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A 1,580-Kilometre Off-Road Trail Lures Cyclists to See Uganda by Bike

From WeLoveCycling.com

By Adam Marsal

Looking for an adventure that combines breathtaking nature, extraordinary wildlife, and cultural immersion? Look no further than Uganda’s 1,580-kilometre off-road cycling trail. This unique trail stretches from the country’s southwest to the far northeast and takes you through many local tribes, each with its own language, fashion, and customs. Cycling off-road is the perfect way to get as close as possible to the jungle and its primate inhabitants, such as gorillas and chimpanzees. We’ll introduce you to one of the most exciting cycling trails in Africa.

Cyclists searching for undiscovered trails are exploring new continents every day, and one of their latest finds is Uganda’s 1,580-kilometer cycling adventure. The trail is divided into four main sections, with only 15% of it being paved. Its creators claim that it’s long but easy and safe.

Initially, the trail was tested on old-fashioned Roadmasters, the typical single-speed village bicycles commonly used in Uganda, to show that even cheap bikes are good enough to complete the route. “I can tell you straight away, it was the greatest adventure of my life,” says Alexander Bonger, a cycling pioneer of the local bike trail. Accompanied by a local guide, he travelled through the jungle, savannas of the national parks, and the desert, passing both the equator and the Nile. With red dirt roads and English-speaking locals, Uganda has everything any cyclist needs to arrange a perfect bike trip. Alexander advises mastering basic service skills since bike repair shops are becoming rare outside the capital city of Kampala.

Photo by Keith Kasaija on Unsplash

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Cordova Street Enhancements

From CityOfPasadena.net

The City of Pasadena seeks to provide mobility choices for all residents. The Cordova Street Enhancement project creates a complete street environment, improving safety and accessibility along Cordova Street with buffered Class II bike lanes, bicycle detection, pedestrian ADA accessibility upgrades, curb extensions, and incorporating sustainable water quality improvements.

The project advances the City of Pasadena’s Mobility Element objectives that “Streets should reflect neighborhood character and accommodate all users; streets should accommodate all users such as pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit, skateboarders and scooters; Streets should reflect individual neighborhood character and needs, and support healthy activities such as walking and bicycling; and design streets to achieve safe interaction for all modes of travel particularly for pedestrians and bicycle users.”

Project provides for 1.5 miles of complete street elements including Class II bicycle lane and bike detection on Cordova Street from Hill Avenue to Arroyo Parkway

  • Installation of curb extensions at eight intersections
  • Replacement of over 50 non-compliant curb ramps
  • Replacement of sidewalk, curb and gutter, and driveway approach
  • Pavement resurfacing
  • Parkway landscaping and irrigation
  • Enhanced striping and signing at crosswalk and travel lanes
  • New traffic signals at five intersections
  • Signal modifications at nine intersections
  • Video detection system upgrades for a bicycle detection feature

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Which Bike Is Fastest For Strade Bianche? | GCN Does Science

Strade Bianche has quickly become an iconic race of the cycling season, famous for its long stretches of white gravel roads. It’s a brutal, challenging race, so it made us wonder, should the pros be using gravel bikes instead of road bikes? We went to Italy to find out, comparing both bikes on the gravel and the asphalt. This is GCN Does Science: Strade Bianche edition!

 

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This Indigenous-Run Bike NGO Uses Pedal Power to Reduce Pollution and Simplify Manual Labor

From Bicycling.com

By Daisy Hernandez

Located in the small town of San Andrés Itzapa, Guatemala, just over an hour away from Guatemala City is Maya Pedal, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been making pedal-powered machines, or bicimáquinas (pronounced bee-see-mock-ee-nahs), since 1997.

Born out of necessity and ingenuity, Maya Pedal has sought new ways to simplify otherwise exhausting manual labor all while minimizing its carbon footprint andhonoring its Mayan heritage. The NGO reconditions donated bikes from the U.S. and Canada and either sells them or utilizes different components of the donated bikes to create various types of bicimáquinas.

The name of the NGO can be broken down into two parts: ‘Maya,’ which honors the Mayan heritage which makes up more than 70 percent indigenous population in San Andrés Itzapa, and ‘pedal’ in homage to the mighty pedal-powered bike.

