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Hold your line, Cav!

Some riders held up the start of Wednesday's Stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse to protest Mark Cavendish's erratic cycling at the finish of Stage 4 on Tuesday that led to this crash.

The British sprinter for the US-based HTC-Columbia team has been docked 25 points in the sprinter competition and 30 seconds in the General Classification and been fined 200 Swiss francs.

The crash forced earlier Tour de Suisse leader Heinrich Haussler of Cervelo out of the race, as well as Frenchman Arnaud Coyot.

Cavendish is reportedly riding with a serious case of road rash on Wednesday. Teammate Mark Renshaw snapped this photo of Cavendish all bandaged up …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/16/hold-your-line-cav/

Tour Divide mountain bike race rolling along; how to follow the race

As the Race Across America cyclists charge eastward with their teammates or support crews or both, there's an equally amazing corps of cyclists heading down the spine of the Continental Divide individually and with no support whatsoever.

The Tour Divide got underway from Banff, Alberta, with 48 mountain bike riders on Friday (video at left). They're heading along the spine of the Rocky Mountains to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, on gravel roads and dirt paths for a distance of 2,745 miles.

You could draw comparisons between the two races all day long. For instance:

— They're both ultra-endurance events whose winners measure success by hours spent not sleeping.

— Both aim for the lightest rides possible. Weight issues stop with the frame and components for RAAM cyclists; Tour Divide bicyclists must factor in tools, food and cooking equipment, sleeping bags …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/15/tour-divide-mountain-bike-race-rolling-along-how-to-follow-the-race/

Robic leads RAAM as vegetation comes to life for one sleep-deprived cyclist

Slovenian ultra-cyclist Jure Robic is well past the half-way point of the 2010 Race Across America with the entire solo field strung out for hundreds of miles behind him.

The 45-year-old four-time champion most recently rode through the Fort Scott, Kansas, checkpoint at 2:10 p.m. (ET) on Monday.

His closest rival is Gerhard Gulewicz of Austria, who's trailing by about 60 miles. The other 15 men in the under-50 age stretch as far back as Trinidad, Colorado, more than 500 miles behind. [June 15 update: Gulewicz had cut that gap to 40-some miles by Tuesday afternoon. See RAAM website for update and video.] ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/14/robic-leads-raam-as-vegetation-comes-to-life-for-one-sleep-deprived-cyclist/

Lance Armstrong in the Tour de Suisse; Versus televising

Just about any European bicycle race this month is touted as a tune-up for the 2010 Tour de France. That's always been true for the just-ended Dauphine Libere.

It's also the case for the Tour de Suisse that started Saturday and runs through next Saturday. The Versus cable network will broadcast highlights of the race daily this week.

While Spain's Alberto Contador focused attention on the Dauphine as the training ground for his attempt for a third victory at the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, above right, is racing in the Tour de Suisse to prepare for his attempt for an eighth Tour de France championship.

Among others, he's going up against Switzerland's homeboy and defending champion Fabian Cancellara (spoiler alert) …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/13/lance-armstrong-in-the-tour-de-suisse-versus-televising/

Bad days in Black Hawk, Colorado

Bicycling advocates reacted with outrage this past week to news of Black Hawk, Colorado's ban on bicycling on most streets in town.

Bicycle Colorado, Adventure Cycling Association and the League of American Bicyclists are all asking their thousands of members to contact city officials to rescind the ban.

Perhaps the tiny gambling town west of Denver should have folded instead of playing its hand to prohibit bicycles from most city streets last January. Now the city is the target of some unwanted publicity, at least from bicyclists.

Word about the ban got out last week when some bicyclists complained about $68 tickets ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/13/bad-days-in-black-hawk-colorado/

Hall of Fame lists top 15 rail-trails in the US

For the past three years, the Rails to Trails Conservancy has been culling through hundreds of bicycling and hiking pathways to create the Rail-Trails Hall of Fame.

It's not an easy task. There are currently 1,631 abandoned railroad rights-of-way that have been converted into bicycling and hiking trails in the U.S. They account for 19,578 miles of paved or gravel pathways.

So far, they've chosen 15 rail-trails. The Rails to Trails Conservancy wants to wrap up the Top 25 on the Honor Roll in time for its 25th anniversary, which is next June. Be looking for almost monthly announcements …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/11/hall-of-fame-lists-top-15-rail-trails-in-the-us/

Newest bike sharing system — Nice Ride Minnesota — launches Thursday

The newest and largest bike-sharing program in the U.S. begins operation on Thursday as Nice Ride Minnesota puts 700 bicycles on the streets of Minneapolis at 65 kiosks.

Phase 1 plans call for 1,000 of the distinctive lime-green bikes parked at 75 kiosks around town, including 10 kiosks on the University of Minnesota campus. Long-range plans call for spreading the system to St. Paul as well.

The Nice Ride Minnesota launch follows the Denver B-cycle launch in mid-April; it's now operating with 400 bicycles at 42 stations. Boston will be the next bike-share system to roll out in the U.S. later in 2010, followed by a second bike-share program for the Washington DC-Arlington ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/09/newest-bike-sharing-system-nice-ride-minnesota-launches-thursday/

Banned in Black Hawk; bicycles off-limits on most roads in Colorado town

Riding a bicycle is banned on many streets in Black Hawk, Colorado, and police are enforcing the law by ticketing violators.

The old mining town west of Denver created the bike-free zones in January.

While many cities in Colorado and the US are working to make streets safer and more accessible to residents who choose bicycles over motor vehicles, Black Hawk simply made bicycling illegal on most streets.

Black Hawk City Manager Bill Copp told TheDenverChannel.com.

“If you go down Main Street there is not much room for a bicyclist, a bus or a car, a truck. We are trying to promote safety. … It's a choice. We made our choice and now the bicyclist needs to make his or her choice.” …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/08/banned-in-black-hawk-bicycles-off-limits-on-most-roads-in-colorado-town/

RAAM ultra-endurance bike races start this week; how to follow

Another epic Race Across America begins this week as bicycle racers depart from Oceanside, California, for a 3,004-mile sleep-deprived slog across 14 states to Annapolis, Maryland.

The efforts of the two-, four-, and 8-person relay teams that leave on Saturday are remarkable. Even more phenomenal are the aspirations of 5 female solo racers who leave today and the 25 men who leave on Wednesday.

They'll single-handedly battle the mountains, headwinds, and dark nights as they pedal across the US ahead of their support crews. In the past 27 years of the event, only 200 solo riders have finished the race. Most succumb to exhaustion or hallucinations or failure to meet the time cutoffs. Two died in collisions with motor vehicles ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/08/raam-ultra-endurance-bike-races-start-this-week-how-to-follow/

Bicycle quote: Do-it-yourselfer builds unique, no-cost bikes

“The most expensive bike I have cost me $3 because I had to buy some pieces for it. Everything else is just garbage that was given to me. I am brazen enough that if I am riding around and see some bikes with grass growing through them, I’ll knock on your door and ask if you want me to drag them off.”

— Freelance bike builder Mack Carter of Iowa Park, Texas. TimesRecordNews, June 6, 2010: “Building a better bicycle; Iowa Park man turns garbage, spare parts into innovative rides.”

Carter told the TimesRecordNews that he started building bike about 7 years ago when he was looking for a bike to buy and determined they were all too expensive. Since then, he's built 50 to 75 bicycles. ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/06/bicycle-quote-do-it-yourselfer-builds-unique-no-cost-bikes/