TdF Stage 4 ? Shoot Out at Mur-de-Bretagne

Many thought that today?s 173-km (107.5-mile) 4th Stage going from Lorient to the short but steep ramp up the Mur-de-Bretagne had Philippe Gilbert?s name written all over it. This is exactly the type of course that the current dominant Belgium national champion has built his reputation on. And given his latest form, winning [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/tdf-stage-4-%e2%80%93-shoot-out-at-mur-de-bretagne/

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Tough Cookie

What defines the word “tough”? According to the dictionary: tough adj \?t?f\ Definition of TOUGH 1 a : strong or firm in texture but flexible and not brittle b : not easily chewed “tough collarbone” “tough expired energy bars” 2: glutinous, sticky “tough ShotBloks” 3: characterized by severity or uncompromising determination “tough hill repeats” “tough [...]

Source: http://alisonstarnes.com/2012/01/16/tough-cookie/

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UGRR Detroit Alternate: Part 1


The new Detroit Alternate of the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route (UGRR) follows a meandering route covered by two map sections, from Oberlin, Ohio, to Owen Sound, Ontario. Section 1 of the Detroit Alternate heads northwest from Oberlin, curving around the west end of Lake Erie as it continues into Michigan, passes through Detroit, and enters Ontario, ending in the town of Sombra after skirting the western and northern shores of Lake St. Clair. (Note: The main UGRR enters Ontario at the opposite, eastern end of Lake Erie, in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls vicinity.)

The legacy of the Underground Railroad is rich along the Detroit Alternate, which branches off from the main UGRR at Oberlin, a place of division in more ways than one. The settlement was founded in 1833 by a pair of Presbyterian ministers discouraged by what they believed to be a virtual absence of solid Christian values and morals among the settlers moving ever westward. Their new town, named after Jean-Frédéric Oberlin -- a French minister and missionary the men admired -- would be a place of living and learning for those dedicated to the Biblical commandments.

The community was conceived as integrated from the very start, and in 1835 a youthful Oberlin College was among the first institutions of higher learning in the United States to accept African-American students. Among the college?s notable graduates was abolitionist John Mercer Langston, who became the first African American to earn a seat in the U.S. Congress, representing Virginia beginning in 1888.

Because of its liberal, all-inclusive climate, and the type of people attracted to Oberlin, the Oberlin area evolved into a center of the abolitionism movement. By the early 1850s, Oberlin was a key station on the Underground Railroad with thousands of freedom seekers settling there or passing through on their way to absolute freedom in Canada. Oberlin remained a relatively safe place for escaped slaves until 1858, when a newly elected Democratic state legislature overturned an Ohio state law that resulted in strong enforcement of the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This opened the door to slave hunters from the South coming in and legally extraditing escaped slaves, returning them to the ?owners? from whom they had escaped.

An event that directly fired up the Civil War has ties to Oberlin, where the name of abolitionist John Brown echoes through the annals of time. Around 1805, when Brown was a young child, his family moved from Connecticut to nearby Hudson, Ohio, and Brown?s father served for several years on the Oberlin College board of trustees. Ultimately, a trio of Oberlinians gave their lives as a result of their participation in Brown?s 1859 raid on the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

Due to its immediate proximity to Canada, many residents of the southeastern Michigan region played vital roles in the operation of the Underground Railroad. At least seven loosely defined Michigan-to-Canada routes along the Railroad have been identified, including one that ran from Toledo to Detroit, by way of the Michigan communities of Adrian, Morenci, Tecumseh, Saline, Ypsilanti, and Plymouth.

In many instances, it was women -- specifically, Quaker women -- who led the way for abolitionism and the Underground Railroad. ?Nationally and in Michigan, women were at the forefront of creating groups opposed to slavery,? writes historic preservationist Carol E. Mull in her comprehensive, The Underground Railroad in Michigan (McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2010). Adrian had its share of such heroines. Elizabeth Margaret Chandler, for instance, who arrived in Michigan in 1831 from Philadelphia. In October 1832, Chandler organized the Logan Female Anti-Slavery Society in the Quaker community of Logan, which later would be called Adrian. She died of a fever just two years later, still a young woman.

