Aside from the full line of cycling equipment Louis Garneau’s company creates, he is also a remarkable fine artist. Garneau recently put his talents to work to raise money for Team Rwanda.
Painting in a necessary outlet for me,” Garneau says. “It lets me express feeling and share life experiences. It is also a way for me to give back. Thus, faced with the sheer size of the help necessary to make a difference, I decided to paint the HOPE series, a collection of 12 paintings of which 4 have already been sold at the price of $20,000 each.”
Garneau then donated the money, $80,000 to the Rwanda National Cycling Team to help them “grow through their sport and continue the work of hope for the Rwandas who follow their feats and are able to dream.”
Yeah, it seems a little like overkill, but just think how many bikes would be spared the humiliation of being stolen if they’d install one of these on every block in Manhattan.
Australia may be best known for its unique animals and the Great Barrier Reef, but North American cyclists may be surprised to learn that it’s home to a multitude of small scale, fashion-driven bike apparel brands as well.
Maybe it’s the constant sunshine, temperate climate, and striking scenery, but Australian cyclists seem hellbent on wearing kits that stand out both on the road and while sipping an espresso.
Next time you find yourself bemoaning another day in your standby team kit, think about a refresh with a new kit from Pedal Mafia, Road And Dirt Apparel, Cream Cycling, STëLF Cycling, and Black Sheep Cycling. Follow the jump to see our favorites…
It’s been called “a cyclocross bike deserving of the Santa Cruz name,” but we’re just kind of giddy that Santa Cruz has resurrected the drop bars with a carbon framed, disc brake loaded all-around, all new Stigmata. Here’s how Santa Cruz is playing it:
We started the development of the new Stigmata a couple years ago, because we missed the old Stigmata, and felt that there was a lot we could do with carbon that we were unable to do with aluminum. At the same time, hydraulic disc brakes for road bikes were becoming a reality, meaning that we wouldn’t have to put up with ancient braking technology to get our drop bar on. . . The new Stigmata is versatile. It’ll fit 41mm-wide tires with room for mud, but handles nicely with skinny road tires for base miles. It’s also home to our first PressFit 30 bottom bracket. We didn’t make this decision lightly, but not only is PF30 capable of accommodating all road bike cranks, it allowed us to make the bike lighter while maintaining the strength and durability you expect from Santa Cruz.
Sounds like it might be our perfect N+1 bike: epic for cross, great for gravel, and just fine for road. Click the link for all the specs.
The logic makes sense: if you’re just going to squeeze some goo into your mouth, why not squeeze some 100 percent pure Vermont Maple Syrup in? It’s got all the goods, tastes great, and grows in trees. And Ted King backs it, too. Untapped packages just that product. Click the link for more info.
In SoCal and want to race your MTB next week (February 22, 2015)? The Quick n Dirty Series is the best fun race in Southern California. Here’s what’s up:
We’re just a little over a week away to the 2015 Quick n’ Dirty season and couldn’t be more excited to bring you a whole year’s worth of great racing at wonderful venues. . . . Our inaugural event this season will be held at historic Balboa Park just outside of downtown San Diego on Sunday February 22 and promises to give the racers a challenging, fun course that will even include racing across the famous Balboa Park velodrome. Racers of all ages and abilities are encouraged to come out and race with us and we’ll even be kicking off the day with a kids race! It’s fun for the whole family!
It’s nice to see that the Biggest Liar Of All Time is keeping busy. This time he’s showed up in a video by Future User (Rage Against The Machine Bassist Tim Commerford’s project), according to a story in MySanAntonio.com.
The video itself depicts a young man mixing prescription medications into a smoothie to prep him for his rad ride across town via skateboard. When he’s not flipping ollies and grinding guardrails, he’s doing more drugs in public places and injecting himself with what are implied to be steroids in a grungy bathroom stall.
Then the BLOAT shows up leaving a nasty phone message in a Mellow Johnny’s kit. Nice work, BLOAT.
We firmly believe that any trail open to horses should be open to mountain bikes. Period. And we’re sick of elitist equestrian interests trying to keep these trails closed to bikes. The good news is we’re not alone when it comes to the world famous Pacific Crest Trail, according to a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal.
The Pacific Crest Trail Reassessment Initiative [wants] to reverse decades of U.S. Forest Service policy that limits the high-elevation trail to hiking and equestrian use. They’re particularly interested in sections of trail that could be ridden as links between myriad biking trail networks throughout the Sierra Nevada.
We couldn’t agree more. If you’re interested in helping to open more wilderness trails to mountain biking (especially in the west) then please click the link for more info.
According to a study in Northwestern Medicine people tend to drink more alcohol on the days they’ve exercised, and according to a story Outsideonline.com that’s a bad thing. In fact, alcohol is a bad thing for athletes all the way around.
If you still think a post-race beer isn’t a bad idea, consider this: alcohol interferes with your muscles’ post-workout rebuilding process by reducing protein synthesis. “So not only does alcohol interfere with recovery of muscle damage and injury,” says Barnes, “it also reduces the processes responsible for building muscle.”
Beer works great for getting you fat and keeping you on the couch. For anything else, there’s water. Click the link for even more reasons why.
