• A good place to start is with Bicycles for Humanity (B4H), the grassroots organization that empowers people to improve their quality of life through donated bicycles, who recently announced they shipped a total of 5,215 bikes (along with spare parts and tools) to impoverished African communities in 2010. Check out some of the other accomplishments B4H reported this year at PR.com.
• Along those same lines, an 8-year-old girl in Washington recently made a generous donation. Tori Wollard was one of two winners of the Washington Daily News’ Christmas coloring contest. Her prize: a brand new bike from Wal-Mart. The first thing Tori did when she got the bike: donated it to The Salvation Army so it could be given to a needy girl! When asked what motivated her to donate her prize, Tori said, “I thought maybe a little girl who’s probably the same age as me probably couldn’t afford one.” Now that’s the true Christmas spirit. Read the entire article Washington winner shares the spirit of Christmas (Mike Voss, Washington Daily News)
• There were  four particular bike and helmet related inventions that piqued our interest this year: the Bamboo bike, the Bendy Bike, the TuneBug Shake, and the innagural Bicycle City.
  • Bamboo bikes are manufactured by several companies across the county, but the folks at Bamboo Bike Studio offer something completely different. With firms in San Francisco and Brooklyn, they host weekend classes where people can build a bike made from bamboo themselves! Some say bamboo bikes actually have an advantage over metal-framed ones – they give a smoother ride, thanks to bamboo’s natural ability to absorb vibration (plus you’ll get points for going green). For more information read Bamboo Bicycles Grow in Popularity at Brooklyn Studio (Bradley Blackburn, ABC News)
  • Back in July a designer in Britain invented a revolutionary folding bicycle: The Bendy Bike. Using a ratchet system built into the frame of the bike to allow it to wrap around a pole, the lock can be wrapped through both wheels and the frame. Check out the pictures at DailyMail.co.uk
  • The TuneBug Shake is a portable speaker, with “SurfaceSound” technology. What is that, you ask? It uses a specially designed speaker that turns anything it lays on into a louder, larger-sounding speaker. Tunebug’s Shake is specifically designed to attach to a bike helmet, turning it into a booming speaker! Plus, this will save your ears later pains from those ear buds and relieve you for the dangers of listening to headphones while riding. Read Five fresh gadgets for the tech-minded for more info on the TuneBug Shake (Quibian Salazar-Moreno, Boulder Weekly.com)
  • Bicycle City, South Carolina: We covered this back in November, but wanted to provide an update: According to a report in Columbia’s weekly newspaper freetimes, on Dec. 11, 2010 Bicycle City (located in Lexington, SC) showcased its plans to the public with an all day event including biking, hiking, kayaking, live music, tree planting and organic gardening and much more. We’re happy to see that this is taking off, and we’re looking forward to watching this community develop in 2011.
• In St. Louis, MO the Federal Transit Administration recently said it would award $1 million to the Metro transit agency for bicycle pathway connections along the Mississippi River and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, or Gateway Arch. FTA awards $1M for Arch bike pathway (St. Louis Business Journal)
• The above example is just one of many, many similar stories from across the country where cities and municipalities made moves to expand the use of bicycles in their communities. Read our June 2010 blog post Bikes & Goverment for a look at some of the things that governments are doing to promote cycling.
• If your New Year’s resolution is to get in shape, consider starting 2011 with a bike ride. Spoke-N-Sport Bikes in Sioux Falls, SD is set to host their 24th New Year’s Day Bike Ride. New this year is an added indoor competition that is separate from the regular ride. Competitors will race each other on stationary trainers, and the winner goes home with one of the single speed bikes used for the race. Visit http://spoke-n-sport.com/ for more information.
• There are events like this taking place across the country, but if you can’t find something in your town, don’t let that discourage you. Go out and forge a new path for yourself! Take a new route that you haven’t gone on before. Or maybe add a few miles onto your traditional ride. Whatever you decide to do, be safe and don’t forget to wear your Bell helmet! Enjoy!
• For a look at some of the top cycling-related news out of Britain,  be sure to read the Environmental Transport Association’s Most popular cycling stories in 2010. The Guiness World Record-shattering eight-mile bicycle wheelie is pretty astounding, as is the idea of using the TamTam Flash GPS … expect to see that in 2011.

