Global Adventures, LLC » Bike

Ragbrai 2010: World’s Largest Bike Ride

Mike — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:02:41 +0000

Des Moines (Global Adventures): The 38th edition of the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Ride Across Iowa (Ragbrai) is coming July 25 through 31, 2010. Ragbrai was started in 1973 by columnists Donald Kaul and John Karras who thought it would be fun to ride their bikes across the state of Iowa. They invited people to tag along and about 120 joined them and made the trip. The paper has been sponsoring this event ever since its inception.

With 10,000 participants from all over the country and the world, Ragbrai is most likely the oldest and the largest bike ride on earth. The route varies each year but towns in Iowa compete for the honor and privilege of hosting overnight some 15,000 – 20,000 guests. The tour is generally around 470 miles long, broken down to 60-70 miles each day except for the first and last days which are considerably shorter. There is an optional loop (called the Karras Loop) on one day each year for cyclists wanting the challenge.

The ride is limited to 8,500 week-long riders and 1,500 day riders. The cost is $140 for week-long participants and $25 per day for day riders. The entry postmark deadline is April 1, 2010. If an individual or group elects to submit a manual (paper) entry, the entry including the signed original waiver(s) and payment must be complete, correct and dated no later than Feb. 15, 2010.

There is a lottery and if a rider is accepted after registering, the lottery results are announced May 1, 2010. The weekly or daily fees includes wristbands, route marking signage, baggage transportation, camping accommodations, discounts, sag wagon services, emergency medical services, traffic control, souvenir patch, daily route maps, and entries into drawing for a free bike for riders and other prizes for support vehicle drivers.

Camping areas will be set aside by each community on school grounds, county fairgrounds and/or city parks and are large enough to accommodate all registered riders. It’s possible that some communities will not have space available to accommodate all vehicles at the main tent campground, so support vehicles may be directed to a separate campground.

Paramedic teams patrol the bicycle route and emergency medical treatment will be available in each campground. Ambulances and paramedic teams patrol the route each day of the event from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Ragbrai is kicked off with a bicycle trade show featuring the newest and latest in bicycling and associated industries. The Expo takes place in the starting town on the Saturday afternoon before the ride begins. All participants, friends, family and community residents can attend the free event. The annual Expo features Ragbrai’s official ten bike shops (they are the only vendors with permission to sell official t-shirts and other mementoes), bicycle and equipment manufacturers from around the country and retailers that are associated with the cycling world.

While Ragbrai is not a race, it is a one-of-a-kind event that will suck you in, wear you out, and surely crank you up.

First Park City P2P endurance race

Mike — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Park City (Global Adventures): 75 miles of single track for a total of 14,080 feet of climbing will be on tap at the first “Park City Point 2 Point Endurance Bike Race.” The endurance race starts on Saturday, September 05, at 7.00 AM.

Park City has over 300 miles of fast and incredibly diverse trails, so the race will never travel over the same trail twice, according to the race organizers. The endurance challenge begins in the morning at the Quinn's Junction Recreation Complex in Round Valley and ends in the evening with a descent into the forum at The Canyons where a free concert and celebration will welcome racers to the finish line.

Today (August 31th) is the last day to register for the event.

Park City, Utah, just celebrated it’s its 125th birthday in June. Officially incorporated as a mining town in 1884, Park City has long prided itself on its diversified heritage and liberated lifestyle, and to celebrate its roots.

Following the discovery of silver in the Wasatch Back in the 1860s, the Park City area attracted migrants from across the world looking to strike it rich. By the time the silver mining boom hit in the 1880s, Park City’s population flourished and was officially incorporated as a town in 1884. Due to the decline in metal prices, residents gradually moved away in search of more opportunities, leaving the city a desolate ghost town in the 1950s.

But by the early 1960’s, miners began looking to capitalize again on the town’s natural resources and soon tapped into a new commodity and what is now Park City’s signature trademark, skiing and mountain biking.

More info is available here.

Park City, UT

Watch out: Canadian bikes are coming to Boston

Mike — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:31:10 +0000

Montreal (Global Adventures): The Bixi bicycle-sharing system will be implemented in Boston and London/England, according to Gérald Tremblay, Montreal’s mayor. From the beginning, Montreal officials had big ambitions for the new system that now goes beyond the borders of that Canadian city.

However, it is not clear at this point if the initial roll-out in Boston will be on the same scale as Montreal’s system, with hundreds of parking stations and thousands of bicycles. It is also not clear if officials looked at an alternative system called SmartBike, which is currently deployed in Washington D.C. on a much smaller scale.

Boston’s Metropolitan Area Planning Council confirmed that it has selected Bixi to put in place a bike-sharing program. Local officials are hoping to create more bike-lanes to give the new system a good start. Amanda Linehan, a spokeswoman for the council, said that Boston and other municipalities must now negotiate contracts for the service.

In a statement, the Public Bike System Company, Montreal’s marketing operation for Bixi, indicated that the Boston system will offer 2,500 bikes at 290 stations in downtown Boston.

In England, Bixi’s partner, the Serco Group, said that it has a six-year contract to install 400 docking stations holding about 10,000 bicycles in central London.

Until now, the only other Bixi system was a modest, four-station demonstration project in Ottawa which is about two hours by car from Montreal.

Montreal has emphasized that its solar-powered, Wi-Fi-enabled docking stations are self-contained, eliminating the need for construction or utility work. According to the Public Bike System Company, the stations can be easily moved during the winter season, or relocated in accordance with demand.

Euro 80.000: The world's most expensive bike

Mike — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:48:03 +0000

Denmark (Global Adventures): If you are a fanatic cyclist and you have some money to spare, you may want to consider Aurumania. The Danish company currently sells the most expensive bicycles available. Every visible surface on the hand built track bike is plated with 24-carat gold. If that’s not enough, the “statement on wheels” also features more than 600 crystallized Swarovski elements.

I guess you have to hurry, since only ten limited edition bicycles will be available in any given year. The price tag? Euro 80.000 (around US-Dollar 115.300) will not only buy you the bike, Aurumania also troughs in a 10-year, no questions ask warranty, and personal white glove delivery anywhere in the world.

The website does not say if an armed body guard who could double as a personal trainer comes with the package. In case you are interested, you can find more info about Aurumania here. If you go ahead with the purchase, Global Adventures will gladly accept any donations to support one of our expeditions.