From the Archives: Top 10 Facts From America Bikes

From the Archives: Top 10 Facts From America Bikes: "

[We occasionally pull articles from our archives to re-post. This list from America Bikes is too good to not re-publish now and then. —Alan]

From America Bikes:

1. Bicycling and walking make up 10% of all trips made in the U.S., but receive less than 2% of federal transportation funding.



2. Bicyclists and pedestrians account for 13% of traffic fatalities, but receive less than 1% of federal safety funding.



3. 40% of all trips in America are two miles or less, 74% of which are traveled by car.



4. Americans spend, on average, 18% of their annual income for transportation. The average annual operating cost of a bicycle is 3.75% ($308) of an average car ($8,220).



5. A small reduction in driving causes a large drop in traffic. In 2008, the number of vehicle miles traveled dropped 3%, translating to a nearly 30% reduction in peak hour congestion.



6. Transportation sources account for 70% of our nation's oil consumption and for 30% of total U.S. GHC emissions.



7. Simply increasing bicycling and walking from 10% of trips to 13% could lead to fuel savings of around 3.8 billion gallons a year. This is equivalent to having 19 million more hybrid cars on the road.



8. 89% of Americans believe that transportation investments should support the goals of reducing energy use.



9. 71% of Americans report that they would like to bicycle more. 53% favor increasing federal spending on bicycle lanes and paths.



10. For the price of one mile of four-lane urban highway, around $50 million, hundreds of miles of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure can be built, an investment that could complete an entire network of active transportation facilities for a mid-sized city.

More →

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Facts From America Bikes


2. Our Automobile Use


3. Encouraging Signs


4. The True Price of Cars


5. The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure Investments

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Climber stands after 1,000ft fall

Climber stands after 1,000ft fall: "A climber who fell 1,000ft (305m) down a mountain and survived was found by his astonished rescuers standing up reading a map."

Best biking trail in North Wales?

Your thoughts.  Which trail would you choose as the best of Wales?

Travel Wales-Travel North Wales: Wales Travel Video Postcard

North Wales

Panoramas North Wales

Marin Trail

Course you can ride in the snow!

Course you can ride in the snow!: "

I'm sure like me that you're used to a big chunk of the general population wondering how you ride a bike off road let alone why you'd want to. What gets me at the moment though is how many mountain bikers look baffled when you tell them you've been out riding in snow.

Yes for all you unbelievers, riding in snow is not only possible, but a huge amount of fun and in some ways easier than riding normally is at this time of year.

OK you can't ride through snowdrifts. If it's hard frozen enough you can ride over the top of them, but otherwise anything deep enough to eat your foot is going to be a serious slog/trudge/grunt combo to cross.

However if you're on a reasonably well used path with packed down snow (whatever its depth) then you'll be flying along a lot quicker than you would in mud. The gaps and drops in steps and other rocky or rooty sections will often get filled in by trodden snow too, turning previous fork testers into surprisingly smooth and rideable ramps.

While straightline speed is surprisingly easy to come by getting rid of it safely tends to be more of an issue. While you can roll fast, turning and braking grip is generally a lot more sketchy, as you can't lean the bike over or rely on the tyres to grip anywhere near as aggressively as you can normally. That means any speed or direction changes either have to be made carefully and in a fractionally progressive way, or with a dramatic slide and potential wipe out depending on how bruised your hips and hands already are.

Plus if you stray off the hardpacked line even by an inch deep soft snow will grab your front wheel and tuck it under you or suck the speed and grip out of your back wheel. Even if the temperature rises a few degrees above freezing you need to be permanently watching for the glassy glaze of ice. If it is out there be ready to go totally relaxed and limp, not steering, braking or breathing until you can guide your bike towards a grippier strip of trail (always look for the rougher muddier/rockier patches or any tufts of grass).

Add a bit of snowblindness, the heightened adrenalin levels of permanent high alert concentration and the extra energy expenditure of trying to keep warm and you won't have to out long to get a really good workout. A cup of tea and a slice of cake never tasted better than in a warm cafe after a ride either.

So in answer to all the doubters, snow riding can be an absolute blast and a great skill school to boot but you do need to be very careful. Not just when you're on the trail but also when you're getting there either on dark, ungritted roads or in the car on Christmas shopper jammed dual carriageways.

Sorry did I just sound like your dad there? Well at least this dad wants you to go sledging with him ;-)

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03_Jan_2011_Mon_CwmCarn 008

03_Jan_2011_Mon_CwmCarn 008: "

tomstickland posted a photo:

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The Meadowsweet Hotel Llanrwst: Destination Conwy, North Wales

The Meadowsweet Hotel Llanrwst: Destination Conwy, North Wales

Destination Conwy, North Wales

Begining of the End-Code y brenin-MTB Course

Oatmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal Pancakes: "Great recipe for oatmeal pancakes! Try this recipe the next time you make homemade pancakes."

01_02_Jan_2011_SatSun_Llanwrtyd 149

01_02_Jan_2011_SatSun_Llanwrtyd 149: "

tomstickland posted a photo:

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GoPro HD Video Camera Review

GoPro HD Video Camera Review: "

My birthday present for my 40th this year was a GoPro HD helmet camera – A small, HD video camera in a rugged, waterproof (to 60m) housing.

