Here's a big surprise from the Tour de Romandie that concluded Sunday in Switzerland.

With everyone, including me, saying the final 12.7-mile individual time trial would be a duel between leader Alberto Contrador and 2nd place Alejandro Valverde, it's Australian Cadel Evans who smokes both of them.   more »

When you plop down to watch the Tour de Georgia on Cyclysm today (4-6 p.m. ET) at the Outdoor Life Network, be informed that Comcast-owned network OLN is changing its name to Versus this fall.

Interesting that a network that originated with field and stream shows would take a word from ancient Latin as its new moniker. ...   more »

Look for a mano a mano battle between two Spaniards for the title at the final stage of the Tour de Romandie bike race on Sunday.

Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) leads Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) by just 6 seconds going into the day's 12.6-mile individual time trial in Lausanne. ...   more »

You might remember a short mention in Biking Bis back in February about a group of nearly two dozen women who were setting out for a cross-country bicycle tour in March.

One of the cyclists, Laraine Lagattolla, was struck by a car and killed instantly in Cleveland, Texas, as she bicycled to her hotel. The driver of the SUV making a right turn apparently did not see Lagattolla riding at the side of the road, according to newspaper accounts. ...   more »

American Chris Horner is in the yellow jersey after Thursday's Stage 2 of the Tour de Romandie.

The 34-year-old bicycle racer from Bend, Oregon, enabled his team, Davitamon-Lotto, to win its second stage in as many days in the week-long bike race around the western part of Switzerland. ...   more »

It's a little odd and melancholy to read Bicycling magazine's Q&A with US cyclist Saul Raisin.

The 23-year-old pro racer from Dalton, Georgia, was severely injured in a crash during the Circuit de la Sarthe about three weeks ago. The cyclist for the Credit Agricole team has been hospitalized ever since, part of the time in a medically induced coma. ...   more »

Bill Wilcox's day usually includes a 10- to 20-mile bike ride. That's how the retired West Virginian engineer stays in shape to ride RAGBRAI this summer.

Wilcox, 75, of Shepherdstown has ridden the 500-mile, week-long Iowa bike tour for the past 12 years. He usually rides with this two son's-in-law, although he has biked it alone -- just Wilcox and 10,000 to 12,000 other bicycle enthusiasts. ...   more »

When I lived in California, I had a neighbor who bought a '60s vintage Chevy, parked it in his garage, and proceeded to take it apart, clean or replace each piece, and put it back together again.

For those who do that to classic bicycles, there's a show and sale for you. The 26th annual Ann Arbor/Saline Classic Bicycle Show and Swap Meet convenes Saturday. ...   more »

San Francisco, Tucson, and Madison, Wisconsin, all have something common now; they've achieved the gold level as Bicycle Friendly Communities.

The League of American Bicyclists has added eight communities to its list, now numbering 55, of cities that deserve recognition in five areas of "bicycle friendliness" -- education, enforcement, encouragement, engineering and evaluation. ...   more »

Italy's Paolo Savoldelli sat out last week's Tour de Georgia for the Discovery team, but came on strong at the Tour de Romandie by winning the 2.1-mile prologue Tuesday.

It was "the return" of Germany's Jan Ullrich that many awaited, however. Injured in early training, Ullrich made his return to pro cycling by finishing 90th out of 163 cyclists. ...   more »

Cities take note: Keep those bicycle routes and bike lanes clear of obstructions.

A jury in Tucson has awarded $700,000 to 47-year-old cyclist Tom Harris, who hit a sandbag holding down a construction sign, fell off his bike and was hit by a car in a three-year-old incident. ...   more »

The world is not always a friendly place for bicycle tourists.

Two pairs of cyclists wrote first hand reports in their bike journal blogs of being harassed recently in Latin America by locals armed with machetes. In one case the two bike riders lost a pannier to the bandits, who patted them down with the blunt ends of their weapons. ...   more »

In spite of Boston being judged one of the worst cities for cyclists by Bicycling magazine this year, legislation that would offer relief to bicyclists appears to be going nowhere at the state capitol.

The Bicyclists' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities has been bottled up in Massachusetts for six years. The bill would give the bicycling public the same legal rights to the road and responsibilities as motorists. ...   more »

Who's the great American hope in this year's Tour de France? You gotta believe that Floyd Landis is a top contender.

