Jim's Travels

photo courtesy of Jim Sayer

Executive Director Jim Sayer visited the Reno, Nevada area on May 18-19 and met with a bunch of Adventure Cycling members. He talked about Adventure Cycling’s bike travel programs and tours at the monthly meeting of the Procrastinating Pedalers.

Also, Jim stayed overnight with Adventure Cycling life member Jerry Zebrack and his wife Jan at their ranch north of Reno. They are an amazing couple who have traveled by bicycle all over the world. They said their “current favorite” country is Uruguay, where they plan to return in the coming year. They’ll also be riding in China and cruising south from Seattle to Reno. They recently finished a fantastic journey on the backroads of Mexico.

To round out his trip, Jim gave two presentations at the Nevada Department of Transportation’s annual conference on cycling and walking on the federal transportation bill, , and the U.S. Bicycle Route System – and had the good fortune to meet two other lead speakers, Joe Kurmaskie, a.k.a the “Metal Cowboy” and Jeff Mapes, a reporter for the Oregonian who has written an awesome book, Pedaling Revolution, on the urban bike renaissance in America. In between presentations, Jim, Joe and Jeff snuck in a quick ride around and above gorgeous Lake Tahoe.


The Membership Highlights feature, written by Amy Corbin, Membership and Marketing Coordinator, will appear weekly and spotlight the various benefits of membership, what we have accomplished thanks to member support and even interviews with some of our most passionate and dedicated members, both individual and organizational. Check back each Friday for a new post!

GPS Waypoints

Back in early 2003 we released our first three sets of waypoint data to be used with a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit. The TransAmerica Trail, Lewis & Clark Bicycle Trail and Great Divide Mountain Bike Route were the first routes to make an appearance.

Today, waypoints are available for the entire Adventure Cycling Route Network. It all came together thanks in large part, to the efforts of volunteer Fred Hiltz. Not only did he lay the framework for the creation process and naming conventions as well as write two manuals (a User Guide and an Administrator Manual), he also created Version 1 of the route network data. In 2008, he won our Volunteer of the Year Award. He continues his support of the waypoint program with frequent contributions in the GPS Discussion on our Forums.

Downloading the waypoints is easy. Navigate to the Routes & Maps page for the route you are interested in, for instance the Pacific Coast Route, and click on 'gps' (see inset at right for location). To learn more about the data format, see our GPS Information page.

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GeoPoints Bulletin is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures and persons from Adventure Cycling's route network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure.

Thanks Sacremento! Plus Upcoming Regional Gatherings

in this photo: Jim Sayer (right) with Jim and Cathy Haagen-Schmit
photo courtesy of Jim Sayer

Executive director Jim Sayer traveled to Sacramento, California where he enjoyed meeting Adventure Cycling supporters at a regional gathering at Mike’s Bikes in mid-town on May 17th. He also had the chance to meet members Jim and Cathy Haagen-Schmit in the Sierra foothills (near their home in Newcastle). Though “retired” from their jobs in the tech and law fields, Jim and Cathy look like they’re still in their 30s (could it be the cycling?) and are actively involved in land conservation and cycling promotion. Jim is a board member for the California Bicycle Coalition and a regional rep for IMBA. Together, the two Jims and Cathy talked about legislation in Sacramento to designate official state cycling routes, and bike travel on off-road trails.

Member gatherings in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virgina
Adventure Cycling’s executive director Jim Sayer will be at regional gatherings on Saturday, May 30 in Charlottesville from 5:45 to 7:15 or so and on Monday, June 1 from 7:00 to 8:30 with the Richmond Area Bicycling Association. Come meet fellow bike travel enthusiasts and learn more about all that Adventure Cycling is up to. More info is at http://www.adventurecycling.org/partiesandgatherings/.


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News, Networking, and New Media is written by Winona Sorensen, Adventure Cycling's media director, and appears weekly, highlighting cool media (articles, videos, photos, etc.) related to Adventure Cycling and bicycle travel.

Mountain Bikes in the Wilderness, yay or nay?

