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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.108

Electric bicycles are all the rage these days. Plenty of fully articulated models are on the market, as are kits that allow you to transform your trusty steed into an effortless speed demon. The GeoOrbital Wheel has gone through six iterations thus far, and the newest model is their best yet. It doesn't get any easier than this.

GEOORBITAL WHEEL (video)

Books owe a lot to trees, especially being made from them, but it's the trees in books that caught our attention. Here are seven contenders for the best tree in literature. Have one of your own? Nominate it in the comments!

FAVORITE TREES IN LITERATURE (photo essay)

Rumor has it that The Chapel Oak is as old as France itself. It has witnessed some amazing moments in history and has been visited by the likes of Charlemagne and William the Conqueror. This incredible tree is home to two chapels and is whimsical in appearance. Read more about this incredible specimen at the link below.

THE CHAPEL OAK (photo essay)

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.107

It's well known that counting the rings of a tree reveals its age. Each ring represents a year, a 12-month growth cycle starting with a boom in the spring and ending in winter dormancy. Hidden within the rings is every iteration of the tree, including the original sapling. Italian artist Guiseppe Penone carves out the young tree from its final form. This is something amazing to see!

CARVING OUT SAPLINGS (photo essay)

Why cut down a tree to build a home when you can build a tubular glass structure encapsulating it? If and when this idea becomes a reality, sign RETREET up for a tour. Perhaps our future HQ?

BUILDING AROUND A TREE (photo album)

Taking the previous concept to the next level is this vertical eco-village. A design that creates more energy than it consumes and is entirely sustainable, this concept is an engineering marvel. Watch a short video and be dazzled. Hopefully, this will be a major element of cities to come.

INCREDIBLE VERTICAL ECO-VILLAGE (video)

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.84

Over the course of this year, every second grader in the D.C. public school system will be taught the ABCs of riding a bicycle. This innovative program makes use of 1,000 new bikes, purchased by the District Department of transportation with the help of private donors, that will rotate from one school to the next. An important part of a robust education.

D.C. KIDS LEARN TO RIDE BICYCLES IN SCHOOL (article)

After becoming an authority on living a nomadic lifestyle by traveling the world and living out of vans, photographer Foster Huntington created one amazing treehouse. His new home, Cinder Cone Treehouse, which he built in Skamania, WA, has its own skatepark. Not too shabby!

TREEHOUSE WITH SKATEPARK (photos)

Have you ever wanted to just get on your bike and go someplace far away? These lifehacks will help you along the way. A must-read list for any two-wheeled adventurer.

BIKEPACKING LIFEHACKS (list)

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.73

Peppermint Bike Park in Thailand takes recreational cycling to a whole new level. An amusement park designed for cyclists, it looks like a race course for bikes. Who wouldn't want one of these in their neighborhood? Watch the promo video below and be jealous!

PEPPERMINT BIKE PARK (video)

A Polish architect built a house that, employing a clever use of mirrors, seems to disappear into the surrounding forest. The following set of photos is truly dazzling. It looks like a white box floating off of the ground!

FLOATING HOUSE IN POLAND (photos)

Inspired by the Dutch, Salt Lake City, Utah, will become the first city in the US to install a protected intersection. This model has become known as the safest for cyclists and is rather attractive to boot. Maybe other cities across the country will follow suit.

PROTECTED INTERSECTION IN UTAH (video)

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.68

Have you ever enjoyed a tasty beverage atop a tall tree? That was all the fashion in 1850s Paris, when residents flocked Les Guinguettes de Robinson to drink and dance atop the chestnut trees. An innkeeper in the hamlet of St. Eloi, inspired by the story of Robinson Crusoe, dreamed up the bars, which quickly became a big hit. Time for a revival!

LES GUINGUETTES DE ROBINSON (photos)

From the tops of trees we take you to the top of a mountain, only to come straight down. What an amazing descent. White knuckles.

CRAZY MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE (video)

On the subject of amazing, behold the world's 10 most remarkable trees. Which one is your favorite? Have you visited any of them?

10 MOST REMARKABLE TREES (photos)

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.60

Did you have a treehouse when you were a kid and love spending time in it? Wish you could live in one now? There are a few folks out there who decided to make that dream a reality. Check out their amazing creations.

ADULT TREEHOUSES (video)

We came across this awesome video of an acorn sprouting into a small sapling over the course of 8 months. It's a wonderful thing to watch to start a new year. 

SPROUTING OF AN ACORN (time-lapse video)

The TEAGUE X Sizemore is the ultimate urban bicycle. It's handlebars become a lock. It has brake lights and turn signals, as well as electric assist. The fenders are minimal and the storage adjustable. Put us down for one! Or maybe a new RETREET fleet?

TEAGUE X SIZEMORE: THE ULTIMATE URBAN BICYCLE (video)

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.48

Before 1900, the American chestnut accounted for 1 in every 4 hardwood trees in the eastern forests of the US. Though a fungal blight killed over 4 billion of these majestic beauties, almost causing their extinction, there may be hope on the horizon for their regeneration. Learn about the past, present, and potential future of these amazing trees.

Have you ever wanted to ride your bike across the country, or wondered how the bike lanes in one city compare with those in another? Take a gander at the United Bike Lanes of America Infographic, a GOOD + CLIF Bar project. 

Few people know how to build tree houses as well as Takashi Kobayashi. Click through a gallery of some of his finest masterworks.

THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT (article)

BIKE LANES OF AMERICA (interactive map)

TREEHOUSE MASTER (slideshow)

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.37

A few weeks ago, over 2,000 Nepalese, including children and Buddhist monks, gathered to break the world tree-hugging record. Way to go! The previous titleholder was Portland, OR. Who will hold it next?

Maya Pedal, an organization in Guatemala, builds useful machines out of bicycles and has published all of their plans online. Check out their videos and downloads.

With summer almost full in-swing, we have our minds on spending a lovely night in a treehouse, surrounded by leaves and sky. Which one do you like the best of the 20 below?

NEPALESE BREAK TREE-HUGGING RECORD

MAYA PEDAL BICYCLE MACHINES

20 AMAZING TREEHOUSE DESIGNS

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.22

This week, we present some sweet links recently sent to us by RETREETers Robert and Patrycja. We hope you enjoy them!

Click the pictures below to see:

• an image gallery of Patrick Dougherty's mind-blowing nest houses made of living trees;

• the sad story of the world's loneliest tree, The Tree of Ténéré, that grew 250 miles away from its next of kin;

• a pictoral history of the bicycle.

Thanks for sharing folks!

LIVING TREE HOUSE

THE WORLD'S LONELIEST TREE

PICTORAL HISTORY OF THE BICYCLE

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SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.12

How do you build a treehouse without a tree?  You weld one!  Check out the steampunk masterpiece at the Dogfish Head brewery.  While you've most likely heard of Amsterdam's legendary bicycle-friendliness, spend some time getting to know Groningen, the self-proclaimed cycling city of the world, where 50% of all transportation is by bike.  Then, learn about the bicycle trains in Los Angeles, groups in which cyclists bikepool to and from work everyday.  Just click the pictures.

See you again in 2014!  Happy New Year!