Category: cycling

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Bike Friday Folding Bicycle

Andrew Posner searched for a bike for a frequent traveller:

… It had to: be reasonably light (between 20 and 24 pounds); have a steel frame; fold down small enough to fit into a suitcase that can be checked in at the airport; have a wide enough gear ratio to be used for long training rides and hill climbs; and cost no more than around $1,300.

…

I eventually settled on the Bike Friday Pocket Rocket, a $999 dollar bike that comes with a beautiful fire-engine red paint job, drop handlebars, a steel frame, and easy folding capabilities. The 20 inch wheels roll fast enough to make long rides possible, while still being small enough to fit into a suitcase. For another $250 you can purchase a special suitcase designed for the bike; the suitcase can be checked in at the airport as standard luggage (read that: no extra charges). Traveling with a bicycle couldn’t be easier. …

A Review of my Bike Friday Folding Bicycle

This is the best travel bike I’ve found, so far.

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Bike Friday – details

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check this site: mntnLIFE.com

The Adventure Blog gave a shout out to an outdoor adventure site called mntnLIFE.com.

It’s social networking where content is mostly generated by users.

I clicked through the “earth” section to see what hikes had been added so far. Here’s a sample page for the excellent Mt Katahdin, Maine scramble we posted recently:

katahdin.jpg
screenshot

See the original page.

Looks good.

I’ve joined as a member. (Free)

Check it put using the powerful search functions starting from the home page: mntnlife.com

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walk up, ride down – Mt Washington, B.C.

I had a great half day on Vancouver Island. (Not at the much more famous Mt Washington in New Hampshire.)

Mt Washington is the home of the excellent Mount Washington Alpine Resort. It’s 25km from the Comox Valley, close to good hostels in Courtenay.

In summer the chair lift carries hikers and bikers. The view from the top is awesome.

The real highlight are the cheeky ‘Whiskey Jacks’ (Gray Jays) who happily alight on your hand, hoping for crumbs. (Don’t feed them.)

If you climb the mountain (45min) you can ride down for free. Otherwise, a trip is a reasonable $15.

Highly recommended.

more photos – flickr

Nearby is Paradise Meadows Trailhead, the best jumping off point for hiking the Forbidden Plateau. This is also the most popular trailhead of all in massive Strathcona Provincial Park.

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Radical Reels video – Banff Mountain Film Festival

I attended the Banff Mountain Film Festival in November and gave it a mixed review.

It took until February before they posted the trailer for the current Radical Reels World Tour.

But, it was worth the wait. Very well edited … even if it is partly a commercial for the sponsors.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. It features sports including skiing, climbing, kayaking, BASE jumping, snowboarding and mountain biking.

(via Sierra Blogging Post)

If you ever get the chance to see the touring Film Festival, or the touring Radical Reels festival, do it.

Related: 2007 Radical Reels trailer

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Man vs. Wild – Copper Canyon, Mexico

I’m on the record as boycotting Man vs. Wild, fearing that the TV show will encourage people to do things far more dangerous than those filmed by Bear’s crew.

But I found myself watching a full episode, lately:

In Mexico, Bear must find his way out of Copper Canyon, and his only supplies are a water bottle, a flint and a knife. Bear demonstrates how to build a simple compass and climb sheer cliffs safely. For shelter, he uses ancient caves and makes fire with a traditional “fire saw.” Bear also demonstrates techniques for finding scorpions or grubs and fishing without a rod or line.

Man vs Wild Episodes – Wikipedia

It’s hard to stay angry at Bear, his boyish enthusiasm is inspiring.

My real excuse for watching is that I’m planning a very similar adventure, dropping into Copper Canyon from the train tracks and finding my way to Batopilas village.

(To make up for my sin of watching Man vs. Wild I watched a full episode of a real Survivorman, Les Stroud. Much more impressive in every way.)

copper-canyon.jpg
original – flickr

more of Sam Meztli’s photos photos tagged Copper Canyon – flickr

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the thing to do in Phoenix …

… is cycle the canals.

canal-phoenix.png

They’re part of the Central Arizona Project (CAP), a 336mi (541km) diversion of water from the Colorado River through to southern Arizona. The largest and most expensive aqueduct system ever constructed in the United States.

In Phoenix I rented a mountain bike from the hostel ($15/day) and rode the flat desert until I got close to one of the many “mountain parks”.

bieke-phoenix.jpg

Locking up my ride, I then ran up rough trails to the summit.

Great training for Adventure Racing, was my thinking.

My best day was a ride to South Mountain Park (not on canals this time) and a trail run from Holbert trailhead up to Dobbin’s Lookout.

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BikeHike – best Biking Outfitter On Earth?

I’m in Phoenix, Arizona for some bike hiking. Proving unfailing dedication to my Adventure Racing Team — the Fast Farts.

Then I saw BluePeak post a shout out for BikeHike.com …

(I like the sound of that domain name.)

National Geographic Adventure Magazine named them ?? (as I read it) for cycle tours. Winners were profiled in the November 2007 issue.

bikehike.jpg

Check out the site – BikeHike Adventures Inc – BEST Biking Outfitter On the Earth

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how can I blog from the hiking trail?

Circumnavigate the world by bike and boat?

… better them than me.

Simon Evans and Fearghal O’Nuallain are planning an adventure called Revolution Cycle 2009. Team Geared Up has the details.

But I’m always looking for state of the art technology I might use for updating hiking trip report and blogging from the trail.

Here’s what Revolution Cycle is planning to use:

communications.jpg

As the expedition will cover over 25,000km and last for over 14 months, durability is the key requirement for our bikes and equipment. All of the kit used en route will have to be of the highest quality as it will have to function in extreme and varied environments- from the subzero Andean passes to the baking heat of the Libyan desert and everything in between. …

Revolution Cycle – gear page

Too heavy for hiking. Ideally, I’d want to take a photo on something like a satellite camera iPhone — and have it automatically posted on this blog.

Any suggestions? Leave a comment.

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check out Four Corners, USA

fourcorners-us.jpgThe Four Corners is the wild convergence of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

It’s mostly Indian land.

Last year I hiked out of Page, Arizona. This year Moab, Utah.

In Utah, the best site I’ve found on hiking is Utah.com — concise, well organized, easy-to-read.

If you’ve never been to the Four Corners, the best reference is Moon Handbooks Four Corners

Including Navajo and Hopi Country, Moab, and Lake Powell (Moon Handbooks)

I’m a Lonely Planet guidebook fanatic. But, for some parts of the world, Moon is better.

In the Moon guide, check their Suggested Reading section on Hiking. This will help you narrow the many choices of hiking guidebooks available.

There are dozens of good hiking guidebooks for the region. But no GREAT ones. At least none I’ve found yet. (And I write from Moab Public Library.)

Almost inevitably you’ll end up as I did with one of the Falcon Hiking Guides: Exploring Canyonlands and Arches National Parks by Schneider.

I’ll head first for Arches:

Taking its name from the hundreds of naturally formed sandstone arches scattered here, Arches National Park is the most feature-packed of southern Utah’s national parks.

Ranging in size from around three feet to nearly 300 feet in span, the arches are the result of erosion over millions of years, the same agent that formed the thousands of brilliantly colored spires, pinnacles, and canyons that cover southeast Utah.

Piñon pines and junipers add a splash of green to the red and brown backdrop, but mostly what you see are red stone and blue sky—lots and lots of both.

arches-map.jpg

Road Trip USA