May 7, 2009
Volume 2 | Issue 10
|
Bike New England this Fall
|
|
With a landscape covered by the orange, red, and yellow hues of the changing leaves, New England is quite the picturesque place to be this fall!
Can't make it abroad this year? Then come check out New England instead!
Cycling the Berkshires with Bike Friday - 9/13
Keene: The Heart of New Hampshire - 10/9
|
6-Day Trips from $1,999 to $2,995
|
|
Short on time and money this year? Well, don't rule out a bike tour just yet! Ciclismo Classico has plenty of options for 6-day trips like our More Miles for Less trips for only $1,999 and mini versions of our full-length trips for only $2,995.
For more information call us at (800) 866-7314 and speak with a trip specialist.
|
Stayin' Alive:
The Traffic Cone Bag
|
|
Put it in reverse and let's ride/party!From saddle to the Sofitel with this convertible, safety-orange/black bag for cyclists, walkers, travelin' gals and minimalist multi-purpose freaks, designed by The Galfromdownunder, loudly and proudly made in the Garment District, New York, USA, Registered Design 2008. |
Exclusive Serotta Offer for Ciclismo Guests
|
|
2009 Ciclismo guests are eligible for a $500 discount off a custom bike from world-renowned Serotta.
Click here for more information or give us a call at (800) 866-7314.
Offer valid until 8/1/2009. Some conditions apply.
You can view all Ciclismo Classico videos at www.ciclismoclassico.tv.
|
Win a $500 Wardrobe from Terry Bikes
|
|
Enter to win a $500 Cycling Wardrobe from Terry Bikes!
Click here to enter.
|
|
|
 Happy Mother's Day to any woman who has nurtured a child or birthed a passion! Welcome to our jam-packed Mother's Day edition of the Pasta Times in which we honor and celebrate all cycling women and mothers who work hard to juggle careers, their families, their passion for cycling and for making the world a better place.
Cycling not only sustains our mental and physical health, it is a great liberator for women of all ages. I started cycling in my teens and ever since, my bike has been my ticket to the world, taking me far beyond my home town. As I began to travel alone on my bike, I gained tremendous confidence in my ability to go wherever my legs would take me. Being able to ride is a powerful gift that serves thousands of woman every single day. Women crave the invigorating independence that cycling gives them. As I watch my 10-year old daughter fly ahead of me on her 10-speed, I sense her excitement, curiosity and pride in being able to cycle 2 miles to school effortlessly.
In this double edition of The Pasta Times we cover a variety of women cycling issues: commuting, training, family riding and racing. Because women crave new experiences and connections with like-minded souls, our exclusive Femme Fatale Freebies, paired with our $100 Mother's Day discount off ANY tour creates a special opportunity for you to save on a tour and connect with one of our very special Ciclismo Women via their time and/or precious talent!
"Let me tell what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel ... the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."
Susan B. Anthony
Grazie Mille,
Lauren Hefferon
|
Femme Fatale Freebies
 In honor of Mother's Day, Ciclismo Classico has partnered up with fourteen very special Cycling Women who are offering up their own special deals!
From now until May 24th (Lauren's Birthday), we are offering Moms $100 off any of our Ciclismo Classico tours plus your choice of one of the fourteen special offers from Super Women in our Ciclismo World.
It's super easy, Moms: Sign up and SAVE on a Ciclismo tour and pick your favorite Femme Fatale Freebie!
Below is an example of but one of our Freebies. Click here to view the entire list!
- Bring mom on a "walking tour" of Via Vanti,
Westchester New York's new hot spot located in the historic Mount Kisco
train station. You'll get a special behind the scenes tour with Via
Vanti owner/creator Carla Gambescia (and super Ciclismo Classico
alumni). You'll love and be hooked on Via Vanti's unique decor,
inspired by distinctive architecture of Venezia. In addition to your
tour, you'll each savor a complimentary decadent dessert: a Pazzo
(crazy) Pizza -- made from sweet dough topped with nutella, fresh
berries and three mini scoops of the finest gelato this side of Torino!
Bring your bike, Carla is always up for a ride!
