Bicycle theft strikes gold-medal winner Kristin Armstrong

When Olympic gold-medal winner Kristin Armstrong of Boise opened on Tuesday two bicycle boxes used to ship home her racing bicycles she used in the Summer Games in London, they were empty.

One — the Felt DA time trial bike — is valued at about $30,000. The other — a Felt F1 road bike — …

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Source: http://www.bikingbis.com/2012/09/12/bicycle-theft-strikes-gold-medal-winner-kristin-armstrong/

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Wining and Dining in Australia's Barossa Valley

 

This week's Bike Overnight story was penned by Louise Sensi (left, in red and orange jersey) of the Clare Valley in South Australia. Louise writes beautifully about a winter cycling-and-wine-tasting trip she and Kerstin, the "Swiss Mountain Goat," made in the wine-abundant Barossa Valley.

"Leaving the car behind is a fantastic and slightly self-righteous sensation," Louise writes. "In Auburn we leave the southward-leading rail trail and strike out on a secondary road for another 7.5 miles west into Saddleworth. The road west quickly takes us up and over the hills that define the Clare Valley, and beyond those hills the rolling sheep pastures stretch out in a seemingly infinite fashion.

"...  The hills grow perceptibly as we broach the lip of the Barossa Valley itself, and what else to do here except stop for lunch at a bakery and then escape a passing weather front by sampling the fine wines of Torbreck. I am quickly won over by their Grenache, but it is a Muscat called ?the bothie? which is packed into our saddlebags -- its smaller size and weight making it today?s winner." 



Louise goes on to describe a riding day that dishes up a little bit of everything, weather-wise. Then, finally: "With the rain front mercifully crossing our path while we were happily sipping, the wet roads and quickly darkening day find us pedaling somewhat harder towards our hotel in Tanunda. We arrive, 58 miles from home, with numb fingers and toes to a less-than-warm reception by hotel staff; I suspect this impression has much to do with the much more enthusiastic reception we often experienced while traveling by bike in the States.

"I have to admit that I initially thought we should have spent this evening camping, in the true spirit of outdoor adventure. But with the heater switched on and a big bath full of steamy hot water waiting, I am very glad to leave the rapidly dropping temperature outside and slowly and deliciously defrost my happy but weary body."

The next day, content but tired, the pair pedals towards home. 

"The wind and cold team up against us again; I tuck myself in behind the Swiss Mountain Goat and try to stay with her. The kilometers steadily click over, but we still must stop to refuel, this time with a traditional Swiss snack, ?Schoggi und Brot,? or chocolate and bread. Take a stick of really good quality chocolate and a fresh bread roll; using a (hopefully) clean finger, make a hole through the center of your bread, insert chocolate, and eat! It?s all about quality in Switzerland, and this little surprise package can be a quick gourmet delight if the quality is there.

"We are still 15 miles from home when the short days of winter start to bite. Riding out on these country roads at night is unsettling; there is no street lighting and the roads are narrow, rolling, and currently undergoing roadwork."



Learn how the story ends, and read more about Louise and Kerstin's gustatory adventures, at BikeOvernights.org. There you can also scroll through our archives of posted stories and Photos of the Week -- including this week's image, which comes from the July 30, 2012, post by Byron Rushing, Atlanta to Stone Mountain Park.


BikeOvernights.org Photo of the Week, 09.14.12.

Top 3 photos by Louise Sensi; bottom photo by Byron Rushing.

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BIKE OVERNIGHTS is posted every Monday by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling?s media specialist, and highlights content from BikeOvernights.org. Previously, from March 2009 through January 2012, Mac posted weekly at Biking Without Borders. He also compiles the organization's twice-monthly e-newsletter Bike Bits, which goes free-of-charge to nearly 46,000 readers worldwide.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/09/wining-and-dining-in-australias-barossa.html

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Ending Your Cycling Season on a High Note

September is arriving, school is recommencing, the weather is moderating, and Adventure Cycling's 2013 Early, Epic, and Educational tours schedule has been announced. The late summer and early fall season is a great time to ride. Less traffic, cooler temperature, and fewer tourists. Why not end your 2012 cycling season with an awesome cycling trip on one of our few remaining tours this year?

Inn-to-Inn
On our inn-to-inn self-contained trips, riders carry their gear, but there's a lot less of it because participants stay in hotels and eat in restaurants every night (no camping or group cooking gear needs to be carried).

Van-Supported
Our van-supported tours, where all personal and group gear is transported by a vehicle each day,  have 2 leaders and up to13 riders who camp most nights and share rotating cooking duties, akin to a self-contained trip but with the security and simplicity of van support. Tours are camping-based trips, with occasional indoor overnights.
Fully-Supported
Our fully-supported tours, where all personal and group gear is transported by a vehicle each day, have larger groups (typically between 40 and 90 riders) that camp together and enjoy catered meals. Fully-supported tours are camping-based trips, with occasional indoor overnights. Indoor lodging options are available at the participant's expense
No more cycling time in 2012? Check out our 2013 Early, Epic, and Educational tours schedule!


