Great post. I love reading about fixing flats. My three cents: line the valve stem up with the spot on the tire wall where the correct PSI is imprinted. That way you can easily tell how many PSI go in that particular tire. Two, after 10 years of monitoring my tire pressure at least weekly, I can safely report that I get next to no flats. It's my studied opinion that proper tire pressure will keep bits and bobs from sticking in the tire and eventually puncturing the tube. Third, the flashlight trick is really neat.

Jarrett, great post. I would quibble however with the effect of congestion on emergency vehicles. I worked for several years driving an ambulance, and I can affirm that one benefit of having hospitals distributed around the city is that congestion on highways doesn't become an issue for emergency patient transport. In New York City, nobody lives more than 10 minutes from a hospital, and a fire house is even closer.

Looks nice, but I would suggest disc brakes if you plan to haul loads weighing anywhere near the 400 lbs. that the instructable suggests.

I am a big fan of the Manhattan-size regular grid with numbered streets. Numbered streets (and a simple rule for house numbers) allow you to locate any address without reference to a map. If there's a larger-grid transit system set up along arterial streets, residents and visitors can find their way without even having to think about it.

It's worthwhile to point out that many people cite the feeling of safety that they get when they enter their personal automobile as a reason for driving.

I like the cat. Fluffy black cats eating kibbles are def. timeless.

The ø racks are pretty sturdy. I have been using them when I find them. Certainly they are not going to get kicked off their mountings. Also, it's easy to lock up the rear wheel with chain to the circumference and the front wheel with u-lock to the diameter. That's sometimes difficult with the staple racks. Toward IanF's question, I have never ever seen one of those grates removed, in more than 20 years. Not once. I suspect that the hardware and leverage necessary to remove the grate would be plenty to remove any bike rack no matter how it is mounted. Remember, nothing is stopping thieves from driving around 15-ton tow trucks and using the winch to remove all kinds of street furniture. Having bikes parked at eye level would mean that people would walk into them and bang their heads. Maybe in a garage, but not on the sidewalk. As for a lifting rack

Your post makes me wonder, who is the most qualified jurist of Staten Island origin? Also, do you think the overrepresentation of New Yorkers on the supreme court is the product of Dick Wolf's Law & Order, which shows how smart New Yorkers are (although I suspect most of the ADA characters on the show moved there for professional reasons).

I was running on the George Washington Bridge path the other day and was passed in the other direction by a rider and dog, yoked by a Springer. The way the bridge path is striped, we were each in our respective left-hand lanes, so the dog was on the side of the bike toward me. It freaked me out a little bit; glad to know that the rider's momentum can kind of keep the dog from running out and taking a bite of my leg.

Foot powder is worth keeping around, to spread inside the shoes and also to put in your dry shoes and socks to dry off your wet feet. Nice tip with the paper in the gloves; I never thought of that.