The Pennsylvania native and Southern California resident won the 6-day Ford Tour de Georgia on Sunday by finishing in the pack with a scant four-second lead over last year's winner, American Tom Danielson of the Discovery pro cycling team. ...   more »

Here's a scenario I bet you didn't expect:

Tom Danielson, 4 seconds down in the General Classification, won Stage 5 atop Brasstown Bald on Saturday but didn't gain on Tour leader Floyd Landis because the Phonak cyclist finished on Danielson's back wheel.

With just Sunday's bike ride left in the 600-mile, 6-day race across Georgia, it looks like Landis is poised to win his third major bicycle race of the season. ...   more »

US cyclist Jason McCartney tried to turn back the clock to duplicate his Dahlonega stage win in 2004 on Friday, but it was US sprinter Freddy Rodriguez who was the more successful time traveler to win the stage.

US cyclist Floyd Landis held onto the overall lead in the Ford Tour de Georgia, thanks his Swiss Phonak team cutting into McCartney's lead over Woody Gap, the final climb of the day. ...   more »

More than half (51%) of the voters in the "Who will win the Tour de Georgia" poll picked current leader Floyd Landis to win the bike race, which ends Sunday.

I've been checking the results every night, and Landis was leading in the polling before he ever motored down the ramp for the individual time trial Thursday and took the lead. David Zabriskie of Team CSC was second, with 31%. ...   more »

There goes that Floyd Landis again, winning another individual time trial on Thursday and jumping to the overall lead in the Ford Tour of Georgia bike race.

The Phonak team leader who lives in Southern California beat the field for the second year in a row, although his margin was less than in 2005. With a harrowing climb on Brasstown Bald coming up Saturday, it's up to Landis and his team to hold off last year's overall winner Tom Danielson of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team. ...   more »

Lance Armstrong says he has a void to fill after retiring from cycling, so he's entering the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5. He'll be following in the footsteps of his former wife.

Armstrong, who competed as a triathlete as a teen-ager, told the Associated Press that he was considering the Chicago Marathon, but the 26-mile foot race in New York City fit his schedule better.

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Last year's best young rider in the Tour de France is this year's leading bike racer at the Tour de Georgia ... for now.

Discovery Channel's Yaroslav Popovych won the 116-mile stage Wednesday that ended with four climbs over the Clocktower Hill in Rome. The win by the 26-year-old Ukrainian put him in first place overall.   more »

"Lance gave us a great platform to spearhead American cycling. You have guys like George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer and Tom Danielson. There are a lot of different aspects of riding ... Lance was a combination of those. We'll replace him with great athletes, but what Lance did might never be done again." ...   more »

What member of the cycling industry got its start in a loft in a pickle factory? That would be Cannondale in 1971 when it began making bicycle trailers in Connecticut.

Twelve years later it introduced its first bicycle, a touring model. I remember it well because my friend bought one for our TransAmerica tour the following year (that's Bruce and his Cannondale in Virginia), and I think it's still sitting in his basement. ...   more »

You're never too old to win. Thirty-seven-year-old bicycle racer Lars Michaelson knows this. The cyclist on Denmark's Team CSC pulled out a sprint win on Day One of the Ford Tour de Georgia bike race.

Following closely behind Michaelson across the finish line in Macon was US sprinter "Fast" Freddy Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto), Australian Caleb Manion of US team Jelly Belly, and Argentine speedster Juan Jose Haedo, the Toyota-United Pro rider who won two Tour of California stages.

Thirty-seven years old. A year ago Lance Armstrong was 33 when he announced before the start of last year's Tour de Georgia that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2005 Tour de France. ...   more »

The fourth annual Tour de Georgia starts in Augusta today, and the first annual Tour de Georgia poll appears on my blog.

Who do you think will win the 2006 Tour de Georgia? I've listed some of the leading contenders. If you don't like any of them, you can leave a comment here with your choice.   more »

This year's story of inspiration from the Tour de Georgia bike race -- which starts in Augusta today -- is Craig Lewis, a cyclist on Team TIAA-CREF.