When fat-tire bikes were growing in popularity in the early 1980s, mountain bikers by and large had little problem with the fact that their favorite activity was taboo in established federally designated Wilderness Areas. After all, cyclists in general have a strong environmental ethic, and a lot of mountain bikers were (and are) also hikers and backpackers. But that same attitude does not always prevail today, especially when we’re talking about the creation of new Wilderness Areas. Mountain biking has been around for 30 years now, and in many instances proposed new Wilderness additions hold trails that have become “traditional” routes for a lot of riders.

On March 30, President Obama signed into law the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. The law designates, among other things, 52 new Wilderness Areas and adds acreage to 26 existing ones, for a total addition to the wilderness system of more than two million acres. The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) says the legislation is “largely positive for the mountain biking community. IMBA and local riders were directly involved in negotiations concerning individual bills that directly affect mountain biking. In most cases, mountain bikers’ proactive approach preserved traditional singletrack experiences. However, important singletrack was lost in two states [West Virginia and California].”

And the story isn’t over yet. For instance, IMBA says mountain bikers in Montana stand to lose 1,000 miles of the best trails in the state if certain roadless areas are designated as official Wilderness Areas. “Wild Bill” Schneider, the outdoors columnist for the Montana-based NewWest.net, has some interesting things to say on the subject. He throws out the idea of wilderness and hiking groups banding together with mountain biking interests to endorse a new “Wilderness Lite” option—areas that would be closed to motorized travel but open to mountain bikes, in addition to hikers and horses and other stock.

What’s your take on this controversial topic?

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Biking Without Borders is written by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling’s field editor. It appears weekly, highlighting a little bit of this or a little bit of that--just about anything, as long as it’s related to traveling by bicycle.

Working Hard to Use Your Money Wisely

Adventure Cycling relies on the support of our members and donors to help us really make an impact with the programs and resources we provide. We are committed to our mission of inspiring bicycle travel, but we are also equally committed to being fiscally responsible and making your membership and donation dollars go farther. A recent article in the Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) highlighted our practices and independent ratings in these areas. We just wanted to give you a chance to read the article for yourself and to be assured that we are committed to giving our members and the industry the most for the money that they invest in Adventure Cycling's mission. Thanks for your support for bicycle travel and Adventure Cycling!




The Membership Highlights feature, written by Amy Corbin, Membership and Marketing Coordinator, will appear weekly and spotlight the various benefits of membership, what we have accomplished thanks to member support and even interviews with some of our most passionate and dedicated members, both individual and organizational. Check back each Friday for a new post!

Random Facts and Figures

Adventure Cycling has bicycle travel route maps that traverse 44 states and the District of Columbia. (Can you name the six that we don't?)

The map section with the most miles is Northern Tier, Section #3. (A whopping 591.5 miles!)

Our home state of Montana holds the most miles in the network, 3,436 miles (from five routes -- Great Divide, Great Parks North, Lewis & Clark, Northern Tier, and TransAmerica).

While a near neighbor of ours, Nebraska, has the fewest -- 72 miles -- all on the Lewis & Clark route.

For the folks worrying about weight, our maps weigh in at a measly 1.6 oz. Well, except for the Great Divide maps, they are a not-quite-hefty 2.7 oz.

And if you wonder what you should do with your maps after you return home, our maps are printed on PolyArt paper and are recyclable (category 2 HDPE) so you may dispose of them without environmental guilt. (Of course, who gets rid of their maps after a tour? They are almost as good as pictures for reliving the miles pedaled!)

(Answer to missing states: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Oklahoma and Rhode Island. If you want to see more bike route miles in these states, consider this your invitation to join our U.S. Bicycle Route forum discussion and add your suggestions and volunteer to get involved at the state level. Also be sure to get the scoop on what's stirring at the USBRS home page.)

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GeoPoints Bulletin is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures and persons from Adventure Cycling's route network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure.

The Spirit of Bicycle Travel

If you're a true believer in the the power of bicycle travel to transform your experience of the entire world, get ready to be really inspired. Willie Weir's new book,Travels with Willie, is now available. The book is a compilation of articles written for Adventure Cyclist magazine over the last 10 years, chronicling some of the most vibrant details from Willie's 60,000 miles of cycling adventures.

