It used to be that every once in awhile television shows would put out a “remember when” type episode. If it was a sitcom, the characters would find themselves sitting around in a livingr oom or coffee house or something, reminiscing which would lead to flash back sequences of footage from past episodes. I always figured these were the episodes thrown together when most of the writing staff was on vacation or something.

I guess you could say that this post is kind of like that – only I am the writing staff and I’m not actually on vacation.

What I thought I would do is point out the 5 top posts from both of our websites – JustAnotherCyclist.com and VeloReviews.com. These are the stories that google’s pagerank the readers have decided are the most important, relevant, and/or entertaining. So without further ado, here they are listed by number of views, with #1 being the most popular:

Top 5 posts on VeloReviews.com

1. Is Aluminum the New Carbon? The Cannondale CAAD10. This review alone represents over 12% of the total page views since I started recording after the big VeloReviews move to our new format, with over 21% more views then the #2 page. This makes me pretty pleased, given my particular fondness for the bike being reviewed.
2. Bicycle component terminology explained. Written by Shane Russell – who also served a term as the resident wrench for VeloReviews. This post provides a great explanation of the names of the different parts of the bike.
3. Looking for, finding and fixing irritating bike noises. Another excellent wrenching story from Shane Russell, providing great insight into those annoying noises that often creep into our bikes and distract from otherwise blissful (or painful) rides.
4. Elliptical Machine: Friend or Foe? From the fitness archives of the Master of Sweat Al Painter, we get a look at common assumptions and mistakes made about Elliptical Machines. These days you can also find Al Painter spreading his wisdom over on the Facebook group ‘The Trainers.’
5. Crossfit and Cycling: Doesn’t Seem to Match Up. Rounding out the top 5 is another fitness post that stirs up the expected bit of controversy with Al Painter’s hard hitting, no-nonsense honesty.

Top 5 posts on JustAnotherCyclist.com

1. Cycling through Netflix. A look at some of the cycling-themed movies offered by Netflix. Probably about time for me to update this one now that I think about it…
2. Quill stem conversion. A look at what I did to convert my old Cannondale CAAD2 commuter’s stem from quill to threadless.
3. Mounting tail lights on bikes. This was one of those posts I thought was no big deal. Turns out there are a fair number of people that also struggled with the confusing bike light mounting formats.
4. How to spoil your children. A look at road bikes for kids. Not quite sure what has made this post particularly attractive to readers. Maybe we all fantasize about what we wish we could have had as kids.
5. How to measure your bike frame. Simple, concise, and to the point article about why bike frame sizes are never simple, concise nor to the point.

There you have it. One thing I’ve learned during my time writing cycling related blogs – it is damn near impossible to figure out which of your stories are going to be the ones that people respond to. Who knows, whatever I write tomorrow may end up blowing all of these out of the water.

I recently discovered the blog Bike Shop Girl and I’ve been quite impressed. As a fellow blogger, I first noticed its beautiful layout and design, ease of use and the presence of quality, original content. I was also excited to find a site that was focusing on the much-underserved community of women cyclists.

Bike Shop Girl is me, Arleigh Jenkins. With over 12+ years of bicycle industry experience from running bike shops, seasoned bike mechanic & fitter, to avid bike commuter and racer; you can say I’ve done almost everything. I started Bike Shop to reach more women and make their cycling experience better.

Bike Shop Girl really is a great starting resource for women of all levels of cycling. Unlike other online publications (and a few print publications I won’t name) the reviews section of Bike Shop Girl are a long stream of products assumed to be for men, followed by one or two products specific to women. Instead the focus is unabashedly on women’s products. The blog doesn’t shy away from topics that apply only to women (‘Riding with your menstrual cycle : guys beware‘), but is still full of information that would be reasonable for either sex (‘How To: Properly Setup and Adjusting Avid BB5 Brakes‘)

Her mission statement is clear about building community:

To create a strong women’s bicycle community by developing resources and events to break down the barrier of entry for bicycling in the U.S. for women.  I realize that getting in to bicycling, or even visiting your local bike shop can be intimidating and overwhelming. This website is the easiest way that I can reach every woman that has ever been scared to ask personal questions, or worried about getting dropped on their first group ride. It is also an extension of who I am and what motivates me to continue living the cycling after so many years.

