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.

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....

SAVE THE DATES! 

Alabama Trail Conference 

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

Fairhope Civic Center in Fairhope, Alabama 

Planned Conference Activities: 

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!

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 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. 

Sign on as a Supporter of the Recreational Trails Program!

Download and sign the sign-on form to be listed as a member of the Recreational Trails Council of Advisors

As a member of the Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT), American Trails urges organizations of every size and interest to become a Supporter of the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). Every state and every trail activity benefits from the Recreational Trails Program, and we need your support!

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Before she was killed cycling in Tennessee last month, Sharon Bayler lobbied Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle to adopt a "Complete Streets" policy

Read more....

Thoughts on the "Bicycle Friendly" designation.

I can remember when a book called the Places Rated Almanac was first published, I was a librarian in my (then) hometown of Chattanooga TN, and we were all appalled at the ranking of Chattanooga for recreation, which was, if I remember rightly, next to last of 435 cities. Anyone who has spent time in Chattanooga knows that the opportunities for recreation are among the best reasons to be in the Chattanooga area. Why the low rating? Because the rankings were based on the amount of money spent on recreation. With a federally-maintained lake, three mountains and a fishing river running right through it and creeks all over the place, neither the city not the county needed to spend tax money on recreation!

The U.S. Department of Transportation is rolling out a second round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants and the Washington area hopes to get a piece of the action.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which was successful in securing funding for a priority bus system during the first round of these TIGER grants, is hoping this time to snag up to $10 million of the $600 million available for a regional bike-sharing program.

Read more...

Why Join AlaBike?

The Alabama Bicycle Coalition (AlaBike) is a statewide, grassroots not-for-profit (501c3) cycling advocacy organization whose mission is to promote cycling safety, education and access. AlaBike works with state and local officials and politicians to preserve, improve, create and institutionalize bicycle-friendly roads and policies throughout Alabama. Bicycle-friendly cities, towns, counties and regions provide a healthy environment for its citizens and project an attractive image to visitors and prospective residents. The investment in a high-quality, user-friendly road network is returned many times in improved quality of life and property values. AlaBike seeks support to develop programs to promote this vision.

Read more...

Allow me to insert my opinion on this one.  I think it's great that the transportation officials are planning and considering this.  But, there have been countless plans and long range plans and plans on top of plans....  The problem is, once the plan comes down to the action, this is where the plan falls short and the "as usual" way of doing things comes into play.

Link to the Bicycle Pedestrian Plan.

2010 Bicycle Friendly State Rankings announced

To coincide with Bike to Work Week, the League of American Bicyclists is excited to announce our third annual Bicycle Friendly State (BFS) rankings.

Read more....

By Thomas Spencer -- The Birmingham News

May 24, 2010, 10:26PM

Last Wednesday evening (May 19^th) at 7:00 pm, cyclists around the country rode in silence for about 45 minutes to honor cyclists who have been injured or killed while riding their bicycles. In addition, the ride called attention to the fact that cyclists have the same basic rights to the roads as do motorists. In Birmingham, Alabama the ride started behind Homewood Cycles and ended at SOHO plaza in front of Homewood City Hall.

While the great majority of motorists treat cyclists with courtesy and respect, unfortunately, too many still do not. These motorists see cyclists as unwelcome intruders on roads that are meant to be used by cars and trucks, and cars and trucks only. What often results with this minority of the motoring public is inconsiderate and dangerous driving (like passing cyclists too closely, quickly accelerating to pass cyclists and then decelerating to make a quick turn in front of them) or worse yet, intentional harassment in the form of yelling, throwing things, or aggressive driving meant to intimidate and scare cyclists. When this happens and the slightest miscalculation occurs, it is the cyclist that is going to be the one hurt and/or killed.

The Ride of Silence rides will be happening all over the world on May 19th.  If possible, come out and support these rides.  If you can't, just remember all of the people that have been seriously hurt or killed while riding.  Click here to see when the Ride of Silence is happening in your area.

One year after the County Commission started discussing the project, county employees now are ready to make the 59 signs that soon will line roads in the south and southeastern areas of the county.

Read more...

I'm sure, by now, most have heard about Sharon Baylor getting hit and killed by a motorist in TN.  From what I understand, this comes only weeks after her husband passed away due to a heart attack while riding. 

On Thursday, April 22, Governor Riley approved HB376, and thereby created Act 2010-585. The Alabama Trails Commission has been born! A link to the Act is below.

This is an incredible accomplishment for all who have contributed their time, talents, and support to make this day possible. Many, many people made an effort in pushing this bill to final passage. It is not possible to list them all, but we would like to acknowledge the members of the legislature, the heads of relevant state agencies, the Trails Commission Committee, and the Alabama Recreational Trails Advisory Board (ARTAB) for their tireless efforts and support:

May is National Bike Month! The League of American Bicyclists along with partner cities and organizations from across the nation are promoting Bike-to-Work Week on Monday May 17th through Friday the 21st.

Birmingham’s Bike-to-Work Day group ride will be held Friday, May 21st 2010. A bicycle convoy will start at the fountain in Five Points South at 7:00 a.m. and finish between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m. at Regions Center Plaza on the corner of 20th Street and 5th Avenue North.

