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Mountain Biking News - September 2010
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Thursday, 30 September 2010The capital offers many places of special interest such as the Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library, the Sofia State Library and the Open Society Institute. The city is also known for the Boyana Church, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. In addition, Sofia houses the eye-popping Sofia Zoological Garden, which was founded in 1888. Car hire in Bulgaria is a good idea for exploring these la ndmarks. Visitors can book in advance an online Car hire from Sofia Airport and pick it up upon arrival without the hassle.
The capital offers many places of special interest such as the Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library, the Sofia State Library and the Open Society Institute. The city is also known for the Boyana Church, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. In addition, Sofia houses the eye-popping Sofia Zoological Garden, which was founded in 1888. Car hire in Bulgaria is a good idea for exploring these landmarks. Visitors can book in advance an online car hire from Sofia Airport and pick it up upon arrival without the hassle.
Winter tourist centres, such as Bansko, Borovetz, Pamporovo and Vitosha are popular ski resorts; they can be approached easily by car. The Bulgarian resorts are on the Black Sea coast, they include Sozopol, Nessebur, Golden Sands, Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas, Albena and Saints Constantine and Helena. When it comes to car hire, you can choose from great selection of vehicles. Mountaineers love the granite mountains of Rila, Pirin and the Balkan. Tourist, car renters like the mountains of Vitosha and the Rhodopes. Mountain biking, and bicycle racing are also popular recreations, and Bulgaria is one of six countries to annually host the official 1,200 km Randonnees – ultra-marathon bicycle rides patterned after Paris-Brest-Paris. For those seeking fun and sun Golden Sands is a must. Only 18 kilometers away from Varna this is convenient route for those who land at Varna airport. Car hire from Varna airport is available with great prices and quality cars.
IzziRent.com is a global car rental dealer with a special focus on Central and East Europe. With very competitive prices and offering only high quality local car rental providers it strives to be the number one on-line dealer in Europe.
Source: www.prlog.org
Wednesday, 29 September 2010Cyclists young and old are gearing up for a festival with a difference in the New Forest National Park. As well as three popular on and off road events on 2 and 3 October - part of the nationwide Wiggle Super Series – the two-day cycle festival will appeal to beginners and experienced riders of all ages.
The festival will include children’s competitions, live music, bike safety checks , face painting, fun cycling skills sessions, food and stalls at Brockenhurst College and is open to everyone.
Participants can choose from a mountain bike/cyclocross event, a hill climb event, and the main road sportive event, with three different levels of difficulty:
Saturday 2 October
Mountain bike/cyclocross riders will be able to choose from a 44-mile route, a 25-miler or a family fun 10-mile option.
The hill climb event on Saturday afternoon could be the perfect warm down for those in action earlier in the day – or a warm up for the road sportive riders. Prizes will be awarded to the top 10 riders in two categories (road and ‘knobbly tyred’) as they climb the 1km course near Brockenhurst. The event is being run in partnership with New Forest Cycling Club.
Sunday 3 October
The road sportive remains the main event. Three routes are on offer: the Epic 100-mile route, the Standard 66-miler or the 44-mile option. The course takes in some challenging but short hills such as the 25 per cent Blissford Hill.
Entry fees include electronic timing, feed stations, free sports nutrition, event photography, bike wash facilities, and well-signed courses. To sign up to these cycle events visit www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk.
Chris Gregory, Transport and Tourism Officer at the New Forest National Park, said: ‘We are pleased to be supporting the first New Forest Cycle Festival – a weekend of fun and excitement with superb cycling in the heart of the New Forest. There are opportunities to explore the best of the off-road gravel track network and to challenge yourself in the Wiggle Super Series road sportive. Back at the College there’s a chance to celebrate cycling and to have fun while encouraging people to cycle safely.’
For more details about the cycling festival visit: www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/cyclefestival
Source: www.prlog.org
Tuesday, 28 September 2010Bikes Belong’s Peopleforbikes.org campaign is striking a chord with Americans who see bicycling as a fun way to improve health, reduce road congestion and carbon output, and save money. The unprecedented initiative aims to unite one million bicyclists of all riding styles and abilities to encourage government leaders to support cost-effective legislation that improves bike paths, lanes, trails an d other facilities from coast to coast.
The backbone of the campaign is a pledge in support of better bicycling in the U.S. The campaign, which launched in April, has already generated more than 90,000 pledges and is quickly approaching 100,000.
“As our leaders plan for the future of transportation and recreation in America, we need to send a unified message that bicycling is important and beneficial to individuals and our nation,” said Tim Blumenthal, President of Bikes Belong. “From the casual rider to the avid bicyclist, Americans everywhere want safe, appealing and convenient places to ride – and Peopleforbikes.org will be the conduit that ensures this message will be heard.”
This message will be especially important as Congress considers the renewal of the federal transportation bill--the largest single source for bicycling funding. Renewal of the bill could come as early as December of this year..
Since the Peopleforbikes.org launch, more than 1,000 bicycle retailers, including Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, and Performance Bike, have supported the initiative in their stores. The campaign also gained traction during the Tour de France when Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, and their teams sported the Peopleforbikes.org decal on their bikes. Peopleforbikes.org generated a buzz at summer bicycling events around the country, including New Belgium Brewing Company’s traveling festival Tour de Fat.
