Category: Bike Touring
Mark Junge wants to prove that he can go on bike tours too, even though he's a daily supplemental oxygen user.
Junge, a retired historian, photographer and writer from Wyoming, is leaving New York City this week for a 816-mile bike tour to Charleston, South Carolina. He expects the bike ride to take about two weeks.
The bike traveler suffers from blood clots in the lungs, a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease that makes it difficult for him to breath. Instead becoming inactive because of the disorder, however, Junge gets on his bike to motivate others with the condition to go out and live a full life ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/13/man-attempts-800-mile-bike-tour-on-supplemental-oxygen/
Lance Armstrong isn't the only bicyclist who can bring out the fans to raise money for cancer.
Actor Patrick Dempsey of the TV series “Grey's Anatomy” sponsored the Dempsey Challenge charity bike ride in Lewiston, Maine, last weekend, near his hometown of Buckfield. The event raised nearly $1 million.
After his mother was treated for ovarian cancer at the Central Maine Medical Center, the actor founded the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing in Lewiston. The center provides free support, education and wellness services to cancer patients and caregivers.
Dempsey said he needed to raise operating funds for the center, so he chose the bicycle as a vehicle for his event. Isn't it great to see celebrities raising money for worthwhile causes from the seat of a bicycle? …..
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/11/dempsey-challenge-bike-ride-raises-money-for-cancer/
A scenic auto tour through Washington, Idaho and British Columbia is seeing new life as a 280-mile bicycle touring route.
The International Selkirk Loop links the small towns and recreation spots at the foot of the Selkirk Mountains. Because the route follows river and lake valleys, the grades are gentle to moderate with only a few steep climbs.
The newly published “A Cyclist's Guide to the International Selkirk Loop” includes 52 route and elevation maps divided into 50 to 70-mile sections. In addition to the 280-mile main loop, the bike tour maps include six side trips encompassing another 450 miles of riding …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/07/bike-tour-maps-published-for-northwests-selkirk-loop/
The Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park opened this past weekend in Poughkeepsie, New York, drawing thousands of people on bikes and on foot to enjoy the new views of the Hudson River.
The 6,767-foot-long bridge is being touted as the world's longest pedestrian and bike-only bridge. It even surpasses the length of the 4,226-foot Big Dam Bridge over the Arkansas River in Little Rock.
The old railroad bridge will connect to 27 miles of rail trails and riverfront parks already built or planned for construction on either side of the river in Ulster and Duchess counties ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/05/new-bike-crossing-over-hudson-river-is-worlds-longest/
The latest Ken Burns documentary, “The National Parks: America's Best Idea,” began airing on PBS on Sunday. It got me thinking about how the parks are wonderful destinations for bike touring.
The traffic at some of the most popular ones can be daunting; Yellowstone National Park warns about narrow roads and non-existent shoulders.
But in spite of cars and campers, bicycling up to the rim of the Grand Canyon, left, is an experience I'll never forget.
Here are links to some stories I've written over the years about bicycling in the national parks. There are stories about the best parks for bicycling, spring cycling in high-elevation parks, and a new bike route map from Adventure Cycling Association that will visit a half-dozen national parks in the Pacific Crest.
“10 best national parks for bicycling” — August 3, 2009:
National parks might seem like natural destinations for family car trips or RV excursions, but they also have many factors that make them ideal for bicycle travel. ..
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/28/bike-travel-and-our-national-park-system/
While my bike blogging brethren are working hard down in Las Vegas to cover all the new gear at the Interbike International Trade Expo this week, I'm hanging out here in western Washington close to the home office.
Not that I'm complaining. This was the finest first day of fall I ever remember here, or anywhere else for that matter. Dry, sunny, with highs (so far) in the mid-80s.
When a day like this rolls around, you should make the most of it. I've been wanting to ride my mountain bike over some trails on Rattlesnake Mountain, and today offered the best opportunity. ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/22/soaking-in-sunshine-and-spectacular-views-for-the-equinox/
It has been a sad few days along the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail between Cumberland and Pittsburgh.
Maynard Sembower, the man known locally as the “trail ambassador extraordinaire” and “number one volunteer”, passed away last Wednesday at age 100.
Those who have bicycled the GAP might remember him as the man who staffed the visitor's center at the Rockwood trailhead in the summer. He'd dispense information about lodging, camping and other services in high country of the bike trail, as well as share the local lore.
He became so well known along the Somerset County section of the bike trail that the office was renamed the Sembower Visitor Center …..
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/20/great-allegheny-passage-loses-ambassador-maynard-sembower/
When James Bowthorpe (left) arrives in London on his belt-driven Santos Travelmaster bike on Saturday, he'll set a new world record — around the world by bike in 175 days.
Last year Scotsman Mark Beaumont set the record for bicycling around the world in 194 days. Who would have guessed that mark would be broken the following year?
With one day to go, the 31-year-old Londoner has traveled 17,877 miles (and counting) on his unsupported bike tour — 103 miles a day.
That's an amazing feat considering not just the bad weather, terrain and illness he had to deal with crossing four continents, but also the time spent at border crossings and taking care of other essentials. …….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/18/james-bowthorpe-sets-record-for-around-the-world-by-bike-175-days/
If you can't get enough bicycling during the day, then the upcoming Moonlight Ramble in Bellingham might be for you.
The Oct. 3 event is the first Moonlight Ramble-style bike ride in Washington. It starts with a festival featuring live music on the Western Washington University campus at 9 p.m. followed by the bicycle tour at 11 p.m.
Under the light of the next full moon (barring clouds of course), the 7-mile ride starts on the university campus and swings through Fairhaven, Boulevard Park and downtown.
The organizers, Bike Bellingham …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/15/moonlight-ramble-bike-ride-in-bellingham/
If you're anywhere near Tipp City, Ohio, Monday afternoon, you might want to welcome home Phil Nagle from his bike ride through 48 states.
The 23-year-old is completing his bike tour around the continental US about one week past his goal of 48 states in 48 days.
Supporters say that “strong headwinds, inclement weather and a few detours slowed his pace a bit,” but that doesn't diminish the amazing accomplishment of riding nearly 8,200 miles in what became 56 days — about 145 miles a day.
Nagle undertook the ride to raise money for cancer research and make a stab at getting in the Guinness Book for World Records…..
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/14/ohios-phil-nagle-finishing-48-state-bike-tour-just-shy-of-goal/
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