2007 archive
What makes someone a Trail Angel? In Gillian Hoggard's case, it's providing free lodging to cross-country bicycle tourists who have made it to Ordway, Colorado.
The Adventure Cycling Association named Gillian as the recipient of the 2006 June Curry Trail Angel Award. In its fourth year, the award goes to an individual or group that makes bicyclists' journeys easier by their acts of goodwill.
Word of mouth on the TransAmerica Bicycle Route has identified Gillian's home at the end of a gravel driveway on the north side of Ordway as a welcome respite while passing through the often hot, dry eastern Colorado plains (that picture was taken enroute to Ordway in 1984) …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/20/newest-trail-angel-makes-life-easier-for-bicycle-travelers/
In the irony of ironies, Spanish cyclist Oscar Pereiro is being questioned by French anti-doping authorities for two failed drug tests during the Tour de France.
The number 2 finisher in last year's Tour, Pereiro, left, had been all but annointed with the yellow jersey as 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis fights accusations that he doped during the Tour. If Landis loses the fight, he loses the Tour title.
If Pereiro can't satisfactorily respond to the doping accusations, the title might go to — bear with me while I look this up — No. 3 finisher Andreas Kloden (Germany) of T-Mobile. But the French newspaper Le Monde says six other unidentified cyclists are being challenged.
As we go down the GC, we don't get to a Frenchman until AG2R's Cyril Dresser in No. 7. That might sound a little fishy, but Le Monde reported that some of the cyclists being challenged were Frenchmen. ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/19/pereiro-joins-landis-under-tour-de-france-doping-scrutiny/
Bicyclists and motorcyclists have more in common than just their desire to tool around on two wheels. Along with pedestrians, both types of bikers are extremely vulnerable to mistakes motorists make.
The American Motorcycle Association has taken a leading role in pushing for traffic justice through state capitols across the nation. When the League of American Bicyclists meets in Washington DC for its annual National Bike Summit March 13-16, representatives from the motorcycle association will be on hand to discuss their efforts.
The motorcycle group's Justice for All Campaign focuses on inadequate sentencing of drivers who injure or kill others on the road. They seek 3 changes in state laws …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/18/can-bicycle-and-motorcycle-groups-make-roads-safer/
Maybe you have your own bicycling frustrations. Breaking off valve stems has been mine.
The first time occurred after I patched a flat during Cycle Across Maryland, pumped up the tire, and the innertube started leaking at its connection with the valve stem. It happened twice on that trip.
I chalked it up to “bad innertubes,” but this has continued to plague me year after year, regardless of brand. Ever since I became a firm believer in Mr. Tuffies and graduated up to Armadillo-style tires …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/18/why-my-valve-stems-keep-busting-loose/
I hate it when this happens
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/18/valve-stem-popped-off-innertube/
One month to go and the Amgen Tour of California has announced the 18 professional bicycling teams for the Feb. 18-25 stage race from San Francisco to Long Beach.
The list of cycling teams includes 10 US-based teams and 9 teams on the UCI Pro Tour.
I'm looking forward to this. Last year's inaugural race included wins by George Hincapie for Discovery and Levi Leipheimer, above, for Gerolsteiner (he's now with Discovery also).  Notably absent in 2007 will be overall winner Floyd Landis, who is fighting blood doping charges.
The teams listed for the 2007 Tour of California, and links to websites where rosters can be found …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/17/bicycle-teams-announced-for-2007-tour-of-california/
UPDATED: Jan. 16 — South Carolina police said Monday that no charges will be filed in the bicycling death of Rachel Giblin, a 15-year-old girl who was struck by a pickup truck during a MS 150 bike ride last September.
Rachel and her brother, Tommy, were riding a tandem bicycle in the Breakaway to the Beach fund-raiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on Sept. 16, 2006, with their parents.
In the months following the fatality, Highway Patrol investigators determined that Rachel and her brother fell and were hit as the pickup truck passed.
Rachel's parents dispute that version and want the case reopened. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/16/no-charges-in-september-charity-bike-ride-death-parents-react/
Last week I wrote about some of the advantages of shelling out the extra money to buy a custom bicycle instead of a model off the shelf.
Here's the opposite idea: buy nothing new. Instead of plopping down money for a spanking new bike, search around and get one that someone is giving away. You might not get the exact selection you're after with your unique specifications, but the price is right — $00.00.
Over the new year, a story circulated about a group of folks in San Francisco who started a “buy nothing new” movement, called The Compact. Except for food, toiletries and other health and safety items, the group pledged to stick to finding free or used items.
There are a few websites that deal in free stuff, and of course there's Craigslist …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/16/where-to-find-free-not-new-bicycle-stuff/
Too late for this bike to be saved. Lots of rust. bobclothier at flickr.com
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/16/old-bicycle/
Chalk up 85 straight hours of bicycling on a stationary cycle for 49-year-old Aurora, Illinois, resident George Hood.
As he broke the previous Guinness World Record of 82 hours Saturday evening, he passed the equivalent of 1,000 miles.
Hood was riding the solo endurance event to raise $25,000 for the Illinois COPS (Concerns of Police Officers), a group dedicated to raising money for survivors of police killed in the line of duty. You might remember two policemen on bikes died in a COPS fund-raising bike ride in neighboring Indiana last year. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/14/85-straight-hours-on-a-stationary-bicycle/
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