word

Critical Mass Tonight

Meet @ 5:30 Leave @ 6pm SE Corner of Courthouse Downtown

UCI Track World Championships 2008

From Fixed Gear Gallery

The track at the Manchester Velodrome has been declared ready to accept claims for any World Records set during this weeks UCI Track Cycling World Championships - March 26th to 30th. The new track surface was laid in June last year and was recently measured to ensure it complied with the UCI requirements. The track was scanned using specialist equipment to create a computer model which accurately measured the black datum line which marks the edge of the track. There are a number of timed events during the five day championships where records could be set. These include the individual and team pursuit races plus the shorter distance time trials.

More Info Here

Paris Roubaix April 13th

sunday polo

Sunday's Bike Polo



all pics are here

Peace Sign Turns 50

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7292252.stm

council of doom: trailer

Thanks to: Tyler

council of doom: official full-length trailer from wolfgang on Vimeo.
more info here
myspace.com/councilofdoombc
councilofdoombc.blogspot.com

Top 5 Reasons to Claim the Lane (and why it’s safer)

From Commute By Bike, I could not agree more.

Here’s the top five reasons why I started claiming the lane (and why you should to):

1: Drivers give you more room - The day I started claiming the lane is the day I stopped getting regularly buzzed to close by cars. As mentioned above, when you are all the way to the right then cars will almost always try to squeeze by. When you claim the lane, they are forced to slow down and wait for an opportunity to pass you which means they take plenty of room to do it.
2: You are more visible - Drivers are used to looking for other large, metal boxes. And they’re used to looking in the middle of the lane ahead of them. When you hug the side of the road you are often outside their field of vision. By claiming the lane you are much more likely to be seen by oncoming traffic.
3: You avoid dangerous debris and obstacles - the sides of roads are usually covered in debris. Stuff that can slash your tires and/or fly up and hurt you. There are also things like sewer grates and uneven shoulders to worry about. By claiming the lane you avoid all of this.
4: It’s an easier, more enjoyable ride - When stuck squeezing the side of the road or riding on the sidewalk, feelings of stress abound. Constantly watching the terrain ahead of you, swerving out of the way of obstacles, slowing down for pedestrians and many other things that you are forced to pay attention to are reduced when you claim the lane.
5: You are making a statement - While not as important as the previous safety related reasons, this has long term effect. On many roads bicycles are seen as an annoyance that shouldn’t be allowed in the road with other “real” vehicles. By claiming the lane you are making a statement that we belong on the road and have all the same rights as cars. read more here

Smart ad watch it

recession?

The recession has been growing for a while. Many have been predicting that the stock market will fall for a while. There is a lot of play money in our society with credit card debt and the mortgage crisis and all that will catch up to us and especially banks. When do you think it will be? Does today's collapse of Bear Stearns mark the start of the stock market falling? Will there be loss all over the market like there was when Enron was collapsing? Predictions?

March 13th - 16th WINTER SOLDIER: IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

March 19th the 5th anniversary of the Iraqi Genocide. Out of respect for the million innocent Iraqis who have been murdered in this genocidal war and the almost 4000 American soldiers who were lied to and gave their lives.

To date no weapons of mass destruction have been found.

Please consider watching the video below and feel free to comment please dont be an asshole. Consider not driving for one day too.

From tomorrow through Saturday the Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan hearings in Washington, DC will feature testimony from US veterans detailing what's really happening on the ground in these occupations. read more....

Bagel Radio Live from Austin

Check out Ted Live from South By South West in Austin11 am till 7pm

Cyclists are remembered by friends and teammates.

The two were killed on a training ride when a sheriff's deputy hit them head-on more here

more info on this here seems the copper had a past go figure

But the focus Tuesday remained on Deputy James Council, who reportedly told witnesses he had fallen asleep. With questions lingering - and as court documents revealed previous drunken driving charges against the 27-year-old - his lawyer, Mary Sansen, said her client was among those still searching for answers.

We're all bicycle advocates and Activists

As tree-huggy as bicyclists appear, political constituency-minded thinking speaks volumes to the power brokers in Washington DC. I was reminded of this during my second National Bike Summit last week.

In 1999, thirteen Lycra-clad bicyclists thought it would be smart to lobby about their two-wheeled passion on Capitol Hill. In 2000, a slightly larger group convened.

read more here

Bicycle fatalities on the rise in Bay Area

Riding a bicycle in the Bay Area is an increasingly deadly pastime.
The number of bicyclists killed in collisions with motor vehicles has increased 28 percent over the past decade - from 18 to 23 deaths per year, according to a Chronicle analysis of data collected by the California Highway Patrol.

read more here

Gaza Strip: World's Largest Prison

From Free Market News

The world’s largest prison—Gaza prison with 1.5 million inmates, many of them starving, sick and penniless—is receiving more sympathy and protest by Israeli citizens, of widely impressive backgrounds, than is reported in the U.S. press. In contrast, the humanitarian crisis brought about by Israeli government blockades that prevent food, medicine, fuel and other necessities from coming into this tiny enclave through international relief organizations is received with predictable silence or callousness by members of Congress, including John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The contrast invites more public attention and discussion. -CounterPunch

Naked bicycle riders scuffle with police in Eugene

Associated Press
March 10, 2008

EUGENE, Ore. — Police officers trying to control a mass ride of naked bicyclists decided against making any arrests after the confrontation intensified.

