2009 archive
Update: Dec. 8 — The physical therapist told me today that it's OK to ride my bike, even though there will be some pain. The knee cap should be realigned so it's not rubbing the femur after about 10,000 repititions of the exercises he's given me. That means 3 to 4 months.
I'm still kind of stunned that a bicycling fall I had way back in January has forced me off the bike in November.
Although I had badly bruised the muscles around my right hip in that fall, it's my right knee that's been feeling the pain since August.
I finally found the time (got up the nerve) to visit my doctor about the knee pain about a week ago. That's after three weeks of self-imposed rest off the bike hadn't made anything better.
Here's my tale of woe as a lesson to anyone with knee pain in the past, present or future. Obviously your knee pain can stem from other causes, but it's illustrates the importance of keeping our muscles, ligaments and tendons in balance ..
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/28/old-hip-injury-leads-to-fresh-knee-pain-for-bicycling/
How a hip injury in January led to knee pain in August.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/28/hip-injury-leads-to-knee-pain/
Let's admit it. Too many bicyclists keep too many unused bicycles in their garages or their basements. I'll include myself among the guilty.
Maybe there's an emotional attachment to an old relic. Or it's difficult to find an alternative to taking the bicycle to the dump, an unceremonious end for a trusty companion.
Several nonprofits are set up to collect these old bikes and redistribute them back into the community or ship them overseas. I've created a list of some of these at “Where to Donate Your Used Bicycles.”
One of the most successful is Bikes for the World, which is shipping its 40,000th bike next month. Based in Arlington, Virginia, it's a nonprofit project of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/26/bikes-for-the-world-ships-40000-donated-bicycles/
Ever since Lance Armstrong announced the formation of Team RadioShack in July, the confirmed identities of bike riders on the roster have dribbled out like sprinters struggling across the finish of a mountain stage.
Team manager Johan Bruyneel has now announced the final roster, identifying a 26-man team from 16 different countries. A large percentage of those bike riders came from Bruyneel's and Armstrong's former team, Astana.
The delay in making a final announcement stemmed from ongoing negotiations with the Kazakhstan-based team, currently the home of two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
Bruyneel said the team's main goal in 2010 is the Tour de France, although the team is expected to do well in other stage races as well as the one-day classics …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/24/radioshack-roster-set-with-armstrong-leipheimer-horner-kloden/
When most people start bicycling, they'll do anything to avoid hills. Sometimes they'll ride miles out of their way to miss a climb, or drive their car to a flat area to ride.
As they get stronger and learn how to use their gears more efficiently, hills are a challenge to be conquered.
But for some, hills seem to be the sole motivation for riding a bike. These mountain goats don't just measure their rides in miles, but in total elevation gain.
They gather in places like Pittsburgh for the Dirty Dozen, Portland for De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia, or Los Angeles for the Fargo Street climb to find the conquer the highest urban mountaintops. Or they head to Mount Washington in New Hampshire to race to the top of that fabled climb ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/22/these-hill-climbs-wont-let-down-bicycling-mountain-goats/
When two girls, aged 11 and 10, on bicycles were struck and killed by a van driver in October 1987, the people of Davie resolved to make the small south Florida city safer for bicyclists.
By the end of the year the town council budgeted $150,000 for its first bike trail. Within six months work began on a 3-mile bike trail adjacent to the street where the girls were killed.
Twenty-two years later, Davie boasts a network of 135 miles of bike paths and horse trails that connect the two dozen parks in the town with a population of 90,000.
When you consider the reputation of Florida among bicyclists, the feat of building so many bike trails in the town is remarkable. ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/20/florida-town-reacts-to-bicycle-tragedy-by-building-bike-trails/
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/20/bike-path-plaque/
So you've been riding and repairing your own bike for years, and now you want to start your own bicycle repair business?
It can be tempting and fulfilling, especially if you find yourself unemployed or working for a real jerk.
But there are a few things you should consider before jumping into a new vocation like this, cautions The Oil Drum: Campfire website in its article, “How to set up and run a bicycle repair company.”
1. Is there demand for bike repairs in your area?
2. Do you have lots of experience fixing lots of different bikes and components?
3. Will you be offering something new? …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/19/student-tells-how-he-set-up-a-mobile-bike-repair-business/
When we last left two-time Race Across America champion Danny Chew and his nephew Steven Perezluha, the pair were rejoicing after traveling 5,115 miles by bike to Alaska.
When they turned around and started home in August, they also headed into trouble.
Eighteen-year-old Perezluha told his hometown newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel:
“The trip back home seemed like it took longer than the trip up. Some parts of it were harder. It may have been harder a little more mentally because all these things kept trying to stop us, and I had to keep telling myself to keep going …..
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/19/the-further-adventures-of-former-raam-champion-and-his-nephew/
Do you like to ride your bike for a charity? You're not alone.
Roughly two-thirds of the 1,700 recreational road bicycling events held in 2008 raised money for a cause, collecting nearly $200 million for charities in the US.
That's just part of the impact that recreational bicycling events have on the American economy, according to a study by the advocacy group Bikes Belong.
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In all, 1 million of us bicyclists rode in events in 2008, spending $137 million on food, lodging and other purchases at the events. The total revenue from recreational road riding events topped $240 million. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/18/charity-bike-rides-raise-200-million-a-year/
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