You can get a taste of Willie's inspiring storytelling right now by checking out his recent interview with KUOW 94.9 (Puget Sound Public Radio), in which he shares stories about the humor, kindness, and compassion that he's experienced on the road, all over the planet. It's a great listen. When you reach the page, just click on your listening mode of choice under "Listen to Weekday."

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News, Networking, and New Media is written by Winona Sorensen, Adventure Cycling's media director, and appears weekly, highlighting cool media (articles, videos, photos, etc.) related to Adventure Cycling and bicycle travel.

Down Under in AusTRAILia

Back in October of 2002 (it was spring south of the equator) I had the pleasure of joining approximately 300 other bicyclists on “2002 Bicycles: An Outback Odyssey.” The ride followed South Australia’s Mawson Trail, a Great Divide-like mountain biking route that traces two-tracks, dirt roads, and occasional singletrack trails and stretches of pavement. It begins in the state capital of Adelaide and winds north for about 500 miles to the outback town of Blinman, near the spectacular—or, as the Aussies would say, “specky”—Flinders Ranges National Park.

Out in the state of Western Australia it’s the Munda Biddi Trail that attracts solitude-seeking bikepackers. Approximately the same length as the Mawson, the Munda Biddi (translation: “path through the forest” in the Nyoongar aboriginal language) stretches from Mundaring in the north to Nannup in the south. According to the Munda Biddi Trail Foundation, “different sections of the trail will be suitable for cyclists of all levels … And because the trail is completely off-road, you can enjoy the scenery while you safely cycle through the forest on the dirt track.”

Then there are these guys, David Turner and Tim Garrett, out of Manly, New South Wales, who took things into their own hands last March and April. The intrepid pair blazed a trail across the barren, arid outback from Port Augusta, South Australia, to Karumba, Queensland, located on the Gulf of Carpentaria in the northern part of the country. More than 500 kilometers of their ride was on the Birdsville Track, a late-1800s stock route connecting the remote outposts of Birdsville and Marree.

And there are a lot more trails to ride in this wide-open country that’s roughly the size of the continental U.S., but claims only 21 million residents.

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Biking Without Borders is written by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling’s field editor. It appears weekly, highlighting a little bit of this or a little bit of that--just about anything, as long as it’s related to traveling by bicycle.

Making Your Community Bike Travel Friendly

As the touring season is getting into full swing, we often get inquiries from individuals, communities and organizations about how to be more welcoming to touring cyclists. This year, with the current economic situation, many communities, large and small are trying to find innovative ways to capitalize on tourism dollars. By the same token, individuals and families are looking for inexpensive and fun ways to vacation, which could lead them to bike travel. Here are a few things that your community can do to become more "bike travel friendly" and encourage traveling cyclists to enjoy all that you have to offer.

Create Safe and Interesting Routes: To attract even more cyclists, a town or region can consider the creation of safe routes in their area, as well as routes of interest. These routes should move through communities, and connect different communities since traveling cyclists tend to bike longer distances. Safer routes are off-road or have a wellshouldered, decent road surface, with good signage. Interesting routes can showcase the regions history, agriculture, natural beauty, and culture.

Hygiene: If possible, maintain public restrooms, or post where they are available for cyclists. Showers are always a big hit for bicyclists, and your local pool, community center, YWCA, or church may have some facilities that they are able to share with bicyclists. Also, bicyclists are usually traveling pretty light, so doing laundry becomes a very important task. If you do not have a laundry mat, some communities have made washers and dryers available through their local YMCA, church, community center, or store.

Bike Tools: Cyclists are often in need of some basic bike tools and supplies. These include things like tubes, spokes, oil, patch kits, etc. If you do not have a local bike shop, some communities stock a basic array of bicycle supplies in their hardware store. Make sure to let folks know about these products with a small sign in the window saying "basic bike parts available". Having bike pumps available at local gas stations or hardware stores for bicyclists to borrow is also a great service.

