Top of the Day to all you Irish out there. You win a prize: Gene’s list of cross-state tours for 2008. It’s worth another look if you like multi-events. –Corrie

10 amazing logos for across-state bicycle tours

by Gene Bisbee at 06:00AM (PDT) on March 16, 2008  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos

Border Raiders bike tour in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri

It has taken a while for me to find them, but the Biking Bis blog is listing 94 multi-day bicycle tours in 47 states for 2008. That’s 7 more states and 13 more tours than last year. You’ll find them at “2008 Across State Bicycle Tours.”

See more logos 

 Why’s everyone trying to make me look bad just ’cause I can’t ride?

Beware the ides of March, Caesar was warned. I say, beware the tourists. They’ll hur’ cha. Two stories for the tourists today.

I love Gene Bisbee’s blog. Not only is it in the Northwest (Seattle) but he seems to have sources around the world. I highly recommend reading him every morning, not just when I point something out.–Corrie

Bicycling to climb every mountain

by Gene Bisbee at 05:00AM (PDT) on March 14, 2008  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos

David Sylvester is setting off this week on a quest to bicycle to the trailhead of the highest peak in each of the 48 contiguous states and climb to the top of each and every one. He’ll be accompanied by his faithful companion Chiva, a 2-year-old shepherd/husky mix.

If successful, they’ll be the first dog-human team to accomplish the feat. And you thought all the Earth’s frontiers had been conquered. Not with a dog, they haven’t.

Read More 

For the tourist junkies out there. You know who you are. Here’s a challenge. Bike from England to China and back. ’s’only 15,000 miles.

This is just one blog entry and picture. Read this and more at http://www.2wheels.org.uk/blog/–Corrie

Braked down the hillside from the world’s most booooootiful campspot to the main road and went down down down an extraordinary green valley (how long it has been since things have been green and lush) full of Kazakhs chasing livestock around on horseback (the Kazakhs, not the livestock), and selling honey and honey-flavoured kvas, back into the hotlands, the flatlands, the really rather drablands of the Xinjiang semi-desert.

Now here’s a challenge: cycle around the world. You tourists types will enjoy reading about the trip made to benefit five charities and set a new Guiness World Record.

On Friday 15th February at 1530, Mark Beaumont completed his 18,000 miles circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle. Mark arrived back at the Arc de Triomphe 194 days and 17 hours after leaving there on 5th August 2007. Total distance cycled was 18,297 miles through 20 countries. Guinness World Records have verified all the data and confirmed Mark is the new Guinness World Record holder!

Scott would probably figure he was in heaven with this load–Corrie

Have canoe; will bike around USA

by Gene Bisbee at 08:35AM (PST) on March 4, 2008  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos

Packing list for long-distance touring bicyclist James Schauer: 300 pounds of stuff.

As you can see at left, this 60-year-old semi-retired computer programmer is pretty easy to identify as he hauls his rig across the rolling countryside of rural Maryland. He pedals a mountain bike loaded with stuff and tows a 14-foot canoe that shelters more stuff underneath.

He left the St. Louis area last September and has been tooling around the East Coast by bicycle and canoe ever since. With no house and no car, Schauer says he has no particular destination in mind except to visit relatives on his travels.

Shh— don’t tell Linda. She’ll want to do it.

Scotland to Syria by rowboats and, when necessary, bicycles

by Gene Bisbee at 11:16AM (PST) on February 23, 2008 | Permanent Link | Cosmos

Colin and Julie Angus are two adventurers who are taking a 4,000-mile rowboat and bicycle expedition across Europe that you’ll be able to follow online beginning in March.

The two experienced travellers from Canada are rowing down rivers, coastlines and canals from Scotland to Syria. When it’s time to portage over passes or around dangerous rapids, they’ll use the foldable bicycles and trailers stowed on board to tow their watercraft.

Read the rest of the story.

Shh— don’t tell Linda. She’ll want to do it.

Scotland to Syria by rowboats and, when necessary, bicycles

by Gene Bisbee at 11:16AM (PST) on February 23, 2008  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos

Colin and Julie Angus are two adventurers who are taking a 4,000-mile rowboat and bicycle expedition across Europe that you’ll be able to follow online beginning in March.

The two experienced travellers from Canada are rowing down rivers, coastlines and canals from Scotland to Syria. When it’s time to portage over passes or around dangerous rapids, they’ll use the foldable bicycles and trailers stowed on board to tow their watercraft.

Read the rest of the story. 

Last Fall in Sun Valley I heard these two Idaho ladies present about their year long bike tour of Europe after they quit their jobs and sold their houses.  The book has a website now where the book can be ordered, photos & watercolor prints of the tour can be viewed, etc.

http://www.choppybone.com/Leaving%20Luna.htm

It’s a good read and the photos on the web page are worth seeing.

Jim

You can read more about Jim’s take on Leaving Luna here:

Click on http://groups.google.com/group/twinriverscyclists/web/leaving-luna - or copy & paste it into your browser’s address bar if that doesn’t work.

Jim McCracken would like to group to do Cycle Yellowstone:
I’d be interested in considering this ride if we could get a group together.
The 11th Annual Spring Cycle Tour is scheduled for May 10, 2008. The tour - around what locals call “the block” - is 64 miles long. It’s a challenging early season ride but the scenery is gorgeous and we do our best to make sure that everyone has an enjoyable day.

Read more about it:

http://www.cycleyellowstone.com/spritour.html

Now that I know how much Scott Trost likes to suffer, I’m sure he’ll be often with Jen on their honeymoon trying to beat Beaumont’s record.

