PBP- 1200km in 90 hours...Ahh!..riding in the rain or dark quiet road in the middle of night, eating junk food & sleeping by the roadside stalls etc.... How can you not love this audax ride? ... Audax Rocks!
Source: YouTube
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Cycling New Zealand's South Island
Cycling: More Benefits Than You Think
Cycling to work or school has more benefits than you may think. Most people I know think that they would feel strange, they might lose balance, they may have to incur costs if their bike is stolen- every excuse under the sun to avoid riding bikes. However, cycling is very advantageous in more ways that one. Which includes, lowering costs through insurance, lowering travel card costs, plus the excellent health benefits of riding to work, as opposed to taking the tube. You don’t have to be super-fit to enjoy cycling, and it’s good for you! When looking to lose weight, diets rarely work long-term, regular exercise always does. Any type of regular exercise is of benefit, but cycling is particularly good because fewer injuries occur as a result. Cycling is also a great calorie user, which has various benefits.
According to the British Heart Foundation, cycling at least 20 miles per week reduces the risk of coronary heart disease to less than half that for non-cyclists. Cycling at a gentle 12 mph on a flat road uses 450 kcal per hour. It also makes you feel younger and reduces stress. It is also claimed that cycling raises the speed of your metabolism for hours afterwards, so your body continues to burn calories even after exercise.
Cycling is mainly an aerobic activity (except when going uphill). This is beneficial to the lungs which expand to push as much oxygen into the body as possible and the heart which beats faster to transport this oxygen around your body. A strong heart and powerful lungs form the basis of general fitness. Even if you cycle only a few miles per day, your muscles will gain the benefit, usually becoming trimmer and more toned. The main muscles you use when cycling are the upper thigh muscles, backside, and calf muscles.
Exercising releases what are known as endorphins into your blood - these create a feeling of contentment and happiness, therefore helping to reduce stress. Naturally, if you cycle in pleasant surroundings - your contentment level will be even greater!
My good friend George said “no” to her travel card, and hopped on her bike instead. From my observation, it worked out well- she has saved hundreds of quid a month, plus has lost quite a lot of weight- an all round package that you cannot say “no” to.
Source: ArticleSphere.com / by Jamie Jaggernauth/ photo courtesy of austriatravel.co.uk
I Love Cycling
What a simple and yet meaningful art related to cycling. I found it on the Net and can't resist to publish it on my Blog dedicated to all of you who love to ride simply for the love of cycling. Peace!Source: Bike Lane Diary (photo by Marla Lu/ Flickr)
World's Fastest Cyclist Hits 82.3 MPH
Sam Whittingham is the fastest cyclist on the planet, having pedaled his sleek recumbent bicycle to a stunning 82.3 mph to claim the world record for a human-powered vehicle.The bike-builder from British Columbia bested his previous record of 81.02 mph during a picture-perfect run through the desert during the World Human Powered Speed Challenge outside Battle Mountain, Nevada.
"On the one hand, it's terrifying, but also completely exhilarating, Whittingham, who's won the competition every year since its inception six years ago, told the Vancouver Sun after taking home the $26,748 deciMach Prize for Human-Powered Speed. "It's like going down the steepest hill you can find on your bike, but you get to do that all the time."
Except Whittingham's bike is nothing like your bike. Read more
Source: Wired Blog Network
Why I love cycling holidays
My friends thought I was tragic trundling off on my cycling holidays, but now I know I was simply fashion-forward (though possibly not in those shorts). These days everyone is doing it.
Well, more people than ever, anyway.Helen Pidd has been taking cycling trips for some time. Little did she know she was one step ahead of a growing trend
Well, more people than ever, anyway.Helen Pidd has been taking cycling trips for some time. Little did she know she was one step ahead of a growing trend
Getting a breath of fresh air ... cycling is part of over two million holidays taken by Brits. Photograph: TFL
My friends thought I was tragic trundling off on my cycling holidays, but now I know I was simply fashion-forward (though possibly not in those shorts). These days everyone is doing it. Well, more people than ever, anyway.
Britons spent £120 million on dedicated cycling holidays in 2006, according to research from Mintel. The report estimates that 2.25 million holidays taken by Brits last year included some kind of cycling adventure, such as a day's bike hire or a mounted city sightseeing tour.
