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Seattle Bike Expo is Saturday and Sunday

Rain is forecast for this weekend, so it might be a good time to head down to the Group Health Seattle International Bike Expo at Cruise Terminal 30.

Or you can ride your bike down there to see 150 exhibits on bikes, gear, travel, health and fitness or hear special guests biking coach Chris Carmichael, Sally Edwards, stunt rider Ryan Leech, or bike tourer Joe Kurmaskie.

Be aware. The Cascade Bicycle Club has moved the expo to a new location. It is at Cruise Terminal 30, that's on the Puget Sound side of downtown just south of Safeco Field. There's plenty of parking within a 20 to 30-minute walk, and secure bicycle parking is offered for $2 at the site …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/06/seattle-bike-expo-is-saturday-and-sunday/

Seattle International Bike Expo poster

Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9 at the Cruise Terminal 30 in downtown Seattle. Details and directions.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/06/seattle-international-bike-expo-poster/

Utah cyclist goes after 3-foot violator

Not to belabor the issue of laws that require motorists to give bicycle riders 3 feet when passing, but there's always the question of enforcement once the law is passed.

Here's a story passed along to me from Utah about a cyclist who took matters into his own hands after a passenger in a close-passing pickup swiped him with his hand.

Startled, Jason Bultman still had the presence of mind to copy down the license plate. Police followed up and the Salt Lake City prosecutor's office filed charges in February, making the first prosecution of the 3-foot passing law enacted two years earlier.

If successful, it might empower many other harassed bicyclists to file reports with police. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/06/utah-cyclist-goes-after-3-foot-violator/

Alley Cat bike races

You be the judge

Alley cat bike races are unsanctioned urban street races where cyclists zip around their city to be the first to find a series of destinations. Shortest distance in the quickest time wins the day.

The New York Times on Sunday reported on the “sheer anarchic fun of the race” in an …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/04/alley-cat-bike-races/

Have canoe; will bike around USA

Packing list for long-distance touring bicyclist James Schauer: 300 pounds of stuff.

As you can see at left, this 60-year-old semi-retired computer programmer is pretty easy to identify as he hauls his rig across the rolling countryside of rural Maryland. He pedals a mountain bike loaded with stuff and tows a 14-foot canoe that shelters more stuff underneath.

He left the St. Louis area last September and has been tooling around the East Coast by bicycle and canoe ever since. With no house and no car, Schauer says he has no particular destination in mind except to visit relatives on his travels. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/04/have-canoe-will-bike-around-usa/

Bike and canoe on Maryland highway

James Schauer it pedalling and rowing around the US. More at Carroll County Times.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/04/bike-and-canoe-on-maryland-highway/

Biking deaths showed slight decline in 2006

Bicycling fatalities accounted for 773 deaths in 2006, a number that's too high despite being 01.6% lower than the previous year.

Accidents leading to bicycling deaths occurred more often in urban areas, at non-intersection locations, between 5 and 9 p.m. during the summer months. Nearly one-fourth of the bike riders had blood-alcohol content of .08%, which would qualify them for DUI if they were behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

These are just some of the findings in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report for bicycle deaths and injuries for the year 2006, the latest data available.

Bike riders killed on the road are remembered by the annual Ride of Silence, (May 21, 2008), and by the white Ghost Cycles located at the scene of the tragedy. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/03/biking-deaths-showed-slight-decline-in-2006/

End of the road for cyclos in Ho Chi Minh City

It seems that many big cities, even in the US, are taking steps to embrace human-powered transportation as a way to reduce pollution and ease traffic congestion. Bicycle lanes, bike-to-work days, and free or low-cost rental bikes are becoming more popular.

In Ho Chi Minh City, however, thousands of bicycle-style cyclos will be banned come June to “clean up” the city's streets.

The cyclos are used as “rickshaws” to carry tourists and other passengers around town. They're also adapted to haul goods and garbage through the streets of Vietnam's capital city formerly known as Saigon. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/03/end-of-the-road-for-cyclos-in-ho-chi-minh-city/

Are your cycling pants flame repellent?

Better check the label on your bicycling trou before heading out for your next spin.

Police in Poland say a 55-year-old man suffered 2nd degree burns on his legs and stomach after his pants spontaneously caught fire.

“Witnesses said he was like a flaming human torch cycling along the road.” …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/02/are-your-cycling-pants-flame-repellent/

February highway sand-removal project and bike ride stats

This is the chain on my road bike earlier this month. I accumulated all this crap over just a few days of riding.

Do you have a hard time believing that I kept this bike on the roads and didn't ride on one muddy off-road trail?

You'd trust me if I told you that tons of sand are dumped on hilly roads in the eastside Seattle 'burbs any time a little snow or ice appears. After a couple of days passing cars sweep it all off onto the shoulders. There it sits for months, until all of us eastside bike riders pick it up, grain by grain, onto our chains and carry it home …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/02/february-highway-sand-removal-project-and-bike-ride-stats/