Furnace 508 endurance cycling race starts tomorrow

by Kraig Becker on

Tomorrow morning one of the most challenging cycling events anywhere on the planet will get underway from Santa Clarita, California. Two hundred riders will set out to compete in the Furnace 508, a race that is billed as “the toughest 48 hours in sports”, and is known for pushing its competitors to the limits of their physical and mental endurance.

The 508 mile course runs from Santa Clarita to Twentynine Palms, crossing through the Mojave Desert and Death Valley in the process. The riders will be tested by ten mountain passes, offering up more than 35,000 feet of elevation gain over the length of the course. And when they’re not dealing with the cool mountain temperatures, they’ll be getting baked by the desert heat.

Competitors can ride the race in three categories, solo, and two- or four-person relays. Solo riders obviously ride the entire 508 miles by themselves, while the relay teams break down the course into two and four segments of equal length, with each rider taking a segment. Last year, the first solo rider to cross the finish line was Michael Emde, who completed the course in just 27 hours and 28 minutes.

The organizers of the race are also committed to being eco-friendly, and have advised the athletes on how to be on a “green team“. The list of suggestions for the racers to limit their impact on the environment includes using hybrid team cars, eating fruits and vegetables that are purchased locally, and using five gallon jugs of water to refill their bottles. The hope is to have a challenging and amazing race while leaving no trace of their passing.

For more on the race, check out the official website, where you’ll find info on the course, the official rules, and more, including the always amusing tall tales from previous races.

Cyclist circles the globe in 174 days

by Kraig Becker on

Last weekend, British cyclist James Bowthorpe rolled into London’s Hyde Park, finishing an epic ride around the globe, and setting a new world’s record in the process. Bowthorpe became the fastest person to circumnavigate the planet by bike, finishing the 18,000 mile ride in 174 days, beating the old record by 20 days.

Bowthorpe’s journey took him across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, before returning him home. In order to finish in this record time, he averaged more than 100 miles per day, and near the end of his journey, he was riding as much as 150 miles in a single go.

The 32-year old cyclist, who rode to raise funds for Parkinson’s research, faced plenty of challenges along the way. The weather was a constant adversary with high winds and rains tormenting him at times, while heat and humidity took their toll at others. Road conditions were tricky in some of the more remote areas as well, and while he was riding through India, Bowthrope took ill and spent three days in bed trying to recover.

The new record bests the one set by Mark Beaumont last year when he circled the globe in 194 days. Beumont is currently on another long distance cycling expedition, riding from Anchorage, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in South America.

Although the ride may be over for Bowthorpe, his goal to raise money to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease continues. He had hoped to raise £1.8 million on his journey, and he is still focused on reaching that goal. To find out more about James and his long distance ride, and how you can contribute to his cause, go to GlobeCycle.org.

Listen to Africa expedition wants us to do just that

by Kraig Becker on

Back in March, two Brits, Huw WIlliams and Rebecca Sumner, set off on a proposed two year, 15,000 mile journey, across Africa by bicycle. Their intention is to explore the cultures and landscapes of more than a dozen countries, all the while making audio recordings of the things they hear along the way.

The pair have dubbed their adventure the Listen to Africa Expedition, and their goal is to record samplings not only the natural sounds of the continent, such as the abundant wildlife, but also the oral histories and music of the people that live there. They hope to share these wide variety of sounds with the rest of the world to bring a better understanding of the continent and the people that live there.

The expedition actually began in the U.K. with Huw and Rebecca catching the ferry to France before riding across that country to catch another boat to Africa. They arrived in Tangier, Morocco and began making their way down Africa’s western coast. As of this writing, they are currently in Mauritania, but with no set route, it is hard to tell where they will be going next.

The expedition’s official website offers more information about their plans and includes a blog in which they post regular updates on the team’s progress. But most interesting of all are the audio clips they have already uploaded, which includes the sound of the wind in the Sahara, a variety of birds, music from Morocco, and much more. Listening to these clips while reading their blog entries makes for a vary interesting experience, and it really underscores the goals of the project.

Be sure to check back on the Listen to Africa website for regular updates. This seems like an interesting project to follow and should be fun to keep up with.

Five great ways to get naked around the world

by Tom Johansmeyer on

With Nude Recreation Week just behind us, TripAdvisor has announced the top five naked events in the country. So, whether you like to wet your willie while skinny dipping or prefer to bike in the buff, you have plenty of choices to hang your wang.

Biking in the Buff: World Naked Bike Ride – Worldwide, June and July
This one just ended, but put it on your calendar for next year. Since 2004, bikers from around the world have converged to protest our car-driven culture. Show some skin for what you believe in!

Daring Dip: AANR World Record Skinny Dip – Across North America, July 2009
More than 12,000 people set a record by wearing nothing but water in July, creating the world’s largest skinny dip. Everyone had to be shoulder-deep, which I imagine was easier on the eyes in some cases … and disappointing in others.

Maslin Madness: Nude Beach Olympics – Maslin Beach, Australia, January
You have time to plan for this! Maslin is Australia’s first official nude beach, so you can take part in history as you stumble along in the three-legged race (feet, mind you, are joined).

Barely Bulls: Running of the Nudes – Pamplona, Spain, July
PETA’s “Running of the Nudes” is meant to protest bullfighting, but it doesn’t have to be political. Free your body from that fabric prison, and mingle with the few hotties you can find at these types of event. One TripAdvisor traveler admits, “I was shocked but entertained because everything was jiggling around and flopping around, if you know what I mean.”

Share Some Skin: Burning Man – Black Rock Desert, Nevada, August – September
This is an American classic, billing itself as a retreat for self-expression, creativity and community. Burning Man attracted almost 50,000 people to the Black Rock Desert in 2008, many of them getting service without shirts or shoes.

World’s longest bike race gets underway on Sunday

by Kraig Becker on

As that little bike race in France comes to an end this weekend on the Champs Elysees, an ocean away, another one will begin, as the inaugural Vuelta Sudamericana gets underway from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The “expedition race”, as it is billed, is 134 days in length, making it the longest stage-race in the world.

The Vuelta is brought to us by the same deviously adventurous minds behind the Tour d’Afrique and the recently launched DreamTours, which lets you build your own cycling adventure. The organizers of the race have years of experience handling these types of events, and they allow the riders to focus on the journey while they take care of all the logistics.

While the race does run 134 days in length, only 110 of those are actual riding stages, with 23 rest days and 1 travel day built into the schedule as well. At the moment, 23 riders from all over the planet are set to embark on the ride, which begins on Sunday and will cover nearly 7500 miles, passing through Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru before ending in Quito, Ecuador four months from now. Along the the route they’ll peddle through steamy jungles, across arid deserts, and over mountain passes, climbing as high as 13,780 feet in the Andes.

The riders won’t be at a loss for interesting scenery either. Along the course they’ll pass by Iguazu Falls, Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America, the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable body of water in the world, and the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu. All in all, a fairly great tour of the continent.

Of course, not all of us have four months to go cycling around South America, so the entire ride is also broken down into nine smaller sections allowing cyclists who can’t do the entire distance to join and leave at a variety of points along the way.

To learn more about the Vuelta Sudamericana, check out the official website, where you’ll find updates from the riders starting soon. There is also more info on the route, profiles of the riders, an F.A.Q. and a detailed look at the event. This seems like a great adventure for anyone who is into long distance cycling, and makes the Tour de France seem like a short ride in the countryside.