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Tags: Cycling / Florida Travel / Biking / Bike Tours / Key West / Active Travel / → All Tags
Bike Down US Highway 1 From Key Largo To Key West During BubbaFest
November is a tricky travel month, because the onslaught of cooler weather usually puts quite the damper on any outdoor endeavors. That’s why we say to follow millions of others and head down to Florida. We’re not going to play bridge all afternoon and then head out for the early bird special; we’re going to ride our bicycles. Thanks to retired police sergeant Bubba Barron, we have the BubbaFest Bike Tour. It’s a 200-mile cycling event from Key Largo To Key West, and you don’t have to be Lance Armstrong to do it.
Bikers are encouraged to go at their own pace and make frequent pit stops to swim, snorkel, and snooze away part of the day. The whole course over US Highway 1 is pretty flat, so if you can ride a bike and have some patience, you should have no problem pedaling the approximate 45 miles per day. If you do get a little tired, or just lazy, support vehicles follow the whole time and can give you a free ride. Things kick off on November 7 and wrap up on November 13, with a few layover days to soak in the sun.
Tags: Cold War Travel / Iron Curtain Trail / Biking / Jogging / → All Tags
Hike And Bike Your Way Along The Cold War's Most Dangerous Fault Line
On one hand, the Cold War was kind of depressing. Cf. the Lewis Black clip below, which includes the phrase "nuclear fuck holocaust." On the other hand, there was something charmingly absurd about the whole thing. We knew who the enemy was, we knew what a war would look like, and we knew we would all die. Kids today don't appreciate how refreshing it is to know who you're supposed to hate.
If you fall on the nostalgia side of Cold War reminiscence, the EU has been developing a series of jogging trails and biking paths that might be up your alley. The final route of the whole project just got published in the form of a brochure. The Iron Curtain Trail now stretches from Finland, down through central Germany, along the outer border of the former Czechoslovakia, and between Hungary and Austria. The trail stretches 4,225 miles, winding its way along the old Warsaw Pact-NATO border.
Tags: Biking / California Travel / Summer Travel / Ski-Resorts-in-Summer / → All Tags
Tear Up California's Mammoth Mountain On Your 10-Speed
Everyone knows that residents of California love their cars, but they’re probably stuck in them a little too much. That’s why we're looking to some offroading at Mammoth Mountain, just of the two-wheeled, human-powered variety. The ski resort has a lot to offer when the weather is warmer, and their mountain bike park has just opened for the season. Even without your car, you’ll be able to fulfill your need for speed with their downhill runs.
Of the different trails and runs for cyclists of all levels, both the Paper Route and Downtown runs will take it easy on you, while the Twilight Zone and Kamikaze represent the more black diamond options. With over 90 miles of trails, you should be able to find one you like, just remember your helmet and pads.
Tags: Bike Sharing / Biking / Velib / Travel Websites / → All Tags
RentaBikeNow Makes Two Wheels Almost As Easy To Borrow As Four
Our number one travel biking request here at Jaunted is for cheap, Velib-style bike-sharing in every city on earth, but until that happens, we’ll settle for a national bike rental service that makes hopping on two wheels as easy as renting a car.
On the path to this is RentaBikeNow.com, a web-based company that partners with bike shops to provide rentals in 157 different cities across the U.S. and Canada. The site launched a few months back and got a boost recently when Lance Armstrong’s coach, Chris Carmichael, shouted them out on twitter.
Tags: Wine Travel / Sonoma / Biking / Bike Tours / Cycling / California Travel / → All Tags
Bike Sonoma And Drink Back Any Calories Dropped
If the Wine Road facebook promo we told you about last week drank you in, then you're probably looking for yet another excuse to finally visit California wine country.
