more info for those not yet brainwashed by fear.

Critical Mass is a bike ride plain and simple. The ride takes place on the Last Friday Of Every Month @ 6:30pm at the SE Corner of the courthouse. A Critical Mass is created when the group of riders comes together for those few hours to take back the streets of our city. The right of the people to assemble is guaranteed in the Constitution, and Critical Mass helps people remember that right. The Mass itself has no political agenda, though, no more than the people of any other community do. Critical Mass is open to all, and it welcomes all riders to join in a celebration of riding bicycles. Why? Because bikes are fun!

Sure, as with any community, you'll see people of all types. Some people see Critical Mass as a forum for grassroots political change. Some people see it as a protest against cars. Some people just like to ride. The Mass, however, is just that...a bunch of bike riders. You can drive a car the whole month and ride in the Mass. You can be an anarchist and ride in the Mass. The point of the Mass is the Mass, nothing more. Critical Mass has no leadership. It is a ride where no one is in charge. At any time, riders are free to leave, stay, stop, or even help out. Everyone is responsible for themselves and the Mass.

Once you realize that, you're free to enjoy the exhilaration that is a large bike ride. It's quite a sight to be parading down the street with hundreds of fellow riders, wishing pedestrians and drivers a "Happy Friday"

Huntsville Critical Mass is a community, yet it's also part of a worldwide Critical Mass community as a whole. Critical Mass rides take place all over the world each month, and Huntsville is proud to join in to proclaim our love of bicycles. If you love bikes, and you want to show others how you feel about cycling, come join us!

For more information on the origins of Critical Mass, please see the excellent Wikipedia page on the subject.

one more day.

Critical Mass Ride Tomorrow Night @ 6:30 pm bring a light if you can.
SE Corner of Courthouse

Safe Routes to School workshop news

Hey

I attended the safe routes to school workshop and must I say it was awesome. Let me explain the degree in which SR2S can help even us, in Bello Velo.

First i have made some connections with some state agencies that promote public health. One of the being the health department. Jaime from the department of education and health pretty much okay ed Life Cycles getting a supply of locks and helmets. I just have to write a short proposal and they will throw us some.

As I have been attending public health meetings and such I have really jumped on the bandwagon of cycling safety. For one, I am starting to wear my helmet on a regular basis and second I am much more aware of the illumination factor when riding at night.

I encourage bicycle safety, but not to the anal tunes of the SCCC, i still don't like them. Bicycling should still be fun and we should educated people on safety do they done end up like some of my friends, some of which have been badly maimed in bike wrecks.

Also for the next critical mass helmets and lights need to be addressed as well as safety as a group. We need a few people in key positions to make sure no one turns into a speed bump. So we need the following positions filled:

1. ride leader
2. 2 strong cyclists to stay on the sides with lights...the lights are important
3. a safety person in back who is fully lit (not drunk lit, but lumens lit)

Also the people who are involved more heavily in the events should be wearing helmets just to be a good example.

please reply with feedback so i know wtf is going on wit' all my homies

short j

cruiser vintage ride update

A HSV Times photographer came and took our pictures during the Vintage & Cruiser Bike Ride this afternoon. I'm afraid I didn't get her name, any one know it? so I can thank her & find out when they might be in the paper. We were riding around the Thrasher Fountain & around the new canal part of Big Springs when she caught up with us.

We had several first time attendees today, Bob Lipscomb, Jim from Madison Cycles, & Jim Spagnola, plus some of the regulars. Michelle Eccleston and her son, Paul got to show off their beautiful newly acquired orange folding bike, which turned out to be a duomatic, 2-speed, like my little Peugeot (the1969, duomatic, take-apart from 3rd grade in Munich).

Jim, from Madison Cycles, was riding a pretty red Peugeot road bike, not unlike my 8th grade blue Peugeot 10-speed, which has just been converted to a single speed for me to try out. Clint, Jacqy (Typhoon), Mike Wright & daughter, Mary also came on their tandem.

Some of the neighborhood kids on Adams just happened to have a lemonade stand today; it just added a little extra old-timey feel to our vintage/cruising family-friendly ride. Turned out to be a lovely day for a cruise to the malt shoppe.

We had all kinds of bikes- 10-speeds, a new cruiser, a 60s cruiser, two folding bikes, a tandem, etc. -- some of the bikes were a good bit older than our youngest three riders, and some of the bikes were still in the original owners' hands.

I will schedule another ride for late October. If it's cool/cold, we can substitute the malts for coffee & hot chocolate at one of the local coffee shops near by. (All bikes & cyclists welcome, conversational pace).

I'll download/ upload my pix tomorrow, for anyone interested in seeing them.

inc

Pedal pushing Boston

This is interesting they even hired a bicycle rider as their bike czar! Does the Huntsville Bike Czar ride a bike or commute?

I know when I go to the doctor I always ask for the least experienced one. I like to gamble.

So I will apply this reasoning here too.

Menino mounting bid to make city a bicyclist's dream

Landis stripped of Tour title; appeal uncertain

Landis: 'I am innocent and we proved I am innocent.'
By Charles Pelkey
editor, VeloNews.com
Filed: September 20, 2007
American Floyd Landis has been formally stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after an arbitration panel ruled against his appeal of a positive doping test during that year's edition of the race.


