Palm Beach Bike Tours » Events

South Florida Bike Expo

Ken Steinhoff — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:44:33 +0000

I was originally signed up to be an exhibitor at the South Florida Bike Expo, but when an email came from the promoter saying that they were juggling space to handle additional folks, I volunteered to give up my booth.

Wall to wall bicycles

After all, I don’t have anything to sell. I don’t lead tours, so what you read here is what you get. That decision worked out well, because it freed me up to wander around shooting the other booths and get a feel for the event.

South Florida Expo open Sunday, July 18

If you missed Saturday’s show, you’ll have another shot Sunday, July 18, between 9 A.M. and 6 P.M. Admission is free, but you will have to pay for parking at Ft. Lauderdale’s War Memorial Auditorium. You can get directions and all the info at the South Florida Bike Expo website.

Charity Rides

There are lots of exhibitors who will sign you up for charity rides.

Bicycle Advocacy community represented

The South Florida Bike Coalition, League of American Cyclists, the Florida Bicycle Association and others who lobby for our right to be on the road were there.

Gallery of photos from the South Florida Bike Expo

Click on any image to make it larger.

Frank Stark Ride & South FLA Bike Expo

Ken Steinhoff — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:45:24 +0000

This is going to be a busy weekend. The annual Frank Stark Ride will be held in Boca Sunday, July 18, starting at 7 A.M.

Video of last year’s Frank Stark Ride

The Boca Raton Bicycle Club folks want me to emphasize that the rider who was involved in the crash at the end of the video was NOT part of the Frank Stark Ride.

My feeling is that he wasn’t part of the ride, but he was in the midst of riders who WERE and it was the luck of the draw that an elderly rider turned in front of him instead of someone else. Just because you are part of an organized ride doesn’t mean that bad things can’t happen. Y’all be careful out there.

You KNOW you’re in Boca when they offer iced towels

Here are more pictures from last year’s Frank Stark Ride.

South Florida Bike Expo in Ft. Lauderdale

The South Florida Bike Expo will be held in Ft. Lauderdale’s War Memorial Auditorium Saturday July 17 from 9 A.M. to 7 P.M. and Sunday from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. Admission is free.

The event is billed as the largest expo and sale of bicycles and bike accessories in South Florida’s history. We’re going to be there, so stop by and put a face to the name.

Tour de Bar Photos 2010

matt — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:28:18 +0000

Just to be clear, I’m not in charge of Tour de Bar.
No one is in charge of Tour de Bar.

Ten Bars, Ten Miles, Ten Hours

Thirty-one years ago, eight guys from Pratt & Whitney started a bicycle-based pub crawl. At least three of the eight were on the Tour de Bar this weekend. Some still live in the North Palm Beach area, others fly in from out of state. Interviewing the founders is a bit difficult since no one is willing to take the credit — or blame — for the Palm Beach Tour de Bar.

What started out as eight thirsty guys has turned into over 400 gleefully rowdy riders and a fundraiser for the local Give a Life Foundation which promotes organ & tissue donation. With a suggested donation of $5, over $2,000 was raised this weekend.

The first $450 raised went to pay for the Palm Beach Shores police department. While the ride has run bandit for many years, this year it grew too large to fly completely under the radar.

Charity, Sure, But Also an Economic Impact

Based on how much beer left the Brass Ring Pub Saturday afternoon, I’ve got to believe this event has a strong positive effect on the ten or so bars that are featured along the route. I’d be surprised if some of the smaller bar stops saw 200 unique people in a week, let alone that many in a day.

The T-shirt vendor also failed to properly anticipate demand. I think 150 shirts were printed and they were gone in a flash. If you didn’t get your Tour de Bar T-Shirt, you can still grab one if you hurry. The material is a bit thin but, at just $10 a shirt, it is a heck of a deal. I saw a lot of shirts from previous years. I think 1998 was the oldest I saw.

