Here are the latest and final election results. Trust me. There will be no charges of mudslinging or requests for recounts. I'm talking about the results from the Bicycle Travel Award contest hosted by Adventure Cycling Association, the nonprofit that has developed 38,000 miles of bike routes criss-crossing the US. The folks named below were nominated by some of you. The individuals were chosen for making the on-the-road lives of bike travelers easier and their work in furthering the enjoyment of bicycle touring.

When Daniel Penner and Anona Whitley yearned for a change of scenery, they didn't just hop on a plane and head some place warm. Instead, the two former Champaign Cycle employees decided to move to Portland, Ore., and experience all the scenery along the way from the top of their bicycles. Neither of the 23-year-old biking enthusiasts owns a car and they were attracted to the bike-friendly atmosphere of Portland. Advertisement Ladies Night 2009 "We've chosen not to own cars," Penner said. "If you're going to do that, Portland is the place to be." As they were contemplating the best route to take cross country, they found a map from the Adventure Cycling Association that followed the Lewis and Clark trail from Missouri to Oregon. Eureka, they had a plan!

It's six in the evening and I've already ridden 80 miles off-road, over rocks and through streams. I've just been drenched by a cloudburst and terrified by the proximity of the lightning overhead. Right now, instead of riding, I'm hauling my bike, laden for four weeks of riding, up a cliff made of loose shale and even looser tree roots. One wrong move, it seems, and I or my bike – or both – could well disappear into the river below.

Missoula, Montana — Adventure Cycling Association cartographer Jennifer Milyko was recently elected to the North American Cartographic Information Society’s (NACIS) board of directors during the Society’s annual meeting in Sacramento, California. “As one of the conference hosts in 2008, it’s been clear that Jenn is very committed to the cartographic community,” said Lou Cross, NACIS’ executive director, “NACIS is grateful for Jenn’s enthusiastic involvement with our organization and her upcoming service on our board.”

CUMBERLAND, Md. - Bicycling advocates in Cumberland say hiker and biker use of the Great Allegheny Passage through western Maryland is growing. Adventure cycling guide Larry Brock says more than 60,000 people have been counted along the 20.5-mile Maryland section through September of this year. That's up at least 20 percent from 2008.

CUMBERLAND — Recent feature stories in national and regional newspapers, including a front page article in last week’s New York Times, has local trail enthusiasts hoping for a banner year in 2010. And 2009 isn’t going that bad, either. Through September, more than 60,000 cyclists, hikers and runners have been counted along the Great Allegheny Passage in Allegany County. About 50,000 people passed through in all of 2008.

Annually, REI dedicates a portion of its operating profits to help protect and restore the environment, increase access to outdoor activities, and encourage involvement in responsible outdoor recreation. REI employees nominate organizations, projects, and programs in which they are personally involved to receive funding or gear donations.

With the Commission’s approval Monday, a new U.S. Bicycle Route (BR 20) will be coming through Clare. A report from Acting City Manager Bob Bonham Monday said, “The National Transportation Authority has approved a plan for an official U.S. Bicycle Route System … [which] traverses through central Michigan, specifically through the City of Clare on the Peré Marquette Rail-Trail. The Commission approved a resolution of support for the continued development of U.S. BR-20.

In western Montana in August, crickets leap from heat-radiating roadways, bounding up from the pavement and brushing your legs. In Indonesia, boys will race you through their villages. Along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina in July, the scent of skunk hovers in the air. If you're blasting downhill, the potent perfume lasts but a second. But pedaling uphill at, say, four miles an hour, the smell lingers in your nostrils.

Wend Magazine's latest issue is out. As is expected from this fine publication, there is much to engage the grey matter and inspire the reader to ditch the sofa for a bike or board.