May 1, 2005


What They Don’t Tell You about Bike Commuting
by Grant Petersen

I’ve been a bike commuter for 30 years, and two-thirds of that time the commute was more than an hour one-way and hilly. That doesn’t make me an authority, just experienced and full of opinions. I apologize in advance if the opinions aren’t helpful and the observations are boring! more>>



Our Interview with Steve Weeks

Since our inaugural issue of the Dahon Dispatch focuses on bicycle commuting, our first interviewee is Steve Weeks, a University of Illinois at Chicago Dentistry professor who rides his bike to work, rain or shine or snow. Steve, thanks for taking the time to join us. Our first question is when and why you made the decision to commute to work by bicycle? more>>

Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Dahon Dispatch. For our first issue, we're focusing on commuting since that is what so many of our Dahon customers do with their bikes. Inside, we've interviewed Steve Weeks, a University of Chicago professor who commutes every day, even through the brutal Chicago winters. Naturally, you'll find lots of news about Dahon in the Dahon Dispatch but you'll also find general articles on cycling, traveling, and other things that we care about, like the environment. Many thanks to Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycle Works for contributing his thoughts on commuting by bike. Enjoy!

The Rock Slide Ride
Dahon Product Testing
by Moshe Foster

Well, if ever the thought occurred to you to combine death-defying cliff madness and a good, healthy mountain bike ride, look no further. Behold the Neng Gao rock slide ride!

Just south of Taichung, Taiwan, starting at 4,000 ft above sea level, you will find the Neng Gao trail head, a calm, shaded little pull off, that innocently hides the disasters lurking ahead. The plan was simple. Wake up at 4:30am, drive five hours through the dawn, meet the posse and ramble up a steady, 3 hour, 15 km, 4,500 ft climb. At the top we would reflect, consume an appropriate beverage, and descend, shredding all 15 kilometers at a trail railing assault pace. At the bottom, we would consume appropriate beverages again, reflect and head home. What we didn¹t expect were the 100 foot wide landslides, football-sized rocks cart-wheeling across the trail, razor sharp slabs of sliding shale, the constant taunting of 50 ft cliffs, and the unavoidable exhaustion that is a 3 hour, 4,500 ft endless climb. more>>


Phil Liggett: The Voice of Cycling
by James Raia

Phil Liggett had just arrived from an overseas journey, and he appeared to be in trouble. With a notebook in hand and his eyes focused on a finish-line clock, the British broadcaster and journalist was trying to take notes on a windy, rainy day in Wilmington, Del.

Liggett has withstood worse days. This occasion, however, the opening day of the now-defunct Tour DuPont 10 years ago, was pertinent for two reasons.

The nasty day represented a perfect day in Belgium, a cycling hub. And it showcased Liggett at his best.

From the Tour de France to the Tour of Tasmania, the Tour of Texas to the Tour of Italy, Liggett has been there.

For more than 35 years, and sometimes for no apparent reason, he's taken meticulous notes in wet notebooks on horrid days and while using uncooperative pens.

"I don't have great faith in computers for everything," said Liggett, who rarely uses his notations. "I don't necessarily keep these notes after a year or so, I just let them drift away or they go into a corner of the room.

"But by writing these things down, it lodges in my mind. I have a photographic memory and I'm very proud of it. I can look at the camera and give you a complete report on the race."

Liggett, 60, is the voice of cycling. He logs more than 200,000 air miles and spends more than 250 days per year on the road following the circuit. more>>