2009 archive

2009 Ride Around Washington bike tour is booked up!

If you were waiting to decide whether you wanted to sign up for the Ride Around Washington bike tour in August, you're too late. RAW sold out in five days this year.

Even though the week-long bicycle tour sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club is limited to 215 riders, I don't remember registration ever shutting down so early.

In terms of popularity, it ranks right up there with the Tour de Wyoming, which has filled up within 15 minutes of online registration opening.

Cascade Bicycle Club announced that RAW had sold out about 12:30 p.m. Monday via Twitter.

Cascade this year is limiting registration …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/05/2009-ride-around-washington-bike-tour-is-booked-up/

U. of Minnesota prof teaches about Africa from bicycle tour

A college professor is embarking on a 7,000-mile bicycle tour through Africa and will teach a class on local foods and agricultural practices along the way.

The University of Minnesota course offered by Paul Porter is entitled “Food and Agriculture from Cairo to Capetown at 10 miles per hour.”

Porter, a prof in the department of agronomy and plant genetics at the St. Paul campus, will use a satellite telephone to give live lectures and leave podcasts at a website. He'll also update his blog, Paul Porter's Tour d'Afrique, with descriptions of his locale, the weather, and what he and the local inhabitants are eating …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/05/u-of-minnesota-prof-teaches-about-africa-from-bicycle-tour/

Blog for University of Minnesota prof

University of Minnesota professor Paul Porter will teach a class related to food and agriculture in Africa during his bike tour across the continent. More at Paul Porter's Tour d'Afrique.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/05/blog-for-university-of-minnesota-prof/

Thousands to ride with Lance Armstrong at Tour Down Under

If you're looking for the surging interest in cycling that Lance Armstrong's return to the peloton is sure to bring, consider these two facts:

— Nearly double the number of recreational riders have signed up to ride Stage 4 of this year's Tour Down Under ahead of the pro peloton.

— And South Australia has pumped another $1.5 million into the ride to handle the influx of visitors and media.

With five days remaining to register for the citizen's challenge ride, Tour Down Under reports that 6,312 are ready to ride this year, compared to 3,400 bicyclists last year …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/05/thousands-to-ride-with-lance-armstrong-at-tour-down-under/

Adelaide map

Locater for Adelaide, Australia, home of Tour Down Under bicycle race

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/05/adelaide-map/

“MAKE: television” features bicycle creations by SF's Cyclecide

The debut of a DIY show on public television connects viewers with artists who transform old bicycles into unusual pedal-powered creations.

“MAKE: Television” is produced by MAKE magazine, which is devoted to all kinds of do-it-yourself technology projects.

The first segment of the first show is about San Francisco's Cyclecide. The collective finds bicycles and other odds and ends in junk yards and retool them into “pedal-powered monstrosities.” One member explains:

“It's not really into the practicality of the bike or fast you can ride…

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/04/make-television-features-bicycle-creations-by-sfs-cyclecide/

Starting a new life by bicycle on New Year's Day

January 1 sounds like a good time to start a bicycle tour, or turn your life around, or, if you're Robert Hollandsworth, to do both.

Robert started his Cycle for Life bicycle tour from Houston on Thursday and plans to keep cyclo-touring the US with no end in sight. He'll survive on $200 a month from his family and whatever donations he gets from playing his guitar and tuning pianos along the way.

His trip is no spur-of-the-moment New Year's resolution. Robert's been planning this trip for several years with advice from experienced touring bicyclists at the Internet Bicycle Touring List. At his website, he writes …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/03/starting-a-new-life-by-bicycle-on-new-years-day/

Robert Hollandsworth and his rig

Robert Hollandsworth is suited up and ready to go in Houston. Cycle for Life bicycle tour.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/03/robert-hollandsworth-and-his-rig/

Claim your bicycle commuter tax benefit now

It's kind of hard to believe, but that fringe benefit for bicycle commuters went into effect on Thursday.

You can now actually be reimbursed for riding your bicycle to work.

As of Jan. 1, employers can offer up to $20 per month to employees who regularly commute by bicycle to offset the cost of buying, repairing, improving or storing their bicycles.

Bicyclists can receive the $20 in cash reimbursements, vouchers redeemable at bicycle shops or parking locations, or as a pre-tax deduction program. It depends on what your employer wants to do …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/02/claim-your-bicycle-commuter-tax-benefit-now/

Washington state drivers ignore cellphone ban

A trend I've noticed that more motorists are ignoring the ban on cellphone use while driving is confirmed by the Washington State Patrol.

Although prohibited in the state since July 1, the law is a secondary offense. That means police must stop the driver for another violation before writing the ticket for cellphone use.

It's important that cellphone laws be followed because distracted motorists make the roads more hazardous, especially for those of us riding bicycles. It has been proven that talking on a phone has the same effect on a motorist's brain as several glasses of wine …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/01/washington-state-drivers-ignore-cellphone-ban/