We hope you all had a great 2010 and have an even better 2011. Happy New Year!

(Photo Courtesy of Columbia Missouri Cycling Cooperative)

Like just about every other holiday, Thanksgiving makes for a great excuse to go for a bike ride. While many people see Thanksgiving as a time to relax, eat turkey, and watch football, we in the cycling community see it as an opportunity to go out and spin!

If the weather in your area is cooperative this Thanksgiving, consider taking a pre or post-meal ride to get your juices flowing. The fall weather might make for a brisk ride, but it’s important to get at least 20 minutes of exercise every day! 

Not only does a Thanksgiving bike ride help you work off some of those calories from all that food, but it is also a great opportunity to really see some of the autumnal changes in the landscape.

Besides just rolling through the neighborhood or taking a ride to the local park, there are a number of fun and charitable cycling events on (and around) Thanksgiving across the country every year. Here are a few of the most interesting rides we’ve found for Thanksgiving 2010:

• Since 1999, New York City cyclists and bike messengers have raised food for the city’s homeless the week before Thanksgiving. Cranksgiving rides are designed to test your skills and speed navigating city traffic. They also test the sharpness of your wits as you navigate the aisles of grocery stores searching for specific food items. Once you’ve found them and made your way through the checkout lines and finished the ride, all of your food will be donated to a local homeless shelter. Cranksgiving is a charity ride, and anyone can participate. It’s been happening for over 10 years in New York City, and has spread to cities across the country. Visit Cranksgiving.org for a list of dates, locations and more information.
• The folks over at Trails.com came up with The 5 Best Thanksgiving Bike Rides including bike trails in New York, Texas and California. Palisades State Park offers great views of NYC, Bray’s Bayou takes riders through downtown Houston and into the countryside (plus, it’s usually warm!), and Big Sur (California) offers picturesque views of the ocean from the Pacific Coast Highway running from Carmel to Santa Barbara. Click the link to find out the other top rides.
• Cape May, New Jersey offers a number of dazzling sights and sounds. Jane Kelly of the Cape May Times lays out ten things she is thankful for on a Cape May Thanksgiving Bike Tour. Included in this list are breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean, appreciation of open space, sunsets, and the harbor. Find out what else along Cape May makes this writer particularly thankful at A Cape May Thanksgiving Bike Tour (CapeMayTimes.com)
• On the 19^th, San Jose Bike Party is holding their November Ride, dubbed Hot August Lights from 8pm to 1am on the 20^th. They are encouraging participants to deck out their bikes with lights, and are holding a contest for the most “Lighted Up” bikes. Prizes include spoke lights from Monkey Electric, safety lights from Bike Glow, and much more. Visit SJBikeParty.org for more information.

Is there a particular Thanksgiving bike event in your city? Do you have a favorite autumn bike ride? Let us know in the comment section below!

Imagine a place with zero smog, no traffic, and where the idea of road rage is non-existent.

Cyclists Paradise? Welcome to Bicycle City, South Carolina. On the outskirts Columbia, South Carolina the countryside is about to be transformed into an eco-friendly, car-free community!

This is a project roughly 20 years in the making. Since the early 1990s models were built and drawings were created, but in 2006 the folks at Bicycle City received seed funding and in 2010 they selected Lexington County, SC as the location for the first Bicycle City.

Developers paid $1 million for a 160-acre tract and they have an option to purchase more than 600 surrounding acres for future phases.

A groundbreaking is set for Dec. 11, 2010 at the corner of Pine Plain and Dixon roads about 15 miles south of Columbia. Nestled on a wooded 160 acres next to a small lake, Bicycle City will offer homeowners miles of natural trails for walking and bike riding, kayaking, green space and green homes.

The first phase of the project will offer nine 1/5-acre home lots for $30,000 each. Buyers will get a $5,000 discount if they commit to biking or walking to work or to growing an organic garden on the lot. Homes, which must be certified by a green building program, are expected to cost between $100,000 and $200,000. There will also be a community center with rooms for rent (bed and breakfast style), an organic garden, a market, and bikes and kayaks for rent.