Accommodations: Encourage residents to join the Warm Showers List. The Warm Showers List is a directory of people across the world that offer their hospitality towards touring cyclists. The extent of the hospitality depends on the host and may range from simply a spot to pitch a tent to meals, a warm (hot!) shower, and a bed.

Community Resources: Tell the traveling cyclists about the resources your town provides. You can do this on your partner’s websites and through materials distributed at key venues. At Adventure Cycling Association, we provide a pamphlet to cyclists that have a map of town and basic resources. Check out our example.

This list is a good starting point. For more suggestions, download our full PDF resource list.

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The Membership Highlights feature, written by Amy Corbin, Membership and Marketing Coordinator, will appear weekly and spotlight the various benefits of membership, what we have accomplished thanks to member support and even interviews with some of our most passionate and dedicated members, both individual and organizational. Check back each Friday for a new post!

Cyclists Only Lodging

In addition to traditional campground facilities, Adventure Cycling route maps also list what we call Cyclists Only Lodging. These are places along the way only available to the traveling cyclist and are generally only known because of our map listings or word of mouth. The options run the gamut from church sanctuaries to ranches to cycling specific camping areas. All aim to help the traveling cyclist and have their unique take on how best to accomplish their goal.

As routes gain in popularity, small towns often notice the increased frequency of traveling cyclists and want to know how to help them. We've put together a handy pdf on how to become a touring friendly town. Check out the two examples below:

For over 30 years now, the Monroeville Community Center in Monroeville, Indiana has been welcoming traveling cyclists with a myriad of services from a place to sleep and shower as well as catch up on their laundry. Monroeville is the endpoint of three map sections, Northern Tier, Sections #8 & #9 and North Lakes, Section #3 map so they see a lot of Adventure Cyclists.

Recently, Twin Bridges, Montana has taken up the call. Their brand new, not quite finished, Cycle Campground is the newest example we know of. They are in the final stages of completion and intend to be open and ready to welcome traveling cyclists beginning Memorial Day weekend. Twin Bridges is the intersection point between Lewis & Clark, Section #5, and TransAmerica, Section #4, making it another popular crossroad on the Adventure Cycling Route Network.

These are only a couple of the gems known as Cyclists Only Lodging found along our 38,158 mile network. There are probably even more that go undocumented and unsung. Let us know what you've found on the road. Where have you encountered the best of the best in Cyclists Only Lodging?

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GeoPoints Bulletin is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures and persons from Adventure Cycling's route network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure.

Jim Sayer in Philly

in this photo: from left, Jim Sayer, Adventure Cycling's executive director,
Patrick Starr, Senior VP for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council,
and Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia
photo courtesy of Jim Sayer

Adventure Cycling’s Jim Sayer was in Philadelphia last Friday, May 8, to give a speech on the state of regional and national cycle networks – including the U.S. Bicycle Route System – around the globe. His speech was at a statewide conference hosted by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council to promote completion of the Philadelphia segment of the East Coast Greenway, a planned multi-user 2,500 mile hard surface trail from Maine to Florida.

Jim also got some riding in. He joined Mayor Michael Nutter on a bike ride to highlight newly built and proposed bike trails in Philadelphia. And he participated in the Quad County Metric Century last Saturday with nearly 800 other cyclists on an awesomely light and nimble road bike that was loaned to him by Fuji CEO Pat Cunnane. (Jim didn’t look closely but thinks it was a Fuji Carbon Superlight SL-1.)

It was a great day in the Pennsylvania countryside – and Jim got to meet a dozen or so Adventure Cycling members, including Life Member Bill Bell and TransAm tour participant Sheri Hanna.

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News, Networking, and New Media is written by Winona Sorensen, Adventure Cycling's media director, and appears weekly, highlighting cool media (articles, videos, photos, etc.) related to Adventure Cycling and bicycle travel.

Rails-with-Trails

Pretty much everyone in North America is familiar with rail-trails, which follow abandoned railroad grades and are used by cyclists, hikers, in-line skaters, and other recreationists. Sometimes hard surfaced and other times claiming surfaces of crushed limestone or even dirt, rail-trails run where the tracks used to run, before they and the ties were pulled out.