Mario Juarez, Director of Maya Pedal, says that the NGO’s mission is simple: the organization seeks to provide solutions—whether it’s related to transportationand hauling or making time-consuming labor easier—for Guatemalan families, as well as families all over the world. Juarez says that the ingenuity behind the bicimáquinas arose from the need of the people in his community—some needed more efficient ways to complete tasks such as washing their clothes and preparing different types of foods and Maya Pedal stepped up to the challenge.

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Buying a Bike From a Shop Versus Buying Online

From PinkBike.com

by Dario D

So you’ve decided to buy a new bike, congrats! You’re certainly making the right decision, your kids don’t need that trip to Disneyland this year and your car definitely isn’t making a weird noise. Validation aside, once your sights are set on a new ride the decision as to where to buy it can be pretty tricky, given all the options available.

As one of the more hotly contested debates in the cycling industry, the issue of where to buy your bike will always be a testy one for those who feel invested in the matter. To provide some context and background, the rising trend of direct-to-consumer bike brands may feel brand new, but has actually been around for some time, starting as far back as 1996 with Canyon’s first foray into online bike sales. With the rise of online shopping in general, the Direct sales model has started to eat up more and more of the traditional brick and mortar bike shop business. Retail bike sales are a critical part of the business model for many shops, with service and smaller non-bike sales filling in the rest of the coffer. For the sake of transparency, I worked for years as a mechanic at a small local bike shop, and hold a lot of love for the culture and community that a good bike shop can create for customers and employees. Call it bias, call it experience, just something to consider.

I have too many thoughts on this topic, so in the interest of simplicity, I’ll break it down to a few critical parts: Quality/Value, Test Riding, and Service.

Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash

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Race Against Time: Hank’s Epic Ride Across The UK!

555 miles in 48 hours? Hank has done his fair share of challenges over the years on GCN, but this might be his most important! Raising money in memory of rugby legend Doddie Weir, to improve the lives of those living with MND & for vital research to take place. In the past, we’ve tried to break Hank, but this is a challenge where we’re cheering him & the team on all the way to Edinburgh!

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Solvang Century Bike Ride set to roll through Lompoc, Santa Ynez Valley

From LompocRecord.com

Portions of the Santa Barbara County state highway system will be lined with cyclists during the annual Solvang Century Bike Ride on Saturday, March 4, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The non-competitive race features as many as 1,000 cyclists taking part in one of three different race routes — a 52-mile route, 68-mile route, and 101-mile route. Each route uses sections of Highway 1, State Route 135 and State Route 246 in the Buellton, Lompoc, Orcutt, and Los Alamos areas.

While no road, lane or shoulder closures are permitted during the event, according to Caltrans District 5 officials, signage along the routes informing the public will be visible.

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Rock the Boulevard Survey

Since our last community meeting in December of 2021, the team has been refining the project elements, and specifically the design for the bicycle facility.

We used your feedback, as well as that of the Working Group, LADOT, the Fire Department, and LA Sanitation to ensure that the design alternatives we present today provide health and safety improvements, meet the requirements of the grant, and the community’s vision.

In this short survey you will be asked to rank your preference for the type of bicycle facility you would like to see along Eagle Rock Boulevard.
This survey will close on March 10, 2023. For additional questions or feedback, please contact the StreetsLA External Relations Team at streetsla.ert@lacity.org.
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Everything You Need To Know About Bike Tires!

Alex & Manon are joined by guest Samuele from Pirelli for a bike tire special on this week’s GCN Tech Show. We ask Sam everything we didn’t know about tires in this deep dive into one of your bike’s most important parts! We’ve also got news of new bikes from Pinarello, an extended version of Manon’s Comments of the Week rap, and, as always, we rate your Bike Vault submissions!

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What is a gravel-specific bike saddle and do you need one?

From CyclingWeekly.com

What makes a saddle good for gravel riding and should you consider one? We asked bike fit professionals to find out

BY KRISTIN JENNY

Gravel bikes are more popular than ever. In 2022, gravel bike sales shot up 109% from 2021, and popular gravel races like Unbound Gravel saw an increase of 1,400 registrants in the same period.

There’s no denying it: gravel is continuing to take the cycling world by storm.

With sky-high gravel bike sales comes a new frontier of gravel-related questions, like how a gravel bike fit differs from a road bike fit, if gravel-specific cycling shoes are necessary and for today’s consideration: if gravel-specific saddles are warranted.

There are countless saddle models on the market specifically designed for everything from beach cruisers to the most aerodynamic time trial bikes.  And that’s because each riding position and each body has varying requirements in finding a comfortable saddle.

Image courtesy of Selle Italia

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