Bikes

Bikes, Buffalo Soldiers, Cycling, Denali, Diversity, National Geographic, Outside Magazine / 08.07.2024

In the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, I suddenly find myself thinking about the international cycling scene. Forty years ago, I bought my first new racing bike, a Raleigh Super Course, inspired in 1984 by the silver medal finish of Nelson Vails at the games in Los Angeles. As the first Black American to podium in Olympic cycling, Vails was a personal hero and I peddled that bike through a modest career in several triathlon races from the mid 80s into the early 90s. Though...

Bikes, Commentary, Product review / 29.01.2016

Few things in life inspire enthusiasm like a bicycle. Even when you reach a certain age that sense of eager anticipation is hard to deny when you start making plans for pedal-powered excursions across town as part of a daily commute or over long distances in search of adventure. So when the folks at BeachBikes offered me the opportunity to try one of their wonderful cruisers I immediately jumped at the chance to take it for a spin. In the interests of full disclosure they gave me the new...

Adventure Media Review, Banff, Bikes, Film Festival, Radical REELS / 18.11.2014

More than 23 million viewers have watched the latest video from mountain bike trick rider Danny Macaskill. Since it posted to YouTube on October 2nd it may feel like we’re coming a bit late to the party. But presented as part of the Radical REELS program at the 2014 Banff Mountain Film Festival live audiences at big screen theaters on the world tour are sure to be impressed by this incredibly talented and versatile athlete. As he deftly negotiates the rugged terrain around Loch Scavaig along the Cuillin Mountains...

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Africa, Bikes, Cycling, Film Review / 02.12.2013

I had the pleasure of meeting director T.C. Johnstone back in October at the Adventure Film Festival in Boulder Colorado. He was among several speakers who presented the details of their most recent projects that focus on using athletics and international travel as vehicles for social change. Squarely in line with several of the Joy Trip Project’s primary mission parameters I was eager to see his incredible film that demonstrates the recovery and reconciliation of the 1994 Rwandan genocide through the power of bicycles. Rising From Ashes is a...

Adventure Media Review, Bikes, Film Festival, National Geographic, Special Events / 04.11.2013

Norwegian adventurers Inge Wegge and Jorn Ranum had heard about some legendary surf waves, high up in the north Atlantic Ocean, in an island bay off the Norwegian coast. To test the rumour, they travelled to the island, built a hut out of driftwood and found materials, and spent nine cold, dark winter months north of the Arctic Circle, riding the waves. Their film of this unlikely adventure, North of the Sun, has won the Grand Prize at the 2013 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. “If it’s possible...

Africa, Bikes, Cycling, Life Out Loud, philanthropy, Sustainable Living / 07.08.2013

Trek Bicycle and World Bicycle Relief (WBR) raised a record monthly donation amount through the “Trek Match” initiative. In the month of July, Trek and WBR partnered for a dollar-for-dollar donation matching program that ignited a huge response. With unprecedented support, over $90,000 was raised in four weeks, which will be doubled by Trek’s matching donation. The money will be used to provide roughly 1,500 bikes for deserving students, healthcare workers, and entrepreneurs in Africa. “Trek’s outstanding support in July will make a deep and immediate impact on the...