More than 1,000 people have submitted a form saying they are interested in living, working or visiting Bicycle City.

A bike ride to downtown Columbia takes about an hour, and if that’s too far for a daily commute, don’t fret, because homeowners will be able to park their cars in a designated area just outside the neighborhood.

While South Carolina does not currently have any laws requiring children to wear helmets while riding bicycles, we at Bell Sports hope that the developers of Bicycle City will promote bike safety and advocate helmet usage.

To find out more about Bicycle City including news, contact information and guidelines for reserving your place, visit BicycleCity.com.

(Sources of this article include BicycleCity.com, BikingBis.com, TheState.com, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

Free helmets, bicycle tours, bikes taking over the streets of Los Angeles, President Obama and The Bike Helmet Wars, and much more in this week’s installment of Week In Review: Bike News & Reviews from Around the World.

•  October 9: Critics of President Obama said he looked like a “dork” and an “unmanly wimp” after he was photographed wearing a helmet while cycling in Chicago in 2008 (pictured above) and Martha’s Vineyard just last month.  Well we say, “right on” Mr. President. By wearing a helmet, not only are you setting a great example for children and adults throughout the world, but you are also showing great judgment by protecting your head. Plus, we’re glad to see that you choose to wear a Bell Helmet! Read the full story at The Bike Helmet Wars (Virginia Postrel, The Wall Street Journal)
• October 10: The 2011 Amgen Tour of California is officially coming to Lake Tahoe. With ski resorts Northstar-at-Tahoe and Squaw Valley USA involved, riders will now take a ride around Lake Tahoe during the first stage, and will have to climb and descent Donner Pass, which reaches an elevation of 7,085 feet! Get the whole story at Major bicycle tour coming to Tahoe (Adam Jensen, The Record-Courier)
• October 11: Over the past eight years, Amscot Financial Partners has given away more than 30,000 free bike helmets to families living in Central Florida. The company is partnering with law enforcement agencies from 13 Florida counties to make sure that children get this vital protection. They will donate and distribute 7,200 free bike helmets on Oct. 23 in counties where Amscot does business. For more information on how to obtain helmets, contact Montrae Waiters, governmental affairs specialist for Amscot at (813) 637-6277. Check out the full announcement with events details and a list of locations at Amscot Financial Partners with Law Enforcement to Distribute 7,200 Bike Helmets in 13 Central Florida Counties. (PRNewswire.com)
• October 11: A 7 1/2 -mile stretch of road from East Hollywood through downtown Los Angeles and into Boyle Heights was over-run with an estimated 100,000 bicyclists, runners, walkers, skateboarders and roller-bladers for L.A.’s first CicLAvia.  This “open-street” day prohibited automobiles, and was intended to promote cycling and other forms of transportation. The concept of the ciclovia, which is Spanish for bicycle path is how organizers came up with the name CicLAvia. Organizers are in the early stages of planning four or five open-street days next year and one every month in 2012, with the ultimate goal to make CicLAvia a weekly event. For additional details visit An estimated 100,000 turn out for L.A.’s inaugural CicLAvia event (Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times)
• In case you missed it: Tony Hawk’s Stand Up For Skateparks event in Beverly Hills takes place on October 17 … this Sunday! The Tony Hawk Foundation’s mission is to bring free, quality public skateparks to youth in low-income areas across the United States. This year as a co-sponsor of the event, Bell Sports is sending along trucker hats, stickers, helmets and pads to be given away to attendees. For more info on the event check out our last post Tony Hawk’s Stand Up For Skateparks Hits LA., Las Vegas

From a revolutionary chainless bicycle in Hungary to a couple who’s biking across the United States (and then through South America), biking is all over the news this week.

