Clifton CC 13 Mile Time Trial

Saturday was an absorbing day in the Tour de France. Team Sky were excellent, and Chris Froome was marvelous in snatching a well-deserved stage victory on one of the steepest finishes in the tour. Bradley Wiggins now looks comfortable in yellow, and must be the hot  favourite to win. Anything can happen in the next [...]

Source: http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/5214/timetrials/clifton-cc-13-mile-time-trial/

cycling events

A Seattle Sub-24


As you may recall, a large share of the inspiration for the Bike Overnights project came from a piece in the January 2007 issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine titled S24Os: Bicycle Camping for the Time Challenged. The story was written by Rivendell Bicycle Works founder Grant Petersen. S24O, as Grant explains in the article, is shorthand for sub-24-hour overnight and, he writes, "by definition [the trip] has to last less than a full day, doorstep to doorstep."

We don't put such strict limitations on our rides, of course, which is why we call them Bike Overnights and not S24Os. Some of the mini-adventures featured at the site are two, even three overnights in duration. Yet certain rider/writers do stick to the original concept, like Louise Kornreich, who posted this week's story, Overnight Escape from Seattle.

"After reading about Bike Overnights and S24Os on the Adventure Cycling blog, my friend Todd and I dreamed up a way to take a mid-week break to an island while not having to take any vacation time from work," Louise writes. "We would ride to work with our bikes fully loaded for a night of camping, slave all day at our desks (or not), and ride down to the Seattle ferry dock to depart for Bainbridge Island in the early evening."

And that's exactly what they did. Once on the island, they loaded up at a grocery store and headed to Fay Bainbridge Park, which "mostly hugs the shores of Puget Sound, and allows for many views to the north (e.g., Mount Baker) and east (the Cascade Range). At the park, we cooked dinner and watched the moon rise over Mount Rainier, then set up our tents at a site right near the beach.


"The next morning, after watching the sunrise, we had a quick snack and packed up to head back to town. While the area's commuters were queuing up for the ferry, we lingered over breakfast, then rolled down the ramp and onto the waiting boat, heading back to the city. Although it was another day of work we were headed to, our close-in adventure had made us feel like we were on vacation."

Read the rest of Louise's story at BikeOvernights.org.

Our current Photo of the Week comes from Beach Music: Wild Horses and a Rocket Launch, by Bill Clendenen. It posted at BikeOvernights.org on May 28, 2012.



BikeOvernights.org Photo of the Week, 07.06.12.

Top 2 photos by Louise Kornreich

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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/2012/07/seattle-sub-24.html

cycling events 2011

Not quite back, but a comeback kid.

You can say “Welcome Back” but I can assure you that I am not quite back, but I am on my way.  There may be no specific destination in view, but there is a step forward. Rebuilding takes time, but each small step I take helps conquer the doubt and darkness along the way. This week you can find me racing at the  Exergy Tour.  The biggest race in the USA and one of the biggest in the world.   I will be ready for the unexpected and for the step...

Source: http://alisonstarnes.com/not-quite-back-but-a-comeback-kid-2/

cycling clothes

Team RadioShack Line-up in Critérium International and Gent-Wevelgem

The Team Radioshack line-up for the next races: Critérium International (France), 26-27/03/11 Riders: Matthew Busche, Ben King, Andreas Klöden, Tiago Machado, Nélson Oliveira, Sérgio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych & Bjørn Selander Director: Alain Gallopin Gent-Wevelgem (Belgium), 27/03/11 Riders: Fumiyuki Beppu, Robbie Hunter, Michal Kwiatkowski, Geoffroy Lequatre, Robbie McEwen, Dmitriy Muravyev, Gregory Rast & Sébastien Rosseler Director: Dirk Demol

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/team-radioshack-line-up-in-criterium-international-and-gent-wevelgem/

cycling shorts

Tough & Tender: The Stories That Move Us

Today's guest post was written by Martina Brimmer, owner of Swift Industries, to announce the 2nd annual Tough & Tender: A literary and photographic project celebrating women's experiences with the bicycle.

This year I broke a bicycle frame.

