Saddest day of the year for some of us at Terry. What looked like a ho-hum Tour de France turned into a fabulous spectacle of controversy, breakaways, new faces, new routes, French joie and of course, the landscape, human and otherwise. Today marks the end of our ProDEALS of the Tour, so we’ve opened the floodgates. Vive le Tour!
For 100 years, Maison Tamboite has been devoted to making exclusive French bicycles, ridden and coveted by the likes of Marlene Dietrich and Edith Piaf. Though the brand took a pause in the 80’s during the bicycle tsunami from Asia, it is back thanks to the descendants of the original founder of the brand.
“Building bicycles the way sculptures are made, symbols of freedom.”
Extremely private, the Maison takes a discrete, couterier approach to custom bike building. Each bicycle is tailor-made for each client, but with great respect for the aesthetic heritage of the brand. Like a custom tailor, the process begins with no fewer than 15 body measurements, and takes place in their workshop (they will arrange for a personal meeting anywhere in the world, but the chance to visit their workroom in Paris is certainly the best route).
The bikes are filed and finished by hand in either chrome or enamel. Artistic details are applied to saddles, cable housings and frame in unexpected ways.
There are several classically styled models available, including the elegant, step-through Parisian Porteur. Bikes can be designed to include electric assist.
For more information, click here.
photos courtesy of Maison Tamboite
WARNING: may make you quit your job.
Created in celebration of Blackburn’s 40th anniversary, Comes With Baggage is 18 minutes of asking yourself “why am I not riding across the country right now?” Meant to capture the history of bicycle travel, it transcends to tempt you to ditch everything and get on the road. It’s a wonderful film that may show up at a film festival near you, but you can also watch it here >
photo courtesy of Adventure Cycling Association
Just a few days left to score a deal on our ProDeals of the Tour. Our QOM collection Deals end tonight at midnight. Get yourself something Bella or Polka…
Well, now that it’s hot and rainy (versus the cold and rainy of this New England spring), I’ve put the new Gore Bike Wear ShakeDry Jacket to the test, both on the bike and walking the dog in torrential rain. First, I admit I am a GORE-TEX® fan; I’m known for emphatic pronouncements in the office about how “this Gore shit really works!” Well this ShakeDry goes to a whole new level, particularly when it comes to breathability. The minimalist interior face, just the thin naked, shiny membrane, invokes visions of condensation or trapped slime like perspiration, but in fact, this is the most breathable jacket of any variety I’ve ever worn – you can actually feel the evaporation and its cooling effect as you pedal up a sweat. And how awesome that you can shake it dry before climbing into the car with leather seats!
It seems fragile because it is so light weight, but I’ve now rolled it into jersey pockets multiple times, even crumpled it tight with dog treats into the side pocket of my Metro Shorts and it does not crease the way faced GORE-TEX fabrics do. Even the fit of the ShakeDry is improved; just the right sleeve length and taper, with awesome half elastic cuffs to keep the forearm flap to a minimum downhill. Great length variation front to rear for the bike and a whole new shapely silhouette from the euro fit fanatics that actually fits a woman, true to size.
35 miles, 2 ferry rides across Lake Champlain, a peloton of eight wonderful women and a five course, wine-paired dinner at the historic Basin Harbor Club are but a few highlights from Sojourn’s 2017 Vermont Women’s Weekend Tour. As a customer service rep at Terry I share my passion for cycling daily on the phone, but rarely have the opportunity to share the joy of actually riding with our customers. Sojourn Bicycling and Adventure vacations provided me with that chance with an invitation to join the Saturday leg of the Vermont Women’s Weekend Tour.
8:00 am, June 17, the guests, trip leader, Barb Lougee and I boarded Basin Harbor Club’s private yacht, “The Escape,” on a venture across Lake Champlain to New York. Captain Bob gave us a history lesson of the Lake while his two buddies/first mates provided the entertainment.
We landed in Westport, NY, went over the route, and set off on the day’s ride through some of the most rural sections of New York’s Adirondack Park. We peddled the rolling country roads past scenic farmlands high above Lake Champlain with panoramic views to east of the majestic Green Mountains. We cruised down the shore roads of Lake Champlain towards historic Essex, NY.
By 15 miles of North East “rolling hills” we earned our picnic lunch at Beggs Point Park. The Park is situated on a little peninsula overlooking Lake Champlain. Essex is a beautiful and picturesque town full of well-preserved, 19th century brick and stone homes and quaint little churches and shops. While the Sojourn girls, Karyn, and Karen, prepared lunch, we pursued the shops, and grabbed iced coffee. By lunch I was already feeling spoiled by the weather, ride, and scenery; the picnic was beyond the crown jewel. Karyn and Karen presented us with a spread fit for a Queen: homemade salads, bread, VT Cheeses, fruit and vegetables, fresh squeezed lemonade, Pellegrino, and of course chocolate!.
