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Even though I still take frequent bike rides, this is the time of year that I'm not so interested in laying down a lot of mileage. This is when I slow down to explore and poke around, maybe learn some roadside or trailside history.
Cougar Mountain, which lies a few miles east of my house, is a good destination for this. I've written about the old coal mining industry that thrived there at the turn of the century; this past week I've been learning about its role in the Cold War defense of Seattle.
Today the mountain is a mix of flashy, big box homes and golf courses and the 3,000-acre Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. Although the park's trails are closed to bicycling, the two Cold War-era military bases are accessible by short dirt roads from residential streets …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/07/bicycling-back-into-the-cold-war-on-cougar-mountainnovember-stats/
It's always a good idea to support your local bike shop, but that's especially the case now.
Bicycle shops that were flying high over the summer when gasoline was $4 a gallon are now struggling as petrol prices drop and the economy heads south.
When you shop, maybe you can find a good deal at a discount store, but what will happen when you need to find someone to tune-up or repair your bicycle and all the small bike shops have closed?
I'd been thinking about the case of a New Haven bike shop owner who had to close one of his stores when I received an email from Mike, the blogger over at bicyclespokesman.com. He said he's trying to start a campaign among cyclists to support their local bicycle shops this holiday season. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/06/now-is-the-time-to-support-your-local-bicycle-shop/
When members of two Virginia bicycle clubs showed up on Afton Mountain a few weeks ago to hand over donations to “Cookie Lady” June Curry, a reporter from public radio station WVTF recorded her comments.
In a radio report, Sandy Hausman tells how the Bike House got started and how June gained her nickname, “Cookie Lady,” way back in 1976.
Now, bicyclists who passed through years before are offering their help. June said:
“Ever since I had my stroke, when I've really needed help, I've got it from bikers. I feel like I owe all of you a great deal …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/05/cookie-lady-june-curry-in-her-own-words/
The loss of the Tour de Georgia for next year was sad news. But the Oregon Pro Cycling Classic is setting out to prove that there's good news for the sport of cycling as well.
Known for the past six years as the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, the race is undergoing a makeover that will expand it to seven days and raise its difficulty in an attempt to rival the Amgen Tour of California.
The $50,000 event is listed on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar from May 11 – 17, 2009 …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/03/oregon-pro-cycling-classic-is-the-old-mt-hood-classic/
C'mon. There's enough road rage out there without bicyclists turning on each other.
But that's what happened in Madison last week, reports the Wisconsin State Journal. According to police reports, Colin O'Brien, owner of Madison's Cronometro bike shop, was attacked one evening after suggesting that a couple of other bicyclists “get a light” after they passed him.
The man and woman had the decency to announce “on your left” when they passed, so they should have known that they needed to light up their rides after dark. Instead, the man shouted “mind your own business.” …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/03/madison-bike-shop-owner-assaulted-by-fellow-cyclists/
As we roll into the end of 2008, it might be a good time to check out some bicycle-themed calendars for 2009.
Of all the offerings, one of the most popular — at least for browsing — is the Cycle Passion 2009 calendar produced in Germany. The calendar offers photos of professional female cyclists unencumbered by typical cycling garb.
Other calendars feature Seattle's legion of women cyclists, legendary mountain biker Jacquie Phelan, bike culture expressed in exotic locales, and the annual cycling scenery masterpiece by Graham Watson.
That's Sabine Spitz, above, on the cover of next year's Cycle Passion calendar. Among her other accomplishments, the German cyclist was mountain bike champion at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (see the mountain bike on the floor behind her?) …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/02/eight-bicycle-calendars-for-2009/
This holiday weekend I took a virtual state-by-state bicycle tour around the U.S. by reading about all the exciting week-long bicycle tours that are available in 2009.
I dug up more bike rides than ever — 133 bicycle tours in 45 states — to update the BikingBis.com list of Across State Bicycle Tours.
That's kind of a generic title for the list. Although a few are patterned on RAGBRAI and actually go from one side of the state to the other, most are high-attendance, week-long rides that simply explore a region of the state by traveling the backroads …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/12/01/133-week-long-bicycle-tours-for-2009/
Normally, bicyclists who stop along the roadside during long rides are “taking care of business.”
But the 35 Acorns of Hope bicycle riders touring Louisiana's coastal plain earlier this month were professional arborists, and they were stopping to plant 2,000 live oak trees.
Acorns of Hope is a 5-year project that's aimed at replanting the thousands of trees along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico that were wiped out by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
Without trees and their roots to hold the soil along the coastline, erosion continues to threaten those who are returning to rebuild their homes and their livelihoods …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/11/30/ride-a-bike-plant-a-tree-in-louisiana/
Some 5,300 bicycle riders helped set a new record for an athletic fund-raising event by collecting $35 million in pledges for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike ride in August.
The money went to the Jimmy Fund for adult and pediatric cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Organizers of the 29th annual bike ride across Massachusetts are particularly proud of their accomplishment because the entire amount raised goes to the charity; the sponsors underwrite the cost of producing the bike ride and provide in-kind services along with the 2,800 volunteers. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/11/29/pan-mass-challenge-bike-ride-breaks-its-own-record/
A memorial bicycle ride is planned Saturday morning in Martinez, California, for a Contra Costa Cycling Club cyclist killed on Monday.
Mark Pendleton, 49, was struck head-on by a hit-and-run driver between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on Monday. Reconstructing the collision from debris at the scene, investigators say Pendleton was heading south and when he was struck by a northbound dark truck or SUV that had crossed the double yellow line.
The city of Martinez is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the driver, a member of the Alto Velo Bicycle Racing Club in Los Altos has kicked in another $5,000 …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/11/28/memorial-bike-ride-for-hit-and-run-victim-mark-pendleton/
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