For a good ride, you’ve got to lay the groundwork! Get your pre-ride prep and routine wrong, and that chill ride in the sun can quickly turn sour. There are a few mistakes that stand out as major no-nos, so in this video, we’re going to list a few so that you don’t make them!
From PasadenaNow.com
The Altadena Bicycle Club and Altadena Heritage will be hosting the 3rd Annual Altadena Golden Poppy Bicycle Ride on Sunday, May 28th. The event, which is open to cyclists of all ages and abilities, is part of a community initiative to promote the enjoyment of Altadena’s award-winning native plant gardens.
The ride will be led by Dorothy Wong, a notable figure in the local cycling community and a member of the Altadena Bicycle Club. With a social pace that accommodates all riders, the tour is expected to last between 1 to 2 hours, with refreshment stops included along the route.
The tour will offer riders an opportunity to see many of the winning gardens in Altadena Heritage’s Golden Poppy Awards, a recognition given to local gardens that excel in native plant use and environmentally friendly gardening practices. “This is a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the beauty of our local flora, all while enjoying a leisurely bicycle ride,” said Wong.
Participants are asked to meet at Altadena Triangle Park, located next to the Sheriff’s Station, at 8:30 a.m., an hour earlier than originally scheduled. From there, a feeder ride will lead the group to the starting point of the Golden Poppy Bicycle Ride.
Organizers encourage interested individuals to RSVP for the event through the website provided: https://bit.ly/GOLDEN-POPPY-RIDE2.
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash
From Scotsman.com
By Fiona Evans
With such simple form and elegant design it’s easy to see why the humble bicycle was once dubbed “the noblest invention of mankind.”
And you never forget how to ride a bike, so they say, reflecting the enduring nature of this basic vehicle.
Such is its importance that the United Nations (UN) created World Bicycle Day several years ago to celebrate the bike as a simple, affordable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transport.
Marked globally by organising bike rides at a local and national level, the occasion, also known as International Bicycle Day, is held on June 3.
And if that isn’t enough to inspire a two-wheeled outing, then 2023’s very special Bike Week (June 5-11) might just tempt you.
This year’s Bike Week, delivered by Cycling UK, is the 100th annual awareness event, marking a century of celebrating everyday cycling for everyone.
Photo by Coen van de Broek on Unsplash
Fixing a puncture on your bike is an essential skill for all cyclists to learn. Alex runs step-by-step through the process of using a puncture repair kit to patch up a punctured inner tube. This video includes steps on removing your wheel and inner tube, as well as helping you locate the puncture itself.
From Ideastream.com
I have to admit, I’m not a bike rider. But as the environment reporter at Ideastream Public Media, I’ve learned a lot about the benefits of biking, for the riders and for the planet.
It makes me want to get in the saddle.
I’ve spent a lot of time talking to bicyclists, planners and public policy experts about efforts to make communities welcoming to bicycles.
Cleveland and many other cities are taking special interest in bikeway projects and complete street infrastructure that thinks about how roads can safely accommodate more than cars and trucks.
That’s key to me. With my bicycling inexperience, I’m intimidated by the thought of riding a bike down a city street thick with traffic. I marvel at those who do, but it just doesn’t feel comfortable to me. Safe and protected bike lanes would make me more likely to ditch my car once in a while.
And that’s a good thing. Biking serves as a fun way to exercise on the go while also reducing carbon emissions that contribute to the effects of climate change.
Biking instead of driving can save you money on gas while increasing the life span of our cars and trucks. It will also reduce our carbon footprints and overall impact on the environment.
Driving is a major contributor to carbon emissions in the region. The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency reports that personal vehicles and light-duty trucks account for about 74% of all road-based greenhouse gas emissions across its five-county region.
Large amounts of carbon in the atmosphere, spewed out from gas-burning engines, worsens air quality and contributes to the effects of climate change, like severe and frequent storms, flooding and sea-level rise.
In March, the United Nations released its annual Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. It found that the planet will only continue to get warmer unless we significantly reduce emission levels.