More and more these days we’re hearing about rails-with-trails, which refer to recreational trails running alongside, but a safe distance from, active rail lines. A petition that’s being promoted by trail interests in Virginia could mark the beginning of a movement that results in hundreds of such trails webbing the nation. According to the website of the Virginia Bicycling Federation, that organization, along with more than two dozen local, state, and national groups (including Adventure Cycling Association), have “endorsed a resolution asking Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine to support rails-with-trails along all major rail projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy says that more than 200 rails-with-trails projects have already been completed in the U.S., totaling some 2,000 miles. According to the Conservancy, “with the increasing popularity of rail-trails across the country, communities are looking for other innovative ways of securing land for safe, popular, and effective trail development. An emerging answer is the rail-with-trail. Rails-with-trails are trails adjacent to or within an active railroad corridor. The rails-with-trails concept provides even more opportunities for the creation of trail systems that enhance local transportation systems, offering safe, attractive community connections.”

Cool. Is anything along these (railroad) lines happening in your neck of the woods?


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Biking Without Borders is written by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling’s field editor. It appears weekly, highlighting a little bit of this or a little bit of that--just about anything, as long as it’s related to traveling by bicycle.

Pick (or Pen) the Best Tagline for Adventure Cycling

We’re working on creating a tagline for Adventure Cycling Association. We list the top contenders below (after a short list of tagline guidelines). Leave a comment with your five favorites from these contenders and add 2 or 3 of your own if you’d like!

There are the nine parameters for a great tagline that we have been working from.
• 8 words/less
• Organizational impact and value
• Accessible/memorable
• Specific to Adventure Cycling (general taglines about cycling not as helpful)
• Emotional connection
• Spirit and promise of organization
• Complement and/or clarify organizational name
• Authentic
• Tone that is true to Adventure Cycling

OUR TOP TAGLINE CONTENDERS – Keep in mind that the tagline we choose will usually appear with our name, for example, “Adventure Cycling Association: American’s Bicycle Travel Experts”. It will also need to have long term appeal and use. We don’t want to be looking for a new one next year.

• A world of opportunities
• America’s bicycle travel experts
• Bicycle travel takes you farther
• Coast to coast, we bike the most
• Discover America. Discover yourself.
• Dream. Explore. Bicycle.
• Enriching lives, connecting communities through bicycle travel
• Experience the wheel life
• Inspiring people to travel by bike
• Making your bike travel dreams come true.
• Transforming lives. Connecting communities.
• Travel better by bicycle
• There is a world inside your bike
• Wheel get you there
• Better Bicycle Travel

So, leave your comments below. Pick your top 5 from the list above and feel free to give us a couple of new ideas of your own. We want to hear your opinion and your creative ideas! Thanks in advance.

The Membership Highlights feature, written by Amy Corbin, Membership and Marketing Coordinator, will appear weekly and spotlight the various benefits of membership, what we have accomplished thanks to member support and even interviews with some of our most passionate and dedicated members, both individual and organizational. Check back each Friday for a new post!

A Little Bit Loopy

Something our members have asked for time and again is the creation of loop routes, preferably something they can do from a metro area or airport. Thus far our efforts include the Green Mountains Loop, Adirondack Park Loop, Tidewater Potomac Heritage Route, Allegheny Mountains Loop, Utah Cliffs Loop, and the newest addition -- the Washington Parks Route -- which in it's entirety is a figure-eight or may be broken into two separate loops.

If those don't appeal to you, there are a myriad of other possibilities available by mixing and matching pieces of the larger Adventure Cycling Route Network. Examples that jump to my mind are:

- A super southwestern loop out of either San Francisco or San Diego, CA could use pieces of the Western Express, Pacific Coast, Southern Tier, and Grand Canyon Connector routes.

- Beginning in Richmond, VA or Wilmington, NC, you could ride the Atlantic Coast main route one direction and the Outer Banks (North Carolina) alternate back the other way.

- A great fall or winter route could be devised using a ferry, the Florida Connector and Atlantic Coast routes, based out of either Fort Lauderdale or Fort Myers.