Tour de Bar Veterans

It wasn’t uncommon to run across people who had participated in the event more than a dozen times. In fact, membership seemed to fit a reverse bell curve. There seemed to be just as many people who had attended 15 or more times as those who were coming out for the first time.

Beater Bikes, Mostly, At Tour de Bar

I’ve never seen so many beater bikes in one place at one time. It’s as though everyone curb-surfed in the weeks leading up to the Tour de Bar looking for wheels. Two-thirds of the bikes looked like $89 K-Mart specials that had set in the backyard for a few years. A couple of dozen were custom works of art that smelled a little like the Freak Bike Militia. No matter what the bike, everyone was welcome and everyone had a big smile.

Some joked that the reason there were so many beater bikes is that many people abandoned their ride and called a cab at the end of the evening. I’m not sure that is true — I didn’t make it to closing time — but I’d like to believe it is true.

Below are some pictures from the event. If you have pictures of your own online, please leave a link in the comments section below.

Tour de Bar 2010 Details

Ken Steinhoff — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:45:29 +0000

Here is an update posted by on Karen Monz June 24 on Facebook:

(Thanks, by the way, to Phil Galdys, for permission to use his artwork, above.)

The Tour has always been so care-free; it is with deep regret that we have to send this (way too long) note. Please forward to help get the word out. This is still going to be the best Tour ever…

Don’t skip line-up announcements

Please discourage missing the “announcements” (line-up) and going to the Brass Ring early. Information is conveyed at the announcements that helps The Tour run more smoothly (we’re expecting > 400 people, again).

There are 10 bars this year (including the pool / tiki bar)! The pace will be ~ 30 – 35 minutes per bar…if you want to…

T-shirts available

There will be very cool T-shirts available for $10. The design is excellent, and everyone is encouraged to get one of these well-priced mementos.

This year, when parking for the start, across from the Brass Ring Pub, please use only the northernmost (towards CVS) four rows of parking spaces, and the single row of parking spaces, along US 1. The owner of the plaza contacted us and has other businesses that need their spaces. Preferable parking is in the big, grass field west of the CVS.

Palm Beach Shores (southern Singer Island) contacted us, and, given their small township, has demanded we get a permit (it is required for events with more than 50 participants). So, the first $450 given to the charity jug will go to pay PBS. We are encouraging everyone to give $5; that way, we pay the fee and still raise a significant amount for the Give a Life Foundation (organ and tissue donation awareness (except our livers!)).

We have also learned that another party plans to raise funds for another charity during The tour. It’s a free country, but it’s unfortunate that TdB participants may feel like everybody’s got their hand out…

Do not scream inside Sailfish Marina

Sailfish Marina: Do not block the fire hydrants with bikes. Do not scream inside the restaurant.

At the Sea Spray Beach Resort (first stop sign south of Longboat Johnny’s), go left south of the hotel, then park bikes underground! Do not park next to pool or in municipal lot.

We have to be quiet by 9:30, but probably not an issue…

Although rules suck, let’s all help keep The Tour as successful as ever…

Let’s be responsible out there

Editor’s note: As you know, I’m a big advocate of bike safety and riding like a vehicle. I’m more than a little conflicted about promoting an event that mixes alcohol with being on the road on a vehicle (yep, that’s what your bike is). Unless you’re riding a tandem, it’s a little hard to have a designated driver on a bike.

Have fun, but, please, act responsibly.

World Tire Changing Championship

Ken Steinhoff — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:46:18 +0000

Mechanical problems on the road can spoil your day. I’m going to hazard (no pun intended) a guess that flat tires are the most common ride-spoiler out there.

Iowa Bicycle Coalition hosting World Tire Changing Championship

I’m not a fast tire changer. I’m not even, as the saying goes, a half-fast tire changer. I can get the job done, but I’m not going to enter the World Tire Changing Championship at the RAGBRAI Expo in Sioux City, IA, on July 24.

For more information, including contest rules and a sponsorship flyer, go to the Iowa Bicycle Coalition website.

