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Lance Armstrong retires from cycling for the last time

There will be no grand tour of last bicycle races for Lance Armstrong, who announced his retirement — dubbed Retirement 2.0 — from the sport effective immediately.

The 39-year-old raced in January at the Tour Down Under in Australia, which he previously said would be his last international race. The announcement brings to an end any possibility that he might compete in the upcoming Amgen Tour of California or Quizno's Pro Challenge in Colorado.

Armstrong returned to pro cycling in 2009 after announcing Retirement 1.0 in 2005. He's retiring now to spend more time with his family and work to fight cancer with his Livestrong Foundation. ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/16/lance-armstrong-retires-from-cycling-for-the-last-time/

Razorback Greenway bike trail funding in Arkansas on chopping block
Funding cut

Republicans in Congress are targeting the Razorback Greenway in Arkansas as the type of pork they want to trim from the budget.

They're putting a $15 million pledge from the US Department of Transportation on the chopping block along with $61 billion in cuts they're considering, reports a local newspaper, the Times Record.

The 36-mile-long bike trail in northwestern Arkansas would connect the towns of Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers, Lowell, Springdale, and Johnson. The project, with a total cost of $40 million raised from local sources, was expected to be completed in 2012 ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/16/razorback-greenway-bike-trail-funding-in-arkansas-on-chopping-blockfunding-cut/

Alberto Contador update: Cleared of all charges, he's free to compete

Update: Feb. 15, 2011 — After proposing a one-year ban on cyclist Alberto Contador, the Spanish Cycling Federation has overturned that proposal and he is free to race again.

Contador appealed their findings that he had intentionally used clenbuteral, a performance-enhancing drug, during the Tour de France. Instead, they chose to believe his story that he accidentally ingested it in some clen-tainted steak.

Contador says he's ready to ride the Volta ao Algarve on Wednesday for his new team, Saxo Bank. The International Cycling Union says it's waiting to receive the full dossier on the investigation before offering its opinion on the Spanish board's flip-flop. ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/15/alberto-contador-update-cleared-of-all-charges-hes-free-to-compete/

Giving everyone a shot at bicycling

If you enjoy riding a bike, imagine the joy it must give someone whose mobility can be challenged.

I observed that several years ago when my special needs daughter and her fellow classmates got to ride adaptive bikes that were brought to the school for the day by the Seattle-area nonprofit Outdoors For All.

Many of these kids don't have the muscle tone, balance or coordination to handle the regular bikes they see other kids riding, but they laughed and squealed to roll around on adaptive trikes and two-seaters.

Recently, Seattle orthopedic surgeon Sean Adelman, wrote about “Biking and Independence” at his blog Raise Expectations. …..

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/15/giving-everyone-a-shot-at-bicycling/

Road rage between cyclist and driver causes more anger

A road rage incident between a motorist and a bicyclist dating back to October in Redmond, Wash., has led to a flaming torrent of anti-bicyclist commentary.

Reading through more than a hundred comments at the Seattle Times, I despair for a solution between the bicyclist-motorist animosity anytime soon.

According to published accounts, a Redmond man has been charged with first-degree malicious mischief after he allegedly threw his bicycle at a car whose driver had honked at him ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/15/road-rage-between-cyclist-and-driver-causes-more-anger/

Details of 2009 bicycle fatalities; state-by-state tally

A report issued by the US Department of Transportation compiles the “what,” “when,” “where” and “how” of 630 bicyclist fatalities in 2009 involving motor vehicles.

It's easier to read these numbers if you don't think about the “who.”

“Traffic Safety Facts of 2009” is a follow-up report to one issued last September trumpeting that overall traffic fatalities in the US dropped to their lowest level since 1950. Bicycling fatalities also dropped that year, by 12%.

I suppose it's no surprise that the state with the most bicyclists death was Florida ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/14/details-of-2009-bicycle-fatalities-state-by-state-tally/

Bicycle fatalities 2009

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/14/bicycle-fatalities-2009/

Mount Rainier's Carbon River Road to become bike – hike trail

An historic auto road that goes deep into the Mount Rainier National Park will be permanently converted into a trail for bicyclists and hikers under a plan announced by the park service on Friday.

The Carbon River Road in the northwest end of the park has been closed to auto traffic since 2006 because of a series of damaging floods. It has remained open, when possible, as far as the Isput Creek Campground for hikers and bikers.

Under the new plan, an effort will be made to retain as much of the historic road as possible. Trails that connect those old road sections along the Carbon River will be upgraded for bicycle use.

That 5-mile-long road was originally built in 1921. It connected the park entrance ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/12/mount-rainiers-carbon-river-road-to-become-bike-hike-trail/

Carbon River area of Mount Rainier

Historic road to become bike-hike trail.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/12/carbon-river-area-of-mount-rainier/

Cycle tracks: safe or dangerous?

A study released this week by the Harvard School of Public Health may reignite the discussion over the safety of cycle tracks for bicycling through urban areas.

The Harvard study, conducted on six cycle tracks in Montreal, found that risk of injury for bicyclists is somewhat less in the physically separated bike lanes than riding in the street. Those findings run counter to previous studies that cycle tracks are more dangerous for bicyclists, especially at intersections.

Those findings could come into play as urban planners search for types of bicycle facilities that encourage more people to ride their bicycles for commuting and running errands. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, for instance, is pushing for 100 miles of separated bike lanes (see video above).

Cycle tracks are bicycle lanes that are physically separated from traffic …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/11/cycle-tracks-safe-or-dangerous/