A dozen cities will host starts or finishes at the second annual Tour of Missouri that rolls our for 7 days in 2008 from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14.

The 623-mile pro bicycle race begins on Monday in St. Joseph with a 90-mile stage race to Kansas City. It ends Sunday at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis with a circuit race.

Once again the racers will pedal the hills around Branson for the individual time trial, but they won't visit one of last year's cities -- Columbia -- at all...   more »

When I rented a bike in Sacramento for a ride along the American River up to Folsom Lake, I took my camera to shoot signs of bicycling.

I got that, but I also got pictures of wildlife out in the brush or perched in the bare trees. Other animals crossed the bike trail just ahead of me and disappeared into the brush before I could point and click.

The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail passes through a rich wildlife corridor for some 32 miles between Sacramento and Lake Folsom along the American River Parkway...   more »

The Lance Armstrong Foundation is lending its LiveStrong brand to a new, for-profit social-networking website that will launch later this year.

The Internet venture is being put together by former MySpace.com chairman Richard Rosenblatt and his company Demand Media.

The Austin American-Statesman says both will benefit from the deal. Demand Media will get all the advertising revenue from the website ....   more »

Usually it's the light sentences, or lack of charges in bicyclist fatalities that make me angry. But here's a case where an Arizona woman received almost the maximum sentence, and it still makes my blood run cold.

The judge in Tucson gave Melissa Arrington, 27, a 10-1/2-year prison sentence after hearing a jailhouse phone conversation between Arrington and a male friend in which they joked about how she should get a medal and parade.

Arrington was convicted of negligent homicide and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence stemming from the December 2006 death of Paul L'Ecuyer...   more »

Ciclovia is a regular event in several Latin American cities where cars and trucks are banned on weekends and the streets are given back to bicycles and pedestrians.

The largest is in Bogota, Colombia, where 70 miles of streets are blocked every Sunday and holiday. Among other cities, the regular car-free streets idea has been picked up by Guadalajara, Mexico (picture at left), where 7 miles of major thoroughfares are closed every Sunday to all but bicyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters.

El Paso, Texas, was the first city to adopt the event in the US. Chicago, under the guidance of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, held a few car-free events called Sunday Parkways the past couple of years and is planning on making it a weekly event...   more »

This is an abandoned section of the American River bike trail in Sacramento. I'm plenty glad it was replaced with a newer section on higher ground before my visit here.

When the chance to travel to Sacramento for a few days presented itself in December, I jumped at the opportunity to get away from Seattle's typical dreary late January weather.

Well, I had to wear my sunglasses on the ride to catch my departing flight, and I arrived at California's capital in the rain, wind and cold. The newspaper here calls the weather "Seattle-like" and TV news teased the weather reports with the scroll --  "Hello Seattle." ...   more »

Good luck to the 34 cyclists chosen by USA Cycling for the Olympics "long team" -- the first step toward qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Three make their homes in the Pacific Northwest. They are Kristin Armstrong of Boise, Adam Craig of Bend, and Jennie Reed of Kirkland. Reed, a graduate of Issaquah High School, also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics women's track event.

Pro cyclist Levi Leipheimer was an automatic qualifier for the men's road race team, although no "long team" has been chosen for that event....   more »

The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa announced the eight cities that will play host to stops on RAGBRAI from July 20 through 26.

The overnight towns on the west-to-east bike route are Missouri Valley, Harlan, Jefferson, Ames, Tama-Toledo, North Liberty, Tipton and Le Claire.

RAGBRAI says the this year's route is 471 miles long ...   more »

It's hard to imagine Interbike anywhere except Las Vegas, but show coordinators are considering relocating the fall bicycle expo to another city.

The long-term contract at the Sands Convention Center runs through 2009. Interbike industry consultant Lance Camisasca recently said the decision to stay or move must be made by mid-2008.

If Interbike were to move, the leading options are Anaheim and Denver. They have the required floor space, and good restaurants, hotels and entertainment for the more than 20,000 who attend...   more »

Hold the phone! A couple of months after T-Mobile hangs up on cycling, AT&T increases its presence in the sport.

