Oct 06 2012

Fall Colors on the Trail

Fall Leaf Viewing by Trail

beautiful fall foliage along trail path

View fall colors from a trail.

It’s time for our annual list of great autumn leaf viewing trail choices. First we’ll start with the benefits of viewing fall leaves from the trail rather than the road.

  1. Slower pace allows for much more relaxed viewing.
  2. Less hectic means less dangerous.
  3. Get your exercise while viewing the fall foliage.
  4. It’s the environmentally friendly way to view mother nature’s fall colors.

List of Great Trails for viewing Autumn’s Color Display

 

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/10/06/fall-colors-on-the-trail/

Oct 05 2012

Essential Clothes for Surviving Outdoor Emergencies

glove in snow beside trail

Trail preparation pays off.

Outdoor Survival Tips for Trail, Road & Home

When it’s time to hit the trail, always plan for the worst while enjoying the best. Even if it’s sunny and warm when you leave the trailhead, there’s no guarantee it will stay that way. And it’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. Here are some great emergency survival tips from guest-blogger Johnny Rogers.

There are many reasons to have the right clothing to survive an outdoor emergency, and just as many ways to make sure you have enough. For instance, you should always have a bag in your car when you leave the house. Similarly, you should have preparations while on the trail or within your own home. The philosophy should generally be layering, because it takes into consideration a large range of temperatures and conditions. Here’s what you should know.

Materials
You should always consider the material of the clothing you choose. Lightweight wool slacks and a shirt work should be staples, because they keep you warmer than jeans, and they are tolerable during very hot temperatures as well. Wool has the ability to resist wetness (because of the lanolin), so it’s also good in rain.

Clothing
For any emergency situation you should be sure to include a long sleeved shirt, two pair of pants and an extra pair of underwear, as well as socks. A wool sweater or a down vest is also good to have. If it gets cold, you need to be concerned with hypothermia, and that down vest could save you. You must plan for the extreme!

Other Items
A pair of work gloves are handy, in case you have to work with debris. Furthermore, a pair of worn-in boots are good, in case you have to walk long distances or hike. A belt can be helpful for many things too. It can act as a tourniquet or rope, and can even be a place you have to hang survival packs on. A floppy hat is good to prevent your head from burning, in case you are out in the sun a lot. Also, every survival kit should have a bandana. It can be used as a hat, a neck protector, a signaling device, a dust mask and many other useful things.

Basic Clothing Needs
You have to protect yourself from intense cold, as well as heat. Make sure your head is always covered, because you can lose lots of body heat (up to 45 percent) with a bare head. To keep warm, everyone should keep their clothes clean, avoid overheating, and keep clothes loose and layered.

Survival Clothing
If you find yourself in circumstances that don’t allow for planning, there are still some things you can think of. Sleeping bags can be used as a coat alternative, while socks are good for keeping hands warm. Garbage bags can cover your legs, and be used like snow, or even a raincoat. If you are caught in the cold, then stuffing a shirt with dried weeds, ferns or anything will help. You may be itchy, but it will keep you warm.

Never forget that it would behoove you to be as prepared as possible, because getting caught in an emergency situation can be life threatening.

Johnny Rogers is an avid outdoorsman.  He loves camping and hiking year round, even in the winter when most people opt to stay indoors.  He seeks adventure and uses www.termlifeinsurance.org to keep his family protected and ready for the unexpected.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/10/05/essential-clothes-for-surviving-outdoor-emergencies/

Sep 26 2012

Don’t Own a Bicycle? Ride a Boris Bike.

London's Big Ben Tower

London by bike

Biking in London, England

If you’ve ever wanted to take a bicycle ride on a Thames River bicycle path or an urban bikeway through the heart of London, you don’t have to worry about bringing your own bike with you to England. Thanks to a forward-thinking London mayor and a community that’s supportive of alternative transportation, you can rent bicycles once you get there and enjoy British sight-seeing from the vantage point of a bicycle seat on an urban bike trail. So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to this week’s guest blogger, Chiara Fucarino.

London Bike Scheme

If you’ve watched an old Hollywood movie sometime in your lifetime, you’ve probably seen the whole “steal the bike from a kid” move during a chase sequence. If such a film took place in today’s London, there wouldn’t be a kid shouting after a grown adult who has taken his bike. Instead, you’d see the adult fishing a key out of his pocket and scrambling to unlock a Boris bike at a docking station before taking off with it.

 

What is a Boris bike?

It’s the nickname for the bicycles used in the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme and named after Boris Johnson, the mayor of London. Boris bikes are public bicycles that can be hired and used by anyone. There are thousands of docking stations all over London, precisely the central, North Shoreditch, Tower Hamlets, and Shepherds Bush neighborhoods. There are plans to expand the cycle hire scheme into West and South London in 2013.

 

Boris bikes are high-quality and more advanced than regular street bicycles. They have a lot of nifty features, including:

 

–          Dynamo-powered flashing front and rear lights

–          A bell on the left handlebar

–          A small carrying rack in the front, complete with a elastic cord

–          Mudguards

–          Puncture-resistant tires

 

How does the scheme work?

