Six years ago, Shannon Galpin walked away from her career as an athletic trainer and used her own limited funds to launch Mountain2Mountain and “be the change” she wished to see in the world. Today, Shannon and the M2M team, are just returning from their latest trip to Afghanistan where they launched the Streets of Afghanistan project and rode bicycles through Kabul to raise awareness of cultural barriers and empower women and girls in conflict regions.

As big supporters of Shannon and the M2M work she does, we’re happy to stay in touch with her and get period updates throughout her travels. That said, we’re also excited to share what she has to show and tell from those very journeys, the latest of which center around the Streets of Afghanistan project. Here’s the latest from Shannon both in words and in pictures. Enjoy!

“Yesterday we had the finale show of the Streets of Afghanistan exhibition at the Sound Central music festival — its up for four days throughout the incredible  four-day alternative music festival.  Yesterday was the women’s only day to kick off the festival, where young Afghan school girls attended the festival for slam poetry, a fashion show, Afghan rap duo, Afghan singer songwriter, Ariana Delwari, and White City — fronted by my long time friend, advisor, and founder of Sound Central, Travis Beard.  We brought three members of the cycling team to watch the concert and to help with the M2M Bike School.

All in all a full day. Streets exhibition set up and finale show at Sound Central Festival, M2M bike school and rock concert, finished with filming at Darul Aman Palace. Whitney, the co-director of Afghan cycles is leaving today, and then our crew is just a duo until we leave.  Whitney has been amazing, and creates a sense of community, friendship, and openness wherever we go, she interacts with the Afghans we meet with grace, humor, and authenticity that I have rarely seen.  Her infectious laugh combined with everyone’s exhaustion at the end of the long days makes for a slap-happy crew.

Exhaustion is starting to take hold, but perhaps that will just make the plane ride home go quicker as we sleep our way home.”

Active Lifestyle, Adventure, Advocacy, Bikes Around the World, International, Non-profits, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Life, Pedaling Change, Photos advenure, Afghanistan, bike, cycle, home, mountain 2 mountain, shannon galpin, Streets of Afghanistan, travel, women

Just a little over one year ago, Adventure Cycling Association teamed up with Blanche van der Meer and her WorldCycle Videos group on Vimeo and launched their first-ever Bicycle Travel Video Contest. The premise of the competition was simple: “to celebrate the booming trend in bike touring and travel documentaries.” The result, thanks to some fantastic volunteer judges, is several fantastic videos that capture the essence of cycling.

The above video won for the category of Best Overnight Bike Video. Here’s why, according to Adventure Cycling Association:

“Inspired by the work of one of our judges, Alastair Humphries, Sam ventures by bike into the Catskill Mountains for the first time, and on a cold winter weekend to boot. This video nicely illustrates that even the shortest of bike tours can be long on adventure.”

Stay tuned for the third of these winning films, which we’ll publish next week!

Active Lifestyle, Adventure, Pedaling Change, Video adventure, Bicycle Travel Video Contest, bike, bike tour, Catskill Mountains, cycle

Just a little over one year ago, Adventure Cycling Association teamed up with Blanche van der Meer and her WorldCycle Videos group on Vimeo and launched their first-ever Bicycle Travel Video Contest. The premise of the competition was simple: “to celebrate the booming trend in bike touring and travel documentaries.” The result, thanks to some fantastic volunteer judges, is several fantastic videos that capture the essence of cycling. There were three winning videos, including the above, which was considered the Best Long Distance Tour Video. Watch Northern Europe by Bike by Stefan Böhm of Germany and enjoy! All submitted films were also considered for the Bike Travel Spirit Award, and this film took the prize. Here’s what Adventure Cycling Association had to say about the film:

Only two and a half minutes long, it’s a powerful piece of work. According to one of our judges, it is a “creative, entertaining video that demonstrates you don’t need fancy graphics, effects, or a soundtrack to tell a good story. Unlike many other videos that were submitted, he included the locations, which we liked. He documents the good, the bad, and the ugly of bicycle touring, while including the bizarre and noteworthy encounters he experienced along his journey. Shooting and editing were great too.”

Stay tuned for the following two winning films, which we’ll publish in the coming two weeks!

Active Lifestyle, Adventure, Bike Europe, Bikes Around the World, International, Pedaling Change, Video Adventure Cycling Assoc, bike, cycle, Europe, Germany, tour, travel

March came with the onset of spring. April comes with the opportunity to ride your bike every single day. It’s time to throw out your excuses and pull on your bike shorts! 30 Days of Biking has a motivational vid (above) and all the information you need to get started (below):

30 Days of Biking, whose fourth year begins April 1, has one rule: Bike somewhere every day for 30 days—around the block, 20 miles to work, whatever suits you—then share your adventures online. We advocate daily bicycling because we believe it enriches lives and preserves the Earth. A worldwide, thousands-strong community of joyful cyclists has been forming around that idea since April 2010—and will further amass in 2013! We ride our bikes every day.

