Organizers of the Tour of Utah cancelled the week-long bicycle race this year due to a lack of sponsors.

Sounds like a familiar refrain? The Tour of Georgia is going ahead without a title sponsor but is depending on smaller sponsors and a hoped for $1 million infusion from Georgia taxpayers.

The inaugural Tour of Missouri also is seeking a title sponsor as is the Montreal-Boston Tour. The only big US tour flush with money this year was the Tour of California, which was sponsored by drug-maker Amgen for the second straight year. ...   more »

Here's a way to get smashed while you're cycling and walk away unscathed.

The PedalPub in Minneapolis-St. Paul is a rolling bar built for 16. Ten seats are set up with freewheels for pedaling, with room for a few freeloaders, a bartender and a driver.

Owners Al Boyce and Eric Olson report at their PedalPub website that the activity is strictly legal -- PedalPub doesn't sell, supply or serve any beverages. That's left up to the renters who can bring anything along, much as they would in a limo. ...   more »

It's sometimes a challenge to schedule bicycling tours that don't conflict with other recreational events.

But I was surprised to discover the niche of naked bicycling was so crowded on the Seattle calendar that the organizers of the World Naked Bike Ride here are struggling to find an open date.

I was reading over at the Gadling bicycle touring blog that World Naked Bike Rides -- protesting oil dependency and the car culture -- were held in Australia and South America on March 10, and that similar rides are scheduled in the northern half of the planet on June 9 and 30. I thought it would be cool to post the local date on the my bicycling calendar. ...   more »

The growing obesity rate of Americans is one of the items that struck me in Trek Bicycle boss John Burke's slideshow to other bicycle makers the other day.

Burke showed a series of slides, represented at right, showing the increase and geographical range of obesity rates among adults Americans in the past 15 years.  

If you're in the obesity range -- 30 pounds overweight for a 5-foot-4 adult -- or you want to hold your weight steady, you might be interested to check out a calorie calculator that estimates how many calories are burned by different activities.

For instance, I discovered that one hour of cycling at 12-14 mph burns 594 calories, while one hour of blogging (writing) burns 72 calories. ...   more »

If you bicycle or walk around Bellevue, you only have about two weeks to have your voice heard in the Walk & Roll 2007 Pedestrian-Bike Plan.

An online survey is available at the city of Bellevue website through April 10. I filled it out recently and it only takes a few minutes.

It's basically a multiple choice survey -- "always," "sometimes," "never" -- to determine what bicycle facilities you use or would use if available. It also has space for respondents to fill in their major concerns or specific needs for bicycing in the city; this can be more time-consuming but it's necessary to put the officials on notice. ...   more »

Family members of a bicyclist who was struck and killed by a legally blind motorist in central Pennsylvania are livid that prosecutors are only seeking home confinement for the driver.

The CentreDaily reports that the Boalsburg man had filed medical disability forms beginning in the mid 1980s stating he was legally blind. He pleaded guilty this week to homicide by vehicle.

The victim's daughter says she thinks the prosecutor is taking the easy way out....   more »

"In my view, the industry's greatest opportunity is to create a bicycle friendly world."

That was Trek president John Burke's message to industry leaders at the bicycle trade show in Taiwan last weekend.

Burke says that people are beginning to figure out that the bicycle is the simple solution to many of the world's greatest problems -- air pollution, obesity, urbanization and traffic congestion.

Bike Biz editor Carlton Reid shot a video of Burke's talk before the bike industry's so-called A-team meeting in Taipei last weekend. It's 23 minutes on YouTube worth watching to boost your bike advocacy juices. ...   more »

Dynacraft BSC is recalling 32,000 bicycles sold at Target from September 2004 to February 2007 because the frames might crack.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reports the recalled bikes are the Triax PK7 (model 8509-24) (at left) and Vertical PK7 (model 8596-71T) 20-inch aluminum cushion framed bicycles.

The model numbers and dates are attached right above the bottom bracket. ...   more »

Proper bicycling technique is all about spinning. There's also a lot of spin in the roll out of bicycles that use Shimano's Coasting concept.

Trek, Raleigh and Giant all have bicycle models based on the new Coasting prototype, a design to make bicycling more friendly for the 161 million Americans out there who don't already ride a bike.

US-based Trek is leading the charge with its new Lime bike. A couple of weeks ago it gave away Lime bikes to the entire Friday audience of the Ellen Degeneres show and launched a Lime blog, where it announces, among other things, celebrities who ride a Lime (Tom Hanks) ...   more »

LeBron James, the king of the basketball court in Cleveland, has acquired an undisclosed share of privately held Cannondale Bicycle.

James uses Cannondale bicycles for his annual charity bike ride for kids and single moms in Akron. In addition, he cross-trains on a custom-made Cannondale Caffeine 29er frame bike.

The 22-year-old All-Star for the Cleveland Cavaliers explained: "Biking is an extremely important part of my training routine, and I like to invest in what I know." ...   more »

"(Expletive) Lance Armstrong. I'm just tired of being told who to admire in this country. . . . I'll pick my own heroes, thanks."

Comedian George Carlin during a routine at the local Civic Center; "Carlin's still vulgar, but endearingly so," Peoria Journal Star, March 26, 2007.

He's probably making a point about the marketing of Armstrong rather than his actual successes in beating cancer and winning 7 Tours de France. Good way to get attention, though.

Travellers preparing for bicycle tours of Europe are discovering that the airlines are jacking up the prices to carry bikes.

The International Bicycle Fund reports that, beginning in 2007, most airlines began charging for bicycles carried on trans-Atlantic flights to the tune of $80 to $160 each way. Before this year, ibike reported that airlines generally allowed bicycles to fly free, in lieu of a piece of baggage.

Why is this happening? Ibike suggests collusion among the airlines to pump up earnings. ...   more »

UPDATE: March 29, 2007 -- Deadline to register extended to 5 p.m. CST Friday.

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Lance Armstrong is taking a 100-member strong bicycling team with him to this year's Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) and he's looking for volunteers.

There are about 40 slots still open for cyclists who raise a minimum $1,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and who register no later than midnight (Central Time) on Tuesday, March 27. Go to the LiveStrong RAGBRAI website for details.

The 7-time Tour de France winner showed up with a small cadre of cyclists to last year's bike ride across Iowa (photo) for a just a couple of days, and pledged to return this year for the entire week-long ride. ...   more »

Have you ever been out on one of those perfect bike rides when everything seemed right and you kept pedaling and pedaling and suddenly discovered you were either way far from home or just plain lost?

Then you can identify with Laurie, the heroine in the French Canadian movie "2 Seconds."

Laurie is an accomplished downhill racer who loses her sponsor after spending too much time (hmmm, about 2 seconds) behind the starting gate when it opens. Fired, she returns to Montreal to live in her brother's apartment and get a job as a bike messenger. ...   more »

Too often, motorists are sentenced to probation when they're judged guilty in bicycle fatality cases. What happens to them?

In two cases reported this week in Indiana and New York, the drivers in two hit-and-run bicyclist deaths are being dragged back into court for violating terms of their probation.

After being too lenient the first time around, maybe the judges can dole out some meaningful justice in these cases given a second chance. ...   more »