 

The Barclays Cycle Hire scheme is a successful public solution for those with insufficient means of transportation. Anyone who wants to ride a Boris bike frequently can register on the Barclays Cycle Hire website and pay an annual access fee of 45 pounds and 3 pounds per key. Up to four keys are then sent to the new Boris bike scheme member, and the member could then use one of the membership keys to unlock a Boris bike at any docking station.

 

If a person doesn’t use Boris bikes frequently, s/he doesn’t have to register at the website. The person can just pay with a credit or debit card at the docking station. It costs more, and it takes a bit more time to obtain a bike, but it’s the perfect solution for anyone who doesn’t want to pay the 45-pound annual fee.

 

Whenever a person, whether a registered member or not, wants to hire a Boris bike, s/he still has to pay a usage charge. The charge is based on how long the person needs to have the bike. If it’s under thirty minutes, it’s free. If it’s an hour, it’s 1 pound. Three hours, 15 pounds. Twenty-four hours, 50 pounds. You can see the pricing chart here.

 

Boris bikes can be ridden to any docking station within the city. The user just has to make sure that the bike is returned within the specified time frame.  If there’s a fault with a Boris bike, the user can drop it off at the nearest docking station, press the red ‘fault’ button, and then take out another bike at no extra cost.

 

Where do I sign up?

 

Right here! You have to be 18 or older and you have to have a UK postal address that matches your billing address. Good luck, and let us know how you like being part of this cutting-edge cycle hire scheme!

Don’t Own a Bicycle? Ride a Boris Bike. – written by Chiara Fucarino. Chiara is regularly writing on behalf of Cruiser Bikes, a cheap cruiser bikes shop on the web.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/09/26/dont-own-a-bicycle-ride-a-boris-bike/

Sep 24 2012

Ridekick Electric Bike Trailer

ridekick electric bicycle trailer

Ridekick electric trailer

Make Any Bike an Electric Bike

If you’d like the benefits of an electric bike while still retaining the benefits of your regular bike, then the Ridekick is the perfect solution for you. Ridekick is an electric trailer that you hook to your bike; the trailer then pushes your bike whenever you need a little extra help or a little extra speed. It’s the perfect solution for people who don’t want to invest in yet another bike but who want to have an occasional electric bike experience.

Benefits of the Ridekick Electric Bicycle Trailer

I was a big fan of the Ridekick from the moment I first heard about it. What a great idea!! If you’re anything like me, you already have a favorite bike or two. You probably also have limited storage space. (Which may be a good thing or we’d have our favorite two dozen bikes.) The Ridekick allows you to hang onto your old bike while still adding the convenience of an electric bicycle to your stable of personal transportation vehicles. So here are some of the other benefits of the Ridekick Electric Bicycle Trailer:

electric bicycle trailer by sidekick

Ridekick storage

  • The Ridekick doesn’t take up a lot of space in your garage, house, apartment or patio.
  • The Ridekick allows you to carry items like groceries or work supplies.
  • The Ridekick fits on most bikes, tandems, & recumbents.
  • The Ridekick can be interchanged between several of your personal transportation vehicles.
  • Purchasing the Ridekick to add to your current bike is less expensive than buying a new electric bicycle.
  • Since the Ridekick has extra storage space, you can carry along extra batteries; this provides you with a longer powered ride.
  • The Ridekick is quiet.
  • The Ridekick allows you to power up hills and do battle with nasty headwinds.
  • The Ridekick allows you to ride at up to 19 miles per hour.
  • The Ridekick can be installed in under 15 minutes. Subsequent installations can take just a matter of seconds.
So now that you know how awesome the Ridekick is, here are some basic Ridekick facts:
  • Ridekicks start at around $700 for a basic unit with the lead acid battery.
  • Ridekicks can be purchased with either a lead acid battery or a lithium battery.
  • The Ridekick has a range of about 10 – 12 miles with the lead acid battery and 25 miles with the lithium battery.
  • The Ridekick provides a weather-proof storage case with a built-in combination lock.
    Ridekick battery and display panel

    display panel & battery

  • Allows you to turn your bike into an electric vehicle without actually modifying your bike.
What is the Ridekick good for? Let us count the ways:
  1. commuting
  2. recreation
  3. touring (I would love to take this on a long-distance rail-trail)
  4. showing off
  5. school trips
 One of these days, I hope to take the Ridekick on one of my trail tours. When that happens, I’ll give you a day-by-day report of the trip. The only question is which trail will I ride? Any suggestions?

 

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/09/24/ridekick-electric-bike-trailer/

Sep 22 2012

ICE Recumbent Trike Review

Trailsnet’s First Recumbent Trike Review

I’m not sure what took Trailsnet so long to review recumbent trikes. They’ve been on our radar from day one. In fact recumbents were one of the first personal transportation vehicles to catch our attention and help us decide to make PTVs a focus area for Trailsnet, and we’ve always had a dedicated category for recumbent trails on Trailsnet.com.  Although the following review is specifically for ICE Trikes, it can also serve as an introduction to recumbent trikes in general.

