(Updates bike stops)The Mercer Island police department has been kind enough to get back to me regarding where they're targeting stop-sign enforcement and what bicyclists should consider as a full stop.
Mercer Island police Cmdr. Leslie Burns says the department will concentrate its enforcement actions at locations where they get the most complaints.
For bicyclists running stop signs, that's been at 84th Avenue SE and SE 24th Street (the entrance to Luther Burbank Park) and the four-way stop at SE 24th Street and West Mercer Way. ... more»
A recurrent theme of the 2007 Giro d'Italia is becoming Alessandro Petacchi wins the stage and Danilo Di Luca retains the lead.
It was true again on Thursday for the essentially flat, 126-mile race from Udine to Riese Pio X; Petacchi posted his fourth stage win of the three-week Giro and Di Luca accepted the overall leader's pink jersey for the 10th time.
As Di Luca holds a gap of 2-minutes-24 -- or more -- over the field, it's beginning to look very likely that he'll hold the pink jersey all the way to the finish in Milan on Thursday. ... more»
Mercer Island is warning that police officers will issue tickets to bicyclists who don't stop at stop signs on the island.
It's part of a crackdown that is also to involve ticketing motorists who unsafely pass cyclists, particularly on the twisting Mercer Way loop around the island.
The island has been the stage for conflicts between bicyclists and motorists for years. Situated in Lake Washington between Bellevue and Seattle, the island is a thoroughfare for bike commuters passing through on the I-90 bike lanes. A narrow road that encircles the island is a popular loop for cyclists out for a spin. ... more»
Two-time Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni beat the field Wednesday on the mountaintop finish at Monte Zoncolan, one of the steepest climbs in Europe.
Riding with two other cyclists on the final stretch of the climb, Simoni put overall leader Danilo Di Luca into difficulty but couldn't finish him off as Di Luca struggled across the line in 4th place, 31 seconds behind Simoni.
The day's highlights played out on Monte Zoncolan, merely a 6.2-mile long climb that averages an 11.9% gradient, with a maximum of 22%. The mountain came at the finish of the 88-mile Stage 17 that started in Lienz, Austria. ... more»
The outdoor camp enables children, such as my developmentally delayed daughter, the opportunity to experience a typical week-long summer camp.
In spite of their disabilities, children like my daughter still like to be active and do things that other kids do. At left she's enjoys riding a trike at a recent family camp. ... more»
Stefano Garzelli has won the Giro d'Italia (in 2000) and won sprints to the finish; but he has never chalked up a solo finish, until Tuesday.
The Italian caught up with a breakaway about 23 miles from the finish, then attacked them on the Bannberg climb with 18 miles to go. Since the 33-year cyclist for Acqua & Sappone started the day 20 minutes back, race leader Danilo Di Luca didn't see a threat and let him go .... more»
The most difficult stage of this year's Giro d'Italia was marked by a 23-year-old cyclist winning the stage and the beleaguered leader gaining time on his rivals.
Riccardo Ricco of Saunier Duval won the Giro's 15th stage, crossing over three mountain passes before the mountaintop finish at Tre Cime Di Lavaredo.
Meanwhile his team leader, Gilberto Simoni, lost some of the time that he had gained on Saturday against overall leader Danilo Di Luca of the Liquigas team. Simoni dropped to 3-minutes-19 behind Di Luca, even though he climbed one place to fourth. ... more»
The early favorites pressed Giro d'Italia leader Danilo Di Luca in Stage 14 on Saturday, as three of them gained time on the Italian cyclist.
Stefano Garzelli won a seven-man sprint at the end of the 119-mile race from Cantu to Bergamo that included former Giro winners Gilberto Simoni and Paolo Savoldelli.
Di Luca finished at the head of a chase group racing into Bergamo in a stage that capped two mountains .... more»
Even though Bjarne Riis admitted that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the 1996 Tour de France, he won't lose the title because of the pro cycling's 8-year statute of limitations.
At least the Union Cycliste Internationale should adopt using an "*" after his name and other cheaters as in:
"* -- Admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs after the statute of limitations had expired, therefore the title remains on the books but means nothing."
Former Danish cyclist Bjarne Riis said he's willing to give up his 1996 Tour de France title after admitting on Friday to taking a medicine chest full of performance-enhancing drugs.
So who would be worthy to receive it? We might have to go pretty far down the list of finishers to find someone.
No. 2 that year was Jan Ullrich. No way. With 7 Telekom teammates already admitting to taking banned performance boosters, and doctors saying they readily dispensed them, is anyone serious about giving Ullrich the title? ... more»
It should probably be no surprise that 2006 Italian time trial champion Marzio Bruseghin won the uphill time trial at Stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia on Friday.
The effort was good enough to win, but not to unseat Danilo Di Luca from the overall lead. Di Luca finished in third place in the 7.8 mile time trial, just 8 seconds behind Bruseghin.
US cyclist Dave Zabriskie (Team CSC) finished in fourth place in the time trial, 19 seconds behind the winner. ... more»
Racing for Germany's Team Telekom in the mid-1990s must have been something like: "Fill up your water bottle, take your EPO injection, and get back on the bike."
Bjarne Riis, winner of the 1996 Tour de France, is the latest former Telekom team member to admit to doping; he confessed publically Friday to taking EPO, human growth hormone and steriods from 1993 to 1998.
Erik Zabel and Rolf Aldag, two long-time T-Mobile (Telekom) cycling roommates, are disclosing that they doped with the banned blood-boosting agent EPO in the mid 1990s. They're among 7 Telekom cyclists who admitted to doping this week. ... more»
Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca has been a major force during the first half of the Giro d'Italia, and with a win in Stage 12, he shows that he plans to have a major impact on the second half of the race as well.
Di Luca won his second stage of the Giro on Thursday, and regained the pink leader's jersey, which he will wear for the fourth time during Friday's time trial.
American cyclist George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) and Aussie Robbie McEwen (Davitamon Lotto) did not start Stage 12, presumably to rest up for the Tour de France. American David Zabriskie (Team CSC) is still in the race, making a play for the lead group on one of the climbs. ... more»
If you enjoyed commuting to work by bicycle last week, you might to interested to know that there are some companies that support their bike commuters monetarily year-round.
Some bicycle-friendly firms pay a stipend, others reduce health-care charges, while others help pay for, or even give away, a commuting bike.
Here's a list of six companies recently listed in Business Week ("Who's Pushing Pedal-Pushing) and some I've written about in the past. .... more»
(Updates bike stops)The Mercer Island police department has been kind enough to get back to me regarding where they're targeting stop-sign enforcement and what bicyclists should consider as a full stop.
Two-time Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni beat the field Wednesday on the mountaintop finish at Monte Zoncolan, one of the steepest climbs in Europe.
This weekend, my son and I are riding our bicycles in the Stanley Stammpede, a charity bike ride to benefit the 
The early favorites pressed Giro d'Italia leader Danilo Di Luca in Stage 14 on Saturday, as three of them gained time on the Italian cyclist.
Former Danish cyclist Bjarne Riis said he's willing to give up his 1996 Tour de France title after admitting on Friday to taking a medicine chest full of performance-enhancing drugs.
Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca has been a major force during the first half of the Giro d'Italia, and with a win in Stage 12, he shows that he plans to have a major impact on the second half of the race as well.