Being fans of the "work out, then indulge" travel routine, we say next month's Healdsburg Harvest Century Bicycle Tour is as good an excuse as any to head to the wine roads. The itinerary is flexible: take a 23-, 37-, or 60-mile spin through one of Sonoma County's most scenic roads—which Bicycling Magazine called one of the "7 Greatest Rides on Earth"—then spend the rest of the day (or weekend) exploring the more than 100 wineries nearby.
The July 18 tour starts at 8am in Heraldsburg, and no matter how far you're biking, should be over by 2pm, giving you plenty of prime afternoon hours to hit the vineyard and reverse all those calories you burned off.
Related Stories:
· 23rd Annual Healdsburg Harvest Century Bicycle Tour [Official Site]
· Cali Wine Country Hooks Up Facebook Fans With Freebies [Jaunted]
· Nothing Motivates Better Than The Promise Of A Big Buffet [Jaunted]
[Photo: deszertbuzz]
Tags: NYC Daycations / Governor's Island / Biking / Picnic Spots / → All Tags
NYC's Governor's Island Is Ready For Its Close-Up
Forget the five boroughs; this summer's NYC hotspot is a tiny island that most New Yorkers have never even visited.
Wedged between Manhattan and Brooklyn, the 172-acre Governor's Island has long been New York's most underused real estate, but it looks like this bridge-less isle is finally having its moment. We already told you about the island's new drinking spot, but it also has more outdoor activities on offer than ever before, and even Prince Harry played polo there this weekend.
Tags: Active Travel / Biking / New York City / Wisconsin / Washington / Mississippi / Florida / → All Tags
Bicyclists Most Welcome in Washington and Wisconsin
Have you checked the pressure on your bike tires yet this spring? When it comes to backing your bicycle out of the cobwebs, it's important to give it a check-up and make sure you're not running on flats. This is exactly what the League of American Bicyclists is doing, except that they're looking over cities to check out the facilities and attitudes towards cyclists in preparation for the season.
In fact, they've just released their list of the country's most bicycle-friendly states, topped by Washington and Wisconsin. Both of these states do have some pretty sweet seasons aside from winter, and so we're not surprised that they look most favorably on those who choose to take to the streets on nicer days.
As far as biggest movers on the list, Mississippi rose 23 spots to claim 24th most bicycle-friendly state, while Florida dropped 12 spots to number 32. We're confused about New York's 41st position however, as 2008 brought the arrival of many controversial bicycle lanes in Manhattan and this summer welcomes free bike rental at the South Street Seaport. Of course, the body checking incident during last summer's Critical Mass ride through Times Square probably didn't help New York on this one.
Related Stories:
· Washington, Wisconsin on a roll as most bike-friendly states [USA Today]
· Bike Around Downtown NY [Downtown Alliance]
· Bicycle Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: ItzaFineDay]
Tags: Bike Sharing / Australia Travel / Biking / → All Tags
Brisbane Bikes Soon To Be Shared
Bike sharing is green, cheap and spreading like a planet-friendly plague. The latest place to catch the craze is Queensland's capital Brisbane, although their plan looks a little shakier this week.
Originally set to roll out a 2,000-bike program sometime in the middle of this year, there might be some delays now that one of the main contenders to run the bike share has pulled out. The company is blaming that "the deterioration of the global economic climate," as they so nicely put it, and will leave the risk up to someone else.
Now the Brisbane council's not quite sure when the bikes will be on the street, but they are sure that it'll happen, with around 150 drop-off and pick-up points across the city. Someday. Soon.
Related Stories:
· Bike Share Plan Still on Track [Brisbane Times]
· Even More (Nearly) Free Bikes In Europe [Jaunted]
· Bike Sharing coverage [Jaunted]
· Brisbane Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: marie-ll]
Tags: Lance Armstrong / Australia Travel / Celeb Travel / Biking / → All Tags
Tour De France Champ Meets Tour Down Under
The sometimes-forgotten Aussie state of South Australia is getting excited. It's not really because the Tour Down Under cycling event is due to begin on January 18 but more because mega-cyclist Lance Armstrong is flying in to take part.
