Monthly Archives: May 2011

by Ken | May 7, 2011 · 1:00 pm

The World’s Toughest Bike Race?

We’ll be hosting a movie night as part of Bike Month 2011 this Monday, May 9th. The film of the evening: Ride the Divide, a documentary which follows a bike race about more than just finishing first.

Just finishing is a feat.

From their site:

An award-winning feature film about the world’s toughest mountain bike race, which traverses over 2700 miles along the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. The film weaves the story of three characters’ experiences with immense mountain beauty and small-town culture as they attempt to pedal from Banff, Canada to a small, dusty crossing on the Mexican border.

The documentary follows the participants of the 2008 Tour Divide.

…the race clock runs 24 hours a day and the riders are allowed no outside support other than access to public facilities such as stores, motels, and bike shops. The record time to complete the Tour Divide in its 2010 routing is 17 days, 23 hours and was set in 2009. The Tour Divide has been raced and completed on both single speed bicycles and on a tandem bicycle. There are neither entry fees nor prizes in either race.

Have you ever seen a bike race where the riders had to stop and wait for a bear to clear out of the roadway? If not, come join us this Monday the 9th at 7pm down at the UAG.

Click here for directions.

Written by Ken Burford

Where No Pannier Has Gone Before

Do you think that your bike is loaded down with bags and you absolutely cannot fit one more bag on your bike? Well think again. This clever little device allows you to mount a single pannier or bike bag on any service with a pole; i.e. your headset or your seat tube. Check it out here over at CommuteByBike and be amazed by the extra amount you can carry.

Also I swear to God that I did not rip off that title from their blog. Great minds I guess.

Written by Chris Belsole

Why Didn’t I Think Of That

I find myself saying that a lot. Clever people come up with clever ideas and the rest of us are just left in the dust thinking inside the box. This might explain the lack of original content on this site, but that’s a topic for another day. These ideas usually come from BikeHacks.com, but today this one comes from a great blog called LovelyBicycle!.

[Image from Lovely Bicycle!]

So simple is this trick that it can be used by anyone with a rack. She does mention that you can also do this with reusable grocery bags, but if you remembered to bring bags in the first place you would not need this trick. Hop over to her blog to read more. Be careful with the eggs though.

Oh, and happy Cinco de Mayo.

Written by Chris Belsole

A Brooks Contest Displaying English Fluency… And So On

Are you fluent in English? Would you like to win fabulous prizes? Do you like bicycles? If you answered yes to all three of those questions then have I got a contest for you.

Brooks, for all who don’t know, is primarily a company which makes leather saddles (seats) for bicycles. They have since branched out into other leather products, but have still maintained the history and integrity of when they started, or at least they are British so it seems that way.

Anyway, they are holding a contest in which you must,

“Compose something of 26 words’ length. It can be a poem (doesn’t have to rhyme), a sentence, a series of sentences, anything at all. Punctuate, italicize and bracket as your heart desires. The only rule is, the first word of your composition should begin with the letter A, its second with the letter B, its third… you follow.”

This is not the only rule. For a full list of rules and how to enter visit their site. They have not listed the prizes or how long you have to enter but it started May 2nd and it’s Brooks. So the must have something great in mind.

Written by Chris Belsole

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by Toni | May 3, 2011 · 1:24 pm

Bike Expo – Success!

Albany Bicycle Coalitions 1^st ever Bike Expo was a success. Despite having a tall stack of obstacles stacked against us we did pull it off. We took over a parking lot down at the Corning Preserve and had a great time. The Hudson River Coffee House came down, selling some very good coffee and bake goods. The Downtube also came down selling different wares, and helping some people out with some last minute bike repairs before the ride. They also brought down a Brompton, letting people take it for a spin down the trail. That was one awesome bike. ABC held a 50/50 raffle and the winner Claire donated her winnings back to ABC. Thanks Claire!

The Bike Expo was the first even that had ABC, NYBC, and the Mowhlak Hudson Cycling Club all in one spot. Everyone had a great time on the different rides, and the weather was perfect for the day. I just want to give a shout out to everyone who helped make this event a success! Thanks Again!