Have Bike - Will Travel

UK National Cycle Network

2006-11-21T14:04:00.000-08:00

The UK National Cycle Network provides over 10,000 miles of cycle routes throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The routes comprise a well signed network of traffic-free paths, quiet lanes and traffic-calmed roads, although care must be taken because quiet lanes seem to be an attractor to 4x4s!

Sustrans is the co-ordinator of the scheme and they offer interactive mapping which displays cycle routes local to a given postcode or town name.

Bikers take on Black Mountain

2006-09-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

Cyclists take on the 3.4 miles exposed Black mountain climb in Wales on Sunday, 1 October, 2006, as part of the 100 miles 'Gold' route for the last in the series of this year's Bike Wales events.

There is a choice of three routes, a 100 mile Gold route that includes the Black mountain climb and takes in a circuit of Mynydd Mallaen in the Cambrian Mountains, a 45 mile Silver route that skirts the foothills north of Swansea and a 32 miles Bronze route around the Gower. Both the Gold and Silver routes incorporate a closing circuit of the Gower, starting and finishing at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.

More details from BikeWales 01372 464666.

Vuelta a Ciclista 2006

2006-08-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

The Vuelta a Ciclista 2006 began in Malaga today, accompanied by many cultural events and exhibitions.

Tomorrow, the race leaves the Costa del Sol capital as it progresses onto the second leg of 167 kilometres to Cordoba.

Photo copyright lavuelta.com

The tour, which consists of 21 sections, finishes in Madrid on 17 September, 2006.

Cycling Down Under

2006-08-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

Following the successful staging of the Australian Open Road Championships in the charming Adelaide Hills town of Mount Torrens, this year, the event returns once again to the township of Buninyong, 11 - 14 January 2007 .

The 10km road race course in the township of Buninyong is highly regarded because of its well maintained roads with a mixture of uphill climbs, fast winding downhills and shaded spectator points.

Then, from Tuesday 16 January until Sunday 21 January the 2007 Tour Down Under will be held; planned to be the biggest yet, with a new race route set to provide an even greater challenge and a blend of new events designed to allow more people than ever to 'feel the rush' of cycling.

Cycling already rates as the fourth most popular pastime in Australia, more popular than golf and fishing and, over the last three years, more bikes were sold than new cars in Australia.

Mountain Bikers at Fort William

2006-05-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

The 2006 Mountain Bike UCI World Cup at Fort William, Scotland, is this weekend 27-28 May.

If you can't be there, you can take a peep at what your missing on the World Cup Village Webcam

British Motorcycle Grand Prix

2006-04-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

This year's British Motorcycle Grand Prix at Donington Park, Derby is on Sunday 2 July, 2006, with track action from 9:00 am to 5.00 pm

Buy a Raceday Ticket,
or alternatively, if you are making a weekend of it, you can Buy a Weekend Ticket and Camping.

Weekend Tickets are also available without the camping option.

Remember, it costs no more to purchase tickets through our site.

Mountain Biking in Wales

2006-03-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

Bikers looking to ride in Wales should visit MTB-Wales.com the site is concerned purely with the mountain bike scene in Wales and their team do a great job bringing the latest news on trails, reviews of kit, features on places to ride, trail maps and vids.

They also have a useful table of trail links and downloads to digital route guides

Wales offers thousands of miles of superb riding. Relaxing forests, valley trails, technical mountain descents and tortuous hand carved singletracks; there are fabulous beaches, contrasting with the mountainous Brecon Beacons and of course Snowdonia. In the U.S.A., bikers on their Harleys make an annual pilgrimage to Hollister, "Birthplace of the American Biker". In Wales, mountain bikers descend on Llanwrtyd Wells, the smallest town in Britain and the home of mountain biking. The event, the annual Real Ale Wobble, is held in conjunction with the Mid Wales Beer festival, 17 - 26 November, 2006. Be warned, accommodation for the wobble books up fast and the event is usually held over the first weekend of the Beer Festival. Also, unlike the Hollister festival, it can be VERY WET AND COLD on the Welsh Mountains in November and the weather changes dramatically within minutes, so you may have to spend a lot of time in the local hostelries, drinking real ale and making friends with like-minded bikers.

