As many of you may (or may not) know, Google Maps unveiled a “bicycling directions” feature last Wednesday.

The new feature offers turn by turn biking directions with trails and bike lanes directly on the map, and just like traditional Google Maps there’s an option to drag and drop points of interest to customize your route.

“Bicycling directions” has been met with some criticism, however, as one New York Post reporter used it to plot a few routes through New York City, and it led him into some heavy traffic along the way.

The article starts out with, “A helmet may not be enough to protect cyclists from Google Maps’ latest feature.” – We disagree.

Google bicycle directions might take you into traffic jams and unfamiliar neighborhoods, but wearing a Bell helmet has proven time and again to protect riders and prevent serious head injury. Did you know that Bell  offers a GPS enabled helmet? No it’s not a helmet with a global positioning system, rather it’s a Geared Positioning System where all you do is reach back and turn a dial and it either tightens or loosens the molding around your head. Check out the Influx for more information on Bell’s Geared Positioning System technology.  Or if you’d prefer the easiest fitting helmet, check out one of Bell’s many True Fit models that make the proper fit a snap with one easy adjustment.

Not all of the reviews have been critical however, and a few outlets, like Wired.com, are asking for your input in helping them determine whether the new feature is “pretty awesome” or “full of potential fatal flaws”.

Google is currently running a twitter contest – Share Your Ride Sweepstakes – for the chance to win a $2,500 voucher for use at American Cyclery.

To enter, simply log on to Twitter and create a Twitter entry which includes the hashtag #bikewithgoogle

Above is a screenshot of San Francisco from “bicycling directions”– with the green lines representing bike lanes and trails. The Bay Bridge isn’t currently highlighted with any green lines, but people are working hard to get biking lanes spanning the length of the new bridge, once construction is complete and it is opened to traffic. In the mean time, biking across the Golden Gate Bridge makes for a great outing.

What do you think about Google’s new feature? Will you use it to find new routes? Weigh in on this by leaving a comment below.

March is upon us, and while Punxsutawney Phil, the only true weather forecasting groundhog in the business, saw his shadow back in February predicting  another six weeks of winter, we are already looking forward to the green of Spring. Daylight Savings begins on March 14, St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17 and fun bike rides and tours are popping up across the country.

In today’s edition of Fast Facts Friday we’re discussing some of the upcoming bike rides and tours taking place across the country, with a focus on some of the the more interesting and obscure events. If you know of or are participating in any interesting bike rides or tours coming up, let us know! Just leave a comment below, and maybe we’ll feature you in a future Bell True Fit blog post!

1. The Muddy Buddy Ride is coming to a city near you! From California to Virginia, down to Florida and up to Oregon, the Muddy Buddy Ride and Run Series is a must for the adventurous. Muddy Buddy is all about having fun (and getting muddy of course) with a friend, family member, partner or co-worker. Teams of two traverse a 6-7 mile off-road course and five obstacles. “At the start of the race, one team member will run and one will ride the bike. At the 1st obstacle, the rider will drop the bike, complete the obstacle, and begin running. The runner will arrive, complete the obstacle, find their bike and begin riding. Teams will continue leapfrogging each other through the entire course,” according to the Web site. Funds raised through this meaningful program, benefit the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and allow people with physical challenges to live an active lifestyle. So go get dirty, challenge yourself, support a great cause, get some exercise and get to know someone really well! Visit Muddy-Buddy.Competitor.com to get the “the dirt” on this awesome event.

2. Maybe getting sweaty and muddy with a boss or new girlfriend isn’t your cup of tea … maybe you’d prefer a glass of wine? Geared towards the novice rider, with an epicurean/vinophile bent Napa Valley Bike Tours offers a variety of scenic bike rides through rustic wine country. Since 1987 they’ve been offering single and multi-day guided bike tours, self-guided bike tours, bike rentals and bicycling vacation packages that include accommodations and dining. Sample and purchase wines, wine and dine at some of the best wineries and restaurants, and enjoy an “invigorating sensory experience” as you roll through scenic Napa Valley past rows of vineyards. Visit Napa Valley Bike Tours or become a fan on Facebook to start planning your trip today.

3. Register’s Annual Great Bike Race Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) always takes place in the summer, during the last full week of July. Sponsored by The Des Moines Register, this annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River, and is the oldest, largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world.  RAGBRAI is heading into its 38th year in 2010. A week-long rider fee is $140 and includes baggage transportation, camping accommodations, emergency medical services, daily route maps, entries into drawings for a free bike, and much more. Meals, concerts, parties and events along the way make this scenic ride all the more worth it at the end of every day (after you’ve ridden 75+ miles!). Hurry though, because the entry postmark deadline is April 1, 2009. Visit RAGBRAI.com for more information and check out their blog for interesting updates.

4. Not interested in being confined to the borders of one state? Cycle America offers Cross-State Tours and a Coast-to-Coast journey from June to August. Go from Seattle, WA to Boston, MA crossing over 13 states and one Canadian Province in 64 days. The ride will take you 4,200 miles, averaging 65-86 miles per day through “the lush mountains and forests of the West, across the grasslands of the Great Plains, to the lakes and farms of the Great Lake states and the quaint towns of New England.” The cost is $6,685, and is all inclusive. If a three month bike ride across the country doesn’t quite fit into your calendar or your bank account, you can opt to ride one of the nine cross-state tours for much cheaper (roughly $800 per event). For more information or to reserve a spot visit CycleAmerica.com.

