What better time of year than summer to get out on two wheels and get some exercise?

Summer brings out the outdoor adventurer in all of us, especially bicycle riders. There are a host of camps taking place all summer long across the country. While most of them are  dedicated to mountain biking there are some other interesting camps to consider.

The Carpenter/Phinney Bike Camp is the ultimate cycling vacation. Teen Treks is an adventure travel camp for people age 12-18. They offer 1 – 8 week trips in Europe, Canada, and the U.S., where they ride all day and stay at hostels, hotels, and campgrounds overnight. Of course the well known Camp Woodward has been offering extreme sports camps for skiers, snowboarders, skateboarders, BMXers and more for 15+ years.

Participating in a bike camp can be a fun, invigorating, and educational experience for adults, and especially for kids. And to those that like to be outdoors and adventurous, bike camp sure sounds like a lot more fun than a traditional arts and crafts type summer camp. The simple act of enjoying a bicycle cruise on a clear day is a wonderful experience. Sadly, many children never learn to ride a bike and miss out on one of the basic activities that children enjoy.

For children with cerebral palsy, riding a bike can especially be a daunting challenge. Fortunately groups like the United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County are helping more and more children and youth learn how to ride bikes. The Orange County Bike Camp, a joint effort of UCP of Orange County and the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County, is a week-long activity where children and young adults with disabilities can learn to ride a bike independently. With the help of a dedicated team of volunteers, the “campers” start with specialized training bikes that are adjusted as they progress in their balance and control. Eventually, some move on to solo riding on two free wheels!

Bell is a proud supporter of the camp and participated in the event as well, donating 22 Blade helmets, 14 Adrenaline helmets, and 7 Universal XL helmets for the bike campers to use while they learned to ride, and of course the riders got to keep their helmets!

Here’s a testimonial from one mother about the event:

“Bike camp was fabulous.  My daughter Delaney did learn to ride a two wheel bike without training wheels.  She is really proud of herself.  She has challenged family members to ‘a race’ and is saying ‘follow me’ as she leads our bike ride.”

We announced a twitter contest on July 24 in an effort to increase helmet advocacy and raise awareness about bike safety, and the response has been tremendous! We reached our first milestone of 700 followers on July 30, which means we’ve selected one lucky follower, at random, to get a free Bell True Fit helmet!

With this milestone, we’re also donating five brand spankin’ new True Fit helmets to SafeKids USA for them to share in their efforts to keep kids safe.

Officer Mike and Officer Mark with a full load of Bell Helmets!

So without further adieu, the first winner is Jaclyn Reynolds (@jaclynfett)! 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 three more milestones to reach and we can only get there with your participation. We’ll be giving away a helmet to a randomly selected follower each time we reach 800, 900, and 1,000 followers. We’ll also be donating five True Fit helmets to a non-profit, helmet advocacy or bike safety group each time we reach a new milestone. For this round, when we reach 800 followers we’ll be donating 5 helmets to Bike Cops for Kids – the Minneapolis based duo of Officer Mike and Officer Mark.

Their main goal is to “make a special memory stick into the hard drive of a child as they grow up in challenging situations”. Their aim is to connect cops and kids using helmets, bike safety and bikes to do it.

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 800, 900 & 1,000 followers! Please RT http://bit.ly/cEQ5NV

And be sure to check out the Bike Cops for Kids on facebook and “Like” them!

Some friends of the Bell True Fit blog recently told us of how much fun they had on a Friday night bike party. Yes, a bike party. Now, are you wondering “what is a bike party, exactly”? So were some of us when we first heard of it. Basically, it’s a group of bicycle riding enthusiasts who get together once a month for a themed bicycle ride. Simple as that. What makes a “bike party” different from a bike ride? For starters, anyone and everyone is welcome. There are no age limits, no timed qualifications, and no expectations. Well, the only expectations are that all participants obey traffic laws and look out for one another. Interestingly enough, based on some quick and dirty research, it seems that these “bike parties” mostly take place in the San Francisco Bay Area. While there are some smaller, more intimate events in cities and towns across the U.S., based on our research it’s San Jose, CA, that takes the cake.

