Cycling

The Men's Health editorial office was buzzing around the news of Floyd Landis's improbable comeback at the Tour de France.

Track and field needs a new hero. It got one Saturday night who can fly. In the most outrageous display of speed to ever burn across the Olympic Games, Usain Bolt of Jamaica rocketed to gold in winning the ...

Michael Phelps won the race and withstood the review, giving him joint custody of the record for most gold medals won at a single Olympics.

Lance Armstrong always had a bottle of water within reach when he powered up the mountains in the Tour de France.

FABIAN Cancellara of Switzerland won gold in the men's time-trial yesterday, adding to the bronze he took in the road race.

NEWS.com.auEvans could be out for seasonNEWS.com.au, Australia - 6 hours agoThe Tour de France runner-up ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Paris last month, but still managed to contest the Olympic road Cadel Evans to miss the Vuelta International Herald TribuneEvans and Menchov will both miss Vuelta CNN InternationalCadel Evans pulled from Tour of Spain LIVENEWS.com.auSydney Morning Herald - BikeRadar.comall 20 news articles

Our modern-day supermenThe Gazette (Montreal), Canada - 10 hours agoLance Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer, has won a record seven consecutive Tour de France bicycle races, starting in 1999, using his physical

Cycling WeeklyINTERNATIONAL NEWS ROUND-UPCycling Weekly, UK - Aug 20, 2008The 25 year-old German who wore the yellow jersey in last year's Tour de France took a strong stance against doping, beat Leonardo Bertagnolli (Liquigas) e Eneco Tour: Tom Boonen wins first stage BikeRadar.comSpain via Holland for Hunt? South Devon Herald ExpressBOONEN BACK TO BEST IN THE ENECO TOUR Cycling WeeklyCycling Weeklyall 6 news articles

TSN.caTHE WEDNESDAY COMMENTCycling Weekly, UK - Aug 20, 2008He should think back to the four stages of the Tour de France he won this summer. But British Cycling's management have to also accept that, while almost Hoy calls for grass-roots investment IndependentOlympics 2008: Victoria Pendleton and Chris Hoy sprint to gold for guardian.co.ukThe best is yet to come The HeraldNorthern Echo - Independentall 1,505 news articles

Colchester: firefighters' seven-day Tour of FranceThe Gazette, UK - Aug 20, 2008The group aim to cycle from Geneva to Nice, taking in some of the highest climbs of the Tour de France, in just seven days. All eight are passionate

The 1958 250 GT Tour de France benefited from design and mechanical improvements. The most important enhancement was a new gearbox with a centrally located shift lever. Internal features of the engine were strengthened, and there were

audi audi 100 audi 80 audi a2 audi a4. Okay, like many hot blooded youngsters out there, I have a taste for speed. And like many speed loving youngsters, I can’t afford nice wheels. Heck, I can’t even afford a sporty steering wheel.

1973 Porsche 911 RS/ST Tour De France Recreation Front. This car is restored to a high standard and has many fantastic details. The Cibie lights, yellow lenses, and RS front bumper make for a rallye-ready front end.

After a couple of days recovery from the 12 hour I did the club 10 last night. I set a ride goal of filling in some of the gaps on my 2008 v 2007 power profile. (I still remember the first time I saw WKO at "Flammerouge" Tony's March

The road had been closed earlier in the day to vehicles, which we were to learn is fairly common around here when the Tour de France is in the vicinity but Udo came on our route with the bus as the noon opening of the road at the other

Suggested Retail: $260 Weight: 200 grams Dimensions: 290mm x 135mm Web site: www.sellesanmarco.com Selle San Marco’s new Mantra is a new road bike saddle. It features the company's patented NoShuffle system, which involves a narrowed nose to reduce thigh chafing for riders with a knee-in riding style. It also includes an arrowhead-shaped cut out and a synthetic "microfeel" cover. The Mantra is part of Selle San Marco’s 2009 collection, which will be on display next ...read more

Belgian rider Tom Boonen (Quick Step), won the first stage of the Tour du Benelux in The Netherlands on Thursday. Spain's Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), retained the yellow jersey after winning Wednesday's prologue. Boonen, 27, is the 2005 world champion. In June he was barred from the Tour de France after testing positive for cocaine.

Antipass Kwari is under no illusions about his chances of medal glory ahead of this Saturday's Olympic mountain bike gold race. But his coach Wayne Davidson is getting excited about the opportunity Kwari, the first Zimbabwean to compete in Olympic mountain biking, has to showcase the sport to Africa. "The importance of this cannot be put into words. It is absolutely monstrous for us," said Davidson. "Cycling is very difficult to develop in Africa. With one soccer ball you can have 22 ...read more

The women's Olympic mountain bike race has been postponed until Saturday because of rain damage to the course, the UCI confirmed on Thursday. The decision follows the postponement of the sem-final rounds of BMX competition earlier in the day. The women's mountain bike race, held on a 4.5km loop to be raced for approximately 1 hour 40 minutes, was due to be held on Friday. It means that both the women's and men's Olympic races will be held on Saturday, with a scheduled start ...read more

It was over in an instant, but the altercation between a Tour of Utah race staffer and Garmin-Chipotle team doctor Prentice Steffen was years in the making. During the stage 3 criterium in Salt Lake City last Friday, Tour of Utah team liaison Marty Jemison, a former U.S. Postal Service rider, punched Steffen after the team doctor made what Jemison considered to be an inflammatory remark about alleged doping dating back over a decade. Jemison and Steffen worked together at U.S. Postal ...read more

Lanterne Rouge for stages of the Tour de France in two different years, Aleksandr Kuschynski (stage 1, 2007; stage 1, 2008) participated in the men's road race for his nation, Belarus, on August 9th at the Beijing Olympics. He figured in some early breakaways but ultimately did not finish, and is listed in the results in 73rd place.Presumably that's his Olympic ID photo!??

