Columbus Rides Bikes!

One of the most common questions I get about bikepacking and endurance races like the  Arizona Trail 300  is how you can carry everything you need. The answer, which I've come to after  generous input from others  and lots of trial and error, is a combination of lightweight gear, packs that fit your bike, and miserly packing. The products below aren't everything that I use, nor will they work for everyone. I know guys that run dramatically different setups than mine, and every race calls for a different set of gear. But I've found the following items reliable and indispensible over lots of trips into the backcountry. My AZT300 race rig fully loaded on a shake-down ride in Placitas, New Mexico. Depending on how rough a course is, I choose between a full-suspension 29er like this  Specialized Epic 29er  or my tried-and-true  Moots Mooto X YBB . Stiff wheels are a must for handling the big loads (I love the  Easton EC90 XC 29" ), and thru-axles...

Collective Structure Free Ride is a collective organization with multiple levels of membership. The collective is volunteer run and has a flat, non-hierarchy, structure. The collective structure means that  individuals who use Free Ride are responsible for keeping it running and in return share the benefits of ownership . Involvement varies for each Free Ride participant. Many participants volunteer when they can but do not contribute on a regular basis. Other participants are heavily involved in the inner workings of the Free Ride organization. Most participants find their participation somewhere in between the two extremes. Collective Council The collective council is the governing body responsible for major decisions at Free Ride. Membership in the collective council is open to anybody as long as collective council requirements are met. The collective council meets monthly and often breaks work out into sub-committees to deal with more nitty gritty details. S...

OUR MISSION Maine Huts & Trails is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to contribute to the economic, social and natural environment of Maine’s Western Mountain region by creating and operating a world-class recreation corridor for current and future generations. Our backcountry trails enhance access to beautiful lakes, rivers and forest lands, and our low impact huts provide inviting spaces that facilitate outdoor adventures and learning. This self-sustaining resource stimulates environmentally sensitive economic opportunity in the region by attracting visitors of all ages and abilities. Our Work is: Creating a  resource of national significance  for our state and regions. Providing opportunities for  environmental and experiential education. Enhancing opportunities for  people-powered  outdoor recreation. Stimulating environmentally sensitive  economic development  opportunities in Western Maine. Instilling an  environme...

ON THOMSON RESERVOIR, NEAR CARLTON, Minn. — Hansi Johnson would love to be cross-country skiing. But conditions in the Duluth area this winter have conspired to make skiing a tough go. So Johnson and several of his friends have found another alternative. Winter bicycling. One Wednesday morning, Johnson and his cycling friend Todd McFadden rode their specially designed winter bikes across the frozen surface of Thomson Reservoir near Johnson’s home. “If you get your head around the idea that ice is ridable, you can go a lot of places,” said Johnson, 41, who is Midwest regional director for the International Mountain Biking Association. Granted, winter biking is a specialized pursuit, best done on mountain bikes with exceptionally fat tires that provide excellent flotation on snow or snow-covered ice. The riders wear insulated biking shoes and split mittens called “lobster claws” to keep their hands warm. But they’re riding. And they’re happy. [keep reading at xploreu...

America’s streets are changing for the better. The signs are everywhere: Whether it’s  bike sharing in Chattanooga ,  complete streets in New Orleans  or  bus rapid transit in Cleveland  — cities across the country are trying new things and making impressive progress in the pursuit of safer streets and sustainable transportation. It’s all thanks to a lot of hard work by a lot of people — advocates, elected officials, and a new breed of policy maker you might call the visionary bureaucrat. This series is about those bureaucrats — the people who are transforming transportation and planning agencies from public sector backwaters into centers of bold innovation and change. Every day this week, Streetsblog will be highlighting well-known and not-so-well-known transportation officials who are working to put new ideas into action. They’re overcoming bureaucratic and political obstacles, building coalitions, and demonstrating how American transportation syste...

By: Steve Magas, April 20, 2012 In Columbus, the end comes to a criminal case two years in the making. Amber Fernandez was sentenced in the hit/run death of Jeff Stevenson – instead of being punished for 4-8 years for killing Jeff Stevenson, she got THIRTY DAYS for running away. On Feb 27, Ms. Fernandez plead guilty to one count of “Failure to Stop After an Accident” – a 3rd degree felony. She was sentenced yesterday to 30 days. You can read John Futty’s story in the Columbus Dispatch  here  – I have had the honor of representing Jeff’s Mom in the civil case – this sentence, frankly, makes me sick… This case illustrates why folks hit… and run… Jeff was probably hit around 2-3am.  By the time Jeff’s body was found around 5am by a family, up early and on their way to move a family member to Georgia, it had already been a few rainy hours since the crash.  Any potential “crime scene” had been driven over by many cars. Police found some smashed bike and car parts at th...