I have always enjoyed cycling, but until a few years ago saw it mostly as a way to get from A to B without paying for the bus. It wasn't even a hobby, let alone a mode of holidaying. Then I moved down to London and, after spending weekdays choking on fumes, was quite literally gagging for a bit of fresh air on the weekends.
At first, I - with my far hardier cycling companion and puncture repairer-in-chief - went day tripping. Then we decided to spread our wheels a little, and started our weekend trips an hour out of town from places like Bognor Regis, Oxford and Great Yarmouth, hefting our bikes on to trains and then pedalling off into the countryside. The only downside was having to call National Rail Enquiries and battling with the operators over whether we could take bikes on our chosen route. (If we both called, we would invariably be given different answers.)
One of my best holidays ever was the cycling odyssey I undertook last summer. Too wussy and annual-leave-deprived to tackle the full End to End, we decided to have a go at London to Land's End. We didn't pay tour operators to sort out our itinerary, but set off armed with panniers full of Ordnance Survey maps, a list of B&B phone numbers and a spare inner tube each.
Apart from the tantrum I had just outside Minehead attempting Porlock Hill (gradient: 25% - it was like cycling up a wall), it was a dream, albeit an expensive one. By my reckoning, the cost of 14 nights in B&Bs and youth hostels (we went a very circuitous route), lunches and dinners, and the train back to London from Penzance was about £500. Unless you can be bothered lugging a tent around, cycling holidays are very rarely cheap.
As to why they are en vogue, well, I can only answer for myself. I loved seeing the landscape change, as Berkshire became Wiltshire, Wiltshire became Somerset, and Somerset segued into Devon and then Cornwall. And without being too much of a pathetic girl about it, I was delighted to return with far firmer thighs at the end of the fortnight. I also got off on the knowledge that my holiday wasn't spewing out huge amounts of carbon - apart, of course, from the heavy breathing involved in tackling Porlock Hill.
Source: guardian.co.uk/Travel/ by Helen Pidd
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Five Year Old Completes 55 Mile Pedal for Scotland
Cycle crazy 5 year old, Patrick Kiehlmann (picutred right) completed the Pedal for Scotland 2008 on Sunday 14th September. It was really encouraging to hear the support for Patrick by all who passed him, and by those he passed, on the 55 mile Cycling Scotland bike ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh. The Pedal for Scotland bike ride has plenty of refreshment stops along the way with open play areas, so it's really easy to pace yourself, and arrange to meet your mates along the way."Cycling is fun, great for children's health and everyone's environment. Many more children will be cycling with Patrick to and from St. Matthews Primary School as part of our daily "cycle train". Pedal for Scotland is in it's 10th year and there are already more families at Patrick's school who have asked to join in next year, the more the merrier." Mark Kiehlmann, Sustrans Volunteer Ranger.
"Both myself and the event organiser Ian Aitken met Mark and Patrick after the event and were stunned to discover that Patrick had completed the whole ride on his own. We see a lot of young children on tandems with their parents, but as far as I know there has never been anyone else as young as Patrick to complete the ride completely independently. To top it off, Mark showed us home video footage of Patrick on the last few miles of the route, where I myself was feeling ready to drop, and Patrick was still speeding along at twice the pace of everyone else. It really was quite inspirational and I'd like to offer congratulations on behalf of Pedal for Scotland to our youngest and most enthusiastic rider. Patrick's achievement really does show that more or less anyone can take part in Pedal for Scotland." Andrew Pankhurst, PR & Marketing Officer, Cycling Scotland, organisers of Pedal for Scotland.
Patrick started cycling just over a year ago, going to and from his preschool with his mate on their Islabikes. This summer we decided to try and cycle around Cumbrae for an afternoon. We were astonished when he had finished in just an hour. So we took a trip along the Fourth and Clyde Canal from Bishopbriggs to Auchinstarry Basin and back, then Patrick asked if we could go to the Falkirk Wheel. I knew then that it was very likely that he would be able to make the trip to Edinburgh on the Pedal for Scotland, celebrating cycling with over 5,000 others.
Above: Footage of Patrick on the home stretch of the ride, clearly loving it and going like a miniature steam-train
Patrick loves to cycle everyday to school in Bishopbriggs. We are working with the school, East Dunbartonshire Council and Sustrans to ensure that Patrick, and every other child, can continue to cycle on a safe route to school, away from the high pollution levels on the Kirkintilloch Road.
Source: Everyday Cycling
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