Take A Cycling Tour Of Brooklyn

by Kraig Becker on

With its rich history and ethnic influence, Brooklyn remains one of the most interesting and unique places to visit in all of New York City. The borough features numerous neighborhoods that exude equal parts big city sophistication and small town charm, and the local cuisine, heavily influenced by its immigrant roots, is simply heavenly. Put simply, a visit to NYC isn’t complete without a visit to Brooklyn and now travelers have a new option for exploring the city in the form of Get Up and Ride – Brooklyn’s first cycling tour company.

Cycling tours continue to grow in popularity and Brooklyn seems tailor-made for exploring on a bike. With that in mind, Get Up and Ride offers two different tours that vary in duration, distance and price. The Classic Tour, for instance, is just 10 miles in length and takes approximately 3 to 3.5 hours to complete. Riders visit such neighborhoods as Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights and the Brooklyn Navy Yard while making stops for food and drinks in the Dekalb Market. The tour, which features excellent views of Manhattan, even wraps up with a ferry ride at the end of the day.

Stretching five hours in length and covering a distance of 15 miles, the Best of Brooklyn Tour requires a bit more of a commitment. Riders will pedal deeper into the heart of the borough itself and get an even better sense of its urban setting. The route takes them through some of the same places as the Classic Tour but adds Clinton Hill, Fort Green and extended looks at some of the other neighborhoods. The stop at the market and ferry ride remain a part of this itinerary as well. The Best of Brooklyn Tour runs $95 while The Classic is priced at just $65.

The company uses bikes that are designed to be fun, comfortable and easy to ride so even if it has been awhile since you’ve ridden you should feel right at home. Safety is of the utmost concern so tours stay on routes with dedicated bike lanes and each participant is issued a helmet at the start of the ride. Group size is limited to just 8 people, which not only helps to keep the group organized but provides for a more intimate experience.

Tours run nearly every day but you’ll want to check the calendar for availability. For more information, or to book a tour, visit the Get Up and Ride website or Facebook page.

Helsinki, Finland By Bicycle

by Josh Wolff on


Why fret over taxi fares, bus schedules and confusing subway maps when you can bike an entire city, street by street? Helsinki is the perfect size for navigation by bicycle. You can cross the downtown stretch in a matter of minutes, and jumps from the raucous bars in Kallio to the sultry restaurants in Punavuori are but a minor commute.

Gadling Labs took a few bikes out onto the streets of Helsinki this month to get the lay of the land. Above: the view from the hardware.

Bradley Wiggins Wins 2012 Tour de France

by Kraig Becker on

British cyclist Bradley Wiggins has won the 2012 Tour de France giving the U.K. its first champion in the 99-year history of the event. He’ll cap his historic run in the three-week long race by riding onto the Champs-Elysees in Paris in the Tour’s final leg.

Wiggins, who rides for Team Sky, grabbed the lead on the first major mountain stage of the race and really didn’t face much competition after that. Last year’s winner, Aussie Cadel Evans, didn’t seem to have the legs to hang with the Brit on the big climbs and Canadian Ryder Hesjedal crashed out of the race with a broken collarbone early on. Combine that with the fact that Wiggins’ very strong team were always close at hand, and other contenders found it impossible to earn back any time on the leader. As a result, this year’s Tour wasn’t particularly interesting for spectators to watch but it was definitely a clinic on how a strong and efficient team can win the race.

Wiggins will be joined on the podium by teammate Chris Froome and Italian Vincenzo Nibali in second and third place respectively. There were times when it seemed that Froome could have pulled away from Wiggins and possibly won the race himself, but like a good teammate he stayed close and paced his friend through the mountains. He is expected to be a major threat to possibly win the Tour in the future, however, and the two men may find themselves battling each other down the road.

Today’s final stage is 130km (80.77 miles) in length and runs from Rambouillet to Paris. It is largely a ceremonial victory lap for the winner of the race’s famed Yellow Jersey as none of the other riders will attack the leader on the final day. The top sprinters will battle it out on the Champs-Elysees, however, and when they hit that famous road it will be chaos at the front of the peloton. Gaining a stage win in front of the crowd in Paris is a major accomplishment and there are a number of very fast riders who will be hoping to earn that distinction.

Congrats to Bradley Wiggins on his impressive victory. I’m sure British cycling fans will be enjoying the final ride later today.

[Photo credit: Sapin88 via WikiMedia]

Video: Unicycling Down A Mountain In Liechtenstein

by Elizabeth Seward on

“Elsbet Part III Mountainunicycling” from Lutz Eichholz on Vimeo.

The concept of riding a unicycle down the street makes me nervous, so I am fully incapable of understanding how the three men in this video managed to live after unicycling down a mountain in Liechtenstein. David Weichenberger, Marco Schmidt and Lutz Eichholz impressively rode their one-wheel bikes down the Gaflei Trail in Liechtenstein. There’s some beautiful footage of the hills in this video, but more inspiring is the act itself. Have any of you ever tried this? Would you?

10 Title-Holding National Parks In The United States

by Jessica Festa on

National parks hold some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in the country, and sometimes even the world. Not only do these destinations make for great hiking, biking and adventure sports, but they also allow you to view one-of-a-kind facets you can’t find anywhere else on the planet.

While Black Canyon of the Gunnison holds the title of being the country’s newest national park, Yellowstone was the world’s first, being established in 1872. Additionally, Sequoia National Park features the world’s largest tree; Great Sand Dunes National Park holds the highest sand dunes in North America; and Death Valley is said to be the hottest, lowest and driest place in the United States.

For a more visual idea of these title-holding national parks, check out the gallery below.

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[Image above via Jessie on a Journey; Gallery images via Big Stock]