Two of three panel members said this win was dirty.

photo: Agence France Presse (2006 file photo)

Landis still has the option to appeal the case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the UCI on Thursday formally awarded the 2006 Tour title to Spaniard Oscar Pereiro, the Caisse d'Epargne rider who finished second. Landis becomes the first Tour winner in more than 100 years to be stripped of his title, and he now faces a two-year suspension from racing and an additional two-year exclusion from ProTour ranks.

"This ruling is a blow to athletes and cyclists everywhere," Landis said in a statement. "For the panel to find in favor of USADA when, with respect to so many issues, USADA did not manage to prove even the most basic parts of their case, shows that this system is fundamentally flawed.

"I am innocent and we proved I am innocent."

UCI president Pat McQuaid saw things otherwise.

more here

bike porn day!!!!!!

sends us your porn ( bike porn that is) we have stopped taking massive amounts of viagra and ensure so all is well or is it?

Vintage & Cruiser Bicycle Ride:

Sunday, Sept. 23rd/, 2:30pm
Meet in the front of HSV Middle School on Adams. Please meet 15 minutes before departure.
Conversationally paced ride through the downtown & Historic areas, around Big Springs & off to Sonic for malts.
Families welcome-- kids must be street safe.
Helmets required. Bring snack money.

flyer status

here is where we have flyers now. we should update these next week.
Trailhead
Bandito Burrito
Flying Monkey
Petes Boyz BBQ
Outdoor Omnibus
World Conspiracy
Monte Sano bikers lot.
Olde Towne Coffee

Other places need to be done
The Nook on Bob Wallace
UAH
Vodoo Lounge
House Of Brews
Kaffee Klatsch
BP
Star Market

add to comments and I will update the list.
Also word of mouth is good too.

thursday night art roll

we will meet thursday between 6:00 - 6:30pm @ bistro du soliel bring your bike and help pass out some flyers.

all are welcome !!

still need your help part two with links

we have set a goal of having 100 riders in attendance for the next critical mass ride this month. please email mail us here if you are willing to help out with:

• flyers are located here so download em and print
  
• word of the mouth
• bring 5 people
• loan a friend a bike
  
• www.myspace.com/criticalmasshsv
  

any other ideas or good ideas put in the comments.
email us at bello.velo@gmail.com to help out remember this is your ride.

need your help

we have set a goal of having 100 riders in attendance for the next critical mass ride this month. please email mail us here if you are willing to help out with:

• flyers
• word of the mouth
• bring 5 people
• loan a friend a bike
  

any other ideas put in the comments.
email us at bello.velo@gmail.com to help out remember this is your ride.

Time's Up 20th Anniversary Party!!

NYC's most loved environmental activist group is having a party to celebrate 20 years of great service

Time's Up 20th Anniversary Fundraiser Party
www.times-up.org


Music By:
Japanther
Team Spider
DJ Suggested D

Video By:
Glass Bead Collective

Friday, Sept. 28,
8pm-late,
49 E. Houston St,
Sliding Scale: $10-$1000

Against overwhelming odds, Time's Up Environmental Organization is
celebrating its twentieth year. Come celebrate twenty years of
achievements and support the future of our environment at our 20th
Anniversary Fundraising Party. Thanks to the steadfast devotion of our
volunteers and supporters, we are happy to announce that nonpolluting
transportation and environmental awareness are at an all time high and
continue to rise. Check out our 20th Anniversary Timeline for more
information about the journey and how you can get involved.

To download a word file with a timeline of Times Up activities...visit my .mac account page here

Links of the week

B.I.K.E.
Bikes Belong
The Unapologetic Mexican
Crazy Guy On A Bike

A Sports Show for New York’s Weekend Warriors

The Tour de France it is not.

“Hold up your bicycles, four inches from your chest,” Mike Dee, camouflage and dreadlocks standing in for yellow jersey and helmet, bellows like a drill sergeant to a scrappy platoon.

“Now, repeat after me,” he commands. “This is my bicycle.”

“This is my bicycle,” the chorus shouts back.

“Without my bicycle, I am useless.” More shouts.

“Without me, my bicycle is useless.” Shouts, and grunts.

more here

Sunday Alley Cat Result

1st place: the man the king of the Alley Bill Battle
2nd Tyler ouch Brown
3rd Dustin taller than most with no last name.

Truth in Comics

Thanks to our friends at state of the day

mountain biking

For those of us who think ripping through a trail is silly I'd like to enlighten you on the pleasures of getting lost in the woods on a bike.

I'm not one of those tall seat posted super zoot full suspension circus freaks, but I sure do love challenges in biking. I think the idea of having a bike with over 3 logical gear combinations takes the fun out of mountain biking. Thats why I prefer my single speed full suspension moutain bike.

Tonight I biked down the hardest trail ever with my single-speeder and aside from watching it roll down the hill without me on it, it was very challenging. For those of you who are not familiar with mountain bike trials or trials riding, it takes an awesome amount of skill to leap with a 38 pound bike over a boulder, but it can be done.

