Once in a blue moon the cyclists in a breakaway survive to the finish. Stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday was one of those days.
Aussie Simon Gerrans and 13 other members of the peloton attacked just 8 miles into the mountainous stage to Bologna; they remained out front for the remaining 99 miles of the race.
Their only impact on the overall contest for the pink jersey was to press Danilo Di Luca's LPR Brakes team into service to close the gap. Interesting that LPR Brakes took up that role, rather than Rabobank, the team of overall leader Denis Menchov ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/23/gerrans-breakaway-wins-stage-14-menchov-leads-giro-bike-race/
The predominant sprinter of Giros d'Italia of the recent past once again couldn't muster the speed to overtake cycling's prevailing speedster of the present.
Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish took his third stage win of this year's Giro with Alessandro Petacchi trying desparately to pass as they crossed the finish line in Florence on Friday.
Petacchi, Ale-Jet, schooled Cavendish and his teammates early on in Stages 2 and 3 this year, but Cavendish has returned with victories in Stages 9, 11 and 13. The Brit can give some credit to Columbia teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen, who once again set up Cavendish in textbook fashion. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/22/cavendish-wins-no-3-menchov-still-leads-giro-bicycle-race/
Solo cyclists in the most amazing bicycle endurance event in the world, the Race Across America, start their cross-country purgatory on June 17.
A documentary that chronicles their mind-boggling trials over a previous 10-day-long race from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland, will be released early next week.
Entitled “Bicycle Dreams,” the film by Stephen Auerbach gets inside the heads of these cyclists and their support crews over the mind-numbing, sleep-deprived 3,000-mile race.
Auerbach, who produced an earlier documentary on RAAM for NBC-TV in 2005, had 18 cameras following the action. This included camera crews embedded with cyclist's support crews. You can experience the personal drama that resulted from their efforts in the 2:50-minute trailer above. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/22/race-across-america-something-completely-out-of-this-planet/
As promised, the Stage 12 individual time trial shook up the standings of the 2009 Giro d'Italia as Danilo Di Luca finally gave up his pink leader's jersey to Denis Menchov, left.
US cyclist Levi Leipheimer stepped up one place to 3rd overall, 40 seconds behind Menchov and just 6 seconds behind second place Di Luca.
Comeback cyclist Lance Armstrong gained more ground on Wednesday, increasing his position to 12th in the overall standings, but dropping back to 6:34 behind the leader.
Now at the mid-point of the three week bicycle race around Italy, it remains to be seen if Menchov's Rabobank team can help him protect the lead, or if Leipheimer's Astana teammates can help him whittle away at Menchov's lead …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/21/menchov-takes-over-giro-lead-leipheimer-40-seconds-behind/
Takes over lead of 2009 Giro d'Italia on Stage 12 ..individual time trial
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/21/denis-menchov-2/
“There's still carnage going on out there on the road… Someone's going to ride around the lake with us tonight, and they won't be here next year.”
Bicyclists killed in traffic collisions will be memorialized in at least 275 Ride of Silence events beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday in 16 countries worldwide.
Check the list for rides in the US or other countries.
The Ride of Silence dates back to only 2003, when cyclists gathered at White Rock Lake in Dallas to remember Larry Schwartz, a local bicycle enthusiast killed in a traffic crash. Considered to be a one-time event, interest in the event swept across the US and other nations. As of last year, an estimated 22,500 bicyclists participated in some 300 rides. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/20/2009-ride-of-silence-begins-at-700-tonight/
You know it ain't easy, but Mark Cavendish made it look that way again as he won a bunch sprint for Stage 11 at the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday.
US-based Team Columbia set up the Brit in textbook fashion as the peloton raced into Arenzano. Cavendish rewarded their efforts by powering across the finish line first; it was his second stage win of this year's Giro.
Danilo Di Luca remained in the pink jersey as the overall leader of the Giro after the stage, but faces a major challenge from US cyclist Levi Leipheimer in Thursday's individual time trial.
Leipheimer is an expert time trialist and is expected to do well enough in the 37-mile ITT from Sestri Levante to Riomaggiore to close the 1:40 gap to Di Luca….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/20/cavendish-wins-again-leipheimer-loses-critical-support-at-giro/
Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca gained valuable time on his rivals at the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday as he attacked in the closing miles of the mountainous 200-mile stage 10.
The advantage that Di Luca gained over Denis Menchov, Michael Rogers and Levi Leipheimer may be the margin he needs to survive Thursday's time trial in the pink jersey.
This was Di Luca's second stage victory at the Giro. He won Stage 4 a week ago when he rocketed past Maurice Soler in the final 100 yards and has held the pink jersey ever since.
In Tuesday's victory, Di Luca attacked an elite chase group to close the gap to Franco Pellizotti on the final descent with less than 6 miles to the finish. He maintained his lead and crossed the finish line about 10 seconds ahead of Pellizotti and Menchov …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/19/di-luca-wins-again-widens-margin-over-leipheimer-and-other-rivals/
Until I read the newly revised Sierra Club “how-to” guide for bicycle touring, I would have argued that bike touring hasn't changed much over the past 30 years.
In fact, it has changed a lot. Just consider the new brands and types of bicycles that we now ride, the new components that are now available, and the different styles of touring that we can choose.
Acclaimed bicycling author Raymond Bridge covers it all in 450-some pages in the second edition of “Bike Touring: The Sierra Club Guide to Travel on Two Wheels.”
Some things haven't changed so much. Padded shorts are still preferred for long distances in the saddle, longer chainstays allow more stable load-carrying, and traveling under your own power is still the best way to experience new places.
Changes
But consider some of the changes since 1979, all covered in detail by Bridge in the guide:
— Mountain bikes were just a blip on the radar; recumbents, trikes, and folding bikes were unheard of. Now they're all considered viable for different styles of bike touring …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/18/new-book-bike-touring-the-sierra-club-guide-to-travel-on-two-wheels/
I'm always a little oxygen-deprived when I reach this figure on the way up Cougar Mountain in Bellevue, Washington, and not sure what I'm actually seeinig.
When I rode up on Saturday, I thought I'd take a picture to confirm if I were seeing things or not.
Sure enough, it looks all the world to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/18/a-bicycle-lane-for-recumbents/
Adventure Cycling Association Trail biking Rails to Trails Conservancy League of American Bicyclists
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