Rast Within Inches of Podium at Paris-Roubaix

Beautiful blue skies, unseasonably warm shirt-sleeve temperatures, knowledge crowds thickly lining the roads, hard to see how it could get much better for the 109th running of the 258-kilometer (160 mile) Hell of the North. It?s been named that mostly because of the 27 cobbled sectors (51.5 kms) that the riders bounce over on [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/rast-within-inches-of-podium-at-paris-roubaix/

cycling team kits

Team Boardman Cycling Plus ? Sean Lacey

Team Boardman Cycling Plus  will be updating you each week with the highs and lows of their training as part of the team. This week Sean has his first crash! Sean Lacey Lives: Shropshire Age: 40 Height: 1.88m Weight: 93kg Reasons to ride: mid-life fitness crisis and to make my 71-year-old roadie grandfather proud! Weaknesses: [...]

Source: http://magazine.bikeradar.com/2011/08/10/team-boardman-cycling-plus-sean-lacey-3/

cycling jerseys

TdF Stage 3 ? WHY do They do That?

Monday?s 198-kilometer 3rd Stage of the Tour de France, from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon, France was a long, flat stage that saw a 5-man break jump away from the peloton after just 1-˝ kms and stay away all day, entertaining – for more than 4 hours – the hope of winning one of the biggest prizes [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/tdf-stage-3-why-do-they-do-that/

pro cycling magazine

Candy Break

I always smile when I look at this photo. It was taken many years ago, but it feels like I snapped it yesterday.

It was early morning in India in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Lots of climbing, steep grades, and snow on the ground. I pedaled up to this tiny roadside store to buy a cup of hot chai to warm my hands and get my daily sugar rush.

The four girls in the photo were walking to school and stopped at the store as well. They all bought candy and quickly unwrapped the sweets and popped them in their mouths. I already had my camera out. As I was about to take their photo, some of the men outside began to joke with the girls that they shouldn't be spending all their money on candy. Three of the girls are reacting to the teasing. But one of the girls looks right into my camera. Her gaze has intrigued me over the years.

Looking at this photo, I can feel the rock I was sitting on. I can smell the wood from the fire built to boil chai. And I can still hear the girls' laughter.

Many a journey's details are lost over time. But some travel memories never fade.

Photo: India -- 1994 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/2011/08/candy-break.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/

irish cycling

Love and Hate on the Great Divide

Don't let the title of this article fool you. This isn't about romance and marriage -- even though I just completed a six day mountain bike tour with my best friend and wedded partner of 23 years.

No, this is about suffering one minute, only to be wowed and blissful the next. This is about rolling through scenic mountain valleys, breathing in fresh air on low (almost no) traffic roads, followed by climbing, climbing, loud breathing (panting really), head down, focused concentration, and a great deal of motivational self-talk. This is about praising colleague and route architect, Mac McCoy one second, and cursing him the next.

This is about a small section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route -- a section just a short distance from my hometown, Missoula, MT.

I've driven through the region many times over the course of my life in Montana, but never on these roads and never at bike pace. Let me tell you, if you really want to see, hear, smell and experience Montana, there is no better way than the Great Divide.

My hubby and I started on a sunny Tuesday from the rustic little town of Ovando, MT. That first 20 miles was one of the prettiest of the trip -- with the Bob Marshall Wilderness guiding us on our left as we passed through aspen groves, and then climbed Huckleberry Pass. There's nothing like the reward of climbing a pass to find an epic down hill to your destination.

Exiting Lincoln, MT, the next morning, I wondered how I had passed through this little town hundreds of times and never saw this gorgeous homestead (pictured above).

Each day had its logistical challenges -- like forgetting to strap down the back of the Burley and losing a shoe somewhere along the trail. Oh well, he brought too many anyway!

But the truly epic day on our trip was Helena to Basin; a portion of this section of the route uses Lava Mountain Trail #244. Here we were forced to push over a 7-mile trail that had been ravished by heavy snow run-off and ATV use (which is actually not allowed on this particular trail).

As difficult as the push up was, the down was just as challenging, especially with the two-wheeled Burley and my loaded bike.

But we made it -- though we may have taken a few wrong turns, landing on a cattle trail (much to the cows' surprise!) -- but then we found the right road and wound our way down, down, down to Basin, and the Merry Widow Health Mine and Campground, where we enjoyed a hot shower and visits from neighboring campers, who had come from all over the continent to enjoy the health benefits of the radon gas released in the mines in this area.

And though I hated the head wind the next morning, I loved the little things that enriched the trip, like coming across Sullivan Gulch Trail Head as we headed into Butte, and stirring up hundreds of butterflies as we passed along the trail. And in the end, it was the the good things that count; the beauty and bliss of the mountains that I'll remember. It's the companionship of my husband and the taste of that huckleberry ice cream cone. Yeah, I'll remember that for a long, long time.

Photos by Ginny Sullivan
 
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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/2011/08/love-and-hate-on-great-divide.html

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