5. Looking for something closer to home, maybe not as long? Then check out The World Wide Bicycle Tour Directory (BicycleTour.com) – a comprehensive directory of bicycle tours and events for both road cycling and mountain biking. They have an easy-to-use menu to help you find bike tours based on country, state, month, duration, and type.

Whichever tour you participate in, be sure to wear your helmet! And be on the lookout for Bell helmets along the way, as many of our models are considered the best. ConsumerSearch.com says the Bell Vela is the best bike helmet for women, the Bell Citi is the best bike helmet for commuters, the Bell Boomerang is the best bike helmet for toddlers, and the Bell Trigger is the best youth bike helmet.

As a provider of safety helmets for a variety of sports from professional to novice for adults to toddlers, we take pride in bringing innovation to our customers to create a safer experience on the hill, bike path, slopes, or just out on the driveway!

Bell True Fit helmets are designed for biking, however the Bell family also offers customized helmets for a variety of activities including power sports,  bicycling, and … skateboarding. Normally we blog about bicycling and all of the elements that surround it, however over the course of February 2010 we’ve been discussing skateboarding, in particular Tony Hawk, a whole lot.  

Since February 1, 2010 we’ve given away two Bell Hawk skateboarding/BMX helmets, and two versions of the new video game Tony Hawk: RIDE – one for X-Box 360 (congrats @MomMostTraveled) and one for Nintendo Wii (congrats @davesniadak).

While we don’t have the ability to give everyone a helmet or video game, we do have one more game/helmet combo to give away to a random – and may we add, in our opinion, lucky – twitter participant. Today marks the end of our third and final giveaway contest, and we’d like to say CONGRATULATIONS @MissingLynxx. You have won a new Bell Hawk helmet and Tony Hawk: RIDE for X-Box 360!

Thank You – everyone – for participating in our February twitter contests. We hope you’ll stick around to read our blog, and just want to say: be on the lookout for future contests!

Sincerely,

The Bell True Fit Team

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

We at Bell Sports hold bicycling – and safety – dear to our hearts. We publish these Fast Facts Friday (#FFF) blog posts with the hope of providing you with insightful information, and inspiring you to get out and ride. We also intend to provide you with factual information that encourages you to always wear a helmet when cycling. So, in the spirit of #FFF, today’s installment features some obscure bicycling and helmet facts meant to educate, inspire, and maybe even answer that nagging question that has piqued your curiosity time and again.

1) Despite the requirement for adults to use hand signals when riding in traffic, The American Academy of Pediatrics says Children shouldn’t use hand signals, because signaling may cause them to lose control of their bikes. (AAP.org)

2) Ever wonder why male cyclists shave their legs? Well, according to eHow.com it is it has nothing to do with aerodynamics, and more to do with road rash, massage, hygiene, vanity and tradition. Hairless legs are easier to clean, and it’s less painful to tear bandages off of smooth skin than hairy skin. Plus leg hair gets messy when slathered in massage oils, and it is easier for masseuses to work on bald legs. (eHow.com)

3) In China, bicycles outnumber cars 250 to 1, and in Tokyo, Japan a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes. (Strange-Facts.info)

4) Bell Helmets feature EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam liners. The purpose of the liner is to help prevent or reduce brain injury by absorbing the energy of an impact through its own compression or destruction. (BellSports.com)

5) And our Fast Fact“ee” of honor: At 25 years old Georgia native Fred A. Birchmore circled the globe by bicycle. The entire trip, through Europe, Asia, and the United States, covered forty thousand miles. Over the course of his tour, taken in 1935, he pedaled about 25,000 miles and wore out seven sets of tires. The rest was traveled by boat. And, Fred just celebrated his 98^th birthday this week! Happy belated birthday, Fred! (NationalGeographic.com)

What inspires you? Let us know what type of information gets you out on the road or on the trail spinning those wheels!

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! 

In the United States, Veteran’s Day takes place on November 11 every year and serves as a federal holiday in remembrance and observance of our troops. Well, in honor of the all the brave US soldiers who have served, fought and dedicated themselves to defending our freedom, we would like to dedicate today’s post to saying “Thank You” to our men and women in the armed forces.

Seeing as we’re in the helmet manufacturing business, we thought – what would be a more fitting way to show our gratitude than to highlight the military by providing some insight and historical context about the military helmet?