— http://bikeshopgirl.com/about-2/

This is apparent in the blog as well. Many of the articles are actually open questions based on emails that Bike Shop Girl received from readers. These emails are put forth to allow readers to respond from their own experiences, building a collective knowledge of women specific responses from the best resource available – other women cyclists.

There has been much talk about how male-centric the entire cycling culture is – from bike shops, to industry events, to races to media. I for one applaud someone doing something to actually address that.

Good for you, Bike Shop Girl.

Ahhh Twitter. One could create a pretty strong argument that Twitter’s popularity among cyclists is a direct result of EPO. One could also argue that it is simply the easiest way to share your race success with your friends and fans while still gasping for air at the finish line.

So, in a fashion not unlike Follow Friday (but clearly not #FF, because that is all messed up lately) I thought I’d throw out some of the names I follow. This list is by no means complete, nor should you assume that someone that I do not follow is not worth following. But of you are looking for something else to consume data on your smartphone’s data plan, here’s some good ones to follow:

Pro Cyclists and Teams

• Jens Voigt @thejensie – #ShutUpLegs had to be a thing.
• Chris Horner @hornerakg – Because who doesn’t want to wonder why the hell ‘akg’ is in his handle
• Emily Kachorek @EmilyKachorek – Bad ass cyclist from VanderKitten
• Vanderkitten @vanderkitten – Because they’re full of bad ass cyclists like Emily Kachorek. And they also seem to have this whole social media thingy nailed.
• Jonathan Vaughters @Vaughters – Has some funny stuff to say sometimes. And knows a thing or two about cycling
• Johan Bruyneel @JohanBruyneel – He says a ton of funny stuff too. Unfortunately it is usually when he is actually being serious.
• Alberto Contador @albertocontador – We all need a reason to work on our spanish.
• Team Sky @TeamSky – They taught me that Brits race bikes too.
• Fabian Cancellara @f_cancellara – Apparently his tweets are sexier than everyone else’s.
• Cadel Evans @CadelOfficial – It is fun to read his tweets with an Australian accent.
• Phil Southerland @PhilSoutherland – Because diabetic cyclists kick ass. I know from personal experience.

Cycling Media Folks – Bloggers, journalists, photographers, etc

• Veloimages @veloimages – Nice guys taking beautiful pictures. ‘Nuf said.
• Richard Masoner @cyclelicious – Guy spits out blog posts like a sub-machine gun.
• Ted Rogers @bikinginla – Because he’s on the VeloReviews home page.
• VeloReviews @veloreviews – Because I’m under contract to plug them.
• Bike Hugger @bikehugger – Because. Just because.

Tweet away folks…

If you are reading this, there is a fair chance you are a fan of cycling blogs.  Obviously I am…  So in true Follow Friday (#FF) fashion, I thought I share some of my favorite cycling blogs.  Well – favorite other than JustAnotherCyclist.com or VeloReviews.com that is.

The Lazy Randonneur is a recent discovery for me.  Based on the number of comments on the posts it appears to have a pretty active following.  While technically not exclusively about cycling (there are surfing, kayaking, snowboarding and other sports throw in there as well) that vast majority of the articles are indeed about casual cycling.  The author also has a rather extensive collection of photos and each post if full of images along with the text.

Australian blog Cycling Tips always has a well-grounded view on cycling, while tending to focus more on performance and racing.  While their logo is fairly simple, it has the distinction of being one of my favorite blog logos out there.  Oh yea – and they sell “Shut Up Legs” shirts.  How can you not like that…

The prolific writer Richard Masoner brings us Cyclelicious.  While there is an emphasis on commuting and casual cycling, there doesn’t seem to be any area of cycling that the blog doesn’t touch on.  Cycling advocacy, racing, products – you name it and you can find something related to it at Cyclelicious.  Richard is also an avid photographer with an amazingly large collection of photos.  This blog also has the (perhaps dubious) distinction of being what inspired me to start the now-defunct blog SacraFrisco.com which eventually evolved into JustAnotherCyclist.com.  On twitter @cyclelicious.