How to change a flat

Over time, I’ve posted some tips and reviews about what tools I carry, some pump recommendations and a how-to video.

Video of Wayne at my LBS changing a flat.

Blackburn sent me a new AirTower 2 to replace a defective TPS-2 floor pump.

How to use and mount a Topeak Road Morph Pump with Gauge.

Tools and parts I carry.

Lake Worth Community Bike Ride

Ken Steinhoff — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:46:23 +0000

I’m not very good at keeping up with Event invitations that come into my Facebook account. Most of them are for things I have no interest in going to. That’s why I didn’t notice one for the Lake Worth Community Bike Ride and Bicycle Safety event until about two hours before it was going to start.

Last year’s bike rodeo was fun

I had a good time covering the city’s bike rodeo last May, so I got my act together and made it down to Lake Worth just as the event was getting started.

Sheriff’s deputies offered safety tips

To be honest, I thought there was a bit too much emphasis on wearing helmets and too little emphasis on vehicular cycling. Deputy Rafael Duran DID mention that it’s important not to ride against traffic, but I would like to have had some other topics mentioned:

Taking the lane when the roadway is too narrow for a vehicle to pass you safely without crossing the center line.
The legal and practical reason for equipping your bike with lights and reflectors.
The importance of being predictable: riding in a straight line; signaling turns and obeying traffic control devices.
How to properly position yourself on the roadway.

In fairness, they did provide Bicyclists Must Think Like Drivers, an excellent brochure by the Florida’s Pedestrian & Bicycling Safety Resource Center, that covered all those subjects and more.

For the record, I’m not anti-helmet. You can hear me toward the end of the video recounting the experience my riding partner had when she crashed without a helmet on the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. You can read about her crash here and track her progress three years later here.

A stop at a Ghost Bike

Sgt. Enrique Ponce told everyone at the start, “It’s gonna be a fun ride.” He was right, but there was one somber moment when the group stopped at a white-painted Ghost Bike to place flowers on the memorial to a cyclist who was killed at that intersection.

Video of Lake Worth Community Bike Ride

It was a ride worth doing. I’ll have to watch my Facebook events a little closer in the future.

Last Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis

Ken Steinhoff — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:46:50 +0000

My youngest son, Adam, and his mother own a computer network managed services company, DedicatedIT. He decided it would be fun to take his employees and their families up to Cape Kennedy to watch the last launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 14, 2010. After all, they’re geeks, and there’s nothing geekier than rocket science.

DedicatedIT ready to go if called

Connectivity on the road

There’s been a lot of discussion on the bike lists about how to stay connected while you are on the road. The security advisories to get into the Space Center are pretty daunting (but the actual security search was cursory). Adam called to ask if it was possible to bring a laptop with a Verizon Wireless air card on the property so he could keep up with his clients. Authorities said it would be OK, but he was warned that there was no guarantee that he could get a signal.

MiFi™2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot

Coincidentally, I had upgraded my wireless card to Verizon’s new MiFi card. Essentially, it is a standalone air card that acts as a wireless router capable of supporting up to five devices. That sounded perfect for these guys, so I turned it over to Adam.

It worked great. I could pick up a signal two rooms down in the motel. It had a faster connection than the business-class hotel provided. (You need the WEP to connect, so it’s reasonably secure.)

UPDATE: my kid sent me a comment below with some additional info. It’s important enough that I’ll add it here.

The MiFi, he points out, is encrypted with WPA2. He found a site that warns that the default password is somewhat vulnerable to brute force discovery and advocates changing it (which he did).

Weak signals at Space Center

I don’t know if authorities at the Cape do something to kill wireless signals or if there aren’t carriers beaming into that area, but coverage dropped off as soon as we got close to the visitor center. ATT phones went dead, but my Verizon Wireless phone worked fine. Speeds on the MiFi card ranged from slow to nope. We ended up forwarding any trouble calls for DedicatedIT to my phone. Fortunately, it was a slow day, so it was fairly quiet.

