Some bicycling headlines I'd like to read in 2011:
Motor vehicle ban in Black Hawk, Colorado: The newly elected city council in Black Hawk, Colorado, reinstates bicycles and bans motor vehicles from city streets. Cars and tour buses must park in a huge lot on the edge of town where bicycle rickshaws pick up passengers and carry them to the casinos. Montreal's Bixi bike-share platform opens a business there;
50 states pass laws to criminalize crashes with bicyclists: Every state passes a law making it illegal to kill or injure a person on a bicycle. Excuses such as “Uh, I didn't see him,” or “I was answering a text from my friend,” automatically doubles the jail sentences. Saying that “The new car smell made me sleepy” earns a life sentence;
New venue for Interbike 2011: The 2011 Interbike trade show finds itself in Black Hawk, after organizers announced in September 2010 that it would move to Anaheim, then changed their minds and said the show would remain in Las Vegas. Then they changed their minds again and looked for a more central location. Black Hawk chosen for its casino atmosphere and pro-bicycle city government;
Wasteful spending on freeways banned: In a surprise move, the Repubican-dominated Congress says its pledge to stop wasting taxpayer's money starts with banning all future spending on new freeways. That money instead will go to alternative forms of transportation, such as bicycle facilities and mass transit. Commentators speculate the decision will have the “trickle-down” effect of reducing our reliance on OPEC oil;
Spanish beef replacing pasta for pre-race meals: Cyclists in the major races fill their plates with beef from Spain, instead of carbo-loaded pasta. They say it has proven nutritional benefits to make them stronger, such as those discovered by Alberto Contador;
Giro d'Italia chooses Sacramento for 2012 start: Organizers of the Giro d'Italia announce that they're abandoning their plan to start in Washington DC in 2012. They want to go head-to-head against the Tour of California, which competes with the Giro for teams and riders after moving its dates to May in 2010;
Allegations that Contador uses helium-filled bicycle: An Italian sportscaster, unable to find traction for his assertion that Fabian Cancellera used an e-bike for added power, levels charges and finds “proof” that Alberto Contador filled his bicycle frame with helium to make cycling easier in the mountains;
Schleck switches to singlespeed: Vowing never to succumb to a dropped chain while shifting again, cyclist Andy Schleck switches to a singlespeed bicycle for the mountain stages of the Tour de France;
Armstrong re-emerges from retirement: Lance Armstrong surprises everyone by winning the Tour Down Under in January, says he's filling strong, and announces he'll race just one more Tour de France in 2011.
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