Interesting report in the Washington Post about how only first place is good enough for the Chinese at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games.A Chinese fifth place finisher in the 10m air rifle competition was castigated by her countrymen: ". . . Chinese spectators let her have it. "The state spent so much money on you, provided you with such good facilities, gave you four years to train," one former fan wrote on Tiexue, one of China's biggest online bulletin boards. " . . . You disappoint your countrymen." "If second place is first loser, then fifth place at the Olympics for the Chinese must be…

Two-time Tour de France Lanterne Rouge Jimmy Casper has tested positive for corticoids during the 2008 Tour de France. Authorities contend that he did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption on file, althoughCasper has claimed that he did.He was suspended by his team Agritubel pending a resolution of the matter.

I left on vacation the final Saturday of the Tour and was unable to remotely post a final 2008 Tour de France summary; but we heartily congratulate Wim Vansevenant for his accomplishments and move onward!Cyclist Ahmed Belgasem representing Libya was the final finisher in the men's road race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, who finished 21:22 after the first rider across the line.Update: ACK! My error! I wasn't able to properly scroll sideways on the NBC site (which keeps auto-refreshing, much to my annoyance) and that was just a preliminary split. Oh well, I'm happy to recognize Belgasem's…

Update thanks to Velonews.com live updates:"Adam our official Live Update La[n]tern[e] Rouge historian writes in to say: Hey Live Update Guy, It looks like Wim Vansevenant will be creating history tomorrow. He started today's stage 42 seconds ahead of Bernhard Eisel of Team Columbia. Fortunately (?) he took 1 minute 35 seconds longer to finish the stage. As of right now as I write this 29 riders have finished. So the lowest man in the GC who hasn't finished as far as I know is Arnaud Coyot. He'd have to take 1 hour 51 minutes and 14 seconds to displace Wim, which is almost 40 minutes slower…

British cycling hero Chris Hoy fails to be elected to the International Olympic Committee's Athletes Commission.

BMX favourite Shanaze Reade will have to wait 24 hours before she gets she gets her shot at an Olympic gold medal.

Great Britain's Shanaze Reade brushes off a nasty fall to qualify for the Olympic semi-finals of the women's BMX.

British cyclist Chris Hoy claims a superb hat-trick of gold medals after beating team-mate Jason Kenny in the sprint.

Victoria Pendleton wins Britain's sixth track cycling gold at this Olympics with victory over Australia's Anna Meares in the women's sprint final.

BBC NewsBritish cycling investment pays offStuff.co.nz, New Zealand - 2 hours agoBut, while Phelps' triumphs were the product of a unique physique and an indomitable will, the British cycling team's success were the product of smart The Olympics Winning streak EconomistHow nations dominate niche sports Christian Science Monitor7 Olympic golds in cycling encourages Brits to get on their bikes Fair Investment CompanyPeterborough Today - Bleacher Reportall 345 news articles

Times OnlineWelcome mat out for silver cyclistMidulster Today, UK - 5 hours agoWendy, a qualified dentist, only took up cycling six years ago to keep her husband Ian company. Mrs McLean, who comes from Sandholes, Cookstown, Olympic silver for cycling dentist IrishDentist.ieCycling: Romero fails in bid for second medal Scotsman2008 Beijing Olympics: Rebecca Romero finds cycling ideal pursuit Telegraph.co.ukBelfast Telegraph - CNN Internationalall 541 news articles

Cycling Classic to Benefit the Grand Rapids Public SchoolsMarketWatch - 6 hours agoCyclists will compete on a 1.2-kilometer circuit around downtown Grand Rapids for a prize purse totaling $30000. Volunteers and cyclists are encouraged to

Times OnlineOlympics: Britain will lobby for more women's cycling events at 2012guardian.co.uk, UK - 10 hours agoPhotograph: Tom Jenkins Great Britain will lobby for more events for women cyclists in the Olympic Games and there are hopes that more races will figure in Brailsford plots further cycling success Times OnlineCommission snub for Hoy ScotsmanCycling stars on their way Chard & Ilminster NewsMirror.co.uk - guardian.co.ukall 88 news articles

Calgary HeraldCancer survivor to ride with cycling legendCalgary Herald,  Canada - 10 hours agoCyclist Lance Armstrong makes his fifth appearance in the Calgary area on Friday, this time to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation,

The 2008 USA Cycling elections concluded on Aug. 15 and after record voter turnout, USA Cycling members elected several representatives to thier respective Boards of Trustees which comprise the political structure of USA Cycling. The 2008 election saw a record number of 3,852 votes cast as USA Cycling announced elected trustees to the BMXA, NCCA, NORBA, USCF and USPRO boards.

Bicycle Motocross made its Olympic debut Wednesday as American athletes illustrated their might by advancing all three men's competitors to Thursday's semifinal heats. Kyle Bennett, Mike Day and Donny Robinson all qualified for the round of 16. By doing so, the U.S. is the only country that advanced three competitors to Thursday's semifinals. In the women's event, Jill Kintner qualified seventh and will compete in the semifinals on Thursday before the Olympic Games hand out its first-ever BMX medals.

Jeff Louder won the general classification in front of his home crowd at the National Racing Calendar's 31st event, the Tour of Utah. With only three events remaining on the 2008 NRC, Rory Sutherland continues to hold a commanding lead in the overall individual standings on the men's side while Tina Pic is the current womenandrsquo;s leader. The teams currently atop the standings include the Health Net Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis in the menandrsquo;s rankings and the Cheerwine Professional Cycling Team in the womenandrsquo;s.

At the Olympic Games on Monday, the UCI held a press conference to publicize a new plan for the structure of professional cycling following weeks of negotiations between the sport's international governing body and Editions Pillipe Amaury, the owner of the ASO and the Societe du Tour de France. As a result, the UCI unveiled key elements of the plan. To show its support of the UCI, the EPA and the proposed agreement, USA Cycling issued the following statement on Monday afternoon from China.

Day four of Olympic track cycling at the Laoshan velodrome ended on a sour note for the U.S. squad after Sarah Hammer crashed out of the women's points race and Jennie Reed was eliminated from medal contention with a quarterfinal loss in the women's match sprint. With one day of track racing remaining in Beijing, the Madison pairing of Mike Friedman and Bobby Lea will give the U.S. its last chance to collect a medal in the discipline.