So, any effort we make to reduce our use of personal vehicles, and relying instead on public transit or other modes of transportation (like biking!), is a pedal stroke toward reducing Northeast Ohio’s carbon footprint.
Photo by Philip Myrtorp on Unsplash
From LVSportsbiz.com
By Alan Snel
Heaven is a mere three hours from Las Vegas.
I’ll get to the punch line quick here — it’s bicycling Zion National Park in southwest Utah, a heavenly piece of nature that wows, inspires and drops jaws with its to-the-sky walls of rock, are-you-kidding Angels Landing trail, The Narrows and its dramatic, steep red cliffs. And yes, it’s only three hours of driving from Las Vegas.
On August 27, 2022, Anna and I drove to Zion. And here is our story.
We left Las Vegas very early. As in 3AM early and we rumbled along Interstate 15 north of Mesquite when Anna caught a nap.
She draped a sheet over her head and the Shroud of Anna was snoozing nicely as the first light of the day edged its way above the eastern horizon in St. George.
The Shroud was up and at ’em when we drove through Springdale, the doorstep into Zion, and waited only five minutes to enter the park at 7 AM.
Anna is a mountain bike ninja, but we pedaled road bicycles on the floor road of the Virgin River valley.
Photo by Danika Perkinson on Unsplash
You don’t need to break the bank to go on a cycling adventure. Bikepacking is a great way of exploring the outdoors on your bike and can be done cheaply without burning a hole in your wallet. Conor and Manon run through their top tips, tricks and hacks to show you that you can enjoy a bikepacking adventure no matter what your budget!
From LA.Streetsblog.org
Tonight, Metro will host a construction update on the 5.5-mile Rail-to-Rail walk/bike path that will run along the neglected Slauson corridor right-of-way (ROW) between the Fairview Heights and Slauson Metro rail stations. The agency has posted a number of photos touting the work being done on the path ahead of the 6 p.m. meeting (join in via Zoom).
Tangible progress has been a long time coming.
The “Rail-to-River”project was first proposed in 2012 by then-Metro boardmembers Mark Ridley-Thomas and the late Gloria Molina with the goal of converting a blighted ROW into a community asset. They believed a nearly 10-mile-long “green ribbon” could be transformative in such an intensely park-poor section of South Central and Southeast Los Angeles.
Metro had originally expected to break ground on the western segment back in 2018. After a number of delays, the project quietly broke ground last July. Construction began in October, at 67th St. and 11th Ave. [The Southeast segment that runs from the Blue Line to the river will be constructed separately; it is still in the planning stages.]
The dedicated bike/walk path (where users are safely separated from motor vehicles) will feature shade trees, drought-tolerant landscaping, lighting, improvements at bus stops, and improved crossings at intersections.
From Bicycling.com
BY MICAH LING
SEVERAL NEW LAWS HAVE BEEN PASSED RECENTLY TO KEEP CYCLISTS AND OTHER MORE VULNERABLE ROAD USERS SAFE.
Did you know that many drivers think the “Share the Road” signs are aimed at cyclists? Of course the intended purpose is the opposite, to remind drivers to be vigilant and considerate of more vulnerable, slower-moving modes of transportation on the road.
And what about “taking the lane,” when a cyclist moves to the middle of the traffic lane because there’s no shoulder or it feels too dangerous to have a car pass? Perfectly legal and the smartest course of action in some situations.
Generally, people riding bikes are treated by the law the same as people driving vehicles —they have similar rights and responsibilities.
But a 20-pound bike is a lot different from a 5,000-pound vehicle, so several laws have been passed recently to keep cyclists and other more vulnerable road users safe.
For instance, most states now adhere to the 3-feet law, which says that the drivers of vehicles must give cyclists 3-feet when passing. And six states require vehicles to completely change lanes when passing a cyclist, if more than one lane is present.
The second individual time trial stage of this year’s race is both the longest and the flattest. At 34.9km in length with just 102m of elevation gain, this route from Savignano sul Rubicone to Cesena is one for the true TT specialists. Expect a big GC shake-up on this stage!
