Top O’ the morning, err, evening to you and happy St. Patrick’s Day! While most of the 2010 parades took place over the weekend, today is the public holiday on the island of Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland).

St. Patrick’s day is widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat.  (Source: Wikipedia.org)

We’re not going to go into the specifics about the history of the holiday, as you can find that elsewhere on the Web, but here are a few options for some of best bicycling (and non-bicycling)-related events taking place across the US.

Photo found on TransitMiami.com courtesy Ocean View Rickshaw

For anyone looking for a fun time out, there are food and beverage specials, as well as bicycle rides and marathons in just about every city and every town. We hope you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year and in years to come with a bicycle ride! Let us know how you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by leaving a comment below.

Even during the busy holiday week bicycling was as hot as ever in the news! So hot, in fact, that it’s even listed as one preschooler’s New Year’s resolution. Other news from this past week? New product announcements, diehard riders all over the world and cycling charities!

• December 28, 2009: Daron Robertson works two jobs and pedals to and from work every day and in all weather. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night keeps Marshall cyclist from pedaling to 2 jobs (Eric Crump, The Marshall-Democrat News)

• December 28, 2009: CYCLE Kids has been working with inner-city schools in metro Boston and New York City with a goal to adapt an activity kids love — cycling — into a curriculum that ingrains within both kids and their families long-term healthy lifestyle habits. Bicycling As Antidote To Childhood Obesity (Julianne Idlet, wbur.org)

• December 29, 2009: The nominees are now up for year’s “Exploits of the Year” on the Bicycling website. Did your favorite cyclist make the cut? Bicycling’s Exploit of the Year (James Startt, Bicycling)

• December 29, 2009: Former cyclist and Manhattan Publishing Executive João Correia is now back in top racing form after losing 60 lbs. Back in Racing Form After Dropping the Fork (Alex Williams, New York Times)

• December 30, 2009: Included in this list of the best outdoor activities people should partake in throughout 2010? Both mountain biking and road cycling! What’s on your outdoors learn-to-do list for 2010? Here’s where to start (Mike McQuaide, Seattle Times)

• December 30, 2009: The interesting looking Chariot Skates were designed as a combination of skiing and bicycling. Chariot Skates: half rollerblade, half chariot (Keffan Dolly, SlashGear)

• December 30, 2009: Edited by Evan Schneider and published by the nonprofit Wolverine Farm Publishing, this cycling almanac receives rave reviews from Biel in this post. Book review: The new issue of Boneshaker cycling almanac (Joel Biel, BikePortland.org)

• December 30, 2009: The Rock Hill Bicycle Club ventured out New Year’s Day for a 20-mile bike ride known as the Chilly Chili Ride. Rock Hill bicycle riders to brave chill on New Year’s morning (Shawn Cetrone, The Herald: Rock Hill)

• January 1, 2010: Now Sacramento people have more room to roam around on their bikes! Latest Miner’s Ravine Trail segment completed (Staff Writer, Sacramento Bee)

• January 2, 2010: What was one preschoolers New Year’s resolution? “I will always wear a helmet when bicycling.” Healthy New Year’s resolution for kids (Staff Writer, Tehran Times)

Today is New Year’s Day, and while that means it is the first day of 2010, there are many other firsts taking place today as well. At Bell, for instance, this is our very first post of the New Year! In order to celebrate this special day, we’ve pulled together some New Year’s Day facts and firsts for your reading pleasure.

1. On New Year’s Day, people in certain countries gather on beaches and run into the water to celebrate the New Year (sometimes known as polar bear plunges). Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States and Australia are the most popular countries for this. (Wikipedia)

2. On January 1, 1968, Evel Knievel crashed his bike while attempting to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for the first time. When he awakens from a 28-day coma, he credits his Bell helmet with helping to save his life. (Bell Sports)

3. In 1908, for the first time, a ball was dropped in New York City’s Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight. (AllExperts)

4. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) based in Portland, Oregon, hosts an annual New Year’s Day bike ride that has been going on for more than 50 years!