So with that said, I think we should include SORBA in our efforts to love biking more. The idea of getting those SUV driving full-suspension bike riding freaks may be our bride to mutually understanding each other.

Well....can never really get why you'd want to drive a war machine.

jim "I got more bikes than dykes" spagnola

Alley Cat Race This Sunday

Alright all you wanna be racers. This month's alley cay race will be this Sunday at 5:30. We will all meet in front of The House of Brews and the race will be a bit different than usual. It will be at various school campuses around town, but don't worry if you don't your way around UAH or Calhoun etc.... I have made it easy enough for everyone to find, even Jim G. If you have friends or anyone who might be interested, please tell them about it. If you have any questions or concerns, too bad bitches!

Daley to check out Paris' bike-rental idea

September 5, 2007

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

A Paris program that allows residents to rent a bicycle on one side of town and drop it off miles away could be duplicated in Chicago if Mayor Daley has his way.

Daley is so interested in the bike drop-off program and its potential to promote energy conservation, he's planning to stop off in Paris to discuss it with his counterpart there on the way back from Italy.

The mayor plans to travel to Italy today for the second time in three months -- this time to deliver a speech on how to move cities forward.

Daley will join the prime minister of Egypt, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres as featured speakers at the 33rd annual forum "Intelligence on the World: Europe and Italy."

The mayor's trip will be paid for by a management consulting firm with headquarters in Milan.

Teenager riding bicycle dies after being hit by car

A Valley teenager has died after being hit by a car.

DeKalb County authorities say 15-year-old Jeramy Burt was injured Sunday evening when his bicycle was struck by a car.

The wreck happened on County Road 322 in Henagar.

The victim was flown to Huntsville Hospital around 4:30.

Huntsville Hospital confirmed that Burt died today.

'I want to ride my bicycle'

in case you all have not sold all you belongings and gone for a really long ride well shame on you chickens shits!

Sophomore cycles cross country

By Kaleigh Maher, news editor
Posted on September 4, 2007

Over a five-year period, approximately 5 to 8 million people in the United States will experience at least one night of homelessness, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This summer sophomore Anne Dreyfuss experienced 70 while riding her bike cross country to raise money for affordable housing causes.

“I got to experience not having a home for two months, living with everything I had in one little bag,” she said. “There are people in the country who have to do that every single day, and it’s a hard lifestyle.”

Dreyfuss was one of 30 participants ages 18-25 year olds to bike cross-country from Providence, Rhode Island to Seattle, Washington with Bike and Build, an independent nonprofit organization.

“We were like one big dysfunctional family by the end of the trip,” she said.

read more here

Thousands walk and bike with the mayor

still not here:)

By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal Louisville Ky.

About 4,000 bikers and walkers took off from Waterfront Park this morning in the Mayor's Healthy Hometown Toyota Hike & Bike.

Officials say it's the largest crowd yet for the twice-yearly event, now in its third year.

Participants arrived in foot-powered vehicles of all types for the 15-mile event -- from racing-quality bicycles, some with trailers in tow, to tricycles to an old-fashioned high-wheeler bike.

They brought plenty of water with them as temperatures pushed toward the eighties on the sunny morning.

read more here

Two cyclists die when hit by truck on rural Baldwin County road

9/4/2007, 10:34 a.m. CDT
The Associated Press
SPANISH FORT, Ala. (AP) — Two bicycle riders were killed when they were hit by a pickup truck whose driver lost control on a curve on a rural Baldwin County road used by cyclists, state troopers said.

Baldwin County Coroner Jim Small identified the victims of Monday's accident as William Frederick Imle, 48, of Daphne and Archie Leroy Clemons Jr., 46, of Spanish Fort.

State troopers said a preliminary investigation revealed Patrick Blake Young Ballard, 19, was coming in the opposite direction just before 9 a.m. Monday when he lost control of the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado on a curve and struck the bicyclists. The Silverado then crashed into a ditch and overturned, ejecting Ballard and his 17-year-old female passenger.

Both were taken to University of South Alabama Medical Center for treatment. The passenger was treated and released. Ballard, who was hospitalized Monday for injuries that weren't considered serious, was no longer at the hospital Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Trooper spokesman Cpl. Joe Piggott said no charges were filed and the accident remains under investigation.

The accident occurred on Bromley Road, a rural stretch that links Stapleton to Spanish Fort and is marked with signs urging drivers to share the road with cyclists.

"Apparently it's a popular bike route," Piggott said.

___

Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister

friday nights critical mass

more photos here

19 bicyclists arrested after rally turns into melee

Officers watching the event in downtown Minneapolis say they were attacked, escalating the confrontation.

By Joy Powell, Star Tribune

Last update: September 01, 2007 – 12:51 AM

Police arrested 19 bicyclists, including three juveniles, after a protest ride took an ugly turn in downtown Minneapolis Friday night.

About 200 bicyclists were riding on La Salle Avenue, with two officers monitoring the protest that called for reduced reliance on automobile transportation. The ride was also linked with weekend protests of next year's Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities.

more here

and if you really want to get pissed check these out.

http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/012358.php

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2007/09/018338.php