There have been initial steps taken to get "Share the Road" license plate tags here in Alabama!  In addition, a fund to help injured cyclists is in the works!

Stay tuned for details.

Spincycle Sports Marketing, promoters of the Georgia Cup race series, is pleased to announce the start of The Atlanta Criterium Series. The Atlanta Criterium series is a weekday criterium series, being held on Wednesday nights, at the West Oak Industrial Park in Marietta.  Many of you know this area as the site of the Tuesday night training criterium.  This series of races, running from September 1 until October 13, are USCF permitted, and categorized, therefore they will carry USCF category upgrade points.  There will be online registration offered and it is recommended to avoid late fees.  Visit www.georgiacup.com for the race flyer, category start times and payout schedule…that’s right payout.  Hope to see everyone out there!

Maximal Strength Training Improves Cycling Economy in Competitive Cyclists

Arnstein Sunde, Oyvind Storen, Marius Bjerkass, Morten H. Larson, Jan Hoff

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol 24, num 8, p 2157-2165, Aug 2010

For 8 weeks Sunde et.al investigated maximal strength training on competitive cyclists to see if there was an improvement in cycling economy at 70% of max oxygen consumption (max Vo2), work efficiency  and time to exhaustion during maximal effort.  To do that, the researchers examined the responses in 1 rep max (1RM) and rate of force development (RFD) in the half squat, Vo2max, cycling economy (CE), work efficiency and time to exhaustion (TOE) during max aerobic power.

Read more...

Danny Feldman shared this article with me and thought it would be of interest to all of you.

Fresh coats of paint are hitting the pavement in San Francisco, creating new zones of supposed safety for bicyclists. But that long-awaited change comes at a time when local cyclists are as fearful as ever of automobiles, particularly following a horrifying incident in which a motorist intentionally ran down four cyclists.

Read more....

Salvation Army Century of Compassion September 18, 2010.  Columbiana Methodist Church.  100, 75, 50, 25, 15 and Kids Fun Ride.  Registration open on site at 5:30am, Rides start at 7:00am, 7:30am and 10:30am.  Sag support and refueling stops. Fee $45, students $25, Kids fun ride $15.00.  T-shirt, Goodie bag, Water Bottle, Post Race Meal and entertainment.

Contact Stephen Long, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 205 328-0743.  Register at www.birminghamsalvationarmy.org

Don't miss this classic of Southeastern bike races-River Gorge.  This event is one of the best run and one of the most challenging races around!  Dont miss it!

River Gorge is pre-register only and online registration closes on Thursday!

Click here to get the latest from the Birmingham Bike Club!

Check out the latest updates from XP Multisport.  This summer has been a busy one for them.

SAVE THE DATES! 

Alabama Trail Conference 

Friday, April 1, 2011 – Sunday, April 3, 2011 

Fairhope Civic Center in Fairhope, Alabama 

Planned Conference Activities: 

Click here to see the updated Alabama Cycling Association Point Series (ACAPS).  The race weekend in Dothan is the last race in the series and it is worth double points!

Take a look at the CHAFAR (Children and Forests are Alabama Resources) Tour coming up October 7-12.  This 454 mile tour will take you through the scenic roads of Alabama.  Take a look at the website  If you can't make the ride, consider donating to the cause.

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The JDRF Ride To Cure Diabetes is an adventure of a lifetime. Riders from around the world take on two challenges: raising the critical money needed to fund the research that will cure diabetes, and reaching a personal training goal that will prepare them for their destination cycling experience. Participants spend the weeks before the Ride working with a USA Cycling certified coach and a JDRF fundraising coach to help them reach their goals. Be part of the team that moves us towards a cure with every mile pedaled and every dollar raised.

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Here is a link to a 3 minute video we all need to see--produced by the Marin County(CA) Bicycle Coalition. Please not only watch it, but also listen to the audio which address common sense as well as law. CA cycling law is not that different from Alabama, it seems. Ride Right!

HUNTSVILLE, AL. - In 2002, David Kyle, senior associate director of health and physical education at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, woke up one morning experiencing numbness in his toes.

 Eventually, the numbness moved up his body, and he became partially paralyzed from the chest down

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While this doesn't necessarily affect us in Alabama, it could be precedent.