Sign up at 30DOB.com

Active Lifestyle, Ditch Your Car, Events, Health, Lane Love, Osprey Life, Pedaling Change, Video 30 Days of Biking, bike, May

We love when we get the opportunity to see our packs in action — especially when our very own customers send shots of themselves or their friends getting everything out of a pack we had ever intended for it. The photo above, posted to our Facebook Page by Melissa Liebling, is an incredible shot of the Osprey Verve 9 doing it’s duty out on the trail.

Thanks to Melissa for sharing!

Active Lifestyle, Osprey Life, Pedaling Change, Photos bike, mountain bike, Osprey, pack, trail, Verve 9

In most of the country, today just happens to be the last day of February. But in Durango, CO, it’s not just the end of another month, it’s the Third Annual Winter Bike to Work Day. The event itself is put in place to honor the bike commuters who battle the winter elements in Durango, and the festivities surrounding it are open to cyclists of all kinds. The City of Durango’s Multi Modal Department is the key sponsor, and will be offering up hot drinks, food and giveaways today from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in front of Durango Coffee (at 730 Main Avenue). There’ll be a bounty of cyclists and commuters there to celebrate. What’s more, there will be schwag to give away, including T-shirts, scarves and even an Osprey Pack for the day’s raffle winner! For more information on bicycle commuting and Bike to Work Day in Durango, head here.

Active Lifestyle, Advocacy, Events, Lane Love, Osprey Life, Pedaling Change bicycling, Bike to Work Day, Colorado, cycle, Durango, Winter

If you’ve ever lived in a less-than-deal apartment for the sake of saving a buck or for reasons related to an expedient break-up/move-out situation, you understand how hard it can be to find a fantastic place to store your most prized possession: your bike. Sure, some old-school buildings offer neat nooks and crannies that you can get creative with when it comes to your two-wheeled baby. Yet in the case of a balcony-free, cramped living space, what happens to your ride?

Fortunately, that question may become obsolete as Americans begin pedaling more, prompting builders to recognize the importance of providing residents in apartments with bike storage. An article posted on The Daily Journal points out the straight facts, stating:

Bike commuting is on the rise in many cities, studies show, and as the number has grown, so has the need for bike-friendly housing.

Many apartment complexes are offering secure storage spaces for bikes. Some developers are even putting bike repair shops in apartment buildings.

The article also mentions über bike-friendly cities such as Portland and Seattle, both of which have apartment complexes that are specifically catered to bike commuters. These spots may be trendy in their new-ness, but we’re pretty certain that as more two-wheel commuters invade the streets, more bike-friendly housing options will pop up as well. Of course, we’d love to know: What are your thoughts?

Active Lifestyle, Advocacy, Ditch Your Car, Pedaling Change apartments, bike, housing

Why did the geese cross the road? Because they were following the bike, naturally.

We couldn’t help but share this adorable photo and equally aww-inducing story, which we found via Grist. It goes something like this: A large flock of misplaced geese were struggling to cross the road, “getting closer and closer to being hit by cars,” according to the person who took the photo above. At this point, a man on his bike came to the rescue, and led the gaggle of geese safely across the road. The geese, lured by a bag of bread that allegedly hung from the handlebars of the man’s bike, followed their mother bike to where they wanted to be, without a single casualty.

Yet another tale of the pure goodness of bikes.

Lane Love, Pedaling Change, Photos bikes, flock, geese, goodness, Grist

We found this love-ly shot via ARTCRANK’s Facebook Page, and felt compelled to share it for two reasons. 1. It’s beautifully, subtly and undeniably bike-themed. And 2., Its message is what this holiday season is all about: Love.

From all of us at Osprey; Cheers  to a brand-new year that’s filled with as much love as possible.

Osprey Life, Pedaling Change, Photos bike, Love, New Year

‘Tis the season to be jolly and to listen to caroling favorites. The only problem is: playing those tunes on repeat has the potential to drive even the most spirited singer to want to jingle all the way home. Fortunately, we’ve found something that’s not only brand-sparkling-new — it’s bike-themed, too!

This new holiday tune, aptly named Big Red Bicycle, comes to you via Nora and One Left, who’s all about “music, bikes, seeing what’s over the next hill.”

Cheers to a safe, happy and healthy holiday season full of love, laughter and, of course, bikes!

Pedaling Change, Video big red bike, bike, holidays, music, Nora and One Left