Who's up for a 7-day rolling party across Iowa? Whoa. Did I just see 10,000 hands go up?
The Des Moines Register on Thursday announced this year's route for RAGBRAI, naming a west to east route that starts in Council Bluffs on July 19 and ends in Burlington on July 25.
At 442 miles, it's one of the shortest in the history of the recreational bicycle tour. To make up for that, organizers picked a hillier than normal route with nearly 23,000 of total elevation gain.
The lucky few named as host towns for the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa are Council Bluffs, Red Oak, Greenfield, Indianola, Chariton, Ottumwa, Mt. Pleasant and Burlington…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/30/ragbrai-announces-a-shorter-hilly-bike-ride-in-2009/
Last fall, Nate Bartlett rode his bicycle to his new school — 1,100 miles away.
The 19-year-old from western Massachusetts was due to begin classes at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, as an incoming freshman. He thought it might be fun to turn his last few days before college into a bike tour.
His father, Sam, readily agreed to ride along. The pair gave themselves two weeks to make the trip …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/29/bicycling-to-school-through-6-states-and-a-canadian-province/
Trail supporters in New York state are pushing for completion of the Erie Canalway Trail.
Originally completed in 1825 to carry commerce from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, the canal is now the focus of lively towns along its path trying to lure tourism dollars to their communities.
Some 260 miles of bike trails (officially multi-use trails) run through the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, which includes the Erie, as well as other historic canals in upstate New York.
Eventually, 366 miles of bike trails are planned between Albany and Buffalo. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/28/finishing-the-erie-canalway-bike-path/
David Rowe says he was taking the leap from recreational cyclist to ultra long-distance cyclist when he rode the arduous Torture 10,000 century in Oregon a few years ago.
He wasn't surprised by the length or elevation gain — more than 13,000 feet. What surprised him was seeing so many sag wagons filled with the bikes of participants who had thrown in the towel.
“It was clear that they didn't think about what they were getting into.”
So David set out to write the recently published eBook “The Ride of Your Life.” It covers an aspect of cycling that doesn't get the attention it deserves — mental preparation …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/25/achieving-long-distance-bicycling-success-in-the-ride-of-your-life/
The Bicycle Design blog has announced the winner in its “commuter bike for the masses” design competition, and it's the ThisWay bike designed by Torkel Dohmer.
Blogger James Thomas came up with the idea of a contest to ferret out some bicycle designs that would coax non-cyclists out of their cars and onto the bike lanes for commuting to work.
The lightweight bike would be made of composite materials and hydro-formed aluminum with built-in LED lights in the front and back powered by a battery that recharged by solar cells. There's also space for a briefcase on the back. And it has a roof …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/23/commuter-bicycle-design-contest-winner/
If the Guinness Book of World Records had a category for “bicycles parked by volunteer valets,” the Washington Area Bicycle Association would surely top the list.
The group set up free bike valet parking for the Barack Obama inauguration in the frigid temperatures on Tuesday and racked 2,040 bicycles.
Most importantly, no one lost a bike. Even a missing helmet was eventually recovered.
Of the two lots, the one at 16th Street was by far the busiest. Volunteers parked 1,127 bicycles at that location, which required them to create an overflow lot with crowd-control fencing. The Jefferson Memorial lot stored 827 bikes. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/23/volunteers-parked-thousands-of-bikes-for-inauguration/
Imagine living in a place where you're not breaking the law by rolling through an intersection without coming to a complete halt at a stop sign.
Residents in Idaho don't have to imagine it. They live in a state where lawmakers decriminalized stop sign-running 27 years ago. Now legislators in Montana will consider passing a similar law, and bike advocates in Oregon are seeking a similar law.
Bill Schneider at New West magazine reports that Robin Hamilton (D-Missoula) has proposed such a law. Schneider lays out the language here …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/22/montana-might-allow-bicycle-riders-to-slide-through-stop-signs/
Photo by Richard StirbaLast week's announcement that Denver would create a citywide bike-sharing program is the latest in a global transportation trend that's just catching on in the U.S.
More than 30 bike-share programs were launched globally last year, according to the Bike-Sharing blog. That's a 50% increase in one year.
The first bike-share program in the US was launched last year. That distinction goes to Washington DC, left, with its SmartBike DC program — 120 bikes at 10 stations — operated by Clear Channel advertising.
Denver is following up with a plan to make available 500 bicycles at 30 to 40 bike stations beginning in the summer. The program is being launched with a $1 million grant from Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee.
The bikes, which can be rented for a nominal fee, will be stationed around the business and university districts. The program will be called Denver B-cycle Citywide Bike Sharing Program…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/21/bike-sharing-explosion-denver-miami-beach-san-francisco-philadelphia-twin-cities-montreal-in-2009/
King County touts bicycle commuting as a great way to reduce stress, increase health, and help the environment. It has been forced by economic conditions, however, to suspend an incentive program for its own bike commuting workers downtown.
County employees who work outside of downtown Seattle can continue to earn the $20 Commuter Bonus Plus voucher for any month in which they bike bike, carpool or walk to work more than half their work days or half of their commute miles.
The county announced at its employee transportation website that the King County Council has postponed extending those $20 vouchers to employees who walk or ride their bikes to work in downtown Seattle. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/21/king-county-holds-off-subsidy-for-its-bike-commuting-downtown-employees/
Are you fired up? Are you ready to go? If so, then you certainly have to give props to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association for rising to the occasion of the Obama Presidential Inauguration on Tuesday.
As some 2 million people are expected to attend the event on at the National Mall on Tuesday, the best way to get into and out of the city will be by walking or bicycling
WABA is providing bicycle valet parking to inauguration visitors on Tuesday and directions on the best way to get around town. Check out the WABA's America Bikes to the Inauguration page.
WABA's two, free valet bicycle parking areas will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/19/bicycle-parking-and-routes-to-obama-inauguration-on-tuesday/
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