The giant communications company has signed on as the presenting sponsor for the 6th annual Tour de Georgia, which runs from April 21-27. That's peachy because the race didn't have a major sponsor last year and was in danger of being cancelled.

What's ironic is that another communications industry player, T-Mobile, ended its sponsorship of a pro cycling team at the end of the season because of bad publicity involving team members and doping...   more »

The Lance Armstrong Foundation is expanding the LiveStrong Challenge series of fund-raiser bikes rides to include the San Francisco Bay Area this summer.

The cancer research fund-raisers are returning to Portland, Philadelphia and Austin, and organizers have added an as-yet undetermined site in the Bay Area for a fourth fund-raiser in 2008.

Reflecting Lance Armstrong's growing interest in running, as well as his continued support for cycling, the events once again give participants the choice to either ride their bikes or run...   more »

Cold dry weather in the Seattle area has been responsible for some spectacular views of the distant mountain ranges lately.

Above, a guy on a bicycle leashed up his dogs and took them for a run on the bike path at Myrtle Edwards Park along the Seattle waterfront on Tuesday.

On the left of the picture you can see the snow-capped Olympic Mountains across the Puget Sound. Those peaks are about 50 miles away as the eagle flies..   more »

If you live on an island or peninsula, sometimes the quickest way from Point A to Point B is by water. That goes for bike commuting, too.

The Seattle Times has a front page story Tuesday about two Puget Sound area residents who ride waterbikes as part of their commute to work. They're saving money and keeping fit by their daily excursions on the water.

The Times shows Bob Barrett on his HydroBike. The contraption might appear unstable, but Barrett told the Times that he's only been turned back by the wind six times in the past six years...   more »

The 2008 Bicycle Film Festival is coming off its best year ever, entertaining some 100,000 people in 15 cities around the world.

As it enters its eighth year of celebrating all things bicycle, the festival organizer is seeking submissions for this year's festival. The deadline is Feb. 19. The 2-minute video at left splices together some trailers from last year's BFF films.

Founding director Brendt Barbur says they're looking for films representing a bicycle theme or character. "A fine thriller with one scene of a bicycle chase does not count...   more »

Did you give yourself a new bicycle or new bike gear for Christmas and need to get rid of some old stuff, or are you just looking for bargains?

Either way, the next couple of months are popular times for bicycle swap meets where you'll find retail dealers or your neighbors offering great prices on bicycles and equipment.

Some of the larger bicycle clubs put together these swap meets, which are sometimes paired with an overall bicycle expo or classic bike show. Here are a few of the high profile ones in St. Louis, Seattle, Baltimore, Tucson, and western New York, among others (check your local bicycle club for local listings)...   more »

It's less than a month until the Amgen Tour of California begins and volunteers are still needed for the cycling event that rolls out Feb. 17. The Tour is a huge, moving campaign that relies on volunteers to keep it going.

Many of the volunteers are drawn from the host communities where the eight-stage bicycle race begins for finishes for the day. The cities are Palo Alto, Sausalito, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Modesto, San Jose, Seaside, San Luis Obispo, Solvang, Santa Barbara, Santa Clarita, and Pasadena.

How many are needed? One host city alone, Modesto, needs 250 more people to volunteer about a half day ...   more »

In the world of bicycling, one of the biggest mysteries to me is how someone can lose a bicycle.

I can understand a person losing track of a bicycle that is stolen and ditched, but apparently people will occasionally park a bike and then not retrieve it. Do they forget it? Did they die? Were they whisked away by aliens?

For instance, the Seattle Metro transit system reported that 863 people put their bicycles on bus racks in 2007 and forgot to remove them....   more »

Lance Armstrong must be getting to like his running game. I wonder if he's lacing up his running shoes more these days than his cycling cleats.

Armstrong is running in the high-profile Boston Marathon on April 21 to help raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. It will be his third marathon.

He qualified for the 112th event by finishing last year's New York Marathon in 2:46:43. The qualifying time for his age group -- 35-39 -- is 3:15...   more »

Updated Jan. 18

Seventeen international and domestic cycling teams will compete in the 2008 Amgen Tour of California, which rolls out February 17-24.