Provisional result of the first stage of the Tour of Benelux from Beek to Roermond, Belgium on Thursday 1. Tom Boonen (Belgium / Quick-Step ) 4 hrs 16 mins 17 secs 2. Daniele Bennati (Italy / Liquigas ) " 3. Fabio Sabatini (Italy / Milram ) " 4. Juergen Roelandts (Belgium / Silence - Lotto ) " 5. Heinrich Haussler (Germany / Gerolsteiner ) " 6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Columbia ) " 7. Angelo Furlan (Italy / Credit Agricole ) " 8. Kenny van Hummel (Netherlands / Skil - Shimano ) " 9. Elia Rigotto (Italy / Milram ) " 10. Aurelien Clerc (Switzerland / Bouygues Telecom ) " 11. Cyril Lemoine…

Belgium's Tom Boonen won the first road race stage of the Tour of Benelux on Thursday.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced an initiative on Monday which should end its three-year conflict with the Tour de France organisers over its ProTour series.

Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo's two-year ban for doping was upheld Tuesday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The 30-year-old Mayo tested positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO at the 2007 Tour de France. However, the Spanish national federation refused to discipline Mayo, saying the testing process at laboratories in Paris and Ghent, Belgium, was flawed.

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has finished second in his first race since 2005.

Visit stand A4-603 with your design

Effetto Mariposa, the makers of Carbo-Grip, launch hacksaw

Retail businesses to be punished for health and safety negligence

The Canadian company is recalling the True Temper Wolf SL fork. True Temper disagrees with the recall

Bikes Belong research reveals that US bike shops are doing well at selling transport solutions

One of the lowest and highest moments in the 2008 Olympics, for me, happened in the Women's 100m hurdles final. Lolo Jones was out in front and on her way to a gold medal when she struck the ninth of ten hurdles and finished out of the medals. That was the lowest point of the night, the highest point is what came next. Lolo, who admitted to NBC TV that when she took the lead she saw the gold medal around her neck, offered no excuses. She didn't use that awful line "I guess it wasn't meant to be" that we hear so often from athletes coming up short you start to wonder if they can handle defeat.

As much as Michael Phelps 8 gold medals puts him in the running for the greatest Olympian ever, all the hype probably hurt him when it comes to the overall Olympic moment. On my meter, Usain Bolt jogging to a new world record in the 100m was simply indescribable. Some really big names were saying that if Bolt hadn't started celebrating in the final 20m he would have run 9.5x and I believe them. I can't even get out of bed in 9.69 and this guy is waving his arms and thumping his chest. Oh baby! Frankly, I think Michael Johnson's 19.32 200m record is in jeopardy unless Bolt, who will be about…

In case you were wondering, I made it back from France in one piece, but as the Olympics are full-on and I am a self-confessed Olympic junkie, look for me to be blogging on the 2008 Beijing Olympics site of Active.com and not in my usual location as an active expert. That doesn't mean I can't send out kudos to Kristin Armstrong for her gold medal ride in the Women's time trial and also to Levi Leipheimer who road a gutsy race to bring home the bronze in the men's TT. Honorable mention to Christine Thorburn who was only four seconds out of the bronze medal in the women's TT, but she had to…

You can say what you want about the hype of Lance returning to competitive cycling with his participation in the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race, but when the gun went off and rubber hit the dirt, the Texas Tornado delivered. Let's be frank and honest. He didn't just deliver, he arrived, he stomped, he kicked butt. Pick your favorite metaphor for an incredible performance and that will probably still come up short when trying to describe Lance's phenomenal ride. What makes Lance's performance even more incredible is not that he beat long-time friend Chris Carmichael to the finish line, it is…

Lance Armstrong is, once again, racing a bike. No it's not in France it is in another garden spot, Leadville, Colorado, where the annual Leadville 100 MTB endurance race takes place this Saturday. While anytime Lance throws a leg over a bike it is interesting, what is most interesting to me is the reaction by local bike racers and fans. Some people I have talked to about Lance and Leadville can only say negative things about the Texas Tornado citing rumours that he has hired a lot of riders to pace him on the course and also wondering why he is doing the race in the first place. OMG. I just…

Millions of computers and electronics get shipped overseas from the US to the developing world, where they are cheaply, and often haphazardly, broken down for recycling. Now, millions of dollars of US (and Indian) venture capital are

The weather forecast looks great Sunday is the 11th Tour de Putnam Cycling Festival and my first time riding this great ride. The Putnam County Visitors Bureau has added some extras this year for the 800 rw82108tourputnam016.jpg

Click on the MORE hotlink at the bottom of this blog to view ALL the results of the 2008 USA Cycling Junior National Track Cycling Championships that were held at the ADT Event Center Velodrome in Carson, Calif.

Transport for London's new cycle website has a hint that it's going to launch an official Google Map of London cycle routes. Alongside a screengrab of a Google Map is text promising "an exciting interactive map… coming soon!".

An insinuation from France's former sprint champion Daniel Morelon, who now coaches the Chinese cycling team, that Britain's medal-winning team might have been using performance-enhancing drugs, has forced the British to declaim loudly

Message by NONEThe recent Giant Bicycles global media camp kicked off the launch of the redesigned line for 2009. The gleaming jewel is still the TCR Advanced SL, but the name is about all that remains of previous models. New carbon and new tube shapes deliver the promised 'lighter, smoother, & stiffer' ride, and PEZ was thrilled to be one of the first media to ride the new bikes.

Message by Jered GruberThe road and track events have come to a close in Beijing, and once again, all focus is back on the road in Europe with the Regio and Eneco Tours along with the upcoming Deutschland Tour and la Vuelta. Take a deep breath and get ready for oh so much more bike racing - we still have a solid two months to go!

Message by NONETraining time is more effective than ever with today’s multitude of data measuring and recording tools. With cycling computers that tell us key information like heart rate, speed, cadence, and altitude, a rider can tailor and analyze a training period, and easily make performance improving changes. The Polar CS400 is one of these tools, part of Polar’s cycling specific CS series of computers. Let’s take a look.

Message by Edmond HoodWith a combined age of 76 years, Argentina - the oldest team on the track - handed out a golden lesson in Madison racing to the other 15 teams in action on the Olympic velodrome on Tuesday.