On paper it doesn’t look like anything too special. Compared to most modern tech-toys and other video cameras it has very few features. Other than recording in HD quality or a variety of other resolutions (5 in all) and being able to record either video, single photos, triple shot sequences of photos or time-lapse photos, the settings are minimal. It doesn’t have a viewfinder or LCD screen to see what you are recording or even to review your footage.

The GoPro HD did come with a charged battery though and lots of connection options for helmets, including adhesive bases for curved and flat surfaces, a head-torch style elasticated head strap, a strap for vented helmets and I also had a handlebar mount (bought separately). There are plenty of other moutnign options available too. The camera takes SD cards (not supplied) so I popped a 16GB card into mine.

The lack of options and settings is in fact one of the features of the camera. What it lacks for here, it makes up for with ease of use, size and ruggedness. The last thing you want to be doing whilst bombing down some rocky rooty, muddy, slimey singletrack or launching into a forward loop on a windsurfer is thinking about the setting on your camera or trying to adjust the point of view on it. The idea is tto set it up, start it recording and get on with whatever it is you’re doing. The lack of options and screen make this possible and provide few distractions.

The wide angle view captures the scene beautifully without the need to fiddle to make sure you’re getting things in shot. Focusing seems perfect with a large depth of field and exposure has so far proved perfect, even when going from bright sunlight into dark forests where it adjusts quickly and accurately.

I’ve yet to try it out fully but my initial tests at the weekend were simply a matter of attaching it to myself or my bike, switching it on and getting on with it. The results are great, good quality, HD video footage of my exploits, just what I wanted. Here’s the video I shot with it – I know I’ve already posted it, but here it is again.

I can’t think of much else that I’d need from it yet, although a little eyelet on the housing that would allow me to attach a piece of rope or something to a secondary attachment point would be nice when using it attached to a helmet with nothing but an adhesive pad. GoPro seem pretty confident of the ability of the adhesive pad to hold the camera on, but if it fails then you’d lose the camera. If I could also tie it to my helmet or person I’d probably feel a little more confident of not losing it.

Look out for more videos coming soon, and maybe even some time-lapse videos as that feature sounds like fun.

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First Ride of 2011

First Ride of 2011: "

We didn’t do an end of month ride in December as the snow was still deep in the hills, so instead we rescheduled and had a ride a week later around the entire Syfydrin Trail at Nant yr Arian. There was a good turn out too, with 13 riders, including the regulars such as myself, Dave, Pete and Joh. Dan was out too on his new single-speed bike and James B joined us as he often does on the end of month rides. There were also quite a few new faces, not all of whom I got to meet properly, but there was Colin on a bike that was brighter than both of mine put together and Rupert and a few people from Machynlleth, including David who rides with us from time to time.

The weather was good although temperatures were below freezing most of the time. The trails were riding well and weren’t too icy or wet and we had a good day out with no incidents – just a couple of punctures for Pete. Everyone was struggling a little on the hills though thanks to the Christmas excesses but hopefully we all burnt off a few calories in the wild Welsh hills.

I took my GoPro camera with me, so here’s the first clip of some of the trails.

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Mist and Murk

Mist and Murk: "

The record breaking low temperatures and snowfall of December have gone and in its place we have rain, rain and yet more rain. The whole of West Wales seems to have been plunged into a great big bowl of mist and murk and it’s not at all pleasant out there.

Bring back the freezing temperatures and snow please, I much prefer that.

There are flood alerts all over Wales, the River Dyfi is higher than ever and much if the surrounding farmland is under water. Our neighbours garden is now a pond and our water feature is surrounded by a second, temporary water feature - At least I don’t have to worry about filling up the sump at the moment.

On a brighter note though there are a few little daffodil shoot just beginning to poke their heads out of the ground heralding the onset of spring. Don’t worry, we’ll soon be basking in glorious sunshine and moaning that it’s too hot!

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Burning off the Christmas Excess

Burning off the Christmas Excess: "

I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I ate far too much over Christmas and did very little exercise so it’s now time to get back to it. The ‘rest’ doesn’t seem to have done too much damage as I felt OK on our Mountain Bike Ride at the weekend although I have put on some weight so it would be nice to get rid of that again. I have started getting back into it though and just finished a hard turbo trainer session and run.

On the Turbo Trainer I did a 3:2 minute interval session and I did them at the highest power output I’ve done so far. Here’s the session:

• 10 minute warm up, increasing power output from 120 Watts to 200 Watts


• 4x 3:2 mins @ 350 Watts : 120 Watts


• 3x 3:2 mins @ 360 Watts : 120 Watts


• 5mins @ 250 Watts


• 6 minute cool down.

It was getting pretty tough on the last couple of intervals but I stuck with it and managed to complete them all. Here’s my heart rate, cadence and speed traces from the session to prove that I was working hard.

Turbo Trainer Session

It was then straight off the Turbo Trainer and into my running kit for a slow, steady run along the beach. The run may have been completely flat, very slow and only 4.5 miles long but I was suffering come the end and my legs were certainly aware of the previous hard session on the bike.

At least it gives me an excuse to try out my compression socks that I got for Christmas, they are supposed to aid recovery and many people swaer by them so I thought I’d give them a go. However, I think I’m going to need more than hi-tech socks to get my legs back to normal after that!

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