A new world record MTB jump has recently been set in Wales by Jason Rennie, clearing a massive 134 feet 6 inches; it was caught on video but don't blink.

Lastly, let me use this post to congratulate Welsh road-racer Nicole Cooke, who single-handedly put in a phenomenal performance to take bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Geraint Thomas also won a bronze in the men's points race.

Stainburn Forest mountain bike trail

2006-03-02T14:24:00.000-08:00

Yorkshire Post Today reports that one of northern England's toughest mountain bike trails is being extended and that chicken runs are being added for those that are less brave at heart.

Running through Stainburn Forest between, Harrogate and Otley, the trail is part of an extensive network of forest trails throughout the UK. The UK network provides over 2600 kilometres of waymarked forest cycle trails, offering a variety of cycling experiences, from wide forest roads to narrow single tracks and featuring some of the best off road cycling in Britain.

Tour de France

2006-01-27T16:13:00.000-08:00

Running from Saturday July 1 to Sunday July 23, 2006, the 93rd Tour de France will be made up of a prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,600 kilometres.

It has also been announced that the 2007 Tour de France will begin in London. It will be the third time that the Tour has visited England but the first time it has visited London and a great honour that it is scheduled to start there.

London will host two stages in 2007, the first a prologue in the city centre on 7 July with the second starting in London before heading south through Kent and back across the channel.

Bike Week

2006-01-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

British Bike Week 2006 will be 17-25 June and the Bike2Work promotion will run for the whole week. Bike Week is the UK's annual celebration of cycling and was first held by cycle enthusiasts way back in 1923.

All registered Bike Week and Bike2Work events will be listed on the Bike Week web site from February 2006. The UK Bike to School Week launch is scheduled for 24-28 April 2006.

Velo Mondial 2006

2005-12-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

Velo Mondial (French for 'Cycle Worldwide') is an international organisation dedicated to promoting the use of the bicycle in all aspects of life.

Every six years a global conference is held in order to set goals for the future of the bicycle and bicycle planning. The first conference was held in Montreal during 1992 and Amsterdam hosted the year 2000 conference. The next international gathering is in Cape Town in March of 2006 'Velo Mondial 2006'.

The conference gets underway on Sunday, 5th March

The end of the conference on Sunday 12th March coincides with the Cycle Tour Expo, a huge cycling and lifestyle exhibition running for the three days prior to the Cape Argus Pick n' Pay Cycle Tour. Cape Argus Pick n' Pay is the largest timed cycle race in the world and Cape Town's biggest annual sporting event.

The first Cycle Tour was held in 1978, with 525 riders and in 2004, the Cycle Tour organisers had to limit participation to 36,000 cyclists!

Velo Mondial 2006 is now just around the corner, registration for the conference is open and the programme is ready and available for viewing.

Greenways

2005-11-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

European Greenways are an initiative of trails or natural corridors, reserved for cyclists, pedestrians, horseback riders, roller skaters, or any 'non-motorized' users. They contribute to natural and cultural heritage conservation; providing opportunities for recreation and tourism and a stimulus for adopting a healthier lifestyle with the sustainable use of local resources.

The Greenway network now extends across Europe and includes trails such as the Krakow-Moravia-Vienna Greenway, which runs from the Polish borders to Brno, Czechoslovakia and the Prague-Vienna Greenway, which is almost totally away from busy roads.

I like the combination of trekking and imbibing, exemplified by the Moravian wine trails. The main trail from Znojmo to Uherské Hradištì, Moravian Slovakia, a racy region with image composed of typical folklore, dulcimer music, good wine, beautiful national costumes and lively folk traditions; connects ten separate wine trails, altogether 1250 km long, connecting 275 wine towns of South Moravia, including Brno. The Moravian Wine Trail, in turn connects with the Austrian Wine Trail.

