Cyclists in New Zealand Want to Get Rid of Helmet Law

Wearing a helmet when cycling: the benefits outweigh the negatives, right? Well, not according to many cyclists in New Zealand. A group of New Zealand cyclists want to get rid of the law that requires cyclists to wear a helmet, which they feel is preventing many New Zealanders from enjoying the heart-healthy activity. Check out the story here.

Wounded Soldiers Bike Across America for A Good Cause

It's called the Soldier Ride, and it involves injured soldiers biking across America in an effort to gain support and funding for wounded servicemen and servicewomen who have served recently in the Middle East. Further details below in the snippet from today's press release:

"Wounded servicemen and women cycling across the United States From Montauk, New York to San Diego, California to spread their inspirational message of courage and hope. The brave men and women participating in this event are cycling in support of their injured comrades recovering in military hospitals across the country. All of the participants are provided the adaptive equipment they need to cycle though missing one or more limbs.

Soldier Ride is a non-profit organization that raises awareness and funds for our injured soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. This organization is 100% non political. It's not about the war it's about the soldiers. Soldier Ride organizes cross country and local bicycle trips used as rehab opportunities for soldiers recovering from major injuries and also to raise awareness.

Funds raised go out to such organizations as the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org) and Disabled Sports USA (www.dsusa.org) You can learn more about us at www.soldierride.org or please feel free to contact Nick Kraus at 516 994 5907.

Soldier Ride began in East Hampton , NY as an effort to raise money and consciousness for soldiers who were severely wounded overseas. Last year Chris Carney a local bartender embarked on his second cross-country Soldier Ride, cycling from Los Angeles to Montauk, New York. Soldiers from the current conflict and veterans, both disabled and not, rode with Carney on Soldier Ride. Over the last two years Soldier Ride helped raise millions of dollars for the WWP. These funds are being used to: Purchase thousands of comfort backpacks for wounded soldiers on their return (including guidebooks on discharge from service and entitlement benefits). These packs include such basic comfort items as phone cards, Fresh clothing, Portable CD players and small items that make a big impact for a returning injured soldier.

Hire full-time benefits counselors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical to distribute comfort backpacks to amputees.

Conduct adaptive sporting events and clinics to build self-esteem and independence for those who suffered catastrophic injuries, for example the Breckenridge Colorado Ski Spectacular and our recent Florida bicycle program.

Develop peer-mentoring programs where rehabbed soldiers can lend support to their newly injured comrades. Organize Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symposia to help the estimated one in six soldiers who suffer from this disorder. Transport soldiers and their families between home and hospital, as well as purchase a van to transport soldiers to functions in the Washington D.C. area.

Soldier Ride has received extensive media coverage in The New York Times, New York Post, The New York Daily News, The Cleveland Plain Dealer and Newsday. The project has also appeared on NBC's Today in New York, The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Radio's Tony Snow Show, HBO's Inside the NFL and CNN's Larry King Live.

Several notable people have helped with Soldier Ride fundraising efforts, including Jimmy Buffett, Jon Bon Jovi, Pat Lofaintane, Gary Sinise, Alec Baldwin, Tony Snow, Harris Yulin, Stephen Lang, Bill O'Reilly, Congressman Tim Bishop, Senator Bob Kerrey, and many more.

www.soldiersangels.org

Soldiers' Angels will be hosting the closing ceremonies and beach party for the riders at Semper Fi Park in San Clemente on July 29, 2006 at 3 pm. Adam's Attic, The Bader Band, and Jillian Russell will be performing at the beach party. Mayor Wayne Eggleston and the community are excited and happy to help Soldiers' Angels honor these riders. Please join us in welcoming the riders by lining the streets and showing your support as they ride into San Clemente.

Soldiers' Angels is an all volunteer, 501 (c) (3) non-profit based in Pasadena, Ca. Donations to help offset the costs of the closing ceremonies can be sent to:

Soldiers' Angels
150 North Loop 1604 West, Suite 108-493
San Antonio, TX 78248
Attn: Soldier Ride

Please make checks and money orders out to Soldiers’ Angels. You can also donate on-line or adopt a soldier at www.soldiersangels.org. Include what your donation is for in the comments section."

If You Can't Get Over to France, You Can Follow The Tour with Google Earth

This year, if you can't make it over to France to follow The Tour, the good folks @ Google are happy to provide you with 3D satellite maps of the course. Ain't technology wonderful?

More details below in the clip from today's press release:

"From July 1-23, cycling fans can visit every stage of the race virtually using Google Earth's satellite imagery, enabling users to fly over all 20 legs of the race, including the famous mountain competition.