With consistent daily updates that usually included an extensive collection of cycling related links after an interesting story, BikingInLA could easily be your starting point for any days cycle-related reading.  While the stories are usually focused on advocacy or the legal issues surrounding cycling, the links included in the posts cover the entire range of cycling interest.  If this blog isn’t on your list of regular reads, it should be.  On twitter @bikinginla

EcoVelo is an amazing blog catering to the classics/cycle chic/lifestyle cyclist crowd.  He also has some of the most beautiful photos of bikes to be found.  It is also the only blog on the list that exists at a .info web domain – which somehow just makes it cool.

Author of a book, writer for Bicycling magazine and freakin’ hilarious.  What more is there to say about Bike Snob NYC?

Twisted Spoke provides in-depth and insightful updates from the world of pro-cycling, all with the tounge firmly planted in their cheek.  Another one for the “hilarious” category.

Another great commuter-oriented blog is Bike Hugger.  I mean – c’mon…  Doesn’t the title of the blog say it all

Well, that’s all for today.  This is obviously not an exhaustive list – there are hundreds of cycling blogs out worth reading (and a couple perhaps not worth reading.)  What else are your going to do with your time and internet connection when you’re sitting in your cubicle at work?

The popularity of the movie The Social Network – somewhat loosely inspired by the actual history of Facebook – exposed a lot of folks to the idea of presenting two random photos side by side, picking which of the two you like better.  It is an interesting idea.  After watching the movie, I actually thought “Wouldn’t it be cool to do that with bicycle photos.”

Apparently (and not surprisingly) I wasn’t the only one with the idea.  The website ratemyvelo.com is doing just that.  Presenting two images – apparently randomly selected from a collection of user submitted images – you simply click on the one you like better.  Then, you are presented with two new photos, and also a view of how other folks rated the two photos you had previously clicked on.

The one limitation is that all photos on the site must show bicycles being used as transportation – i.e. average, everyday folks doing average, everyday things on bicycles.  As stated on their submission page:

• Photos are subject to ratemyvelo.com quality approval. We do not approve all images
• You are free to upload photos of other people on bicycles – it doesn’t need to be yourself in the photo
• You must own the rights to distribute the photo, or it must be licensed under an appropriate Creative Commons license
• We only accept photos of bicycles being used as transportation. No sport/recreation bicycles please

Careful, though.  Clicking on these photos is strangely addictive.

Collection of cycling related points of interest on the web.  How else should one spend their lunch time?

Seth Rogen appears on ‘Today’ riding a stationary bike.  Today is attempting to encourage their viewers to get into shape – apparently Seth is there as a representative of the hipster crowd.  There is even a reference to Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Speaking of PBR and hipsters – let’s play Bike Polo.  The overall rule is “don’t be a d***”
New Orleans rolls out what apparently is their very first striped bike lane.  The result?  More folks riding bikes.
The unfortunate death of a descending cyclist marks.  Be careful out there friends.
British boxer Gary Mason was unfortunately also killed in a collision.
There is a National Interscholastic Cycling Association – and they had an awards banquet to honer several high school mountain bikers.
Stella got her groove back – with a bamboo framed child’s push bike.
San Francisco celebrates their first bike party.  Wait – the first??
Out of the water and on to the road.  Olympic rower Sonia Waddell drops the paddles and the competition to claim a nation title on the bike.
The “pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything” may be getting the last laugh.  Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford looks to improve bike infrastructure.  Maybe.
Dubai gets bicycle infrastructure improvements.
One hell of a beautiful bike for grass track racing.
Possibly one of the worst cycling ideas ever.
Some folks still can’t comprehend that commuting by bicycle is not necessarily a recreational activity.
“My bike was stolen” is not a viable excuse for stealing another bike.

It is rainy here in Sacramento.  Supposed to be rainy tomorrow too, which likely means no group ride.  The pro tours are off for the season, cyclocross is in a lull.  What is your intrepid cycle blogger to do?

Why scour Google, of course – in true blog style.

