Thousands of cyclists expected to attend the Big Ride this Saturday

On Saturday the 28th of April, thousands of cyclists will converge on the streets of London outside Parliament Square to support streets designed for all. View The Big Ride route in a larger map The ride plan is as follows: At 11am, cyclists will assemble near Marble Arch. At 12pm the ride begins towards Parliament [...]

Source: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/cycling-london/thousands-of-cyclists-expected-to-attend-the-big-ride-this-saturday/

cycling jerseys

Recap: Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen)

Hills are bad enough, Pave is not a preferred surface for cycling. Put the two together and you have a punishing prospect for a cycle race. And so it is with the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Thrills, spills leg-pain, guts and all out exhaustion are guaranteed in every running of this World Pro Tour race. Falling [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/recap-tour-of-flanders-ronde-van-vlaanderen/

cycling clubs

Muravyev Rides Strong at Three Days of De Panne

Team RadioShack?s Dmitriy Muravyev (KAZ) made his presence felt in the opening stage of the 35th running of the Three Days of De Panne, staying with a 4-man breakaway that somehow kept clear of a peloton loaded with expectant sprinter?s teams. Dmitriy crossed the finish line 3rd behind the winner Omega Pharma-Lotto?s André Greipel [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/muravyev-rides-strong-at-three-days-of-de-panne/

le tour de france

Cycling our National Parks - Free Admission This Week

In honor of National Park Week, April 21-29, all 396 U.S. National Parks are offering free entrance admission. Maybe it's time you checked biking to and through a National Park off your bucket list.

Realizing that not all the National Parks are cycling suitable in April (for example, Glacier has only just started plowing Going to the Sun Road), there are plenty of others waiting for you! You could check out a park near your home and go on a Bike Overnight this weekend (then you can write about it and submit your trip to our blog for others to gain inspiration from). Or perhaps there is one in a region you plan to visit anyway. The National Park Service provides this very cool interactive map for locating National Parks.

Early in the season is often the best time to experience a national park by bicycle and some parks offer car-free days during certain times of the year that make the riding that much sweeter. Other parks have roads suitable for a good cycling time - with limited traffic, such as Arcadia's scenic 45-mile carriage road system, and the Natchez Trace with no commercial trucks and low speed limits. While I couldn't find a simple comprehensive list of these offerings, you can do an "advanced search" " by activity" (choose bicycling!) to find parks that make special accommodations for cyclists. If you want to get a good deal on your park stay, many have special offers to tempt you further.

If you missed planning a trip to your favorite national park this week, not to worry, there are plenty more free admission days to take advantage of. So go on, get out there and enjoy some of the most beautiful places on earth!

Photo of Zion National Park by rockwellrely on Flickr.?

CONNECTIONS is posted by Ginny Sullivan, Adventure Cycling's special projects director and features the cultural, historical, geographical, and human connections created through bike travel. Find out about our award-winning Underground Railroad Bicycle Route.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/04/cycling-our-national-parks-free.html

2011 tour de france

30 days of biking: Coalfield and ?Gobbler?s Knob?

Some plumbing issues at the house sent me out on my bicycle to a hardware store in search of washers on Saturday. It was no longer a "plumbing emergency," however, giving me a chance to explore a little bit on the way home. I started by heading east on Highway 900, part of the old Sunset Highway, between Renton and Issaquah. This is part of the first automobile highway over Snoqualmie Pass that was dedicated in 1915. It ran through North Bend and Issaquah and around Lake Washington to Seattle.

Source: http://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/29/30-days-of-biking-coalfield-and-gobblers-knob/

cycling fans

Why? is much better without Hope!

Why?Bike's new wheels arrived earlier this week. After much deliberation I'd ordered Deore LX hubs built onto Rigida Snyper rims by Andrew at Spa Cycles. Why?Bike is meant as my expedition tourer, ready and waiting for my mythical round the world tour so I had considered going for the bombproof Sputnik rims but eventually decided [...]

Source: http://cycleseven.org/why-is-much-better-without-hope

cycling training plans

Kids on Bikes!

Kids on Bikes! They make me smile. They give me hope for the future.

We met the kids on the left up in Northern Thailand. In a country that has fully embraced the scooter, it was rare for us to see anyone on a bike. These kids were doing some off-roading, and stopped long enough to check out the adults (an even stranger sighting) on bikes.

The kids on the right were pedaling near the town of Guarico, Venezuela. Gas is so cheap in this country that bikes aren't used much. But this little town has seen a resurgence in recreational cycling.

These images give me hope. Kids on bikes become adults on bikes. Adults who are healthier, who are more connected to their environment, who use less of our precious natural resources, and who are more likely to teach their kids to ride bikes. And the cycle continues!


Photos: Thailand/Venezuela by Willie Weir

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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 local adventures and life without a car at http://YellowTentAdventures.com/.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/04/kids-on-bikes.html

cycling trips

Kick Off National Bike Month by Building the U.S. Bicycle Route System

Happy May 1st, Adventure Cyclists!

As you probably know (and are celebrating wildly), May 1st marks the beginning of National Bike Month -- a month celebrated with bike-to-work weeks, bike-walk weeks, and loads of festivities and freebies to encourage people to get on their bikes and ride.

May 1st also marks the first day of our Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It. campaign to raise funds and awareness for the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). If you're reading our blog, then you probably know what the U.S. Bicycle Route System is already, but if you're new to the Adventure Cycling blog (and a big welcome to you) you can visit our USBRS webpages to learn more about the project as a whole. In short, the USBRS will give you the opportunity to travel by bicycle anywhere you want to go -- to the grocery store, the next town over, the closest national park, or across the country.  It will be the overarching network connecting state and municipal bicycle infrastructures -- connecting communities and people with bicycle routes. The USBRS will rival similar systems in Europe and Canada as the most comprehensive and largest bicycle-route network in the world.

During the whole month of May we will be sharing news and information about the USBRS. And today, we have some very exciting news:

Sun Bicycles and Origin-8 are offering a generous $1,000 match challenge to kick off our first week of the campaign! Show your support by helping us meet this match opportunity today. Donate $10, $25, $50 and see it go twice as far!

As if that wasn't enough, everyone who donates today -- May 1st -- will have the chance to win this Viper 10 pack (pictured below) or a Verve 10 (they're gender specific), generously donated by Osprey Packs.


Donate today to be entered to win!*

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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 Caps, RazooGiant Bicycles, Adventure Center, TeamEstrogen.com, Stan?s NoTubes, Sun Bicycles & Origin-8, and WomanTours.

In-kind product support to the Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It. campaign has been donated by Osprey PacksMoots, BOB Trailer, Brooks, Planet Bike, BikeFlights.com, and Hans Bagworks.

State partner organizations include Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire and Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation

Web partners for the campaign are PathLessPedaled, BikingBis, Bicycle Style Spokane, Chicks on Bikes, Change 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! 

*Before midnight PST, each donor will be entered into a raffle to win the Osprey pack.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/05/kick-off-national-bike-month-by.html

descente cycling