Team Fezzari Bicycles

While many cities are working to decrease carbon emissions around the world, some are taking it a step further by going out of their way to make their cities safer for bike enthusiasts with innovative uses for bike lanes. Not only is it helping to reduce carbon emissions, but it’s helping people to get more exercise. (Sidenote: The writer started riding a road bike this year, and has lost almost 20 lbs).

The following list showcases bike lanes from around the world, from the simple to the creative.

Denmark Bike Lanes of Blue

Copenhagen, Denmark

Dubbed as one of the best bicycle cities in the world, Copenhagen uses differently colored bike lanes to ensure better visibility to vehicles. The city’s goal is that by 2015, 50 percent of commuting will be done by bike, thus lowering annual CO2 emission by 80,000 tons, Image source

Portland Oregon Bike Lanes of Green

Portland, Oregon

Bike lanes in Portland are painted green especially in intersections where there is conflict between turning motorists and cyclists who are going straight. The green shaded lane serves as a warning to cars and helps prevent one of the most common ways cyclists get hit by cars., via bikeportland

Trondheim Bike Lifts (Norway)

Trondheim, Norway

Just like ski lifts carry skiers, bicycle lifts in Trondheim, Norway are designed for easy uphill travel. Bike lifts have become one of the popular tourist attractions in Trondheim. See it in action here.via neofob

Protected Bike Lanes of San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco has put up protected bike lanes that physically separate motorists from cyclists. The separator is made up of 3-foot-tall posts and are designed to flip back up if a driver rolls over them. via

On-Street Bike Lanes (Davis, California)

Davis, California

Being the first city in the U.S. to create on-street bike lanes, it is no surprise to see many bike paths in and around Davis, CA. The city has the highest per capita bicycle use in the U.S.via BikeCommuteTips

Boulder Colorado Bike Lane Beauty

One of the only three cities in the U.S. achieving platinum-level for bicycle friendly cities according to the League of American Bicyclists, the other two cities were also mentioned in the list (Portland, OR and Davis, CA). What makes this bike lane unique is that attractive landscape design was used to separate the lane from the main road.via beyonddc

Sidewalk Bike Lanes in Munich Germany

Munich, Germany

Bike lanes in Munich are so unique that they are not installed on the street but on the side walk itself. It’s a much safer way to ride bikes, where there’s also a mark intended for pedestrians.via craige

Make Your Own Bike Lane with LightLane

LightLane

This one is a little different from the others on the list. A clever innovation from LightLane, this gadget aims to give motorists a clear view of your path even when bike lanes are not available. Though not yet out in the market, the LightLane is an outstanding concept for cyclists’ safety and shines a lighted bike line behind the rider. Image source

Hey, Kade Salisbury here. So the Utah Downhill Race Series as come to an end with the last race at Brian Head Resort in Southern Utah a week ago. And I must say it most definitely didn’t disappoint. The course was absolutley a pure adrenalin rush and being set at 11.000 ft overlooking Cedar Breaks adds a spectacular view, not to mention it’s quite literally breath taking. Haha. It’s crazy what an effect it has on one’s body. Fortunately, the body was prepared for the challenge. Which looking at the weeks prior I’m suprised I’m still in one piece. Fortunately I survived at Nationals in Sol Vista, Colorado. The week after racing at Nationals I was off to Canada for my3rd annual Whistler trip. I only went over the bars once up there, But managed to survive. The week after B.C. I was off to race up in Pomerelle, Id. where I sorta hit a tree up there, ok I pretty much nailed a tree booking it with my shoulder on the first day of practice. I’d say the tree won, but I feel I fought a good fight. Haha. But I ended up winning 2nd place the next day.So I was stoked on that. A week after Idaho I was off to my parents cabin down in central/southern Utah at Fishlake. That is where I tried my hand at sailing. Yeah Yeah. It’s been a dream of my sister to pick up sailing and this year she did just that. So I went sailing with her, and talk about a rush. We about went over board a time or two, but it was a blast and I didn’t die. The week after risking my life at sailing I was off to risk my life in the final Utah Downhill Series Race at Brian Head resort. Now usually these DH races are on Sunday, but this was actually on Saturday thus shortening practice time, so I had to make due. I made my trip on Friday and was able to get some good practice in. All went well… As for race day it was a bit different. I ended up meeting up with fellow Fezzari rider Robbie Bamgartner and we took a couple practice runs together before our final race runs, I believe it was 2nd or 3rd run down this course when I was following Robbie and all I saw was him bookin it as always. But he got caught up in some rocks and totally got ejected. So he ended up going down in a nice jagged rocky part of the trail, and somehow one of the rocks entered in his helmet and managed to do some damage. He had a tore up lip with blood on his neck anda nice wound to his elbow which didn’t look fun at all. I believe it took 20 to 30 stitches to fix him up, so he didn’t get to race the downhill. An hour or two later it was time… So this is where it went down. Off the line I was feeling good, I managed to put down a solid first run until I got to the last corner to the finish. This was a corner I’ve yet to practice due to the fact that there is a car to jump over if you go straight instead of taking this corner. So I ended up taking a bit to much speed into it and I just remember breaking loose probably 7-8 feet before the finish line. Luckily I made it across but kinda in the wrong direction. I had pulled off a sweet 180 skid though for a out of the ordinary finish. Now I believe that is what costed me. So I had a time of 3.31.69 and i was sitting in 2nd place. I was just hoping now that I could improve my 2nd run time and that no one would improve on my time. Little did I know that someone would end up getting the exact same time on their 2ndrun as me. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? So I ended up tied for second place. This wasn’t how I envisioned it. It turns out that we got our overall points for the race andI was a mere 1 point from taking Silver in the state. Thus if I was only one one hundredth of a second faster it would have put me second, Landon 3rd, and Kade Salisbury (aka myself) In 2nd place behind the National Champion Spencer Mehr. But I’m happy to say the body survived, and my bike the Widows Peak did awesome, as for my brain, it is hangin in there. But I’m looking forward to a few more races this season and doing some late summer/Fall biking. Peace out.