There are folks over in Fort Collins, Colorado that have moved the usual May madness and put together a Bike to work day right in the middle of winter. TreeHugger considers the possibility of bikes taking a more pivotal role in Christmas celebrations – while saving reindeer at the same time.  If you’re more inclined to wear a suit and tie, perhaps you can consider a business case for cycling if you’ve tired of all the culture talk.  People all over the world are still rambling on about Contador, and somehow continuing to perpetuate the ridiculous Cancellara nonsense.  Without active pro racing now, many are stuck in the same situation I am and have resorted to talking about what will happen next year.  “Build it and they will come” may still hold true, if there is a place to park at least.  For some reason those nutty Australians are acting as if it actually is summer for them and have engaged in actual road racing.  I’m considering heading up to Lake Tahoe just so I can have the opportunity to actually try out studded bike tires.  Or perhaps going to Europe would be a better test.  There is a growing body of evidence that pro cyclists may be slightly insane, or just slightly quirky.  Team Type 1 riders, like others, are sporting new jerseys.  EcoVelo reminds us about the nutty holiday drivers.  Lance Armstrong goes to Iraq and Afghanistan, along with Robin Williams and others.  Van Gerwen is still searching for a sponsor.  Villaraigosa has helped BikingInLa to locate the elusive snowball in hell.  And finally, I’m not the only one hung up on the rain.

HTFU

If you frequent the American River Bike Trail, be especially cautions for the next few days.  Engineers have begun releasing a large quantity of water from Folsom Dam in an effort to reduce the lake level.  They are attempting to create water storage potential in the lake ahead of the predicted stormy weather that is said to be heading this way.  This additional release may raise river levels as much as “4 to 5 feet” according to local news.  This will potentially flood parts of the bike trail.

According to the Regional Parks website:

American River Flows to be Increased Starting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 15

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will be releasing approximately 30,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) down the American River up from 15,000 cfs. This surge in water will result in flooding of low level land near the river, including areas near Discovery Park and portions of Howe Avenue River Access. Watt Avenue River Access and the Gristmill River Access will be closed to vehicles. County Park Rangers are alerting those in the area to move to higher ground. Visitors to the Parkway and bike trail should use caution and avoid flooded areas. Staff will also be monitoring river levels throughout the night to make adjustments to closures as needed.

Cycling’s online resources continue to grow.  Websites, forums, blogs – they’re everywhere, for every possible facets of the cycling world.  But if words and pictures aren’t your thing, and you are more of a listener, then there are a plethora of cycling podcasts available.  I’ve put together a list of some of my favorites below.  This list is by no means comprehensive, and rather represents my own personal tastes.

VeloReviews This podcast is the audio extensions of the cycling website VeloReviews.com.  Featuring three regular hosts with varied background, the shows regularly cover fitness & training issues, as well as bike maintenance and wrenching.  It is also one of the few cycling podcasts that has a woman as a regular host – giving a voice to women  specific issues and concerns.  For the latest podcasts, see the page on VeloReviews, or search on iTunes.

FredCast The first cycling podcast I ever listened to.  David Bernstein produces the FredCast, and has worked himself into something of a icon in the online/new media cycling world. From coverage from the floor of Interbike, to the latest product recall information, David’s FredCast sets the bar with this very polished and professional production. see the FredCast website, or again, look to iTunes.

The Spokesmen Taking the format of a “roundtable” discussion, The Spokesmen podcast regularly features different representatives from new media, as well as the greater cycling industry.  Another of David Bernstein’s productions, the shows rotation hosts feature a couple of regulars.  Among these are Carlton Reid of BikeBiz.com and Quickrelease.tv, Neil Brown, blogger on versus.com and founder of Carolina Cycling News and “The Masi Guy” Tim Jackson of Masi bikes.  Other members of the Spokesmen have included Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious, and Jeff Helfand of VeloReviews (above).

Two John’s Podcast While composed mostly of racing news, the Two John’s has a personality and feel all its own.  Definitely one of my favorites, with an underlying wit and humor all its own.  The podcast has found a home for itself over at missingsaddle.com.

They say great minds think alike.  In that spirit, I simply must acknowledge that there is, in fact, another JustAnotherCyclist.  And he seems to have a thing for fat, hairy Russians.

I’m speaking of the guy from Parma, OH that goes by the online moniker ‘SG.‘  His blog – The Fat Hairy Russian in American Flyers is BadAss – just happens to reside at the URL http://justanothercyclist.blogspot.com – clearly marking him as a man of intellect and taste.

Oh yea – and if you’re into big fat hairy Russians, SG’s blog has got a picture for you!