The Macon Telegraph reporter Sarah Meinecke recalls Lewis cycling for a top 10 finish in the mountainous Rome stage in the 2004 TdG. Somehow, a confused SUV driver steers onto the course and Lewis slams into the passenger door at 40 mph. ...   more »

Illinois is considering sending back federal funds to pay for the 38-mile Sangamon Valley Trail, a biking and hiking trail that connects Girard and Athens, crossing the western side of Springfield.

It's a threat facing bike trail program nationwide, warns the League of American Bicyclists. ...   more »

Win at Brasstown Bald, and you have a better than even chance of winning the Tour de Georgia. Just ask Tom Danielson, the Discovery cycling team rider who won the mountain stage and took home the title last year.

Pro cyclists will toil up Brasstown Bald, left, on Saturday this year. For us mere mortals, several North Georgia groups sponsor the annual Brasstown Bald Buster Century featuring 12,000 feet of elevation gain over 100 miles. The ride starts early on May 6 in Helen, Georgia. ...   more »

The pro peloton invades Georgia next Tuesday through Sunday for the 600-mile, 6-stage Ford Tour de Georgia bike race. Unless you live in the Peach State, your chances of catching live coverage are nil.

Most of us will have to follow the action through live race updates posted at VeloNews, which really isn't bad because we can sneak looks on our office computer during work.

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Imagine bicycling with some friends on a smooth back road in the West and being passed, "uncomfortably close," by a driver's ed car speeding by at 50 mph.

It happened recently to Bill "Wild Bill" Schneider at New West, prompting him to write "Needed: More Bicycle Sense in Driver's Manuals." He checked his Montana driver's manual and concluded, "It’s not so much what’s on those pages, but what’s not there." ...   more »

1. What Academy Award-nominated movie was based on an actual bicycle race in the US?
2. In what movie were the following words uttered: "Darn. I want some American food; I want French fries!" and "I sure miss playing basketball. I got depressed as hell when my athlete's foot and jock itch went away"?
3. What cycling-related movie featured Rossini's Barber of Seville in the soundtrack and a 1978 Masi Gran Criterium as a main prop?    more »

Severely injured in the opening stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe bike race last week, American cyclist Saul Raisin appears to be emerging from his coma, according to reports on his website.

Doctors had put the 23-year-old Credit Agricole cyclist in a drug-induced coma after a blood vessel ruptured in his brain and the blood had to be drained by surgery, VeloNews reported last week. ...   more »

Climate change researcher, three family members on one bike, friend of firefighters. Let's update the adventures of some bicycle tourists who have appeared in Biking Bis over the past months.

David Kroodsma, the cycling climatologist, has pedaled through El Salvador and entered Hondorus -- completing about one-third of his on his bike tour to the tip of South America. ...   more »

What was considered a minor crash early in the Paris-Roubaix bike race may have caused the steering tube on George Hincapie's bicycle to break later in the race, ending his chances for victory, Trek officials said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hincapie learned Tuesday that he won't need surgery, subtracting weeks from his recovery and ensuring his participation in the 2006 Tour de France. ...   more »

The governor of Pennsylvania knows the value of a high-profile bicycle race to a region's economy and esteem.

Gov. Edward Rendell said the state is plowing $400,000 into the International Cycling Championship scheduled June 11 in the Philadelphia area. The race needs the cash infusion after former sponsor, Wachovia Corp., dropped out.

The bike race has been running for 22 years; among the winners were a young Texan cyclist by the name of Lance Armstrong in 1993 ...   more »

"The Race to Replace" is taking a detour as cyclist George Hincapie returns to the US for surgery on his shoulder.

"We don't know yet how long Hincapie will be out of competition," Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team director Dirk Demol told Belgian media, according to CyclingNews. "It's a severe injury, that's for sure." ...   more »

Speculation before the Paris-Roubaix bike race focused on George Hincapie's chances of improving on last year's second place finish or Tom Boonen winning two in a row.

The race ended with Hincapie left crumpled at the side of the cobblestones and Boonen gaining second thanks to three disqualifications. Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellera finished the 160-mile Hell of the North course in first place.

VeloNews reported that Hincapie could require shoulder surgery because of his crash. ...   more »

A bicycle doesn't have to roll in order to be useful. In Guatemala, bicycles are turned into human-powered machines to improve the economy and standard of living.