My amazing parents decided they wanted to sponsor me for this race. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!
My husband and I got to Avon, (next to Vail) Colorado on Friday evening just in time for packet pick-up. I check out both transitions since there were two, we set up our pop-up trailer and cooked dinner on our little gas stove. I woke in the morning so excited to be racing again and the fact that it was an Xterra added that much more excitement. I went out and rode my bike on a paved trail and my doggy accompanied me. That was fun until he got a little freaked out for me (he thinks he’s my guardian) and started barking and stopping right in front of me trying to force me to stop. I took him back to Bobby and went out again. I ran the same trail and felt pretty good although my butt muscles have been tighter than tight ever since I started riding a triathlon bike. I guess I’m still just not used to it (a solid winter of training on it should do the trick!) I think I was a little nervous for my race because I couldn’t force the food down. I decided to just go and set up for my transitions rather than waste time forcing myself to eat and running the risk of throwing up
The Swim
Wow I don’t know if it was because it was a regional championship that qualified racers for Xterra Worlds and USA triathlon Cross Worlds or what but people were more aggressive than I have ever seen. People were throwing elbows around the buoys and just being flat out aggressive and mean. Yikes! I tried to avoid a black eye and focus on spotting the buoys. I got out and jumped on my bike. Since the course starts at 8,000 feet I could feel it in my lungs and legs. The course starts on a paved road that takes you to the dirt and from then on it is straight up. Literally. You keep climbing and climbing and climbing…you get the idea. The bike course for those of you who care has an elevation gain of 3,600 feet in 15.5 miles! Craziness. I was passing herds of people at a time. I asked one guy if I could pass at some point and he just laughed and said “we all want to pass but there’s no way you’re going to pass this line of people” I pulled right over and rode right beside the trail in the tall weeds and passed 15 people right there. That’s how you pass a line of people I guess. After that a super fast chick passed me. What is this? I don’t get passed by girls on a mountain bike! I decided I better stick with her because the rate that she was riding I knew we were going to be in the overall win for amateurs. I stuck with her the entire climb. Almost 12 miles of climbing on a mountain bike did I stay with her. Ahhhh for the downhill…that is until I flatted! Very disappointed I pulled over and used my “Big Air” Co2 cartridge (I was really, really grateful we spent an hour before leaving town driving to every bike shop in Utah Valley to find one! Anyway, this had ignited a flame in me and I rode the next couple of steep climbs as hard as I could passing back some of the girls that had passed me. I rode the descents taking risks trying to find that fast chick that I rode with the whole course. No such luck. I came in to T2 3rd amateur female and was a minute behind 1st and 2nd. I ran hard but knew that I didn’t have much more than what I was doing. The run has an elevation gain of 1,300 feet…pretty epic for 5.75 miles. I stayed in this position and finished in 3rd Overall. I was happy with my results.
And for my other exciting news…I applied for my Off-Road Triathlon pro license and was accepted. So now I get to do Nationals and Worlds without having to travel to 4 races to qualify! Yay! I’m so excited! I know that my bike times will be so much faster just based on the fact that I get to be in the first wave that starts. It’s a huge disadvantage when a super fast biker like myself has to start behind 400 people and try to pass them on single track trails. I’m ready mentally and physically to finally race pro. I can’t wait for Nats!