Photos from Congressional Bike Ride and Delegation Reception now up!

Arizona state flags proudly flying in honor of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and those killed in the Tucson, AZ shooting.

What better way to close the National Bike Summit than with a RIDE?

(left to right): Shane Farthing and Kevin Belanger from the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) escort Summiteers back to the Capitol.

Congressional aides, bike/ped advocates and National Bike Summit attendees gathered at Garfield Circle in front of the Capitol on Friday morning take a tour of Washington, DC by bike and see some of the latest bicycle infrastructure improvements, including the new bike lanes installed down the center of Pennsylvania Avenue (!!) and the two-way cycle track on 15th Street.

Hosted by the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, this year's ride was dedicated to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), a member of the Congressional Bike Caucus, and in memory of those killed in the Tuscon, AZ shooting.

Photo, right: Shane Farthing, Executive Director of Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) , right, asks ride participant how she likes the new Capitol bike Share program that quickly, cleanly and efficiently transports individuals around the Metro DC area.

See the full catalog of photos on our Facebook album here.

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National Bike Summit: Oregon Delegation Congressional Reception

Photo above: Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) shares a few words of inspiration with the Oregon delegates gathered.

Photo above: Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) (left) and BTA Executive Director Rob Sadowsky (right).

After a busy day of asks on Capitol Hill, Cycle Oregon hosted a special reception at Capitol City Brewing Company (next to Union Station) to thank all of the Oregon delegates represented at elected representatives and their staff of their tireless efforts to make Oregon a heathy and sustainable state to live, walk and ride.

Photo left: Benjamin Beamer, Chairman of Greater Oakridge Area Trail Stewards and Alison Hill Graves, Executive Director of the Community Cycling Center, wear it loud and say it proud: "CELEBRATE THE RIDE!"

Photo, right: Jerry Norquist, Executive Director of Cycle Oregon (left) and Randy Dreiling, Owner of Oregon Adventures and Promoter of Mt Bike Oregon (right), agree whether it's on pavement or trail, Oregon is a beautiful place to tour by bike.

See the full catalog of photos on our Facebook album here.

National Bike Summit 2011: What are we Asking For?

Once again, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) kicked off the opening convocation of the National Bike Summit by asking the question: “How many people, right this moment, in America, are stuck in traffic on the way to a health club to ride a stationary bike?” And once again, he brought a standing room only crowd of advocates, transportation officials, shop owners, industry leaders and legislative aides to their feet to offer thunderous appause.

Over 700 individuals are in attendance at the League of American Bicyclists' 11th annual National Bike Summit this week to meet with their elected representatives and discuss a number of America's troubles--climate change, energy dependence, the obesity epidemic, air pollution and congestion mitigation--that can be addressed with a suprisingly simple solution: the bicycle. Indeed, with reported 4:1 ratio of investment dollars (meaning for that every dollar spent on bicycle or pedestrian transportation improvements, 4 dollars are returned back to the communities from which they originate), one would be hard pressed to find other low-cost, high yield strategic transportation investments that foster healthy people and healthy communities.

Photo, above: left to right: New York City DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and League of American Bicyclists President Andy Clarke discuss what inspires them in their work.


Yet the atmosphere this year is cautious and protective at best. With a new Congress fiscally focused and looking to make major cuts to bugets across the board, advocates are charged with the task of educating new members of Congress (96 newly inducted in the last election, 35 of whom have never held public office beore) about what transportation options entail, and establishing or building good working relationships. "We're not making a big sexy ask this year, like the ACT Act or a big transporation re-authorization bill," states Andy Clarke, President of the League. Rather, delegates will meet with their local representatives to request they support continued dedicated funding for bicycling and walking programs in 3 target areas:

1. Transportation Enhancements

2. Safe Routes to School

3. Recreational Trails Programs


Photo, left: Oregon state delegates gather before visits to Capitol Hill on Thursday.
According to the League of American Bicyclists, "Just 1.5 percent of federal transportation dollars currently support biking and walking, although these two modes represent 12 percent of all trips in the U.S. Bicycling and walking improvements are relatively inexpensive, highly cost-effective investments that create significantly more jobs per dollar than road repair and upgrades; they also boost local small businesses and increase real estate values."

