In an effort to share some of the more interesting cycling stories populating my Google Reader news bundles, I have decided to provide summaries of each in 250 words or less.
Bicicle (sic) Fun Begins (today) in Madison. It’s time for the USA Cycling Cyclo-Cross National Championships in Madison Wisconsin this weekend! What is cyclocross, you ask?
The best way to describe it is a steeplechase for cyclists. Racers take to their cyclocross bikes – drop handlebar racing bikes equipped with wider, knobbier tires, larger, mud-shredding brakes, and different gear ratios – and race off-road on a winding course fraught with obstacles. Racers encounter straightaways, curves, and whatever hills, stairs, and barriers each unique course serves up. Riders must choose to tackle each obstruction either on or off the bike. The winner is the rider who finds the right combination of speed, stamina, strategy, and skill on the course.
Cyclocross races are quite exciting to watch. Spectators are free to move from one viewing point to the next, gaining an up-close perspective of the skill required to gain a competitive advantage in any given stretch. Fans line the barriers cheering on their favorite racers, shouting words of encouragement, and ringing cowbells.
For this event, Madison is pulling out all the stops and offering something for everyone beginning with a bicycle film festival tonight. See complete details here.
Becoming Bike Travel Friendly: Minneapolis Case Study As a lifelong resident of the Land of Lincoln, it pains me to say this but Minnesota has it all over Illinois when it comes to bicycling.
I love the Twin Cities (and I’m not just saying this because it is my company’s biggest bike market in the US, that’s right, the entire US). Minneapolis and Saint Paul have a great bicycle culture and incredible cycling infrastructure. Frankly, we should all be embarrassed that a much smaller metro area with colder weather has a much higher bicycling participation rate.
The Adventure Cycling Association offers a great blog about Minneapolis and why you might want to consider riding there. You can wait until the summer arrives, if you like, but I can assure you that thousands are riding there as we speak.
A List of Don’ts for Women on Bicycles Circa 1895 If you read my book review on H G Wells’ The Wheels of Chance earlier this week, you’ll know how transformational the bicycle was in the late 1800’s. This blog post from Brain Pickings shares an actual list published in New York World in 1895 of “don’ts” for women cyclists.
Here are some classic no-no’s for women riders of the day: Don’t be a fright. Don’t attempt a “century”. Don’t coast. It is dangerous. Don’t boast of your long rides (I guess this one applies if you failed to heed the “century” prohibition). Don’t try to have every article of your attire “match.” The list is both funny and a great insight into a woman’s "proper" place at the turn of the century. Read them all here
Federal agencies boost bikes with subsidy for workers Not much more to report than Federal workers can receive an annual subsidy of $240 for ditching their cars and riding bikes to work in DC.
Product Recall: Forte Bicycle Pedals from Performance Not much to summarize here – if you bought Forte brand carbon fiber pedals from Performance (or know somebody who did), you should probably check this recall notice out.
Let me know what you think of this approach in the comments section below.
Keep riding and be safe!
Fan this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter by clicking on the boxes below my bio.
Filed under: Bicycling News
