Ice Cream: Fueling Touring Cyclists Around the Globe


I know that nutritionists will cringe, but as a touring cyclist I consider ice cream as the Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner of Champions. It should have its own food group category. Ice cream companies should set aside a day each year to celebrate and thank touring cyclists. We are a ravenous revenue source!

The instant the temperature sneaks above 80 degrees, if I'm on a bike, ice cream shops sing out like roadside Sirens. Their songs are irresistible.

My travels are filled with epic ice cream tales. I once ate an entire half gallon of ice cream in a grocery store parking lot.  Just a spoon, a tub, and me.

At the Ben and Jerry's factory (back in the 80's), they used to sell their "seconds" (pints that didn't quite pass the quality test) for a buck. What was wrong with them? Some had too many nuts or too much chocolate. Damn. I sat down and ate four pints and then wondered if I could strap a cooler onto the back of my bike and buy them out.

For my twentieth birthday, my buddy Thomas went out and bought a box of twenty ice cream sandwiches. We were in Wisconsin in the midst of a cross-country tour. We ate them all. Thomas had nine, I had eleven (it was my birthday, after all).

After pedaling across Canada, I crunched the numbers and discovered that seventeen percent of my budget went to ice cream. I told an ice cream tale (video above) at The Church of Great Rain, a variety show in Vashon Island, Washington.

Feel free to share your own ice cream encounters in the comments section. Keep eating those triple scoops ... as long as you keep spinning those triple cranks!

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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS appears on Friday afternoons. Willie Weir is a columnist for Adventure Cyclist magazine. His latest book Travels with Willie: Adventure Cyclist will inspire you to hit the road and just might change the way you approach bicycle travel. He lives in Seattle with his wife Kat. You can read about their adventures at http://yellowtentadventures.com/.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/05/ice-cream-fueling-touring-cyclists.html

cycling equipment

Ben King Profile

Ben King Profile Benjamin King (born March 22, 1989 in North Garden, Virginia) is an American professional road-racing cyclist who moves up to Team RadioShack for the 2011 season.  Ben started racing at the age of 14 showing great promise and winning junior national titles before signing with Kelly Benefit Strategies.  He attended college at Virginia [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/ben-king-profile/

pez cycling

Team RadioShack Aim for Win in Tour of California

Next week Team RadioShack will start in the Amgen Tour of California (May 15-22) with the clear ambition to win the overall classification. Three-time winner Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner will start as the leaders of the Team. From the beginning of the season the Tour of California has been one of their big [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/team-radioshack-aim-for-win-in-tour-of-california/

2011 tour de france

Klöden Takes the Lead in Basque, Horner 1 Second Back

Team RadioShack?s Andreas Klöden (GER) stepped up on the podium in the town of Lekunberri at the end of the 2nd stage of the Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Tour of Basque Country and donned the leader?s yellow jersey after a smart, safe ride through the Pyrénées mountains of northeastern Spain. He?d been visible [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/kloden-takes-the-lead-in-basque-horner-1-second-back/

cycling accessories

Cycle Superhighway 3: A victim of its own success?

Riding along Cycle Superhighway 3 during the morning rush hour is an unfamiliar experience for the typical London cyclist. The route that connects Barking to Tower Gateway has experienced an 83% increase in cyclists since the first lids of blue paint were popped open. For those used to competing with drivers on busy London roads, [...]

Source: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/cycle-superhighway-3-a-victim-of-its-own-success/

oakley cycling

What's Missing from Your Touring Gear?

It's nearly June, and I know everyone out there is gearing up for a summer of cycling -- day trips, overnights, long weekends, and, of course, cross-country tours. What's missing from your pile of gear? Let's see, you've got your panniers, lights, water bottles -- maybe you won a Osprey Verve hydration pack earlier this month from Adventure Cycling -- bike shorts, U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS) jersey (maybe a USBRS cycling cap too?)...what's missing?

Your BOB Trailer, silly!

And we have a fun way for you to get one and make the world a better place for cycling at the very same time.

