Never Stop Learning.

Never stop learning. I went on ride the other day with a very promising and talented cyclist.  She has so much skill and power packaged up, she has no idea.  I was giving her a quick explanation on a couple of things she could work on to capitalize on her potential as a road cyclist and build on her mountain bike and cross background. One of the valuable lessons that I have learned over the years, is to never stop learning.  Each ride I go on, I like return home...

Source: http://alisonstarnes.com/never-stop-learning/

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The bike light you can drop in a pint glass

The clever chaps over at Knog in Australia, have come up with a new bike light. The Knog Blinder 1. It?s a bike light that you can drop in a pint. Here are three reasons you?ll love it: It can be dropped in a pint. Not only does this make for a cool trick in [...]

The post The bike light you can drop in a pint glass appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

Source: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/knog-blinder-review/

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Would you swap your car for a bike?

It’s a question that we often ask ourselves when we’re feeling particularly guilty about polluting the planet? could we swap our car for a bike? For many the answer is probably: “Yeah, for the commute, and a bit of shopping but I still need the car to drive to next weekend’s sportive…” Anyway, we’re not [...]

Source: http://magazine.bikeradar.com/2012/11/28/would-you-swap-your-car-for-a-bike/

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Stories as Gifts

As I watch the snow fall outside my office window, I remember the book we keep in the Cyclist's Lounge for visiting cyclists to write in when they stop by. It is filled with stories, map doodles, and advice; and it is brimming with enthusiasm.

Near the beginning of the book is this note from Chad and Jerry Umble, a father and son from Pennsylvania:

"My dad and I stopped here on our trip from Newport, Oregon to Yorktown, Virginia. Twenty-five years ago, our family of five and two others bicycled this same route. I was 12 years old and my older, twin brothers were 15. It is weird to see some of the spots that have become part of family lore, and we have even recreated some of the old photos in the same spots."

After reading this entry, I had to see if we captured a picture of this duo in our 2012 Visiting Cyclists Flickr set. We did! While Jerry appears on the serious side, Chad's smile reveals that all is well.


Jerry chronicled their tour in a blog, US BLOG 2012, where you can read how this pair faired across the country on a route mainly comprised of the TransAmerica Trail. (Spoiler alert: It didn't go quite as planned.)

I'll bet when the family gets together this holiday season, there will be new stories told and old stories recalled of times together on bicycles. In my mind, these will be the best gifts shared.

Photo from Adventure Cycling's Flickr photostream.

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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 the Adventure Cycling 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/2012/12/stories-as-gifts.html

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See our Legend HT 7.5 Demo Bike over on Road.cc

Last week saw Dave Arthur from over at road.cc visiting Bike Science Bristol for a fitting on our Legend HT 7.5 demo bike. Expect to see a full review of the bike over the coming weeks, but for now here’s their first impression and some juicy photos of our Campag Chorus 11 Speed equipped beauty. Marco [...]

Source: http://blog.bike-science.com/2012/12/04/see-our-legend-ht-7-5-demo-bike-over-on-road-cc

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The truth and the bike.

We are all guilty of it. We get entrenched in the monotony of the bike.  We get to our group rides, we pedal, we suffer, we blow snot, we stare at the wheel in front of us, we tough it out, we train.  I love the grit and the romance.  It has almost a cathartic rhythm to it all. I love the predictable nature my training lends me.  I love my roads, I love my potholes, and I love my routine.  I clip in, I ride, I get stronger, I...

Source: http://alisonstarnes.com/the-truth-and-the-bike/

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Awesomeness All the Way Around


This week's story is by Adventure Cycling's own Amanda Lipsey, our super-duper Development Director. "I'm a runner, cyclist, and dedicated dog mommy in Missoula, Montana," Amanda says of herself. "I have the great advantage of working at Adventure Cycling Association, where figuring out how to do stuff like this -- travel by bike with a dog, that is -- is what we do."

Travel by bike with a dog, indeed. In "An Awesome Gal and Her Awesome Pup," Amanda and her border collie Astro packed up and hit the open road last summer.

"In preparation for a longer self-contained bicycle trip, Astro and I scheduled a mid-August shakedown overnight. The purpose of a shakedown ride was to figure out anything that might not be working logistically or mechanically with the bike, and to learn if there was any additional equipment needed. For our overnight, we went from Missoula up the Bitterroot Valley to Bass Creek, camped for two days, then rode back home.


"I was very worried about the weight I?d be pulling around. My bicycle without gear probably weighs somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds. I carry 15 to 20 pounds of gear, not including the trailer, which weighs 22 pounds. Astro weighs 55 pounds, and I weigh 160. That?s more than 270 pounds that I have to push/pedal up hills and across many, many miles. Needless to say, I was feeling a bit of trepidation.

"Soon, though, I was little disappointed in myself for doubting my own strength as a cyclist. We got over the set of hills just as easily as when I ride with no gear."

Once they got to the Bass Creek Road, however -- where they faced a tough, 2-mile climb to get to the campground -- Amanda let Astro out of the trailer. He even helped pull the load, thanks to an innovative device known as the Springer

"On day two of our shakedown," Amanda continues, "we went for a nice hike up Bass Creek, on which Astro was expected to carry his own gear.


"The next day we arose early, packed up, and headed back to Missoula. My colleague Arlen, who joined me for the return ride, seemed a bit impressed by how well I handled the hills with all of the weight. That?s because I?m so awesome. And so is Astro."

Read the rest of Amanda's tale at BikeOvernights.org. There you'll also find a collection of Photos of the Week, including this week's image of a boy having an exultant time in the Canadian outdoors. It comes from To the Sugar Shack and Back: An Alberta Overnight, a story about a father-and-son outing that has generated more comments than any of the other 100+ Bike Overnights that have posted over the past two years.


BikeOvernights.org Photo of the Week, 12.07.12.

Top 3 photos by Amanda Lipsey, bottom photo by Dave Buchanan. 

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BIKE OVERNIGHTS is posted every Tuesday by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling?s media specialist, and highlights content from BikeOvernights.org. Previously, from March 2009 through January 2012, Mac posted weekly at Biking Without Borders. He also compiles the organization's twice-monthly e-newsletter Bike Bits, which goes free-of-charge to nearly 47,000 readers worldwide.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/12/awesomeness-all-way-around.html

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