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Wide World of Bicycling Blogs

Thanks to my involvement in BlogShares, the fantasy blog stock market, I've been exposed to quite a few interesting bicycling blogs.

One that caught my eye, so to speak, is Copenhagen Cycle Chic, which as you can see from the image at left describes itself as being about "streetstyle & bike advocacy in high heels from the world's cycling capital."

Blog authors Mikael Colville-Andersen and Aaron Bateman seem to targeting this blog to male cyclists, although I would imagine female cyclists might be surprised by the type of shoes that can be worn while riding a bike. Here's Aaron's statement about the blog:

This is merely a photoblog from my everyday life in Copenhagen and a tribute to the women who populate this city.

35% of Copenhageners ride their bike to work or school each day, out of a population of 1.7 million people. Many of them are more aesthetically pleasing to the eye than others.

I have to say I'm in agreement with Aaron with his views about bicycle commuting. Here's what he had to say about the topic back in July:

If there are car commuters sitting in traffic thinking, "Hmm, today would be a nice day for riding to work..." they are hardly going to be encouraged to ride when they see lyrca-clad, hard-core cyclists flying past. On the contrary.

They'll think, "Oh bollocks, if I want to ride I'll have to infiltrate a closed sub-culture, not to mention buy loads of gear in order to 'fit in' and be accepted..."

They're not going to bother.

On the other hand, this blog, among others, serves an important purpose. It shows how easy it is to ride. How effortless and relaxing.

All you need is the clothes in your closet, a bike that works, and the desire to do it.

My experiences with newcomers who join the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society for a Wednesday Evening Ride but never come return backs that up. A lot of the newcomers are intimidated by the lyrca-clad veterans despite our efforts to reach out to them.

Another blog I recently discovered that happens to link to my blog is the Canadian Cycling Blog - Greener and Leaner. The blog is written by Nyall Engfield, an intellectual property lawyer from Ottawa who is trying to promote bicycle commuting in Canada. Another favorite Canadian blog of mine is Tanya's Toronto-based Adventures of Crazy Bike Chick.

Back in the United States, but further away from me than either of either of the Canadian blogs, is Jill Homer's Up in Alaska. Jill, a Juneau-based journalist, has one of the most well-written and well-illustrated bicycling blogs around. It helps that she rides in the world's most scenic areas.

Not surprisingly, some of America's best cycling blogs come from the West Coast. Three of my favorites are Fritz's Cycle-Licious, Kiril Kundurazieff's The Cycling Dude and Gene Bisbee's Biking Bis. All three do a great job of covering the cycling scene, not only in the West Coast, but the rest of the country.

Closer to home are Indiana-based Dan on Bike, in which Dan describes many of his rides. Jennifer's General Carlessness describes her efforts to get around the Chicago area without a car. League of Illinois Bicyclists board member Sue Jones writes the Urbana-Champaign Bicycle Commute Blog, in which she talks about her extensive riding as well as Central Illinois cycling issues.

STLbiking.com maintains a list of bloggers that may be of interest to St. Louis-area cyclists. Other blogs of note include Origin, which gives you a strong dose of caffeine with your cycling, and Beth Harris' Verbosity VELOcity, which gives you a strong dose of Catholicism with your cycling.

There's a great world of bicycling blogs out there, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Labels: blogs, cycling

Roger 4 comments 3:52 PM

Comments:

Thanks for the kind word and link, Roger. You're on my list of favorites also.

I had no idea that Sue in Urbana is a LIB board member!

Among Midwestern bloggers, don't forget about The Amazing Shrinking Man in Indiana. I love his constantly upbeat and positive attitude.

# posted by  Yokota Fritz : 11:20 PM

 

Thanks for the kind words, and link, Roger!

After a year away from it I plan to resume exploring the BikeBlogosphere through my old Tour de Bicycling Blogs in my 5th Anniversary year.

It is a great way to discover all the great cycling stories out there.

# posted by  Anonymous : 2:08 AM

 

Roger, thanks for the mention. The Roger Kramer Cycling blog is one of my first reads each day.

Dan (On Bike)

# posted by  Dan : 6:14 AM

 

I'm striving to make a bike blog different from other, mainly catering to the engineering and tech lovers. Hope you check it out sometime. Having said that, I don't know how long it'll last but my motivations seem to be only increasing day by day in this sport.

A presto!

# posted by  Ron George : 5:22 PM

 

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