With Lance Armstrong and the rest of the world's best cyclists lining up in Rotterdam this Saturday for the Tour de France's grand depart, we here at T+L have biking on the brain. But with the realities of the ol' nine-to-five standing in the way of most everyman cyclist's yellow jersey dreams, it's hard to squeeze in midweek rides. Timbuk2 CEO Mike Wallenfels found a solution to that dilemma, deciding to trade in the morning commute behind the wheel for one on top of two.
We recently caught up with Mike to talk early morning rides, city cycling culture, and the pleasures of finding those perfect European cafés when business (and the bike) takes you on the road.
Did the Don Marta favela (Portugese for "slum") not make your hit list the last time you visited Rio? (Something tells us an extra hour at Ipanema and a few rounds of Caipirinhas took precedence.) Well, now you can tour the typically inaccessible neighborhood on the back of downhill mountain bike, all without leaving the safety of your very (thank god) immobile armchair.
Equipped with tricked out full suspension rigs and a helmet cam, brotherly downhill duo Dan and Gee Atherton treat us to a dizzying descent of the harrowing hood, rolling over steep staircases, wiggling through tight, meandering alleyways and even jumping off church roofs. Blink and you might miss it. James Jung is a freelance editorial assistant at Travel + Leisure.