Roughly 100 bicyclists in various states of undress took part in the hour-long event that mimicked similar rides held in bigger cities around the world. Along the way, riders cheered, chanted and stopped traffic as they pedaled through the streets of Eugene.

Organizers of the Saturday night event did not alert Eugene police in advance, but officers quickly caught on. At one point, at least three patrol cars showed up near the main pack of cyclists. read more here

Add Alleycat Races to List of Bike Messengers’ Risks

From the NY Times

Bike messengers believe that their profession is one of the most grueling and perilous that any person can pursue — especially in Manhattan.

So perhaps it should come as little surprise that messengers were the ones to pioneer a breed of unsanctioned urban contest in which bicyclists race one another while also weaving at top speed through streets crowded with cars, trucks, buses and all the other objects and obstructions typically found on city roadways.

Read more here

snow ride

Does anyone want to go for a snow ride tomorrow? Or maybe ride on the dry pavement knowing the weather predictions here. It's going to be too cold for me to work. Nolen and I were trying to organize a coffee ride, but she's not much for riding in snow. Does anyone want to ride to Stearns? Or anywhere else?

ahh the weekend! and a dump.....link dump that is

• Start off the weekend today at Bagel Radio
  
  
• Wyoming Primary Saturday
  
  
• Sunday
  

  Paris-Nice
  Tune in on March 9th for live coverage, race analysis, photos and much more at VeloNews.com. One of France’s most storied events, Paris-Nice is the first “real” stage race of the season. Starting in the suburbs near Paris, the eight-day course marches south across the Massif Central and down the Rhone Valley, leaving behind dreary Paris until it reaches the exuberance of spring along France’s glittering Cote d’Azur. Dubbed the “Race to the Sun,” Sean Kelly holds the record with seven straight wins in the 1980s. These days, the race isn’t decided until the closing slog up Col d’Eze above Nice and the final sprint down the Promenade.

  
  
  
• Daylight Savings Time!!! clocks spring forward sunday @ 2am spring is coming now fucking warmup
  
  
• Economy Lost 63,000 Jobs in February
  
• Mortgage Defaults Reach a New High
  
  
• The surge is working we are running out of people to kill!!!
  

  Toll in Baghdad bombings stands at 69 dead, 120 wounded

  
  
  
• No comment
  Ron Paul is quiting
  
  
• Oh and get outside and ride!!!!!

Americans learn bikes cut costs and improve fitness

WASHINGTON (Reuters Life!) - At a time of soaring gasoline prices, expanding waistlines, and growing worry over climate change, more Americans are getting on their bikes.

American cities including Portland, Oregon, Louisville, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C. are aggressively promoting bicycling as a clean, efficient and healthy means of transport, and many of their citizens are taking to two wheels for short urban journeys. more here

The Outspokin’ Cyclist: Women’s liberation through bicycling

No wonder then that in 1896 Susan B. Anthony said that bicycling had done more than anything else to emancipate women. read more here

Police seek "hooded bicyclist" in bombing of Army recruitment center in Times Square

Officials said that in today’s attack, a man in a gray hooded sweatshirt was seen leaving the scene on a bicycle. Subways and traffic are running normally through Times Square. more here

Moses was stoned when he set Ten Commandments, researcher claims

Maybe now those people can remove some of those signs from their yards.

We all know that Moses was high on Mount Sinai when God spoke to him, but were the Ten Commandments a result of divine inspiration alone?

An Israeli researcher is claiming in a study published this week the prophet may have been stoned when he set the Ten Commandments in stone.

Read more here from the Guardian UK

Cyclists work to put dent in oil addiction

Sounds like a great idea check it out!

Biciaccion will fix your bicycle for free and will even show you how to do it yourself.

The group meets the last Wednesday and Sunday of every month at 10 a.m. by the Duck Pond.

"We set up our tools, and anybody who shows up on two wheels, we'll fix up their bike for them or do whatever we can," co-founder and UNM student Nathan Brody said.

read more here

Militant mothers of Japan win school-run bicycle victory

For years the young mothers of Japan have held their tongues as the country's silent minority but now they have been pushed too far. In open revolt at the Government, their demands are simple: sell us cheap tricycles or leave us alone.

