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Kickbiking in Colorado (Video)

You know you’re really hooked when you go out for a short kick, and end up covering about 10 km, then go out again in the evening to do another 10 km, then come back and scan the internet for Kickbiking videos…

Spanish company offers Kickbike tours (Video)

Gary Schmitt's Records Written Up In The IndyStar

Gary Schmitt's kickbiking accomplishments were recently featured an a special IndyStar newspaper and website article. Gary,a 54 year old graphic designer, took up kickbiking a few years ago, and rapidly became top competitor. This past summer he made the trek to Finland, the home of kickbiking. Competing against a field of the best riders (kickers) from all over the world, Gary managed to come away with two gold metals in the over-45 masters division, one in the 1,200 meter race and another in the marathon.

Just as an example of how tough the competition actually was, Gary finished the marathon just 6 seconds ahead of the Matti Pessala, the Finnish champion, covering the whole course in just over 1 hour and 37 minutes.

Worth Checking Out

Dan Wulbert is a record breaking cyclist who also happens to be a mathematician. The University of California, San Diego via UCTV has posted one of Wulbert's lectured entitled "Atoms to X-Rays: The Calculus of Bike Racing" on Google video.

Related link:

Atoms to X-Rays video

Putting Footbiking On The Map

One of the biggest barriers to the active expansion of footbiking, kickbiking, trikking, and other foot/leg driven hpv sports is that the devotees are relative small in number, and are “apparently” physically separated by large distances.

CYCLE MODE international 2005

Stuart, who lives in Osaka, was kind enough to send me a heads-up about the new CYCLE MODE International sporting bicycle trade show that takes place later this month.

Eurocup Footbike Event Report Online

Thijza, on the Yahoo Footbike Group, was thoughtful enough to post a message pointing to the September Swansea Eurocup Footbike event report. In reading through the report, and looking at the photos (of course!), there were several things that really caught my attention.

Exploring: Biking Mount Fuji, Japan

Back in the mid-1980's I took a group of Boy Scouts on a hiking trip to the top of Mount Fuji (12,388 feet.) We wanted to see the sunrise from the summit, so we started climbing in the late afternoon, caught a catnap somewhere around the 8th station, and somehow managed to make it to the top just as the sun was coming up. Of course we weren't the only climbers that particular day - we had plenty of company on the trail including at least one group of seniors well into their seventies. It was pretty embarassing when they climbed right past us without any huffing or puffing. There were also a number of hikers carrying mountain bikes over their shoulders. When I asked what they were up to, their polite answer was that they had biked to the 5th station and wanted to take their bikes to the top for a once in a lifetime photo op.

At the time I was naive enough to believe them at their word. It was only later that I found out that people actually mountain bike down from the summit. Officially the mountain trail to the summit is closed to bicycles during the annual July/August climbing season - which means attempts have to be made either just before or just after the season. As far as I know, no one has attempted the descent on a Kickbike - at least not yet.

A simple Google search turns up several websites documenting bike descents, and a few of them include great photos of the views - both on the long climb up, and the quick, bumpy ride back down again. I've included links to some of the best sites I've found so far-

Biking Mount Fuji, Japan - Mountain Bike Bill: Includes lots of great photos, and a detailed writeup of Bill's two Mount Fuji climbs, one with and one without the bike.

Fuji by Mountain Bike - Randy Biddle: Very good writeup along with suggestions on when to climb and what to bring.

Strong Arm Expeditions - Keegan Reilly: Ascent of Mount Fuji by a paraplegic climber powering a four wheeled 'bicycle' with his arms. Reilly ran into a number of problems, including some bureaucratic fumbling, but managed to overcome all obstacles and made it to the summit. In a newspaper interview after the climb he said, "Limits are often set by society. People are told what they are capable of and told that some things are too dangerous to achieve. But the only limits are those you set for yourself. If you have a dream, you need to chase after it."

Exploring: West of Tokyo Part I - Tamako Cycling Course - Tokyo, Japan

It's hard to believe, but within the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area there is actually a 13+ kilometer, arrow straight, jogging, cycling, kickbiking course with cherry trees, hydrangeas, azaleas, and even some raccoons. Better yet, the far end of the course terminates at the Lake Tama/Lake Sayama area with easy access to lots of recreational facilities including an amusement park, baseball stadium, year-round indoor snow skiing 'dome', several large parks and picnic areas, golf course, and over 30 kilometers of shoreline around the two lakes.

 

 

The Tamako cycling 'road' extends from NishiTokyo on the north side of the JR Chuo train line in the Mitaka/Musashi-Sakai area all the way to the base of the dam at Lake Tama. The official start of the course marked by a small monument in Nishitokyo City, Shinmachi 3-chome. The slope is very gentle, almost flat, and basically straight for the entire length of the course. Both Lake Sayama and Lake Tama are part of the water system for Tokyo. The water distribution channel is buried beside the cycling road - or more correctly, the road was built on the water channel right-of-way.

Within a few blocks of the course you'll find local restaurants, convenience stores, and even bicycle shops in case your bike needs some unexpected repairs. This map shows some of the local points of interest for the upper half of the course-

Major Landmarks:  1- Yanase river  9- Tama Lake 13- Hachikokuyama Green Preserve 14- Kitayama Park 15- Sayama Park 19- Agriculture & Nature Park 23- Zelkova trees 28- Tamako Cycling Road 29- Higashimurayama Park 30- Karahori River 31- Minamidai Park 32- Sports Park 37- Nobidome irrigation Canal	Train Stations:  2- Shin Akitsu Station  3- Akitsu Station 10- Seibuen Sta. 11- Seibu Yuenchi Station 12- Seibuen Line 17- Musashi-Yamato Station 18- JR Musashino Line 20- Seibu Ikebukuro Line 26- Seibu Tamako Line 27- Seibu Kokubunji Line 33- Seibu Shinjuku Line 34- Hagiyama Station 35- Seibu Haijima Line 38- Higashimurayama Station 40- Kumegawa Station
Temples/Shrines:  4- Baigan Temple  5- Tokuzouji Temple  8- Shofuku Temple 22- Hikawa Shrine 36- Yasaka Shrine	Historical:  6- Shogun Zuka  7- Kumegawa Battlefield 16- Shimo Yakebe Ruin 21- Isseki Roku Jizou Budda 24- Mannen Bridge, Old Zelkova Tree 25- Nobidome Watermill 39- Muto Memorial

A very helpful map showing the English names for all the locations, and some links in English can be found at Higashi Murayama map. This area was also the inspiration for "Totoro" - [In Search of Totoro's Wood].

At the north end of the course you'll find the two lakes, a beautiful park, tennis courts, the Sayama Ski Dome, an amusement part, golf course, and the Seibu Dome - home of the Seibu Lions baseball team.

The Tamako cycling road connects to the lakes area at Musashiyamato Station in the lower right hand corner of the map above. You have to share the lakeside roads with some cars, bicycles and frequently joggers - it's a popular place to run. The inclines are relatively mild. 

Virtual Kickbiking

So, what do you do when a typhoon unexpectedly keeps you indoors for the weekend?

How about a little virtual kickbiking -