Leipheimer, Horner and others at Cascade Cycling Classic

The Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic coming up July 9-13 in Bend, Oregon, has turned into the top alternative for US riders who cannot compete in the 2008 Tour de France.

Heading the roster at the Cascade Classic will be Levi Leipheimer, left, and Chris Horner of Team Astana, which was banned by Tour organizers.

Also competing: Tom Danielson of Garmin-Chipotle, as well as that team's Tyler Farrar of Wenatchee, Washington, and Tom Peterson of North Bend, Washington. Those three were passed over by their team. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/27/leipheimer-horner-and-others-at-cascade-cycling-classic/

Search ends for new Interbike location

Owners of the Interbike International Bicycle Expo and Outdoor Demo have completed two years of research and surveys to find a new home for the giant bicycle trade show. Their decision — Las Vegas baby!

Not only is Interbike not leaving Las Vegas, but it's signing a contract to remain at the Sands Expo and Convention Center for at least three more years, beginning in 2010.

Personally, I was surprised that Interbike ever considered leaving Vegas. I mean where else can you find so many potential booth babes? But some exhibitors expressed interest in a more bike friendly city …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/27/search-ends-for-new-interbike-location/

Cardboard bicycle not quite ready for prime time

A design student from the UK is displaying a bicycle that's made exclusively from cardboard, except for a few nuts and bolts, the chain and the wheels.

Phil Bridge, a 21-year-old student at Sheffield Hallam University, says the bike is very environmentally friendly and theft resistant. As in who's going to steal a cardboard bicycle?

The bicycle frame is made out of industrial strength cardboard, which he says won't droop in the rain.  Another advantage of a cardboard bicycle — it's easy to recycle …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/27/cardboard-bicycle-not-quite-ready-for-prime-time/

5 steps to treating road rash

Let's not get into the reasons why I found myself crashing onto the pavement; as with any of my bike crashes, the circumstances are far too embarrassing to repeat.

But after I picked myself up and hopped around my Rockhopper repeating the mantra “sonofabitch,” it occurred to me that I should write up a piece about how to cure road rash.

Sometimes these blogging ideas come to me as easily as falling off a bike. The cleansed and treated wound is at left. It doesn't look as cool as when it was all bloody.

When I did some research on road rash, the first thing I learned is that conventional wisdom — stuff I learned when I was a kid — no longer applies. Some of the old-style treatments actually are counter-productive. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/25/5-steps-to-treating-road-rash/

Julich left on sidelines for 2008 Tour de France

Astana's Levi Leipheimer won't be the only pro US cyclist watching the Tour de France on TV. Team CSC-Saxo Bank announced its 2008 Tour de France roster, and it didn't include Bobby Julich, left.

Julich, 36, has always been one of my favorite cyclists as an unsung hero of the peloton who occasionally gets the opportunity to show his abilities.

Always a member of European-based teams for the past decade, his highlight might have been the 3rd-place finish in the Tour de France in 1998. At the time, it was the highest finish for an American in the Tour, exceeded only by Greg Lemond's three championships. In fact, he was considered the next great hope for the US, as Lance Armstrong was recovering from cancer treatment at the time …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/23/julich-left-on-sidelines-for-2008-tour-de-france/

Fremont Solstice Parade scorpian bike

The Solstice Parade in Fremont on Saturday featured lots of folks on bikes. I arrived too late for the famous Painted Bicyclists, but did catch this 4-wheeled Scorpian. It's definitely best to see this festival by bike.

Pictures of painted cyclists from this year's parade can be found at irishking. You can check …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/21/fremont-solstice-parade-scorpian-bike/

New York Times profiles both Lance Armstrongs

If you're feeling a little out-of-touch with Lance Armstrong these days, there's a profile running on the cover of the Sunday's Fashion and Style section that brings us up to date.

Entitled “It's Not About the Bike,” the article examines the two sides of Lance — anticancer champion and Texas playboy.

The 7-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor was running around New York City recently to promote his new commercial website — livestorng.com, billed as a health, fitness and lifestyle website created in conjunction with Demand Media.

Meanwhile, his livestrong.org website is still a destination for people seeking answers or support about cancer issues …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/21/new-york-times-profiles-both-lance-armstrongs/

Protest bike ride in Iowa

The Iowa county that banned RAGBRAI last fall will be the scene of a protest ride on Saturday.

Organized by the Taco Ride Gang, the ride will start at the Crawford County Courthouse in Denison at 11 a.m. An announcement they posted at the BikeIowa website predicts up to 500 cyclists will take part on Saturday. [About 100 cyclists joined the ride, according to reports.] The announcement reads:

“Come one, come all to Crawford County, Iowa. It's time to send a significant message to Crawford County about cycling and the Iowa cycling laws and how much we all like to bike Iowa. The more the merrier and the louder the message!” …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/20/protest-bike-ride-in-iowa/

Pacific Crest bike tour maps in the works

How about a scenic bicycle tour through the mountains? Better lube your granny gear.

The Adventure Cycling Association is working on a set of maps called the Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route that would route touring bicyclists on paved roads along the Pacific Crest.

Essentially, the 2,500-mile route would run from the Canadian to Mexican border. It will connect the Cascade Range in Washington and Oregon and the Sierra Nevada in northern California and Nevada. Then it will pass through the Tehachapi and San Bernardino mountains in southern California …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/20/pacific-crest-bike-tour-maps-in-the-works/

10 rules for the Tour de TransAmerica bicycle touring race

With this month's ultra-endurance Race Across America, followed by the Tour Divide and the Great Divide mountain bike races, I thought there should be an extreme race for touring bicyclists.

There isn't one out there, as far as I know, so I decided to start one: The Tour de TransAmerica.

I've put together a set of rules that emphasize all the important aspects of bicycling touring — such as dodging road kill, fixing flats, cooking one-pot pasta meals. All we need is a sponsor, a website, and a director.

Tour de TransAmerica Rules:

1. Must use Adventure Cycling Association's TransAmerica Trail maps, either direction, connecting Yorktown, Virginia, with Astoria, Oregon.

A. Contestants must leave one section of the 12-map set at home and try to figure out a route using suggestions from people you meet along the way. Highway maps are not allowed.

2. Must carry way too much stuff. You must include a bulky sweater, 2 pair of blue jeans …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/06/20/10-rules-for-the-tour-de-transamerica-bicycle-touring-race/