Faced with draconian new cycling laws and the effective criminalisation of their daily school run, the mothers have unleashed their most powerful weapon. In a country already suffering the lowest birthrate in the developed world, young women are threatening to stop breeding beyond their first child if the tradition of sannin-nori — or “three-on-a-bike” — is outlawed.

read more here

CAMPAIGN BLUES

Oil has reached $105 per barrel, check out the full article here. Considering we ship all our goods into the country and our food is shipped from CA or FL. Wal Mart may not be the answer.We maybe giving up more than those Latte's The End of Cheap is coming!

To avoid that deadly outcome, the new president will have to be equipped with a realistic vision of what this society can actually do to survive the discontinuities that circumstances present. This will require him to confront the prevailing delusion that the US can become "energy independent" in the sense that we can run WalMart on something other than oil from foreign lands.

Six-day track racing on tap for Vegas

From Velonews

One of the legends of American bike racing is planning a 6-day-style track race for this fall in Las Vegas, to coincide with the Interbike trade show there.

Jack Simes III, a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1960, '64 and '68, and coach of the 1976 Olympic team, has booked the arena at Mandalay Bay resort on the Vegas strip, and plans to hold the events on a new 166-meter plywood track. The races would be held September 23-25, with events from about 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. each night.

Planned events include Madison races, sprints, one-lap record attempts and motor-paced Derny races. read more here

FCC Investigates About '60 Minutes' Blackout

Update: At least they are being investigated and we will see what shakes out. Keep in mind: With out a free press we do not have a free nation.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission is investigating why an Alabama television station went dark during a Feb. 24 broadcast of a ''60 Minutes'' installment.

The blackout occurred on WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Ala., during a segment on imprisoned former Gov. Don Siegelman that suggested he was the victim of a Republican conspiracy. The station blamed the outage on equipment failure. read more

Google Bike There Petition

This is AMAZING!
Make BIKE THERE an option for Google Maps! This is awesome sign the petition now! They already have drive there and commute there.

You can sign it HERE!

Bicycle Rider Killed in Hit and Run Accident

Officers searching for driver responsible

ALAMO TX - Police are searching for a man responsible for a deadly hit and run accident in Alamo.

A man riding his bike was killed just before 7 a.m. It happened near the expressway's westbound frontage road near the Val Verde exit.

An instructor from Action Career Training truck driving school says he heard the accident and called 911. Arturo "Cowboy" Rodriguez says, "The guy in the bicycle had a little helmet and jacket with reflectors, so you could see him in the dark. And the guy just didn't slow down, just hit him and took off."

Police haven't released the victim's name until his family's notified.

Officers say the driver was in a white car. They don't have the car's make or model.

Cyclist Killed-Boy Riding Bike Dies In Accident With SUV

TAMPA - A 9-year-old boy died Sunday afternoon after he was hit by an SUV in a Palmetto neighborhood, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Brandon Christensen, was taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital where he later died from his injuries, the highway patrol said.

According to a news release, Christensen rode his bicycle from a driveway at 5315 Landsdowne Way into the street when he was hit by a 2002 Nissan Xterra driven by William Thompson, 38, of Palmetto.

Christensen was wearing a helmet, the highway patrol said. Thompson has not been charged in the incident, which has been ruled an accident by the highway patrol, said Trooper Chuck Harubin.

Here is my trailer with a load on it. I rode about 35 miles with them today, including climbing Cecil Ashburn, and I'll take them to recycle tomorrow. It was a nice day, and a lot of people were outside, including some riding recreationally. Hopefully my bike got seen as recreation and transportation. If you want to bring that bike moving video to Huntsville, lmk. I'm sure Vic's trailer will work for moving, too.

Washington Post: YEAR OF THE BICYCLE?

2008 Year of the Bicycle Bicycling's best year since the start of the auto age? That's the argument likely to be made March 4-6 as hundreds of cyclists from across the nation gather in Washington for the National Bike Summit sponsored of the League of American Bicyclists.

A crescendo of trends and developments makes the case.
First the trends: oil costs are surpassing $100 a barrel, global warming alarm calls are mounting, polluting autos and trucks increasingly clog city streets, and health concerns about a sedentary and fattening society are mounting.
And now the developments: Handy bike-for-hire stations are proving instant hits in Paris and other European cities and seem poised to invade urban America. Moves to add painted bike lanes along city roadways are being eclipsed by proposals for entire networks of "bike boulevards" -- roadways altered radically to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians. And a companion "Complete Streets" movement -- making roadway space for cyclists and pedestrians, not just cars and trucks -- is gaining traction nationwide. read the rest here

63rd Omloop Het Volk - 1.HC Belgium, March 1, 2008

Racing Season Has Begun
Gilbert returns with solo Het Volk victory

Belgian Philippe Gilbert returned to win the Omloop Het Volk after taking his first victory in the Flemish race two years ago. The 25 year-old of Française des Jeux attacked solo at 49 kilometres remaining of the 199-kilometre race, and was never seen again by the race favourites. 2005 winner Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) tried to close in on the lone leader with a group of heavy hitters, including Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), but the two finished second and third respectively more here

here is some video to wet your appetite