2013 › July

Cycling Pros, Average Joes At The Tour De France

by Rob Annis on

When I told many of my friends and family I was riding some of the Tour de France routes, they automatically assumed I would be participating in the race. As nice as that would be, I would be shelled off the back of the pack before the Tour had left the start village.

Although I’ve occasionally dreamed of joining the pro peleton and perhaps donning the maillot jaune – the yellow jersey of the Tour de France leader – pro riders are on a whole other level than average cyclists like me.I’m lucky enough to know and have ridden with several domestic elite and professional riders. While I’m a decent enough cyclist – I’ve won a couple of amateur races and lead my share of segments on Strava – I know my pro friends could ride me off their wheel with little effort. They’re on a whole other level, and the elite international pros that contest the Tour de France are at a whole other level above them.

Just how much better are they than your average Joe squeezed into spandex? According to an article in Bicycling magazine, quite a lot.

Your typical cycling enthusiast averages up to 18 mph on flat roads and about 10 mph on hills. But according to Bicycling, the pros in the Tour de France average up to 10 mph and 15 mph faster, respectively. Your elite Tour de France rider averages more than double the wattage of the enthusiast, and can top an incredible 1,400 watts in the finishing kick of a stage sprint.

How do they get so fast? A lot of it is genetics for sure, but it’s also insane amounts of training and discipline. (We won’t get into other, less-legal reasons why.) I average about 150 miles a week on my bike; pros can average up to 800 miles during that same seven-day period.

But we do have advantages over the pros. While I can reward myself with a beer or three after a particularly grueling ride (or a not-so-hard ride as well), pro riders need to be cautious with every calorie they consume in order to maintain a body-fat percentage under 10 percent. If I have a bad race, I might be upset at myself for a day or two, but for a lower level or budding pro, a few bad races could mean the end of their career. Best of all, pro riders must look at cycling as a job, while we can just hop on our bikes and have fun.

Booze Map Of USA

by Elizabeth Seward on


I was recently discussing German beer with a German tourist in New York City when I realized we’ve made it: the people of the USA have worked hard at and succeeded in creating a name for the country as a fine creator of booze. The tourist told me that breweries throughout the USA are now garnering international praise and I think many of them deserve the attention. In fact, many travelers these days traverse the states with the intention of sampling the beer, wine and liquor offered in the region. Some of the most famous booze companies (excluding winemakers) are outlined in this clever booze map of the USA by the folks at Thrillist. Aptly named “Red, White, and Booze,” this creative map is well done and symbolic of the great potential that lies within American Booze Tourism. A full-size version of this map can be viewed here.

Thanks, Thrillist.

Tourists In Safari Car Get Unexpected Passenger (VIDEO)

by Libby Zay on
A terrified impala being pursued by two cheetahs in Kruger National Park made a last ditch move into the window of a nearby safari car (no, it was not a Chevy Impala). Amazingly, college student Samantha Pittendrigh, 20, caught the entire chase on camera. Here’s what she told the Daily Mail:
My family are so jealous. In all the years my parents have been going to Kruger Park they have never seen anything like it and we do go regularly.

It really is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and we managed to be in the right place at the right time.

I was very happy to witness something like that but I felt a sorry for the cheetah.

There are so many impala, it is not like they will miss one of them.

Although Pittendrigh is lucky to have safely witnessed the ordeal, this is far from the first close encounter tourists have had in the park. Last week, a video surfaced of an elephant shattering a car window, and last month a car was totaled by an agitated elephant. To our knowledge, no tourists (or impalas) have been hurt.

China’s Smog Problem Slashes Half A Decade Off Life Expectancy

by Reena Ganga on

We’ve shown you the dramatic images of smog-filled Beijing before, but it’s only now becoming apparent just how deadly China’s air pollution actually is.

A new study has revealed that air pollution in northern China has reduced the life expectancy of locals by about five and a half years. The findings are the result of a major study by a team of international researchers who are analyzing the health effects of China’s air pollution based on data collected locally – the first time such an investigation has been conducted.Northern China is home to some of the most smog-choked cities in the world and the northern region of the populous country is significantly worse off than its southern counterpart. Why? For decades, the region north of the Huai River was provided with free heat during the country’s icy winters. This extra coal consumption resulted in a dramatic spike in air pollution across the north. According to researchers, dangerous particles in the air are 55 percent higher in the northern region of China than they are in the south.

The air pollution isn’t just an issue for locals. Thick smog in cities like Beijing – which is popular with both leisure and business travelers – can reduce visibility and lead to flights being canceled. The suffocating air also keeps many health-conscious tourists away, leading to fears that the pollution may impact the economy.

British Airways Tests Electronic Luggage Tags

by Meg Nesterov on

It’s 2013: we can carry hundreds of books on a pocket-sized device, video chat anywhere in the world and order nearly anything to be delivered to our door. So why do we still use paper luggage tags and rely on outmoded technology to track our missing bags? British Airways has teamed up with Designworks to test an electronic luggage tag this month that could eliminate disposable paper tags and allow smartphone users to track their bags. The reusable bag tag would automatically update after check-in with your flight information, saving time to print and attach new tags with every flight. Now if only they could prevent bags from being lost at London’s infamous black hole Heathrow Airport.