In the same spirit of my last blog post, I’d like you all to check out UtilityCycling.org. My friend, Mel, is writing for the website and spreading some articulate bike propaganda. It seems the premise of the site is to function as a sounding board for utility cycling–explain it, encourage it, and talk about it.

The launch of this website, coupled by the fact that I’ve ‘discovered’ a bike-junkie’s paradise in the Black Forrest of Germany has me very optimistic about the prospects of all-things-cycling in this world. In another exciting discovery, I found out that Joey (the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Team Mechanic) runs a non-profit program called Wheels of Change based out of Colorado Springs, CO. The program fixes up used bikes and gives them to people in need of a form of transportation. The greater purpose of the organization seems to be to empower people to change the world–by taking small steps, or soft pedal strokes.

A quick Germany update: I rode 95 km on my mountain bike yesterday and found my way into France. It was supposed to be an 80 km ride but I dodged some t-storms on the return to Kirchzarten which extended my ride a bit. I don’t like lighting. I took some pictures along the way, and rode through about 15 German villages. I stopped at the German/French border and bought some water to refill the bottles. It was bubbly water, I didn’t know. So I burped the whole way home. Alison had me doing some ‘microburst’ intervals which are 10 second sprints, and for some reason I enjoy torturous workouts like these. Good thing I finished my intervals before the bubbly water.

Tschüss!