Salsa Anything Cage

Sometimes it is the simple things that bring the greatest joy, and that's why Salsa's new Anything Cage is going down as my personal pick for 2011 Touring Product of the Year.

For most of us, this oversized cage will be mounted to the standard water bottle eyelets, but it can also be mounted up to Salsa's Enabler and generation 2 Fargo forks. The purpose of the Anything Cage is to provide some extra gear or hydration storage with a very small time and monetary investment. I've seen it used to carry a sleeping bag, stuff sack of clothing, and a sleeping pad. On my most recent trip, I used it to maintain a steady supply of grape flavored Fanta (see photo above).

The cage installs as easily as a standard water bottle cage, and your gear is secured with a pair of included nylon straps. At $25, you pretty much can't afford not to get one.

Photo by Josh Tack

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TOURING GEAR AND TIPS is written by Joshua Tack of Adventure Cycling's member services department. It appears weekly, highlighting technical aspects of bicycle touring and advice to help better prepare you for the journey ahead.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/12/salsa-anything-cage.html

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Dreams of the Mother Road

When I was a kid, my favorite non-western TV series was Route 66, an ongoing tale about a pair of itinerant young men who gadded about the American countryside in a sexy Corvette convertible, accompanied by a soundtrack of smoky jazz tunes. (This was so long ago that the show was in black & white.) Tod and Buz ? and, later in the series, Tod and Lincoln ? went from place to place searching for themselves, typically getting into some kind of trouble or getting other people out of it. Looking back, the subject matter was pretty heavy for a pre-teen; I probably didn't grasp the plots all that well. I think it was the sports car and the allure of the open road that drew me in.

Today, I no longer lust after a classic Corvette, but the empty highway keeps calling. The empty and quiet highway, negotiated not on four wheels but on two, where the only sounds are the whistling wind, the click of an upshift, and the purring of skinny tires over hard pavement.

For these reasons and others, I feel like Bicycle Route 66, Adventure Cycling's newest routing project, could be custom made especially for me.

The research is half completed, from Chicago to the Texas/New Mexico border. Research westward to Los Angeles will commence soon. For a preview of what to expect, check out Ginny's Sullivan's review of Bicycle Route 66 in northern Arizona, based on a quick trip she made last May.

Can't you hear it, the siren song of the open road? Can't you picture the '50s-style diners and drive-ins, the wigwam motels, the canopied service stations? Join me for a ride on the Mother Road, and together we'll bicycle back in time. We'll pedal from place to place, searching for ourselves and for the soul of the heartland.

Heck, we may even run into Tod and Buz.

Photo of Route 66 street sign in Sante Fe, New Mexico, by Michael McCoy.

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BIKING WITHOUT BORDERS is posted every Monday by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling?s media specialist, and highlights a little bit of this or a little bit of that ? just about anything, as long as it?s related to traveling by bicycle. Mac also compiles the organization's twice-monthly e-newsletter Bike Bits, which goes free-of-charge to more than 43,000 readers worldwide, and organizes the Bike Overnights program.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/01/dreams-of-mother-road.html

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Bicycle Tourist Preferences

Have you ever wanted to tour with Adventure Cycling, but our offerings, schedule, or touring styles did not match your needs?

We would like to invite you to participate in an important survey that will assist us in enhancing our existing bicycle tour offerings and help us develop new ones. We hope to accomplish our goal by understanding "your ideal tour experience." Your responses will be helpful if you have toured with Adventure Cycling, toured with another organization, or just thinking about touring with either.

The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete. Take the survey now.

Thank you for your input!

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ON THE ROAD is written by the tours team -- Mo, Paul, Madeline, and Arlen -- tours specialists and intrepid bicyclists, covering all things related to Adventure Cycling's Tours Department. Check out our 2012 Tours!

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/12/bicycle-tourist-preferences.html

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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/

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Good Morning Vietnam (and Cambodia)!

Much to my surprise I have made it back from my cycle challenge across Vietnam and Cambodia in one piece. No falls, tumbles, collisions; not even any serious sunburn thanks to near religious application of factor 50 sun cream. Those of you who have read my other blogs will know why this is quite an [...]

Source: http://magazine.bikeradar.com/2011/11/28/good-morning-vietnam-and-cambodia/

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Awesome Summer Family Vacations

Ah, the holidays are over, children are returning to school, and young adults will be heading back to college soon. Winter is beginning to settle in in most places in the country, with the coldest of weather just ahead. The good news? The days are finally getting longer.

Arlen, Chris, Brandon circa 1992
As I think back to when my boys, now in their mid-twenties, were teens and pre-teens, I fondly remember the glimmers of excitement that developed after the holidays. Our attention continued on winter sports, school, music, and clubs, but our thoughts invariably focused on summer. January and February, the time for summer vacation planning! Summer camps, weekend trips, visitors, vacations! Summers sometimes seemed as hectic as the holidays, but they were totally packed with fun and excitement. The calendars were placed on the table and the family began to talk about all that we wanted to do in the summer. Cycling opportunities and vacations were definitely on the agenda. Where to go? With whom to cycle? How long to ride? What to bring?

A ride in the rain -- C&O Family Fun
One of the beauties of an Adventure Cycling Family Fun tour is that all the logistics of the tour are handled for you. Once you arrive, you simply ride, enjoy the scenery, and share time with your children -- or grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends. You can explore Colorado's mountains, Missouri's Katy Trail, or the C&O Canal. Every tour is catered with some of the best grub around prepared by our finest tour chefs. You'll ride load-free, with Adventure Cycling staff carry your tent and gear in a support vehicle. You have the opportunity to ride with your children and your children have the opportunity to meet other kids that like, or love, to ride. There are lots of sites to explore, with ample social time for everyone.

What are you waiting for? Start dreaming about, and planning for that family cycling vacation that you and your children will never forget! Check out our Family Fun tours now.

Antietam Battlefield -- C&O Family Fun


Top photo by Arlen Hall; middle and bottom photos by Larry Brock.

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ON THE ROAD is written by the tours team -- Mo, Paul, Madeline, and Arlen -- tours specialists and intrepid bicyclists, covering all things related to Adventure Cycling's ours Department. Check out our 2012 Tours!

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/01/awesome-summer-family-vacations.html

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The Hungry Cyclist Podcast June 2011 - The White Swan, Hunagrian Restaurant, London

H is for Hungary, and for our eighth visit on our tour of London's global cuisine we headed to the White Swan in North London. To listen to what happened plug in your headphones, find a comfy chair and enjoy.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/thehungrycyclist/~3/PgiCgRqb01o/the-hungry-cyclist-podcast-june-2011-the-white-swan-hunagrian-restaurant-london.html

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