As a boy growing up in Houston, one of Walter Cronkite's jobs was as bicycle delivery boy for a drugstore.
In an interview with Playboy magazine in 1973, he talked about that job playing a part in his understanding of the terrible prejudice in the city at the time:
“… This time I was the drugstore delivery boy; I did bicycle deliveries and we had a couple of blacks who used motorcycles for more distant orders. They were both great guys. One of them was a particularly close friend of mine–as close as you could be in the environment of Houston at that time. ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/18/bicycle-quotes-walter-cronkite/
Thousands of bicyclists passing through Chehalis, Washington, this past weekend on the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic rode bicycles sporting high-tech materials and components unheard of just a few years ago.
Their route passed within 20 miles of tiny Pe Ell. That's where the rusting frame of a bicycle that employed cutting-edge technology for 1902 was recently re-discovered.
The find unlocked a dark family secret and prompted descendant Alfred Duane Tietjen to write a book, “Restoration,” about the bike and his efforts to restore it. It's interesting how a piece of rusting junk can reveal so much.
That bicycle, the Hill-Climber, is believed to be the first production model in the US to boast multiple-speed gear ratios ……
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/16/restoring-the-hill-climber-first-multiple-gear-bike-produced-in-us/
Bicycling tends to lend itself to do-it-yourself projects — DIY panniers, DIY tall bikes, DIY bike trailers. Now, we can add DIY bicycle lanes to the list.
Dan Koeppel writes in Bicycling magazine about an experiment in DIY bike lane painting last summer in Los Angeles.
“Do-it-yourself bike lanes are illegal, perhaps dangerous, potentially damaging to the cause of legitimate bike advocates everywhere—and really, really effective.”
Koeppel accompanies a group of bicyclists who are frustrated by the city's inaction on bike infrastructure that's approved in planning documents but never sees the light of day ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/15/do-it-yourself-bicycle-lanes/
As Missouri's Mark Twain once wrote about himself: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”
As for the 2009 Tour of Missouri, it's not dead either.
The bicycle race will go ahead as scheduled Sept. 7-13 after Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday released $1.5 million in state funds to help cover the $3.3 million budget for the third meeting of the bicycle race.
Nixon last week had included the Tour of Missouri funding among millions in cuts that he had to make to balance the state's budget……
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/15/governor-oks-funding-for-2009-tour-of-missouri-bicycle-race/
The 30th anniversary of the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic might be remembered as the best of rides and the worst of rides.
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Those finishing the 200-mile course in one day on Saturday will note the warm sunny weather with friendly breezes into Portland.
The two-day riders will no doubt recall being greeted with cold wet weather as they started out Sunday morning for a blustery ride that was punctuated by thunder.
OK, that doesn't make it a “worst” ride, but it's probably not the kind of ride most people were thinking of when they signed up.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/13/2009-seattle-to-portland-bicycle-classic-recap/
The bicycling community lost a strong voice on Saturday when Bruce Rosar was struck and killed by a motorist shortly after he left a group ride in North Carolina.
A certified bicycling instructor, Rosar was known to remind cyclists about following the rules of the road as well as advocate for their right to share the road with automobiles.
The crash happened in Apex after Rosar and some other cyclists left a 62-mile ride organized by a bicycle shop in his hometown of Cary. A police spokeswoman said Rosar turned into the path of a Honda at an intersection when he was struck; police want to interview four or five witnesses to determine the cause.
Rosar's resume at his website shows he was active in a long list of bicycle advocacy organizations ……
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/12/bicycling-advocate-bruce-rosar-struck-and-killed-in-north-carolina/
Former King County Executive Ron Sims may have left the Seattle area to work for the Obama Administration, but he's still keeping his bicycling chops in shape.
A Seattle Times profile of Sims in his new job as the No. 2 person in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development pictures Sims with his bicycle heading off to work.
Here's a file photo (via WSDOT) of Sims at the kick-off of the Green Bike Project in Seattle last summer. It was just one of a number of bicycle projects that Sims advocated during this tenure in King County.
In the past I've written that the best way to promote bicycling in an area is to get elected officials on bikes …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/12/ron-sims-is-dcs-newest-bicycle-commuter/
Spirited Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic riders head south along Lake Washington at the beginning of the 200-mile bike ride on Saturday morning. This marked the 30th anniversary of the event put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club. More pics inside…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/11/photos-of-2009-stp-bicyclists-on-the-road/
A mess of bicycles at first 2008 STP rest stop in Kent
The weather forecast along the 30th anniversary Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic route calls for warm temperatures on Saturday and an increasing chance of rain in southern Washington and northern Oregon on Sunday.
One-day STP bicyclists who plan to ride the entire 200 miles by nightfall Saturday should be safe without raingear or fenders.
Those stopping midway, however, can expect to wake up to a 30% chance of rain in the Centralia area on Sunday and 30% chance thunderstorms in the early afternoon along the Columbia River.
Two-day riders should be OK stowing raingear in their bags for delivery to their overnight spot, then carrying it on Sunday.
The Cascade Bicycle Club is celebrating its 30th annual STP this year with a full complement of 10,000 cyclists. …..
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/10/stp-forecast-pack-raingear-for-second-day-bridge-delays-saturday-from-eastside/
(Update: July 11 — The Missouri Tourism Commission reaffirmed its support of the Tour of Missouri on Friday, voting unanimously to retain funding for another year.
The final decision rests with Gov. Jay Nixon, however.)
July 10 — Organizers of the third annual Tour of Missouri are scrambling to find more money for the week-long stage bicycle race after the governor froze state funds for race.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, one of the race's biggest supporters, is urging cycling enthusiasts to contact Gov. Jay Nixon to request that he reinstate the funding for the Sept. 7-13 event.
Supporters of the Tour of Missouri can leave a phone message at 573-751-5261. Also, here's an email link to Gov. Nixon's office ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/07/10/state-budget-shortfall-threatens-2009-tour-of-missouri/
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