Killing time at the Kennedy Visitor Center

We had several hours to kill before and after the launch, so we played tourist, looking at exhibits, eating expensive junk food and taking photos of each other and helping tourists shoot each other.

Jake and Ben try out Apollo capsule

Jake wasn’t sure he liked the idea of flying on his back.

Finally it was time for the launch

Tried to avoid traffic

I’ve written before about our experience with traffic leaving a shuttle launch. There are only a limited number of roads and they become massive (barely) moving parking lots. We decided to hang out at the visitor center for about three hours to let things clear out.

Nope, it still took us about 2-1/2 hours to go 30 or so miles.

iPad and Google Maps Traffic was cool

Joe had an iPad with him. I’m not a big Apple fan, but I was very impressed with how well Google Maps Traffic showed up and how accurate it was. If it showed a clear road ahead, it was clear. It was accurate within a few hundred feet when it showed a slowdown, as well.

My Verizon HTC Droid Incredible will do the same thing when it comes in, but the display on the iPad was very nice. If it was $200, I’d have one.

There are only two more shuttle launches left, but I think I’ll watch the rest of them from my front yard in West Palm Beach. You can’t feel the ground shake, but I don’t have to spend hours stuck in traffic.

Tour de Bar 2010 June 26

Ken Steinhoff — Thu, 13 May 2010 02:35:46 +0000

(Tour de Bar 2010 Photos.)
I got a note from my Freakbike Militia friend, Annie O’Reilly, that the 201o Tour de Bar is on for June 26th. She pointed me to a Facebook page with the following info:

The beloved annual biking event started 20 years ago by some old conchs with nothing better to do. Starting point is the Brass Ring on US1 at noon. Thereafter it continues on to Betty Ann’s, Inlet Lounge, Downlow (which has just changed ownership and name to Islands), over the Blue Heron bridge and, if you’re still upright, just follow the group.

A non-advertised party for anyone looking to have a great time on a hot June day.

Tour de Bar 2009

I missed the Tour de Bar 2009, but one of my son’s buddies, Darren Ayoub, was kind enough to provide this information and photos.

And, darn it, I’m going to be back in Missouri for a class reunion, so I’m going to miss it again this year. I’ll see if I can line up someone to cover it for me.

7th Annual Rotary Lake Okechobee Ride Photos

Ken Steinhoff — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:08:27 +0000

I had grand plans to cover the 7th Annual Okeechobee Rotary Club’s Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail Ride-Run-Walk event. I’ve made almost all of them. Unfortunately for me, I ended up staying in my home town working on my new Cape Girardeau blog.

Kid Matt took over my registration and shot a few pictures for me. He said he’d have shot more except that it was a perfect day for riding and he’d rather ride than shoot.

LOST Ride Gallery

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to step through the gallery.

Laura Katzenstein Ride Discontinued

Ken Steinhoff — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:27:46 +0000

More than 400 riders showed up for the Seventh Annual Lauren Katzenstein Celebration Ride last June.

The event celebrates the birthday of Lauren Katzenstein, a high school sophomore who was killed by a reckless, unlicensed driver while she and her father were participating in the MS150 Breakaway to Key Largo charity ride in 2003.

Lack of sponsors, increased costs end ride

Lauren’s father, David, posted the following message on the celebratelauren web site :

I regret to inform you that the Lauren Katzenstein Celebration Ride is to be discontinued.

Due to the loss of sponsorships and increased costs, the ride no longer seems possible.

I cannot begin to tell all of you how much my family and I have appreciated your participation over the last 7 years.

Sincerely yours,
David Katzenstein

Let’s ride in Lauren’s honor in June

I plan to hop on my bike June 30, Lauren’s birthday, in her honor. In fact, why limit it to one day a year? I never met Lauren, but I’m willing to dedicate the first pedal stroke of every ride to her.