Starting a new experimental series…I think imma call it Planetoid, cause who wouldn’t want their own little customizable planets?

Shot some photos a while back of an old school Greyhound bus I found abandoned at the San Pedro Harbor. Love the 3 tone color scheme and simple graphic lines, they don’t make ‘em like they use to, more photos here.

(Photo courtesy of NYtimes)

Wolff Olins, the folks responsible for the hideous logo redesign of the 2010 London games have struck again. I mean, come on, how did we let them single handily ruin two of the most iconic symbols of our time, the most recent being NYC’s infamous transportation system, the yellow taxi. How this logo when through several renditions without being yanked by the committee boggles my mind, when did captain obvious become a designer? and when did typography come in ugly? When asked about the approach to the redesign the committee stated that they wanted to make it “big and iconic”, go figure.

Old news in the world of professional mountain bike racing, Honda announced that their superfantabulous team G-Cross would not continue for the 2008 season. Thanks Honda, its been a great 4 years, we appreciate the level of professionalism you brought BACK to the sport and hope that in your absence other teams will ante up and follow suit. Ok, I’m done wiping the tears away, now lets switch gears and take a look at the revolutionary bike Honda engineered to tackle the word cup circuit, dubbed the RN01. Eccentric design isn’t it? my first impressions of this bike led me to believe that the engineers from ginsu and huffy had got together. Further investigation revealed a gearbox transmission Honda developed specifically for the sport as well as the chasis designed around it. Look at the picture, see that huge boxy section where the crankarms are located, thats the gear box, essentially it acts as the entire drivetrain system found on a conventional geared bicycle. Whats so special you ask? plenty, but I’ll keep it simple, the first being the ability of the rider to change gears on the fly without ever having to turn over a pedal, this is huge considering in the sport the differences in time between 1st 2nd & 3rd are separated by milliseconds and two, the frame designs low center of gravity which promotes great cornering characteristics as well as high speed stability. For more info regarding this masterpiece, Yahoo! ‘RN01′. It’s a shame that these prototypes never made it to production.

Love this photo of Kevin Michael, simple yet bold. Oh yea and he’s got pretty good music, you can listen to him here.

(Photo courtesy of Yeti Cycles)

For as long as I’ve been riding and scouring the net, I never understood the presentation of cycling web sites. Most, if not all of them, had horrible execution; color palettes that all too often deviated away from the brand, lack of information hierarchy, broken links, one way paths, and a list of other nuances that made you wonder if they were taking this whole internet thing seriously. Most importantly, the majority seem to miss the big picture, that being an online identity and an engaging/memorable experience. So, finally, my search for the holy grail ends and sets a new benchmark for all other cycling sites to either emulate or surpass, I give you Yeti Cycles. Yeti tells a great story of grassroots, ma & pa shops, supporting the sport, and giving back to the environment and community. I’m a big fan of their high performance frames, the amount of R&D these guys put into their products is pretty much unparalleled within the industry. It’s reassuring to know that the attention put into crafting this site parallels the limited quantities of product that come out of the company each year. Check out the video gallery when you get the chance, its seamless and shot by Clay Porter, all in HD.

(Chart courtesy of W.B.R)

The World Bicycle Relief vision is that a simple sustainable mobility such as the bicycle is an vital element in disaster and poverty relief. To these countries, the bicycle fulfills the basic mobility needs of individuals and has a direct impact in support of healthcare, education, and economic development. WBR couldn’t have stated it better, ‘Bicycles empower individuals, their families, and their communities’. WBR’s current project involves Zambia and has already provided 26,000 bicycles to trained HIV/AIDS healthcare workers and educators in the country. The objective is to bring healthcare to patients, adults, orphans, kids, aid clinics and preventative care education to communities.

This is fantastic, who would have thought a bicycle could have had an impact of this magnitude, to aid and possibly rid countries that have been poverty stricken since its inception, using one of the oldest inventions known to mans existence, INCREDIBLE. So next time all you road raging maniacs decide to give that innocent commuter or weekend warrior a blare of your gas guzzling blow horn, remember, we’re all in this together, anyone who has ever ridden a bicycle has in a way, supported this cause. Read more about the organization here and donate!

This program promotes awareness for children around the world who are suffering from poverty, violence, disease & discrimination. Check out the 60.