August 2022

Focusing on diversity and inclusion, gravel bike racing welcomes all to this sport

From NPR.org

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — The sport of racing bicycles on gravel roads has become so big so quickly that race organizers were able to start with a clean sheet of paper … and they’ve prioritized diversity and inclusion.

Marley Blonsky is the energetic co-founder of a body-positivity advocacy group called All Bodies on Bikes.

On Saturday morning Blonsky — who describes herself as “a short, fat woman” — paused as she was about to climb on her bike to lead a warm-up ride here for some of the more than 3,000 riders who would line up the next day for SBT GRVL — one of the biggest gravel races in the world.

“We’re all about inclusion in the cycling world, so, making sure that people have clothing and gear and equipment and feel empowered to ride regardless of what their body looks like,” she said.

‘What we started with was a blank canvas’

Major gravel races often have several warmup rides like Blonsky’s, called shakeouts.

Among those at SBT, one celebrated women, trans, femme, and non-binary riders, and another promoted racial justice.

“What we started with was a blank canvas,” said Amy Charity, the race’s co-founder and owner. “It allowed us to start from scratch with looking at things that we really valued and things that we potentially thought had gone wrong with road racing and made road racing feel very exclusive.”

And so starting from scratch, they wanted to build something much more inclusive.

“We we really talked a lot about ‘what does inclusivity mean,'” she said. “It means that when you come to Steamboat Springs, whoever you are, you feel welcome here, you feel like you belong here, and it doesn’t matter if you are at the absolute front end of the peloton, you’re a World Tour pro, or you’re somebody doing your very first bike event or you’re a seven-year-old kid or an 82-year-old, we want you to feel welcome and like you belong.”

Photo by Coen van de Broek on Unsplash

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Griffith Park road may remain a car-free zone

From TheEastSiderLA.com

By Brenda Rees

Since late June, a nearly mile-long section of roadway through Griffith Park has been temporarily closed. It’s part of a pilot program to deter commuter and cut-through traffic through the park and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and wildlife.

Now, officials are poised to make this temporary car-free zone on Griffith Park Drive permanent. In addition, big changes may also be in store for another major park artery: Crystal Springs Drive.

On Thursday, city staff will recommend that parks commissioners keep Griffith Park Drive – from Travel Town near the 134 Freeway up to the Mount Hollywood Drive turnoff — closed to unauthorized automobiles and motorcycles.

“Due to the closure, cyclists, pedestrians, equestrians and wildlife are now able to enjoy this segment of roadway in Griffith Park in a safer manner without the vehicle speeding and cut through traffic that was occurring prior to the closure,” according to the city staff report.

The project will involve installing two T-Bar gates, asphalt resurfacing, road markings/additional signage and adding speed humps. A maximum of $540,000 is slated for the project.

Closing Griffith Park Drive is based on recent traffic studies from the transportation consulting firm Kimley-Horn. Some of the findings:

  • Before the closure, about 1,950 vehicles traveled along Griffith Park Drive on a typical weekday; about 2,000 on a typical weekend day. After the closure, the numbers plunged to about 80 authorized vehicles per weekday and 20 on weekend days.
  • Traffic has not increased significantly on Zoo Drive between Griffith Park Drive and Riverside; consultants suggest that drivers are possibly staying on the freeway rather than opting to use a cut-through in the park.
  • Another factor in this traffic reduction is more traffic enforcement and additional speed feedback signs on Crystal Springs Drive and Zoo Drives.

Photo by Nico Amatullo on Unsplash

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When Should You Replace Tubeless Sealant? | Maintenance Monday

If you run tubeless tyres, you have to replace your sealant from time to time as it dries up and stops working. But how often do you need to do this? Ollie explains how to check and replace your tubeless sealant in this week’s Maintenance Monday video!

 

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Two Wheels Good – The History and Mystery of the Bicycle

From Road.cc

by RICHARD PEPLOE

Nothing that you read about Two Wheels Good in advance will fully prepare you for the eclectic mix of contents within: whether it be a different take on history, or Jody Rosen’s personal experiences, there’s plenty of surprising material to reward you.

When I was trying to figure out what was coming my way in this book, claims that it was ‘a panoramic revisionist portrait’ of the bicycle didn’t really help me. However, the idea of it ‘combining history, reportage, travelogue, and memoir’ did make more sense, and gives notice to expect wide-ranging content during an exploration of ‘the history and mystery of the bicycle’.

Many histories of the magnificent machine have already been written; recent examples are publications from Michael Hutchinson(link is external) and William Manners, which followed different styles – despite largely covering the same story. Rather than go into competition with those (and others) when describing the history of the bicycle, Rosen decided that ‘major themes have been left to other chroniclers’, leaving him to ‘highlight some different stories’.

This is evident immediately, where Rosen’s account of the origins of the bicycle are centred on ‘The Bicycle Window(link is external)‘, a 16th century stained-glass window in St Giles church, Stoke Poges. Some claim that it depicts a precursor to the bicycle. Rosen agrees that it is a great tale, and so uses it as the focus of this part of history, but concludes that ‘it has nothing to do with bicycles’.

In most cases, when it comes to historical accuracy Rosen sensibly uses Bicycle Designby Tony Hadland and Hans-Erhard Lessing as his guide, a book that, if I were to have reviewed it here, would be an easy 10/10. (It’s available in paperback(link is external) if you are interested.)

Beyond that, it is hard to describe what is on offer from Two Wheels Good, mainly because it is full of unexpected information – and it is that unpredictability which holds your interest.

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Local group beats record while biking across US

From Fox5SanDiego.com

by:

SAN DIEGO – Five days, two hours, and 47 minutes: that’s how long it took Team BEMER, a local cycling group, to bike across America.

An impressive feat alone, the group of San Diego-based cyclists later found out they broke a record.