Armed with packets full of facts and figures regarding how and where dollars are spent in each local district for transportation enhancements, Safe Routes to School and both surface and natural trails programs, the motto of this Summit might well have been dubbed, "keep it local, stupid." Indeed, the Bikes Belong Coalition cites Minnesota as one prime example. Cyclists spend $481 million annually in the state. Before a local trail was put in, hospitality sales tax collected was $250,000; AFTER the local trail was built, bringing in increased bicycle tourism, food traffic to shops, hotels and restaurants, and a place parents could bring their children, the hospitality tax collected shot up to $4.7 million. As Gary Sjoquist, Advocacy Director for Bikes Belong points out, "BIKES MEAN BUSINESS."

Photo, right: Gary Fisher, in blue, a strong leader in the bicycle industry, is present to advocate on behalf of road users and trail users alike.

In addition to reminding elected officials that supporting bicycling and walking programs means supporting local businesses, fueling local economies and building healthy, sustainable communities, advocates making their visits on Capitol Hill today (Thursday, March 10th) re-stated Congressman Blumenauer's plea to his fellow representatives: "Don't cut what you haven't visited."

Photos from National Bike Summit

Have you seen our photos from the 2011 National Bike Summit yet? Check out our albums on Facebook and have a look!

BicyclingHub.com Awarded Bicycle-Friendly Business Award at National Bike Summit

The League of American Bicyclists announced its latest round of Bicycle-Friendly Businesses yesterday, March 9th, at the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. BicyclingHub.com was proud to be recognized amongst the 55 newly inducted companies across the nation who have demonstrated that being bicycle-friendly is good for business.

"As an international retailer in the bicycling industry, our staff lives, eats, sleeps and breathes bicycling," states Douglas Duguay, owner and Sales Manager of BicyclingHub.com.


In the workplace, we aim to create an environment that encourages and fosters cycling as both a mode of transportation and a way of life. Be it encouraging a 100% staff bicycle commuter rate year-round, installing bike racks at our new office space for adequate bike parking, hosting group staff rides during the summer as 'team-building exercises,' participating in charity fundraisers such as Portland Tour de Cure and Park-to-Park Montana, or sponsoring community-building events such as Pedal Nation films, these investments have yielded excellent returns."

Photo, left: Head Content Developer Jennifer Clunie, left, receives the Bicycing Friendy Business Award from Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists, right. In addition, the first-ever Bicycle Friendly University designations were announced, with 20 colleges and universities receiving awards. The program recognizes institutes of higher learning that create exceptional environments where bicycling can thrive and provides a roadmap and technical assistance to create great campuses for bicycling. While Stanford University earned the only platinum-level this round, we were pleased to see both Portland State University and the University of Oregon also made the list.

"Universities have long served as incubators for developing bike-friendly cultures and practices, and that has a big impact on the expectations that students bring to the workplace and beyond," said Bill Nesper, director of the League's Bicycle Friendly America Program. "With the launch of the Bicycle Friendly Universities program, we're able to highlight the crucial role that academic institutions play in shaping a more bike-friendly future."

The League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly America program has helped communities, businesses, states and now universities improve conditions for bicycling, creating the types of places where people want to live, work and visit. A full list of winners is available here.

Remaining as passionate about cycling as our customers fuels our business and enables BicyclingHub.com to enjoy one of the best customer satisfaction rates for online merchants in the nation. With your help, we look forward to becoming even more bicycle-friendly in the months and years to come.

March Trivia Contest: Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Photo (above): 2011 top three (l-r): Yauheni Hutarovich, Chris Sutton and André Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto). Photo: © www.ispaphoto.com

March roared in like a lion just in time for season opener for “The Classics Season” with the Belgian Cobbled Duo of Het Nieuwsblad (formerly Het Volk) and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. KBK is of special interest to American cycling fans as it is one of the few Classics won by an American--George Hincapie--in 2005. In an exciting field sprint, Tyler Farrar came close this year. It is, remarkably one of the few races never won by the great Eddy Merckx!

This month we focus on a slightly more obscure Belgian Classic, founded in 1945, but one that since 2005 has been designated UCI 1.1 and is thus hotly contested by all the World’s Best Teams: the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. (Photo left courtesy of Flickr.com.)

