Bike Bits Vol. 10, No. 23, December 3, 2008 This is the 206th issue of Bike Bits, Adventure Cycling's twice-monthly bicycle bulletin.
TRIPS ARE FILLING!
EXERCISE CENTRAL
PARK YOUR MOUNTAIN BIKE
AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE
PLAYING SOON IN IND
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Bike Bits Vol. 10, No. 23, December 3, 2008
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This is the 206th issue of Bike Bits, Adventure Cycling's
twice-monthly bicycle bulletin. Bike Bits is delivered to
you—and 35,148 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.
"In 1974, I blacksmithed the now famous klunker from scavenged
objects. Then I started to hear that high form of recognition: 'You
can't do that,' and, 'It won't work.' I knew I was onto something
big."
-- Gary Fisher, pioneer mountain-bike builder
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TRIPS ARE FILLING!
Adventure Cycling tours director Rod Kramer reports that signups
for next year's tours are coming in at a very steady clip. "The
Southern Tier self-contained trip, slated to begin March 21 and
running from balmy San Diego to equally balmy Florida, is already
full to capacity with fourteen participants," Rod says, although the
Tours Department is filling a waiting list. (Oftentimes, a space or
two will open up.) "Likewise, the van-supported TransAm is full, and
it doesn't begin until May 16." Rod adds that the tours staff is
talking with quite a few people about the California Winter Warmer
(centered on wonderful desert riding just inland from San Diego), and
that several other tours are filling quickly, including the Texas
Hill Country event (April 4–10), the new self-contained Adirondack
Loop (August 8–17), and The Wild Coast (August 30–September 12), a
van-supported tour going from Eugene, Oregon, to San Francisco. These
trips are all at least half full, so don't dawdle--sign up soon!
www.adventurecycling.org/tours
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EXERCISE CENTRAL
A report from the United States Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention says the nation's healthiest city is Burlington, Vermont.
According to the article the link below will take you to, "Many of
the city's residents participate in skiing, bicycling, hiking, and
many other exercises that help them to stay fit and active." At the
other end of the spectrum: Huntington, West Virginia, which the
report says is the least healthy city in the country. www.cnn.com
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PARK YOUR MOUNTAIN BIKE
According to a release issued by the International Mountain Bicycling
Association (IMBA) on November 19, an expected National Park Service
rule change will benefit bicycling in the national parks "by
improving the administrative process for opening trails to bicycles.
IMBA has been asking the agency to revise its policies since 1992,
because the current 'special regulations' process is needlessly
cumbersome and treats bicycles like motorized vehicles. The NPS has
said the proposal for new rules will be formally announced later
this year." IMBA hopes the revised procedure will permit park
superintendents to make trail-access decisions locally, instead of
being tied to a Washington-based journey through red tape. Read the rest of the document here.
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AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE
At the 19th National Trails Symposium, held November 15 through 18 in
Little Rock, Arkansas, Adventure Cycling's new routes coordinator,
Ginny Sullivan, accepted the American Trails Partnership Award. Ginny
received the award on behalf of Adventure Cycling and the University
of Pittsburgh's Center for Minority Health, which together developed
the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route in a unique and highly
publicized partnership. Read more at this link to the American
Trails website: www.americantrails.org
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PLAYING SOON IN INDIANAPOLIS
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show takes place in the capital
city of Indiana February 27 through March 1. From A (Adams Custom
Fabrication) to Z (Zullo Tiziano), the best bike builders from
around the world will be there strutting their struts and lugs--some
four-dozen of them at latest count. Learn more about the event here: www.handmadebicycleshow.com
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ADOPT-A-LIBRARY PROGRAM
In a feature story titled "The Next Generation," popular Adventure
Cyclist contributor Willie Weir wrote these words a few years ago:
"I'd like to propose a question to the members of the Adventure
Cycling Association. How many of you have had your life change, or at
least your perspective of life change, as a direct result of a
long-distance bicycle journey? If so, please raise your hands. Now
that we have about 30,000 hands raised [that'd be 45,000 today!], how
many think that this country would be a better place if more of our
inhabitants went through the same experience?" In the piece Willie
bemoans the fact that the number of young people traveling by bicycle
is declining, rather than increasing. To try to reverse that trend, he
issued a challenge to members to chip in half the price of an
Adventure Cycling gift membership for their favorite library. The
more libraries that display Adventure Cyclist magazine, Willie
reasoned, the more young people will read it and be exposed to the
joys of bicycle travel. Read his story in its entirety by clicking
here.
You can sponsor a library to receive Adventure Cyclist now: adventurecycling.org
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GREAT DIRT + DIRT RAG
To help us promote the 10th anniversary of the Great Divide Mountain
Bike Route, our friends over at Dirt Rag magazine partnered with
Adventure Cycling to present a "Ride the Divide" sweepstakes to their
readers. The results are in, and Piotr Gorecki of Burlington, Vermont
(America's healthiest city!), won the Grand Prize of a $3,500 Old Man
Mountain Boomerang bike with handmade racks. The second prize of a
weeklong Adventure Cycling tour on the Great Divide, valued at more
than $1,000, went to Theodore Ludwig of Colfax, Wisconsin. Third
prize, a copy of the guidebook "Cycling the Great Divide" and a full
set of maps for the route, was claimed by Mary Monaco of Putnam
Valley, New York.
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YOU'VE HEARD OF THE COOKIE LADY, RIGHT?
Now you can hear FROM her! To listen to June "Cookie Lady" Curry, in
her own words and sweet rural Appalachian accent, go to the Virginia
Public Radio link listed below (dated 11/17/08). The recording was
made at the gathering (mentioned in the November 5 Bike Bits) where
the Richmond Area Bicycling Association presented June with a check
of gratitude. wvtf.org
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COFFEE ANYONE?
Does caffeine inhibit or improve athletic performance? According to
Australian researcher John Hawley, it helps. "With the ingestion of
both caffeine and carbohydrate, the overall amount of glycogen stored
in the muscle for the four-hour period was 60 percent higher than with
carbohydrate alone," Hawley is quoted as saying in the following
VeloNews piece. "There is absolutely no question that this additional
muscle glycogen would improve performance." Potential downsides: the
recommended dose can cause side effects such as insomnia, jitteriness,
and gastrointestinal upset. Read more here: Click Here.
Adventure Cycling Association is North America's premier nonprofit
organization dedicated to bicycle travel. 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 38,158 miles. To join, go to:
http://adventurecycling.org/membership/membership.cfm
or phone (800) 755-2453.
