Russ Roca is a man of many bike blogs, including this one and this one and this one, too, all of which have made multiple appearances here at RocBike in our old Links of the Day posts. Now Russ is heading out with his partner Laura on a bike trip.

Not just any bike trip, mind you. Russ and Laura sold or stored all their stuff except what would fit on two bicycles, and they’re going to travel the world by bike for some indeterminate period of time. Cool, huh?

They started a (wait for it) blog to chronicle their travels: The Path Less Pedaled. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Today is the day before they leave, and they recorded a little video from their nearly bare apartment:

Good luck and safe travels, Russ and Laura!

Fatty and Susan recorded this video a couple weeks ago before the Livestrong Challenge ride in San Jose. Watch it, and then go here to donate to fight cancer. Thank you.

…and other tales from a bike messenger turned drug dealer.

When my partner and I go on vacations, we always take Zoe (pictured above). We also always want to get out on our bikes. This presents a problem, because it is always too hot to leave her in our car, and the other campers wouldn’t appreciate our leaving her in our tent. We know that she would bark the whole time. Our previous solution has been doggie day care. but this year, I finally convinced her that we should get a doggie bike basket. If you want to bring your canine companion with you, this is a good solution for a small dog. (Zoe weighs 8 pounds.)

Tanya had her handlebars shortened in order to fit her better, so the basket only fits on my bike. It really didn’t slow me down much at all and I kept up with her pretty well, especially surprising since she’s generally faster than me. Zoe was unsure about it at first, but seemed to settle in pretty quickly.

So far, I’ve only taken it on bike trails and side streets. I would be hesitant to bike on a busy and/or hilly road with it, because the extra weight on the bars takes some getting used to, and I felt like it slowed my reaction time.

A great bonus is that it seems impossible for another rider to pass without smiling and saying, “Aawwwwww,” with the inflection rising at the end.

The Xtracycle Life: How to Make Your Bike a Purse

I already loved Bike Snob NYC, and now I have one more reason: he digs Coltrane.

Fat Cyclist: 7 Grapes, 4 Spoonsful of Ice Cream, 5 Bites of Rice

Fuck cancer.

Jill Homer is chronicling her recently completed Great Divide ride on her blog. Today’s story is particularly moving. She is one hell of a writer.

The New York Times has the story.

This video is oddly compelling. I found it at Everyday Adventures, the official blog of Xtracycle.

Charlie The Bikemonger tours Dorset, Somerset and Devon on a Surly Big Dummy Xtracycle bike. More at www.charliethebikemonger.com.