2006 archive

70-year-old cyclist's training regimen for bicycle tour

Seventy-year-old Sean Sweeney had a unique way of training for his latest bicycle tour from Montana to Alaska — he hauled sand.

The Adventure Cycling Association bike tour was his fourth long-distance tour since he bicycled cross country in 2002. To prepare for this 3,330-mile trek, he carried 50 pounds of sand in a BOB trailer up and down the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail in Maryland. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/14/70-year-old-cyclists-training-regimen-for-bicycle-tour/

The “All You Can Eat” Century bike ride

The Spring City Cycling Club of Huntsville, Alabama, is hosting this Saturday the 22nd running of a century bike ride with one of the most alluring names.

After cyclists finish one of the bike rides of 25, 50, 65, 90, or 107 miles in the “All You Can Eat”, they're treated to showers and a carbohydrate-rich Italian meal followed by ice cream sandwiches. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/14/the-all-you-can-eat-century-bike-ride/

Bicycle quote: Fashion statement

“Walking into a bar, we look like John Wayne — in spandex.”

Lar Winans, 72, describes his stiff gait …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/13/bicycle-quote-fashion-statement/

Hood Canal Bridge

The bridge crossing the Hood Canal on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. The approaches to the bridge are wide enough, but the main span and center drawspan are very narrow. I stopped here just after the shoulder widened.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/13/hood-canal-bridge/

Sean Sweeney and his touring trailer

Sean Sweeney, 70, of Annapolis with his bicycle rig in 2002. Photo appeared in Annapolis Capital. In 2006 the cyclist rode 3,300 miles from Missoula, Montana, to Anchorage, Alaska, on Adventure Cycling's North Star bike tour.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/13/sean-sweeney-and-his-touring-trailer/

Vinokourov snatches gold from Valverde at Vuelta a Espana

That crazy Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov rode into the leader's gold jersey at the Vuelta bike race on Wednesday as American Tom Danielson won the 102-mile stage.

Vinokourov attacked race leader Alejandro Valverde on the climb up Alto de Monachil. The Spanish rider finally caught up to Vinokourov on the descent, but Vino accelerated again.

While Valverde couldn't keep up, Vinokourov rode ahead …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/13/vinokourov-snatches-gold-from-valverde-at-vuelta-a-espana/

New York City announces extensive bicycle network

The Big Apple has announced big plans for a bicycle network that encompasses the addition of 200 miles of new on-street bicycle lanes, routes and pathways in the next three years.

The idea is to improve the health and safety of New Yorkers. The announcement, made by the city's directors of transportation, health, parks and police, cites the deaths of 225 cyclists on city streets in the past decade, as well as chronic health problems of the city's denizens. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/13/new-york-city-announces-extensive-bicycle-network/

5 Boroughs

By cosimoilvecchio at flickr.com

Cyclists riding in 2006 5 Boro Bike Tour last May.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/13/5-boroughs/

Last week of Vuelta a Espana bike race

While the big headlines in bicycle racing lately all have dealt with doping, a group of cyclists are beginning the third and final week of the Spanish soap opera entitled the Vuelta a Espana.

The overall leader of the race is Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde. We last heard from him when he clipped the back wheel of a teammate in the Tour de France, broke his collarbone and dropped out. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/12/last-week-of-vuelta-a-espana-bike-race/

Former cyclist and OLN commentator Frankie Andreu admits to doping

Former US Postal Service cyclist Frankie Andreu tells the New York Times in Tuesday's editions that he took the blood-boosting drug EPO in 1999.

You know Andreu. He's the former American cyclist and current OLN commentator who interviews racers before and after stages of the Tour de France. He and his wife, Betsy, testified earlier this year that they overheard former teammate Lance Armstrong tell his cancer doctors in 1996 that he used EPO and other performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong has vociferously denied that charge. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/09/12/former-cyclist-and-oln-commentator-frankie-andreu-admits-to-doping/