Category: Bike Touring
What did you do for your summer vacations in college? Here's a bicycling adventure so amazingly unique that it will likely appear in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Graduating senior Phil Nagle plans to ride his bicycle to 48 states in 48 days this summer and has mapped out a route that does the deed in about 8,000 miles.
The University of Cincinnati senior isn't doing it for publicity, however. He's trying to raise $48,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to pay for research to fight blood cancer, the disease that took his uncle's life at age 16.
The grand loop begins and ends at his home in Tipp City, Ohio. As you can see from the map below, he'll ride his bicycle clean through some states, while others he just tags in passing …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/28/bicycling-48-states-in-48-days-to-battle-cancer/
I've always enjoyed sharing my favorite bicycle routes with friends; even more so when it's my son.
So when Memorial Day dawned clear and warm, we headed up to the Iron Horse State Park just east of North Bend where I introduced him to the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.
In spite of a sign at the trailhead that warned the Snoqualmie Tunnel was closed 20 miles ahead, we saw dozens of bicyclists out on the rail-trail of the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad — aka The Milwaukee Road.
Since there's no way through, or around, the 2.3-mile tunnel, the only destination for these bicyclists was an out-and-back trail ride to stretch their legs and enjoy the sunny, blue skies….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/26/memorial-day-bicycle-ride-into-the-cascades/
Until I read the newly revised Sierra Club “how-to” guide for bicycle touring, I would have argued that bike touring hasn't changed much over the past 30 years.
In fact, it has changed a lot. Just consider the new brands and types of bicycles that we now ride, the new components that are now available, and the different styles of touring that we can choose.
Acclaimed bicycling author Raymond Bridge covers it all in 450-some pages in the second edition of “Bike Touring: The Sierra Club Guide to Travel on Two Wheels.”
Some things haven't changed so much. Padded shorts are still preferred for long distances in the saddle, longer chainstays allow more stable load-carrying, and traveling under your own power is still the best way to experience new places.
Changes
But consider some of the changes since 1979, all covered in detail by Bridge in the guide:
— Mountain bikes were just a blip on the radar; recumbents, trikes, and folding bikes were unheard of. Now they're all considered viable for different styles of bike touring …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/18/new-book-bike-touring-the-sierra-club-guide-to-travel-on-two-wheels/
Bicyclists who achieve the Eastern Continental Divide on the Great Allegheny Passage this year will be rewarded with murals of historical scenes from the trail.
The murals, by artist Wayne Fettro, are installed on the rail-trail underpass of MacKenzie Hollow Road in Pennsylvania.
The picture above is just one of dozens of photos that make up a 3D viewing experience at PhotoSynth.net.
The four panels grace both sides of the east and west entrances of the underpass at the 2,392-foot elelvation summit for the trail in Somerset County …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/03/picturing-the-history-of-gap-bicycle-trail-in-pennsylvania/
Car-free days for bicycling along Lake Washington Boulevard in Seattle return this Sunday, but the event is better than ever this year.
Renamed as Bicycle Sundays, the event is scheduled on 19 Sundays from May through September this year. That's every Sunday except July 5, 26, and August 2.
In previous years, the lake-side road was closed to cars two or three times a month on alternate Saturdays and Sundays. This year the city upped the ante to just about every Sunday …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/30/new-and-improved-bike-sundays-begin-this-week-along-seattles-lake-washington/
While the amazing bicycle stunts video from Danny MacAskill has hit more than 3 million views in less than 2 weeks, here's a YouTube video that reminds us that there's pleasure in keeping two wheels on the bike trail.
This just released 2:35-minute video shows what bicyclists can experience along the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage rail-to-trail that rolls along between Cumberland, Maryland, and McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
Completed in late 2006, the GAP has brought new life to small communities in western Pennsylvania and created an outlet for bicycle tourists who want to take an extended bike tour along a well-maintained route that's free of traffic …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/30/bicycle-sights-and-sounds-along-the-great-allegheny-passage/
What do you do if you want to take a week-long across-state-bicycle tour of your home state but nothing is offered?
You create your own tour. A handful of members of the Arkansas Bicycle Club earlier this month routed their own 350-mile bicycle tour, without sag support, evening meetings, insurance forms or continuous “on-your-left” warnings.
The self-supported bicycle tour left North Little Rock with four bicyclists on April 13, and after picking up and dropping off riders throughout the rainy week, returned to Little Rock with two cyclists on April 19. Six bicyclists rode all or part of the route.
You may not think this is a big deal, but the 10,000-strong RAGBRAI got its start with relatively humble beginnings. ..
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/27/do-it-yourself-arkansas-across-state-bicycle-tour/
The Price familyHand-me-down bicycles are fairly common among family members.
But Monica Price, 30, and Maria Elena Price, 27, are running an international bicycle tour company passed down from their parents.
The company is Fort Collins, Colorado-based ExperiencePlus!, which has been offering bicycle tours primarily in the Americas, Europe and Australia for some 30 years.
The outfit was founded by Rick Price and Paola Malpezzi Price back in the '70s. As their daughters grew up, they participated in the tours and helped run the business. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/24/sisters-take-over-colorado-bicycle-tour-company/
Unseasonably warm temperatures in the 60s and 70s are hitting the Seattle area, but the high country along the North Cascades Highway still has plenty of snow.
Washington state highway snow-clearing crews working from the east have hit bare pavement on the way to the 5,477-foot Washington Pass on Highway 20.
They're trying to clear by May 1 arguably one of the nation's most spectacular stretches of highway. It's a big draw not only for motorists but for touring bicyclists.
The 50-some miles of Highway 20 between Mazama and Newhalem in the North Cascades National Park is featured in Adventure Cycling Association's Northern Tier and Washington Parks bicycle routes.
It's also a destination for many bicyclists riding alone or in groups who want to test their climbing abilities in rarified air ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/21/plowing-and-bicycling-the-north-cascades-highway/
Something I wanted to do when I visited Sacramento last winter was to explore the bicycle trail along the American River.
To rent a bicycle before I left, I had to search for bike shops, check if they were close to the trail, then call to compare prices and determine if they actually would have bicycles in stock.
Now a couple of midwestern cycling enthusiasts are making it easier for bicyclists who want to get a ride in on their business or pleasure trips. They've created an online service — RentABikeNow.com — that enables cyclists to rent bicycles in 144 cities in the U.S.
The one-stop online-shop connects cyclists with companies and shops that have bicycles for rent. The cyclist simply choses a destination and date, then compares types, sizes and costs of bikes that are offered by one or more shops. The reservation is made online …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/20/online-company-enables-cyclists-to-rent-a-bicycle-now/
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