• One-half political party, one-half street party, San Jose Bike Party is all about building community through bicycling. Made up of all types of bicyclists and human-powered transportation advocates, San Jose Bike Party rides include 2,000 – 4,000 riders on a given night! They ride anywhere from 15-30 miles throughout the South Bay from 8pm – midnight on the third Friday of every month. Follow them on twitter @SJBikeParty and find out how to get involved at SJBikeParty.org.
• Just a few miles north-east of San Jose, the East Bay Bike Party is a mobile party for riders of all ages, experience levels, and bike types, to meet, ride, and play together in the streets on the second Friday of the month. “Inspired by the massive number of people who go to the San Jose Bike Party every month, we decided that it was high time the East Bay (the best part of the San Francisco Bay, in our humble opinion) had its own bike part,” their website says.  In July the theme was Space Party, where they encouraged people to come dressed as an alien or an astronaut, sci fi character or planetary body, constellation or Tribble infestation…”  For August the theme is Superhero Ride, and they are expecting to see, “a lot of capes, masks and tights.” We, of course, like their enthusiasm for helmets: “And don’t forget, a truly super hero always wears a helmet and rides with bike lights.” Follow them on twitter @ebbikeparty and stay in the loop at EastBayBikeParty.wordpress.com

• The Midnight Ridazz is a group of bicycle enthusiasts who have been riding together on the second Friday of every month since February of 2004. The rides quickly grew from 8 people to current ride counts of 1300+ “Ridazz,” and they’ve gone nationwide! Their website, MidnightRidazz.com was created to help empower YOU to create your own rides, routes and “good timezz.” Start yourself on a recurring ride or throw a one timer in the daylight … it’s your ride. They offer a five step outline of how to create a ride, as well as some basic “rulezz” that will help anyone organize their own bike party. To find out more about routes, rules, and already scheduled upcoming rides, check out MidnightRidazz.com.
• Want to spice up your kid’s upcoming birthday party? Consider throwing your own bike party! Over at Disney’s Family Fun website, they offer some great suggestions for throwing a fun birthday bike party. “Invite a bunch of pals to bring their cycles, then turn your driveway (or perhaps a nearby school blacktop) into party central. Set up a station where kids can soup up their rides with homemade number plates, noisemakers, and handle-bar decorations. Next, turn them loose on an obstacle course that tests their skills — and lets them be silly too. Add a spoke-tacular cake, prize ribbons, and take-home goody bags that make everyone feel like a champ, and you’ve got the coolest party on two wheels.” (FamilyFun.Go.com)
• The Bicycle Music Festival is an all day, mobile, community music festival – completely bike-powered! A 501(c)3 project of the San Francisco Parks Trust www.sfpt.org, part of the mission of the Bicycle Music Festival is to, “promote sustainable culture in general by physically engaging and immersing our community in the magic of bike culture, and cultivating and nurturing a network of local sustainable musicians, through our free, community participatory, bicycle-based music events.” The Bicycle Music Festival features a 2000 watt pedal-powered PA system, as many as 15 bands, multiple festival stops, outrageous Critical Mass-style bicycle party caravans between festival stops, and zero use of cars or trucks. This year’s event takes place from Noon – 10pm PT on July 31 in San Francisco.  Follow them on twitter @bikemusicfest and visit BicycleMusicFestival.com for more information or to get involved.

As far as we could tell, there aren’t any “bike party” events outside of California … but we could be totally wrong! Do you know of a bike party that we left off today’s Fast Facts Friday list? Are you planning a bike party in your community? If so, leave a comment below or let us know on twitter @BellTrueFit.

In last week’s Fast Facts Friday post we featured a handful of cities, organizations, and companies offering free helmets. Helmet awareness and bike safety has grown immensely over the last 20 years and we are thrilled to see so much philanthropy.

Today we’re kicking off a helmet giveaway campaign via twitter. 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 700, 800, 900, and 1,000 followers.

As of today we have 647 followers, but once we reach 700 followers, we’ll randomly select a follower to send a new helmet to. We’ll also send five new bike helmets to SafeKids USA for them to share in their efforts to keep kids safe.

If you’re already following us on twitter, well then you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing to win a helmet once we reach the 700, 800, 900, 1,000 follower milestones. But please encourage your followers to follow @BellTrueFit also, so we can reach our goals that much sooner!

Here’s what you can tweet:

Follow @BellTrueFit – they’re giving away bike helmets as they reach 700, 800, 900, & 1,000 followers! Please RT http://bit.ly/dcqRlc

Here’s what you could win (and what we’ll be donating):

The Bell True Fit Adrenaline

Stay tuned for the first winner!

