If you filed a 2007 tax return, and I hope you did, you'll be receiving an economic stimulus tax rebate one of these days soon. Consider bicycling when you're thinking about ways to spend that money.
The rebates are $600 for an individual, $1,200 for a couple and an additional $300 per child.
The economists are worried that people will use the rebates to offset the higher costs of gasoline, thus benefitting the oil companies. We know that nothing sticks it to Big Oil like riding a bicycle.
If you don't want to put that check into savings, I came up with a few ideas on spending it on your bike:
1. Take a fully loaded bicycle tour. If you have the proper gear, you can roll right down the driveway and be on your way ... more»
Here's another way Bolivia's Highway of Death gets its name:
On Thursday, a Toyota Land Cruiser packed with 12 passengers plus a driver plowed into a group of bicyclists on a Downhill Madness bike tour who had just set out on their journey down the Unduavi-Yolosa Highway.
Twenty-two-year-old cyclist Tom Austin of the UK was killed in the collision. The SUV then rolled 300 feet down an embankment, killing eight more people inside. Two bicyclists and five people in the SUV were injured .... more»
"Outside" magazine sent out a newsletter recently naming 15 century bike rides (listed below) around the US this spring and summer for enthusiasts to train for and ride.
Interestingly, it didn't label them "The Best," the "Most Difficult," the "Most Scenic," or the "Best Provisioned." It just directed us to choose one of these rides and start training. OK. Will do.
Three of the rides are on the Pacific Coast. If you're interested in bike rides in the Pacific Time Zone, I've listed 97 rides for California, 69 in Washington and 30 in Oregon on the BikingBis monthly bike calendar pages ... more»
In spite of logging thousands of bicycle touring miles in my life, I've never owned a strictly production touring bicycle. I've taken whatever bike I had at the time and modified it for carrying gear over the long haul -- sometimes more successfully than others.
That's why the article about choosing a touring bicycle in Adventure Cyclist's April issue was so interesting for me. Technical editor John Schubert gives an excellent primer on what to look for in a touring bike, then reviews some of the top contenders in several price ranges.
Adventure Cycling Association, the magazine's publisher, has posted the story -- "Buying a touring bike in 2008"-- online so you can check it out.... more»
Earth Day is a good time to write about what some people are doing to save the planet.
Consider David Kroodsma. Last fall he finished a three-year, 21,000-mile bicycle tour throughout Latin America and across the US to spread the word about global warming and possible solutions to the crisis.
Now he working with this September's Climate Ride 2008, billed as the first multi-day bike ride to raise money and awareness for climate change and renewable energy legislation.
Participants in the bike tour will ride 320 miles from New York City to Washington DC over five days -- Sept. 20-25. Experts will talk with cyclists and community residents along the way about the science, policies and solutions for global warming ... more»
There are 54 mountain peaks surpassing 14,000 feet elevation in Colorado, and Andy Henrichs plans to bike to each and every one of them this summer then trudge to the summit.
The athletic trainer for Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale is setting out on the quest to raise money for World Bicycle Relief's Project Zambia. He hopes to raise enough money to supply two bikes to the project each peak he climbs.
At Henrichs' website, where he's accepting donations for World Bicycle Relief, Henrichs estimates the journey will involve bicycling some 1,400 miles on his Xtracycle-equipped mountain bike and hiking over 350 miles. He expects the trek to take 52 days; that's like 1 summit a day ... more»
Coming right on the heels of the sad news about Trail Angel Gillian Hoggard, who lost her home to a fire this week, is a plea for help for Cookie Lady June Curry.
Neil Gunton, host of the Crazy Guy on a Bike website, writes that mounting medical and other bills for June has forced her to sell her house in Afton, Virginia.
He's setting up a special Cookie Lady PayPal donation site on CrazyGuy so the thousands of us who enjoyed her kindness over the years can contribute to her well-being now.
I don't know about you, but reading about the Cookie Lady always brings back a flood of memories from a hot afternoon on Afton hill. The photo above was taken the day we passed through in 1984.
If you didn't receive it, here's the newsletter Neil sent via email:
June Curry (The Cookie Lady of Afton, Virginia) Needs Our Help!
This is an unusual newsletter, but I decided to send it because June is a rather unusual lady. She's been running the Cookie House in Afton, Virginia since the inception of the TransAmerica Trail in 1976, giving touring cyclists a roof over their head, food and water through the decades. Now she has fallen on harder times in her later years, suffering a stroke, and has even had to sell her house to stay afloat. She isn't getting enough help to pay for the assistance she needs. So I decided to try something: ... more»
A fire that swept across the grasslands near Ordway, Colorado, earlier this week burned down the home of Gillian Hoggard, who received the Trail Angel award in 2006 from the Adventure Cycling Association.
She was honored for opening up the house at the end of the gravel driveway as a refuge for countless touring bicyclists on the TransAmerica Bicycle Route in recent years.
News reports say the fire swept through the area on Tuesday, destroying eight homes on the outskirts of Ordway, which was evacuated because of the smoke. Two volunteer firefighters died when a truck they rode in plunged into a ravine from a collapsed bridge. ... more»
If you're planning a bicycle touring trip to Ontario or Quebec this season, a good first stop might be the Cycling in the Ottawa-Gatineau area website.