ICE Recumbent Trike Introduction

recumbent trike manufactured by ICE

ICE Sprint Trike

ICE stands for Inspired Cycle Engineering. ICE Recumbent Trikes is one of the leading brands for recumbent trikes. Among trike recumbent fans, ICE has a sort of cult following. ICE Trikes are not usually the first recumbent trike that recumbent followers own, but they are often the last. Recumbent riders tend to be a loyal bunch of folks, and once they find a brand they like, they often stick to that brand for life.

ICE Recumbent Trike Highlights

So what’s to love about an ICE Recumbent Trike? Let me count the features:

  1. Precisely engineered – ICE Trikes are built to last. They are sturdy and stable.
  2. Compact – Whether you need to transport your recumbent trike or store it at your house, the foldable frame of an ICE Trike comes in handy when you have space limitations.
  3. Selection – ICE carries three lines of recumbent trikes. They are the Adventure, the Sprint and the Vortex.
  4. Customizable – Within each of the three trike models listed above, there are numerous variations such as the Adventure, Adventure RS, Adventure FS, Adventure FS+, Adventure HD, Adventure RS HD, etc. Then, on each of the specific models, you can add such options as a neck rest, a rack, side pods, front light mount, chainring guard and more.
recumbent trike on Trailsnet.com

author on recumbent trike

ICE Recumbent Trike Dealers

ICE distributors may not be the most visible PTV (personal transportation vehicle) sales staff on the planet; but they are quite knowledgeable about their product. I was fortunate enough to interview Chip Stern, owner of Colorado’s Recumbent Trike Store. Chip definitely knows his recumbents and is one of ICE’s leading distributors. He has long been a fan of recumbent trikes and distributes them both nationally and internationally. His enthusiasm for trikes becomes evident from the start and his knowledge of the industry is voluminous. Like most ICE representatives, he is glad to accompany customers on a test drive and offers a steady stream of tips, tricks and trike tales. Even though I was mainly interested in learning about recumbent Trikes in general and ICE Recumbent Trikes particularly, I found myself wishing I had more garage space for “just one more personal transportation vehicle.” My PTV bucket list just expanded by at least one more toy. It’s not a matter of if I’m going to get a recumbent trike someday soon but whether it will be the Adventure, the Spring or the Vortex.

Why I Like Recumbent Trikes

Above all else, recumbent trikes are incredibly comfortable. It’s as if my body was telling me, “Now this is the way to ride trails.” Two particular trike qualities contribute to the aforementioned comfort:

  1. position – I’m not the first to notice that riding a recumbent bike is like viewing the world from the vantage point of your favorite reclining chair. My weight was evenly distributed throughout my entire back rather than just being centered over my buttocks. That weight distribution makes a huge difference over the course of a typical ride. Having ridden recumbent bikes on both the Withlacoochee Trail in Florida and the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia, I can vouch for the added comfort of the reclining position whilst navigating a long-distance trail.
  2. freedom – Those of you who follow Trailsnet realize that I’m all about relaxation, scenery and fitness when it comes to riding the trails. Recumbents allow all three of those qualities plus freedom. The increased stability of recumbent trikes afford the freedom to enjoy the scenery without worrying about every bump & rut in the trail. The freestanding frame allows for the freedom to stop and rest or take pictures at will without worrying about balancing a bike. And the added (potential) cargo space allows for the freedom of long, comfortable trail journeys; and everyone knows that Trailsnet is all about long, comfortable trail journeys.
The recumbent community is a growing one and an increasingly diverse group of riders. If you’re under the impression that recumbents are for seniors or any other one particular group, you need to take another look at who’s riding recumbents. As both Chip Stern and I agree, if we’d have known about recumbents back when we were in our twenties, we’d have drooled over them then, too. Oh sure, recumbents offer new-found adventures and exploration to retirees and even folks with certain handicapping situations. But in reality, recumbents and recumbent trikes are for everyone.
For more information about recumbents, take a look at the BentRider blog and the Recumbent & Tandem Rider Magazine. Then I’ll see you on the trail with a smile on your face, the wind at your back and a  recumbent trike directly underneath you.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/09/22/ice-recumbent-trikes/

Sep 20 2012

Road Bikes Okay, But…

Road Bike Video

If a picture paints a thousand words, then this video paints a million. This video was taken, last weekend, just a few miles from where I live. This is why I much prefer to ride my bike on the trails:

Comments about bikes on roads

Spend a little time reading the comments that accompany the video. This wasn’t posted very long ago and it’s amazing the reaction it’s gotten. The road biking issue is obviously a hot topic.

I always enjoy reading the comments from both sides of the argument for and against bikes on the roads.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/09/20/road-bikes-okay-but/