Was cycling better back in the day? The likes of the Giant MCR, Lotus 110 and Pinarello Espada pushed the boundaries of bike design, we didn’t have the same obsession with data and aero everything, and Tom Last was a GCN presenter too! Si and Dan discuss the top cycling trends they want to see make a comeback, as well as bringing you all your other favourite GCN Show segments.
From TravelAwaits.com
By Joan Sherman
Lots of people have Ireland on their “bucket list,” and we were among them. Biking the Emerald Isle offers beautiful countryside and scenic views along a dramatic coastline.
My husband, Dean, and I combined a trip to Ireland with our love of cycling and booked a June VBT biking vacation: Ireland: Galway & Connemara Coast. This was our third VBT trip, having traveled with them to Acadia National Park and again to Slovenia, Austria, and Italy. Spectacular trips!
If you are a cyclist, here are some reasons why I think you’ll fall in love with cycling in Ireland.
Part of the joy of biking is being in the scenery. You’re not cruising along on a narrow road gazing out the window as you fly by, you’re on a bike, and you’re in it. Of all the things to love about cycling in Ireland, at the top of the list has got to be the epic scenery and landscapes. Here are two of the many highlights.
It was thrilling to bike along the western coastline called The Wild Atlantic Way (WAW), the longest coastal route in the world. It’s named for rugged Atlantic storms that roll in along the western coast. The WAW covers some 1,600 miles from the northern Inishowen Peninsula to the southern town of Kinsale in County Cork.
The Burren is a large limestone plateau along the west-central coast of Ireland that was shaped by glaciers. The name “the Burren” comes from the Gaelic Boireann meaning “place of stone,” and at about 200 square miles, they aren’t kidding. It is truly unique among all the landscapes we saw. We hopped off our bikes and took an uneven, craggy walk to enjoy this unique, rugged beauty.
Photo by Nils Nedel on Unsplash
From GearJunkie.com
By Seiji Ishii
Cycling is heavily gear-oriented, and cyclists can be very particular. But don’t worry — we know some gifts to make them happy.
The GearJunkie staff have been deeply rooted in the two-wheel world for decades. Let us help you find the gifts that will be used and appreciated by even the pickiest pedaler in your life.
As you probably know, prices in cycling can be astronomical, but we cover every budget along the financial spectrum in this buying guide.
Happy holidays, and here’s to being the best gift-giver a cyclist could ask for.
Respond to texts, map your route, and more all while hands-free with this smartphone mount ($23+). It was designed primarily for use while cycling, meaning it is designed to be durable and supportive.
The Wraptor’s 360-degree rotation allows you to secure your phone in an upright or landscape position. The brand claims that the phone harness is compatible with both standard and oversized phones, with and without cases, making it an option for just about anyone.
Image courtesy of Park Tool
From CyclingSavvy.org
by
We are now in the time of short days and long nights, and so it’s a good time to talk about bicycle lights.
And there’s good news. Thanks to efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs), bicycle lights can be bright while drawing meager power from a small battery or generator.
Even better news — they won’t draw all the cash out of your wallet.
The trend can go to excess. Some of today’s bicycle headlights have product names like “Atomic”, and I kid you not, “Blinder” — only too true. Brighter, brighter, brighter… 200, 400, 1000 lumens. (The lumen is a measure of light output.)
The lumen war reminds me of the mid-20th-century horsepower race among big American cars. As in “my car is better than yours because it has a V8 engine with more horsepower!”
Lumens count light in every direction, but it matters in which direction the light goes. Any bicycle headlight bright enough to light your way should have a special beam pattern, like a car headlight, for at least four reasons:
Image courtesy of NiteRider
For the last month, six GCN employees, and many of you viewers, have been taking on a commuter challenge. The idea: ride to and from work every day for a month, to see if they could save money, get fitter and happier. Si and Manon caught up with our star volunteers Harriet, Steve, Alice, Harry, Allie & Kai to see how their month of commuting went!