Ottawa bicyclist Michael McGoldrick has assembled maps, pictures and descriptions of his many bike rides in and around the capital city at the recently launched website.
He's also added maps and descriptions of some longer rides elsewhere in Canada, such as the 120-mile P'tit Train du Nord trail in the Laurentians north of Montreal.
Michael has spent 20 years living in the Ottawa area and has been doing a lot of bicycling there in the past five or six years. He's learned a lot about cycling around town with his daily commute, and he and his wife spend one or two weeks every summer on longer bike tours around Canada ... more»
You gotta like Andy Hampsten. Here's what the only American to win the Giro d'Italia (1988) says about riding his bicycle:
"... And I ride my bike a lot. I love riding my bike. I raced for 20-some years and it was great. It was, by far, the most fun I've had. The best job I've ever had. I would almost have done it for free because I could ride my bike. I loved being outside. I loved seeing new things. I loved the adventure of riding. I loved the camaraderie. You just meet strangers on a bike and have some fun. It is just fun every time I go out on my bike."
This quote comes at the end of a Q&A with Hampsten in May's Bicycling magazine by Bruce Hildenbrand. Hampsten, 46, talked about that amazing climb up the Gavia into a snowstorm that secured the pink jersey at the '88 Giro ... more»
The wild and wooly New Belgium Brewing Co. bike festival and freak show known as Tour de Fat is back on the calendar in 11 cities this summer.
Chicago was added to the list, but Flagstaff and Missoula were dropped.
The makers of Fat Tire beer will be visiting Chicago, San Francisco, Truckee, Seattle, Portland, Boise, Fort Collins, Denver, Durango, Tempe and Austin (dates below).
This is the eighth year that the cycling circus is touring the western US. Festival goers often dress in costume and decorate their most fun bikes in an opening parade. There's musical and acrobatic entertainment. There's also plenty of beer... more»
Three dates marked the march toward spring this year along the 150-mile long Great Allegheny Passage:
Feb. 2 -- Punxsutawney Phil poked his head out of his groundhog hole to proclaim more winter. March 20 -- The sun passed over the sun's equator, marking the vernal equinox; commonly known as the first day of spring. April 3 -- Crews pried open the doors to the 3,294-foot-long Big Savage Tunnel, which had been closed for the winter.
The final act marks the annual opening day for a continuous 318-mile bicycle path comprising the C&O Canal towpath and Great Allegheny Passage all the way from Washington DC to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. Tradition holds that the Tunnel Troll accompanies the first cyclist to pass through, bringing blue skies and smooth paths ... more»
From the looks of Daniel Lang's Project VELAIA website, this is an ideal season to be bicycle touring in New Zealand. Not too hot. Not too cold.
Lang is a 22-year-old, self-described "velosopher, environmentalist, and often minimalistic outdoor adventurer" who is nearly 16,000 miles into an around the world bike tour.
His website is worth a look for the wonderful pictures, like the one above, as well as the stories the German traveler is spinning from the road... more»
The Redlands Bicycle Classic, which runs today through Sunday in southern California, is featuring live video from the start house for the 5K men's and women's time trial.
Among those racing are Tom Danielson (above, Slipstream), Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing), Rory Sutherland (Health Net) and Chris Baldwin (Toyota). Among the women, High Road, Webcor, Value Act Capital, Aaron's and Cheerwine are supplying strong teams.
The four-day event isn't just for watching pro cyclists. If you're in the area and would rather ride than watch, you can jump onto the Redlands Bicycle Classic Rotary Ride. It offers 6- to 60-mile bike tour options throughout the countryside. Also, public races for ages 3 and up are offered on Saturday morning. ... more»
Attila Horvath gets his inspiration while pedaling down the road. But unlike the moments of creativity that some of us mistakenly believe we achieve on the bicycle, Horvath's are worth hearing.
The musician who makes his home in Athens, Ohio, wrote an article about his work in the March issue of Adventure Cyclist, the monthly magazine of Adventure Cycling Association ... more»
If you filed a 2007 tax return, and I hope you did, you'll be receiving an economic stimulus tax rebate one of these days soon. Consider bicycling when you're thinking about ways to spend that money.
"Outside" magazine sent out a newsletter recently naming 15 century bike rides (listed below) around the US this spring and summer for enthusiasts to train for and ride.
There are 54 mountain peaks surpassing 14,000 feet elevation in Colorado, and Andy Henrichs plans to bike to each and every one of them this summer then trudge to the summit.
Coming right on the heels of the sad news about Trail Angel Gillian Hoggard, who lost her home to a fire this week, is a plea for help for Cookie Lady June Curry.
A fire that swept across the grasslands near Ordway, Colorado, earlier this week burned down the home of Gillian Hoggard, who received the Trail Angel award in 2006 from the Adventure Cycling Association.
If you're planning a bicycle touring trip to Ontario or Quebec this season, a good first stop might be the 
You gotta like Andy Hampsten. Here's what the only American to win the Giro d'Italia (1988) says about riding his bicycle:
The 
Attila Horvath gets his inspiration while pedaling down the road. But unlike the moments of creativity that some of us mistakenly believe we achieve on the bicycle, Horvath's are worth hearing.