Message by NONESurely you’ve heard riders comment that they are “tapering” their training for an upcoming marquee event. Typically it takes some form of the following “yea, I would have gone harder today but I’m tapering for Tuesday night worlds/Saturdays group ride/Cascade Classic, etc.” The reality is that riding easy for a couple of days before a big event isn’t really a taper; it’s more of a small rest in the hope of a good performance.

This morning's Washington Post has an article beginning on page 1 of the Metro section. The title of the article is "In Fairfax, Gardeners Fear Uprooting of a Culture."  The article covers some proposed rule changes for Fairfax County's community gardens.  The "authorities who manage the county's community gardens" are made out to be the bad guys in the article, and I have to admit I am pretty willing to go along with that slant. One gardener, Chris Erickson, has cancer, and her 30 x 30 garden plot has helped get her through treatment while nurturing…

We've worked on this somewhat hellish half acre for five years. We aren't as young as we used to be, but we've made great progress. Still, we have a long way to go.  Every day, we "walk the garden" to see what's changed. We sit on our lovely screened porch, my happy place, and look out over the yard. But yesterday, something changed. It was a little thing, a subtle thing, but it made such a large difference. On Saturday, I took a trip to Behnke's nursery and garden center to see if I could locate some perennials I wanted. We plan to rework our perennial…

It appears the bumblebees may be in decline along with the honeybees.  Today's Washington Post had an article by Adrian Higgins on the subject.  I don't see many bumbles. The bees I always thought were bumbles have turned out to be Eastern Carpenter Bees.  Turns out, I didn't know how to tell the difference until this year. I did see some bumbles last week on my Salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue'.   Here's a photo. It's Victoria Blue salvia in the article's photo, not penstemon as the caption says. I've been keeping a sharp eye out…

Today, Garden Rant had a post about gloves. They are giving away some women's Ethel gardening gloves to the commenters who post the best comments. I don't need any new gardening gloves, but that doesn't mean I don't want any. I have an embarrassingly large number of gardening gloves, each with a different use.  I have some nubby rubber ones for dealing with mud and yukky substances. I have nitrile ones for planting and other chores. There are cloth and stretchy ones for pruning, and leather ones for heavy work, like helping Garden Man haul, chop or stack wood. I even have a pair…

There are a number of daylilies in my garden, and while I may have a hosta and grasses habit, Garden Man has a daylily habit.  How can I resist that pleading face as he approaches me, pot in hand, at the local native plant sales?  It's like a little boy bringing home a stray animal and asking if he can keep it.  My favorite daylily, name long forgotten, came from a very nice lady at the Beltsville (Maryland) Garden Club annual plant sale many years ago.  I bought three fans which never did very well at our old house. I guess they got too much shade. Once we moved to…

I love this crazy town. Sherry just emailed me a link to Jonathan’s blog, Bikeportland.org - it looks like the building in Waterfront Park, just north of the Hawthorne Bridge, will be turned into "Bike Republic"  which is described as a "full service bike commuter facility". Hot! But what really got me going was the mention of a cafe run by Laughing Planet… Oh la la, mama needs a big burrito. Check out BikePortland.org for the full scoop and prepare yourself for bike commuter madness.

This is just about one of the geekiest things to hit the Bike Nerd Kingdom in a long time - and I’m impressed. About 6 weeks ago, I crossed a line that I swore I’d never go near.  I started geeking out on gear inches.  Two reasons: I was in the throes of spec-ing out my new ‘cross rig, and I was preparing to do the Timothy Lake 200k brevet so I was contemplating putting a compact crank on my Cross-to-Rando Poprad conversion. Sitting there with a gear-inch calculator pulled up on screen, I felt about as cool as I did in the 7th grade when I was playing flute in the…

What’s muddy and wet and fun all over?  You guessed it.  Cyclocross.  And it’s practically here.  I can’t even believe it.  Star-crossed registration opened and Molly Cameron reports that one of her teammates took the hole shot for Elite registration.  Meanwhile, my buddy Heather G had a category dilemma and made the right decision (she’s racing elite at star-crossed! she kills!). Me?  Well, I’ve taken care of the most important part of any Cyclocross season as evidencedby Exhibit A: A stockpile of Stone Brewery Limited Edition…

My life is dominated by Sicilians (don’t call them Italians, dude). Sal and I lived with his parents and sister for two years in San Jose, California and if you think living with your parents sounds like a nightmare, think again. Those Sicilians know how to party. Besides guzzling his father’s homemade hooch, singing along to Italian pop music with his sister, and learning to sew with his seamstress mother, we spent a lot of time making pizzas. Sal and his father built a brick oven in the backyard years ago, and it gets a serious workout during the summer. (more…)

The psychological progression of waking up early for hard workouts always entertains me. 5:30am Alarm: Roll over. Hit snooze. Tell myself I should send a cancellation text because doesn’t it look kind of gray and cold outside? 5:40am Snooze Alarm #2: Roll over. Hit snooze again. Tell myself I will get up a little later than planned and drive to meet my running partner instead of running there. It will cut two miles off my daily mileage total, but it’s going to be a decent mileage day either way so who cares. 5:50am Snooze Alarm #3: Roll over. Hit snooze again. Remind myself that…

First of all, while I've got your attention, I'd like to take the opportunity to inform you that I have been mercifully called away from New York City for a few days.  As such, after today I will be gone through Tuesday of next week, and will resume regular updates on Wednesday the 27th.  However, this should not stop you from stopping by on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, because I've arranged for some material from a special guest contributor.  So stay tuned.In the meantime, on the eve of my departure, I've decided to leave you on a sour note by hitting you with a quiz.  As usual, study…

Sometimes it can seem like we live in a world gone mad. A two-headed turtle is missing; panda-themed street parties are terrorizing Williamsburg (proving that police don't just pick on groups of idiots on bikes--they also pick on groups of idiots dressed as pandas); and, perhaps most disturbingly, Purple Drank is about to "drop." Trying as times are, I'd like nothing more than to post more pictures of naked women on bikes so that we might all drown our troubles in them. Unfortunately, though, there's simply too much evil in the world for me to bury my head in the seductive sepia sands of bike…