Bed and Bike

2005-11-01T16:14:00.000-08:00

Bett & Bike is a German cycling association which lists 4.000 ADFC certified bicycle-friendly guest houses in Germany. Bett & Bike translates to Bed and Bike and each guest house fulfills more than the minimum requirements prescribed by the ADFC to cater for touring cyclists.

Whether they are a comfortable hotel or a cosy pension, they all welcome cyclists who only wish to stay for one night, offer secure accommodation for their cycles and also provide facilities for repairs. Provision is made for drying wet clothes and equipment and there is access to maps and timetables.

Finally, guests can expect to receive a hearty cyclist's breakfast (Radlerfruehstueck).

You can find listings, maps and links on the Bett & Bike site, allowing you to construct an independent tour.

7 Stanes

2005-10-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

Following the success of the Fort William world cup event, Scotland is determined to establish itself as biking heaven.

The Forestry Commission's 7 stanes site (stane is Scots for stone) lays claim to some of the world's best biking, with great local accommodation, food and fine local ales. You can also download some impressive PDF route maps from the site.

St Neots Skate& Bike Park

2005-09-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Skaters and bikers from all over the south of the UK have a new facility in a world class skate and bike park built at the Riverside Park, St Neots, near Cambridge.

Fort WilliamMountain BikeWorld Cup Finals

2005-09-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

From Friday 9 September to Sunday 11 September 2005 Fort William in the
Scottish Highlands will host the Finals of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

It is a first for the UK, the grand finale of the most prestigious and the most extreme competition in the world's mountain biking calendar. Having competed in Europe, North America and South America over the past six months, the 2005 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Champions of Downhill, Cross Country and 4-Cross (elite men and women), will be decided on the slopes of Aonach Mor, nestled in the shadow of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain.

Rettenbachferner v. Stelvio

2005-08-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I suggested that the Rettenbachferner mountain in stage 4 of the Deutschland Tour would be the highest climb taken on by the UCI ProTour this season. My comment was based on press release information from the tour site but it seems that they were a few metres short.

Reader Rob Huber, has pointed out that in the 88th Giro Ciclistico d'Italia last May, the tour tackled the legendary Stelvio at an altitude of 2758m. Coming in at a mere 2684m the Rettenachferner has to settle for second place. The error has been propagated in the press since the news release in July and it's nice to set the record straight.

Take a look at Francis Cooke and Sheila Simpson's Virtual Alps to see what the Stelvio is all about but not if you suffer from acrophobia!

Deutschland Tour

2005-08-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Cycling's 1,530 kilometres, nine-day, Deutschland Tour begins in Altenburg on Monday 15 August, 2005.

After passing through the Bavarian forest and crossing into Austria, the tour will tackle the formidable Rettenbachferner mountain (2,684 m) on stage four;
this will be the highest climb taken on by the UCI ProTour calendar this season. Then, on the penultimate stage to Weinheim, north of the Black forest, a 30-km time trial will effectively determine the final placings before the event finishes in the former German capital Bonn on Tuesday, August 23.

Jan Ullrich, third in last month's Tour de France , will be looking for a consolation prize on home ground and is rated as favourite to win.

A total of 21 teams will be on the starting line in Altenburg on Monday.
The nine stages are:
August 15, 1st stage: Altenburg - Plauen, 170 km
August 16, 2nd stage: Pegnitz - Bodenmais, 180 km
August 17, 3rd stage: Bodenmais - Kufstein, 232 km
August 18, 4th stage: Kufstein - Sölden, 175 km
August 19, 5th stage: Sölden - Friedrichshafen, 215 km
August 20, 6th stage: Friedrichshafen - Singen (Hohentwiel), 175 km
August 21, 7th stage: Singen (Hohentw.) - Feldberg (Schwarzwald), 173 km
August 22, 8th stage: Ludwigshafen - Weinheim, EZF, 30 km
August 23, 9th stage: Bad Kreuznach - Bonn, 170 km

World Mountain Bike Championships

2005-07-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

In the heart of the Italian Alps is an enchanting valley of the sun, Livigno, a favorite destination for winter sports enthusiasts, it is the site of this years World Mountain Bike Championships,
28 August to
September 4, 2005.

