Dirty Dozen covered in Adventure Cycling on-line mag.
HOW SLOW CAN YOU GO? The video linked below is of the annual Dirty Dozen race, in which cyclists tackle Pittsburgh's steepest hills, including one said to be the steepest street in the entire U.S. Parts of it look like they're in slow motion, but we're not sure if that's so. In some cases riders are going so slow that they fall over sideways from the lack of momentum. http://urbanvelo.org/31st-dirty-dozen-hill-race
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Begin forwarded message:
From: Adventure Cycling bikebits@adventurecycling.org Date: January 8, 2014 8:04:47 PM EST To: frank.gmeindl@comcast.net Subject: Bike Bits Vol. 16, No. 1, January 8, 2014 Reply-To: Adventure Cycling bikebits@adventurecycling.org
Bike Bits Vol. 16, No. 1, January 8, 2014
This is the 325th issue of Bike Bits, Adventure Cycling's twice-monthly bicycle bulletin. Bike Bits is delivered to you, and 51,177 other readers, because you've signed up for it at the Adventure Cycling Association website, http://www.adventurecycling.org. Bike Bits arrives in text-only format for quick download and includes links for more information. We want to inspire you to dream and to live your own bicycle adventures.
"People don't take trips, trips take people." --John Steinbeck
A JOURNEY ACROSS REMOTE LANDS Thanks to a member from Boise named Dave for sending along the following link to a post by blogger Nicholas Marino. He's a photographer who, for the past eight years, has been bicycling to remote regions of the earth to document landscapes and cultures. In this piece Marino highlights "two places that truly touched my heart, Tibet and Mongolia." The photographs may be of this world, but they're also out of this world. http://bit.ly/1gdQxvZ
2ND ANNUAL VIDEO CONTEST OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS To celebrate the beauty and spirit of bicycle travel, we invite you to submit your best bicycle-touring videos to Adventure Cycling's 2014 Bicycle Travel Video Contest on Vimeo. The judges will name one winner for each of the three submission categories (Best Long Distance Tour Video, Best Short Tour Video, and Best Portrait of a Traveling Cyclist). Winners will each receive a two-year membership with Adventure Cycling and a $500 gift certificate for Cyclosource, our gear catalog. Learn more and watch last year's winning videos: http://bit.ly/1cWf1tT
YELLOWSTONE-GRAND TETON RAIL TRAIL One of the more exciting rail-trail projects we've learned about recently is one that will ultimately link West Yellowstone, Montana, and Victor, Idaho. The distance is more than 100 miles and the scenery is some of the world's most marvelous. Certain segments are already developed, including the eight miles linking Victor and Driggs, Idaho (asphalt surface), and the 30 miles between Tetonia and Ashton, Idaho (gravel). Other sections have yet to be reclaimed and developed. You can view photo galleries, learn about the railroad history, and keep up on trail news at this link: http://tetonrailtrail.tvtap.org
JOIN ADVENTURE CYCLING (OR URGE A FRIEND TO) Are you not a member of Adventure Cycling, but intrigued by the idea of receiving two-wheeled inspiration and armchair adventure on a regular basis the year around? Join by January 12 and we'll send you the 2014 Adventure Cycling Calendar for free; this in addition to all of the other benefits associated with membership, including nine annual editions of Adventure Cyclist magazine and discounts on maps for the Adventure Cycling Route Network. Already a member? Then please share this offer with your friends. They'll thank you every time they receive an issue of Adventure Cyclist. https://www.adventurecycling.org/membership/join/?r=SM-CMD
ZIP IT This posted almost three years ago, but it somehow escaped our notice until now. These heavy-duty Ziploc Big Bags might be just the ticket for keeping your gear dry in sustained rains. Tamia Nelson's site includes ample photos of the creative way she has used them. http://www.tamiasoutside.com/2013/08/06/ziplockbigbag
TULSA BICYCLE TRAVEL EVENT Join Adventure Cycling Association and the Tulsa Bicycle Club for a free event on Thursday, January 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. at McNellie's Pub, 409 East 1st Street in downtown Tulsa. Enjoy snacks and refreshments, meet kindred cycling spirits, and learn about the latest in bike travel and cycling in North America. Adventure Cycling's travel initiatives coordinator, Saara Snow, will present on our work to create Bicycle Route 66, which will be the first section of the Adventure Cycling Route Network to pass through Oklahoma, our new Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route, and provide updates on the U.S. Bicycle Route System and national advocacy. RSVP by January 10 via email, info@adventurecycling.org, or by calling (406) 532-2751. Learn more: http://bit.ly/TulsaGathering
HOW SLOW CAN YOU GO? The video linked below is of the annual Dirty Dozen race, in which cyclists tackle Pittsburgh's steepest hills, including one said to be the steepest street in the entire U.S. Parts of it look like they're in slow motion, but we're not sure if that's so. In some cases riders are going so slow that they fall over sideways from the lack of momentum. http://urbanvelo.org/31st-dirty-dozen-hill-race
RIDING THE POLITICAL DIVIDE "Transport is a subtly political business. Left-wingers like trains (central planning, low fuel consumption, largely egalitarian seating). Right-wingers like cars (freedom, independence, individualism). Only the bicycle crosses the political divide: it embodies both liberty and equality." This is the first paragraph from a short article titled "The Bicycle is Best" by Emma Duncan, deputy editor of The Economist. The piece is one in a series by a collection of writers answering the question, "What's the Best Way to Travel?" You can even express your own opinion by voting in the online poll linked at the bottom of the article. http://bit.ly/1hDPkyN
WE COULD'VE BEEN MILLIONAIRES! "If people say it's impossible we have to prove them wrong." That's the attitude Dutch design students Anna and Terese assumed when they took on an impressive challenge as a school project: designing an "invisible" bicycle helmet. Watch a video explaining it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMAhptqk-4Q Longtime members may recall that we at Bikecentennial were on to this idea more than 25 years ago, though in a slightly less sophisticated fashion. Hail the Bikecentennial Air Bag Helmet, conceived by Greg Siple, photographed by Gary MacFadden, and modeled by a somewhat willing Mac McCoy. http://sheldonbrown.com/airbag-helmet.html
Until next time, click on http://www.transcontinentalrace.com to learn about yet another self-supported bicycle race, this one going across Europe from London to Istanbul.
Copyright 2014 Adventure Cycling Association. See what we are doing at: http://www.adventurecycling.org
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Adventure Cycling Association is North America's premier nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering people to travel by bicycle. Membership is open to anyone and includes a one-year subscription to Adventure Cyclist magazine and discounted pricing on maps from our Adventure Cycling Route Network, which now includes 41,420 miles. To join, go to: http://www.adventurecycling.org/membership/
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Frank Gmeindl