Asociación Maya Pedal converts donated bicycles into machinery for farms and small businesses. Many of those bikes come from groups in the US and Canada that collect beater bikes. One may be yours. ...   more »

This is a lot of fun. Chevrolet has set up a video editing website where you can build your own commercial for the new Chevy Tahoe SUV using actual ad footage and inserting your own text.

It's a contest, and I suppose the winner's commercial is shown on TV. There's no chance that mine is eligible, though. The C.I.C.L.E. bicycling website had the idea to "subvert" the commercial challenge, adding a message that might not support the ideal SUV lifestyle.

Here's mine, along the theme of SUV vs. bicycle. ...   more »

There's more to the history of the "Hell of the North" than cobblestoned roads and mud-splattered cyclists.

Jan Didier at Pez Cycling writes about the Paris-Roubaix's colorful background surrounding the 103 years of bike racing in "Roubaix History: From Queen to Hell ... and Back."

Interesting how? For instance, one of the early winners Frenchman Octave Lapize, died as a fighter pilot for the French Army during the battle of Verdun. ...   more »

A few days ago I posted a piece about feeling more fear and loathing in Missouri during my TransAmerican bike ride in 1984 than anywhere else and refered to my journal of the bike trip.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation picked up on it and linked to its own list of news and stories regarding some other black eyes to the state's bicycling reputation. It also mentioned some positive developments. ...   more »

"George is a nice guy, no doubt. He's learned that he can be a gentleman and still have a killer instinct. Me, I'm the opposite. I'm a jerk who has to work at being a gentleman. I've always loved to put the hurt on people." ...   more »

Another sad passing. Cycles Gaansari in Springboro, Ohio, is closing its doors. The bicycle company styled itself after Orville and Wilbur Wright's original business in nearby Dayton before the brothers got into that aviation thing. 

Writing in his Bike Evangelist blog, proprieter Gary Boulanger talks about his disappointment in accepting the inevitable, but his pride in the Gaansari and Fisso brand bicycles they turned out ...    more »

The Outdoor Life Network once again is offering live coverage of this year's Giro d'Italia at its OLNTV website.

The streaming broadband feed of the three-week Italian cycling classic is being offered Monday through Saturday in partnership with Cycling.TV.  On Sundays, Giro fans will need to tune into OLN for its Cyclysm coverage at 5 p.m. (ET). ...   more »

US cycling fans should be pleased to hear that the world's top ProTour cyclist -- Floyd Landis of the Swiss Phonak team -- is competing in the Tour of Georgia bicycle race that begins in a couple of weeks.

Other big name US bike racers include last year's winner, Tom Danielson of Discovery Channel, and David Zabriskie, a member of Danish Team CSC and holder of the yellow jersey for four days in the 2005 Tour de France. ...   more »

I don't know anyplace where bicyclists are immune to getting honked at or verbally assaulted while out on a bike ride. I've had my share of run-ins up here in the "laid-back" Pacific NW.
Some places are worse than others, though. In the 20 or so states I've bicycled in, I'd say Missouri -- on my cross-country bicycle trip in 1984 -- scared me the most. I even wrote about it in my TransAmerica journal at the time.
The Missouri Bicycle Federation came across this letter in the Joplin (Missouri) Globe from a cyclist whose had his share of bad experiences:    more »

Write an essay and win a bicycle. It's as easy as that if you live in one of 11 cities chosen for Bicycling magazine's annual BikeTown USA.

Over the years, Bicycling and its partners have given out 1,300 bicycles to people who could be convinced to improve their lifestyle with a free ride. This year, Bicycling is handing out 600 bicycles, or about 50 in each of the participating cities.

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the brain bucket you wear for bicycling may not be suitable for in-line skating or skateboarding.

Helmets are built to protect folks' noggins from the types of impacts that occur in different activities. A bicycle helmet won't do the job in a skiing or motorcycle accident, for instance. ...   more »

Sometime soon, the blogger at My Big Fat Geek Cycling bLog is going to have to change the name of his website.... maybe to just My Geek Cycling bLog.

For the past 18 months, he has used his bicycle to slowly and surely pedal himself back into shape. He's a poster boy for cycling to a healthy lifestyle. ...   more »