Here at GCN we love cycling, but there are days where we are just a bit grumpy out on the bike. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Conor and Manon show you 7 things which make them happier cyclists.
From WeLoveCyling.com
By Andrea Champredonde
Like any other activity or community, road cycling has a set of understood rules of the road. You won’t find them printed in an official rulebook. They are insights that come with experience. The longer you’ve been in the sport, the more obvious they are.
If you are new to the sport, it’s an opportunity to learn them the easy way. As a seasoned rider, don’t be shy in politely pointing them out to new cyclists in your entourage. Someone probably took you under their wing, so pay it forward. Some are for safety reasons, others are pure cycling culture.
Cyclists should be self-sufficient on the road. If you get a flat and you don’t have a pump or a spare, a fellow rider will probably bail you out. Lending you a pump is one thing but giving up a spare? Helping you out means they may be left with none. Don’t put other cyclists in this precarious situation, carry a patch kit and a spare tube.
You also need to carry sufficient food and water to complete the ride. Riders that bonk, meaning they run out of gas because of poor fuelling and hydration, slow down to a fraction of their normal pace or worse, suffer a more serious reaction. If a fellow cyclist comes to your rescue by giving you a gel or bar, be gracious and tell them you’ll replace it the next time you see them.
When you flat on your ride and change your tube, don’t leave it as trash on the side of the road. Roll it up and tuck it in your back pocket. Used inter tubes can be put to good use in many useful ways, including being patched for reuse.
Stuff the wrappers and pull tabs from consumed gel and bars into a rear pocket or tuck them under the band of your short leg or sleeve but don’t litter. A used food wrapper can be used to boot a damaged tyre to get you home. If this happens to you, you’ll be happy to have one handy.
Photo by Coen van de Broek on Unsplash
We at GCN love coffee and we love adventure, so we planned a 200km ride to combine the two. The idea: visit 11 cafes in a single ride to fill out a coffee loyalty card and get the 11th one free. Si, Hank, Conor and Ollie tried out the new Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM to make sure they didn’t get lost on the way. It’s the ultimate cafe ride… what could possibly go wrong?
From Bicycling.com
By Damian Kevitt, as told to Emily Shiffer
Name: Damian Kevitt
Age: 45
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Occupation: Executive director, Streets Are For Everyone
Time Cycling: 28 years
Reason for Cycling: I ride for enjoyment, to get around (especially when it’s easier than by car) and for my health. Cycling is my form of meditation—me, my body, and the environment around me working as one.
I grew up cycling. My parents used to take me on mini cycling tours as a kid, riding 20 to 30 miles as a family. Dad was in the front, I was in the middle, and my Mom rode behind me. Sometimes we’d pack the our bike panniers and cycle down the coast of Southern California, staying the night at hotels. I loved it. (The only issue: The helmets back then were awful. I looked like an alien.)
As I got older, cycling became the way I got around and helped me be independent. Even after I got a car when I was 17, I would still ride around. Cycling was both enjoyable and a mode of transportation. Later, I got a nifty Cateye computer for my bicycle (it was so cool!) to track my miles and speed, but that’s about all that it did.
I never did a race or a challenge until after I was hit and nearly killed while riding a bicycle in February 2013. I was cycling with my wife in Griffith Park, going on a picnic to the Los Angeles Zoo. Only a few hundred feet from my destination I was hit, pinned underneath a car, and dragged underneath nearly a quarter mile from the streets, onto and down Interstate 5 at freeway speeds. My right leg was ripped off and about 20 pounds of flesh in two minutes. Miraculously, I survived. (I now wear a prosthetic.) It was a hit and run. The driver never stopped and was never caught.
How I survived and my struggles in the hospital and afterwards is worth its own article—but what I can say is that eventually, I got back on my bicycle and started to teach myself how to ride again.
Photo by Hannah Carr on Unsplash
Cycling isn’t all about the coffee stops, explaining to non-cyclists why you shave your legs, or riding through beautiful scenery and enjoying the feeling of the fresh, crisp air. There are actually a few life lessons we can learn from being cyclists! Here are some of our favourites…