Not only will users be able to view the course terrain in 3D, but with one click they can get information about the race of the day and the various stages (including the town hosting both the departure and arrival and the average time for each rider).

The Tour de France on Google Earth is available in French, German, Spanish and English so that worldwide cycling enthusiasts can follow this classic race and discover Europe.

The new service is available on the official website of Tour de France:

www.letour.com/2006/TDF/LIVE/us/400/r2_google_earth.html

For more information, please see today's Google Blog post at: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/"

Two Brothers Are Biking from Alaska to Argentina for A Good Cause

Back in 2004, I trained all summer so that I could be fit enough to take on the challenge of riding 100 miles in Transportation Alternatives' NYC Century Bike Tour. I was only able to manage 83 miles.

The following week, I tried for 100 miles again, in The Twin Lights Ride, and, again, I was only able to manage a little over 80 miles.

My body just isn't built for long distance cycling.

So you can understand why the story I recently found about 2 brothers cycling 15,000 miles (approximately 70 miles per day for 280 days!) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina to raise $50,000 for brain tumor research made me feel a bit insecure about my biking abilities.

The two riders are now in Acapulco, Mexico; they've completed 6,280 miles, and they have 8,720 miles to go.

More details about this heroic ride can be found below in the snipppet from yesterday's press release:

"Two San Francisco-born brothers flew to the upper reaches of Alaska prepared for nine months of rigorous cycling. John and Mike Logsdon will complete a 15,000-mile bicycle trip through 13 countries from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, averaging 70 miles of cycling per day for approximately 280 days. Paired with the National Brain Tumor Foundation’s Racing Ahead program, John and Mike aspire to raise $50,000 for brain tumor research in the name of their late mother, Jean Logsdon.

The impressive ride is the ultimate experience for two young men devoted to globetrotting. The brothers both claim to have inherited their wanderlust from their mother, Jean Logsdon, to whom the trip is dedicated. Conceived on the island of Java, born in Australia, and raised in Morocco and New York City, Jean knew the virtues of travel from an early age. When she was eight-years-old, Jean crossed the Sahara desert by Jeep with her mother; and as a young woman, Jean’s wandering ways brought her across Europe and Asia, before she finally moved to California, a trip Jean made solo from New York City in her convertible sports car.

As a parent, Jean insisted her own children learn about the world through travel from a young age. When the boys were barely out of diapers, the Logsdon family would cross the United States from San Francisco in an old Ford van that was fixed up to accommodate two young boys with boundless energy, “My father replaced the last row of seating with an old mattress where Mike and I would wrestle and play until we’d worn ourselves out, at which point the mattress was perfect for napping,” Mike remembers. Adds John, “Those summers opened our eyes to the rich cultural and natural diversity that existed within our own borders and fueled an enduring and insatiable curiosity about the world at large.”

In 1996, the Logsdon family was devastated when Jean was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor that took her life in the winter of the same year. After their mother’s death, both John and Mike instinctually found comfort in travel, the only activity that seemed to appropriately honor the enduring memory of their mother’s adventuresome spirit.

As soon as school break allowed, Mike went south to Mexico where he absorbed the language and the culture while building homes for needy families; John criss-crossed Europe and the U.S. during his summer breaks at Yale. Eventually, both John and Mike embarked on long cycling journeys: John led a bike trip across the United States with Habitat for Humanity and Mike rode solo across Ireland.

After traveling separately for years, the Logsdon brothers are now cycling together, southward on the Pan-American Highway, from the upper reaches of North America to the southern-most city in the world. The National Brain Tumor Foundation’s Racing Ahead® Program has paired with Spinning Southward on Jean’s Journey to create the Jean’s Journey Fund. The National Brain Tumor Foundation raises funds for research and provides support and information to patients and families. By promoting the experiential learning, fraternal unity, self-reflection and community outreach that Jean Logsdon encouraged in her sons, this voyage will undoubtedly transform John and Mike into the men their mother imagined they could be.

John and Mike are available for interview immediately and throughout their trip which will last from July 2005 to April 2006. Please contact Melody Meyer at 917.428.6692 if you would like to interview John or Mike via email from the road or if you would like to request hi-res photographs of the brothers on their route. To direct your readers/audience to help John and Mike meet their $50,000 goal, contact NBTF at 1.800.934.2873, or racingahead [@] braintumor.org or at www.braintumor.org.

For pictures, stories, video, and more from their journey please go to:
http://www.spinningsouthward.com/."