Join our women-only departure of Assaggio Toscana October 11. Sorry guys, but this one's just for the girls! |
Training for Your First Bicycle Tour
by Grand Tour d'Italia alumna Karen Ghiron, Owner, Wellness Works, Inc.
 Congratulations on signing up for you first bicycle tour, one of the most inspiring ways to travel and see any country! You will have memories for a lifetime and come back in the best shape of your life. The first step in being prepared for your tour is to get physically fit, so you can enjoy your trip without being physically depleted.
This article is geared toward a new rider who has never cycled on a tour of any significant distance. We have compiled a few training tips to help you conquer the distance so you can feel strong and energized the entire week.
Know your bicycle
Skills to riding
Frequency
Intensity
Time or Duration
Saddle time
Group riding - Drafting
Fueling
Strength training
Flexibility
To read more about the training tips, click here.
|
Bicycling with Kids
Weaving together Passion and Pedaling
by Lauren Hefferon
When I learned I was pregnant with my first son Lorenzo, I admit there was a moment (okay, several) when I wondered what would happen to my freewheeling spirit and my bike tour leading once I had a baby in tow. As usual, I figured out a way to weave my personal and business life together with my passion to create two tours for Ciclismo Classico that would become big hits. The first: the Bambino Bike Tour was a celebration-tour that brought together our best guests for the tour of a lifetime: a tour that circumnavigated Sicily and ended up Cittadella, Calabria (my husband Mauro's home town) where together with guests, family and friends we baptized Lorenzo in a tiny chapel by the sea. The second tour, The Tuscan Fantasy is a family tour based at the Fattoria degli Usignoli that is one of our best selling tours now in its 12th year.
While I hear many people define their cycling life as pre- and post-kids with the former being full of active adventures and the latter being more sedentary, I hope to show there is a way to have both! I always tell parents (who are shocked at how we keep traveling and biking with our kids) that kids are kids whether we are at home or away. I would rather deal with them in a beautiful or fun new place! Some parents are seamlessly able to uphold their cycling quality and quantity while others (like my husband and I) have had to modify expectations which has meant less miles, but happier kids. Here are some guidelines on how to keep cycling and kids happily in your life.
- Get the right gear that is safe, comfortable and durable.
- Teach your kids basic safety rules and regulations.
- Realistic expectations while keeping it fun for all.
- Cycling with other families and kids.
- Make bicycling your lifestyle.
- HAVE FUN!
To read more about each guideline, click here.
|
Crunchy Knees Do Tell Tales...
by Lynette Chiang, Bike Across Italy alumna aka The Galfromdownunder
Sometime around my 46-and-a-halfth birthday, while descending a flight of stairs, I noticed a creaking, crunching sound coming from somewhere "down below". I checked my cleats, examined my shoes, and even inspected the steps for spilled Cheerios - because that's precisely what it sounded like.
Nope, it the sound was coming from the silently turning and meshing cogset that had transported me from the bottom of Great Britain to the top, across Cuba, the USA, and beyond - my knees.
I confess I'd never had a professional bike fit done, despite cycling being my stock in trade, in the same way I've never had a facial or pedicure or shamanic healing or colonic irrigation done. It's just one of those things you think about but never get done, right?
I dropped a line to Ed Pavelka and Fred Matheny at the roadie bible, RoadBikeRider.com. They were adamant:
Lynette, you need to see a cycling medical specialist. The best in the business is Andy Pruitt at the Boulder Centre for Sports Medicine. If you can't go to Colorado maybe he can recommend someone in your area. Generally, pain behind the knee indicates a saddle that's too high. But there can be a lot more to it than that. Good luck.
Medicine! Clinic! I hadn't been inside such an establishment for years. Was I falling apart?
To continue reading, click here
|
Wheel Women
Interviews with Women in Cycling
by Managing Director, Andrew Conway
To coincide with this special issue of the Pasta Times, we've created videos with three women about the role cycling plays in their lives. Click the images below to view the videos.
