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From AZDailySun.com
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Somewhere on the Navajo Nation, a line of mountain bikers coast over burnt dirt and stone. The branches of juniper trees whip their arms and the clear sky warms their backs, but they pay no mind.
Cool air passes through the straps of their helmets and gives them life. They pedal faster and faster down the trail, across the land and toward the end. With each click of their gears, each beat of their hearts, they come closer together—a family, a tribe, a culture. In moments like these, in both speed and silence, they feel free.
This experience is common and unmatched among mountain bikers, but for many years it was hard to attain for those who lived on the reservation.
Navajo Nation is 27,000 square miles large, and there’s not a single bike shop on it. That doesn’t mean people don’t ride, but if someone’s on a remote trail and their tire pops, they’re out a bike. In spite of this lack of resources, there is a group of Diné riders that is providing services and creating new mountain biking programs to help young people get in touch with the land and their heritage in unexpected ways.
Photo by Tobias Bjerknes on Unsplash
From Jalopnik.com
Bike lanes are obviously good for cyclists, as they make it safer to ride and encourage people to make more trips on two wheels. More people riding instead of driving is also better for the environment and cuts down on noise pollutionfrom cars. Still, since bike lanes often replace street parking, it’s understandable that business owners would be wary that the city putting in bike lanes will drive customers away. As Business Insider reports, though, the research actually shows that those fears are unfounded.
Take, for example, a study from 2012 that looked at two shopping districts in Seattle that got new bike lanes. One replaced three parking spots, while the other replaced 12. Sales tax data showed that spending at the former generally tracked with other areas that didn’t have bike lanes, while the latter saw sales quadruple. It’s probably going too far to say the bike lanes in the second district caused the increase in sales, but clearly, adding bike lanes and removing parking spaces didn’t hurt sales.
That’s not the only study that came to the same conclusion. A study in New York City the next year found that business also increased in pedestrianized areas relative to the rest of each borough. Manhattan saw sales increase by nine percentage points in one bike-friendly neighborhood, while one in the Bronx was up 32 percentage points. In Brooklyn, the jump in sales was even more drastic, climbing by 84 percentage points.
Photo by Dário Gomes on Unsplash
Heart rate or power? Power meters are pretty expensive compared to heart rate straps, but is it worth paying a little extra to gauge your cycling efforts with greater accuracy? Alex and Ollie investigate the consistency and reliability of both devices up the Rocacorbra climb, so you can decide which tech will work for you.
From CyclingNews.com
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A look at the men’s and women’s tyre setups at the Italian one day classic
Every year around Strade Bianche, the conversation in the Cyclingnews tech team follows a trend: One of us will ask what clever tech we expect riders to use to overcome the difficult terrain of the dusty white roads, then we’ll all watch in earnest hoping for something crazy to leave us speechless, and eventually we’ll all conclude that the only thing mechanics have changed is a swap to wider tyres. Of course, somewhere along the way someone will suggest it should be a monument.
This year, as Lotte Kopecky beat out Elisa Longo Borghini, and Tadej Pogacar went solo from 81km out, the theme was no different.
As my esteemed colleague, Will Jones, pointed out in his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad tech gallery, the two pelotons’ bikes are really capable, and generally very good, so there’s no need for bonkers tech hacks, nifty suspension solutions, or Allen keys taped to seatposts.
Despite this, with the real Monuments still yet to come, tyre choice and bike setup is something riders and their teams will be toying with.
Image courtesy of Vittoria
