Registration opens this week for most Cascade bike rides

It's time for Cascade Bicycle Club members to line up to register online for the club's most popular bicycle rides on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In order to prevent a repeat of last year's server meltdown of monumental proportions, the club is staggering the dates for registration this year and instituting a lottery system for the RSVP and RSVP2 (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party).

Here's the rundown:

On Tuesday, members-only registration opens for Chilly Hilly, Flying Wheels, STP and Ride Around Washington ...

Source: http://www.bikingbis.com/blog/_archives/2012/1/8/4974233.html

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Point of Entry (one of the greatest bike travel songs ever written)

Point of Entry from Willie Weir on Vimeo.


"Give the world outside a point of entry. It'll give back to you."

That lyric stuck in my soul the first time I heard it in Larry Murante's title song of his album Point of Entry.

Music is an incredible force, and each listener interprets what they hear in their own way. Words can be heard and quickly forgotten, but put them to music, and they will most likely be with you forever.

I know for a fact that Larry didn't set out to write a bicycle travel tune. But that is exactly what it is for me. My "point of entry" is my bicycle. It allows me to be more engaged, more vulnerable, and more in touch with the world around me.

With that in mind, listen to the tune with added images, and you may agree that this is one of the most beautiful bicycle travel songs ever written.

Photos: by Willie Weir
Music: by Larry Murante
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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/2012/01/point-of-entry-one-of-greatest-bike.html

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Amgen Tour of California ? The Day After

The only thing bad about the Amgen Tour of California, with it’s beautiful scenery, world-class competition, excellent organization and stage selection, is that every year…it has to come to an end.  For a rabid cycling fan, the worst day of most big stage races is the day after it’s concluded.  You wish it could go [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/amgen-tour-of-california-%e2%80%93-the-day-after/

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MapMyRIDE Signs Levi Leipheimer

MapMyRIDE Signs Team RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer as New Product Spokesperson 2011 Tour de Suisse Winner and Team RadioShack Member Will Use MapMyRIDE’s Innovative Web And Mobile Products Over the Course of His Training MapMyRIDE, the premier provider of Web- and mobile-based training and mapping applications for cyclists, announced today that Levi Leipheimer, current member of the Team [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/mapmyride-signs-levi-leipheimer/

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Sleepless Til Seattle from Missoula

In Routes and Mapping, we regularly respond to questions that arrive via the online Contact Us link available on the Adventure Cycling website. In December 2010, it was through this form that I received a note from Graham in Scotland who was preparing to ride across the U.S. with his friend, Pauline.

It was a fairly straightforward opening series of questions: Should we ride the Northern Tier or TransAmerica route? Which direction should we ride, east to west or west to east? What about prevailing winds? I answered his questions and moved on to the next task needing my attention. And then he wrote back, what about panniers? Should I consider using a trailer? Our correspondence continued for the next couple of months as his planning proceeded.

Generally, this is where the conversations end -- I rarely hear back on how the trip went. It was a little bit different this time around with Graham and Pauline. Along the way, Graham had shared with me that he was a filmmaker and he intended to record their trip in a video diary with the possibility of making a full length film at the end. His blog title "Sleepless Til Seattle" intrigued me and I added it to my list of trips I wanted to follow virtually through the summer.

As time permitted, I checked in on Sleepless Til Seattle occasionally to see where they were and how they were doing. I thoroughly enjoyed Graham's video clips and learned a lot about the people and history found along the Northern Tier.

Surprising to me, I heard from Graham directly now and again. Often he'd have a little tidbit to share about services and teasers for the latest video diary entry. In fact, his eloquently worded email and video piece on conditions near Williston, North Dakota, proved to be the tipping point in favor of us significantly moving the Northern Tier Route as far from the active oil and gas exploration occurring there as possible. (More information to come on that topic.)


In early October, I received a hand written note from Graham and Pauline. They had finished their journey from Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington, and their happy faces beamed back at me that it had been a success.


Today has Graham back in Scotland and Pauline is pedaling her bicycle in New Zealand -- following her vision of an around the world journey. I continue to be in touch with Graham as he begins putting together the Sleepless Til Seattle film. He is even more inspired to share his experience, "We set out with pre-conceived ideas of America, its people and its culture, based on little more than a lifetime of watching American movies and reading the biased reporting of the press. What we discovered as we pushed west was a country with a generous heart, a can-do spirit and a people that showed us how easy it is to be kind."

To get a taste of the experience of the Sleepless Til Seattle duo, be sure to check out the video diaries Graham made from the road.

As in many a great venture, capital is required to get things started and keep it going. An IndieGoGo campaign has been created to support the film making process. They have an initial fundraising goal of $18,000 by April 1. If you would like to help bring this story to the big screen, you can donate via their IndieGoGo page.

Graham has a post on his blog outlining the project and campaign. If you wish to keep current with the progress of the film, you can follow them on Twitter (@bostontoseattle) or check in on their Sleepless Til Seattle Facebook page.

Top photo: Graham and Pauline preparing to leave from historic Boston, Massachusetts.
Middle photo: Graham in action filming the ride of Sleepless Til Seattle.
Bottom photo: In Seattle, Graham and Pauline at the finish of their journey.


All photos from paulinesymaniak's Flickr photostream Flickr.

Graphic courtesy of Graham Kitchner.

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GEOPOINTS BULLETIN is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures, and persons from Adventure Cycling's Route Network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure. She also wants to remind you that map corrections and comments are always welcome via the online Map Correction Form.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/01/sleepless-til-seattle-from-missoula.html

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Robbie McEwen Profile

Robbie McEwen (born June 24, 1972 in Brisbane) is an Australian road-racing champion in his final ? 15th ? season as a professional with Team RadioShack, having started his career with Rabobank in 1996. Nicknamed the Pocket Rocket, he has amassed an almost unsurpassed record of well over 200 victories throughout his long and [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/robbie-mcewen-profile/

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The One That Got Away


I love hearing stories well told. Spinning a yarn is a gift, and this man has it. Kat and I were cycling in the Deep South and camped in the yard of two delightful hosts. Late in the evening, sitting around their kitchen table, I asked the gentleman to tell me a story off the top of his head. It ended up being about an experience he had while hunting wild hog.

I'm not a hunter. I shot a BB gun when I was a kid. If my abilities as a ten-year-old were any indication, it's a good thing my survival didn't depend on shooting wild game.

It's what I love most about travel -- getting to experience opinions, cultures, and ways of life that are different than my own.

I don't think this gentlemen had ridden a bike since he was a kid. I hope he enjoyed having a couple of bicycle travelers roll into his life, as much as we enjoyed his company ... and his stories.

The One That Got Away

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Photos: Georgia -- 2001 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/2012/01/one-that-got-away.html

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