Q1. Like all of the Belgian Classics, knowledge of home roads in paramount in these winding, twisting, cobbled, windy, and often treacherous roads. Thus, the home nation has won the most editions. However, in the last decade, Belgians have triumphed ONLY THREE TIMES and WITH ONLY TWO RIDERS. Name them!


Q2. As mentioned, in the introduction, Belgians tend to dominate their home Classics. In KBK, so much so that in the first THIRTY-FIVE years of this event (1945 to 1979) only ONE Non-Belgian triumphed here! Can you name him and the year of his victory?


Q3. Who was the first back-to-back winner of KBK and when did he achieve this? HINT: He is one of the few riders in cycling history to have triumphed in ALL FIVE of the Monuments!

WAS I RIGHT? Answers below.

A1. Nick Nuyens (2006) and Tom Boonen (2007 and 2009). With Two wins, Boonen is part of a group of twelve quite elite riders to have triumphed here twice, and no rider has ever won three KBKs.

Photo, left: Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur - Sojasun) try to hold off the peloton in the final kilometres. Photo: © Bettini

A2. Piet Rentmeester, of Holland, and the famous Gitane team in 1962.

A3. Roger De Vlaeminck, with the legendary Flandria Team in 1970 and 1971.

Keynote Speakers to Address National Bike Summit Announced

One week from today, March 8th-11th, over 600 advocates, educators and planners-- representing all 50 states and 6 countries--will gather in Washington, DC to urge Congress to make strategic transportation investments that foster healthy people and healthy communities. The solution? A surprisingly simple one: the bicycle.

The League of American Bicyclists, hosts of the annual affair for eleven years running, have recently announced a list of eminent speakers scheduled to address the crowd, including: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Robin Schepper, Executive Director of the First Lady's Let's Move Campaign, Bikes Belong President Tim Blumenthal, and policy experts from America Bikes, Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the International Mountain Biking Association's "A Team” of Policy and Trail Care Experts.

According the League, "Half of all U.S. trips are three miles or less, [yet] more than 90 percent are made by car. The National Bike Summit has improved bicycle-friendliness and livability in many communities, but the need and opportunity to improve physical activity, safety and livability in the U.S., while reducing congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on oil – remains greater today than a decade ago."

The Summit affords attendees a rare opportunity to network across state lines with those that have waged similar campaigns, share successful strategies, and trade words of wisdom. Such knowledge will then be injected back into local communities upon the return home. The League will be making its Spring 2011 Bicycle-Friendly Businesses official announcement during the Summit on Wednesday, March 9, recognizing selected companies who are doing wonderful things for its employees and the greater bicycling community.

Attend the 2011 National Bike Summit with BicyclingHub.com
It's an important year for bike advocacy. Be a part of it at the National Bike Summit March 8th-11th with BicyclingHub.com. Follow our Blog, Facebook and Twitter feeds as we provide live updates and news stories on the most pressing policy, education, transportation planning and land access issues facing both on-road and off-road bicyclists today.

Self-Care Tips for Winter Cycling

Harsh winter cycling conditions prompting your body to cry out for some much-needed TLC? Beth Griffing and Seven Crow, practitioners at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, have put together a list of useful self-care tips cyclists can employ to help get you through the cold, damp, wet months that define winter (and/or spring) in your hometown riding area.

Photo (left) courtesy of BicyclingHub reader Lauren L.: "Me and the boys trying to keep up with Buddy the dog (hiding on the right) at Otis AFB on Saturday. Exciting riding with patches of snow and ice around every corner!! It was super windy but the bright blue sky and sunshine kept us going :-) Get out there before it snows again!"

Winter Biking Self-Care Tips

Drink warming herbal tea

Ginger tea is excellent for keeping your body warm and increasing circulation so you don't stiffen up too quickly. Make it using fresh ginger, sliced up and boiled or just a dry ginger tea bag steeped in hot water. Any of the warming spices are beneficial in this way: cardamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, star anise, etc... the Chai spices! All fantastic for promoting circulation and keeping out colds/viruses. Honey is also an excellent sweetener to harmonize the stomach and cut the edge of the warmer spices. Keep a chunk of ginger, dried herbs or tea bags on you to drink up after a ride in the cold to keep up your good health!