So far the publicity machine is keeping Armstrong's arrival time in Adelaide a secret to prevent any dramatic scenes. But it's no secret that he's staying at the Adelaide Hilton with all the other competitors, so hanging out there might be the common choice for fans.
The Tour Down Under will start out in Adelaide and continue by visiting a bunch of cute South Australian towns, like the German-influenced Hahndorf out in the vineyard region. Since we can't make it down to South Oz next week we're hoping their YouTube channel will serve up a few snippets of Lance-time for us.
Related Stories:
· Tour Down Under 2009 [Official Site]
· Lance Armstrong Pumps Up For Tour Down Under [Herald Sun]
· Lance Armstrong coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Inauguration Travel / Barack Obama / Joe Biden / History / Biking / → All Tags
DC Bikers To Get Special Inauguration Parking
The Washington Area Bicyclist Association wants to make attending the inauguration easy for people who'd rather ride their bikes than the metro. So the organization is setting up "bike valets" near the Mall so you can pedal to the festivities and stash your ride worry-free.
Volunteers will staff parking areas and hand out claim tickets so folks don't have to track down unsupervised bike racks and hope their transportation doesn't get stolen during the festivities. Political operatives should already be familiar with urban biking: They had the chance to try it out during the conventions this summer.
While WABA's official website says exact locations are still TBD--and the group asks bikers to RSVP so they can plan for crowds--a report on Fox News says McPherson Square and the Jefferson Memorial will have bike valets on January 20.
Related Stories:
· WABA Inaugural Bike Valet [Official Site]
· Bicycle Group to Offer Valet Service on Inauguration [Fox News]
· Inauguration Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: thepostalservice]
Tags: Bike Sharing / Active Travel / Biking / → All Tags
Even More (Nearly) Free Bikes In Europe
Milan is the latest city to introduce a bike sharing scheme, with 72 stations, hundreds of bikes currently and plans to grow. Right now, it's only available by yearly subscription (€25, $36), but come January, weekly ($9) and daily ($4) rates--that include your first 30 minutes of bike use for free--will become available for purchase online or at select "ATM Points" in the city. Not bank machines, they're offices of Azienda Trasporti Milanesi, the local transit authority, which you can find in a number of subway stations.
BikeMi is yet another partnership with Clear Channel, the advertising company that's helped set up similar programs in Barcelona, Rennes, France and Washington, DC.
Perhaps the coolest thing about BikeMi is the live-updated Google Map that shows you not only where "rental" stations are but how many bikes and empty parking slots are available. Get to the Duomo now and you'll have your pick of 10 bright-orange rides.
Related Stories:
· BikeMi [Official Site]
· Bike Milan with BikeMi [Bike Sharing Blog]
· Bike Sharing coverage
[Photo: Ambrosiana Pictures]
Tags: Calorie-Neutral Travel / Food Travel / Travel Media / Velib / Chocolate / Biking / → All Tags
Chocolate Paris Bike Tour
The poor New York Times travel section: In an age where practically every travel story is about how to save money and do things the cheapskate way, the paper has to struggle to find new ways to highlight its indulgent destinations of choice.
The Times sometimes catches heat for some of it's "budget" suggestions, but one recent idea was quite clever: A tour of Paris' high-end chocolatiers, via the just-about-free Velib bike sharing system.
While the Times reporter hits an impressive number of chocolate shops in a short period of time--and probably burns off a decent percentage of the calories gained--we're a little skeptical of any itinerary that involves chocolate, biking, chocolate, biking and more chocolate. While it's definitely a wallet-friendly take on high-end sweets, it also sounds like a recipe for a tres upset stomach.
Related Stories:
· Le Tour du Chocolat [NYT]
· Bon Anniversaire, Velib! [Jaunted]
· Refereeing the Travel Media: Arthur Frommer Escalating His Attacks on the NYT [Jaunted]
[Photo: Rui Ornelas]
