Motivations for Bike Tourism

Welcome to the Bike Bulletin. It’s like a downhill sign, a tailwind, and a sunset all started a newsletter.

Help me make this newsletter better by replying with questions you want me to cover, what sections you liked, or what sections I should change. I reply to every email.

—Sam Westby @samcwestby

Here’s what we have today.

• 🌍 RIDE: Trans-Wisconsin Bicycle Route

• ❓ RESEARCH: Motives and Constraints for Bike Tourism

• 💡 TIP: Booting Your Tire

• 🎥 WATCH: Cycling Journey to the Adriatic Sea | Part 3

• 🚲 ARCHIVES: Two Women on Gladiator Cycles (1896)

• 📰 STATS FOR THE NERDS

ROUTE ON MY RADAR

Trans-Wisconsin Bicycle Route

Here’s what you’d be getting yourself into.

• 690 miles (1,110 km) from the bottom of Wisconsin to the top

• 32,000 ft (9,700 m) of climbing

• 65% unpaved, 13% singletrack

• Tunnels, glacial terrain, and kind people

This route was released on Bikepacking.com last week. I’m super excited about it.

It hits some of the best areas in my home state of Wisconsin. In the south, you have bluffs and rivers left over from the glaciers 11,000 years ago. In the north, you have a “mountain biker’s paradise” in Chequamegon National Forest.

See all the details on bikepacking.com.

FROM THE IVORY TOWER

Motives and Constraints for Bike Tourism

In a recent study, Greek researchers surveyed 105 bike tourists about their tours around Greece. Here’s what they learned:

• The main motivations were Nature, Health, Bike Eco-Friendly Places, and See Interesting Places.

• The main challenges were the lack of Guides, Routes, Programs, and Information.

What can we learn from this? Knowledge is power. People want to go on bike tours, but if they can’t figure out how then it won’t happen.

This is why my social media and newsletter exist. I’m here to help you go on your next bike trip. Bike touring / bikepacking means so much to me. Getting to share it with you means even more.

Read the whole article at Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

BIKE TRIP TIP

Booting Your Tire

What happens when you slice your tire open? You’re gonna need a new tire ASAP, but these trail fixes will keep you rolling to the closest bike shop.

If your tires have Tubes

1. Stop immediately! We don’t want the tube touching the outside world.

2. Grab one of the following

   • $100 bill

   • Candy wrapper

   • Empty Gu packet

3. Open up your tire and block the hole with your item. See the picture above for what you’re trying to prevent. Bulging tube = bad.

4. Put your tire back on and ride cautiously to the closest bike shop. The item from Step 2 should keep your tube protected and in place.

If your tires are Tubeless

It will be less headache if you just follow the Tubes steps.

If you’re determined to save the tire and stay tubeless, here’s what I’d do.

You need:

• Sewing kit

• Tube patch kit

• Extra sealant

• CO2 cartridge

1. Sew up the slice.

2. Use a patch on the inside of the tire. This will make it airtight again.

3. Add your extra sealant.

4. Inflate with the CO2 cartridge and pray it seals.

5. Enjoy your #trailfix and stop at the nearest bike shop.

Will this work every time? Sadly no. R.I.P my friend Scott’s tire on the Tour Divide. He had a 3-inch slice that was unsalvageable.

How did he fix it?

Step 1: call Wife.

Step 2: Wife is the kindest woman in the world and brought him a new tire.

Works every time.

WHAT I’M WATCHING

Cycling Journey to the Adriatic Sea | Part 3

Shiey is an urban exploration YouTuber with 2.7 million subscribers. In four days, he travels 200 km across Bosnia to the Adriatic Sea.

This man finds the craziest stealth sites, which makes sense since his other videos mostly show him train hopping and exploring abandoned buildings.

Watch on YouTube

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Two Women on Gladiator Cycles (1896)

Gladiator Cycles was a French bicycle and automobile manufacturer from 1891 to 1920. That wacky looking chain is called a Simpson Lever Chain. The front chainring drove the inner part of the chain, and the outer part of the chain drove the rear cog.

• 224 miles (360 km). The distance of newly proposed bike infrastructure in Dallas, Texas. This would double their current bike infrastructure over the next 20 years. (WFAA)

• 3 miles (5 km). The distance of Tampa Bay, Florida’s Green Spine Cycle Track extension expected this year. (Fox 13)

• 280,000. The number of bikes in Shanghai’s bikeshare system as of this month. This is massive. NYC only has 30,000. (Streetsblog)

• $2 Million. The amount recently awarded to the City of Philadelphia to fix decades-old issues with the Richmond Industrial Track. (Rails to Trails)

• $1.2 Billion. The 2024 estimated value of Iowa’s cycling and trail economy. (CBS 2)

A Note From Sam

My commuter got stolen in Boston on Monday, which is ironic because last week I wrote about Bike Theft. The take-home quote from that essay was, “There is peace when you let go of the stronghold your possessions have on you.” I now get to practice what I preach.

This was my first official stolen bike, so I sympathize with the millions of people who’ve gone through this.

I have:

• Filed a police report

• Registered my bike on www.bikeindex.org

• Checked Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and OfferUp

• Tried (unsuccessfully) to find security camera footage

• Put the word out on social media

• Gone back to the scene of the crime and looked around

This is about all you can do. To prevent future theft I will:

• Use a U-Lock. I got lazy and had been using a cable with a padlock.

• Hide and AirTag or Tile in my bike

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