Extreme Biking: dangerous, dirty and tons of fun

From: KALW
Length: 06:49

Cutting your gas bill, your carbon footprint, or your waistline: these are some of the reasons to bike more. And in San Francisco, biking has increased by more than 50 percent over the past three years, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. But how about bicycling to perk up your animal survival instinct? That’s the goal of one Bay Area group that organizes secret, competitive rides covering varied terrain — from highways to steep dirt trails to mountain roads with hairpin turns. This is extreme biking. Reporter Dara Kerr brought her road bike to a recent ride to see what it was all about. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Extreme Biking: dangerous, dirty and tons of fun
From: KALW

Img_3961_0_small Cutting your gas bill, your carbon footprint, or your waistline: these are some of the reasons to bike more. And in San Francisco, biking has increased by more than 50 percent over the past three years, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. But how about bicycling to perk up your animal survival instinct? That’s the goal of one Bay Area group that organizes secret, competitive rides covering varied terrain — from highways to steep dirt trails to mountain roads with hairpin turns. This is extreme biking. Reporter Dara Kerr brought her road bike to a recent ride to see what it was all about.

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Piece Description

Broadcast History

KALW 91.7FM:
March 31, 2011

Transcript

Cutting your gas bill, your carbon footprint, or your waistline: these are some of the reasons to bike more. And in San Francisco, biking has increased by more than 50 percent over the past three years, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

But how about bicycling to perk up your animal survival instinct? That’s the goal of one Bay Area group that organizes secret, competitive rides covering varied terrain — from highways to steep dirt trails to mountain roads with hairpin turns. This is extreme biking.

Reporter Dara Kerr brought her road bike to a recent ride to see what it was all about.

* * *

DARA KERR: As the bikers pull up to their meeting spot at the base of the Oakland hills, I overhear them say things like, “Well, at least it rained two days ago,” and, “Hopefully we’ll get some mud.” Apparently, the more mud, the better. It makes the ride sl...
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