Shinola is the brainstorm of Bedrock Brands backed by Fossil watch brand founder Tom Kartsotis who conducted customer research that revealed that Americans would pay more for a watch made in Detroit than either the United States or China.
Caramanica’s review is snide and snappy and doesn’t run shy of describing the bikes at the new Shinola store in TriBeCa that way too: “The Bixby ($1950) which looks meant for riding quietly in the bike lane, and the Runwell ($2,950) which looks more likely to be used cutting off cars in traffic.”
“In a video on the Shinola Web site, you can watch the frames being made in Wisconsin at a company owned by a member of the Schwinn family, an act that’s more nourishing and also cheaper,” he continues.
“In the front window was a bike, standing proud: As I left, a woman was taking a picture with her phone of her woven purse sitting on a bench outside the window. She was probably planning to post it to Instagram, and hashtag it #MadeInDetroit. Doing her part I suppose.”
The new store is located at 177 Franklin Street, telephone 917-728-3000. The women’s pink bike, pictured above, is the Bixby.
CYCLIST ON CROSS-COUNTRY RIDE WILL VISIT TRAVERSE CITY COMMUNITY TODAY
A business in Traverse City, Michigan is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identity of a hit and run driver that killed a cyclist here last week, July 5.
Kelly Ann Boyce Hurlbert, 29, was riding home Friday at about 1:50 a.m. in the 600 block of Washington Street when investigators believe someone who piloted a dark pickup truck or SUV struck her from behind, reported Matt Troutman at the Record-Eagle.
Friends of Quarter After Entertainment, LLC is offering $ 10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
“Someone has knowledge that could help apprehend the person who is responsible,” wrote Dennis Bean-Larson who knew Boyce.
“Even if you think you might know something, or noticed a neighbor’s, friend’s, or co-worker’s damaged vehicle, please call detectives at 231-947-8477 or anonymous tip line at 231-947-8477.”
Meanwhile a cyclist who is traveling across country has decided to dedicate a portion of his ride to Ms. Boyce. Brian Peric will be traveling through Traverse City, MI today, July 10, and will stop and talk to people in the community.
Peric will visit the community on the first leg of his ToTheRockTour across the Upper Midwest and through two Canadian provinces.
Ms. Boyce with her dog in an undated photo.Brian Peric will visit Traverse City, MI today on his cross country tour to dedicate time to the life of Kelly Ann Boyce, lost last week to a hit and run driver
Boyce was struck from behind while she was riding home from a performance featuring her husband, who is a musician. Police said she was dragged for two blocks tohe area where she was discovered by officers.
Investigators are looking for for the driver of a dark SUV or pickup truck that did not stop at the scene.
The community will also be holding a special service for Kelly Boyce Hurlbert on Thursday, July 11, at 2 PM in F & M Park. Attendees are encouraged to participate in a bicycle ride after the service. The ride will go down Front Street to Union Street and come back to F & M Park.
In another incident, Emmet County Sheriff Pete Wallin said Petoskey resident Daniel Adams was hit by a van driven by a 30-year-old man, according to reports by CBS Detroit. That accident remains under investigation.
Traverse City Police Capt. Mike Ayling said investigators still have no real “substantial” leads in the death of Boyce.
Ayling said authorities arrested a person on unrelated charges in Antrim County, but no evidence was found to link that person’s black Ford pickup truck — which matches some witness descriptions of the vehicle that struck Boyce — to the case after two days of processing.
The cyclist dedicating his cross country ride to Boyce, Brian Peric will be leaving Benzie County at approximately 8:30 am, traveling thru Interlochen, onto Traverse City via US- 31 and onto US 37 into Traverse City around 10:30 AM. “He is hoping to spend a couple of hours in Traverse City talking within the community,” reported Amy Daniels Moehle (www.booksforwallsproject.org).
“Cycling has always been an integral part of my life and to see this young women from Benzie County leave behind her family and loved ones because of the negligence of a driver is absolutely tragic,” explained Perch. “Kelly Ann Boyce was doing something she loved, something that sustained her life and connected to her community while riding that bike.”
Traverse City Police Capt. Brian Heffner said detectives are seeking the public’s help in tracking down the driver.
“Somebody knows who this is,” he said.
Heffner said Boyce died from traumatic injuries early Friday in Munson Medical Center. View Larger Map
“We lost a perfect soul today,” said her husband Paul Hurlbert, fighting back tears.
Hurlbert said Boyce was riding her bicycle home after a double shift at North Peak Brewing Company. She briefly stopped by Kilkenny’s to see Hurlbert’s band play and was within sight of their residence in the 700 block of Washington Street when the vehicle struck her.
“We both ride our bikes every day. That’s why we live in town,” he said. “She’s always very cautious.”
Boyce, who is originally from Benzie County, was set to celebrate her one-year wedding anniversary next week. Boyce’s friend Sharon Hults said she enjoyed music, dancing and company.
“Honestly, the thing she loved the most in life was Paulie,” she said.
Accident investigators believe Boyce was riding east on the south side of the Washington Street, within 12 inches of the curb when the vehicle — traveling in the same direction — struck her.