The region's tourist information site provides accommodation details and live webcams.

Tour de France

2005-07-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

With just over half the tour completed, Lance Armstrong is heading the leaderboard and Jan Ullrich is 4 minutes behind in 9th place. However, Jan Ullrich's fellow TMO team members Andréas Klöden and Alexandre Vinokourrov are sitting in places 10 and 12; contrast Lance Armstrong whose nearest fellow team member is Yaroslav Popovych at 15 and behind him George Hincapie at 24.

Armstrong's DSC team has also had the misfortune of losing one of its members Manuel Beltran so, although the safe bets are on Lance Armstrong to win a seventh tour, he can look forward to a week of tough riding first.

Follow the riders on an excellent Flash route map.

T-Mobile Team

2005-06-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

The T-Mobile Team is taking a 15-strong roster to the German Championships in Mannheim tomorrow; on a sprinters' course and in the absence of Jan Ullrich, Erik Zabel is fancied to become this years German Champion.

Jan Ullrich has opted not to take part in the championships, preferring to prepare for the 2 July Tour de France prologue. Ullrich and the T-Mobile squad will make a concerted effort to remove American legend Lance Armstrong from his Tour de France throne.

New Zealand's Joanne Kiesanowski wins.

2005-05-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to New Zealand road racer Joanne Kiesanowski on winning the prestigious Tour de L'Aude women's cycling stage race in southern France.

Riding for the professional Italian team, Nobili Rubinetterie, Kiesanowski wore the red jersey from start to finish of the 11-day tour, ending with 35 points, eight better than the runner-up, Youlissia Martissova of Russia.

Full story from stuff.co.nz:

Tour de France 2005

2005-04-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Running from Saturday July 2nd to Sunday July 24th 2005, the 92nd Tour de France will take place with a total of 3 million Euros in pize money, of which 400,000 Euros are for the winner. The tour will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3500 kilometres.

You can view the route on the tour's official web site including a town by town description and a nice Flash animation.

American Lance Armstrong is retiring after this year's Tour de France but says that he remains fully committed to winning his seventh straight Tour de France and is driven by the dream to go out on top.

Cape Argus Cycle Tour

2005-03-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

Sunday 13 March 2005 sees the start of this year's Cape Argus Cycle Tour

In 1977 Bill Mylrea and John Stegmann, organised the Big Ride-In to draw attention to the need for cycle paths in Cape Town. Each year the event developed until it joined the ranks of the UCI Golden Bike Series, in 2001 and South Africa became the first country outside of Europe to be included on the Golden Bike calendar. Now the event is the largest individually timed cycle race in the world.

The tour has attracted cyclists from 48 countries this year from as far afield as Vietnam, Russia, Singapore and Jamaica.

Cycling gourmets

2005-02-13T14:47:00.000-08:00

Salamanca Place in Hobart has been overrun by more than 1,100 cyclists finishing the Great Tasmanian Bike Ride, a 9 day event through Tasmania's west coast wilderness, and if you're not amongst them you will have to wait until 2007 for the next opportunity.

Many of the cyclists are now looking forward to enjoying the Wooden Boat festival and the Hobart Regatta Day.

Melbourne cyclists should make a note of Sunday 20 March, when Bike Path Discovery Day invites them to discover parks and trails into the city, for a fantastic cycling experience all the way! Not only that, the best thing about this free event is that the destination is Federation Square for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival which this year runs from the 11 to 23 March 2005.

I love these mixtures of activities and special interests; presumably they'll be walking home. ;-)