World Naked Bike Ride Day, 2007

by Willy Volk on

Giving new meaning to “underground” railroad bicycle route, on March 10th, organizers staged a World Naked Bike Ride to protest against oil dependency and car culture. Missed it? Me, too. Don’t fret, though. There are more to come.

On June 9th and 30th, the organizers are staging additional WNBRs all over the world to continue their protests against indecent exposure to automobile emissions and to celebrate the power and individuality of our bodies. Painting your body, painting your bike, painting the town, and other creative expression is strongly encouraged. From the looks of it, lots of people were certainly expressive during the March protest ride.

If this sounds like something that oils your chain, check the list of locations, stock up on sunscreen, and plan a road trip. Oh, wait… does a road trip defeat the purpose?

(WARNING: The WNBR site is NSFW.)

Underground Railroad Bicycle Route

by Willy Volk on

If you’re looking for a theme for your next cross-country bike ride (aside, of course, from the obvious theme of “cross-country bike ride”), then you might want to check out the Underground Railroad route. Though there are a number of routes that made up the historical Underground Railroad network — clandestine paths by which slaves attempted to escape both before and during the Civil War — the Adventure Cycling Association chose to map a route guided by the song, “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”

The 2058-mile route begins in Mobile, Alabama, and winds north through river valleys and wildlife refuges, before culminating in Owen Sound, Ontario on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay. Along the way, the Route passes a number of highlights, including Africatown, Hal’s Lake, and several important churches.

The Adventure Cycling Association has maps for the route available ($56 gets non-members the complete set of 5). Alternatively, you can go on a guided tour with the Association, if you can spare 5 weeks.

[Via Getoutdoors]

Rottnest Island: Experience it Yourself

by Jamie Rhein on

A few days ago, I wrote a post about cycling in Western Australia. One of the highlights was a day trip to Rottnest, Island. The island, not far from Fremantle, is a getaway destination that’s perfect for beach going, cycling (like we did) or swimming with dolphins. You can sign up for a variety of tours including bus tours and a train tour once you arrive. Since taking a ferry is the only way to get there unless you fly or take your own boat, it feels adventurous from the start.

Because private vehicles aren’t allowed, this is a cyclist’s paradise, and if walking is more your speed, there are several guided walking tour options to learn about the penal, agricultural, aboriginal and maritime history of Rottnest or about the uniqueness of the flora and fauna. This is the only place in the world where Quokkas, small marsupial animals are found in the wild.

Check out foiled’s video on YouTube for a fun, wish you were there, cycling experience. This is a round-up of what his friends and he did from taking the ferry over to a pub stop at the end of the day . This is done in a quick music video style so it’s fun to watch. He packs a lot in. By the way, if you go, bikes are rented by the day and come complete with locks and a helmet.

Cycling in Western Australia and More

by Jamie Rhein on

Okay, so my cycling to trip to Western Australia was with 20 high schoolers-17 of them boys, and I wasn’t a high schooler. I was a teacher chaperone with tasks like shouting out every once in awhile, “Stop doing wheelies!” or “Stay on your side of the road!” And so what if some of them complained about the cycling, even though the trip’s title was “Cycling in Western Australia.” The trip was stellar despite all that. With one support vehicle that carried our gear and one vehicle that turned into a mobile kitchen at night and offered goodies like cookies, oranges and water at pit stops, what wasn’t to like? Particularly, since the air was dry enough, we could sleep on air mattresses under the stars and not be covered with dew in the morning. Instead of waking up to dew, I woke up to coffee brewing. The women who did the cooking also made coffee.

This was a nine day excursion through small towns like Yallingup and Balingup along flat land to rolling hills with a section along the coast and a detour to Rottnest Island. Each day was about 30 miles of riding at the most with plenty of time to take in a sheep farm, historical sites, boogie boarding and state parks. On the last day we biked from Fremantle to Perth, spending time in each of these cities. Since I was a chaperone, I could only look longingly into Fremantle’s pubs when I wandered sans kids for two hours during some scheduled alone time hours. No beer for me, but the historical aura of the place made up for it–almost. One of the high points of the trip was the night tour by flashlight of Fremantle Prison. The prison is now a museum.

Ours was a planned tour, but unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the company. If you want to a do-it-yourself experience, here is a guide I came across. Below are some links to cycling companies I did find.

  • Active Australia, Kookaburra trip.
  • Australia Bicycle Tours and Vacations
  • Bushsports guided bike tours.
  • Australian Explorer.com – Cycling Travel Services.
  • Here is a link to a day trip company in Perth.
  • Pedal Oz: Bike Tours Around Western Australia

Oh, about the trip. Adult or not, I didn’t get off the bike once to push it up a hill and I can’t say the same thing about the boys who kept trying to outdo each other. Score! (I didn’t say I wasn’t breathing heavy, I was just determined to not get off that bike.)

11 Winter Escapes That WON’T Leave You Bored

by Willy Volk on

Even if you love chillin’ at the beach thiiiiiis much, sometimes the thought of sitting on the beach for a week doesn’t sound like much of a vacation. While it’ll probably be fun…it doesn’t seem very exciting. And sometimes an exciting vacation is just what we need to get the blahs out of our lives.

If you need to get the blahs out of your life, Concierge has a ton of gnarly adventure ideas to jumpstart your blah-bashing vacation planning. For example:

  • Abseiling in the Dominican Republic
  • Snorkeling with whale sharks in the Galapagos
  • Safariing in Sri Lanka
  • Biking through Kauai
  • Bonefishing in the Florida Keys
  • Hiking Chile’s Atacama desert

And those are just a few of the great ideas on the list. Admittedly, many of the ideas seem a bit costly, but you can easily take one of the ideas and tweak it to fit your budget. For example, instead of heading to Chile, you could always go hiking in Big Sur.