National Park Service - Yes To Guns, Maybe To Bicycles
By spokesman | January 4, 2009
Two recent articles in the Washington Post concerning nationals parks caught my attention. The first article discussed a new policy that allows people to carry concealed, loaded weapons in most national parks and wildlife refuges. It is a new policy that has been implemented in the last days of the Bush administration and is already the subject of a lawsuit. The second article discussed a new proposed rule to make it easier for mountain bikers and other cyclists to traverse the back-country of national parks. This proposed rule is opposed by many environmental groups and trail users such as hikers. The debate on both of these issues will continue for a long time.
However at the current time, you are more likely to be in compliance with National Park Service policy if you are found with a 357 Magnum than with a Trek.
All kidding aside, many national parks and the surrounding areas are great for bicyclists. I live in the Washington DC area and regularly bike on the C&O Canal and in Rock Creek Park (where many of the roads are closed to auto traffic on the weekends). I have also done trips in Death Valley and near Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon. Use the custom search engine on this site to find trips that include these parks and other popular destination such as Glacier National Park and Yellowstone.
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Topics: Bikes and Politics | 1 Comment »
Hoping 2009 Is Better Than 2008
By spokesman | January 1, 2009
Happy new year and best wishes for 2009
Picture of Ghost Bike - Christmas Day 2008
Dow Jones Industrial Average - 2008
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Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Introducing Bicycle Tour Search
By spokesman | December 28, 2008
The purpose of this post is to present a new addition to this website - a custom search feature to find bicycle tours. The search box located in the top right side of this web page searches the websites of more than 75 bike tour companies. All of the search results will be for bike tour companies.
This provides a much easier way to find bicycle tours in specific regions or with specific features. If you search on “Tuscany”, you will get links to tour companies offering tours in Tuscany. A search on “Tuscany Chianti “ will provide more targeted results highlighting tours in the Chianti region. If you were to do the same searches using Google or Yahoo, the results would include thousands of irrelevant links. Try these other searches to see how helpful the search engine can be - ”solo traveler”, “cannondale” ,”trip insurance” or “refund policy”. The results will let you easily compare tour companies concerning these different trip features.
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Topics: Bicycle Websites, Touring | No Comments »
The Upside Of Blogging
By spokesman | December 22, 2008
If you base your opinion of blogging on what you read about it , either all bloggers are pulling in a fortune from advertising or are spreading bogus news stories that sway public opinion. I have been writing this blog for about 8 months and don’t fall in either category. For me, it is a hobby. One of the primary benefits has been the interaction with people I have met through the blog. Two recent ones are highlighted below.
Last May I wrote a post about visiting the Florence American Cemetery in Italy. It is the final resting place for 4402 soldiers who died in Italy during WWII. Earlier this evening, I got the following comment on the post from Judy.
“Thank you for visiting my father. He is buried there. My mom and grandmother thought it best that he be allowed to lay near the ground he fought so hard and so long for. He was killed in Anzio on April 25,1945 just days before the end of the war. Thank you for your posting. ”
When I was touring the Cemetery, I had noticed a number of headstones with dates in April 1945, near the end of the War, making the loss even more tragic. I will be writing back to Judy to share more of my pictures and thoughts from the trip.
Switching subjects, writing a blog can be a solitary activity. Last Wednesday night I attended the monthly DC bloggers meet-up at RFD (a bar downtown). There are so many blogs that I read where I have never met the author in person. It was nice to meet some other bloggers face to face. Some the bloggers at the meet-up are listed below. If you are a blogger in the Washington area, try to stop by for one of the meetings
DCblogs - A blog that compiles DC related stories from numerous blogs. NotionsCapital - A blog with commentary and smart remarks on news events and culture. I particularly liked the political commentary and the creative graphics.
Comings and Goings - A blog covering a wide variety of topics.
Dumb Things I Have Done Lately - A blog covering dumb things the author has seen, heard about or otherwise wants to discuss
PharmCountry - A pharmacy related blog that gave me insight into an area that I really didn’t know much about.
The Jade Pages - A very entertaining blog - I liked the variety of topics and interesting perspectives.
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Topics: Washington DC, Italy, Flotsam | 1 Comment »
CycleLife - The Fanciest Bike Shop In Town
By spokesman | December 19, 2008
On Tuesday evening I attended an event at CycleLife in Georgetown, where a representative from Specialized discussed the new line of 2009 bicycles. CycleLife opened last month. It is a combination high end bike shop, cafe and fitness center designed specifically for cyclists and triathletes.
The bike shop features several high end brands including Felt, Guru, Look, Parlee, and Specialized. Although only several Specialized bikes were on display because of the event, the shop carries a wide range of bikes. They can help you get the right bike if you are a racer, hardcore road rider, triathlete, commuter, fixed gear rider or want to ride the C&O canal. The shop has equipment for computer-aided fitting of both stock and custom bikes. There is a maintenance and repair area that claims to provide “aviation-quality maintenance and service”.
The fitness center offers a high end membership, fitness testing, training and coaching as well as broad range of classes. The fitness center was designed with cyclists in mind. In addition to the higher end membership (limited to 150 members) people can sign up for classes or can take advantage of the fitness testing. ( I have always wanted to find out my VO2 max). The facilities are first class. One employee described it as the “equivalent of a country club for cyclists”.
Cyclelife will be a valuable addition to the biking community. They intend to get involved in bike advocacy and sponsorship of events including regular rides and professional races. I had previously written about the need to support local bike shops, especially during the current economic downturn. The owners of CycleLife have made a significant investment in a new business during tough economic times. Check them out. They are located on K street in Georgetown, so if you are a rider of the Crescent Trail, you probably pass them regularly. Stop in for a tour of the facility and try the cafe. If you are thinking of getting a high end road bike, there isn’t any better place to go. The combination of their computer aided fitting, complete inventory and knowledgeable staff will ensure that you get the optimal bike.
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Topics: Bicycles And Business, Washington DC | No Comments »