5. The song typically heard streaming through television sets as soon as the ball drops at the stroke of midnight on January 1 is called Auld Lang Syne and originated as a Scottish poem. The title of the song translates into English as “old long since” (Wikipedia)

Another mainstream notion synonymous with New Years is making a resolution. What’s your resolution this New Years? Perhaps it’s getting out on your bicycle more often? Whatever promise it is that you’ve made for yourself in 2010, let us know below! Oh, by the way….Happy New Year!!

It’s Christmas and it’s a Friday. What more could we ask for? How about some facts full of goodwill and charity? In today’s edition of Fast Facts Friday,  we’re focusing on some of the heartwarming acts of kindness that coincide with this specific holiday. From serving hot meals to the less fortunate to donating gifts to charities across the country, Americans seem to have a penchant for helping those in need during Christmas and the holiday season.

1. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department (today) is holding its annual Christmas Bicycle Program, which provides low-income children with a free, newly refurbished bicycle and helmet. This year they’ll be handing out roughly 450 new bikes and helmets. (Santa Maria Times)

2. For each of the 12 days leading up to Christmas, the Disneyland Resort does some MAJOR goodwill, including: sending military care packages, gift and food donations and hosting holiday parties. In all, more than $12 million in cash and in-kind goods will have been donated by the Disneyland Resort and its cast members in 2009. (Disney Parks Blog)

3. In the Green Bay, Wisconsin, area the Salvation Army-Fox Cities Christmas Program is providing 2,008 households with assistance this year. Thanks to record-breaking giving for the Toys for Tots program there are more than 15,000 toys waiting to be handed out. That’s up 40% from last year! (WBay.com)

4. The largest charitable donation in history came from the second richest man in the world Warren Buffet, who donated nearly $31 billion to the Gates Foundation in 2006. (FiveCentNickel.com)

5. In a survey conducted by 3BL Media 82% percent of respondents said it is important to donate money and 79% had done so already in 2009. 90% of respondents said they will donate more in 2010. (3BLMedia.com)

Did you make any charitable donations in 2009? Do you have a favorite cause or charity you donate to? If so, we’d love to hear about it! Just leave a message below!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Bell Sports!!!

Hopefully all your cards have been sent, your house smells of fresh pine needles and colorful lights are shining brightly in and outside your home, because today is Christmas Eve! Everywhere, people are busy singing carols, doing last minute holiday shopping, wrapping gifts and getting ready to spend quality time with their families and loved ones. The eggnog may very well have already started flowing, the ugly sweaters in full effect and children across the United States are anticipating a busy morning of digging through stockings and tearing through apart wrapping paper.

Indeed, the Holidays are heartwarming for everyone, including us here at Bell Sports. This is in part due to some of the aforementioned holiday customs (who doesn’t enjoy a hearty ugly sweater party?!), but also because of all the new bikes being rolled out this season.

We spoke with Santa earlier this month, and he said that, traditionally, a bicycle is one of the first things on many children’s wish lists. Of course, we made sure Santa had our phone number so he could place orders for True Fit Helmets to go with all those bicycles! We thoroughly enjoy the thought of children across the land jumping on a bike for the first time and starting what hopefully turns into a healthy lifetime hobby.

For some tips on how to properly teach your little one how to ride a bike, check out REI’s expert advice. They suggest the most important consideration when teaching a child to ride is that you keep it fun. Some children will pick it up faster than others, and patience is key. For more information, including the proper way to wear a helmet, check out REI’s Teaching a Child How to Ride a Bike.

Another fun and exciting thing to do around Christmas, specifically, is to bake cookies and leave them out near the fireplace with a glass of milk, so as to build anticipation for your little ones. But rather than making them wait up all night to catch a glimpse of ol’ Saint Nick, why not actually track Santa on his journey around the world this Christmas Eve? NORAD, the bi-national military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada has been tracking Santa’s Christmas Eve journey’s for more than 50 years. You and your children will easily be able to find out where Santa is at anytime on Christmas Eve at NoradSanta.org.