Scottish cyclist Mark Beaumont, 25, has completed an around-the-world ride in 195 days to break the record (pending Guinness certification) by 81 days. Beaumont rode 18,400 miles (29,611 km) averaging about 100 miles (160 km) per day. The ride ended last Friday where it began at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, after which Beaumont declared, “I am very much looking forward to not getting on the bike tomorrow.” A CNN video report is at http://tinyurl.com/2au4fu

” That’s all part of the fun,” Scott insisted when whenever the climb became too steep. The story begins over on Crusty and will take a couple of days to finish.

Annie Londonderry’s amazing bike trip around the world

by Gene Bisbee at 05:00AM (PST) on February 14, 2008  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos

If you’re familiar with the world of bicycle touring, you probably already know that the first cyclist to pedal around the world was Tom Stevens, who left San Francisco on a penny farthing in 1884.

But who was the first woman to accomplish the feat?

Let me introduce you to Annie Londonderry, a Bostonian in her early 20s who undertook the journey 10 years later in 1894. Credited with accomplishing the bicycle journey by Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World and countless other newspapers at the time, her story is one of high adventure and extreme risk for a woman travelling alone in the late 19th century.

Read the rest of the story and find a link to the book on Amazon. 

Steve will have the paniers. I’m pulling a trailer. I’ll also have a handlbebar bag and I’ll be riding my heaviest bike, the 29er.

Thanks, Doug. This is why I’ve always avoided touring.–Corrie

“An AP wire photo with the caption: “Bangladeshi potter takes his wares to a local market for sale on a cold and foggy morning in Rohonpur, 230 kilometers (145 miles), north of Dhaka, Bangladesh.”

From AP Photo by Pavel Rahman and submitted by Jerome, BikeWintering west of Chicago, who spotted the photo using FlickrFan.” bikehugger.com/2008/01/bike_potter.htm

Bike touring in the Andes

by Gene Bisbee at 11:25AM (PST) on February 5, 2008  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos

Two bicycle safety instructors from Portland are touring the Andes by bicycle after deciding it was pointless to put off the trip any longer.

Andy McKerrow and Elicia Cardenas had individually wondered for years when they would be ready to bike tour in South America until they recognized they each had the same idea and there was nothing stopping them doing it.

So, I’m going to make the leap to modest touring. Linda’s been after me to do some touring near Vancouver and I’ve been thinking of ways to do a bit of credit card camping–but that still means I’ve got to find a way to carry some gear. And then Doug comes along with his little self-contained tour tour to Death Valley in the middle of February. A trailer seems like the solution to my problem. The BOB is a single wheel trailer that would be great for single-track. But its a bit pricey and I lilke the fact that the Burley stands up by itself. Should work out well for quick runs to the grocery, too. It’s in the mail as t hey say. –Corrie

Bicycle Trailers Child, Cargo, Bike Carriers, Piggyback bikes and Misc.

A page of links to lots of trailers for bikes

American River bike ride is a roll on the wild side

by Gene Bisbee at 11:00AM (PST) on January 29, 2008 | Permanent Link | Cosmos

Deer in tall grass

When I rented a bicycle in Sacramento for a ride along the American River up to Folsom Lake, I took my camera to shoot signs of bicycling.

I got that, but I also got pictures of wildlife out in the brush or perched in the bare trees. Other animals crossed the bike trail just ahead of me and disappeared into the brush before I could point and click.

read more and see more wildlife pictures

Round-the-World Cyclist Nearing Goal

You may recall that I posted here last September about Scottish cyclist Mark Beaumont, who was departing Paris in the first stage of an attempted 18,000 mile solo trip around the world.

Beaumont has been making steady progress since that time, traversing through 20 countries already in Middle East, Asia, Australia/New Zealand and North America. Now nearing completion of the sixth leg of his tour, Beaumont is crossing the southwestern and southern United States. Recently Mark has ridden through Louisiana, Missississippi and after hitting 17,000 miles, just entered Florida this past Sunday, Jan. 27th.

 Read More

I posted a couple of pages a while back, one covering cycling logs and the other about mapping tools. Most of the maps sites listed in the following article are on that page. I made an attempt to create a feature comparison chart but I’m not sure it is complete.

I mentioned that the palm device I’ve been using has gotten old–not me, the device. I think I’ve found the right way to keep my cycling log. I like both BikeJournal and Mapmyride and have been entering the few rides I’ve done this winter on both since the first of the year.

Looking around I began to see GPS devices everywhere. With Garmin introducing a new line, the 305 Edge dropped down to $240 on Ebay and I bit. I’ve only used it twice but it seems to work flawlessly and best of all, plugging in the USB pulls the day’s ride right into Training Center software. I can import it just as easily to Mapmyride. Bike Journal doesn’t provide for that. MapMyRide has lots of reports. I like its compatibility with my Garmin though it doesn’t pull in heart rate information. I may continue to enter data by hand since it avoids the extra step of creating a map which I do not want for every ride.

–Anyway, Bike Hacks has a long list of sites that provide cycling maps online. –Corrie

55 Free Bike Route Mapping Tools

January 25th, 2008 by Bren · 3 Comments

Crickey, there are a lot of ways to map your bike route! This list focuses on freely available versions. I’ve caught a lot of them, but I’m sure there are more. If you notice that I missed your favorite free bike route mapping tool, drop it in the comments!

There are plenty of places that’ll sell you a bike map, but I’m mainly interested in maps that are offered for free. And, amazingly, these aren’t all variations on (the excellent) Google Maps. This list is broken into two sections, with only the vaguest notions of organization. The first section are resources that are more global in nature. The second section are more location-specific maps.

Read More and see the list