YEAR OF YAY! is a series of 12 rides to celebrate our city and promote membership in Yay Bikes!. Everyone who rides with us will receive an exclusive button designed by Bandito Design Co, as well as other goodies TBA.   April's theme is Rhythm of the Earth. We will be cel ebrating National Record Store Day by visiting local record shops and ending at the Earth Day Celebration at the Columbus Commons to celebrate our community garden cleanup from April 14th. We'll be starting from the pavilion at Goodale Park (that's the open structure just west of the main building near the playgrounds). All YoY rides are FREE for Yay Bikes! members and $5 for everyone else. Become a YB! member at  http://yaybikes.com/ membership/ . { { { { HELMETS are *strongly* encouraged on all YB! rides. LOCKS are also useful at our stops. } } } } [Facebook event]

Trans-Canada Highway Travelling Itineraries Here are some key features of our itineraries ( see list below ): Our itineraries detail over 3500 points along the highway Segment overview information, about what not to miss, particularly about the history, geology and nature. This gives you info on what to see & do  between towns and cities Each segment includes and overview Google map, with a Satellite image option, that you can zoom in for more detail, as desired. We've added an elevation map for each segment, which ties in with the geological discussion, but is of special interest to those cycle-touring across Canada. Pop-up zoomed-in Google map for every point & exit from the highway, so you can better plan your trip Here is a listing of Itineraries for a drive across the country. We also have a quick  mileage (kilometer) chart . Depending on how long you want to drive each day, which can be influenced, how much site-seeing you are doing, if you are d...

Who is the fastest rider in Columbus? This series is designed to find out. 6 sprints, 1 sprint a month spanning April to September. The top finishers in the first 5 races will be awarded points with the top point getters racing in the 6th and final race. The first 5 races  are a $5 buy-in winner take all. The finale will be a prize BONANZA! So get those track bikes geared up ( geared bikes are welcome but no shifting) and test your meddle against Columbus' fastest! Registration is at the Goodale Park Gazebo at 9:00 p.m. on April, 20, 2012. 9:30 departure to race site. Also, we would like to have a womens category. This can only happen if enough women show up, so GET OUT THERE! In case of a rain out the rain date will be 4/28/12 For more info/ updates visit: bikewars.tumblr.com [Facebook event]

April 21st and 22nd 2012 from 11am–5pm A marketplace for bicycle related goods manufactured by independent businesses in Washington. Pedaler’s Fair is a two-day event that will highlight work from over twenty businesses, representing an amazing array of mediums and projects dedicated to bikes. Location: The Building, Ballard District 1415 NW 49th st.  Seattle, Wa 98107    at the intersection of NW 49th street and 14th avenue North, three blocks from the Burke-Gilman Trail [more info at their website]

Electric cars are gloriously silent, which  means the noise from traffic is almost entirely eliminated . Instead of the noise of combustion engines, we get just the  sound of sleek machines zipping around our roads . And also the sound of the screams of pedestrians who, expecting some auditory clues as to when cars are approaching, wander into the street and get hit. In response, the government is working to require electric cars to make some sort of noise. In the Netherlands, the  local Domino’s Pizza  has added noises to its electric delivery scooters which consist of a human being making engine noises and occasionally yelling "Domino’s!" and "Pizza!" To be fair, it’s not 100% clear that this is not a joke, but even if it is, it exposes a horrifying aspect of the future of electric cars that goes mostly unremarked upon: A world in which we entrust our urban soundscape to the whims of large corporations bent on advertising... Keep reading at Fastcompany

About America Bikes When America Bikes, America Benefits Americans are increasingly searching for personal solutions to tight family budgets, rising health care costs, and time wasted in traffic. As a society, we are facing monumental challenges relating to climate change, pollution, and oil dependence. Despite a small current investment of resources, bicycling and walking already account for 10 percent of all trips made by Americans. The potential clearly exists to double that share: forty percent of all trips in the United States are just two miles or less, and yet the vast majority are made by car. These short car trips are the most polluting and energy intensive as well as the easiest to shift to bicycling and walking. Continuing and strengthening our investment in bicycling and walking will enable our nation to move decisively towards a goal of increasing the share of trips taken by these modes from 10 percent to 20 percent. Such a shift from driving to bicycl...

You, our loyal customers and readers, have been telling us that we should do our own coffee blend for some time. Since our brand image and logo is based on our personal love for strong coffee and the indelible link between cycling culture and coffee drinking, this is a reasonable request. It would have been easy to run to the nearest coffee roaster, buy a bunch of bags and print up some labels. This would have been the quick and easy way, but not in keeping with the other aspects of our company. Any coffee blend bearing the Embrocation name needs to be special. Enter our team rider and friend at JDK Design, Steve Francisco, who suggested we contact Mané Alves at  Vermont Artisan Coffee.  Mané isn't any average roaster; he's a world-renowned coffee expert, hired by many of the biggest coffee companies in the land to help them make and perfect their blends. He's like a coffee professor and artisan rolled into one, and he supplied us with this blend, which per our request ...

Michael Mandiberg / CC BY-SA 2.0 Why is the U.S. so different from Europe when it comes to bike culture and is it something that we can change? Elizabeth Press from  Streetfilms  answers: "The U.S. differs from Europe so much because we have indulged in our car addictions much longer than most European countries have. Look at a place like the Netherlands. We can all agree that they are super bike friendly. But they don't have perfect weather for biking year-round.  So, how did they get this way? They had the foresight and political will forty years ago to acknowledge the harmful effects of the automobile on urban centers. They chose to change and not allow the car to monopolize their cities. They chose to plan for people. Here in the U.S. we are starting to realize the importance of giving priority to cyclists and pedestrians. We are on our way to making our cities more livable for all. And, our bike culture will surely grow with this shift." Elizabeth Pres...