Also, in case you missed our holiday helmet giveaway that took place last week, we are extending the holiday spirit post-holiday – we’ll be giving away more free goodies early in the New Year! Check back soon for your chance to win!!

On a final note…regardless of what Holiday you celebrate (it doesn’t matter if there are sugar plums dancing around in your head or Latkes on your plate), we at Bell wish you a very Happy Holiday!!

Last Friday kicked off Hanukah and we shared some (perhaps) lesser known facts around the holiday and now, this final Friday before Christmas we hope to do the same!  So, go ahead and read on to see if we’ve dug up anything that may surprise even the Christmas aficionados!

1. Most people take for granted that Christmas is an official holiday, but, it wasn’t always that way. Christmas didn’t become a federal holiday in the U.S. until 1885, when Congress established it as a paid holiday for federal employees. (Suite101)

2. During the ancient 12-day Christmas celebration, the log burned was called the “Yule log.” Sometimes a piece of the Yule log would be kept to kindle the fire the following winter, to ensure that the good luck carried on from year to year. The Yule log custom was handed down from the Druids. (Quizerama QI Scrapbook)

3. Bike enthusiasts that want to channel their Christmas spirit into holiday greetings can check out several creative, cycling-themed holiday card designs – and many of them rounded up in one place courtesy of Cylelicious. (Cyclelicious)

4. The original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century. (BaconBabble)

5. The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace), the poinsettia is known as the “Flower of the Holy Night”. Since the 19th century, the poinsettia has been associated with Christmas. (KidsGen)

Being in the holiday spirit, last week we posted our first Holiday Helmet Giveaway, and aim to get it out to our lucky winner in time to make a fun and useful gift! As part of the giveaway we asked people about their favorite holiday traditions and what gifts they are most looking forward to giving and receiving.  All they had to do was leave a comment answering one or all of these questions, and they were automatically entered in a drawing to win a free Bell True Fit helmet of their choice!

Well, the results are in, and we’ve randomly selected Martha Renda as the winner of Bell’s Holiday Helmet Giveaway.

Martha said this Christmas is the most special to her because she already has the most wonderful gifts: She is a gradparent who recently received custody of her three grandchildren – ages 3, 4 and 7.

“We are starting over again as parents, but what a wonderful gift we have been given,” Renda said.

We hope you enjoy the helmet, Martha!

Be on the lookout for future helmet giveaways.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

The holidays are upon us and Jack Frost is nipping at everyone’s noses. With Hanukkah starting on Friday and Christmas around the corner, it made us over here at Bell wonder – how many of you could use a new helmet this holiday? A helmet is not the flashiest gift, nor the most expensive, but it is a perfect gift to give that cyclist, bmx’r or little biker in your family – the designs are very cool, and it shows you care about their well being. Even if they already have a helmet, it never hurts to have a spare one for when they want to bring a friend along for a ride, or when an upgrade is needed due to damage (check out our Your Stories Told feature to see firsthand how a Bell helmet saved one man’s life!).

Regardless of whether or not you’d planned to give a helmet to someone this Hanukkah or Christmas, we’re asking everyone to leave a comment below and tell us one (or all) of three things:

1) What is your favorite holiday tradition?

2) What gift(s) are you hoping to receive this year?

3) What gift(s) are you most looking forward to giving this year?

The best part? One lucky person who leaves a comment will win a free Bell True Fit helmet!!

That’s right; we’ll send one lucky person a Bell True Fit helmet (any size, any style – based on availability) just for sharing some of their holiday spirit with us.

Comments will be closed at 5p.m. PT on Thursday, December 17, 2009, at which time we’ll choose one commenter at random, and send them a free Bell True Fit helmet to arrive in time for the holidays!

