Jul 25 2010

Black Hawk Bike Ride

Ooooooooohhh!!!  I stuck it to the man today.

Okay, it was an extremely minor “stick it to the man,” but a SITTM nonetheless.

As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, there’s a ban on bicycle riding in Black Hawk, Colorado.

Well guess where I rode my bike today. Woooo Wooooo!

Actually I started my ride in Black Hawk, CO (take that, MAN) and ended in Louisville, CO. Door to door, it was about a 50 mile ride. No biggy for some of you hard cores out there, but a borderline butt-kickin’ ride for me.

I don’t normally like riding on the road. If I had my druthers, I’d stick to all trails. But every once in a while, I’ve got to see how the other half of bikers live.

There was a super wide shoulder on highway 119. Then, I took Gap Road which was mostly gravel, not a great idea on a road bike, but not too bad. If you want a good workout, I suggest both hwy 119 coming out of Black Hawk (uphill big time) and Gap Road. Gap Road is steep up, then down, then up, then….

Once I got to Twin Spruce Road, it was mostly downhill.

Then I got to highway 72. It’s a busy road on weekends and there’s no shoulder. Rushing Roulette we’ll call it.

Highway 93 doesn’t have much of a shoulder either and it’s extremely busy all the time.

Why am I sharing all this? Maybe just to show all you road bikers that I’m willing to risk my life on your roads. Now it’s your turn to try some epic trails. After my experience today, I can’t imagine you going back to roads.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/07/25/black-hawk-bike-ride/

Jul 22 2010

London Bike Sharing

My favorite place is London, and my favorite activity is bike riding.

So imagine my pleasure to find an article about a new bike sharing program in London, England.

According to the article, the program will be bigger (at least more bikes) than the one in New York. That’s saying a lot, because the New York bike sharing program is pretty humungous.

I am really glad to see cities jump on the bandwagon of supporting and promoting bicycling among residents and visitors. It is good for health, environment, economy, and well-being. Oh, did I forget to mention it’s a lot of fun, too.

I have only one word of advice to all of these cities. Don’t forget the bike paths. Having loaner bikes, bike lanes, and fancy pamphlets is a start, but bike trails are essential. Many of us are still uncomfortable biking on streets, no matter how many bike lanes you have. It only takes one careless driver or rider to cause and accident and very possibly a death. Raised bike lanes such as the ones they have in Scandinavia are better, but still not as good as pedestrian and bike paths.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/07/22/london-bike-sharing/

Jul 21 2010

Groupon offers great deal on Rocky Mountain National Park

Today’s Groupon deal was an awesome one.

For $85, they’re offering an overnight trip to Rocky Mountain National Park that includes 3 meals, a guided hike up Long’s Peak (a fourteener), and transportation to the park/trailhead. This would normally cost $284. It’s quite a deal.

I’m not a huge mountain climber, and I’m crunched for time this next couple months, but I think I’ll sign up for it.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/07/21/groupon-offers-great-deal-on-rocky-mountain-national-park/

Jul 20 2010

Pedestrian & Bike Images website

For those of you out there who are also creating blogs and websites about biking and bike trails, I just found a great site with free (conditional) web images for your bike trail or hiking related sites.

It is the pedbikeimages website and it contains quite a few royalty free biking, bicycle trail, and pedestrian-friendly web images.

The picture to the left is an example of an image from the pedbikeimage website.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/07/20/pedestrian-bike-images-website/

Jul 18 2010

Promoting bicycle transportation in the United States

A few recent articles show a glimmer of hope that this country is moving in the right direction when it comes to a bicycle friendly environment. The first two articles are from AARP:

Both of these articles contain some refreshing news & information about the state of bikes, trails, and alternative forms of transportation in the United States.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/07/18/promoting-bicycle-transportation-in-the-united-states/

Jul 16 2010

Mike’ Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

A huge congratulations goes out to Colorado’s Mike Molloy for his recent American Trails personal website award. Take a look at the Mike’s Hikes website featuring trails in Rocky Mountain National Park and much more.

Once at Mike’s website, you can easily navigate to his blog page. He’s got some great information and beautiful pictures on the website and blog.

Way to go, Mike and thanks for sharing your trail knowledge and passion.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/07/16/mike-hikes-in-rocky-mountain-national-park-colorado/