Although the teams have not announced their rosters, we can probably expect to see top Americans who have been dispersed across Astana (defending champ Levi Leipheimer), High Road Sports (George Hincapie), and Team Slipstream Powered by Chipotle (Dave Zabriskie) among others.

This year's 8-day, 650 mile bike race is the third Tour of California. The first was won by Floyd Landis on Phonak; the second by Leipheimer on Discovery Channel.

Here are the 17 teams that are competing...   more »

Some New York City investors plan to build a bike parking lot -- "the premier bike parking facility in the country" -- on a lot on West 33rd Street in midtown (artist rendering at left).

Stonehenge Management has offered the 34th Street Partnership a 1,200-square-foot lot that's about a block from Penn Station, and the execs are looking for a corporation to invest about $200,000 in the idea.

Similar facilities available in six cities on the West Coast are called Bike Stations. Chicago has the McDonald's Cycle Center. All offer secure parking, as well as showers and repair shops ...   more »

Bicycling blogger Larry Lagarde is trying to stir up interest in so-called "bike trains" on Amtrak.

The author of RideThisBike.com is excited about last year's success of Bike Train on ViaRail, the Canadian national passenger rail carrier. The service allowed dozens of bicycles to be loaded "as is" -- without boxes or disassembly -- between Toronto and Niagara on four weekends.

ViaRail was so happy with the response that it's considering more service this summer. Larry emailed to say that he's convinced that such a service on Amtrak would have similar positive results ...   more »

Ride your bike. Hammer. Repeat.

No, this isn't a crude way to maintain your bicycle. It will be the routine for bicycle riders in seven "Bike & Build" cross-country tours this summer.

Participants in the Bike and Build Program collect donations before setting out and ride in groups of about 30. The routes cross 42 states. On days that they're not pedaling an average of 75 miles, they're building affordable housing...   more »

It's nice to know that some cities want to be considered bicycle friendly. It shows that town officials believe that thoroughfares should be used for more than gas guzzling cars and trucks, and that bicycles are a form of transportation too.

Some cities actually apply for the official Bicycle Friendly Community designation from the League of American Bicyclists. That's no rubber stamp. Of the 200 communities that have applied, only 73 have earned the designation. 

Here are recent stories about three communities -- Boca Raton, Florida; Franklin, Pennsylvania; and Roanoke, Virginia -- that want to be more bicycle friendly...   more »

The first road hazard I ever fell victim to on a bicycle was a storm drain with openings that ran parallel to the road. I picked myself up, danced around as I waited for my road-burned palms to cool off, and said to myself, "I'll never do that again."

That would have been in the early 1960s. Those road grates have disappeared in many places since then, although they're still quite common on the streets of Seattle.

Replacing those storms grates is a problem in Seattle and other cities. Storm grates cost about $500 apiece, not counting labor and other drain work that might be needed ...   more »

Once every winter the rain stops, the winds die down, the clouds part and the sun shines. Every few years that day falls on a weekend.

I exaggerate, but only slightly. Sunday was such a day in Seattle. After several weeks of nearly daily rain and drizzle, the sun shone in the Puget Sound area and temperatures rose to the low 50s.

The weather drew lots of bicyclists outdoors. Lots of their bikes had fenders and buddy flaps. Those machines looked kind of grungy. I figure those folks would have been riding Sunday anyway -- rain or shine...   more »

While the big suits of the electronics industry waited in traffic in their limos, taxis and rented cars last week, analyst Roger Kay found the easiest way to get around Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show was by bike.

The first thing Kay did when he landed in Las Vegas was rent a Cannondale mountain bike, which he used to speed from his hotel to meetings or to the convention floor.

CES is spread out between two convention sites (including the Sands Expo Center, home of Interbike) and dozens of hotels where industry gurus take meetings. Instead of spending up to an hour waiting for buses, taxies or just plain walking, Kay made the rounds on his bicycle...   more »

You might find the name Kajuan Cornish in more bicycling stories than that of Floyd Landis or Lance Armstrong for the next few days.

A judge in Newport News, Virginia, ordered the 19-year-old man to pay a $1,050 fine for recklessly riding his bicycle across an intersection during rush hour.

