Coming Soon: Wheels North T-Shirts

Thanks to a graphic artist friend, we have a new Wheels North! logo, which will be unveiled soon.  We'll be turning it into a Wheels North! T-shirt that will be available for purchase on the web site, proceeds benefitting Histiocytosis.

Starting Point: Fifth Street in Santa Rosa

Evelyn McDaniel Gibb, author of Two Wheels North, has been very helpful to us in planning our ride.  Here is her description of the starting point for the boys in 1909, which we will do our best to recreate in 2009:

Vic and Ray were given a town send-off by Ed Finley, Editor of the local newspaper, The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, on the morning of August 9, 1909. The little ceremony was held in front of the S.R.P.D. office on Fifth Street. Finley told the group of townspeople gathered around theyoung bicyclists that these adventurers were about to start their trip through three states and much unfamiliar country to visit the A.Y.P.E. in Seattle, Washington. Then Mr. Finley himself took the official photographs of Vic and Ray as they were about to set off. They rode down Fifth Street past the newspaper office the short distance to Mendocino Avenue where they turned right one block to Fourth Street. On Fourth Street they turned left to ride past the newly built Court House (the original was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake), and followed Fourth Street east out of town.

Our Route

We've posted a map of the route followed by Vic and Ray over at the Wheels North! web site: www.wheelsnorth.org  Look for the links to The Route.

Coming Soon to a WebTV Near You ...

The folks at The Bicyclist, a webcast TV series about cyclists in Portland (one of our stops on Wheels North!) have offered to do a video public service announcement for our ride.  While you're waiting for that, check out a preview of Episode 25 of The Bicyclist, at www.thebicyclist.tv  (We're of course hoping that "Steve" and the gang will join us for a ride on our rest day in Portland!)

Sheldon Brown Tribute Ride

A group of riders gathered in Davis, CA, today to ride and remember Sheldon.  Photos here

Two Wheels North Plus 50 (or so)

Here's a great video from England in the 1950s that captures the spirit of adventure of Wheels North!  The film was made in 1956 ... just about 50 years after Ray and Vic's trip.

Update: The Route

We've started working on details of the route we'll be following on Wheels North!  The towns we'll pass through, of course, are the same as those visited by Vic and Ray in 1909--our decisions focus on keeping the length and difficulty of each day's ride more or less the same, and ensuring that there will be a place large enough for the entire Wheels North! entourage in the evening.  We'll also be selecting back roads wherever possible to make the ride as enjoyable and car-free as possible.

To see the towns we'll be visiting, click here.

For details on becoming a Wheels North! rider, click here.

Sheldon Brown Passes

All of us here at Wheels North! were saddened today to learn of the passing of Sheldon Brown.  Sheldon is very well known in the cycling community, and while he wasn't around when Vic and Ray did their ride, it seems like it has been almost that long.  Sheldon was a major proponent of cycling, and an expert on everything.  In 2006, he was part of the Big Fix cros-country fixed gear ride.

We'll plan to commemorate Sheldon's memory in some way during Wheels North!--watch the web site for details: www.wheelsnorth.org

Ouch! Rider Down ... and Back Up!

Wheels North! rider Mojo Cosgrove was riding in Yuba City when he tangled with an SUV yesterday, ending up with just a row of stitches on his chin. Could have been much worse--his bike's front wheel was trashed.  He'll be back on the road soon.