 Kathleen Fulton, a student and graphic designer, talks about the ins and outs of commuting by bike around Boston.  Teri Carilli, a mountain bike and cyclocross racer, describes the competitive cycling scene in Massachusetts.  Janie Katz-Christie, shares her experience as a car-free mother of three and discusses her grass-roots project, The Green Streets Initiative. |
A Brief History of Women & Cycling
by David V. Herlihy, longtime Ciclismo friend and author of Bicycle: The History
 A few daring women took up cycling in the spring of 1869, during the original "boneshaker" or velocipede craze. The crude state of the vehicle, however, coupled with an oppressive dress code, made the feat impractical, if not downright comical. A newspaper in New Haven, Connecticut described one such "novel spectacle" on the city's green, the same location where, three years earlier, Pierre Lallement had introduced Americans to the bicycle itself:
"A young woman in fancy attire amused the crowd with some performances on the velocipede. The only difficulty she experienced was in getting a good start and making a graceful halt. The scene was greatly enjoyed by the men and boys who witnessed it, but the propriety of the exhibition was too questionable to meet the approbation of the ladies who happened to be crossing the green. The performance would have looked better if it had come off in a circus ring."
In the 1870s and 1880s, women were effectively barred from cycling altogether, the high wheeler being intimidating and impractical. In the 1890s, however, with the introduction of the modern safety bicycle, women's cycling began in earnest. And the boom's impact on women's lifestyles and dress was truly remarkable and far-reaching.
At first, a few society women abandoned their tricycles in favor of the hard tired safety with chain and sprocket, an invitingly low profile reminiscent of the old boneshaker. The introduction of the inflatable tire shortly thereafter greatly enhanced the ride and sparked a boom in sales. Thousands of women began to take up the fashionable sport. For many, cycling offered a unique opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy nature. One English woman, writing in 1895, described the appeal of the exercise: "I feel so much more healthy and light-hearted now than I used to before I started cycling. I am now the proud possessor of a lovely bicycle. I am so pleased with it that I have a most Christian-like desire to try to induce other girls to take up the sport."
Of course, the growing popularity of cycling among women heightened the demand for lighter and less cumbersome attire, known as "rational dress." The revelation "that women have legs like any one else, and that they are made for use," declared one contemporary, "marks the beginning of a new era." Added another: "The Bicycle is doing more to bring about change in dress than anything else. The many prejudices as to what women may be allowed to wear will melt away. Reason will gain upon precedent, and ere long the comfortable, sensible, and artistic wardrobe of the rider will make the conventional style of women's dress absurd to the eye and unendurable to the understanding."
Though some social guardians criticized the new look, and warned that women's increased mobility would lead to improper liaisons with the opposite sex, most welcomed the unprecedented phenomenon of men and women participating together in an outdoor activity on equal footing. Wrote one proponent: "We saw the great advantage in good fellowship and mutual understanding between men and women who take to the road together on the wheel, sharing its hardships and rejoicing in the poetry of motion through landscapes, breathing nature's inexhaustible charm." |
Good Friends = Good Health
by Marybeth Bond
 Now that researchers link good health with good friends, we have scientific support for taking off with our girlfriends. According to recent studies and an April 20, 2009 New York Times article, female bonding activities serve as very important stress management strategies and have health benefits and this may contribute to longer lives. Girlfriends care for and soothe each other. When we travel together we share intimacy, compassion, and emotional support and this is healing to our spirits.
Marybeth Bond, author of 11 women's travel books, addresses the health benefits of traveling with girlfriends. Affordable escapes, close-to-home driving destinations, family bonding experiences and transformational personal journeys are all found in her latest National Geographic book, as well as hundreds of money-saving travel tips. "50 Best Girlfriends Getaways" covers everything from fun-filled weekends in New York, Quebec, and San Francisco to festive wine-tasting forays; from adventurous raft trips down the Colorado River to heli-hiking the Canadian Rockies; from high-spirited reunions biking through the Berkshires, Vermont or New Hampshire to soothing retreats in Mexico. Marybeth's trip choices vary widely and suite every occasion, mood, and pocketbook. The book is filled with practical tips on roommate etiquette, safety, packing, budgeting, and other specific advice. Short, true stories about women's experiences open each chapter, and quotes from all types of women travelers broaden the appeal-further inspiring readers to pack up their bags, call a girlfriend, and say "Let's go!"
Create your own story on Ciclismo Classico's Women-only Assaggio Toscana October 11 departure! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
