Well, that bit of drama is over. The UCI has agreed to let Lance Armstrong make his official return to professional cycling at Australia's Tour Down Under, beginning Jan. 20.
The next question is: Will the Tour de France organizers allow Team Astana and Armstrong to participate in the Tour in July?
Professional cycling's governing body shortened the customary 6-month notification period that returning cyclists need to file in order to let Armstrong ride. Due to his Aug. 1 notification, he wouldn't have been eligible to race until Feb. 1 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/08/armstrong-cleared-for-australias-tour-down-under/
The overriding question most bicycle commuters had when they heard about passage of the Bicycle Commuter Act on Friday was — “Where do I sign up?”
The League of American Bicyclists has been researching the bill and how it might be implemented and came up with a Bicycle Commuter Act FAQ at the LAB website.
The bike act is a work in progress. As a Washington DC-based advocacy group for bicyclists, the League has the contacts to make sure the act's provisions are implemented by Jan. 1, 2009 ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/07/questions-about-bicycle-commuter-act-answered/
For those of you keeping score at home, this year's doping dragnet of the Tour de France has netted a total of 6 cyclists. Book 'em, Danno.
Two suspects — Germany's Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) and Italy's Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) — were disclosed Monday after French laboratory technicians retested some urine samples that had originally tested negative.
If the accusations hold true, some rewriting of the record books will be in order. Schumacher won both individual time trials from Fabian Cancellara and spent a few days in the yellow jersey. Piepoli won a mountain stage in the Pyrenees.
Both were alleged to have used a new form of EPO called Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator, or CERA….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/07/tour-de-france-doping-revisited-2-more-cyclists-accused/
Is a 3,000-mile cross-country bicycle tour a good way to start a marriage?
You can follow Joel and Michelle's blogs to find out.
The two make their home in Kansas City, where, among other things, they both race mountain bikes. They got hitched in September and headed out to Santa Cruz, California, to start their adventure about a week ago.
Early reports from the West to East bicycle travelers is that “self-supported touring is HARD work.” First they suffered through the heat of the San Joaquin Valley, then suffered the climb up and over the Sierra Nevada. They enjoyed their time in Yosemite Valley, however …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/06/honeymooning-cross-country-on-bicycles/
There are a few mountain goats in any group of bicyclists. They're the ones who relish any and all climbs on bike rides.
There's a special event for these folks in the San Francisco Bay area. It's called the Mount Diablo Challenge and is simply a 10.8-mile ride that gains 3,240 feet with a 6.9% gradient the last 4 miles.
What's so amazing is that 888 bicyclists completed this torture on Sunday. Maybe they considered it bliss. They should all be proud of themselves, and they probably are.
The first to summit fastest time was set by Howard Love, 48, who arrived in 41:19 at a pace of 15.7 mph. [The first to the summit was Nate English, who left in an earlier wave.] That's about 4 minutes faster than last year's winner, Chris Phipps, 38, who finished this year in 47:09. ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/06/results-for-2008-mount-diablo-challenge-bike-ride/
I don't live in northwestern Pennsylvania, but if I did this attack ad by the Republican Party would be enough to get me to vote for Kathy Dahlkemper, a Democrat in the 3rd congressional district.
The ad says that Dahlkemper has some “wacky solutions” to deal with the energy crisis. Among them, walking places and riding bikes.
Sounds completely sane to me.
The commercial calls these “personal sacrifices.” I'd call these choices lifestyle improvements….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/05/gop-commercial-attacks-idea-of-walking-biking/
The news around Lance Armstrong's return to pro cycling keeps getting weirder.
I stumbled across a couple of doozies Saturday night.
You'll remember that cycling star Alberto Contador said that he'd want off Team Astana if Armstrong joined. Now disgraced cyclist Alexander Vinokourov, 35, says he wants back on Team Astana to race in 2009.
Businessmen in Khazakhstan built the Astana team around home country hero Vinokourov in 2006. In return he was caught for doping in the 2007 Tour de France ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/05/another-pro-cyclist-wants-to-come-out-of-retirement/
The Bicycle Commuter Act that gives companies tax breaks for offering fringe benefits to bicycle commuters was passed by the House of Representatives on Friday as they approved the $700 billion financial bailout plan by a 263-171 vote.
President Bush signed the bailout into law right away.
The Bicycle Commuter Act gives employers $20 a month tax relief for each employee who bicycles to work. It covers the cost of employer reimbursements to employees for buying, improving or repairing a bicycle or paying for bike parking.
It was first introduced some seven years ago by Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Portland. The Democrat opposes the bailout and voted against it on Friday, putting himself in the inenviable position of voting against his pet project ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/03/bailout-passes-with-bicycle-commuter-act-attached-bush-signs-it/
Tyler Farrar of Wenatchee celebrates on the podium at 68th Circuit Franco-Belge. Image from Garmin-Chipotle.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/03/tyler-farrar-2/
As a life-long roadie, I'm always amazed at how tired I am after riding my mountain bike on local trails.
For instance, my son and I headed down to the Towers of Power to ride the singletrack maze on the Puget Sound Energy transmission line right of way near Renton, Washington, a couple of weeks ago.
We must have bombed around for a good hour and were pretty wiped out when we stopped. I checked my odometer — 6.5 miles. On my road bike, I'd just be hitting my groove.
As the trails wind around beneath power transmission towers, this isn't the most scenic location to bike. It's at the top of Renton Hill, so there are some pretty good views …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/10/03/towers-of-power-biking-local-dirt-trails-september-ride-stats/
Adventure Cycling Association Trail biking Rails to Trails Conservancy League of American Bicyclists
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