Handlebars

Forty-three miles to the next campground may not sound difficult, but on the first day of my bicycle trip it felt like a triathlon. The fact that we were traveling through the Canadian Rockies--some of the most majestic alpine scenery in the world--didn't ease my apprehension about what to do with an 18-speed bike; until then I had only straddled an antiquated, rusty three-speed.

President Clinton sought Wednesday to rev up consensus among factory workers in favor of global commerce, as his administration enters potentially pivotal negotiations with China and the opening of controversial talks to lower international trade barriers. At the same Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory here 12 years ago, a very different president, Ronald Reagan, delivered much the same message.

Bicycle parts manufacturer Profile Design of Carson is recalling about 8,000 mountain bike handlebar stems because they can break during use and cause riders to crash. The company has received reports of six riders crashing when the stems broke, resulting in dental injuries, bruises and lacerations, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The recall involves Stiffy threadless mountain bike stems. The recalled stems have the labels "Profile" and "Stiffy" on them.

Although growing a beard requires nothing beyond a Zen-like letting go of the daily shaving ritual, cultivating a proper handlebar requires a level of patience and skill worthy of a bonsai gardener. Here are a few pointers: 1. Put down the scissors and step away from the mirror. A proper handlebar requires upper lip hair that's long enough to properly "train," and any amount of pruning in the early stages is counterproductive. Expect this period to last six, itchy, socially uncomfortable weeks.

The "girl" bike has long been a put-down for motorcycles so diminutive and underpowered that no "real" bikers would be caught riding them. But a number of niche motorcycle makers that produce lightweight, low-to-the-ground models say they are experiencing unusually high sales these days, particularly among women. Just 11% of motorcyclists are women, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council in Irvine, but Taiwanese manufacturer SYM says 80% of its 266-pound Wolf Classic buyers are women.

Richard Tyler pads through his Italianate dining room, Diet Coke in one hand, antibiotics in the other, a slender convalescent in a big white turtleneck. It is late morning, and he has been out of the hospital for five days. His long hair hangs in waves of salt and pepper. His 59-year-old face, which has been compared to those of various debauched British rock stars, is a study in glorious past excess.

Bike helmets have reduced the number of children's head injuries, but there's still nothing to protect a child from rupturing an abdominal organ. During a fall, the front wheel can turn so that the handlebars are perpendicular to the body, creating a blunt spear that can rupture the intestine, liver, spleen or other abdominal and pelvic organs.

Georgena Terry swears she wasn't trying to become the next Henry Ford. She was just messing around with a blowtorch in her basement when the bicycle idea popped into her head. Terry made a few changes to a simple concept and, like Ford, became a pioneer in her industry by making a product that has both comfort and reliability. Women who had pedaled around in pain for years say the Terry bicycle works wonders for them.

A day after Dan Snarr, 62, mayor of the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray, Utah, put his handlebar mustache up for a vote during the annual Independence Day parade, the Los Angeles Times caught up with him to discuss the results. First of all, with which party are you affiliated? I represent the DWR party. I founded it several years ago because I'm disgusted with partisan politics in this country. It's the "Do What's Right" party. I've served since 1997, in a community of about 46,700.