- There are multiple options that could be configured using the Northern Tier, North Lakes, and Lake Erie Connector routes, also with some ferry rides if so desired.

- And once the Sierra Cascades Route is fully published, even more western loops will appear in conjunction with the Pacific Coast, Western Express, TransAmerica, and Lewis & Clark routes.

So, what are you looking for in a loop route?

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GeoPoints Bulletin is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures and persons from Adventure Cycling's route network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure.

National Geo Adventure Names GDMBR #1

photo by Aaron Teasdale

In the April/May issue, National Geographic Adventure named biking the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) as the #1 adventure in America! Even if their headline mistakenly calls it the “Continental Divide Trail” (which is a completely different trail), this is great exposure for the longest off-pavement cycling route in the world, which runs over 2,400 miles from Canada to Mexico, chocking up over 200,000 feet in elevation gain along the way.

If you’re looking to tackle this challenging but definitely do-able route on your own this summer, you’re in luck. We’ve just updated and re-published the Great Divide Route maps. You don’t have to bike the entire thing of course and the route is broken into 350-mile map sections (approximately). If you’d like to explore the GDMBR without hauling your stuff up and down the mountains, you may want to check out these two supported tours: Cycle the Divide, Montana and Wheelin’ the Winds (Wyoming).

BTW - Some people even race on the route from Canada to Mexico – self-contained! A grueling prospect chronicled last year in Outside magazine’s “The World’s Toughest Bike Race is Not in France.”

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News, Networking, and New Media is written by Winona Sorensen, Adventure Cycling's media director, and appears weekly, highlighting cool media (articles, videos, photos, etc.) related to Adventure Cycling and bicycle travel.

In it for the Long Haul … or the Record Books

Seven years ago in our Bike Bits e-newsletter we reported the following: “On March 30, 2002, Tim and Cindie Travis left their home in Prescott, Arizona, with one goal in mind: not to have a goal ... if you can call planning to bicycle around the world for seven years not having a goal.” Well, it seems that Tim and Cindie are still on the road, with no plans to get off it any time soon.

When it comes to longevity, however, it will be tough for Tim and Cindie—or anyone else, for that matter—to better the peripatetic German Heinz Stucke, who, believe it or not, has been on tour since 1962. The travel highlights he has experienced during that time include meeting Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and becoming an honorary citizen of Jackson, Alabama.

So, there must be easier ways to spin one’s way into the Guinness Book of World Records than trying to outlast Heinz. Well, there’s New Zealander Rob Thomson, who circled the globe via recumbent bicycle and skateboard on a journey that lasted two and a half years and ended late in 2008. Not exactly a piece of cake, but at least it didn’t take him the better part of four decades to get a Guinness record (Heinz got his in the late ’90s).

Maybe Gracie Sorbello will make it into the record books, too, if she’s successful in her attempt this summer to become the first person to ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route on a unicycle. Gracie already pedaled coast-to-coast on a unicycle, which she did in 2006 (and barefoot to boot).

As for me, I think I’ll stick to two wheels and trips of two days to two weeks—say, something like the Denali Adventure.


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Biking Without Borders is written by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling’s field editor. It appears weekly, highlighting a little bit of this or a little bit of that--just about anything, as long as it’s related to traveling by bicycle.

Making New Friends

So, perhaps you want to see America from the seat of your bike or maybe you want to tackle to mountains of France, but you can't seem to convince your family, friends or even bike club buddies to join you.

If you are an Adventure Cycling member you can post the details of your next thrilling adventure in our Companions Wanted listings.

You just might find some other ice cream-loving, cannondale-riding, free spirit just dying to join you. Here's to never having to be lonely on the trail!

Please note: This is not a service or space for cycling personal ads nor is it a cycling dating service. If you are more interested in dating then cycling, check out cyclingsingles.com.

The Membership Highlights feature, written by Amy Corbin, Membership and Marketing Coordinator, will appear weekly and spotlight the various benefits of membership, what we have accomplished thanks to member support and even interviews with some of our most passionate and dedicated members, both individual and organizational. Check back each Friday for a new post!