Virginia has an abusive driver law that charges fines against drivers with egregious traffic offenses. Even before this incident, the governor said the fees had failed and called on the legislature to repeal them...   more »

Bicycle retailers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states can see and rides lots of new bikes without having  to travel to Las Vegas to participate in the Interbike Outdoor Demo next fall.

The trade show is inaugurating the Outdoor Demo East from 9 to 5 on Oct. 21 and 22 at the Roger Williams Park in Providence, R.I., this year to serve retailers on the East Coast.

It follows the annual Interbike show in Las Vegas, with the Outdoor Demo in Bootleg Canyon slated for Sept. 22-23 and the big show at the Sands Expo and Convention Center on Sept. 24-26...   more »

The group that published the TransAmerica Bicycle Route maps more than 30 years ago is launching a map program for day-trip loops off its Underground Railroad Bicycle Route.

The first one -- Freedom's Landing, Ripley, Ohio -- is available free online at the Adventure Cycling Association website and in area bike stores and tourist stops.

In addition to being a great resource for recreational bicycle riders, the day-trip program encourages local bike clubs or other groups along the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route to create their own maps that Adventure Cycling will promote and post on its website....   more »

It's good to know that Mark Blum's Mission With Bikes did not fade away when he died in October.

Members of several churches in Ventura County, California, have stepped forward to continue repairing and finding worthwhile homes for the donated bicycles.

Blum founded Mission With Bikes in 1996 and had repaired and given away some 3,000 bicycles worldwide by the time he died at age 54 from complications from multiple sclerosis ...   more »

While Washington and New Jersey became the first states to prohibit motorists from text messaging, Japan will enforce similar laws in 2008 -- for bike riders.

The ban on text-messaging while riding a bicycle is just one of the new laws enacted for 2008 to make bicycle-riding safer in Japan. Others rules include a ban on triple-riding (an adult hauling two kids by bicycle), riding while holding an umbrella or talking on a cellphone, or listening to music with headphones.

Also to be discouraged -- and this is just plain confounding -- is constantly ringing a bicycle bell on a footpath. Doesn't just about every hike-bike trail in the US suggest that bicyclists use a bell?    more »

Pacific Cycles is recalling three brands of trailer bikes because bad welds on the couplers can cause the trailer to disconnect from the bicycle.

The recall of the 7,000 trailers, in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, covers the InStep “Pathfinder”(pictured at left), Schwinn “Run About,” and Mongoose “Alley Cat” Trailer Bicycles.

Pacific Cycles said one coupler failure has been reported, resulting in an injury to the rider. ...   more »

It took six years and $800,000, but bicyclists who get bumped from crowded Caltrains cars in San Francisco now have a secure place to leave their bikes.

The bicycle valet parking has been in operation at Fourth and Townsend streets since July, but Wednesday is the official grand opening for the facility. It can handle 130 bicycles; about 70 to 80 bicyclists have used the facility daily the past few months.

The Caltrains facility is the fourth bike station in San Francisco Bay Area. The other three are operated by the unaffiliated BikeStation and are located at the Embarcadero BART in San Francisco, the downtown Berkeley BART on Shattuck, and the Caltrains depot in Palo Alto on University Avenue...   more »

Let's hope you weren't standing at a bus stop with your trusty bicycle Monday morning and discovered you had no place to mount it on the bus.

King County Metro (Seattle) determined that its three-bike carrier racks aren't secure and tried swapping them out with two-bike carriers over the weekend. Unfortunately, the other carriers are in short supply and buses on more than a dozen routes ran without the racks.

The following routes don't have bicycle racks, which will be replaced as they become available: Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13, 14, 49 and 70, and some trips on routes 7, 36, 43 and 44.

Metro uses bicycle racks manufactured by Sportworks in Woodinville, Washington. ...   more »

One of the best bicycle travel writers around, Willie Weir, lives right here in Seattle. The Cascade Bicycle Club is sponsoring his talk "A Tale of Twos: Cycling Thailand and Laos with Willie Weir" at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the downtown REI.

If you're unfamiliar with Weir, here are a couple of YouTube videos (7 minutes above and 5 minutes on the jump) he shot. You might enjoy his common-sense approach to bicycle touring as he shows some images from the road and gives out some free travel tips regarding bicycles, tools and touring styles.