Another woman, activist Laura Smith Haviland, like Chandler, was a Quaker and a member of the Logan Society. But she was a bit too outspoken for the sensibilities of her Quaker Friends. Rather than conform to their expectations, she ultimately withdrew -- and persuaded her parents and several others to do the same -- from the Quaker Society. These individuals aligned themselves with the group most active in abolitionism, the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Haviland herself was so involved in the Underground Railroad in and around Adrian that a southern slave owner reportedly offered a $3,000 reward for her capture. In 1837, she and her husband founded a free school for the children of former slaves, one of the first educational institutions in the state to welcome African American girls and boys. She also helped establish the Refugee Home Society, where fugitive slaves were offered temporary homes across the international border in Windsor, Ontario.

A marker commemorating Haviland is found at the Raisin Valley Friends Meeting House in Adrian, where her father was the first pastor and where Laura is buried.

Image by Adventure Cycling Association

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This is the first of four in a series of Guest Posts about the Detroit Alternate of the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route (UGRR) by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling's media specialist. Mac, who wrote the Field Notes for the UGRR -- from which these posts are adapted -- also contributes a regular column on the blog about the Bike Overnights program, which posts every Monday.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/02/ugrr-detroit-alternate-part-1.html

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Why should I buy a folding bike!

For your typical city occupant folding bikes usually are the most appropriate way to get around. With a lot of Londoners living in flats and apartments with little if any storage space a foldable bicycle is going to be much more convenient when compared to a standard sized cycle. The bikes fold up rapidly and are generally small enough to be tucked away in the home or taken on trains and buses during the particular times that ordinary cycles are restricted on account of passenger over crowding. Folding bikes can in fact be taken on the tube system, taken on buses and even taken on Croydon's Tram link system. Officially the bikes may need to be in a small bag but in practice Transport for London rarely enforce this and if they do then a pair of black bin liners will suffice. A folder will permit a person to circumvent the train companies' cycle restrictions and you could actually take your folding bike home in a minicab on a Friday night following a few bevies at the pub! There are plenty of different kinds of folding bicycles available, from leading manufacturers including Dahon, Brompton and Pashley.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cyclingchatcouk/~3/sxVHiYm0Kaw/

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Andreas Klöden Out of the Tour

And then there were 5! After just a few minutes of pedaling into today?s Stage 13, Team RadioShack?s Andreas Klöden was forced to abandon his Tour effort this year succumbing to numerous injuries from several bad crashes. With numerous bruises and bad scrapes the most serious injury was Andreas? back, which caused him severe [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/andreas-kloden-out-of-the-tour/

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RAGBRAI and BAK announce 2012 bicycle tour routes

If you're curious about the 2012 routes for RAGBRAI XL (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) or BAK (Biking Across Kansas), then you've been waiting for this weekend.

Organizers of both popular across-state bicycle tours announced their routes, a combined 946 miles of bicycling for anyone lucky enough to do both.

Between the two, they have 77 years of experience ushering bicyclists across their states in hot summer sun, thunder showers, and occasional windstorms -- all the while ensuring the cyclists can consume copious quantities of pie.

This is the 40th anniversary of RAGBRAI (July 22-28), a mass bicycle tour of 10,000 people. Perhaps to celebrate the occasion, the ride will be among the least challenging...

Source: http://www.bikingbis.com/blog/_archives/2012/1/29/4987718.html

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Save Our Cyclists ? Cities Fit for Cyclists

Yesterday, the front page of the Times carried a headline ‘Save Our Cyclists’ It is partly motivated by a young Times journalist, Mary Bowers, being involved in a very serious accident on her way to work in 2011. It was quite a surprise to see a major newspaper give their front page to improving cycle [...]

Source: http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/4317/commuting/save-our-cyclists-cities-fit-for-cyclists/

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