Category: Bike Touring

Overnighter bicycle tour to the Key Peninsula from Seattle

The ferries that cross Puget Sound can be a quick and affordable escape for bicyclists seeking to get away from the urban sprawl for a rural retreat.

Although these ferry rides are relatively short, I always feel that I've been deposited on a faraway shore with all my cares and worries left behind.

Last week, I rode down to the Seattle Ferry Terminal to begin an overnight bicycle tour to the Key Peninsula, a rather isolated part of lower Kitsap. How isolated? A barista I spoke with near the town of Home said she'd lived there 32 years and was still considered a newcomer.

I would only be gone 30 hours, but I felt like I'd been away from home for a week by the time I returned …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/07/28/overnighter-bicycle-tour-to-the-key-peninsula-from-seattle/

Lance Armstrong returns to Iowa for a bike ride at RAGBRAI

Since he skipped the Tour de France this year, Lance Armstrong must have been in fresh shape for his return to RAGBRAI on Tuesday.

This is the 7-time Tour winner's fourth visit to the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, which is rolling across the state this week from Glenwood to Davenport.

In previous years, the Armstrong-mania got so crazy that it became a distraction. Many thought the cross-state bike tour could be renamed Lance-BRAI.

This year, the reaction was more manageable. Armstrong flew in from Paris to spend the day cycling with members of the Livestrong Army, above ….

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/07/27/lance-armstrong-returns-to-iowa-for-a-bike-ride-at-ragbrai/

Triathlete attempts 50 states in 50 days by bicycle

How many bike rides are you going to get in during the next 50 days?

Triathlete Max McManus, right, is banking on 50 bike rides, averaging 150 miles a day.

That frenetic pace will enable him to visit all 50 states during that period. What's more, he'll arrive in New York City on Sept. 11 to deliver funds he has raised on the road for survivors and families of the the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

You can follow his progress at the Freedom 50/50 website. He's hoping to raise an average 1-cent per US citizen along the way to the way for the 9-11 Help America Foundation….

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/07/26/triathlete-attempts-50-states-in-50-days-by-bicycle/

Is this remarkable world bicycle traveler the first “Fred”?

Deep in the bowels of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History — surrounded by 3 million other national treasures — sits a bicycle.

It’s a German-made Reinhardt. The single-speed, 42-pound brute found its way here after traveling 25,000 miles around the world in the mid-1930s as the main conveyance of Fred Birchmore.

Some say he's the original “Fred.” It's possible, depending on which definition of the term you use.

A “Fred” can be a do-it-yourselfer or independent-minded cyclist who doesn't follow the cycling styles or conventions pushed by advertisers. However, it also has evolved to describe a neophyte bicycle enthusiast who buys all the latest gear without having much ability. That second definition….

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/07/18/is-this-remarkable-world-bicycle-traveler-the-first-fred/

Kidnapped bicycle travelers released to French authorities

Seven kidnapped Estonians on a bicycle tour gone seriously wrong are free after French diplomats negotiated their release in Lebanon.

The men, in their 30s and 40s, were kidnapped at gunpoint after crossing over the border from Syria on their bicycle tour on March 23.

The May 20 video at left is one of two posted on YouTube.com.

The seven arrived at the French embassy in Beirut on Thursday. There was no immediate word whether a ransom was paid or other conditions of their release.

The French volunteered to help in the case …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/07/14/kidnapped-bicycle-travelers-released-to-french-authorities/

Long-distance bicycle tour resumes after 25-year interruption

Three friends whose bicycle tour around the U.S. ended 25 years ago in a life-threatening crash will return to the road this month to complete their 8,141-mile journey.

The western New York trio plan to resume their bike tour from the scene of the crash in Seguin, Texas, on July 29 and finish the final 2,500 miles to Buffalo, N.Y., by the end of August.

It reminds me of Dutch bicyclist Frank van Dijk who returned to the U.S. last fall to complete his TransAmerica bicycle tour 34 years after it was interrupted by a collision with a car in Eureka, Kansas.

Having a bicycle-trip-of-a-lifetime cut short by a car crash must leave people with a severe sense of unfinished business ….

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/07/11/long-distance-bicycle-tour-resumes-after-25-year-interruption/

Clear skies for 200-mile Seattle to Portland (STP) bike ride

Some 10,000 cyclists of all ages and sizes took off under sunny skies for the 32nd Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic on Saturday.

It's only fitting these cyclists were blessed with good weather after so many trained for this day through spring weather that's been wetter and colder than normal.

Last year the oldest cyclist was 87 and the youngest was 1 year, 22 months. Although the official stats for 2011 haven't been posted, I'm betting that Coal, at left, might be the only dog making the trip.

His owners, first-time STPers, built a comfy, carpeted platform for him inside the Burley trailer, but Coal didn't like being cooped up. He left Seward Park on foot. I hope he chooses to hop in for ride …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/07/09/clear-skies-for-200-mile-seattle-to-portland-stp-bike-ride/

Oregon's Scenic Bikeways program is the first of its kind

A few days ago, I wrote about Colorado's efforts to boost bicycle tourism by directing cyclists to tour some of the state's scenic highways in the Bike the Byways program.

Since then, I've discovered that Oregon is charting a series of scenic roads and paths just for bicycles. Called the Scenic Bikeway program, it is the only such project in the US.

The first scenic bike tour is the Willamette Scenic Bikeway that rolls out for 132 miles from Champoeg State Heritage Area to Eugene. The route passes through the agricultural valley between the Cascades and the Coastal ranges ….

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/06/29/oregons-scenic-bikeways-program-is-the-first-of-its-kind/

Take this bicyclist out to the ball game

It is refreshing to see a front page story about bicycling in the local newspaper that doesn't invoke the  “bikes vs. cars” debate in the headline.

The story is about Darren O'Donnell's amazing venture to travel by bicycle to all 30 major league baseball parks this season and watch a game.

Like many in Bellingham, Washington, O'Donnell is a bicycling enthusiast. He's also a baseball fan. In fact, he's looking for a front office job in baseball and figured this would be a great way to introduce himself to management.

O'Donnell is about halfway through his cross-country trek by bicycle, visiting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Florida Marlins after meandering the western US.

Next he'll head north to Atlanta, then Cincinnati and Cleveland ….

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/06/21/take-this-bicyclist-out-to-the-ball-game/

Bike shuttle to summit of John Wayne Pioneer Trail launches in July

The official reopening of the Snoqualmie Tunnel on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail also means the return of a shuttle service to the highest point of the trail for bicyclists.

Agate Pass Transportation is launching its Bus-Up 90 service from the trailhead at Cedar Falls to the trailhead at Hyak in July.

The bus service is designed for cyclists who want a lift to the summit for an easy 23-mile ride downhill.

The shuttle can accommodate 21 passengers and bicycles; it runs on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

As part of the old Milwaukee Road, the John Wayne Pioneer Rail-Trail rises at a steady 2% grade from Cedar Falls to the Snoqualmie Pass at Hyak. Near the summit, it passes through the 2.3-mile long Snoqualmie Tunnel …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/06/20/bike-shuttle-to-summit-of-john-wayne-pioneer-trail-launches-in-july/