Last week, I mentioned the possibility of doing some PSAs in order to promote safe, cellphone-free driving. Well, thanks to the visual magic of the incomparable Erik K, that possibility has become a reality: If you are the proprietor of a blog or website, I implore you to join the fight against driving while distracted by posting this image. Sure, I've taken on causes, promoted them, and then abandoned them before, but this one's different. This campaign will save lives and not just lifestyles, and by ungluing cellphones from the sides of drivers' heads we can benefit all cyclists, not just…

Further to last Friday's post, more than one person objected to my singling out the Leader bike with the doctored fork. (Okay, two people. One commented on the post, and one emailed me.) I maintain though that it is important to point out mistakes, because it's fun and informative, and it can also help people. Here's another mistake by a Leader owner, which a reader recently spotted in downtown Los Angeles:While I strongly believe that no road-going bicycle should ever sport a quick-release seat clamp, that's mostly a stylistic quibble, and I'm sure some people have valid reasons for using…

If you're not from New York (or if you're like me and you generally ignore the news), you may not know that a bill is in the works that would ban drivers from texting on their cellphones, handheld organizers, electronic Twinkies, or whatever else people are using to send and receive text messages, within the New York City limits. Frankly, I had just assumed texting while driving was already illegal in New York, just like talking on a cellphone while driving is. I mean, why would one be legal and not the other? Moreover, texting is way more distracting than just talking. I don't think you…

Day 13- Rain, rain go away… We woke to hard rain and as we made our way across town to the Trek Laoshan Store and hospitality area, we got word the BMX finals were likely to be postponed. While we waited for the final word, we had quite a number of people stop in our h ...

Write this down…file it in your memory banks. You will need it in about 3 years when you play an updated version of Trivia Pursuit.  Question: Who was the first ever BMX Olympic bicycle racer? Answer: Liam Phillips of Great Britain At 9am in Beijing, China on a ...

Day 11 What a great day for a ride!  We woke to yet another sunny and clear morning, so what better opportunity than this to load up the bikes and show some guests the hills north of Beijing. The friends we took included well-known USA Today cycling reporter Sal Rubal, St ...

Day 10 – Anyone who is still going on about the pollution in Beijing has either not been outdoors for several days or is off their nut. That is not to say it won’t change tomorrow, but for the last several days it has been spectacular! Today was the woman’s tria ...

Day 9 Track cycling saw two sessions today: a morning session which included team pursuit and individual sprint qualifications, and an evening session, which included the women’s pursuit finals and additional qualification rounds.  For the most part, this was a day that ...

Well, after the Mocksville race on Tuesday and a tough two rides on Wednesday with some VO2 and steady-state intervals, I was goaded into racing Thursday night! We sent most of the guys who wouldn't be racing in the big weekend races (Jon Hamblen, Tom Soladay, Andy Baker, Jackie Simes, David Duncan, and yours truly). I knew the legs were super tired, but I figured then I could take it really

Crossroad Criterium Series #4: Mocksville, NC Last night was the Mocksville Criterium. We brought a full squad of eight guys, but the field was MUCH improved from the previous three Crossroads races: Anibal Borrajo from Colavita was there, Mark Heckman from Toshiba, and a host of other top professionals. The race was very fast from the gun, and in the first five laps our team was very aggressive

Thanks to everyone who emailed/Facebooked/sent comments to me, it has really helped me get through a rough patch. I have been back on the bike since Wednesday, and began my final 10-day build to U23 Nationals on Thursday. I think that I will have some solid training, and with the form that I had at Louisville, I think I'll have a fighting chance. I am going out to California with no

Time Pro Cycling has strung together a few excellent weekends, with 2nd at the Iron Hill USA Crit, 3rd at the Louisville NRC (after lapping the field), 1st at Norton Commons, and most recently 3rd, 4th, and 6th (again, lapping the field) at the Boise NRC/USA Crit! The team is really firing on all cylinders and we are hoping to bring Adam Myerson home for the overall USA Crits win, as well as

Matt Winstead and Hilton Clarke follow as I get the winning break going. I almost took out Mark Zalewski (cyclingnews.com) in the fast Turn 3 in the break. Here is an SRM power file overview of the Louisville Metro Police Foundation NRC criterium. I put a threshold line at 380 watts and smoothed it a bit, but notice that the first 2/3 of the race are much harder and faster--I was in the break

BBC SPORT | Olympics | Cycling | Cancellara seals time trial glory Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, twice world champion in the discipline, took Olympic gold on Wednesday. The TT course was a single lap of the road race course where Cancellara took bronze on Sunday, and Cancellara rode the 47.3 kilometers in 1:02:11. Sweden's Gustav Larsson, a teammate of Cancellara's at CSC, took silver, with American Levi Leipheimer in bronze. "I pictured myself on the top step but whether you win gold, silver or bronze, it's the Olympics. It's important," said Leipheimer. "It's a lifelong dream to get a…

Team CSC has been the best-ranked team in the world for years, but has never taken the sport's biggest victory. Today, Carlos Sastre nailed down his first Grand Tour victory, and his team's first TdF win, with a 12th place in the longest time trial of the 2008 Tour. Gerolsteiner's Stefan Schumacher, who won the Stage 4 TT and has been active in attacks throughout the Tour, was the stage winner today, clocking a 1:03:50, again beating out world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara and Team Columbia's Kim Kirchen. Cadel Evans of Silence-Lotto, widely expected to put serious time into Sastre,…

YouTube videos of Cadel attacking . . . reporters. There's Don't Touch Me, I Cut Off Your Head, and the head butt: We heard about a finger to a reporter, a thrown helmet, but haven't seen it. Aussies defend him: maybe his shoulder, the pressure, or he's just an ass. Update A reporter interviews Cadel's thrown helmet and Bike Radar reports on Cadel losing it. Also: NYTimes.com | Mind Games Precede Tour’s Pivotal Time Trial

