World Mountain Biking heads to Andorra next week for the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.

Things are not completely settled behind the scenes at the INEOS Grenadiers. Seemingly feeling the brunt of the disharmony, sports director Steve Cummings continues to be left out of races.Cummings, a former Tour de France stage winner in his own right, led the team's sports director at the 2023 To...

Tumbleweed's new Big Dipper drop bar and their mountain bike touring flat bar, the Persuader, are now available with an eye-catching polished finish. Check them both out here... The post Polished Tumbleweed Big Dipper and Persuader Bars Available appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

UPDATED August 19, 2024BY Henry GoldINFounder's Thoughts no comments Friendships from TDA, Carpe Diem and a Great Canoe TripIn playing ball, and in life, a person occasionally gets the opportunity to do something great. When that time comes, only two things matter: being prepared to seize the moment and having the courage to take your best swing. Hank AaronCarpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think. HoraceOne of the unique aspects of our TDA tours, particularly because of their length and challenges, is that we meet likeminded people from around the world with whom we become friends and, as friends tend to do, we make new plans with them. This applies for me as well. Last fall I joined the latest addition to our companys repertoire of adventures, the Golden Buddha Ride.It was a splendid adventure but what enhanced the experience was spending time with riders from previous tours with whom I made new friendships, something not easy to do as we age. So it wasnt that surprising that one day in the middle of the winter, I got an email with subject line Can u canoe?.2023 TDA AGMAs it happens, I do enjoy canoeing, to the point that our TDA core team held our 2023 AGM paddling and camping in Algonquin Provincial Park. The email was from Jonathan Klein, who I had the pleasure to meet and befriend on the Golden Buddha Ride where he was fond of saying, Good suffering is hard to find. Several exchanges followed. I was apprehensive as I had not canoed white water for decades and there was mention of a 4 mile portage. In addition, I had re-injured a tendon in my shoulder in the winter that wasnt healing, on top of all the wear and tear of the last 25 years. I had doubts this was a sane thing to do but I committed myself to join Jonathan and two of his buddies on a white-water canoeing expedition on Burnside River in Nunavut Canada.For those who have never heard of Nunavut, it is the vast remote northernmost territory of Canada that runs the extent of the central and eastern part of the Canadian Arctic. The truth is that I had always wanted to canoe the northern part of Canada, particularly the world renown Nahanni River, and now being the age I am, I figured it was now or never. So, Carpe Diem, grab the opportunity. It was, however, really Jonathan (pictured below) who directly and indirectly persuaded me to come. When I brought up the issue that I might be too old for this and didnt want to be a burden in such a remote area, he responded that he was older than me by less than a month and that a third member of the expedition was also our age.Yet we shared more than just our age. Jonathan, like me, had a terrifying encounter with wildlife. In my case, an elephant in India, in his case, a hungry bear in Canada. We were both very lucky to be here and be able to enjoy what we love doing. I had an opportunity to hear Jonathan reading a chapter from his just published book Back to The Trees and Caves on the Golden Buddha Ride tour that described the encounter with the self-deprecating humour, drama and suspense that is reflective of the man himself. While lying in my tent with 24 hours of sunshine, I read Jonathans book, which gave me more insight about him, his work, his lifelong love of the outdoors and his lamentations on a wilderness that has almost disappeared from the planet. The book itself is in a form of diary, that describes Jonathans raison detre for a three-month river journey in a canoe by himself in the wilderness of the Canadian north along the Churchill River. And it is a very good read.Grabbing the opportunity when it presents itself or undertaking something that you have always wanted to do is something that I often talk and write about. There are always plenty of reasons to not do something that seems scary, difficult or just not in our comfort zone but more often than not, when we do decide to go ahead, the rewards and satisfaction are such that afterwords you think, why did I hesitate, what held me back? So it was with the canoe trip. If you hold to a fantasy that you now think is too late to make into reality, such as crossing a continent on a bike, I think the Olympic champion wrestler Jordan Burroughs said it best Its never too late to be great.Oh, and the best part of the canoe trip beside the scenic wilderness? Not meeting another human being, having no access to the internet and my companions.Related Posts:Leave a Comment for "Friendships from TDA, Carpe Diem and a Great Canoe Trip" Cancel reply

Excellent quality bell for drop bars with a nice long and gentle ring 9/10

The Vuelta a Espana starts on the 17th of August and finishes on the 8th of September. It is the final Grand Tour of the season and, like every year, it will feature a luxurious startlist packed with climbers, sprinters and classics riders looking for their final opportunity to win big in a Grand To...

The Silk Road Mountain Race is arguably one of the most extreme off-road bikepacking races in the world, taking riders from 20 to 110F, from the high desert to snowy, high-elevation mountain passes in Kyrgyzstan. For 2024, Erin Poland and Jono Freeman are racing in the pairs category. Conan Thai tagged along on one of their training days in Beacon, New York, a short train ride away from New York City, and he made this lovely short video about them...The post Together (Video) appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Designed for inner-city life, this heavyweight trike can take the place of a car for 95% of short trips. And your kids will love you for it.

Ranging from 1,999 to 12,600, were currently testing some exciting bikes. Full reviews are on the way

The 2024 Tour de France Femmes came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday. Despite Demi Vollering's best efforts however, she couldn't quite win the Maillot Jaune for the second straight year. With just 4 seconds all that separated Vollering and the win though, many have levelled criticism at the rest...