New indoor cycling training aid - first person video and dashboard

In the cold Canadian winter, there aren't as many chances to get out and peddle as we would like, but keeping the cycling up is key to keeping in shape and hitting the spring in good form. Recently Ride Fit (www.ride-fit.com) has come out with a new series of virtual indoor cycle training videos that provides a more interesting indoor cycling experience.  To provide the most realistic virtual cycling experience possible, Ride Fit videos are shot from the first person perspective so that users feel like they are on the road.  Shown below, a simple on-screen digital dashboard also provides critical workout information (such as target resistance, cadence and effort level) and a terrain profile with progress indicator shows the user where they are and what’s coming next so rides can be paced appropriately.

Winter Cycling in Sidney BC

Forget windchill. Leave your fears of black ice behind. Travel to beautiful Sidney-by-the-Sea this winter, and ride your bike every day along nearly 400 kilometers of cycle lanes and bike paths. The Victoria region features two cycle routes intended especially for bike commuters. One of which, Lochside Trail, follows an old tramline right-of-way from downtown Victoria to Sidney, and eventually the Swartz Bay ferry terminal and the marine highway linking the Island to the mainland and Vancouver.

For cyclists, Sidney may be the ultimate place in Canada to spend the winter. Besides easy access to Lochside Trail, there are cafes, art galleries, at least half a dozen bookstores, and Russ Hay's one of Victoria's oldest independent bicycle shops. "Resort" hotels like the Cedarwood also offer winter packages for cyclists and others looking to escape the freezing temperatures and enjoy average winter temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius. Easy access to more than 30 regional parks, 26 18-hole golf courses, and even skiing on slopes enjoying some of the highest annual snowfall in the world. Perhaps the perfect bicycling and skiing vacation!

Sidney BC, often overshadowed by Victoria to the south, is ideal as a beautiful, low-traffic seaside resort that acts as a gateway to Victoria's hundreds of kilometers of bikable surface, as well as Vancouver, the Gulf Islands, and Washington State.

For more information, contact the Cedarwood. Plan a long term stay in Sidney this winter.

Facebook committed to bicycle commuting in expanding its HQ

Facebook is moving to Stanford Research Park, and expanding to accommodate 9,000 employees from the current 1,500. In doing so, Facebook also aims to encourage bicycle commuting, a more pleasant and environmentally-friendly way to get to work. Buildings will have showers with towels, bike storage and lockers and bike lending services. Most of all, an on-site "Bike Doctor" is there to repair and maintain the commuters' bikes in good order.

More women than men commuting by bike in Netherlands, Japan

In Netherlands, Denmark and Japan, women comprise more than 50% of the bike commuters. In other countries, such as Australia, Canada and the US a much smaller proportion cycle.

It is believed that women are more sensitive to safety and convenience issues than men when it comes to bicycling. If cycling is made safe and convenient, as in Europe and Japan, then perhaps more women will participate in North America and Australia.

When cycling is encouraged as an everyday transport, with safe bike lanes and more upright bicycles, with a greater carrying capacity, then it seems more accessible for women of all ages. Sport bikes, common in North America and Australia, have a more bent over posture, which encourages young men and women but not older ones. Read more here. Or contact the author.

Velomobiles

Velomobiles are recumbent bicycles with a fairing out of carbon fiber or fiberglass. The wind-cheating designs are intended to allow the rider to travel a longer distance more efficiently. Riders say it doesn't get hot inside, as there are vents spread out over the fairing to provide cooling breezes.

Velomobiles have been around since 1945 and, for a while, were beating the best bicycle racers. So the French outlawed recumbents in favour of the upright bicycle designs that we see today.

Due to the fairing, velomobiles can cost from $8,000 to $13,000. They may, however, be the future of transit with their high-level of efficiency. Velomobiles are gaining in popularity; recently a number of them descended on Ft. Wayne, TX. Read more here.

Cycling in Tokyo increases since Earthquake

An increased interest in cycling in Tokyo has manifested itself in the wake of the March 11 Earthquake. It is a great way to see the city while getting fitter.

There are a few clubs for cycling in Tokyo: Half-fast is open to everyone and tries to communicate in both Japanese and English. They have two standard eginner routes, one to the beachfront at Odaiba and one to a park near Haneda airport. Any bike is acceptable but the Half-fast club recommends a road bike with a carbon-fibre frame, for ease of carrying on and off trains.

Read more here.