• Sept. 20, 2010: A Hungarian design team has unveiled a new chainless bike, powered by steel wires, that easily disassembles and can be organized for touring or racing. Dubbed the “Stringbike” – this game-changing technology uses two steel cables attached to pulleys, which move on swinging kidney-shaped discs as you pedal. Check out the video animation of how the bike works at Chainless Bicycle Uses Wire and Pulley System, Eliminating Grease and Increasing Cool Factor (Rebecca Boyle, PopSci.com)
• Sept. 23, 2010: Chico State and Luther College graduates fulfill their dreams of riding bikes across the country. Their ultimate objective is to bike the length of South America after traveling to the east coast. They plan to fly with their bikes to Ecuador and ride south. Find out more about their travels at Modern-day vagabonds bicycle across country (Dennis Nartker, Fort Wayne Daily News)
• Sept. 22, 2010: In an effort to promote walking and cycling in Los Angeles, a 7.5-mile stretch of city streets will be closed Oct. 10 to all motor vehicles. Starting at the nonprofit Bicycle Kitchen (706 Heliotrope Drive, just north of Melrose Avenue) the route meanders south and east through the Mid City area and ends at Hollenbeck Park. Streets will be closed to cars from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m Streets may close for bicycles (Rick Orlov, Contra Costa Times)

And, closer to home, in the Bay Area:

• Sept. 22, 2010: The league of American bicyclists issued awards to a handful of Bay Area cities for being the most bicycle friendly communities.   San Francisco, the Presidio, Palo Alto and Stanford University each were awarded gold. The top platinum award was given to Davis, California, as well as Boulder, Colorado and Portland, Oregon. Bay Area has top bicycle friendly communities (ABC 7 News)
• Sept. 23, 2010: Speaking of San Francisco, New Belgium’s Tour de Fat celebrates its fifth year in the city this fall. Events for this so-called “traveling, philanthropic cycling carnival” include a bike parade and a Car-for-Bike Trade Celebration. The events take place in Lindley Meadows in Golden Gate Park. Check out the Ten Commandments of the Tour de Fat and read Bike About Town (SFgate.com) for more information.

Promoting cycling safety for all ages, B2 Bicycle Blast on the Bentonville Square kicks off with a bike rodeo from 9am-Noon. Then the bicycle parade begins.

Never heard of a bike rodeo before? Well we’ve discussed them many times on the Bell True Fit blog including a Fast Fact’s Friday feature back in June, Did you know? The Rodeo Isn’t Just for Cowboys … but if you’re still unsure, a bike rodeo is basically a clinic that helps teach children the importance of riding a bicycle safely and what skills and precautions they need to develop to have a safe time on their bicycles.

And what better way to learn than in the midst of the world’s top BMX professionals?

During the rodeo Team Self Destruct will be putting on bike stunt shows at 10am, 10:45am, and 11:30am.

If you or your kid is interested in meeting a few of the biggest names in BMX and motorsports, there’s an all-star lineup attending and signing autographs including:

• Extreme sports legend Travis Pastrana
• Nike BMX Team rider Mike Spinner
• Professional BMX Racer Danny Robinson
• Professional downhill mountain bike racer and freestyle rider Jim DeChamp

Bell is taking part in the event as well: We’re donating 300 water bottles for giveaways to the registered Bike Rodeo participants, and we’ve donated some of the lender helmets for participants as well.

If you see a Bell Sports logo at one of the booths come stop by and say hello!

For more information on the event visit Bentonville Annual Bike Rodeo on facebook and follow @BVILLEBIKERODEO on twitter for real-time updates.

We hope to see you there!

With this milestone, we’re also donating five brand new True Fit helmets to Bike Cops for Kids in Minneapolis to help them in their effort to connect cops and kids using bike safety, helmets, and bikes.

City Hall, Down Town San Jose

Big thanks to everyone who re-tweeted and encouraged friends to follow. You all really are the engine that keeps us moving forward in making new connections.

OK, so the winner of Round 2 is … drum roll please … Toni Patton (@Totally_Toni). Congratulations!

Thanks for participating! Please pick a Bell True Fit size, and whether you’d like a boy’s/men’s or girl’s/women’s helmet (visit our Products page for helmet options), and then DM us your email on twitter so we can get your address to mail your free new helmet!

We still have two more rounds of free-helmet giveaways to complete, and we hope that everyone will continue to re-tweet for the chance to win.

For Round 3, when we reach 900 followers, we’ll donate five helmets to San Jose Bike Party – the organization dedicated to building community through bicycling.