So the whole Tour comes down to today's TT. Silence-Lotto's Cadel Evans needs 1:34 to overtake yellow jersey Carlos Sastre for the race lead. Sastre will have the advantage of starting last and the mythic power of the maillot jaune on his side. The battle's not only for the top spot today. Bernhard Kohl, Denis Menchov, Fränk Schleck, and Christian Vande Velde all hold hopes of making the podium, and will burn their last matches to try to get there today. It's a pity they can't borrow matches from Wim Vansevenant and Bernhard Eisel, locked in a struggle to be the lanterne rouge of this…

VeloNews | Cunego injuries force him to drop out of Tour AFP is reporting that Lampre team leader Damiano Cunego has pulled of the Tour, after injuries suffered on a crash during today's 18th stage. Cunego fell face-first, and injured his chin and chest. He struggled alongside 3 teammates to finish within today's time cutoff (20:12 behind winner Marcus Burghardt), falling from 14th overall before today's stage to 20th at stage's end. It was the 3rd crash of the 2008 Tour for Cunego, who won the Giro d'Italia in 2004, then took the white jersey in the 2006 Tour de France. His biggest win of…

My preference when taking 'ride shots' has always been to compose stills (on the fly, usually) to capture a certain perspective, backdrop, or slant of light. But my most recent camera produces some OK video as well, so I occasionally take advantage of that to see a bit more of a dynamic aspect to the rides.The last few days I've stumbled onto the folder with most of the vids I've shot in the last ~5 months. Simply hadn't realized they were all sitting there.Don't pay too much attention to the artistic side of things--if you can find one at all. The standard MO is to whip out the camera while…

OK so I'm a bit off the back in noticing that the year is on the downslide. Perhaps I'm looking forward more than back?Yeah, that's it...The pattern the past few weeks has been to ride first thing, hide in the office until the sun leaves the county, then build wheels into the wee hours. Sleep a bit then repeat. This MO has given me mucho time to get caught up on office and photo stuff (though I keep forgetting 'bout 2nd quarter sales tax, dagnabbit...) while hiding from the heat.And for the first time in ages I've managed to sort through the top half of this year's photos before it's over.

A photo-reportage from the last ~336 hours. Congratulations! Today is your day.You're off to Great Places!You're off and away!You have brains in your head.You have feet in your shoesYou can steer yourselfany direction you choose.You're on your own. And you know what you know.And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.And some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."With your head full of brains and shoes full of feet,you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.And you may not find *any*you'll want to go down.In that case,…

July 17, 2008, 1:56 PM MST.Finished tensioning a wheel, mopped the sweat from my brow (it's ~100* in the shop), walked inside and grabbed a quart o' chilled liquid refreshment, then plopped down here (at the computer, in the air conditioned house) for 5 minutes of respite.And where, you must be wondering, did I point the browser?Where else?It's a sickness I tell ya. Happens mid-July every year.It starts with a glance at the Idita sites, followed by a quick cruise through a photo folder or two. Harmless stuff, really.But, mark my words, by this time next week I'll be relacing my fatty fat fat…

I jumped at the chance to drive a few hours and reconnect with some old friends this week. Threw a bike and overnight gear in the toaster, plugged in some tunes and zoomed in a Gunny-esque direction.Unsure of where Old Friend #1 was exactly, I ended up driving the entirety of Marshall Pass and down a bit of Poncha Pass before finding him grinding his way up the pave'. Whipped a uey and drove back a ways to get suited up before he came dieseling by. Just great to ride with him for a few hours. Well, mentally great--physically it pretty much sucked. He's ~1600 miles into the GDR, and has…

Ran some errands on my Quickbeam, very nice. Another great day. Went to my mom's house to help her with a tax problem. One of two things happened. When I e-filed her return I forgot to click the button that says 'by clicking here you are 'signing' your return' which is possible but not probable, or that tiny piece of data got lost. Anyway, she had to sign a form that said 'I e-filed.' It freaked her out, being from the IRS and all. Then I went to the bank, Wachovia, where I don't really bank. They have my mortgage. It's a long, complicated and sad tale. Still unfolding. Then I hit the…

Usain Bolt. Mr. Bookman, the library cop from Sienfeld. Food for thought. Just sayin'.

I don't usually do these internet memes, particularly since no one tags me. Tops five this, etc. This one is too good to pass up, since I love me some food. Via a tweet from randomduck.1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.I'll go one better - I'll give ya comments, and tell ya the ones I've made. You won't be cuttin' and pastin' from here when I'm done. This post in…

About ten miles, back and forth to work on my Spalding. Nothing too exciting happening.

No survey monkey or radio buttons to push, though.When I went to the library yesterday, I spotted three bikes locked to the bike rack. One was a 16" wheel kids bike, neon green. One was a department store level MTB. The third bike, and the point of this story, was an entry level Trek hybrid. The front cantilever brake of the Trek was not functional, as the straddle cable was unhooked.It's possible that it was a sophisticated user doing a quick-and-dirty anti-theft move. I think it's more likely that they somehow it got undone and they just didn't know how to re-attach it. There were no…

I swear behind all of those cars in the bike lane there is a garage sale going on.

All Pirates on deck, all know that our beloved space will be gone, it is time to raise sail and take to the open road. People are welcome to help us pack this Saturday between 12-6pm Our last day at 457 Bathust will be this Sunday, we will be moving and will need movers by Noon throughout the day. Bike Pirates will be convening a meeting at 6pm this Saturday to talk about our Future in a new

Toronto - A coalition of cycling advocacy groups in Toronto announced today that they will be holding fundraisers in the next few months. Their goal is to raise enough money to buy themselves a City Councillor. Spokesperson Martin Birkenshoe was asked if it was legal to for groups to buy city politicians. He answered somewhat cryptically, "if you cannot beat them, join them".