1) In 1981, Bell Sports introduced products for anti-ballistic military and law enforcement use. (Bell Sports)

2) The development and expanded use of steel helmets “saved the French” in WWI as it enabled them to disregard German artillery fire. (NYTimes.com)

3) During World War II, the United States designed and standardized the M-1 helmet, which became the symbol of the American soldier and was used afterward in the Korean and Vietnam wars. (ehow.com)

4) Thanks to generous donations, Operation Helmet has sent 46,009 protective helmet-pad upgrade kits to U.S. soldiers in the field. (Operation-Helmet.org)

5) In April 2009 Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Harvey received a Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge after being shot in the helmet and continuing to return fire during an enemy attack in Najaf, Iraq on Feb. 10. Harvey’s life was saved by his Advanced Combat Helmet. (Army.mil)

Thanks again to all the veterans out there for your service, and let’s not forget about the role helmets have had in the safety and protection of those who risk their lives for our freedom.

We recently posted a survey asking people whether or not their children ride bicycles to school, if they wear their helmets, and a few other bike and helmet-related questions. We also offered a free Bell True Fit helmet to one lucky survey participant. Today we’re announcing the lucky winner … and sharing the survey results!

While many of the participants had similar responses, there were also some interesting variations too.

For example, the majority of survey participants said their children do not ride bicycles to school, with the number one reason for not riding their bikes to school being distance, as the majority of respondents live more than one mile from their child’s school. Another common reason that participants’ children do not ride their bikes to school is because of age. They think their child is too young. The mean age of all survey participants’ children was 6 years old. And for those of you in that pack with children on the younger side, respondents whose children do ride a bike to school said their child first began doing so around age 6 ½.

And when survey participants were asked, “Are there clearly marked bike paths on your child’s route to school?” the survey was about split, with 46% responding “yes”, and 54% responding “no”. We believe that this could also be a factor in deciding whether or not to allow a child to ride a bicycle to school.

Overwhelmingly, most respondents had never heard of a walking train or bicycle train. Of those respondents that were familiar with those terms, one respondent said, “… we do a walking ‘bus’ occasionally.” And for that majority out there that does not know, a walking school bus and a bicycle train both consist of groups of students accompanied by adults that walk or bicycle a pre-planned route to school (SafeRoutesInfo.org).

Other survey results that were pretty lop-sided include 78% of respondents saying “yes”, their child rides a bike 3 or more times a week, outside of riding to school. And, 23% said no, their child does not ride a bicycle that often.

Finally, participants gave a resounding “YES” to the question “Does your child wear a helmet when they ride a bike?”. That’s relieving.

Thanks to those that participated by taking a minute from their day to take the quick survey! And, drum roll please, the lucky winner of a shiny new Bell True Fit helmet is the survey is Silicon Valley-based Kimberly aka @tippytoes on twitter.

The warm summer months tend to make the days blur together and minds turn to mush. And sometimes all we can think about is our next big outdoor adventure: hiking, swimming, kayaking and of course – bike riding! Well here at Bell, we’re dedicated to keeping the ole’ noggin safe, warm weather “mush” weather or not. So without further ado, some quick facts to help your mind stay in tip-top shape on or off your bike!

1. Bicycling conditions the heart and lungs if done three to four times a week for at least 30 minutes at a brisk pace. (Discovery Health)

2. You could probably never tell by the naked eye, but most common or popular skateboard decks are actually made from seven separate pieces of plywood maple. (EzineArticles)

3. In 1996, when mountain biking made its inaugural appearance in the Olympic games, the gold medal winner – Bart Brentjens of the Netherlands – was wearing a Bell Psycho Pro helmet. (Bell Sports)

4. A bicycle headlight mostly allows others to see you, although some of the brighter lights do help bicycle riders see at night. Most bicycle lights range from 2.4 to 20 watts, and bikes riden by police officers use lights with a minimum of 15 watts. (KidBibs)

5. Children between the ages of 5 and 8 years old ride 50 percent more than the average bicyclist and account for nearly half of all bicycle-related injuries. (Safe Kids)

Also, if you haven’t yet seen our post from Wednesday (Don’t leave your dad or grad in the dust, win ‘em a Bell True Fit!) you may not have noticed that there’s been a giveaway going on this week at the tech news site, TG Daily. If you hurry, it may not be too late! Check it out now for your chance to win a Bell True Fit helmet!

It’s the end of the month, and many will be doing number crunching of some sort, so we thought we’d join in the fun and provide some interesting and important statistics. And, while we think bike riding should be an enjoyable and fun activity for all and don’t want to invoke fear, we do want to inspire a sense of precaution to encourage everyone to take a few very simple but effective preventative steps, like wearing a helmet, when traveling by wheel.

1. Each year, more than 500,000 children go to hospital emergency rooms or doctors’ offices due to bicycle injuries. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)

2. More than half of these (above mentioned) collisions happen on neighborhood streets, sidewalks, or playgrounds. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)

3. Nearly 690 children are injured daily due to bicycle-related crashes. (Safe Kids)

4. Approximately 12 bicycles can be parked in the space required for one automobile. (rideyourbike.com)

5. Bell Sports spent 5 years of R&D before introducing the True Fit helmet this April. Even still, the True Fit (and all helmets) needs to be worn correctly, in order to reduce the risk of serious injury when in a crash. (Bell Sports)

Now that you know some of the facts, stay tuned for next week’s guest post from Safe Kids CEO, Mitch Stoller, who has some smart tips to share about bike safety. And as always, we ask that if you have ‘em, please chime in with some related facts of your own!