Martin Krieg is the inspirational and energetic man behind the National Bicycle Greenway and numerous other bicycling activities. He’s got so many things going on that I can’t keep up, but he manages to keep up with the bicycle goings on in his hometown of Palo Alto, California. Martin wrote up this report on some of the unique pedal powered machines in Palo Alto and kindly allowed me to reproduce it here in Cyclelicious.

Unwheeldy, a nine foot tall dicycle built by Dave Hershberger and Matthew Blain, is the only pedal machine we have seen anywhere that upstages our 15-person Busycle. To give you an idea of why this is so, you have absolutely got to WATCH this short 30 sec video of it doing 360’s!! For more fun, WATCH this 30 sec video of Unwheeldy being built during the summer of 2007.

And who can miss Palo Alto City engineer, Tom Kabat, one any one of the unusual bikes he creates from throw aways at his Boyland Wooden Bikes factory?

In this photo from the Ellen Fletcher Bike Blvd Gratitude Ride, we see Palo Alto dentist, Jan Krieg, on one of his Secret Mountain Labs bikes.

On a different note, how many of you know that legendary author, Jobst Brandt, the man who wrote the timeless book The Bicycle Wheel, (now in its 3rd Edition) lives and rides here? In his late 60’s, he is still a non stop two wheel powerhouse. Car Free, he thinks nothing of riding to and from Mt Hamilton and all of its back roads as well as Santa Cruz, Watsonville and San Juan Bautista and back in day. This guy is awesome.

So keep your eyes peeled Ellen, we’re trying to keep up with you. Toward that end, how many people know that Ellen Fletcher manages the north county wide bike parking program? Not only does she administer it, including recruiting volunteers and making sure their shifts are covered and that they are fed as well as hydrated, etc, at age 72, she brings them all the supplies they need. On a bike! In her trailer can be found folding tables, chairs, signs, raffles prizes, and all the other things one needs to turn an empty piece of asphalt at a Stanford football game or area festival, etc, into a protected compound for bikes.

I’ve been commmuting by bike for a about 20 years, but nowhere have I seen more regular bike commuters in the U.S. than in the San Francisco Bay Area. Even though mornings have been chilly lately, I still see several dozen bike commuters every day. Here’s a sampling of photos just from yesterday and today.

This stylish young woman is Emily, who regularly commutes in Menlo Park on this beautiful pink cruiser. I told her I love her pink bike. “I love my pink bike, too!” Emily exclaimed.

This is Aaron on a Masi Speciale Fixed. I ran into him at San Jose Diridon Station. Up to 32 bikes can be loaded into Caltrain’s bike cars, which have been packed with bike commuters like Aaron all summer. Aaron reads Masiguy’s blog.

Here are some of those Caltrain bike commuters walking through the access tunnel to the station exit at San Jose Diridon station. I see five cyclists in this photo. You’ll see a big variety of bikes, gear, and bags on Bay Area bike commuters.

This is one of the bike racks at the Palo Alto Caltrain station. Palo Alto also features secure, indoor parking at the Palo Alto Bikestation.

Triax is a brand of Dynacraft bicycle sold at Target stores in the United States. Retail price is $150 but it’s often on sale for half that, and you can find them at flea markets for even less.

It’s a junky, ugly road bike, but if you’re looking for something cheap and functional it’s not a bad bike to commute on. The only problem is that the components are cheap junk. They’re difficult to keep adjusted, but if the components fail or fall apart, the dérailleur hanger is long and nearly horizontal, making the Triax Crimson road frame a decent platform for a fixed conversion on the cheap.

Because the components on a Triax are so junky, converting to fixed is probably a good idea. Upgrading the wheels and tires and replacing the drop bars with those bullhorns makes the bike a little cooler, though it’s probably overkill. Those bars are possibly worth more than the frame. The wheels certainly are. Carlos rides brakeless with flat platform pedals.

Carlos doesn’t speak English; I was surprised to see a recent immigrant Latino riding a fixed gear bike. In the Bay Area, many “fakengers” (like me) are comfortable white people with steady income.

Carlos obviously has some pride in the bike and he told me he built it up himself. I imagine the frame was probably acquired used with non-working components.

Those in the San Francisco Bay Area will recognize this photo was taken on a Caltrain bike car during the evening commute. Almost every person in this photo is a bike commuter.