2009 archive

A tandem bike ride leads to treatment for Parkinson's

A simple tandem bike ride may have unlocked a treatment for Parkinson's disease, a disorder of the central nervous system that impairs motor skills and speech.

The discovery happened when a biomedical engineer, Jay Alberts, captained a tandem in a 200-mile bike tour of Iowa with a friend who was afflicted with Parkinson's.

At the end of that 2003 bike ride, the tandem's stoker said her hand tremors had stopped at the end of the day.

A couple of years later, Alberts conducted a tandem bicycling experiement with a neurologist who suffered from Parkinson's. Again, his tremors stopped after a 50-mile tandem bike ride …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/13/a-tandem-bike-ride-leads-to-treatment-for-parkinsons/

Where to find bike commuters in Bellevue

Where and when are you most likely to find bicycle riders in Bellevue, Washington? It's the I-90 bike trail in the Enatai neighborhood.

According to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Count Report taken on Sept. 29, bicycle commuters come through there at the rate of 2 per minute between 4 and 6 p.m., and at about 1 per minute between 7 and 9 a.m.

If you commute between the Eastside and Seattle, that I-90 bridge trail is the only way across Lake Washington. The only alternatives are riding through Renton south of the lake or the Burke-Gilman Trail through Bothell north of the lake. [The photo shows bike commuters at that location on a bike-to-work day …..

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/12/where-to-find-bike-commuters-in-bellevue/

Creating bicycling bliss in Copenhagen

As the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen draws to a close, some journalists took advantage of a bike tour through the city on Thursday offered by the Cycling Embassy of Denmark.

The description by one reporter at the Telegraph makes the city sound like bicycling heaven:

“Despite the drizzle and cold, for someone who bikes in London it was sheer bliss. There are bike lanes everywhere, with enough room for two or three cyclists. Cycle routes are closed to traffic and there are shortcuts by lakesides and through pretty parks. There is no weaving through traffic, running over pedestrians or throwing hand signals because you simply don’t have to, there is room for everyone.”

Apparently bicycling in Denmark in the '70s was destined to go the way of the dodo bird ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/11/creating-bicycling-bliss-in-copenhagen/

Cyclists in Copehagen

Riding through the fog in Copenhagen. Photo by the Cycling Embassy of Denmark.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/11/cyclists-in-copehagen/

Lance Armstrong's 2010 cycling schedule

Some interesting news from Lance Armstrong buried in other items at the Team RadioShack press conference in Tucson this week was his tentative bike racing schedule for 2010.

VeloNews mentions just six races for Armstrong in the 2010 season, although there's nothing to prevent him from adding more.

Here are the races as reported at VeloNews and the dates ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/11/lance-armstrongs-2010-cycling-schedule/

Trek Madone

This style bike will be used by Team RadioShack in 2010.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/10/trek-madone/

Bicycle video detection camera

Video cameras that use image recognition software can be used to detect bicycles in an intersection and trigger a green light.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/09/bicycle-video-detection-camera/

Expanding use of bicycle video detection at intersections

Does this annoyance sound familiar to you?

You pedal your bicycle up to a traffic light and sit there waiting for it to change. If it uses a trigger mechanism installed in the blacktop, you could sit there a very long time — maybe forever if you're riding an aluminum or carbon bike.

Eventually you meekly roll over to the crosswalk and hit the pedestrian crossing button, or take matters into your own hands and just blow the traffic light when no cross-traffic is coming.

Bicyclists in Santa Clarita, California, might not get to play out that drama much longer on two roads. The city has requested $390,000 from the state Bicycle Transportation Account to install cameras mounted on traffic lights to detect bicyclists waiting at traffic signals …..

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/09/expanding-use-of-bicycle-video-detection-at-intersections/

Bike travelers take to the Southern Hemisphere

One look at the Weather Channel temperature map at left confirms that much of the US is locked in frigid winter weather.

If you layer up, you're probably OK for bike commuting or riding your bike on an errand, but long-distance bike tourists are in for chilly riding during the day and colder camping at night.

There are lots of bike travelers on the road, however. You'll generally find them in the Southern Hemisphere where it's late spring.

In the left column I've listed a baker's dozen bike tour blogs under “On-the-road bike travelers.” Some are either approaching or south of the equater right now. What adventures are they having while the rest of us are slipping on our booties and tearing through our gear looking for balaclavas? ……

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/08/bike-travelers-take-to-the-southern-hemisphere/

Weather map

Cold early December temperatures

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/08/weather-map/