Stephen Bilenky and company star in our short video. They’re naturals!

A few months back, we reached out to the Philadelphia-based Bilenky Cycle Works after reading about them in Bicycling magazine. We had our eye on their steel frame Midlands Touring bike, designed for long rides and heavy loads. In all honesty, we had low expectations. But Stephen Bilenky completely surprised us…

Today is a big day at Bikes and Biscuits. Stephen Bilenky and his wonderful crew at Bilenky Cycle Works have graciously offered to lend us custom-built touring bikes for our trip and they’re nearly ready (see Geraldine’s sweet retro ride above).

Free at the Ritz! (helmet, water bottle, lock, and map included)

The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte, a LEED-certified 146-room hotel scheduled to open in just over two months, will offer guests complimentary Trek bikes to toodle around town.  The property will be staffed with Bike Valets (we like to think they’ll be wirey, bike fantatics with skinny arms and hulking quads) who will fix flats, fine-tune your bike, and point you in the direction of the best roads for riding.  We think that’s pretty cool–and, perhaps, worth a detour.

So light you can lift it with your pinkie

So it’s not a touring bike but it’s damn cute and damn speedy. Mollie’s new toy is a 2007 Greg Lemond Buenos Aires – a much better bike than she deserves.