At first glance, this quaint old mining town looks like many others that dot the hills and canyons of this mountainous state.

There are old brick storefronts, quaint Victorian homes on the hillsides and winding, narrow lanes corkscrewing up to the sky. But instead of Lycra-clad fun-seekers and shabby-chic shops, Black Hawk is filled with tour buses and casinos.

Read more...

The preliminary hearing date for this guy, Donald Traywick, who ran down the 2 runners on South Lakeshore in late July. 

The hearing is set for this coming Tuesday, August 17 at 6pm at the Homewood Municipal Courthouse (where exactly inside, I am unsure, I tried to find it).  I think it would be good to get as much attention on this as possible as do several other people.  This could easily have been someone on a bike, a child on a bike, a runner pushing a baby-jogger.  Clearly this guy has some issues.

For those of you who may not know about this, here is the initial information I have.

I'm Rob Rowan, the coach of Columbia University Cycling. For the past 5 years my wife and I have been the volunteer coaches of Columbia University Cycling.  

During every one of those years we have qualified for nationals as a team and had individual riders place as high as third. Our contribution to the team's success is in three areas. First, we keep the sport as affordable as possible for the athletes. In the 2009-2010 academic year each athlete paid $150 in dues and received nearly $2,000 in value.

The team budget pays for all race registration, travel costs and hotel fees as well as for VO2 max, lactate threshold and other physiological tests. Second, we brought together a group of medical specialists, bike fitters, and others who provide top level skills at low or no cost to our athletes. Finally, we set one simple goal: to win bike races.

The 67 men in the 35-39 age category were the first to toe the line at 8:00 in the morning. It was an aggressive start with the field blowing apart pretty early on in the 14-lap contest. Three men set a pace at the front that the rest of the field couldn’t match. Those three were  Michael Olheiser,

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Terry Duran one upped his 2nd place finish in last year's national championship road race by winning it this year!  Terry bested his two other break-a-way companions to win the Master's 50-54 road title.  G.W. Wenzel (Auburn, AL) finished in 3rd.

Briane Toone road to an impressive 5th place finish in the Master's 30-34 race.  With temperatures/heat index exceeding 110 degrees, 45 people started the 75 mile road race.  There were only 15 finishers in this race of attrition.

Stay tuned for more results!

Mike Olheiser wins his 10th national title with his win in the Master's 35-39 Time Trial.  Mike posted the fastest time of the day and was the only rider to go sub 30 minutes!

Don't miss the Dothan City Fest in September.  This will be a great race weekend to bring the family.  Plenty to do, in addition to some fast racing around the streets of Dothan.  With a $20,000 prize purse and the US National Pro Championships only hours away, this race is sure to bring out the best of the best!

ELKMONT, AL (WAFF)- State troopers are investigating a hit and run accident in Limestone County.

It happened around 9 p.m. Friday night on Sandlin Road in Elkmont near I-65.

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The Athens News Courier printed this article for us in Sunday's paper. Please forward to anyone you think might be interested.

The League of American Bicyclists ranks all 50 states on bike friendliness and in the 2010 ranking Alabama is dead last at 50^th. The League’s mission is to promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America.

Some concerned citizens think we can do better than last place. 

By Gale Bernhardt
For Active.com

Completing a century ride, a Gran Fondo or a multi-day bike tour is really fun. For many people, it brings out abilities that might have remained untapped if it weren't for the camaraderie of other cyclists. There is always someone faster, stronger, slower and less able than you and seeing someone you might not expect to be riding, or riding so strong, can be very inspiring.

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The following article are memories of one of the "old school" racers from the early 80s/90s.  These are his memories on how racing was "back-in-the-day"-before $100 race entries and the demands of racers to get "paid" for showing up and doing there hobby.  Sadly, a lot of this grassroots, go out and beat each other up for fun, racing has gone by the wayside.

In the south there was good and bad in Gene Dixon's first Twilight Criterium.   Keep in mind that these are my (the author of this article) memories.  

Gene Dixon(Athens, GA) had put on races for a number of years. There was a spring race and a fall race. The fall race was called The Student Campus Open and was for students ONLY, but there were USCF races in and around the student races.

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2010
Release #10-293 

Campus Cruisers Recalls Bicycles Due to Front Fork Failure

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.