TORONTO — While politicians and entrepreneurs complain that some governments have been too slow to act on allowing the use of nuclear powered assisted bicycles, others say it's just a case of growing pains. The use of power-assisted bicycles, widely referred to as "e-bikes," has risen exponentially since Transport Canada amended its regulations in 2001 to allow Canadians to have battery-powered

OCEAN CITY — Seventy-eight bicycles have been reported stolen from various areas of the resort between May and July, resort police say. Police said a majority of these thefts were reported from the southern end of the town. Other thefts were reported from Caine Woods area (5), 94th Street area (7) and 120th Street area (9), police said. The thefts were reported between May 15 and July 28 and in

For Sam I’m making a demountable touring bike with S&S couplers. This one is going to be fully lugged, with front and rear rack mounts for loaded touring. So with the couplers, you need to cut your top tube and down tube and braze them in, so I got special True Temper tubes with long butts so that I’d be brazing to the thick part. Here are some shots of the couplers, and brazing them up to make the tube:    This frame is also going to use capped seat stays, brazed to the outside of the seat lug, for good tire & fender clearance. Some builders use cast caps, to…

So the last week featured two exciting pick-ups. Casey had been working in Appalachia, fighting mountaintop mining, and was en-route to the Cape when she rumbled up in her grease-powered Mercedes. Accompanying her was old friend and comrade Francesco, who rides this bad boy. Here they are with their various non-petroleum powered vehicles: And here’s a shot of Casey’s bike - she brought her beloved Brooks saddle to put on, and now she’s ready to rock: And yesterday Paul picked up his mountain bike, Cuchulainn - he’ll be joining Mark and Liane on the trails of western CT…

And clearly I mean sick in the best possible way. This is Paul’s mountain bike. Components are on their way. Marvel, if you will, at its majesty.          I’ll post pictures of the built-up bike next week. Meanwhile perhaps you’ve suspected that the inside of an air compressor looks a lot like a vertical twin motorcycle engine. You’re not wrong. I put new rings on ours this weekend. Here’s what it looks like with the head off:

I know what you’re thinking. It’s 90 degrees out - what better time to play with fire, or put on a full-face respirator? No air conditioned offices for us! Summer pretty much means all sweat, all the time, with time-outs to stick our heads in buckets of iced coffee. But despite it all, and the sputtering air tools that the humidity brings, we’re getting some bikes out. I’m ironing out paint details with Paul for his mountain bike, and in the meantime did this repaint of our friend Scott’s Russ Denny track bike. In blasting the fork I found some nasty rust holes,…

Ok so this is a big bike. 60cm top tube, 108cm wheelbase. But Paul’s a big guy so that all makes sense. The main frame is tig welded, with brass used for the Paragon disc brake dropouts & the tops of the seat stays. The tubing is a mix of Dedacciai Zerouno and Zerotre. Here’s some pictures of it getting jigged up & welded:             Team Circle A also did the MS150 ride last weekend; thanks to you, we raised about $2700 for the team and the entire ride made nearly $500,000! So thanks from Shawn, Shauna, Brian, Hilary, Tom,…

Folks - If you ride a Cervelo bicycle that's equipped with a Wolf SL forkmade by True Temper Sports (I do), please stop riding it immediately andbring it to your bicycle dealer for replacement. The Wolf SL fork has beenrecalled due to several reported failures leading to crashes and injuries.Cervelo says, "The recalled forks have a clear coating over black-paintedcarbon fiber, with the words "Wolf Superlite" and related logo just belowthe crown on each fork leg, and the words "SL" on each leg above the forkblade dropouts. There is a True Temper CRTMC logo on the…

Most multi-speed bicycles rely on an elegantly simple and super-light device called a front derailleur that shifts the chain across the different size chainrings to provide a wide range of gearing. The primary disadvantage of this system is a different chainline for each chainring, which can result in dropped chains, chain suck and sloppy shifting. The need for several size chainrings can also cause clearance and suspension issues on certain mountain bikes. Recently, component maker TruVativ leaked news of its HammerSchmidt transmission, a crankset that solves all these issues by providing 2…

Q: Hi Jim,I'm a large male - twenty stones (280 pounds) - and I use my cycle toand from work about eight miles a day most along a cycle path. I alsouse it for pleasure. But the problem I have is that in the past twelvemonths I have buckled three rear wheels. I have been told it isbecause of my weight and that I should get a reinforced wheel. Couldyou give me any advice?Many thanksJohnA: Hi John,My recommendation is to bring your bicycle to a good local bike shopthat has a reputation for high quality wheelbuilding. If you ask othercyclists you should be able to find out who builds great…

Last weekend was the Albany, California (near Berkeley) Criterium and since it was the city's centennial, the promoters decided to hold a special highwheel bicycle event as part of the festivities. I brought my 1886 Victor Light Roadster and had a blast getting schooled by the other riders in the skill events, the slalom, the slow race (the last to cross the finish line wins; "ready - set - slow!") and the straight-and-narrow, where you have to ride down a decreasing-width lane formed by tape on the road. The person who makes it the furthest without touching the tape with his tire wins.Then…

Q: I have a Schwinn GS hybrid. It's equipped with what they call a carbon"flex fork" that has very little rake as compared to my other bikes. I'vehad 3 incidents where I got high speed wobble in the 35-40mph range. Imanaged to get it whoa'd down before a crash, but it was very scary. I'venever had this problem on any other bike. I've checked the headset, wheels,bearings, etc. and all seem fine. I've given it a lot of thought and itseems to happen when I'm leaning to the right or off camber leaning to theright. The fork looks like it "melted"…

Here's one to look out for if you have low spoke count wheels:One of our local riders came in with her late-1990s LeMond Zürich. It has original Rolf wheels."It started having this terrible speed wobble on descents," she said. "It got so bad on my last ride that I thought I was going to have to jump off."She pointed out that two spokes of the 18 in her front wheel had come completely unscrewed. The nipples had just fallen into the rim. No wonder the bike wobbled. The spokes did not break. They came undone. Like many athletes, she's got quite a motor, but she's relatively oblivious to her…

One small, determined, skillful animal controls and directs a herd of larger beasts. The border collie sets another example traffic cyclists can use.Yesterday on a narrow country road with a fairly low traffic volume, two or three vehicles were coming up behind me as two or three vehicles approached from the opposite direction. I could tell by the way the oncoming motorists were maneuvering that the ones behind me were slowing down because no one knew exactly what to do. Large, confused beasts would all end up clustered in the same piece of road with me unless I took control of the…

