• Places to Start

    Looking for something specific, or just general information on Kickbiking, footbikes, scooters, and other types of HPVs?

    Accessories includes articles on using bicycle bags to carry your Kickbike on the train, a quick and easy click-on day bag, and other useful items.

    Exercise and kicking techniques cover my experiences and observations on topics like the differences between jogging, cycling, and kicking; how I was able to deal with knee and muscle pain from cycling; and the like.

    Exploring- I love to go up and down new streets, discover new places, and fill my life with adventure. These are just a few of my Kickbiking and cycling jaunts around Japan and other parts unknown.

    Modifications & Adjustments- One size never fits all, and since I'm close to 2 meters tall I've had to make some modifications to all my vehicles.

KickBike Links

Urban Kick Scooter Comparison Chart

Kickscooter chart

Here’s a very useful “Adult Urban Kick Scooter Comparison” chart posted by one of the members of the NYC Kick Scooters group. It’s limited to the folding type scooters, like the Xootr, but includes all of the key data requested by most newbe’s along with links to the manufacturer’s websites.

By the way, the NYC kick scooters group is a great source of information and inspiration, even if you aren’t lucky enough to live in the Big Apple. We highly recommend joining it.

Making Footbike Progress!

IMG_0254

We were puzzling over how to assemble the front brake cable linkage, especially since the documentation provided with our Footbike was pretty limted.

Continue reading "Making Footbike Progress!" »

Footbike Adjustments

IMG_0040

Definitely need to adjust the handlebar angle, as soon as I can figure out out to loosen the screws. . .

New Footbike: A Work in Progress

IMG_0037

It’s “on the way” and probably won’t get completely assembled until this coming weekend given my current schedule.

A Slight Assembly Hiccup...

We expected to have our brand new Footbike assembled and be happily kicking by now, but unfortunately there have been a few slight hiccups.

Continue reading "A Slight Assembly Hiccup..." »

Electric Foot Bike??? (Video)

Adding an electric motor to a foot bike really defeats the whole purpose!

 

What's the Best Time of Day for Exercise?

Exercise time

Writing on the New York Times website, Anahad O’Connor questions “The Claim: Morning is the Best Time to Exercise.”

Of course, exercising no matter what time of day is obviously better than no exercise at all, but what is your own personal experience?

Continue reading "What's the Best Time of Day for Exercise?" »

Eco-Friendly UFO Solar Car (Video)

Eco-ufo-solar-car

Footbikers aren’t the only ones that become totally obsessive about their preoccupation. Marcelo da Luz is so over the top about his UFO shaped solar car that he lost his girlfriend and his job pursuing the dream.

Continue reading "Eco-Friendly UFO Solar Car (Video)" »

New York to Close Broadway to Cars

Broadway

According to a Gothamist.com article, Broadway will be closed to cars and other motor vehicles for seven blocks starting on Memorial Day. If the experts predictions are correct, this will actually result in a significant improvement in Manhattan traffic.

New Toy in Town!

Footbike-001

We were just coming back to the house from walking the dogs early this morning when our local neighborhood postman pulled up in his truck and asked if we would be around for a while….

Continue reading "New Toy in Town!" »

24 Hour Foot Bike World Record (Video)

24 hour kickbike

We consider ourselves lucky to foot bike for more than 30 minutes continously without a break, and we would be ashamed to admit how little distance we manage to cover in that time. The idea that way back in 1979 some Czechoslovakian foot scooter enthusiasts managed to set a world record by kicking continously for 24 hours with out a break, and covered 325.156 km in the process is purely astounding. Luckily, there is video evidence of the record setting performance.

Continue reading "24 Hour Foot Bike World Record (Video)" »

National Footbike Day - March 28, 2009

Dutch footbike

While most countries have yet to discover the wonders and tremendous health effects of exercising with a footbike, the Dutch are way ahead of the game, and no doubt much healthier.

They have declared March 28 as “opstapdag” and are staging official footbike events at over 40 locations.