Let there be bikes! SJ Bike Party

If you missed our posts on the first and second rounds, here’s how it works: Follow @BellTrueFit on twitter and be automatically entered to win a new Bell True Fit bike helmet!

Each time we reach another 100 followers, we’ll randomly select one of our followers to send a new Bell True Fit helmet to! Plus, each time we reach another 100 followers we’ll donate five helmets to an organization that is dedicated to helmet advocacy and bike safety. We’ll be giving helmets away when we reach 900 followers.

So keep on tweeting, and please encourage your followers to follow @BellTrueFit so we can reach our goals that much sooner!

Here’s what you can tweet: Follow @BellTrueFit – we’re giving away True Fit bike helmets as we reach 900 followers! Please RT http://bit.ly/amXY8A

And be sure to check out the San Jose Bike Party on facebook and twitter @SJBikeParty as well.

• The first thing that many parents think of as their little learner gets ready to ride off to school for the day is safety. And good for them. We could go into a list of the basic safety and helmet tips to keep your child safest, but we did that last year in a Fast Facts Friday post around the same time. For some updated and current information on safety tips for biking to school check out the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s America Goes Back to School Program. Or check out the Family Corner’s Back to School Bicycle Safety Tips. The Creston News Advertiser (Iowa) is offering up some useful back-to-school road safety tips for children and parents. Similarly, WAHM.com has 6 Back to School Bicycle Safety Tips … #2 on their list: Insist on a Helmet!
• Over at the Coloradoan.com, Rick Price, Ph.D., League of American Bicyclist cycling instructor and safe cycling coordinator for the Fort Collins Bike Co-op, offers some insight on the Safe Routes to School program. The bike-friendly city of Fort Collins, CO has received a Safe Routes to School grant for 2010- 11 to teach kindergartners through eighth-graders how to walk and bike to school safely. The grant will pay the Bike Co-op to teach every P.E. teacher in those grades the basics of bicycle and pedestrian safety.



• Over at the Huffington Post, they’re offering the Best Bike-to-School Tips To Teach Your Kids. In a nutshell, they say: 1) Stock up on bike-safety essentials, 2) Arrange a Ride-Pool, 3) Practice traffic skills, 4) Let your kids goof off … safely, 5) Make a route map, and 6) Ride with your kids. (Bike To School: Best Tips To Teach Your Kids, HuffingtonPost.com)
• Looking for some fun bike-related, back to school events? Start with a bike giveaway! Little Caesars, in cooperation with Pepsi, is giving away a new bicycle and helmet to one lucky person on September 8, 2010. Each time you purchase a Hot-N-Ready or other specialty pizza in our Castle Hayne (Wilmington, NC) store you will be eligible to register and win a bicycle and helmet. (StarNewsOnline.com)
• Alex’s Pro Bicycle Shop, in partnership with a host of other groups, his hosting a Back to School Charity Ride where they will be collecting school supplies to benefit the children of the Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center. The center provides healthcare to thousands of needy children in the Davie, FL community, and are also one of the sole providers of specialized care for many illnesses, (i.e. hearing loss, autism, asthma, HIV, etc…) The ride will be split into two: one fast group and one moderate group, each with its own SAG support. There will be one stop where riders will receive refreshments and school supplies will be presented to the Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center representatives. (MiamiBikeScene.Blogspot.com)

Do you have any bike-related, back to school tips that we might have left off this list? If so let us know by leaving a comment, or tweet us @BellTrueFit.

When it comes to Bell bike helmets, we engineered a perfect combination of science and human experience that resulted in the easiest fitting helmets ever: True Fit. For this week’s Fast Fact’s Friday we’re delving into a few recent technological advancements in the bicycle world. From a computer for the bicycle to a new type of mini-bike to a cross-trainer on wheels, bike technology never ceases to amaze.