The bicycle community really is a giving place. As you might have seen on this blog from time to time, we’re pretty fond of giving back to the people who support Bell Sports. And we’re not alone. The fact of the matter is: there are a ton of bike-related online contests and giveaways taking place today and every day. At any given time businesses, media, and bloggers are posting ripe bike and bike helmet giveaways for the picking. So on this Fast Fact’s Friday we’d like to highlight some cool opportunities currently taking place and help you find free stuff:

1) At Frugal Family Fun, mother of three and college student Lisa Moore Gee is reviewing and giving away a Bell True Fit helmet! To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on her blog here. But don’t stop there, Lisa offers multiple ways to enter: a) Follow @FrugalFamilyFun  or @BellTrueFit on Twitter and then leave a comment on the blog with your twitter name, b) Tweet about this giveaway including the link to it (http://ow.ly/1W0gM) and  also be sure to include @BellTrueFit or @FrugalFamilyFun.
Lisa offered this tweet for you to use: “Win a @BellTrueFit Helmet from @frugalfamilyfun http://ow.ly/1W0gM”

Not on Twitter? Well, there are a few more ways to enter also. Visit the blog to find out how.

2) The DC Bike Giveaway taking place over at Sneaker Freaker Magazine is pretty hilarious. A tangy orange DC Fixie bike is up for grabs, and to enter the contest all you have to do is send a picture with your favorite orange thing in the world to info@sneakerfreaker.com. You must be a member of Sneaker Freaker to enter. If you aren’t yet, no worries – GO HERE and register (for FREE of course). Entries close July 1, 2010. Need some inspiration on what sorts of orange things you should take a photo with?  Check out the current entries here. Keep up with this contest and look for future giveaways by following on @snkrfrkrmag on Twitter. 

3) From 11am – 3pm ET on Saturday, June 12 the NYC Department of Transportation is hosting a Bicycle Safety and Helmet Program where they’ll be giving away free bicycle helmets to visitors of all ages (while supplies last). You’ll learn how to properly fit and wear your helmet before receiving one. While the NYC DOT is offering helmet education, there will simultaneously be a kids’ bicycle swap taking place. Presented by Recycle-A-Bicycle, children who have outgrown their bicycles (or have extra gently-used bikes to donate) are invited to bring their bike to Socrates Sculpture Park and swap it in exchange for another gently-used bike. All children’s bikes in working order and without gears are welcome at the event. At approximately 2:45pm, any unclaimed bicycles will be donated on a first-come first serve basis. Check out the event on Facebook. (QueensMamas.com)

4) Over at RaisingMy4Sons, they’re reviewing and giving away a Strider Balance bike. Designed for children, ages 1 – 5, the Strider™ PREbike is lightweight, easy to control and features an adjustable seat and handlebars to accommodate a growing child. Most importantly, the Strider teaches your child balance, coordination and develops confidence … all without pedals! According to Raising My 4 Sons’ Mandee, the Strider Sports PREbike is more than a bike – “it’s an on and off-road child mobility product”.

Entering the contest to win this bike is easy, simply visit the Strider Website and then leave a comment on Mandee’s  review telling her something you learned about the Strider PREbike. (It’s that simple!) After you’ve done that, there are a few more ways submit multiple entries. One way is to simply tweet “WIN a FREE Balance Bike from Strider $110 Value! @RaisingMy4Sons http://bit.ly/a6Keen”.

 Be sure to follow @RaisingMy4Sons for future giveaways.

Are you conducting some sort of bicycle or helmet-related contest? Is there a helmet fitting/giveaway in your area? We’d love to hear about them and feature your contests/events in a future blog post, so follow us @BellTrueFit on twitter, or leave a message below!

For many of our readers any month could be considered bike month, but in honor of National Bike Month we’re urging everyone to up their level of involvement and try something different.

For the rest of May, try to go the extra mile in supporting National Bike Month. Whether you organize a community bike ride or simply ditch the comfort of four wheels for the exhilaration of two while commuting, we’d love to hear about how you celebrate this month.

Not quite sure what National Bike Month is all about? Need some ideas to kick start your cycling endeavor? Consider the following:

If you want to help reduce CO2 emissions, consider biking to work! May 21, 2010 is designated Bike-to-Work Day, which is a part of Bike-to-Work Week running from May 17-21, 2010. Not only will you help ease congestion in the streets and relieve stress on our O-Zone layer, but you’ll also be doing yourself a huge favor: Three hours of riding per week reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%! (ReadyMade.com)

In California, people are being encouraged to participate in the Team Bike Challenge. All you have to do is get a team of 2-5 riders together and compete to commute by bike as often as possible through the month of May. Get the most points in your county to win prizes for everyone on your team. This year they’ve even created an iPhone app iBikeChallenge that is designed to attract even more people and help participants keep track of their points. Sponsors of this year’s challenge include Clear Channel, Adobe, REI, and Clif Bar, among others.

On the Clif Bar blog, appropriately named Clif Blog, there are some great suggestions for fun and eclectic cycling excursions. We’d like to take a bike trip through the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Declared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), May is also the National Bike Safety Month.

