You accomplished a lot in 2011. We’d like to take this opportunity to to celebrate your wins and thank you for knowing what you want and asking for it! We’d also like to thank you for your persistence.
You inspire us daily, but in 2011 you actually created two products and named a third.
You dug into your clever files and named our limited edition Iconoclast Messenger.
Ups! Snaps! You rock. Thank you for your inspiration, persistence, patience and willingness to support our wackier side. We look forward to what you cook up in 2012!
Amsterdam is flat, San Francisco is not. The Dutch love to sail and so do San Franciscans. The Dutch look hot on bikes, San Francisco cyclists are both hot and not. How can these two cities be so alike and disimilar? It’s all about the bike.
Joe Peach’s post, “How San Francisco Became a Cycling City Against the Odds” draws a connection between Amsterdam and San Francisco that one would not necessarily expect, bikes. In addition to outlining San Francisco’s history of bike activism, the article includes a quote from Program Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Andy Thornley that I just love. Thornley explains how and why San Francisco cycling grew by 58% from 2005 – 2010 despite zero infrastructure growth.
Well, for sure, there’s no place else like SF, with the combination of mild climate and urban density and smart, self-defining culture, the traditions of environmentalism, social justice, participatory politics, street theater and un-self-consciousness – we’re not people who get hung up on what we’re supposed to be doing or thinking, or how we look when we’re doing our thing, so the “childishness” and “down-class” stigmas of riding a bike don’t discourage us so much.
While infrastructure is hugely important for sustaining and growing urban cycling in American cities — If you didn’t feel safe or supported on a ride through the city, would you really dare to ride? — infrastructure is not an excuse. Here’s where San Franciscans can beat their chests. Peach concludes his post:
“San Francisco’s physical bicycle network may not inspire envy, but the attitudes of its politicians and its people does, accomplishing far more than most cities, without any kind of infrastructural assistance.”
Last-minute shopping recently left me in a quandry. How to get a Copilot Roller, Travel Wallet, and my bike across the city without access to a car? I considered begging coworkers who drive, entrusting a taxi driver to deliver it, paying Godspeed, our local courier of choice, to ride it home for me, and then I saw our Cuatro Backpack. The Cuatro is the biggest member of our Especial family (launches in February 2012) and is designed for serious on-bike hauling. The perfect pack for this occasion!
Bike theft is a common occurrence in San Francisco. However, it’s rare to see multiple videos showing multiple bike thefts that occur in the same location.
The garage at 375 Sansome has a full-time attendent and 24 hour surveillance. Yet in spite of those security measures, three different YouTube users have posted videos of their bikes being stolen from the garages gated bike parking area within the last three months.
What do these stolen bikes have in common? They were secured with cable locks. While cable locks may deter a lazy thief from quickly grabbing a tire or seat, they do very little to keep “professional” bike thieves from rolling away on your ride. Take a look at our next video. The thief comes into view at the 00:25 mark, clips the cable, and starts to ride off. All of this occurs within 8 seconds. Luckily for this would-be victim, a co-worker witnessed the theft and ran outside just in time take down the thief.
What can you do to protect your bike? Buy a high quality u-lock and make sure to lock your bike frame to a sturdy rack or pole. The image below shows the two locking methods recommended by law enforcement.
As shown in the above videos most thieves are looking for an easy target. Locking your bike properly is the easiest and most effect deterrent against bike theft.
Our in-house cookie monster Tim only baked 70 dozen cookies this year. Slacker.
From Tim to Timbuk2:
This year my time and sanity dictated a pared down version of “the platter.” Help yourselves to cranberry orange nut bread, cherry shortbread, chocolate almond shortbread, and good old sugar cookies. Happy ChrismaKwanakah . . . or Tuesday. Enjoy!
Tim’s old school cookies cause serious boxing out in the Timbuk2 kitchen.
Like people and their dogs, Timbuk2 bags tend to resemble their owner’s footwear. In documenting the Timbuk2 team from the knees down, we discovered that you can learn a lot from someone by what they carry on their back and on their feet. Stay tuned for more footsie from the Timbuk2 team.
Sophisticated Siren. Jennys amps it up with heels (gasp!) and inspires us all to look more crispy, better blow dried and otherwise full of style. Timbuk2 Du Jour: Small Custom Messenger in Houndstooth.
Rules Need Not Apply. Task marches to her own beat and thank God! The world is a better place when you throw it all together. Timbuk2 Du Jour: Custom Cargo Tote in Denim and floral with a textured zebra strap pad.
Throwback Rainstorm. Lizzy opts for Bean Boots even on days when the sun shines. Confused? Nope. Just proud. Timbuk2 Du Jour: Denim Custom Swig
Biker Bro. Jordan opts for black and grey, grey and black, with hits of reflective for way-too-fast riding through the city. Timbuk2 Du Jour: Black Catapult Sling.
This morning we came across Cliff Kuang’s fantastic post, How Bikes Can Save Us, and our office is buzzing with anecdotes and possibility.
Continuing our discussion of Riding Like You Want To, my thoughts on Kuang’s post are the following:
On Fitness: I’m a super active person, so I don’t consider my bike commute vigorous exercise, but it definitely impacts my energy level, strength and state of mind. I’m not always dying to ride to work, but I’ve learned that it’s always (always) worth it. When I don’t ride to work, I feel sluggish and frustrated. Driving saps my energy and for my particular commute, takes longer than riding. And I miss the fresh air cocktail you get to drink with abandon when cycling. I also find the city soundtrack – I don’t ride with headphones – far more pleasant than the sounds of MUNI passengers or talk radio. Actually, I’ll leave talk radio out of this; ups to Ira Glass.
On Weight: The infographic calls out one of our CEO Mike’s favorite points to hit in his Taming the Bike Commute Beast talks; the average person loses 13 pounds in their first year of bike commuting. That’s enough to make most folks sign up today! The stat suggests that the act of pedaling causes the pounds to melt away, but I think there’s another driver here. What everyone fails to mention is that it’s really hard to eat while riding a bike! Perhaps if more Americans cycled, we could say good-bye to meals on wheels. Stuffing your face in the car is not nearly as fun as eating a legit meal at a table and it violates local food hero Michael Pollan’s food rule # 58, “Do all your eating at a table!”
On the Driver Cyclist Relationship: The author asks, “How do you make cyclists safer without making drivers feel like they’re under attack?” I agree that “the answer to that question could hold the key to our biking future.” As a San Franciscan bike commuter, I’d love to see more attention paid to the relationship between cyclists and drivers; it shouldn’t be war but it often is. I’d also like to see more outreach by companies to encourage and enable their employees to ride.
Cycling is lonely in American cities, so it’s encouraging to see thought provoking, fact-based, easy to relate to posts like Kuang’s. San Francisco may never be Amsterdam and we may be much fatter than the Dutch, but bikes can help us bridge the gap!
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