May 3/08 12:17 pm - Cycling in the News

Posted by Editoress on 05/3/08
 

From the headlines...

Celebrity sports stars seek friends for community bike ride to raise funds for BC Cancer Foundation

Cycling superstars Axel Merckx and Alex Stieda, hometown hockey hero Trevor Linden and Olympic gold medalist Ross Rebagliati are going for a bike ride on June 1st - and they want company.

At a pep rally outside the BC Cancer Agency's research centre in Vancouver today, Axel, Trevor and Ross invited anyone who can push a pedal to join them on June 1 for a 36km bike ride along West 10th Avenue through the scenic beauty of the UBC endowment lands. The ride is part of BC Cancer Foundation's Westside Cycling Classic, presented by the Airey Group.
CNW


Children's Safety Village gets a boost

Ontario is providing $15,000 to help the Niagara Region Children's Safety
Village (http://www.niagarasafetyvillage.com/) expand its programming and continue its work in teaching children about road safety.
CNW


UCI says increased testing is changing cycling's drug culture

Cycling is finally turning the corner in the fight against doping through its "biological passport" program, the sport's world governing body said Friday.

The UCI is preparing to issue the passports to 854 professional cyclists who are providing regular blood and urine samples to build up individual scientific profiles of their bodies.

"We are seeing a major change at the top level of the sport," International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid said at a news conference. "We all are aware that cycling has a doping problem and for 40 years has been dealing with a doping problem. We needed to go at it with a huge campaign in which we bombarded athletes with tests and the biological passport program gave us that opportunity."
MetroNews


Italy's Petacchi doubtful for Giro

Italy's Alessandro Petacchi is doubtful for this month's Giro d'Italia because of breathing problems, his team's sporting director Vittorio Algeri told French sports daily L'Equipe.

"He has tried to train but could not because he still has problems breathing," the Team Milram director said.
Reuters


McEwen casts doubts on Olympics bid

Australian sprint cyclist Robbie McEwen says he is not making the Olympic Games his priority and may not go to Beijing.
eatsleepsport.com


Top rider facing doping charge

At least one top cyclist is to face doping charges after thousands of blood samples were analysed as part of the International Cycling Union's blood passport program, the UCI said today.

The UCI did not reveal the identity of the cyclist concerned, but said he is one of 23 riders who "warranted further scrutiny'' following 2172 tests on blood samples as part of their far-reaching passport scheme.
Daily Telegraph


The Niagara Classic: like broccoli, you have to try it once; The speed, colour, suffering and glory will hook you

Sunday May 18, top of Saylor's Hill on Effingham Road in Fonthill. Cyclist or not: be there.
St Catharines Standard


Pedalling around Pelee - Island's flat terrain perfect for cycling

Richard Masse's first visit to Pelee Island was not a smooth journey.

"We tried two or three times and kept missing the boat; we got there too late," the Windsor-native explains. "When I finally got on, I was so excited I drove my car onto the boat and looked around and thought 'oh geez we should've missed this boat' because it was frozen to the dock."
Canoe.ca


No easy ride to the top
Edmonton couple summits Mont Ventoux on a bicycle built for two

Mont Ventoux is known as the "Geant" of Provence. At 1,912 metres, it is a mountain that stands alone and dominates the horizon throughout much of Provence. It is the stuff of legends.
Regina Leader-Post


Riding a 'velo' in Paris is tres fashionable

As soon as I got home to the City of Light, I noticed them: weird silver-violet installations all over Paris. I heard they began appearing at the beginning of the summer. By August, the implantation was complete: Paris had been taken over by bicycles.
The Province


Tips for adults on bicycle riding safely with a child on board

Barb Wentworth is a bicycle safety planner for the City of Toronto and a national examiner for CAN-BIKE, a cycling education program offering courses to adults and children.

She offers some suggestions for adult cyclists who plan to hit the road with child seats mounted on their bicycles
Daily Gleaner


Ready for the road?

As gas prices surge across the country, some motorists may be eyeballing their two-wheelers for more than just recreational fun.

With analysts predicting national average gasoline prices will top $1.40 a litre this summer, leaving the car at home in favour of cycling to work or to run errands could become an increasingly appealing alternative for those seeking to alleviate pump pain.
Daily Gleaner


Bring on the Bikes

A local group is challenging commuters to leave their vehicles at home from May 26 to June 1, in a Bike to Work Week event.

"In British Columbia, transportation accounts for 42 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions," said Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition Mia Kohout.
Abbotsfor-Mission Times


Cycling across Canada to fight kids' cancer

John Murray and as many as 50 other cyclists from around Canada are crossing the country for a good cause.

Murray, a Burlington resident, has committed to being a national rider in the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride, a 19-day, 7,600 kilometre endeavour that starts June 2
Burlington Post


No boundaries for young cyclist

Muscular dystrophy sufferer gets set to ride across country

On May 13, Montrealer Keith Martin, 22, will begin the 8,000-kilometre cross-country trek with four friends.
Montreal Gazzette


BMXer killed on site in 2006 Family upset with decision

20-year-old Milton man who died while building a BMX track at Halton Place in 2006, and the Ontario Cycling Association are doing all they can to ensure the track is not leveled.

The track was built without a development permit, and the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) is ordering the owner of Halton Place, Timor Leckebusch, to remove it by flattening and rehabilitating the site.
Caledon Enterprise


The Running of the Bicyclists

his weekend, four local bike shops will host swaps -- Skirack in Burlington, Earl's Cyclery & Fitness and the Alpine Shop in South Burlington and Onion River Sports in Montpelier.

The swaps are some of the most highly anticipated events on the cycling calendar and the ceremonial start to the Vermont biking season. And with $600 courtesy of Uncle Sam burning a hole in your pocket, you're bound find a way to spend it at the swaps.

Over the years, bike swaps have become all things to all people. Looking for a townie bike to ride to the weekend bar crawl? Need yet another mountain bike for your kid who just won't stop growing? Look no further than a swap. But be prepared to throw a few elbows to get what you want.
Burlington Free Press


On yer vélo -Claire Armitstead takes a tour round France with the Ondaatje prizewinner

In 1869, a cycling magazine was launched in France. The masthead of Le Vélocipède Illustré featured a voluptuous Lady Progress astride a bicycle. In his manifesto, the editor intoned: "The velocipede is not a fad born yesterday, in vogue today, to be forgotten tomorrow.
Guardian


Biking to Change Lives

Yesterday, I met up with a friend of mine who works on Wall Street. We talked about many things - from the credit markets, potential job losses to anticipated market performance. At the very end he told me about a trip he's making to D.C. today. He's participating in a race to raise money for returning war veterans and their families. I was so touched by what he and many others are doing to help the veterans and their families regain their mobility and independence that I asked him to send me a note about it.

It's called World T.E.A.M Sports, and it's an organized two-day 120 mile bicycle ride that takes place in Washington. You can learn more about it at http://worldteamsports.org/. According to the web site, the organization's Hub on Wheels event in Boston this past September drew 3,000 participants - including Sen. John Kerry.
Fox Business


24 Hours of Booty celebrates LiveSTRONG Day on May 13

24 Hours of Booty, Inc. (www.24hoursofbooty.org), which runs the Official 24-Hour Cycling Event of the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the only 24-hour road cycling charity event in the country, is celebrating LiveSTRONG Day on Tuesday, May 13 by wearing yellow and handing out LiveSTRONG bracelets and 24 Hours of Booty goodies in Founders Hall in Uptown Charlotte from 11:00 a.m. ˆ 2:00 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to wear yellow on this day in support of fighting cancer.
Carolina Newswire