“I was relieved because we had every intention to break the record when we put this team together,” says Randall Coxworth, a Team BEMER member.

The average age for a member on the eight-man cyclist team is right around 46, which comes with its ups and downs. While they may be slightly older, they also have faced their fair share of obstacles in life and have learned about the power of persistence.

“The shift is 12 hours, you’re riding 15 minutes every hour for 12 hours,” says Coxworth.

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7 Top Tips To Corner Faster On A Road Bike

Cornering is an important part of cycling and a great skill to master as a cyclist, especially if for racing or if you want to ride fast. You probably already know the basics of how to corner properly on a bike but Manon has some top tips for you in this video to up your game and corner like a pro!

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8 Health Benefits of Riding an Electric Bike

From Evelo.com

Riding an electric bike, whether as you commute or just for fun, can significantly contribute to your health, improving cardiovascular conditioning, improving brain function, and helping you maintain healthy body weight.

Bike riding is one of many kinds of exercise that get you outside, elevate your heart rate, and induce the many benefits of physical activity.

Improve Your Heart Health

Several studies have demonstrated a connection between bicycling and improved heart health.

In 2017, for example, researchers from the University of Glasgow found an association between bicycling to work and a lower risk of premature death after studying 264,337 people for five years. In fact, cycling about 30 miles a week was shown to significantly lower the risk of heart disease.

“Cycling all or part of the way to work was associated with a substantially lower risk of adverse health outcomes. Those who cycled the full length of their commute had an over 40 percent lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and overall mortality over the five years of follow-up,” said Dr. Jason Gill of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, according to a Cycling Weekly article.

If one assumes regularly riding a bicycle or electric bike (perhaps 30 miles per week) is similar to bike commuting, it will follow that regularly riding — whether to work or not — may help improve heart health specifically and overall health generally.

Finally, UPMC Pinnacle reported that “people who biked regularly had about 15 percent fewer heart attacks than non-cyclists. Even small amounts of time devoted to the activity were linked to lower rates of heart disease.”

Strengthen Your Cardiovascular System

As we have previously reported, “cycling on an electric bike just a few times each week can improve an adult’s cardiorespiratory performance and general health in ways similar to riding a conventional bicycle or taking vigorous walks, according to several clinical studies.”

“One of the most telling studies, released in the May 2018 edition of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, compared the peak oxygen uptake (VO2 max) of 32, overweight adults before and after four weeks of bicycle commuting.”

Separately, according to Dr. Amar Singal, a cardiologist, “cycling is one of the best cardio exercises for people of all age groups and all body types. It not only helps burn calories and keeps weight under control, but also helps build stamina and increase muscle and bone strength. Being a low impact exercise, it is also soft on the joints and unlike hard gym training sessions, it doesn’t put you at risk of overuse injuries or sprains. This is why it can also be taken up by elderly people who have arthritic joints.”

Photo by Gotrax on Unsplash

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Healthy Streets LA is at city council now!

What is the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure?

The ballot measure will require the City of Los Angeles to implement its Mobility Plan 2035 whenever the City repaves or otherwise works on a street. Doing so will save money, reduce traffic, make the streets safer, and give people more options to get around town, helping to clean our air. You can read the full text of the measure here. Here is a Google Slides Overview.

Why is the measure needed?

Since the passage of the Mobility Plan in 2015, Los Angeles has only implemented 95 miles out of 3,137 miles planned (about 3% in 7 years). Our city is ignoring its own plan, and even worse, sometimes working against it. A legal mandate is needed to get the city to do what they have already said they want to do, and to give us, its residents, cleaner air, safer streets, less traffic, and options on how we get around town.

If it passed, what changes would I see in the city?

The change would be dramatic. You would see a city that is inviting to walk in, safer to bike in, faster to take the bus in, and easier to get around, all while saving lives, reducing traffic, and improving air quality.

What needs to happen to get the measure on the ballot?

We need to collect approximately 93,000 signatures from registered voters in the City of Los Angeles in 100 days, starting around mid February. While that may sound like a lot, it’s doable! Our goal is to have 250 volunteers collecting signatures for about four hours per week.

 

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The Upgrade! | GCN’s Bike Makeover Ep. 2

Things are getting exciting at GCN Tech Megabase because it’s time for the upgrade! Ollie is taking our entry level bike and giving it the pro upgrade that it’s always desired thanks to our friends at Shimano! What do you think so far?

 

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Looking for the best bike trail in SoCal? Try Ojai

From LATimes.com

BY MATT PAWLIK

On those perfect SoCal summer weekends, I often have trouble choosing the day’s activity. A relaxing beach hangout? An epic biking adventure? A beautiful mountain hike? Or even just a walk about town? I call it “paradise paralysis,” and although the condition gets little sympathy from those in less-ideal climates, the struggle is real.

Here’s my standby for those times I want to do (and see) it all: the Ojai Valley Trail.

The incredibly scenic path runs 15 miles from the Ventura shoreline to the charming town of Ojai at the base of the Los Padres National Forest.

If you’re opting to do the 30-mile round trip, I recommend starting and ending your full-day adventure at the beachside city. There are plenty of entry points to the paved bike path, but park at the pier to begin your journey along the shimmering Pacific Ocean. Head through downtown Ventura (a great spot to explore on its own), charge up on a local breakfast burrito (try Lalo’s) and find easy access to the trail at Rex and Dubbers streets.

Paralleling California 33, the bike path gradually climbs 800 feet over 15 miles on its way to its Ojai terminus, with tons of unique sightseeing along the way, including metal mile markers with inspiring quotes to energize you at the beginning of your ride. You’ll even find Ventura Spirits, a craft distillery that is right off the path and worth a stop for tasting.

Photo by little dragon on Unsplash

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