2010 archive

Noka cell phone charger

Nokia has developed a cell phone charger that works with a bicycle.  See press release.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/03/noka-cell-phone-charger/

Internal probe of cops' actions during Critical Mass bike ride

Four Los Angeles policemen got starring roles in a video shot in Hollywood on Friday night, but their actions earned them desk jobs while the department investigates their clash with bicyclists.

This video shot by a witness shows police officers making an arrest during a critical mass ride on Friday night, then one of the policemen kicking at a passing bicycle.

Several policemen then go to the witness. The camera falls but continues filming while police, carrying nightsticks, order the man to “Get down” and  “Get up!”

The video has been viewed more than 91,000 times at YouTube and is reminiscent of a video …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/03/internal-probe-of-cops-actions-during-critical-mass-bike-ride/

Bicyclists sue Seattle for SLUT injuries

Six bicyclists injured a few years ago on the newly laid South Lake Union Trolley (S.L.U.T.) tracks are suing Seattle.

The Seattle Times reports that the lawsuit claims that the city was warned about the unsafe conditions before the December 2007 opening of the trolley line, but it went ahead with its plans anyway.

The tracks were installed in a groove in the pavement that can catch narrow road-bike tires and flip a bike. Dozens of cyclists fell victim to the tracks.

Since the opening of the 1.3-mile trolley line, the city has installed warning signs …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/02/bicyclists-sue-seattle-for-slut-injuries/

Hats off to cyclist on his 70-miles-at-70-years bicycle ride

70at70

Started talking to this guy about the weather and his RSVP jersey along the Burke-Gilman on Tuesday and discovered that he was taking a very special bike ride.

His name is Bill Glaeser and his 70th birthday is Wednesday. Thanks to Tuesday's break in the chilly “liquid sunshine” that's been inundating the Seattle area the past week or so, he chose to celebrate his birthday with a 70-mile ride a day early. He's been taking such a ride for the past four years.

I've read about people doing this over the years, so I started my own tradition by riding 60 miles on my birthday back in January. An old college friend who lives in Portland saw what I did, and so knocked out his own birthday ride this spring.

It's a ride that's just going to get longer every year, and I hope I'm up to it at Bill's age.

That jersey, by the way, is from the 2005 …..

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/02/hats-off-to-cyclist-on-his-70-miles-at-70-years-bicycle-ride/

Booklet tells how businesses can attract bicycle travelers

Bicyclists riding the paths of the Erie Canalway in New York this summer shouldn't be surprised if some communities all but roll out the red carpet when they arrive.

The towns would be following suggestions in a 28-page booklet that explains why it makes economic sense to encourage and embrace two-wheeled visitors in their communities.

Entitled “Bicyclists Bring Business: A Guide for Attracting Bicyclists to New York's Canal Communities,” the book is used in roundtable workshops offered by Parks & Trails New York and the New York State Canal Corporation in canal towns.

Although we might like communities to cater to traveling bicyclists for altruistic reasons, it's a matter of dollars and cents to business people. According to the booklet:

“When a particular bicycling destination is so appealing to bicyclists that they come from some distance away to enjoy it, the dollars they bring with them can be significant” ……

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/01/booklet-tells-how-businesses-can-attract-bicycle-travelers/

Cover of bicycling business book

Bicyclists Bring Business created for towns and businesses along the Erie Canalway.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/01/cover-of-bicycling-business-book/

An Australian's interrupted TransAmerica bicycle tour

Here's an emotional video from a cross-country bike rider whose journey didn't go exactly as planned. Not that many long-distance bicycle trips do. That's part of the adventure.

But this is an experience that Australian Janeen McCrae, aka Noodle, doubtedly could have done without. As she explains in her video:

“I was riding my bicycle across America. I was having such a good time. Then I wasn't riding my bicycle across America. I was in a ditch.”

A couple of weeks ago, very early in her coast-to-coast bicycle trip to raise $4,262 for Team Fatty and Livestrong — $1 per mile — she suffered a crash. She was on a downhill ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/05/31/an-australians-interrupted-transamerica-bicycle-tour/

Screen capture of video from Janeen McCrae

Australian on Livestrong fund-raiser bike ride across the US crashes in Virginia. Read more at No Direction Known website.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/05/31/screen-capture-of-video-from-janeen-mccrae/

US Bicycle Route System fund-raiser ends today

Today, May 31, is the last day to donate to the “Build it. Bike it. Be a part of it.” campaign to help fund the U.S. Bicycle Route System.

The Adventure Cycling Association launched the grassroots effort on May 1 to get small donations — $10 minimum — from those interested in bicycle traveling to raise $20,000 by the end of the month.

There's been huge interest in the program all month as they've raised $23,200 as of Friday. Their new goal is $26,000. You can help them raise it by following this US Bicycle Route System link or the box at the top right hand corner of this page …..

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/05/31/us-bicycle-route-system-fund-raiser-ends-today/

Basso wins 2010 Giro d'Italia

Italy's Ivan Basso won his second Giro d'Italia on Sunday, easily holding his rivals at bay in the final individual time trial in Verona.

David Arroyo, the career domestique for Caisse d'Epargne finished in 2nd place overall, and Basso teammate Vincenzo Nibali finished in 3rd. Michele Scarponi and Cadel Evans rounded out the top 5.

Gustav Larsson, a Swedish member of Team Saxo Bank, won the stage that ended in an ancient coliseum.

Basso, 32, previously won the Giro in 2006, then finished in 4th place in 2009. In between, his cycling career was interrupted by a two-year doping suspension …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/05/30/basso-wins-2010-giro-ditalia/