2009 archive
Spring might seem to be the best time to dial in the fit of your bicycle, but some riders may notice that necks and backs begin to pinch a little during long summer bike rides.
For me, it's a sore knee brought on by too many uphill miles on my second-hand mountain bike that I never took the time to fit properly.
While searching for some other bike-related videos, I stumbled across this video (on jump) from YouTube of a bike fit system used over at Veloce Velo in Issaquah. I also found a do-it-yourself system produced by Performance Bicycles.
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/08/02/2-videos-show-different-ways-to-achieve-a-good-bike-fit/
With the 2009 Tour of Missouri coming up next month (September 7-13), the organizers have released detailed maps for all seven stages.
Fans can check out the best street corners for watching the Stage 1 and 7 criteriums in St. Louis and Kansas City or the steepest climbs in the Ozarks on Stage 3 between Farmington and Rolla.
Cyclists looking for a challenge, and who isn't, can use the maps to test their mettle against the pros. I'm thinking that 114-mile ride through the Ozarks would be intriguing. At least one club, Velo Girardeau, is hosting a bike ride along the route from Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau. ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/08/02/2009-tour-of-missouri-stage-maps-are-available-online/
Apparently one of the biggest controversies in Aspen, Colorado, this week is whether the city should sponsor a “Lance Armstrong LiveStrong Day.”
Aspen is Armstrong's new home, where he bought a $9 million home to live with Anna Hansen and their less than 2-month-old son Maxwell Edward Armstrong.
At Monday's City Council meeting Mayor Mick Ireland proposed a special celebration to commemorate Armstrong. He told the New York Times: “It seems perfectly appropriate to acknowledge someone who is a part-time resident.”
Others don't see it that way. Councilmember Steve Skadron said it was a cheap way to capitalize on Armstrong's celebrity, and another said the city should focus its support on local athletes.
In an editorial “Enough of the idolatry,” the Aspen Times writes …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/31/dust-up-in-aspen-over-lance-armstrong-celebration/
The Centers for Disease Control issued 24 recommendations last week that communities could employ to beat one of the nation's biggest health crises — obesity.
In one instance in the report, the CDC suggested that communities build bike lanes and shared paths to encourage folks to get out on their bicycles.
Here's the report's recommendation No. 17 regarding bicycling:
Communities Should Enhance Infrastructure Supporting Bicycling
Overview
Enhancing infrastructure supporting bicycling includes creating bike lanes, shared-use paths, and routes on existing and new roads; and providing bike racks in the vicinity of commercial and other public spaces. Improving bicycling infrastructure can be effective in increasing frequency of cycling for utilitarian purposes ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/31/cdc-backs-bicycle-lanes-and-paths-to-fight-obesity-epidemic/
New York City curbed one of the biggest obstacles to riding a bicycle to work — finding a secure place to park your ride.
The Bicycle Access Bill passed by the City Council on Wednesday requires that building owners provide access to freight elevators for bicycle commuters so they can park their bicycles at work. Another bill requires that parking lots with more than 200 spaces create paid bicycle spaces.
Now, with these laws in hand, bicycle advocates across the country can begin work to get similar bills passed in their cities. It only took 16 years in New York.
Even with passage of the bill, bicycle advocates don't expect an easy ride ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/30/new-york-city-pushes-bicycle-access-to-buildings/
Universal Sports, the network that brought us live streaming of the Giro d'Italia, is following up with live online and delayed broadcasts of the 2009 Vuelta a Espana which rolls out from August 29 to September 20.
All 21 stages will be shown live at UniversalSports.com every morning, complete with an online “Tracker” that shows riders' positions on the course and stage maps and profiles.
The stages will be replayed on the Universal Sports broadcast and cable network during the day and followed by an enhanced replay in primetime.
Meanwhile, Tour de France broadcaster Versus announced that viewership soared 41% over the previous year. Multichannel News reported that the Versus website fared well too, with a 117% increase in traffic over 2008 …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/29/live-videostream-for-2009-vuelta-a-espana-at-universal-sports-versus-tdf-ratings-soar/
Will Saxo Bank star cross over to Team RadioShack?
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/28/andy-schleck/
Alabama's new state motto (with apologies to Orsen Wells who delivered this punch line for Paul Masson):
“We will serve no wine before it's time naked nymphs on bicycles are removed from the label.”
The Cycles Gladiator brand of wine has been banned from shelves in Alabama by the Alabama Beverage Commission because the label is deemed pornographic.
The art is nothing new. The label is a replica of a Parisian bicycle poster dating back to 1895 and shows a nude woman flying through the heavens with a bicycle. Naked, yes. Pornographic, no …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/28/alabama-bans-wine-depicting-naked-nymph-flying-with-bicycle/
Remember how the prospect of federal stimulus funding posed such good possibilities for installing more bicycle lanes and creating more bike and pedestrian trails when it was approved in February?
Well, a group named Smart Growth America has analyzed the requests from states for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding and found that only 2.8 percent ($605.4 million) will go toward non-motorized projects.
An even lesser amount 0.9 percent (or $189.4 million) will go toward public transportation projects. The report is summarized at the Smart Growth America blog:
“While some states proved excellent at investing wisely and making progress, most states failed to fulfill pressing transportation needs. ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/27/best-and-worst-states-for-spending-stimulus-money-on-non-highway-projects/
When Lance Armstrong announced last September that he was coming out of retirement to race once again at the Tour de France, I only hoped that he wouldn't embarrass himself.
He dropped out of pro cycing for 3 1/2 years and had turned 38 years old. He might have been a little beyond his prime.
But Armstrong has proven the past three weeks that he still has the stamina and guts to compete at the elite level. Remarkably, he never fell out of the Top 10 and spent most of the race in either 2nd or 3rd place.
A podium finish in Paris is damn good. We can only wonder at the result if he had a team working for him instead of sharing loyalties with the eventual champion, Alberto Contador.
Unless something happens on the way to Paris on the final stage on Sunday, here's how he reached the podium:
Stage 1: 10th place, 40 seconds behind — Armstrong holds the best time in the individual time trial for much of the day in Monaco. Fabian Cancellara won the stage. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/26/lance-armstrongs-stage-by-stage-ride-to-podium-finish-at-2009-tour-de-france/
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