First he says that touring bicyclists must first decide the type of trip they're planning -- either physical or cultural. He explains that you won't be able to soak up much local color if you're trying to knock out 100 miles a day ...   more »

Those of us who frequently ride our bicycles along the east side of the Lake Washington bike route have been watching the construction at the Seattle Seahawks training facility on a lakefront tract in Renton.

Here you can see a bicyclist pedaling past the indoor practice facility on Friday. The building under construction is as big as a football field and tall enough to contain the highest of punts.

This little-used stretch of road will certainly get more traffic when the facility opens in the summer of 2008. A couple of waterfront industries made their homes here, but traffic was minimal. Cyclists are going to have to pay greater heed when they enter the road from a nearby bike path, especially as there will be accommodations for some 3,000 fans during training camps...   more »

Did you make New Year's resolutions to not procrastinate and to get healthy by riding your bike? Then you should have taken some time on New Year's Day to register for this year's Ride Around Washington.

The 10th annual bike tour might be the first of nearly 100 such week-long supported bicycle tours in the US to already reach its rider limit.

If you want to participate in one of these across-state bicycle tours this year, I'd recommend visiting the 2008 Across State Bicycle Tour index this weekend, following the links for your favorite choices, and making reservations...   more »

Results of a year-long hospital emergency-room survey in Austin find that bicyclists are 65% to 88% less likely to get a head injury if they're wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle.

The full report from 7 area hospitals run by Brackenridge Hospital and St. David's HealthCare will be issued in a couple of weeks.

The study was designed to put some hard information into the debate that ensued when a mandatory helmet law for adults was put before the Austin City Council. Opponents charged, among other things, that the law diverts attention away from the need for bicycle lanes and more training for cyclists and motorists...   more »

There's no evidence of widespread disenchantment with professional bicycling if you check out the 2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour calendar.

We'll witness 44 days of pro cycling in the US in 2008, up from 32 days in 2007. Sixteen races in 2008, up from 13 in 2007.

Most of the increase is due to the addition of multi-day tours in Pennsylvania and Colorado;  it's good to see the Tour of California, Tour de Georgia and Tour of Missouri are making return engagements as well. The calendar also features 10 one-day bicycle races. ...   more »

A man suspected of robbing 11 mostly Atlanta area banks and making his getaways by bicycle has been arrested by police in Roswell, Georgia.

Police wouldn't say what led them to Carlos H. Arango-Mejia, 47, of Doraville. He was arrested at his home Wednesday night and immediately booked on two area bank robberies from last spring. ...   more »

Several big names in recent cycling lore probably won't be competing in 2008 because of continued appeals of doping allegations or retirement after facing suspensions. There is, however, a surprise return engagement. Let me wrap up some highlights:

Floyd Landis, who was banned from pro cycling until January 2009, is appealing that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Switzerland-based panel is the last stop for the American bicycle racer, whose troubles started in August 2006, soon after the conclusion of the Tour de France.

A hearing lasting up to five days with CAS is tentatively scheduled for March 19 in New York City. Unlike his USADA appeal, it will not be open to the public   more »

Balance can be a huge challenge for children with special needs. The equilibrium it takes to ride a two-wheeled bicycle can seem beyond many of these kids' abilities, creating another barrier between themselves and their peers.

That's why I was glad to see the Easter Seals of  Northern California was sponsoring an "immersion" camp this year to teach bicycling to children with special needs.

The camp and systematic approach to teach two-wheeled cycling was created by a retired mechanical engineer from St. Louis, Richard Klein, who holds similar camps around the country. His program is called "Lose the Training Wheels." ...   more »

I've seen lots of ways to measure annual bicycling goals. There are total miles, total bicycle rides, total centuries, total weight loss, riding at least one major bicycle tour.

One bicyclist at the Cycling Challenge blog in Switzerland sets vertical goals. I suppose it helps if you live in the Alps, but he'll try to cycle 525,000 feet of vertical ascent, or about one foot for every minute of every day of 2008.

I'm going to renew my attempt at 4,000 miles in 2008. Last year's attempt fizzled out at the end of the summer with interruptions for testing and surgery for prostate cancer. The mileage goal didn't seem that important during that period ...   more »