The good folks over at Safe Kids USA (who have guest posted here) are taking this opportunity teach a valuable lesson about bike safety: bike helmets are a necessity, not an accessory. To help them illustrate this point they created a short video detailing how to apply the “Eyes, Ears, and Mouth” Test when making sure that a child’s helmet fits properly.

 SafeKids.org

Help us promote bike safety by sharing this video on your blog or via facebook or twitter.

Still can’t decide how to participate in National Bike Month? The League of American Bicyclists has put together a complete list of 2010 Bike Month events taking place in each and every state across the country. They also have a Find It Here search tool that allows you pinpoint events and resources by city, state, and zip code.

Cyclist extraordinaire Lance Armstrong once said, “Winning is about heart, not just legs. It’s got to be in the right place.” Armstrong’s heart seems to be in the right place, and we can see why he’s considered the United States’ most influential athlete, because he makes an impact on everyone — big and small. Recently, Armstrong stepped into a Colorado classroom as the subject of a show and tell.

It all started when Anders, a child from Armstrong’s Aspen community, placed a letter on his doorstep asking the seven-time Tour de France champion to come to his school as and talk to his class.

Without any hesitation Armstrong agreed to the invitation!

“Kid in our hood just left this on the doorstep. Wants to bring me to show and tell. #surewhynot” (twitpic)

He then braved through the snows of Aspen in late spring …

“It's late April on Main St in Aspen, CO. Really?!?” (twitpic)

 … and arrived at the school to brighten the day for the lucky students!

“Show and tell at Anders' class here in Aspen. Talking bike safety!” (twitpic)

 With bike safety as the topic, Armstrong enriched the lives of the young students giving them an unforgettable show and tell.

Anders got an exclusive photo op with the cycling champ:

“Anders and I …He's rockin' the yellow jersey and tt helmet. Too cool.” (twitpic)

 Lance’s good will and genuine enthusiasm for education, bike safety, and our children’s future is commendable!

We also loved the natural response he got from his online community:

SusanRPM4 said, “I love Anders’s GO FOR IT approach to asking you, Lance, and your GO FOR IT response. Way to go, both of you!!”

middlechamorro said, “Thanks for doing this amazing deed. A class act. Inspiring.”

tvcarls said, “Very cool Lance-how exciting for the kids, and learning safety from you – bonus!”

We try to make learning about bike safety fun also … we do ride bikes and participate in other action sports because they’re fun, right?

Head safety has always been the top priority for Bell, and with our True Fit design we’ve ushered in an era of the perfect-fitting helmet. Safety, comfort and style all rolled into one, Bell True Fit helmets are an essential biking component for children and adults alike.

We let Lance know how we feel about his impromptu classroom appearance also …

@BellTrueFit: “Kudos 2 @LanceArmstrong for taking the time to visit a group of Aspen school students for show & tell – Way to make bike safety fun!”

You should too!

Lately we’ve noticed a lot of people looking to purchase bicycles, helmets, and gear. Naturally, spring and summer are busy for those of us in bike-related industries as more people begin taking advantage of the longer days and warmer evenings to go ride!

If your bike spent the fall and winter months’ stored away collecting dust and cobwebs, be sure to give it a thorough inspection and safety tune-up before pedaling. For those looking to upgrade, choosing the right bicycle for your size, style, and skill level is obviously important, but having the right equipment is equally important. Today’s Fast Facts Friday focuses on some of the best and most affordable bike accessories. We won’t cover everything here, but we hope you find these products to be useful to your cycling experience.

1)      For the city riders out there, consider the Bell Hands Off Bike U-Lock. This indestructible lock will ensure your bike’s safety no matter where it’s parked. Plus, the carrying bracket features a quick release, and the vinyl coating protects your bike from scratches.

2)      The Bell Sports iPulse LED Bike Torch takes night riding to a whole new level. This bike “light” is equipped with high power LED with sculpted lens to produce extreme brightness. The iPulse also boasts up to nine times longer run time than traditional lights. This ultra bright bike “torch” will light your path through the darkest of situations. It will also enable drivers to better see you on the bike, too.

3)      Planning a road trip? Maybe you’ll be attending one of the many bike tours taking place across the country and world this summer? If you’re not riding your bike across the country, you’ll need a way to take your bikes with you … Bell’s Locking Three-Bike Rack allows you to securely take up to three bikes anywhere! This is great for long road trips or for transporting your bikes across town. A strong 6′ locking 8mm key cable promotes safe transport; the hitch-free design with 6 durable straps offers a stable fit to almost any car. This sturdy unit folds in one simple step and boasts red reflective end-caps to enhance visibility and safety.

