Its almost summer in California and its time to ride again.
This winter has been wet and cold- and I've missed out on any riding this
winter due to both a tight traveling schedule and a little laziness.
Now with the Livestrong Century coming up in July, I'll need to start riding more often.
Last week, while on a long flight across the Atlantic, I had an interesting thought about combining work related travel with a few rides. How cool would it be to ride a bike in every city I visit? We all know that the best way to see a city is on two wheels and this would also be a good way to get on a bike more often. So here I go: I'm going to Bike the world, one city at a time.
I spent some time doing a little research on the feasibility of this endeavor: How to transport my bike, How to find a good route, and will I need carry my riding gear: my pedals, riding shoes, helmet and gloves.
This means I won't be able to fly with only a check-in bag. And any frequent flyer worth his miles knows the importance of traveling with only one check-in bag!
(If you don't get it, please watch "Up in the Air")
I made a few phone calls to the airline companies and searched the web on flying with a bike - to learn that most airlines charge an extra $150 USD one-way to check in a bike that has been disassembled and packed in a bike case.
Seriously? Please think about our carbon footprint each time we fly. If one could offset that by taking fewer taxis on land and riding a bike more often; shouldn't the airlines help promote this?
Shame on you Airlines! I'm trying hard to reduce my carbon footprint here, and you want to charge me and extra $300 USD round trip.
Tsk Tsk.
Which means I'll have to find a bike rental place everywhere I go.
Some basic rules for the city rides:
- The ride needs to be 25 miles or more to qualify
- Publish a blog post after each ride
- Post the route map (I'll carry my GPS)
- Post some pictures (My Iphone will come handy)
- A video on youtube would be great!
So that's it folk. Its a new year with a new goal.
Now lets see how many cities I can ride this year!
