Xtracycle introduced its 2010 version of the Radish recently. The Radish is Xtra’s complete long-tail bike and is a great way to join in on the lang-tail bicycle life style.

From Xtracycle’s Press Release:

Our flagship model, Radish, undergoes revision for 2010, incorporating feedback and recommendations from our dealers and distributors worldwide. Radish will now feature a modified step through frame (designed with the help of legendary bike creator Grant Peterson), an up-spec on most drivetrain and brake components, as well as more cargo friendly handlebars. Radish is poised to be the most family friendly cargo bike available, and customers will be invited to choose between 4 or more exciting kits to accessorize their Radish, each kit specifically designed to meet the needs of cargo carrying, kid carrying, grocery shopping, touring, or a blend of all these options.

Delivery on pre-ordered 2010 Radish bikes is slated for June, 2010.

2010 Xtracycle Radish page:

http://www.xtracycle.com/cargo-utility-bicycles/radish-2010.html

Note that the 2009 Radish is on sale!

http://www.xtracycle.com/cargo-utility-bicycles/radish.html

The routes presented seem like good choices although, for some reason, it only suggests the Oak Leaf bicycle trail when going from the coffee shop back to the shop and the route it suggests to get you there takes Port Washington Rd. which is pretty busy for bikes. Fortunately, the app does give two alternate routes that are more bike friendly. In the end though there is an even better route that is not listed but since the app is still in Beta I suspect that is will be tweaked over time. Note also that there is a link in the Beat window that lets you report a problem or suggestion for a route that should help dial in the directions.

Google Bicycling Directions

Overall, it is great to see Google embrace biking with the Bike There version of Google Maps. Here is to a bunch of happy cyclists!

You can check out the Beta Version at:

maps.google.com/biking

From Google:

The directions feature provides step-by-step, bike-specific routing suggestions – similar to the directions provided by our driving, walking, or public transit modes. Simply enter a start point and destination and select “Bicycling” from the drop-down menu. You will receive a route that is optimized for cycling, taking advantage of bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly streets and avoiding hilly terrain whenever possible.

I’d spend most of Saturday afternoon turning my Simplified frame from SuperFast prototype back into its intended purpose as a single speed. Russell at Sun built up some nice wheels using some Surly hubs I gave him. We decided on Venus rims with the machined rim-brake surface and a normal 3-cross lacing with butted spokes.

I also tried out some new boots today. Keen Winterport boots. They felt great! I had just a single pair of wool socks on and during the 1 hour and 15 minute ride my toes never got cold. They also work well on the bear trap style pedals on the Simplified.

This wasn’t technically a transportation ride but the clothing info may be of some interest.

Today I went with the single thick wool sock plan and I think it was better than yesterday when I got cold feet a bit while trying a thin base layer sock and a Polarfleece sock over that. The single sock seems to fit the boots better and doesn’t bunch up in the toe are as much.

The Smitty was great again and I did a bit of snow bashing to see how the Big Apples work and I am impressed. If you get all silly out of shape they will slide but keep ‘em under you ad they work surprisingly well. More testing is needed but I am not totally buying the narrower is better argument 100% any more.

I am also working with both the iPhone App Runkeeper and the Garmin Edge 500 to find out what I like about each.

Runkeeper Route Track – http://bit.ly/7bxmiv

Garmin Track – http://connect.garmin.com/activity/21819009

I do like the auto stop feature of the Garmin. I hope Runkeeper comes out with this soon!

Got out yesterday too. Transportation too because I went somewhere. Post Office and Bank. Pretty much the same type of day. I switched from a longish shell with a solid vapor barrier to a “soft-shell” style jacket and didn’t over heat as much as the last ride. So this ride was Smartwool Midweight Jersey, Sahalie Butterfleece mid layer and an old Columbia soft-shell.

Runkeeper Route Track – http://bit.ly/5E6HkU

Garmin Track – http://connect.garmin.com/activity/21754702

My clothing choices worked well. A Smartwool medium jersey, a lightweight PolarFleece mid layer and an Alpenlite Shell. I was warm for the entire ride except for my toes which got a bit cold in the last 10 minutes or so. Today I tried a thin wool sock with a Polarfleece sock over the outside. I think it way just have been that my toes were a but stuffed into the Columbia Bugaboos. I am going back to a single, thick wool sock for the next ride.

My favorite piece of gear today? The Pearl Izumi balaclava!

Happy Holidays from Transportation Cycles. We hope your holiday season brings you close to your family, friends and your bike!

We look froward to bringing you a lot of great stories about people using their bikes for transportation, the bikes they ride and the accessories that make using your bike all year ’round safer and more enjoyable.

My ride was 1hr-24min on my old Univega 507 commuter rig. Basically just a cruise down the Oak Leaf Trail to the lakefront, down to Summerfest, through downtown and back.

I stopped for a few minutes to watch the angry lake as the east wind was really kicking up the waves. Pretty cool.

We’d gotten about 2-3 inches of snow last night but the majority of it was cleaned off the trail and the streets. I had to go out of my way to find any to ride through and test out the traction of the old IRC studded tires. They seemed to work well but I think I want to try some narrower Nokias on my Smitty to see how they compare. I’ll report on that soon.

My clothing worked well today with an old Trek Polypro base layer, a Sahalie Furnace Shirt and the inner liner of my Columbia coat as an outer layer. A pair of Bellweather tights under Mt Borah pants and medium weight wool socks with Asolo boots on my feet and Pearl Izumi Lobster Claw gloves covering my paws and a Pearl Izumi Balaclava under my helmet completed the kit. The only thing that got cold were my toes at the very end of the ride. No biggie though.

Here is a shot of the G-Man on the back of our Xtracycle. He really likes riding on the back where he holds on to the stoker-style bar. He rests his feet on the seat stay of the Zize bike we used as a donor for the Xtracycle conversion. If his 10-year old sister is riding too, she uses the Footsies under the bags and we can ride 3 up!

On this 30-degree December day my little buddy and I took a trip to the Library to pick up some DVDs and some books. The 2-mile round trip was long enough for him to have some fun on the bike without freezing his tail off!