Want that to be you? All you have to do is leave a comment below. Be sure to leave your name and a way for us to reach you. Or you could always send your comments to us on Twitter @BellTrueFit.

And if you have a twitter account, please also leave your twitter handle in your comment. We can’t give you a free helmet if we don’t know who you are!

Happy Holidays!

Photo courtesey of FocusHack.com

What comes to mind when you think about the upcoming holiday season? Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve are obvious first thoughts. But what about that other thing involving retail stores, product deals, and gift wrapping? Yes, we’re talking about holiday shopping sales! – Finding the perfect gift for someone is almost as fulfilling as receiving the perfect gift. To help assist you in your quest to find these perfect presents, check out some of these tips for seeking out the best deals, coupons and other discounts available on the web.

MSN Money has thoughtfully reviewed the 8 top sites for online shopping deals, which includes general bargain sites like Overstock.com, deal aggregators/coupon sites like Fat Wallet and shopping bots such as Shopzilla. Shopping bots allow you to quickly search for merchandise across a wide variety of sites, making your gift hunting easy and painless!

At The Washington Post, The Web Hostess (a.k.a. Monica Hesse) answers shoppers questions on how to score deals and find merchandise this season, and she also welcomes people to share their best online shopping secrets tips and tricks. Here’s an excerpt between a reader in Arlington, VA, and the Hostess:

Q: “I’m a big fan of Consumerist’s Morning Deals feed, which aggregates sales from across the Web.”

A: “The good thing about Morning Deals is that it contains sales on everything from computers to clothes, meaning it’s nice if you’re not sure what you want to buy or for whom. Just browsing can spark some ideas. If you’re looking for something specific, it can be a little hit-or-miss.”

Paid Content’s Tameka Kee recently pointed readers to Groupon, a social, online deal-finding service that spotlights coupons from local businesses – be it a restaurant, massage studio or even a theater. There is one catch though…there is a minimum number of people that need to sign up, in order for the discount to take effect. To help move this along, Groupon makes it easy for people to quickly notify their friends about the deals through Twitter, Facebook and e-mail.

Need a helmet tip straight from the source? Bell True Fit helmets are available online for purchase at retail sites including Target, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Sears.

Visit Where To Buy for a complete list of stores carrying Bell True Fit helmets.

Do you know of any online shopping deals? Have a favorite site to find coupons that we might have overlooked? Leave a comment below or send a tweet to @BellTrueFit letting us know where you go online for your holiday shopping! 

The word Thanksgiving conjures up a variety of autumnal images – pilgrims and Native Americans, yellow, orange and red leaves falling and covering the sidewalk, Hand Turkey artwork and family and friends gathering around the table to enjoy a mouth-watering feast filled with mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce and more!

In addition to these standard impressions of Thanksgiving, there is one thing that comes to mind to us here at Bell as being dear to the heart no matter what the holiday – bicycling! And what could be better than a brisk, post-dinner friends and family bike ride with loved ones this Thanksgiving? Not only will you be working to help combat all the tryptophan-induced drowsiness you’re sure to be feeling, but you’ll be doing it with the people we hope you’re the most thankful for – your family and/or friends!

If you need some ideas of where to head to, Bicycling Magazine’s “10 Fall Foliage Rides” lists some great autumn biking spots in Wisconsin, Utah, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania and North Carolina where the changing season can best be observed. (Bicycling.com)

Or perhaps you live in Baltimore? Well, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, cyclists are gathering for a post-Thanksgiving Critical Mass bike ride that you should certainly look into. (BaltimoreSun.com)

Even if you don’t see your home turf listed above, there’s no reason to get discouraged – sometimes the best bike paths are those waiting for you just outside your back door. No matter where you live, if you do decide to take the family out for a Turkey Day bike ride, be sure you are all wearing helmets.

However you decide to spend your holiday tomorrow, we hope you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving and you take the time to reflect on what you are thankful for. Already know? We’ll be thankful to you if you let us know, below

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!