Butch Cassidy. John Dillinger. Ma Barker. And now, the Bicycle Bank Robber.
The FBI has put out an all points bulletin for a man wanted in connection with at least seven bank robberies across the central and southern states. After handing the bank teller a note demanding money, he makes his getaway on a mountain bike.
He's described as being in his mid-50s, between 5-11 and 6-1, and weighing about 180 pounds. (Wow. That description could match yours truly. I'm going to stop riding my bike to the bank until they catch this guy.) ... more»
The BMX bike company founded by one of the sports' prinicipal competitors is recalling 11,000 bikes because of faulty fork welds.
The Carlsbad, California-based MirraCo LLC bicycle company, founded by X-Games gold medal winner Dave Mirra, is making the recall in conjuction with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Consumers should stop riding the bicycles immediately and take them to a MirraCo dealer for inspection and possible fork replacement. The bikes in question were sold between November 2006 and January 2007. ... more»
Two possible rail-to-trail projects are on the drawing boards in Washington state -- one in scenic northeastern Washington and another in the traffic-choked Seattle suburbs.
One could be a nationwide draw to bicycle tourists who could pick up the trail near Republic and follow the Kettle River 28 miles north to the Canadian border. The other could serve as a north-south bike commuter path from Renton to the Snohomish county line, 33 miles away.
Kettle Falls railroad
The proposed rail-trail in eastern Washington's Ferry County would be the first in the West to connect to Canada's rail-to-trail network ... more»
I guess we won't have Jan Ullrich to kick around anymore. He announced his retirement as a professional cyclist on Monday.
The German cyclist won the Tour de France in 1997 at the young age of 23, but forever seemed destined to ride in the shadow of Lance Armstrong after that.
There was always something -- a sore knee, a bad day in the rain, drunk driving arrests, partying on ecstacy, and generally being blamed for falling too far out of shape in the winter ... more»
The Chilly Hilly bike ride lived up to its name again this year, providing the same old hills and the same old chilly, wet weather.
How hilly? The Cascade Bicycle Club organizers say there's 2,675 feet of climbing. How chilly? 40 degrees when I left the house this morning (you can calculate the wind chill with the drizzle, wind, and fast downhills).
That didn't deter me or thousands of other recreational cyclists from the Pacific Northwest, however, who took the early morning ferries across Puget Sound to the 33-mile ride around Bainbridge Island ... more»
Levi Leipheimer won the 2nd annual Amgen Tour of California this year, wearing the golden leader's jersey from the prologue in San Francisco to the finish in Long Beach.
US-based fans of cycling also won, as they got to witness -- more than 1 million firsthand -- some of the biggest names in the professional cycling competing on US soil.
Sure US riders Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Fred Rodriguez, Chris Horner, Bobby Julich, Christian Vandevelde, Jason McCartney and Dave Zabriskie and others are world-class cyclists. But this race also featured such riders as Ivan Basso, world champions Fabian Cancellara and Paolo Bettini, Jens Voigt, Stuart O'Grady, Thor Hushovd, and many more. ... more»
American cyclist George Hincapie broke his wrist in that collision early in Saturday's Stage 6 of the Amgen Tour of California and won't return for the final stage on Sunday.
In spite of the injury, Hincapie turned in a gritty performance to drive the peloton during the middle of the stage as it lagged behind a 9-man breakaway that threatened to steal the golden jersey from Discovery Channel team leader Levi Leipheimer ... more»
At some point on Saturday, the Discovery Channel cyclists must have been wondering how many challengers they had to contain to win the Amgen Tour of California for Levi Leipheimer.
While they kept Team CSC's 2nd place Jens Voigt neutralized on the 105-mile stage from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita, his 5th place teammate Stuart O'Grady jumped onto a breakaway and nearly stole the race.
The Australian rider on Team CSC was 1:20 behind Leipheimer in the General Classification on Saturday morning, and suddenly he and eight other riders in the breakaway had a 3-minute gap on the peloton ... more»
Photo by falling.bullets at flickr.com. Levi Leipheimer fights to add seconds to his margin over challenger Jens Voight in Friday's time trial.
Levi Leipheimer assumed undisputed control of the Amgen Tour of California on Friday, as he powered to victory on the individual time trial and gained valuable seconds on his nearest challenger.
The Discovery Channel cyclist posted the fastest time of 29:40 over the 14.5-mile loop course around Solvang, beating 2nd-place challenger Jens Voigt by 18 seconds, which gives the US rider a 21-second overall lead.
