In the spirit of bringing local cycling fans together, Renaissance Bicycles is helping to present the Tour de France Pot de Luck. For you acronimians, that is the TdFPdL.

For the next three Sundays, along with our friends at the Flat Rock Bakery, we will present an outdoor viewing of the 2010 Tour de France for everyone to enjoy. All you need to bring is a little food to share, your prefered beverage of choice, and your family and friends.

The festivities start at 7pm on the back deck of the Flat Rock Bakery. We will show Sunday’s (commerical free) stage and other selected highlights from the previous week of cycling.

And if all those words were too much, here is the quick summary:

• Pot de Luck featuring the Tour de France
• Next 3 Sundays —  July 11th, July 18th, July 25th
• Outside on the deck of the Flat Rock Bakery
• Festivities start at 7pm
• Bring some food and drink (the Bakery will not be open on July 11th)
• Family friendly event.

 Just send us an email at info@renaissancebicycles.com with any questions.

As you may or may not be aware, the always stylish ladies over at Let’s Go Ride a Bike are hosting their first annual Summer Games.  As you may or may not have guessed, we are happy to provide a Brooks B67S (in either of Black or Honey) to one of the lucky prize winners.

For this third round of the Games, there are a few simple “events” in which to partake:

• Ride a greenway (“nature” bike trail).
• Have a bicycle picnic.
• If you don’t normally ride to work, commute by bike, or by bike/train or bike/bus.
• If you do commute, take the long way home: add distance to your usual ride.
• Explore a new part of town by bike.

Easy enough right?  So … how do you take part and become eligible for one of the many swanky prizes?  From the Let’s Go Ride a Bike website…

Winners will be determined by random drawing on July 19. As always, email us your blog links or your stories and photos using the subject line “Summer Games Part III Entry” (and check out our Flickr group). Don’t forget that you must complete two events in each round to be eligible for the grand prize of a Batavus BUB. See our original post for complete details.

So basically, you do one of the events listed above and either (1) write blog post about it or (2) submit your story with a photo or two. And if you want a chance at the free Batavus BuB, do two of the events.

Obviously, the real purpose of the Summer Games is for you to go out and do something fun on your bike, to “process” the activity, and to share it with others. To us, this is what riding a bike is all about.

So why not give it a try?

One of the most unsung benefits of cycling (whether it be for transportation, recreation, or general wellness) is the noticeable boost it provides to your mental well-being. This feeling is akin to a cleared-headed meditative state … the same state of mental flow that is often described as a pleasurable feeling of awareness.

Yoga and meditation are two of the more subtle and sublime forms of restructuring the mind for creativity and relaxation, but the low impact exertion of cycling (especially at an “aware” speed) can help break the ongoing internal commentary that often hinders mental processes.

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Next time you are out for a routine ride, feeling bored with your daily commute, or just need a little extra spark … try something new:

• Ride a new route to an old route.
• Pedal with only one leg.
• Ride only in your biggest / smallest gear (if you have more than one).
• Count the number of dogs that don’t chase you.
• Ride with your eyes closed (but just for a second).
• Put your helmet on backwards and see if anyone notices.

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Yes, sometimes a bit of sarcasm is effective at humorously addressing some common misconceptions and well intentioned malpractices of the cycling flag-bearer.  This brief article (which we have transcribed in full) appears in the 42nd edition of the legendary Rivendell Reader:

How to Make the Rest of Your Family Hate Riding

• Coach them on proper technique and critique their performance so they know where they stand.
• Insist on proper saddle height even if they’re afraid of not being able to put their feet flat on the ground. tell them the truth—that pedaling with a too-low saddle will lead to chondromalacia.  That will motivate them with worry on top of their fear.

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As you may have read in our previous post, Like a Duck to Flickr … I Mean Water, we have wrapped our proverbial arms around Flickr. What makes bicycles and photography such a good match is that cycling is a form of self-expression … and there is no better way to “self express” on a bike than a Panda Portrait:

Here’s the brief description from the very popular Flickr Panda Portrait Group:
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Sometimes we take bikes and the sport of cycling (and ourselves) just a little too serious.  Thankfully there is a counter balance out there — worldly wisdom and contemporary humor intersect at the Bicycle Haiku website:

why write bike haiku?
perhaps your bike got stolen
at poetry class?

And just in case you forgot the simple rules of creating a Haiku …
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