Foot Bath

Simmer rosemary and lavender (fresh or dried) and dried mugwort in a couple quarts of water for 10-20 minutes, then pour into a little foot tub/bucket. Add epsom salts or sea salts if you have them: this will relax and rejuvenate your whole system. If some part of your body is aching, soak a washcloth in the same water, wring it out and lay it on the aching area to decrease inflammation and pain.

Tiger Balm patches

Excellent for prolonged local pain relief. Just don't put them on too soon before or after a shower. Make sure to wash your hands well afterwards so as not to get any in your eyes. Wowee, that can be spicy.

Moxibustion
Use one of these “smokeless moxa rolls” (pictured left) to relax muscles and ease joint pain.

Just use a candle to light it, make sure to keep an ashtray handy so you can scrape off any ash that forms, and pay attention to how hot your skin gets! (This seems obvious, but sometimes you may have decreased sensation in an area, and not notice how much heat the skin can physically absorb.) Be sure to examine the pole for any cracks or splits, a sign that the pole can no longer be used due to danger of a hot portion cracking off during treatment. To help avoid cracking, extinguish the pole in sand or salt instead of water, so it can be used multiple times.

This type pictured right is good as well, since you can just peel off the plastic at bottom and stick it onto your skin, while keeping the cone from ever touching the skin directly (they look like fireworks but are very easy to use).

The idea is to feel a sense of pressure and/or movement within the muscle that is being treated.

You will need:

• one stick-on moxa tube
• one lighter
• an ashtray/heat-proof receptacle
• tweezers or hemostat

To treat yourself: just stick on the moxa tube (peel off plastic to reveal sticky circle), light the incense-looking portion with a lighter (or crackpipe-torch from the plaid), and let it burn down until it feels hot enough. At that point use the tweezers or hemostat to remove the moxa tube from your skin. It helps to press the skin nearby to get the sticky portion to come off.

Remember this point- leg three miles! This is the place for the stick-on moxa! Also good to just massage or knuckle-tap this area.

Stick-on moxa is good for the back as well, along the thighs at any sore points, and parallel to the shin (the muscle portion, NOT the boney portion).

And remember the low-back/kidney rub... with hands in light fists, rub the thumb/forefinger portion along both sides of your spine in circular motion, covering your whole low back. The more vigorously you rub, the more energizing it is!

Qigong exercise for tight shoulders/back and stress
Stand with feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Relax arms completely and twist the torso, rotating the shoulders while keeping hips facing forward. Let the arms swing with your rotation, like limp noodles. Do this for a few rounds, settling into your feet and relaxing the whole body, swinging the arms with the torso twisting side to side (lead with your torso and let the arms just swing naturally). Now while you've turned to the left side, swing your right arm up, cup your hand gently and pat your left shoulder firmly using the relaxed downward swing of your right arm. Let the right arm fall to your side as you turn to the right and bring the left arm up with hand cupped, letting it drop down onto your right shoulder (on top of that tense trapezius muscle that clenches when you shrug your shoulders.) And let that arm fall to the side as you swing back the other direction, bringing the right arm up, etc.

Do this exercise for a few minutes, letting the shoulders release a little more with each pat. Imagine that the hand patting the shoulder is bringing a handful of fresh, relaxing energy into your shoulders while dispersing the pent-up, tired energy, and don't be afraid to make a good slap (but never use a flat palm). Now pause, still standing with feet shoulder width apart and relaxed knees. Shake your whole body, moving any portion that feels stuck or tense, and just wiggle and bounce around until you feel stress leave your body in embarrassment. Invite a nice deep breath of fresh air into your body through your nose, and feel it drawing energy up through your feet and into your belly (or from the top of your head into your belly). Exhale fully through your mouth, letting the rest of any remaining tension dissipate to the far corners of the universe/into the earth. Remember that our carbon dioxide out-breath is beneficial for plants (in small amounts of course); our waste and stress can be recycled into the food chain as well :)

Cupping

See your acupuncturist about this therapy, since it's a little more complex. It works great on thighs and calves, although for the hamstrings and back it requires a helper!

This article was based off a recent presentation to the Portland Society. For more information on Chinese Medicine and Do-It-Yourself healthcare for active people, consult catalystforbreakfast.wordpress.com or email bethgriffing@gmail.com or 7crow.medicine@gmail.com .