With just two stages remaining, this tour is virtually in the bag for Discovery Channel if Leipheimer's teammates hold off the attacks over the last two stages. Barring a major debacle, the only cyclist within striking distance is Team CSC's Voigt. The strategy for Discovery is easy: "Don't let Voigt get away." ... more»
Prosecutors in Santa Barbara County, California, apparently agreed to change vehicular manslaughter charges against a truck driver to "trespass by a motor vehicle" so he won't lose his driver's license.
Truck driver Marcos Almaguer was charged in the January 2006 death of UC Santa Barbara triathlete Kendra Payne on a twisting road near Goleta. The Daily Nexus reports Payne was struck on a training ride with a teammate as they rounded a curve.
Payne's death is the impetus behind Assemblyman Pedro Nava introducing Assembly Bill 60, which would require that passing vehicles give bicycles at least three feet of clearance. ... more»
This photo by maxima25 at flickr.com shows stage winner Paolo Bettini (in white at extreme left) and other cyclists sweeping around a corner approaching the finish in San Luis Obispo.
Italian sprinter and world road race champion Paolo Bettini helped school the peloton at the Amgen Tour of California on Thursday when he took the Stage 4 sprint by a tire tread in San Luis Obispo.
The Tour of California ends Sunday, and whoever is wearing the leader's golden jersey after Stage 5 could have a good chance holding it through the finish in Long Beach. Last year the time trial was timed for an earlier stage in the Tour, but Floyd Landis was able to hold the gold all the way to the finish ... more»
To the disappointment of some family members, I returned to the "old bike movie" genre recently and rented "Beijing Bicycle."
The story centers around a stolen bicycle, just like "The Bicycle Thieves," but this is hardly a Chinese pirated version of the Italian classic.
Granted, central character Guei desparately needs his bicycle for his job as a messenger, but the real complications don't arise until he actually relocates it. Imagine, finding a stolen bicycle in Beijing. ... more»
Here's the Levi Leipheimer breakaway on Sierra Road hill. That's Leipheimer in front, followed by another American, Chris Horner, of Predictor-Lotto. The Rabobank rider next to him is Robert Gesink; CSC's Jens Voigt and Discovery's Jason McCartney trail. Photo by The Electrician at flickr.com.
Good team tactics -- and awesome climbing chops -- helped to save the day for Levi Leipheimer and the Discovery Channel team at the Amgen Tour of California on Wednesday.
Team CSC's Jens Voigt won the 94-mile stage between Stockton and San Jose, as the sole survivor of a 17-man breakaway that attacked at the start and led the peloton across the Central Valley.
Now the challenge for Leipheimer and the Discovery Channel team is how to hold off Voigt -- a mere three seconds behind in the overall standings -- and his powerful Team CSC, ranked the best in the world ... more»
The peloton sweeps past throngs lining the streets in Sacramento. Photo by jlockwood1 at flickr.com.
You can be pardoned for suffering a serious case of deja vu during this year's Amgen Tour of California. There are so many similarities with last year's inaugural bike race.
What's the same: Both years Levi Leipheimer won the prologue in San Francisco and retained the golden jersey at the end of Stage 1.
What's different: Leipheimer now rides for Discovery, not Gerolsteiner; he kept the jersey after Stage 1 this year only because of the race commissioners' ruling in Santa Rosa; and he still holds onto the leader's jersey at the end of Stage 2 more»
Good news! The Versus network's TV broadcast of the Amgen Tour of California is just the beginning of its Cyclysm Sundays bicycle racing package in 2007.
With Lance Armstrong becoming more of a distant memory, Versus's (still OLN in Canada) commitment to cycling still appears strong as many spring classics are on the Sunday schedule, as is daily live coverage of the Tour de France.
Missing, however, is the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana ... more»
Butch Cassidy. John Dillinger. Ma Barker. And now, the Bicycle Bank Robber.
Two possible rail-to-trail projects are on the drawing boards in Washington state -- one in scenic northeastern Washington and another in the traffic-choked Seattle suburbs.
I guess we won't have Jan Ullrich to kick around anymore. He announced his retirement as a professional cyclist on Monday.
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American cyclist George Hincapie broke his wrist in that collision early in Saturday's Stage 6 of the Amgen Tour of California and won't return for the final stage on Sunday.
Photo by 
To the disappointment of some family members, I returned to the "old bike movie" genre recently and rented "Beijing Bicycle."
The peloton sweeps past throngs lining the streets in Sacramento. Photo by
Good news! The Versus network's TV broadcast of the Amgen Tour of California is just the beginning of its Cyclysm Sundays bicycle racing package in 2007.