Gonzo Foot Biker (Video)

Gonzo foot biker

We love foot biking, and we love to explore. But, the gonzo foot biker in the video below definitely has more guts than us by a long shot.

Continue reading "Gonzo Foot Biker (Video)" »

Dealing Safely With Curbs (Video)

Xootr curb move

Curbs, and other similar road obstacles, can be extremely dangerous. Yet, with some attention to technique, and a little practice, they are easy to handle safely.

Here’s a great video clip, with slow motion, put together by Ben on the NYCKickScooters group, showing how he deals with curbs without missing a beat.

Continue reading "Dealing Safely With Curbs (Video)" »

81 year old cyclist catches 29 year old thief

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - An 81-year-old Dutchman who saw a shoplifter flee a supermarket in The Hague chased after the thief on his bike and crashed into the man to stop him, police said Tuesday.

Officers said the 81-year-old had observed the shoplifter 29, run from the supermarket with two employees in pursuit.

"The man did not hesitate a moment, followed the fleeing suspect on his bike, rode into his legs, whereupon both fell," police said in a statement.

The cyclist injured his hand and shin in the fall and had to undergo treatment.

The shoplifter was arrested and found to be carrying 122 euros ($162) worth of cosmetics, police said.

Cycling is very popular in the Netherlands. The famously flat country has more bikes than people with each resident riding an average of more than 900 km (560 miles) a year.

Scientific Proof That Kickbiking Makes You Smarter

US based medical researchers have discovered that exercise actually boosts brainpower.

According to a recent report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center studied the ability of mice to grow new brain cells in the dentate gyrus portion of the hippocampus when subjected to a regular exercise regime. Using MRI scans to document the changes in the mouse brains, they were able to establish a positive link between exercise, improved blood flow, and the corresponding increase in brain cells.

Extrapolating their findings from mice to humans, they were able to confirm similar MRI scan patterns in the same areas of human subjects following sustained exercise.

Therefore, we are finally able to clearly state, without fear of contradiction, that not only is it "smart to kick" but it is also "kick to be smart!"

Let's all get out there on our scooters and kick our brains into high gear!

Gary Schmitt's Records Written Up In The IndyStar

Gary Schmitt's kickbiking accomplishments were recently featured an a special IndyStar newspaper and website article. Gary,a 54 year old graphic designer, took up kickbiking a few years ago, and rapidly became top competitor. This past summer he made the trek to Finland, the home of kickbiking. Competing against a field of the best riders (kickers) from all over the world, Gary managed to come away with two gold metals in the over-45 masters division, one in the 1,200 meter race and another in the marathon.

Just as an example of how tough the competition actually was, Gary finished the marathon just 6 seconds ahead of the Matti Pessala, the Finnish champion, covering the whole course in just over 1 hour and 37 minutes.

Do Not Try This At Home...

 

 


Bicycle Signals



20060619_055338.JPG
Originally uploaded by tknr.


Germany...

Handy Toolkit Packaging - Perfect for a Kickbike

Image01517

 Via Makezine - Original article 

Recommended Links



  • Robots Dreams

    ROBO-ONE, Robosapien, Roboraptor, Micromouse, Mindstorms, Battlebots, and other cool robot adventures


  • Favorite Quotes

    Quotes can cheer us up, calm us down, give us insight, make us chuckle, and remind us that we are never alone


  • Hello Kitty Sightings

    Hello Kitty is everywhere....


  • Kickbiking Japan!

    Fun and adventure on a Kickbike HPV scooter and mountain bike exploring the "Land of Wa"


  • What's Up

    Unique perspectives from a foreigner with one foot in the US, one foot in Japan, and his head definitely in the clouds


  • Sketchpad

    Unstructured observations and explorations into NLP, OODA, creativity, mastery, and other magical stuff

  • Big Mikan
    Cross cultural marketing and website development


  • Tokyo Rent

    Modern Western apartments with no key money, no agents fees, and no guarantor - in English!

Blog powered by TypePad
Member since 09/2003