“Horrifying and truly disgusting,” wrote Dennis Bean-Larson who first reported the incident to Cyclists International, and shared the original story.
“I regret having to pass this along Jen, but these have to be reported and distributed if there is ever to be any change in enforcement and prosecution of motor vehicle operators,” wrote Bean-Larson yesterday.
“She was thrown from the bicycle, became entangled with the vehicle and was dragged for more than a block to an alleyway on Railroad Street,” continued the report from the Record-Eagle.
Heffner said investigators could not discount similarities with a late June 2012 incident in which a dark vehicle struck a pregnant bicyclist on Ninth Street and broke her leg. The victim in that case told the Record-Eagle she believed the vehicle intentionally struck her.
The side of the car which bears the imprint of Janet Martinez when she was struck in June 2012 by Denise Patarawan who came too close.
By Jen Benepe
A town in the deep South has adopted a three-foot passing rule for cyclists and other vulnerable users.
The move adds Houston, Texas to a growing list of states, cities and towns that now require motorists to give three feet of space to cyclists, pedestrians, and road workers among others, when they pass reported the Examiner.com.
Trucks and other large vehicles will be required to give six-feet to the vulnerable road users.
It’s the fourth city in the state to pass such a law: the others are Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth. Besides requiring that minimum safe space, the ordinance prohibits motorists from throwing objects at vulnerable users. The ordinance calls for a fine of up to $500 for a violation.
Still the passage of these ordinances by the Texans towns points to the irony that the state itself has refused to pass such measures. An attempt to get a bill passed into law was thwarted by Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Yet big states with dense populations and roads and dismal fatality records for cyclists and pedestrians like New Jersey, have refused to pass safe passing laws.
This fact boggles the minds of residents who routinely feel threatened by drivers who suffer little or no penalties for striking and killing cyclists and pedestrians.
Assemblywoman Grace Spencer (D-29) who represents Newark and Belleville, along with several other lawmakers NJ, introduced a safe-passing rule in May 2009 to the New Jersey Assembly, where it was passed, but the bill has been stalled in the State Senate.
Ms. Spencer was hit by a car while riding near Morristown, NJ several years previous, and suffered serious injuries. The driver who hit her cut her off and turned in front of Ms. Spencer.
But in 2012 right across the Tappan Zee Bridge and barely 5 miles away, cyclist Janet Martinez was passed so closely by a speeding 25-year-old driver, that she died almost instantly. Driver Denise Patarawan never received a ticket for killing the 53-year-old mother of two, and though she was suspected to be either texting or using her phone, no criminal charges have ever been filed against her.
In 2007, Camille Savoy was struck and killed by a driver on Route 9W in New Jersey, a popular cycling route. Despite evidence presented in court showing that Wha S. Kim, 72, had traveled over the white line into the shoulder where Savoy was traveling, and was speeding in teh 40 mph zone, she never even received a ticket for killing him and still has a license to drive. Wha Jim’s previous poor driving record which was “almost a mile long” according to one law enforcement personnel who spoke off the record, was not admissible in court.
But even a 3-foot passing law is considered inadequate by cyclists and urban planning professionals who often ride bicycles on the road.
“The standard 3-foot bicycle passing law found in most states is an inadequate minimum distance to pass a bicyclist at any speed,” said Andy Besold, an urban planner who studied at the Rutger’s Bloustein School and is now a planner in Boise, Idaho.
“Imagine if someone swung a baseball bat with the end passing only three feet from your head, ” continued Besold. “Now imagine that bat weighed 2 tons!”
The lack of protection for cyclists and other vulnerable road users continues to point to the almost class based distinction that car owners make when they take to the road. Many believe cyclists do not “belong,” on the road, a statement that is only all too familiar when screamed out of a window by a passing driver.
In Houston, where the law was just passed, ignorance proves not to be the sole domaine of New Jersey and New York drivers:
In comments to a story about the ordinance in the Houston Chronicle, one writer opined that, “The cyclists wonder why we hate them”; while another observed that “…bicyclists make their own lanes and follow their own rules.”
Cycling groups in Houston, like BikeHouston heralded the new law, while the Mayor Annise Parker said, “As a city, we need to protect everyone and anyone who uses our roads. This ordinance will make our city even more attractive to those who want to enjoy traveling in forms other than by car.”
Even the writer for the Examiner, Rex Knepp expresses skepticism about the new measure, and offers a warning to cyclists that they should not expect compliance from drivers, a breach of journalistic integrity when he writes, “Cyclists should take note: this may be one rule that is more honored in the breach than in the observance.”
