Go Clipless

President Bush rides a Trek Mountain Bike

No politics here...it's just plain cool when the president of the United States rides a mountain bike. Apparently the president began mountain biking after he started having trouble with his knees from running. He was looking for a cardiovascular sport that could be done outside without impacting his knees. An Associated Press article gave a few details about the bike the president rides. He rides a carbon fiber Trek Fuel 98 worth $3,100. Ironically, the president rides with clips on his pedals and has yet to "go clipless."

New section of Fairfax Cross County Trail Complete

Thanks to Fairfax Trails and Streams the Cross County Trail (CCT) is another step toward being completed! This is according to the news page of the volunteer organization's Website.

For those who don't know, the CCT has been in development for quite some time and stretches some 40 plus miles from Great Falls to Lorton, Virginia. This north/south trail was born from the many protected stream valleys in Fairfax County. Two primary stream valleys make up this trail; Difficult Run in the north and Accotink Creek in the south.

Despite having this excellent resource right in the heart of a county with very few undeveloped places there appear to be few who have biked the entire trail. There are also many great trails that connect with the CCT, including:

- Colvin Run
- The Glade
- Fox Mill District Park and Folkstone Park
- Wakefield

You can learn more about the CCT from the following sites:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/cctinfo.htm
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/cctmap.htm
http://www.fairfaxtrails.org/cct/
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/9401/
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/9401/difficul.html

While I have not yet ridden the entire trail I plan to do so shortly - so look for an update. Meanwhile if you have ridden the trail or parts of it, please share by posting a comment!

Trail Review: Folkstone Park - Little Difficult Run Stream Valley Park

Summary: Sandwiched between Fox Mill Road and West Ox Road and bordered by Folkstone Drive to the north, this fun little loop of singletrack in Oak Hill, VA (Herndon) is hardly known. This is not an overly challenging trail, but it does have a few technical spots. In a few cases the trail comes right to the edge of a six-foot drop-off into the stream. Also, there are a few marshy places with thin wooden bridges that make for an interesting challenge.

$65M extra dollars available to Fairax County Park Authority: Open space or playing fields?

Apparently the Fairfax County Park Authority has an extra 65 million dollars to spend in its 2005 budget (see article in Herndon Connection for details). According to a survey conducted by the park authority, the majority of residents want the money spent to buy new land to preserve open space. Yet despite the data, the authority plans to spend 80% of the money refurbishing existing and constructing new fields and facilities while only 20% will go toward acquiring land for open space.

This does not bode well for outdoor types like bikers and hikers. Recreational leagues are far more organized than people who hike and bike and have apparently lobbied the authority very hard. While I am sure that there is a shortage of playing fields in the county, it seems to me that this is largely a logistics problem more than a space problem. Scheduling the use of the fields more efficiently could certainly ease the crowding problems that exist in the short term. Also, if the fields are in disrepair than shouldn't the recreation groups that benefit from the use of the fields do more maintenance volunteer work as bikers do for trails?

Acquiring more land for open space is clearly an investment in the people of Fairfax County. Such an investment will make it more desirable to live in the region and in turn bring more money to the county. This money could then be used to repair and construct fields and facilities and all will be happy.

- Read the Fairfax County Park Authority's summary of the proposed bond.

Contact the following organizations to ask for their help with this important issue:

- Midatlantic Off Road Enthusiasts at [email protected]
- Bikes Belong Coalition

The "Armstrong Effect"

The Nike ad "Magnet" personifies what I call "The Armstrong Effect." The Armstrong Effect is the overwhelming desire to go riding that one feels after watching Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France. For the next few weeks you most certainly will see many overweight people on bikes with skin-tight US Postal (or maybe even Phonak) jerseys riding away. Don't laugh! You know you feel the effect too!

See Lance ride - Lance Armstrong Nike commercial

*** UPDATE *** (Several of the links in this post are dead. See my comment below for an updated link where the commerical can be viewed). *** UPDATE ***

This commercial entitled "Magnet" is so well done on so many different levels. In one 90 second spot the producers were able to emotionally connect the viewer to Lance, Nike, and the sport of cycling - creating one amazing experience. This is branding at its finest!

I like the commercial so much that I spent some time trying to find a copy to save (for my own use) on my PC. Well, of course the video can be played from the Web, but it is not able to be copied. I did, however, locate the soundtrack to the commercial (thanks to a blog called "The Apple Project"). The song is not available commercially and was commissioned by Nike. The artists are part of a firm that develops art and music for advertisers. It turns out much of the cinematography is digital and made up of computer graphics. CGnetworks.com provides some interesting information about the making of the commercial for those that are interested.

Go ahead and watch the commercial and try to tell me that you do not fall victim to the "Armstrong Effect."

GPS and Mountain Biking

I have been researching Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for use when mountain biking. I've got to tell you that it is not easy finding out about GPS. Even with the Web. The sites that have a lot of information about GPS are extremely hard to use. Anyway, I am trying to find out how I can use a GPS along with topographical mapping software to make maps of trails that are not currently mapped (for example, Little Difficult Run Stream Valley Park in Herndon, Reston, and Oakton).

So here is what I have found so far:

1) General GPS Information: The following sites provide some good information but be ready to spend some time:

http://gpsinformation.net/
http://www.gpsnuts.com/

2) GPS Receivers: It seems to me that the only viable options in consumer GPS navigation are from Garmin or Magellan. Each manufacturer sells several lines. The best lines for mountain biking appear to be eTrex from Garmin and SportTrak from Magellan.

3) Topographical (topo) Maps: As long as the GPS you choose has extra "on-board" memory or accepts SD memory cards you can add maps to the GPS. For mountain biking it is probably best to use topographical maps and not just street maps. Although Garmin and Magellan each have their own proprietary topo maps, I think there are better ones available from the following companies:

National Geographic
Delorme

I like the National Geographic maps because NG hosts a mapXchange service. This allows users to make trail maps and then share them with others.

Once I acquire some of these systems I will let you know how they work. Let me know about your experience with GPS or Topo maps!