October 15/10 14:02 pm - Cycling (in the) News

Posted by Editoress on 10/15/10
 

"There are too many factors you have to take into account that you have no control over...The most important factor you can keep in your own hands is yourself. I always placed the greatest emphasis on that."- Eddy Merckx


Bicycling on the rise
Businessmen are finding in its their best interests, too
During the Vancouver Olympics last winter, the city threw all barriers aside and did its best to convince everyone coming downtown to do so without their cars. Dozens of extra bike lanes were created, transit schedules were pushed to their limits and entire streets were set aside for pedestrians.

And it was an enormous success.

"Bike trips increased substantially, approaching summer volumes," said Jerry Dobrovolny, director of transportation for the city of Vancouver. "The Olympics proved to us that we can see high cycling volumes in February if the weather is nice."
Read more: Toronto Sun


Give bike boxes a little time
Bike boxes are not much of a mystery in the cities that use them. We have had a couple of them in Victoria for several years. You should expect that they will take some getting used to, as has happened elsewhere.
Read more: Toronto Sun


Eat My Dust, Then Try My Cooking
He left competitive cycling to pursue a culinary career, but anyone who has eaten at La Chaumiere will tell you that Bob Matthews is not spinning his wheels.
Read more: Calgary Herald


Parking meters converted into bike racks
Even as the city converts 550 old parking meters in the downtown area to new bike-parking devices, cycling advocates worry it’s not enough.

The City of Ottawa recognizes the number of cyclists is increasing and a lot of discussions to date about bike safety have centered around helmets and the creation of bike lanes.

But the city is also directing its attention to accommodating cyclists with secure places to store their bikes when they go downtown.
Read more: Centretown News


ICBC report prompts calls for cycling safety program
The number of accidents at the intersection of Burrard and Pacific spiked in the year after the separated bike lane was installed on the Burrard Street Bridge, but cycling advocates suggest the data isn’t as stark as it seems. Instead, they say it points to the need for education programs for all road users.
Read more:Vancouver Courier
Read more: Vancouver Courier


Vancouver focuses on wheels, not strolls - opinion
There are two things that can never be made as safe as their dizzier zealots demand: Cycling and prostitution.

Which doesn't stop them from trying.

The mad mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, and his leftist councillors have contributed to the expansion of shamocracy (as second-thoughts NPA councillor Suzanne Anton put it, "No one who spoke to council . . . expected to be a part of a kangaroo council") by imposing a $3.2 million, concrete-separated bicycle lane on Hornby Street that was opposed by more than 90 per cent of respondents in two polls.
Read more: North Shore news


Use education to make B.C.'s helmet law work
The recent near-fatal accident of a 13-year old cyclist in Harewood points to the need not only for a stricter enforcement of the bike helmet legislation but also for a concerted public campaign to make cycling safer for all age groups.

Helmet use reduces serious head injuries. A recent Canadian study by the journal Injury Prevention (August 2010) shows that helmet use leads to a significant reduction in head injuries.
Read more: Canada.com


Alberto Contador's bad meat claim rejected
WORLD Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman has dismissed Alberto Contador's claims his positive test at July's Tour de France was caused by contaminated meat.

Howman said the contaminated meat defence had been used previously by other athletes, but had been rejected during anti-doping hearings.

"It's (contaminated meat defence) been raised before, it's been heard in a couple of cases and rejected," Howman told the Reuters.
Read more: Herald Sun


New doping charge against 'the Chicken'
Michael Rasmussen denies he is part owner of a blood centrifuge in Austria

Cyclist Michael Rasmussen has already served a two-year ban from professional competition over doping charges, but now he possibly faces another case from international cycling union UCI.

According to Politiken newspaper, Rasmussen – whose nickname is ‘the Chicken’ – was implicated in a doping case that resulted in the conviction of sports agent Stefan Matschiner a few days ago in Austria.
Read more: Copenhagen Post


Alberto Contador to miss 2011 Tour de France route presentation as he waits for UCI verdict
The 2010 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, currently suspended pending further investigations after he tested positive for Clenbuterol on the second rest day, has decided to dodge next week’s presentation of the 2011 Tour route in Paris.
Read more: Telegraph


World Champ Hushovd remains with Garmin-Cervelo
Newly crowned World Champion, Thor Hushovd will honour his Garmin-Cervélo contract despite rumours to the contrary.
Read more: Cycling Weekly


Cyclists consider protest at Lombardy event
The last major race of the cycling season could start with a protest, with riders contemplating a 10-minute delay at Saturday's Giro di Lombardia after Italy's anti-doping prosecutor suggested all cyclists use drugs.

Defending champion Philippe Gilbert told the Gazzetta dello Sport that fellow cyclist Roman Kreuziger recently phoned him to discuss a possible protest.
Read more: ARGUS


Expert: Alberto Contador & Ovcharov’s Cases Not Comparable
According to a German expert there is not connection between the two recent cases where athletes have been tested positive for clenbuterol.

Tour de France winner Alberto Contador shouldn’t expect that he can use the doping case against the German table tennis player to avoid suspension, after having been tested positve for clenbuterol himself.
Read more: cyclingfan.net


Di Luca is back, court deducts 9 months
As of today Danilo Di Luca can race again. The CONI (Italian Olympic Committee) national anti-doping court, chaired by Judge Plotino, awarded the cyclist a 9 month and 7 day reduction of sentence for cooperating with Padua prosecutors in their doping investigations. The court had banned Di Luca for two years, to 21 July 20111, after a positive CERA test at the 2009 Giro d'Italia, in which he finished second.
Read more: La Gazetta dello Sporta


Wounded Warrior Project and Coca-Cola Team up for Soldier Ride
On October 15th target=_blank>and 16th alumni of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), their families and Coca-Cola will celebrate our nation’s heroes by participating in Soldier Ride in the Carolinas. The ride will kick off the South Carolina leg on the morning of October 15, 2010 in front of the State Capitol building in Columbia, with a ceremony led by Lt. Governor Andre Bauer. Riders will cycle to Fort Jackson and back during the day’s 20 mile ride.
Read more: Kansas City


London 2012 Olympic Games ticket prices revealed
The ticket prices for the London 2012 Olympic Games, which run from £20.12 to £2,012 for the opening ceremony, have been revealed.

Tickets for the sporting events will start at £20 and go up to £725 for the showpiece men's 100m athletics final.
Read more: Guardian


Belfast's cycling budget cut by 98 per cent
As Britain braces itself for the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Revue, advocates of cycling are likely to feel a chill running down their spines on hearing of a particulalrly savage funding cut in Northern Ireland.
Read more: Road.cc


Cycling strategy? What cycling strategy?
As the dust settles on yesterday’s news that the Coalition Government is to disband Cycling England in March next year, it’s sobering to reflect how quickly the Tories’ manifesto pledge that “encouraging cycling will be a major priority for a future Conservative Government” appears to have been torn up during the party’s first five months in power.
Read more: Road.cc


Scottish investment sees cycle usage increase: Government study shows funding for bikes works
Funding for cycling in Scotland has paid dividends for the nation, exceeding expectations and increasing cycle usage by 31.8 per cent in three years.

According to performance indicators agreed by the Scottish Government, cash from the body (totalling £3.5 milllion from '09 to '10) and administered by Sustrans Scotland has upped the number of cycle journeys made.
Read more: Bike Biz


British Cycling membership swells to 33,000
British Cycling has reported that its membership has swelled to 33,000, an increase of 16 per cent in the past 12 months. It's the highest level of membership since the organisation formed in 1959.

Britain's governing body for cycling published its annual report this week, outlining its performance in the past year.
Read more: Cycling Weekly