List of States That Have Safe Passing Statutes
State, Date of Legislation
Arizona 2000
Arkansas 2007
Colorado 2009
Connecticut 2008
Florida 2006
Georgia 2011
Illinois 2007
Kansas 2011
Louisiana 2009
Maine 2007
Maryland 2010
Minnesota 1995
Mississippi 2010
Nebraska 2012
Nevada 2011
New Hampshire 2009
New York 2011
Oklahoma 2006
Pennsylvania–the only state to enact a 4-foot law–2011
Tennessee 2007
Utah 2005
Wisconsin 1973
Towns that have enacted Safe Passing Ordinances (Source: BikingBis.com)
Boise, Idaho: City Council passes law requiring that cars leave 3 feet of space when passing a bicycle (also must yield to bicycles in intersections and cannot cut-off cyclists when turning) Also illegal to throw objects at bicyclists or otherwise harass them. (added Jan. 13, 2010)
Mobile, Alabama: City Council requires motorists give bicycle riders a 3-foot gap when passing. (news reports Oct. 25, 2011)
Other cities with 3-foot laws include Oklahoma City and Edmond, Oklahoma, as well as Austin, Fort Worth, Edinburgh, Beaumont, El Paso, Helotes, New Braunfels, San Antonio, and Denton, in Texas.
States of Shame –that failed to enact Safe Passing Legislation
There is a new energy bar pardner in town and their name is equal to a measure of energy–an ERG.
The bars are being made by hand in Traverse City, Michigan, a little oasis for summer and winter sports where Madonna, Bruce Willis, and Michael Moore have vacation homes.
But another energy bar?
“Honestly I made my first batch of ten bars at home because I was sick of all the other bars out there that tasted like cardboard or plastic,” said Dennis Bean-Larson who created the first ERG bar in his kitchen.
After a couple false starts and seriously destroying their home blender, Larson came up with an initial recipe that he said he thought was pretty good. “I’d wrap 10 bars up in Saran Wrap and take a couple along on bike rides, give some to a couple friends and they said they were really good.”
Jordan Wakely of Elite Mountain Biking Team, Einstein Racing endorsed the ERG bars this year
Since then he and his wife Katy have found a commercial kitchen, and in May of this year they passed inspection for a Wholesale Food Manufacturer’s License with the Michigan Department of Agriculture.
“Our bars are packed with good stuff, our primary consideration was for a bar that tasted good, didn’t have preservatives, and was made with REAL food,” said Larson.
The energy bar market has become big business in the past 10 years, and from 2007 to 2011 alone the U.S. bar market grew by 71% to $1.7 billion.
And though the cycling energy business is heavily dominated by a handful of big names like Balance Bar and PowerBar, as the market matures, there is more room for organic bar makers like ERG.
High in nut and dried fruit content, the ERG translates to a better slow-burning carbohydrate, fat and fructose content when compared to the regular bars that more resemble candy bars than energy snacks.
The ingredients are evocative of Bircher-Muesli, a healthful breakfast cereal that originated in Switzerland that delivers healthy slow
Dennis Bean-Larson
burning energy instead of the high sugar high followed by a crash you will experience with sucrose-based bars.
Additionally, simple sugars and carbs break down almost immediately to fat, whereas slow burning sources are converted to energy. That difference was highlighted years ago by nutritionist Adelle Davis who pioneered the idea that saturated, hydrogenated fats and excess simple sugars lead to poor health such as heart disease, obesity, and other health complications.
Packed with 450 calories of organic cashews, walnuts, raisins, apricots, peanut butter, peanuts, and other goodies, the bars are wrapped in see-through cellophane, which the creators say people really like because they can see what they are getting.
For that reason, the ERG has won endorsements from cycle-cross competitor Brad White of the United Healthcare Professional Cycling Team, and elite freestyle cross-country skier Jeff Koch.
Koch, who used to be a professional cyclist for the Plymouth team and now skis about 25 hours a week, said the bars do not freeze in the winter, like other bars do.
“I enjoy the taste of Dennis’ bars, and just the fact that their ingredients are 100 percent organic and not packaged in China,” he said.
“A lot of the other energy bars there is no difference between them and buying a Snicker’s bar,” he added.
Coming from a background in cycling, the Larsons have launched other businesses , including the Fixed Gear Gallery, a line of soft, cycling centric clothing and accessories, as well as the occasional bike frame.
The Larsons’ move may be part of a new wave in the market’s development into fresher ingredients that more closely resemble their original natural state.
Recently Clif Bar ventured into a more densely packed bar consisting of fruits, nuts and spices called Gary’s Panaforte, with packaging that features a retro photo of a cyclist making it up an Alpine pass.
The ClifBar company also recently released it’s Kit’s Organic Fruit and Nut Bar in several flavors.
Aside from their translucent packaging and 3-month shelf life–assuring that what you are eating is actually fresh–the ERG bars come in four flavors, Cashew-Raisin, Apricot-Peanut Butter, Apple-Ginger, Choco-Cherry, and Pecan-Date.
We did a taste test, and we agree with Jeff Koch that our favorite was the Cashew bar, followed by the Apricot-Peanut Butter.
They price at $2.50 each at retail, or $2.39 a bar directly from ERG, and if you order a minimum of $20, you don’t pay shipping. Go to Erg.com or go to one of the 40 regional stores that carry the goodies.
For more information contact: Dennis Bean-Larson 1200 West Eleventh Street Traverse City, Michigan 49684 231-342-1546, www.fixedgeargallery.com, www.erg-bar.com, www.powdercoatstudio.com, http://www.facebook.com/fixedgeargallery, Twitter, @fixedgearwizard
in Detroit, and now sells them in TriBeCa.
