See jump for larger viewProbably the single most important project for bicycle travel in the United States is the U.S. Bicycle Route System.
The proposed 50,000-mile national network links the lower 48 states with numbered corridors running north-south and east-west.
The Adventure Cycling Association and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials worked together to identify those 50-mile wide corridors nearly 2 years ago. But it's up to the individual states to work together to create the on-the-ground bike routes that meet up at state borders.
And that's the problem.
Some states are charging ahead to pick bicycle routes to implement the plan. Others are lagging far behind or show no interest at all……
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/02/05/uneven-support-for-u-s-bicycle-route-system/
With my email address displayed in the upper right column of every page of the Biking Bis website, I get frequent mail from readers.
Usually people offer compliments and suggestions or ask for coverage of their bike tours or websites. But lately, I've received a couple of emails regarding the sexual orientation of the Biking Bis blog.
Over the Christmas holidays, someone wrote:
“I'm um not sure how to say this… but your web site name: “Biking Bis” is confusing! I got several hits for this site before finally checking it out. It is excellent. I did not look at it earlier because I thought it was for Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals, hence the title.
How about changing it to “Biking Biz” or even “Bike Business”? There are more bikers than gay people in the world, so hopefully your readership should go up. :)” …..
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/02/04/letters-to-editor-sexual-orientation-and-the-biking-bis-blog/
Expect to see a lot of these bicycles on the streets of Minneapolis this coming summer.
The non-profit formed to bring public bike-sharing to the city chose Public Bike System, the developer of Montreal's BIXI, to provide bikes and kiosks to the project.
The bike-sharing project, Nice Ride Minnesota, is aiming to put 65 kiosks around downtown, college campuses and surrounding commerial areas by June. In all 80 kiosks and 1,000 bikes are projected in Phase 1.
Currently, there are about 160 bike-sharing systems in the world. The highest profile is the Paris Velib ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/02/03/montreals-bixi-wins-bike-sharing-contract-in-minneapolis/
One sure way to ensure that bicycling will get more respect is to calculate and prove its economic impact on a region.
Wisconsin, for instance, just learned on Tuesday that recreational bicycling annually generates more than $924 million in total economic impact to the state.
Adding the impact of bicycle manufacturing, sales and service industry raises the total to $1.5 billion annually.
Whoa. Suddenly bicyclists are no longer just people who dress funny and compete for a small piece of the road. They're cash cows who contribute mightily to Wisconsin's economic health.
It would be useful if bike advocates in all 50 states had this kind of information to draw upon when lobbying for better facilities for bicyclists. Similar surprising findings…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/02/02/recreational-bicycling-has-big-economic-impact-in-wisconsin/
Greg LeMond and Trek Bicycles announced Monday that they've settled their differences out of court.
The lawsuit-countersuit involved a breach of contract involving LeMond's line of bicycles marketed by Trek.
After a preliminary hearing a few months ago, it looked like the case may be headed for a high-profile trial that would involve Lance Armstrong and testimony about doping allegations.
I don't think many in the bike industry were looking forward to that, especially Trek and Armstrong. LeMond, however, has shown that he's willing to let the chips fall where they may.
Instead, Trek and LeMond agreed to end their business venture, and Trek agreed to donate $200,000 to LeMond's foundation — 1in6.org — which helps adult victims of childhood sexual abuse ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/02/02/settlement-in-lemond-vs-trek-vs-lemond/
Bike theft rose to a whole new level in Issaquah recently when a man flashed a gun at a bike shop employee as he left with an expensive racing bike.
The bike was a Pineralla Dogma tricked out with the best components. News accounts put the value at $11,000.
You might want to think twice before buying such a bike for a price that seems too good to be true. It might be stolen.
A surveillance video shows a man fiddling with the bike that was on display near the front door …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/02/01/bicycle-taken-in-armed-robbery-at-issaquah-bike-shop/
Earlier this week, I pedaled my Rockhopper up the John Wayne Pioneer Trail east of North Bend in search of snow.
It's been warmer than normal in the Seattle area so far this winter, and I had to ride 12 to 13 miles up to Carter Creek Camp before I found any white stuff. I didn't have time to explore any further, so I don't know the conditions closer to the now-closed Snoqualmie Tunnel.
Along the way I came across this fallen boulder partially blocking the trail. It looked like a fairly recent fall. I rode my bike up this way in the autumn and don't remember it, and there's some fresh gouge marks in the trail where it looked like it hit.
Seeing this boulder on the trail, got me to thinking about how work crews for the Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway company — aka The Milwaukee Road — made this route …..
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/01/31/rocking-the-rail-trail-bike-path-into-the-cascades/
Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa organizers announced the host towns for its 38th annual bike ride — the third easiest route ever.
As many predicted, Sioux City got the honors as the starting town on the northern route that will cover 442 miles. The other towns and mileage:
Sioux City to Storm Lake — 68.5 miles;
Storm Lake to Algona — 79 miles;
Algona to Clear Lake — 51.3 miles;
Clear Lake to Charles City — 51.7 miles;
Charles City to Waterloo — 82.7 miles;
Waterloo to Manchester — 62 miles;
Manchester to Dubuque — 46.9 miles.
In identifying the route at RAGBRAI's first-ever announcement party ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/01/31/2010-ragbrai-rolls-out-from-sioux-city-to-dubuque/
Those who like to ride and/or carry their bicycles up and over muddy hills or along grassy tracks are probably rejoicing to hear that the UCI World Cyclocross Championships are coming to Louisville, Kentucky, in 2013.
Historically popular in Belgium, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, cyclocross has been gaining popularity around the world, especially in the US. The interest will probably grow here, as 2013 will be the first time that the World cyclocross championships have come to the US.
In fact, it's the first time the Worlds have been held outside Europe in 50 years.
If you want to see what World championship cyclocross is all about, check out Universal Sports Cyclocross online this weekend.
The website is offering free live coverage of the elite men's and women's races from Tabor, Czech Republic, beginning at noon (ET) on Sunday, Jan. 31. Other webcasts are on demand
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/01/29/world-cyclocross-championships-come-to-us-in-2013/
Bicycle advocates in state legislatures are once again promoting bills that require motorists to give bicyclists 3 feet of clearance when passing.
Currently, 14 states require a 3-foot gap for bicycle riders. They are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
This year, lawmakers in Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota and Virginia are considering 3-foot laws. At least two other states, Iowa an Washington, have 3-foot passing laws in committee from last year.
Here are some details about the laws so you can follow along at home ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/01/29/more-states-consider-3-foot-bicycle-passing-laws-in-2010/
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