Every Day Adventurers

Our good friend and Cellist  Ben Sollee is on his way to the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee this week while riding his Xtracycle RADISH and pulling his Cello along side him through the streets of Kentucky to Bonnarro!

Teaming up with OxFam, Topo Ranch and other like minded sponsors, Ben is riding his Radish Xtracycle cargo bicycle on the 10-day music tour to promote OxFam’s efforts to reduce global poverty.

His bike music tour begins on June 4th – and as he makes his way towards Tennessee he’s stopping at eight different locations to play – starting in Kentucky and ending in Tennessee on June 11th.

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Ben was named one of National Public Radio’s Top 10 Unknown artists in 2007 and has made a name for himself over the last few years drawing on his Kentucky roots. NPR described his first album, Learning to Bend, as “an inspired collection of acoustic, folk and jazz-flavored songs, filled with hope and the earnest belief that the world is good”.

We feel pretty proud here at the old XC headquarters – that he’s out there riding one of our own. Check him out…

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Happy New Year, everyone! We hope your holiday season was filled with family, friends and love.

Just wanted to share a great Xtracycle sighting I had during my wonderful, albeit brief, Hawaiian vacation on the Big Island.

We arrived at Kona International to sunny skies, a light breeze and warm weather (sorry mainland peers, we empathized as you survived the ice storms and frigid temps, really). After getting our rental car and gathering our bearings, we headed toward Kona to pick up groceries before landing at our condo.

After shopping and getting over the sticker shock of island prices (30% more for mostly everything) we were heading out when my family said, “Hey, look! An Xtracycle.”

“What?! Where!?” was my reply. I grabbed my camera and bolted out of the car to see who was living the Xtracycle Hawaiian lifestyle.

Walking up to the tanned, smiling owner, I introduced myself and my Xtracycle affiliation and asked if I could snap a photo of her and her steed. Mary-Beth happily obliged, and stood behind her early nineties Cannondale turned Xtracycle.

Originally from Oregon, Mary-Beth had lived in Hawaii off and on for a couple years and practices massage and yoga wherever her travels take her. On her most recent trip back to the mainland, she found out about Xtracycle and snagged a FreeRadical Kit. She dug her Cannondale out of storage, had a local bike shop install it and shipped it out to Kona.

Now, Mary-Beth carries all of her belongings and camping gear with her as she explores the Big Island, enjoying her every day adventures in our southern-most state. Am I jealous, only slightly. :)

Hope your 2009 is divine. We are looking forward to sharing all of its excitement with you! Peace, Rick