool Bicycle Art

 

 

I plucked this interesting black and white up from the fast flowing current of the Internet.  I don't know anything about the image other than it has elements of some of my favorite things -bikes, telegraph insulators and an old steam train.  We really can't tell who wins this race but for the moment it looks like the velopedist has got the edge on the hissing and chugging giant.  However it turned out I love how this picture captures the bicycle spirit and that urge to turn pedal power into speed.  Man and machine at its finest. 

 

 

 

 



Cool Bike Art by Ryan Heshka

I love everything about this!

Ryan Heshka website: http://www.ryanheshka.com/

Contact info for availability of limited edition giclee prints: mailto:info@colomboarte.com 



Friday Ride -- B & O Trail

The last few days the weather has been a bit more seasonal here in Ohio.  We've had some freeze warnings overnight and the temperatures have only been making it into the 50's during the day. My wife worked today and Wyatt went to visit his grandmother so that freed up a few hours for me to enjoy the day on a recumbent ride. 

I've been wanting to get over and ride the 18 mile B & O Trail and today just seemed like the perfect day.  I love riding the recumbent on cooler days because sitting in the full body seat shell traps some of my body heat and really makes me feel warmer.  Not to mention the bike is just damn comfortable for hours at a time in the saddle.

Since the B & O is my "local" trail I've ridden it many time and blogged about it over and over and frankly I'm starting to run out of interesting things along the way to photograph.  Don't fret dear readers because I did manage to take a few neat pictures I think you will enjoy!  

Here's a Native American riding bareback and wielding a war club.

In these photos is what appears to be a stand-off between a cowboy and a Texas Longhorn Steer although I could be wrong about the cow.  I'm just a Yankee from up North and don't know much about wrangling.

You may have noticed an old time steam train in the background of the Indian pictures.  No your eyes were not deceiving you.  One of my favorite subjects in American history is the railroads.  The invention of the steam locomotive drastically and rapidly changed the face of our nation and the world.  I love the chance to get up close to these big monsters from the past.

The engine is huge and not until you put something recognizable right next to it for scale can you appreciate the massiveness and incredible steam pressure it must have taken to get these iron behemoths underway.  And this isn't even a large one by locomotive standards.  Number 917 was a tender and probably spent it's days shunting cars around a yard somewhere.

Just the nuts and bolts that hold the connecting rods to the wheels probably weigh more than my recumbent bike.  I'd also guess one of those big wheels weighs as much as a small car.

Below is a restored Pullman car.

This place just off the B & O is actually a railroad/western themed diner.  The owner went through considerable expense to bring the train cars to the site and build a restaurant against the back side of the train.  Diners can actually sit in the red passenger cars and enjoy their meals.

Another nine miles or so down the line brought me to Butler, Ohio a small village at the Southern terminus of the rail trail.  Butler really is just a one-stoplight town with a restaurant, a bar and a Chrysler-Jeep dealer oddly enough. 

Butler, Ohio was settled in 1823 by Joseph Craig.  The village was founded January 12, 1848 by Daniel Spohn.  Originally called Spohntown but was renamed Independence.  Incorporated in 1877 and renamed Butler after Mexican war hero, General William Butler.  The spur line of the great Baltimore & Ohio railroad network came to town in 1853 and according to local lore this was the only railroad in the United States that entered and left town in the same direction - west.  The line that the bike trail follows today is in the shape of a big D arriving in Butler at the northern end of the village and gently curves around ending just to left of the bike route sign pictured above.

Before I started the return leg of my ride to the North I found some high ground and got a nice wide angle shot of Butler. Picturesque to say the least.

B & O Trail Complete

Bike:  HP Velotechnik Street Machine

Ride Time:  2:58:59

Distance: 40.20 miles

Average Speed:  13.4 mph

Max Speed:  28.7 mph



Cool Bike Art by Aaron Kuehn

Bicycle Typogram



I like this.  Also check out Aaron's Skeleton Typogram  on his web page. 

I Drew A Picture!

This beautiful piece of artwork is actually a light table tracing I made from a photograph of my recumbent bike. (One of my favorite subjects.)  My medium was black Sharpie on paper.  I photographed it and then adjusted the exposure to achieve a floating in the clouds look.

Heavenly.

   

Postage Stamp with Bicycle Racers

A cool stamp with vintage bicycle art.

When I was a kid I collected postage stamps.  I was never too serious and eventually moved on to other things.  However I did manage to hold on to this collection over the years and will eventually hand it over to my son if he is interested.  The other day I stumbled upon the stamps and by chance I noticed this one in a large envelope containing a thousand or more loose stamps from around the world.