All you need to do is create a short video clip telling the world why the creation of a U.S. Bicycle Route System is important to you. It's quicker and easier than you think. Want proof of how easy? This video took me 3 minutes to shoot.

 

Step 1
: Grab a tripod, table top, or a close friend to hold the camera (Or use your phone camera and film yourself.)

Step 2: Stand a deliver! Stand in front of the camera and deliver your message about why you support the USBRS. We even have a sample script (PDF) that you can use as a jumping off point. (It also helps to press the record button on your camera.)
Step 3: Upload your video to YouTube.
Step 4: Email the link to wbateman@adventurecycling.org. Our media director, Winona, will add it to the Adventure Cycling YouTube playlist.
Step 5: Share your video link with all your friends and get them to watch and share it.
Step 6: Win a Yak Plus BOB Trailer! (Okay, this only applies if you get the most views on your video compared with all the other campaign videos. So, make sure you share it with everyone!)


Take 5 minutes right now to make your USBRS video and win this exciting BOB Trailer prize!

Other prize winners recently?

The Planet Bike bike-safe gift packs go to Sheri Hanna, Raymond Foss, and David Cousins! Deborah Douglas won the limited edition Ortlieb panniers.

More ways to win!



For another chance to win, donate before 11:59pm EST tomorrow (Thursday, May 24th) and be entered in the raffle to win a SERFAS Bike Transport case (pictured above) from Bike Flights to help you with all your bike-shipping needs. This case is awesome -- totally squish and toss proof, ready to survive airline baggage loading process.

And add this to your gear list: a beautiful, limited edition USBRS cycling cap, designed specially by Walz Caps for the campaign. To get one, just donate $100 or more. But move fast because supplies are limited.

Congratulations to all of our winners and thanks for supporting the U.S. Bicycle Route System!

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The 2012 BUILD IT. BIKE IT. BE A PART OF IT. campaign runs through May 31, 2012. Please donate $10 today! All donations are tax deductible and will support Adventure Cycling Association's organizing efforts and technical assistance for the U.S. Bicycle Route System. The campaign is supported by Adventure Cycling members, a dedicated group of Core Supporters, bicycle-industry partners, state and local bicycle organizations, and cyclists across North America.

Campaign business sponsors include Walz CapsRazoo,Giant BicyclesAdventure CenterTeamEstrogen.comStan?s NoTubesSun Bicycles & Origin-8WomanToursOrtlieb and Primal Wear.

In-kind product support to the Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It. campaign has been donated by Osprey PacksMootsBOB Trailer, BrooksPlanet BikeBikeFlights.com, and Hans Bagworks.

State partner organizations include Bike-Walk Alliance of NHMissouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, and Bicycle Alliance of Washington.

Web partners for the campaign are PathLessPedaledBikingBisBike Style SpokaneChicks on Bikes RadioChange your life ride a bike, and Bicycle Radio.

The U.S. Bicycle Route System is supported in part by grants from the SRAM Cycling Fund, the Surdna Foundation, the Lazar Foundation, New Belgium Brewing, and the Michigan United Tandem Society.

Thank you all for your support and participation!

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/05/whats-missing-from-your-touring-gear.html

giordana cycling

Cycling along the Mosel

The rivers that flow northwards from Germany and Eastern France are interesting. The Rhine, really a German river (Rhein), flows from Switzerland through Germany as far as Holland where about two thirds of its water volume becomes the Waal, going west where the river splits just before Nijmegen. The other third goes north to Arnhem [...]

Source: http://cycleseven.org/cycling-along-the-mosel

descente cycling

Levi Comments: Radioshack?s Leader in Tour de France

There has been plenty of speculation in the media and among fans regarding which Team Radioshack rider will lead the team in it’s efforts in the upcoming Tour de France. Even though Lance Armstrong is no longer riding professionally, the team still have several profiles who would fit the bill. In an recent poll on this [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/levi-comments-radioshacks-leader-in-tour-de-france/

le tour de france