• The $99 LiveRider Kit includes a shockproof iPhone mount, wireless sensor and an attractive app for displaying all your ride data in real time. The free LiveRider app gives you real-time data on speed, cadence, power output, calories burned and more. Tap into your device’s GPS to keep track of where you’re going, and flip into Chase Rider mode to compete against your previous best times on any given route. For more information check out LiveRider Kit Makes You iPhone A Computer For Your Bicycle. (Gizmodo)
• Have you heard about the PiCycle? It’s an eco-friendly, hybrid bike that can be converted into a scooter, thanks to its built-in electric motor and on-board lithium-ion battery. It’s got a semi-automatic 8-speed transmission, which should help when you’re trying to ride up those steep slopes, and the coolest, most earth-friendly part: Pedaling = battery charging. And it gets up to 20 miles on a full charge. The simplistic but oddly shaped frame just might be the future of cycling. It starts for $2,999. PiCycle Electric Hybrid Bike (UberGizmo)
• While we’re on the topic of electric bikes, consider the VeloMini. This bike is unique in that it is a folding electric bike. It can fold down into a compact 18”, gets it’s juice from a 24v, 6AH lithium ion battery.  At $995 the folks over at SlashGear think it’s a little pricey, but that’s a third of the cost of the PiCycle. VeloMini Electric Folding Bicycle Has Top Speed of 12mph, Costs More Than it Should. (SlashGear)
• Are you a gym rat? Do you ride a stationary bike or elliptical machine at the gym? If so (and if not!), check out the Freecross Trainer. This “bike” is actually a traditional cross-trainer with wheels. Like a bicycle, the Freecross has gears which increase or decrease the amount of resistance on both arms and legs. To steer users must use their body weight by leaning in the direction in which they wish to travel.  The tester over at The Daily Mail, Charlotte Vowden, attests, “this hybrid piece of equipment was easy to use and presents gym goers with a novel alternative to the sweaty atmosphere indoors.” According to their website, the Freecross is good for bike trails or out on the open road as lets you combine the full-body, elliptical workout with fresh air and the freedom to train wherever its wheels can take you. Freecross trainer at Soho Gym: Taking the exercise class outdoors. (DailyMail.co.uk)
• In case you missed it, In July we featured a breakthrough bicycle called the Bendy Bike. It was designed by Brit Kevin Scot, and uses a ratchet system built into the frame of the bike to allow it to wrap around a pole, enabling the lock to be wrapped through both wheels and the frame. You have to see the pictures to believe it.

• Bike cafés have become that latest hip hang out in London. Whether you’re looking for morning coffee, scrumptious lunch or tall pint  – there are some intriguing bike-friendly locales in London. Check out the Container Café, Lock 7, and Rapha Cycle Club. Look Mum No Hands is a bar, café, and workshop – all bundled together in a lofty garage space. They offer free Wi-Fi and have weekly cycling events. (NYTimes.com)


Bell rider Fabian Cancellara is currently leading the pack at the 2010 Tour de France.

• We’ve covered bicycle laws and programs from time to time here, and we were enthused on Thursday to see that the federal government awarded $3 million to Boston’s planned bike sharing program. The injection of federal funds allows the city to purchase roughly 500 bicycles for use at about 50 rental stations. The bike share program is scheduled to launch next spring. (Boston.com)
• A young designer from Britain has invented a revolutionary folding bicycle: 21-year old Kevin Scott’s “Bendy Bike” uses a ratchet system built into the frame of the bike to allow it to wrap around a pole, enabling the lock to be wrapped through both wheels and the frame. You have to see the pictures to believe it. (DailyMail.co.uk)
• In Woodland, CA bicycle enthusiasts and community leaders are preparing for “The World’s Greatest Bicycle Parade. “On Sunday, October 3, we hope more than 4,000 bike riders from Davis and the surrounding communities will help break the Guinness world’s record for largest parade of bicycles,” Bicycle Parade Committee Chairman Frank Giustino said. So if you live in Northern California, or are planning a trip that way this fall, be a part of history and help them go into the record books! (DailyDemocrat.com)
• Of course, we can’t forget about Le Tour de France which kicked off this week. World time trial champion and Bell rider Fabian Cancellara won the prologue to the 2010 Tour on July 3, and he has been able to keep hold of the race-leading (first place) yellow jersey through today! Keep it up Fabian! For full coverage check out Versus.com. (Bloomberg.com)