4)      For most bike riders, cyclists especially, sunglasses are a key accessory. There’s nothing worse than catching a blinding sun ray travelling at high speeds. One of Bell’s sister companies, Giro, has more than ten styles in their sunglass collection for men, women and all bikers. One of Giro’s technical features is the Pop Top™ Lens System that allows you to change lenses in seconds without stress or hassles. Pictured is the Havik 2 Compact, winner of Bicycling Magazine’s 2010 Editor’s Choice Award!

5)      Of course it wouldn’t be right for us to leave the most important bicycle accessory off of this list: the helmet! We’ve discussed – in depth – the importance and, for some, requirement of wearing a helmet when riding a bike or participating in other action sports. So when you’re out shopping for new cycling accessories, consider a Bell True Fit model with its patented design that makes the proper fit, literally, a snap.

What bicycle accessory are you planning to pick up this year? Would you like to know more about any of the products described here? Let us know by leaving a comment or shoot us a note on twitter @BellTrueFit.

Did you strike out in your first at bat? Well, dust off your cleats and get back into the batter’s box because Bell True Fit is offering ANOTHER chance to win two tickets to tonight’s San Francisco Giants game against Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals.

As a part of the Easton-Bell Sports family, Bell is the preeminent designer of branded sports helmets and accessories.

Easton-Bell makes helmets for softball, football and hockey, and of course baseball. They also sponsor a handful of MLB players and numerous collegiate programs, but it doesn’t stop there. Easton Baseball is also the Official Team Equipment Supplier of Little League Baseball and Softball, Dixie Youth Baseball, Pony Baseball, and AABC.

OK enough with our credentials. You get, the truth is, Easton is baseball. Now, let’s get down to the contest.

As a “thank you” to celebrate our one year anniversary as a community, we’re giving away two tickets to tonight’s Giants vs. Cardinals game. And don’t forget to get there early as it’s “wearable blanket” giveaway night if you’re one of the first 20,000 fans to enter the stadium!

Entering the contest is easy: All you have to do is follow (@BellTrueFit) on twitter and retweet (RT) this link: http://bit.ly/9nmcG2

It’s that easy.

The contest ends at 3pm PT, and the game starts at 7:15pm PT, so be sure to get your RTs in before the deadline.

Around 3 pm PT we’ll randomly select and notify a winner.

Good luck!

Today is Earth Day 2010 – the 40^th Anniversary of the celebration. This week also marks the one-year Anniversary of the Bell True Fit blog! A year ago we started this blog in an effort to raise awareness about Bell’s advances in the bicycling, snow sports and fitness industries, while paying homage to Mother Earth. In doing so, we unveiled our True Fit technology: a perfect combination of science and human experience that resulted in the best fitting helmets ever. We kicked off this blog with a Bell True Fit helmet giveaway and some Earth Day awareness.

Since last April we’ve held numerous giveaways, offered invaluable helmet and biking tips, and covered off on some of the most relevant helmet and biking-related news with our Week In Review series.

Unlike a newspaper, radio or traditional TV sitcom, a blog is not a static thing … it requires human participation and interaction for it to be successful.

You’ve participated in our surveys and contests, you’ve shared your favorite biking trails and locations, and you’ve offered unparalleled insight into the minds of the bicycle community. So, on this anniversary we’d like to thank our community. Meaning, we thank YOU for all the different levels of collaboration offered to us over the past year.

We thank The Full Mommy for her review and giveaway of a Bell True Fit helmet last spring. TG Daily Dads and Grads Product Giveaway was a hit with the guys last summer.  Last fall we conducted a survey asking if you allow your children to ride their bicycle to school. During the winter we asked what your favorite holiday traditions are. Both times we gave a helmet to one lucky commenter. And of course who could forget our twitter contests where we gave away three sets of Tony Hawk RIDE video games and Bell True Fit helmets! We hope the winners @MomMostTraveled, @davesniadak, and @MissingLynxx are getting good use out of the video games and helmets.

While your participation here has helped our blog become a Web destination for the bicycle community, your engagement with our Facebook and Twitter pages has also made Bell True Fit one of the highest followed in the social web.  ‘Thank You’ to all of you who commented on our blog posts, wrote on our Facebook wall, or “ReTweeted” our Twitter updates. Without you this blog would not be possible. Your engagement helps us decide what kind of content you’re most interested in for yourself and others in your own social networks.

We hope you’ll continue to visit our site and provide the invaluable feedback that you do.

Be on the lookout for more contests, and once again THANK YOU for being a part of the Bell True Fit family!

Happy Earth Day 2010!