At 1:30 pm we boarded the ferry back to Charlotte, VT for the 20 mile return to Basin Harbor Club.
We approached the final stretch of Basin Harbor road, and I began to reflect on the day’s journey. The landscapes were gorgeous, the ride had the right amount of challenge, the lunch was delicious, and I still had a wine-paired dinner to look forward to. Sojourn facilitated an amazing day but it was the 7 guests, and 3 leaders that have left the biggest impression on me. This group of women began as strangers, from all different walks of life, spanning ages, careers, locations, and experiences, but shared a love for cycling. I never expected the camaraderie I would feel towards these women, nor the amount we had in common; more than some of my closest friends.
The tour was complete at mile 35 in front of the lodge at Basin Harbor Club. I unclipped, hopped off the saddle, took a deep breath and had an epiphany. Like the route of the day’s ride; my relationship with the bicycle has come full circle. After a horrific cycling accident in the fall of 2015 which kept me out of work for almost a year, I struggled to hop back on the saddle. Ironically, once recovered, I took a job with Terry and had to discuss cycling daily, which reinvigorated my desire to start riding again. The Tour was the first time my accident did not replay through my mind while riding, and 11 women who knew nothing about me other than being the gate keeper of the “Soleil shirt”, guided me to complete my longest ride post-accident. Most importantly they reminded me why I ride.
Thank you, Maggie, Nancy, Ruth, Pat, Julie, Ann Marie, Paula, Sojourn (especially, Barb, Karyn, and Karen), for inviting me and accepting me into your special weekend and being strong, compassionate, beautiful women.
“The bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world,” Susan B. Anthony.
Ashley Lipton
Introducing the Alpen Bike Capsule.
Do you need a proper home for your bike? This company is banking on it with a totally new concept for safe and elegant bicycle storage. Patent-pending, it’s not ready yet, but you can get on a waiting list now. Like a giant clamshell, it protects the perfect pearl that lies within and makes a most definite statement whether bolted down to your fabulous penthouse deck or attached to the Airstream…
photos courtesy of Alpen
This year’s tour route includes many of the iconic climbs that we all know, love and aspire to, along with a couple of beastly outliers that will be crazy to watch.
In particular, today’s Mont du Chat is severely challenging: an average grade of 10.5% for 8.7km.
We wanted to pay homage to the famous climbs and avenues du Tour with this year’s tour collection. Rue du Tour is the result. As with all our limited edition products, when they’re gone, they’re gone, so don’t get dropped!
Polka dot kits, accessories and utter nonsense permeate the cycling-centric month of July. We found some real delights this year…
Circa Ceramica – handmade in Chicago
Kask KOM helmet
Twinsix Socks
Oom fit and flare Olivia Dress
And of course, an $11,000 awaiting bench throne
My neighbor, Flo, feels like she has a whole new lease on life thanks to an ingenious addition to her bicycle: the MIT-designed Copenhagen Wheel. Flo is not a hardcore cyclist, but is a smart cookie who works for NASA and has a ‘sky’s the limit’ approach to just about everything. She read about MIT’s Copenhagen Wheel and got herself on the waiting list for one of the first ones to become available. Flo’s been flying up the hills in the neighborhood ever since, truly addicted to this shiny red device that required little more than a rear wheel change and about $900. She let me take Florence for a spin up the local hills in turbo mode and I now feel ready to join the Tour peloton. MIT truly has reinvented the wheel with this beauty.
Motor doping for we non professional riders.
Rather than requiring you to purchase a complete electric bike, the Copenhagen Wheel was designed to turn the bike you already own into an electric bike with regeneration and real-time environment sensing capability. It’s a self-contained rear wheel hub that houses a motor, 3-speed internal hub gear, batteries and sensors. No external wires, removable batteries or complicated set up – you use your smartphone to unlock your bike and simply change modes/gears. This video explains it all:
Gives you back your 30 year old climbing legs.
According to Superpedestrian, the company that owns and distributes the Copenhagen Wheel, you get 10X your normal pedaling power.
By enhancing your most minute movements to make your pedaling more powerful, the new Copenhagen Wheel helps you go farther faster, so you can bike almost anywhere.
Yes, it adds significant weight to your bike, but the trade off is significant power assistance. You have 5 riding modes that give you a broad range of experience: standard, turbo, eco, exercise and off. Range is up to 30 miles; top powered speed is 20 mph.