Cycling is on the up. Why?

There are always indicators in life that that tell you that a particular industry is doing well and the fact that WD40 has entered the cycling market with its Anti friction dry ptfe and Fast acing degreasers is a shore case of telling you cycling is on the up. I wonder why cycling is doing so well? In UK and London were I am it is booming with more and more bike shops opening on every street corner. It reminds me of the mobile phone boom when there was a mobile phone shop on every street corner then big business got in Involved and then disappeared the small independent shops. Cycling is differently on the up you could say I am a product of that I am out at least three times a week racing against me self trying to beat the time I did last time I was out on my bike, or in the winter I am on the turbo trainer even this blog is a result of the cycling boom. You just need to look and the number of cyclist in Richmond Park on any given Saturday or Sunday morning or the huge numbers using TFL super highways every weekday rush hour to see how popular cycling has become.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cyclingchatcouk/~3/teq5Ot1ugKg/

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Man sentenced for 2011 hit-and-run of bicyclist in Seattle

A King County judge sentenced a motorist to 3 years and 5 months in prison on Friday for felony hit and run in the death of bicyclist Michael Wang.

That’s the maximum penalty that prosecutors had sought for Erlin Garcia-Reyes, 28.

The Seattle Times reports that Garcia-Reyes apologized for the crime and said through a …

Continue reading »

Source: http://www.bikingbis.com/2012/08/10/man-sentenced-for-2011-hit-and-run-of-bicyclist-in-seattle/

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Team RadioShack?s Sophomore Season: Plenty of Reason for Excitement in 2011

The racing?s well underway in the 2011 ProTour season, and it?s clear that Team RadioShack (TRS) means to make its mark during its sophomore campaign. With the team?s well-known founder, Lance Armstrong, announcing his retirement after this year, and already concluding participation in international races for the season, there?s plenty of opportunity for the [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/team-radioshack%e2%80%99s-sophomore-season-plenty-of-reason-for-excitement-in-2011/

winter cycling jacket

Potpourri in Virginia, Part 2: TransAmerica Trail and USBR 76 Signage

This is the second part of the Potpourri in Virginia post I began last week.

I recently received a call from a confused cyclist on the TransAmerica Trail in Lexington, Virginia. She didn't know if she should follow the TransAmerica Trail map and narrative she had in her hand or the sign she saw up the hill. I wasn't sure either, this was the first I'd heard of new signage going up in Virgina.


Her call prompted me to review the two routes to see where the differences are so we can be sure to make cyclists aware they have a choice.

In my review of the Virginia Bicycling and Walking map, I only saw two differing stretches across the entire state: Lexington to Vesuvius and through the town of Radford. Here is what I found out about both situations.

1) Lexington to Vesuvius. The signed USBR 76 route here is on state highways on the north side of I-64/81. This is the original Bikecentennial TransAmerica route. Since that time we have moved the route to south of I-64/81 due to a combination of factors -- primarily increased traffic, but also more paved road availability in the rural settings we prefer to use. One site on USBR 76 worth visiting is Cyrus McCormick's farm near Raphine. It features beautiful grounds and a tour of the inventor's home site.


2) Radford. Interestingly, neither our current route nor the Virginia USBR 76 is the original TransAmerica route. USBR 76 uses SR 177 and we route cyclists through Wildwood Park on a bike trail and on smaller roads through town. It is not immediately clear if the TransAmerica route ever used SR 177. Unless you need services in town, it is recommended to stay on our route, there is no compelling reason to follow USBR 76 in this instance.


This set of instances serves to bring forward a larger conversation. As more states begin to designate and sign or map their U.S. Bicycle Routes, we'll need to be aware of all places they coincide or diverge with the Adventure Cycling Route Network. It is a situation that will heed further attention to process and communication with bicycle and pedestrian programs across the country.

Top photo from thenoodleator's photostream on Flickr
Caption: A USBR 76 sign found in Virginia.
Second photo from daveandlolo's photostream on Flickr
Caption: An original BikeCentennial sign found in Lexington, Virginia.
Third photo from thanh.ha.dang's photostream on Flickr
Caption: bicycle trail under freeway approaching Wildwood Park in Radford , Virginia.


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GEOPOINTS BULLETIN is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures, and persons from Adventure Cycling's Route Network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure. She also wants to remind you that map corrections and comments are always welcome via the online Map Correction Form.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/08/potpourri-in-virginia-part-2.html

oakley cycling

Thirteen-year-old Girl Pedals to Pigeon Lake


Teeter-tottering back and forth between "How did I ever get myself into this?" and "This is the most amazing thing I've ever done!" is Neve Holmlund, the 13-year-old author of this week's Bike Overnight. Neve's tale is titled A Teen and her Mum Pedal to Pigeon Lake, Alberta -- and is it ever a hoot!

"My first overnight bike trip was not what I expected," Neve writes, "although I'm not sure what I had imagined in the first place. The idea began when I told my mum about some dreams of someday spending a whole week living off my bike. After hearing that, she was definitely excited, and she suggested we try an overnight trip before thinking about something longer. With that, it began."

Beside being a hoot, Neve's experience was hot -- which makes it seem like the right Bike Overnight to feature now that we're into the dog days of summer.

"When the morning of our trip arrived, things already began to look difficult. The weather was warmer than it had been all year. Being from central Alberta, it's not often that we see temperatures above 28 C (82 F) -- so, with the forecast calling for sunshine and a high of 32 C (90 F), I began to feel nervous.

"By the time we left home and were on the road, the heat was already against us. Looking up the shoulder of the highway I began to question whether I was up for this. Luckily, things were working well for me -- but only me. Barely ten minutes into our three-hour-plus journey we were forced to pull over. Unfortunately for my mum, her gear shifter decided to stop working, trapping her in the 14th gear for our entire trip. But without a word she continued; turning back was not an option."

The intrepid duo make it to Pigeon Lake Provincial Park, despite the oppressive heat and the lack of a low gears for mum. There they cooled off in the lake, ate some backpacker-style food ("I was leery of eating something with a shelf life of three to five years, but to my surprise, the food was really delicious.") ... and discovered a problem with their tent site.

"Not only was the entire campsite gravel -- when we squished our tent into the bush to avoid sleeping on top of rocks, we discovered a horrible stink. The smell of a dead animal drifted from the bushes and soon filled our tent. I couldn't believe I had ever wanted to do this!"


No problem -- the situation was easily fixed by picking up the tent and moving it. And in the end, after they'd ridden back home the following day, Neve was philosophical about the entire experience.

"It felt nice to pull down our driveway after 80 kilometers (50 miles) of biking. I was happy to be home, but eager to go on another trip -- just not today (or ever again in such hot weather).

Read the rest of Neve's story at BikeOvernights.org. While there you can take a look at our current Photo of the Week, which comes from the April 5, 2011, post Pink Primrose & Texas Heroes by Justin Moore.



BikeOvernights.org Photo of the Week, 08.10.12.

Top 2 photos by Neve Holmlund. 

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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 45,000 readers worldwide.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/08/thirteen-year-old-girl-pedals-to-pigeon.html

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