October 25/09 19:08 pm - Cycling in the News

Posted by Editoress on 10/25/09
 

Without passion, without a mission, you'll always be just another rider in the peloton.

Bureaucrats hijack Yosemite Start for Tour of California
Movie director Ken Burns and PBS teamed up recently to peddle the six-episode idea that America's national parks belong to all of us.

While this populist sentiment is appealing, it is a bald-faced lie. The national parks -- and Yosemite, in particular -- primarily are the insular reserves of government bureaucrats and environmentalists.

They are the ones who make the rules, many of which aim to ensure that fewer and fewer of us enjoy the parks we allegedly own.

Case in point: The Interior Department's behind-closed-doors decision not to allow the Tour of California bicycle race to begin a stage in Yosemite.
Read more at Fresnobe.com


Kelowna’s Critical Mass Ride deemed a huge success
At nine months pregnant, Marcia Taylor was certainly one of the more noticeable entries in this weekend’s critical mass ride.

“We just were careful has we went over bumps,” joked her partner Marc Nimchuk, as they and other cyclists chatted outside the Rotary Centre for the Arts following the event.
Read more at Kelowna.com


Talking Head David Byrne talks bicycling
David Byrne's many artistic endeavours over the past three decades – Talking Heads frontman, solo musician, photographer, installation artist, dance and stage collaborator – have landed him in virtually all of the world's cultural hotspots. And, with a folding bike in his luggage, he has seen a lot of those destinations from a pedal-pushing, street-level perspective.

During a visit to Toronto last year that included a concert at Massey Hall, the 57-year-old New Yorker ventured out on a two-wheel tour of the galleries and restaurants in the city's west end. The question of whether he ever feared for his safety is greeted with a laugh.
Read more at Toronto Star

David Byrne on bikes
David Byrne, former Talking Head, visual artist and writer, might want to put urban planner on his resume too.

The New York-based writer led a panel on cycling and the city Saturday at Toronto's International Festival of Authors.

Byrne's fellow panelists, Toronto Cyclist Union's Yvonne Bambrick, NDP leader and former city councillor Jack Layton and urban planner Ken Greenberg, would've made a fine panel on cycling issues in Toronto but having a musical legend on your bill certainly helps fill seats.
Read more at National Post


Astana struggling to keep hold of Tour de France champion Alberto Contador
The protracted saga of which team Alberto Contador will ride for next season took another twist yesterday when it emerged that the Tour de France winner's Astana team has not yet met the International Cycling Union (UCI)'s criteria for a ProTour licence. If the Kazakhstan-backed team is not awarded the licence, which ensures entry to cycling's top races, then Contador will be granted his wish to break the final year of his contract and move to another team.
Read more at Guardian


Bicycle-Unfriendly Businesses?
Read more at Bike Commuters


The War on Cyclists and Pedestrians is Getting Ugly
Read more at TreeHugger


Screw a House, I'm Buying a Camper Bike
Houses are passe and RVs are overrated. The Camper Bike is where it's at. I don't care if sleeping—let alone functioning—in the thing is a physical impossibility. I WANT ONE.
Read more at Gizmodo.com


London to Paris by Bike
Read more at HypeBeast.com


Irate cyclist attacks bus driver
The Transport Workers Union is calling for all bus drivers to be given self-defence training after an irate cyclist allegedly smashed a bus mirror then attacked the 64-year-old driver.
Read more at Sydney Morning Herald


Cyclists, lorry drivers to swap places in mayor’s safety drive
Lorry drivers will be forced to undergo cycle safety training as part of Boris Johnson’s plans to get more Londoners onto bikes.

Under his new cycle safety strategy, cyclists will also be invited to sit inside HGVs to learn how restricted the driver’s view can be.
Read more at Gulf Times



148,000 cyclists demand better deal
THE state's growing army of cyclists is demanding a better deal, alarmed that authorities have failed to fund improvements to infrastructure.

A Federal Government survey shows cycling participation increased 43 per cent in South Australia last year and Bicycle SA chief executive Christian Haag said it was now more popular than swimming.
Read more at AdelaideNow.com


How the Beijing Olympics changed Chris Hoy's life forever
Winning three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics changed Chris Hoy’s life forever. He tells Olga Craig how he has come to terms with instant fame and explains his determination to defend his titles in 2012.

Olympic success often throws up the oddest statistics. After last year’s Beijing Games, the sale of sports bras soared by 20 per cent in Britain as hordes of young women, inspired by our medal winners, headed for the gym.
Read more at Telegraph