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ON THE ROAD is written by the tours team -- Mo, Paul, Madeline, and Arlen -- tours specialists and intrepid bicyclists, covering all things related to Adventure Cycling's Tours Department. Find your  dream tour now!

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/08/ending-your-cycling-season-on-high-note.html

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Exciting Times for Adventure Cycling Tours

Although the 2012 tour season is not quite over, Adventure Cycling Association has seen an overwhelming response to our 2012 tours, with almost 1300 participants overall. We have expanded our 2013 offerings based on comments from our members. Thanks for the record-setting year!
Adventure Cycling tours staff: Arlen, Madeline, Mo, Paul
Our excitement continues as we have just completed our full slate of tours for 2013. We have brought back many perennial favorites and added some awesome new rides. We cannot give you the full details quite yet, but you can check out the 2013 Early, Epic, and Educational tours we announced in late August.

Since the announcement of the Early, Epic, and Educational tours, we have been overwhelmed with more than 100 signups in the first two weeks. Our Florida LTC, Florida IRT, and Florida Winter Escape tours in January and February are nearly sold out with only a few slots remaining. Our ever-popular Death Valley rides are selling very well too.

Happy riders on our Atlantic Coast Route
Start dreaming about your 2013 cycling adventures. Check out our current Early, Epic, and Educational tours, and keep your eye out for the full schedule of 2013 tours, to be announced on October 10.

Top photos by Arlen Hall, Derek Gallagher
Bottom photo by Andrew Beckerman-Rodau


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ON THE ROAD is written by the tours team -- Mo, Paul, Madeline, and Arlen -- tours specialists and intrepid bicyclists, covering all things related to Adventure Cycling's Tours Department. Find your  dream tour now!

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/09/exciting-times-for-adventure-cycling.html

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2013 Bicycle Travel Video Contest


I've been corresponding with Blanche van der Meer for the past 6 months on launching an online video contest to celebrate the booming trend in bike touring and travel documentaries. Blanche moderates the very successful WorldCycle Videos group on Vimeo, which has attracted more than 1,500 submissions! She has seen first-hand the growing enthusiasm for bicycle-travel videos.

In collaboration with WorldCycle Videos, Adventure Cycling's first Bicycle Travel Video Contest will begin accepting submissions on January 2, 2013. Now is the time to check out the submission categories and begin production, whether you plan an autumn bike overnight video shoot, tackle your footage from a past adventure, or set up an interview with a bicycle traveler who inspires you to document their passion and story in a portrait piece.

From January 2 through February 28, 2013, video submissions will be accepted in the following categories:

  • Best Long Distance Tour Video: Submit your best narrative or experimental video about a long-distance bike tour. Submissions must not exceed 7 minutes in length.
  • Best Bike Overnight Video: Submit your best narrative or experimental video about a 1-2 night bike tour. Submissions must capture the experience of a 1-2 night tour, not 1-2 nights of a longer tour, and must not exceed 3 minutes in length.
  • Best Portrait of a Traveling Cyclist: Submit your best narrative or experimental video portrait of a touring cyclist. Self-portraits are acceptable. Submissions must not exceed 5 minutes.
All videos will be considered for the Bike Travel Spirit Award, which will be awarded by the judges to the video that best captures the spirit of bike travel and touring.

All videos will also be eligible for the People's Choice Award, which will be awarded to the video with the most "likes" on Vimeo.

Over the next few months, we will share guest posts from our star-studded line up of judges with tips on telling bike-touring tales through video, along with some of their favorite pieces. These volunteer judges are all avid cycle-tourists and/or videographers and look forward to your submissions, they include:

We can't wait to see the amazing places, experiences, and people that you've captured by video!

To get the full details on the contest, visit adventurecycling.org/videocontest.

Photo courtesy of Blanche van der Meer and WorldCycle Videos

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NEWS, NETWORKING, AND NEW MEDIA is posted by Winona Bateman, Adventure Cycling's media director, and highlights cool media (articles, videos, photos, etc.) and meet-ups related to Adventure Cycling and bicycle travel. Writing a story about bicycle travel or Adventure Cycling Association? You can contact Winona via email: pressATadventurecyclingDOTorg. Visit our media room, view our news releases, or follow us on Twitter.


Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/09/2013-bicycle-travel-video-contest.html

tour de france live

Brajkovic Leaps into 3rd Place at Dauphiné

Team RadioShack?s Janez Brajkovic (SLO) put in an excellent performance in today?s Stage 3, Individual Time Trail of the Critérium du Dauphiné in Grenoble, France, putting himself in very good position (3rd in the overall General Classification so far) to contend this race, and defend the victory he took here last year. And, putting icing [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/brajkovic-leaps-into-3rd-place-at-dauphine/

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