Older STI road brifters that are losing their clicks have been responding well to forceful and generous sprays of PG2000 spray lube. The road mechanism is typically more closely shrouded than older MTB units. This has discouraged a lot of exploratory surgery. Fortunately, experimental treatments with PG2000 have yielded these positive results, giving new hope to older victims of Shimano engineering.PG2000 treatments have brought about full recovery in RSX, 105 and older Ultegra units. We have no long-term results yet, so the patient may relapse. Still, even a bit of borrowed time is better…

Our decades spent transporting ourselves in sealed cans shooting down a conveyor belt have given us the habit of ignoring each other in transit. Even using mass transportation by bus or rail, how often do you strike up a conversation with people in forced proximity?Bicycling puts us in an odd position. As individuals on individual conveyances, we pursue our own schedules at our own pace. No longer sealed safely away from unwanted communication, we can't just keep the windows rolled up and avoid eye contact with other cyclists we might pass or who might pass us.If passing speeds are fast…

Outside the bedroom window I could see the morning fog had light above it. The sun would break through.I rolled off the bed and levered myself upright to go in search of coffee and food. Once I had something in my stomach I dropped a couple of ibuprofen to take the edge off the creakiness.As I left the driveway I saw a cyclist approaching from my right, still far off. I pulled out, but rode with no hands, sitting up, arms crossed against the morning chill. I rode that way through the right turn onto Elm Street before lowering myself to the bars as a truck passed me. Seconds later, the…

Joe’s frame is painted and ready to be sent off. The paint scheme was done with a brush and many small vinyl stencils. It was time consuming but I’m happy with the colors and the overall feel of it. Here are the shots of the finished frame and some of the actual process.           See the full slideshow. Brian’s (not me) flatland frame is coming up next so check back soon.

The bike we built for the Rapha Continental project is up on their site with an interview of Chris and me. Lots of pics and interviews of all the builders and the bikes. Also check out the rides for one nearest you, print out a cue sheet, and then suffer in the saddle like they did. Fun, right?

So Joe’s bike is finished (completely since these shots were taken) and I’m waiting until I get back from vacation to do the paint. It seemed like it might be a little labor intensive so I didn’t think I should rush it. Here are the current shots. The next ones will blow your mind.     See the full slideshow. The Major Taylor Association’s annual George Street hillclimb was this past weekend and everyone was so fast!! The winning time was under 23 seconds by Rich Hollenbeck. Which basically means he averaged 15 miles an hour up an 18 percent grade. Crazy. We…

Chris’s cross bike is painted, frame-saved, and ready for shipping. I’ll be sad to see it go. The paint is a classic blue with white panels and silver lug-lining. Here are the shots of the finished bike. Absolutely gorgeous.          See the full slideshow. I also painted a gas tank for Tom from White Electric Coffee. It came out pretty sweet and I should have some more pictures of it soon on the bike. Joe’s fillet brazed road frame is up next as well as a bunch of repaints. It’s going to be a busy week so check back for more updates.

Chris’s cross frame and fork are together and looking very much like a bike. A bunch of soaking, some sandblasting, and bunch of filing and it’ll be ready for primer. The paint is going to be real classy. I love the color scheme he chose and am excited to see it on the bike. Here are the latest shots.     See the full slideshow.

Cycling photographer Russ Roca started a new bicycling blog that he calls The Epicurean Cyclist. If you prefer wool to polyester, twine to electrical tape and friction to index shifting, then there's a good chance you might like his site. Russ will write about bike camping and touring and some of the things he likes. Epicurean Cyclist

Available in November, MSRP $1145. This bike from Masi is to drool for. Read more about this and other new models from Masi over at Commute By Bike.Tim "Masiguy" Jackson of Masi also recently posted some photos of a prototype Masi Mini Velo bicycle for the Japanese market. I'm a big fan of these and I'd love it if somebody could successfully distribute these for the USA bike market.I'll post plenty more bike porn photos next month from Interbike 2008, which I'm attending on behalf of Commute By Bike.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Cervelo have announced a recall of the Wolf SL Carbon Fiber Bicycle Fork. The forks steerer can break during normal use, causing the rider to lose control, fall and suffer serious injuries. Ron of Cozy Beehive has posted some photos of broken forks Cervelo has received 12 reports of forks cracking or breaking, resulting in one consumer suffering a broken wrist and another suffering minor abrasions. The recalled forks have a clear coating over black painted carbon fiber, with the words "Wolf Superlite" and related logo just below the crown on…

Is there an upside to high gas prices? If you're a bicycle retailer, there can be—particularly in the service department. Bikes Belong has just completed a survey of more than 150 bicycle retailers from nearly 40 states to see if their summer 2008 sales reflect an increase in the use of bicycles for transportation.“I am located directly across the street from a large and busy Quick Trip with more than 12 gas pumps. At least one or two new customers per day tell me they first saw us [while] pumping gas and decided to stop in and see about buying or fixing up a bike to use instead of the…

Rob Anderson made the Wall Street Journal!Rob Anderson is the guy who successfully challenged San Francisco's implementation of a bike plan, by claiming in court that the bike plan must undergo an environmental review just like any other transportation plan. According to the Wall Street Journal, Anderson believes I ride my bike for political reasons! "Regardless of the obvious dangers, some people will ride bikes in San Francisco for the same reason Islamic fanatics will engage in suicide bombings -- because they are politically motivated to do so," he wrote in a May 21 post. Anderson claims…

When the sh*t goes down and the screws are turned, we all wage the war against the ingress of doubt. Like cold, salty ocean water, doubt will find its way inside a breach and then... it's only a matter of time before the ship goes down. Following an effort so hard that it leaves the eyes bloodshot and your feet fried, a rider tries to sort out the race's details. How can one's fitness vary so greatly on back-to-back days? All things being equal, one can point to doubt.At times, denying doubt is harder than any of the physical efforts doled out. When the group is strung out into a razor sharp…

The season begins the same way every year. Like moles emerging from the earth, cyclists crawl out from the confines of their basements, spinning classes, and lone winter workouts. Everyone has the same intention: get out, join the group ride, and connect with fellow ride