In addition to asking individuals to sign the pledge, Peopleforbikes.org encourages people to make the movement their own. The site offers a place to share biking stories, download local action kits, write letters to support pro-bike policies, and more.
Source: www.outdoorindustry.org
Monday, 27 September 2010Van Nicholas have been wowing consumers and retailers alike with the evolution of their range for 2011 at Eurobike. “We are constantly evolving and refining our products to achieve the perfect balance of functionality and aesthetic appeal,” explains Jan-Willem Sintnicolaas, Founder and Head of Design. “Some of the improvements for the 2011 range may seem relatively minor, but there have also been radical redesigns.”
The laser-engraved logo that appeared on select frames in the 2010 range has now been rolled out across the entire 2011 range. Weight has been saved, cleaning made easier and it looks really rather sexy too! Frames designed for Rohloff systems will now be both belt-drive and chain compatible. All drop-outs have now been 3D-sculpted to maximise performance and save a few crucial grams, too – small changes, but then Van Nicholas have always focused on the details.
There have been alterations to the design and geometry of some of their most popular road bikes. The top-of-the-range Astraeus now benefits from an integrated head tube, and the increased front triangle stiffness this provides. The Chinook has undergone quite a transformation, with a new, tapered down tube, longer top tube and slightly higher bottom bracket. This results in increased stiffness for even greater power transfer, and useful extra ground clearance when pedalling in corners.
The most radical changes have been reserved for two of their MTB bestsellers, though. Both frames have been completely revamped to provide ultimate fit-for-purpose design. The Zion 29” now has a shorter head tube to allow for a lower, more comfortable handlebar position. Also, by bending the seat tube slightly, they’ve created the room required for swift mud clearance, while still maintaining perfect alignment between front derailleur and cranks. The Tuareg, meanwhile, has been boosted by a hydroformed down tube and tapered head tube. Fork crown clearance is improved, but the main benefit is the increased stiffness for sprinting and out of the saddle climbing. The front end rigidity supplied during hard riding is enormous!
If you require more information about any of the above, please visit the Van Nicholas Eurobike stand in Hall A1, Stand 501, or contact Marketing Director Marije Voskuijl on the details below:
Email: marije@vannicholas.com
Tel: +31 (0)186 657718
Web: www.vannicholas.com
Source: reviews.mtbr.com
Friday, 24 September 2010LAS VEGAS—The National Interscholastic Cycling Association is pleased to welcome Minnesota, Washington and Texas as the three newest states in its high school cycling program.
Minnesota enters as an Emerging League, while Texas and Washington come in at the more developed level of Project League.
In a press conference at Interbike on Wednesday, 22nd September, Matt Fritzinge r, executive director of NICA, said, “We are surrounded by greatness, and in Vance McMurry, Lisa Miller, and Gary Sjoquist, we have three individuals with past records of great success. As organizers and cycling activists they have all the experience and leadership qualities needed to build successful leagues right out of the box.”
Ben Capron, of Specialized Bicycle Components, the acting president of NICA, said “Our goal is to provide coast-to-coast mountain biking for student athletes by 2020. We are now ahead of the curve with this goal.”
Vance McMurry, founding chair of the Texas High School Cycling League, who has worked in two presidential campaigns, said, “I’m super excited. This is the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s certainly the mot exciting thing I’ve ever been involved with. Everybody just wants to help: teachers, parents, engineers, you name it.” The Texas League is aiming to register 200 riders in its first year. With a population of 1.1 million high school students within a 4.5 hour drive encompassing Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, he thinks this is a feasible target. Texas schools will begin competition in Fall of 2011.
Lisa Miller, founding chair of the Washington High School Cycling League, paid tribute to the motivational work done by Matt Fritzinger. “Over a two-year period, Matt helped us put together a team of people (to create the Washington League). Matt was so enthusiastic and had all this great material, it was impossible not to get totally excited about it.” Racing for Washington schools will begin in Spring 2011, beginning in the six counties comprising and surrounding the Seattle metro area.
One of the main strengths of NICA is the quality of instructional and support materials it provides for its member leagues.
Gary Sjoquist, founding chair of the Minnesota High School Cycling League, which at this time is a Project League, is a former teacher who now works at Quality Bicycle Products. “I’ve been running a statewide mountain bike series, and was approached by some big retailers, who were already supporters of the series, who thought we should create a high school league. In the coming year we will prepare the materials NICA needs us to have in place. NICA provides a great template that includes website, coaching, administration - everything you need to run a successful high school mountain bike league. Minnesota already has several good mountain biking venues for a range of skill levels. Our early focus will be on the Twin Cities area, where there are 76 schools and 125,000 secondary school students. For us it’s not that heavy a lift; it’s a matter of pulling in the resources. I’m determined that this not be a bike culture thing; we’re going to spread it out into the larger community.”
A new NICA league goes through three stages of development: Emerging, Project, and Chapter. Explanations See the prior press release for explanations of league status levels.
For more information on NICA visit www.nationalmtb.org or call (510) 524-5464.
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