As I stripped the parts off the bike, I nostalgically calculated that I had pedaled well over 15,000 miles on that frame in the past four years. I?ve cycled coastlines and mountain roads, toured islands and farmland, and ridden the same mundane commuter routes day in and day out. I?ve pedaled alone and in company. What I found myself marveling at, as the bicycle was stripped for parts, was not the strength of the lugs that had endured for so long, but my own strength.


I have ridden the rough equivalent of crossing the United States four or five times over the past few years. Those 16,000 miles contained breathtaking scenery and killer climbs. They were marked with more tears than I?d like to admit, and a great deal of ?hanger? (hunger anger). Sometimes it felt like there were more relentless headwinds than encouraging tailwinds.

Just like any other enthusiast, I couldn?t wait for my next long day out, and was stoked that I could lure my riding buddies into bike camping. I stopped at breweries, I repaired my own flats with confidence and dexterity, and afterward, I wiped the grease off my hands and onto my pants. Over the past four years I have dedicated my career to bicycling and touring. It is through my experiences on a bicycle that I have grown into myself.

I am a cyclist. But what?s more, I am a female cyclist. And as many female cyclists know, our stories are not celebrated enough in mainstream culture and are not always told with as much joy and pride as they ought to be.

I don?t find myself reflected in most cycling publications. I don?t walk into a shop and receive the same treatment as my fellow cyclists, nor do my female friends who work as mechanics enjoy the same trust from customers as their male co-workers do. Sometimes I don?t only feel underrepresented, I feel invisible in the very community that I love.

But at the end of the day the joy and accomplishment of cycling is nested just as deeply in my heart, thighs, and calves as anyone else?s and I rejoice when I take to the open road. Because that?s what it?s all about.


I know from years of riding with my closest friends that my experiences as a female rider are not any kind of universal voice for women who ride bicycles. Our styles, and interest, paces, and experiences are many and diverse. Over the years it has been of particular inspiration to me to exchange stories and connect with female bicyclists. I am always inspired by the tenderness that women assume when they?re relaying an adventure, or better yet, a misadventure, from the road.

In 2011, Tough & Tender was born. Now in its second year, Tough & Tender is a literary and photographic project that celebrates women?s relationships with bicycles, touring, and the bike industry. Cycling empowers, inspires and challenges women in ways which are not often portrayed by mainstream bicycle culture. This project aims to fill that role. Please tell us how you experience strength, determination, joy, and satisfaction through bicycling and join this compendium of women?s voices and perspectives in the making. 

We can?t wait to share your stories!

For more information about contributing to Tough & Tender 2012, visit Swift Industries or check out their blog, Cycle Swift

Photos by Russ Roca

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MARTINA BRIMMER is the owner of Swift Industries, a small pannier company is Seattle WA. She rides a lot, sews a lot, camps a lot, and eats a lot. Choose you own adventures.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/07/tough-tender-stories-that-move-us.html

cycling holidays uk

What type of brakes do you use on your bike?

I?d be interested to see what type of brakes everyone is using on their main bike. Therefore, I?ve put together this quick poll. What type of brake do you use on your main bike? When we?ve got the results, I?ll write up an article on the pro?s and con?s of each type. Feel free to [...]

Source: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/what-type-of-brakes-do-you-use-on-your-bike/

british cycling

Knog Blinder 4V Review

The Knog Blinder 4V is a bright rear light with 44 lumens of light, visible from upto 800 metres. It is USB rechargeable and easy to fit. It’s also pretty sleek and aerodynamic. The Knog Blinder 4V is a different shape to the original square Knog Blinder. Recently, I’ve been looking for a bright rear [...]

Source: http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/5258/products/knog-blinder-4v-review/

womens cycling clothes

TdF Stage 12 ? Klöden ? Pain and Suffering

To the uninitiated, when enthusiasts talk about how elite cyclists can suffer and push themselves through pain, it?s usually a good thing, a compliment. It often refers to a rider pedaling up a high mountain or a long time trial where the toughest mental competitors drive themselves beyond their physical red zone and can [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/tdf-stage-12-kloden-pain-and-suffering/

winter cycling gear