Cyclists will ride approximately 5½ miles through Birmingham’s City Center to raise awareness and catch a glimpse of several exciting downtown developments including the Railroad Reservation Park construction project.

Immediately after the ride, there will be a photo opportunity, cold drinks, t-shirts and giveaway items for cyclists.

More information

Map

Danny Feldman is a local attorney specializing in bike vs. car accident litigations.  The following is Danny's response to Sheriff Curry's letter.  I encourage each of you to let your feelings be known to Sheriff Curry: ccurry@shelbyso.com

Sherriff Curry: 

I read with interest your recent letter opposing designating certain highways in ShelbyCounty as a bicycle trail.  First, let me point out that I am not intimately familiar with these roads, nor am I 100% certain what designating these roads as a “bicycle trail” entails.  However, I am very familiar with the law as regards cyclists’ rights to the road as I spend a good portion of my law practice representing injured cyclists.

From: CHRIS CURRY ccurry@shelbyso.com
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 1:41 PM

Subject: Proposed bicycle path-county roads 61.49.47 

Lady and Gentlemen,  

I was made aware of an article in the printed media about a proposed or planned bicycle trail using county roads 61, 49 and 47.  I had not heard any mention of it up to that point.  The information I was given was that it would not have a separate bicycle path built, only signage designating a bike trail.  As I am familiar with all three roads, and travel 49 some, and 47 a lot, and 61 rarely, my first reaction was surprise.

Just in time for the opening of bike season, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, held its 12th Annual Blessing of the Bikes Ceremony this weekend.

Read more...

My name is Michael Hayes and on Saturday, May 15^th at 6 am I will join about 70 other bicycle riders on a 152 mile bicycle ride from Tuscaloosa, AL to Camp Smile-A-Mile at Lake Martin to help raise awareness and money for a camp that helps Alabama children ages 4-18 who have or have had cancer. The ride will be challenging and completed in one day (~12 hours). Although the ride will be challenging it won’t compare to the challenges that these children and their families face every day.

Birmingham was named one of the worst cities in the country for bicycling by a national publication.

Bicycling magazine released its list of bike-friendly cities in America and said Birmingham joined Jacksonville, Fla., and Memphis as one of the least bike-friendly cities.

“Despite community interest in cycling, these cities have fallen victim to suburban sprawls that lack bike lanes, and slow-going planning and implementation of improvements,” said a news release.

Read more...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration re­ports that more adults are killed or injured in motor vehicle-­related bicycle crashes each year than children are.

In Alabama in 2008, there were 269 bicycle highway crashes killing 10 people and injuring 194. NHTSA recommends that riders of all ages:

Read more...

This week's Shelby News section of the B'ham paper has a story about a Shelby County plan to designate a 36.5 mile bike route looping through the southern part of the county.  It uses county roads 47, 61 & 49 through the Columbiana - Wilsonville - Fourmile - Chelsea area.  The South Shelby Chamber of Commerce is working with the county highway department on the plan, which consists of designating park-n-ride lots in Columbiana and Wilsonville and putting up signs along the route.  No physical changes to the roads are involved (i.e. no bike lane designation or re-striping/widening of the shoulders).   The formal announcement is to be made in April.

I couldn't find the story on al.com to send a link, but I plotted the route based on the map in the newspaper (the mileage comes out a bit shorter here):

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=111878

HB376, the House Bill which would create the Alabama Trails Commission, is probably coming up for a vote by the full Senate tomorrow, Thursday, March 25!

This is the last hurdle before it goes to Governor Riley for his signature. Thanks to your support and the support of many others, this bill has been passed unanimously each and every time it has come up for a vote. But we have all worked too hard to assume that it will achieve final passage without your continued support!

We need you to contact your state senator TODAY and voice your support for HB376, the Trails Commission Bill! The Senate will convene at 10:00 tomorrow, so it is vitally important that you act TODAY.

At long last, the Feds have deemed that the needs of cyclists and pedestrians be placed alongside, not behind, those of motorists!

Read more...

The Alabama Bicycle Coalition (AlaBike) is a statewide, grassroots not-for-profit (501c3) cycling advocacy organization whose mission is to promote cycling safety, education and access. AlaBike works with state and local officials and politicians to preserve, improve, create and institutionalize bicycle-friendly roads and policies throughout Alabama. Bicycle-friendly cities, towns, counties and regions provide a healthy environment for its citizens and project an attractive image to visitors and prospective residents.

The investment in a high-quality, user-friendly road network is returned many times in improved quality of life and property values. AlaBike seeks support to develop programs to promote this vision.

Join AlaBike today!

Google has just announced that its apps now include bicycle routes. See this link for the full story. Apparently, the algorithm is designed to lead a cyclist to a designated trail or road with a bicycle lane in front of other roads. Any way you cut it though, this new app should help cyclists navigate cities and streets with which they are not familiar.

The app also includes information on elevation gain so cyclists can choose to avoid hilly routes or can look for hilly routes as the case may be.

Google announced that this app was one of the most requested. So, all things considered nothing but good news for cyclists.

Additional reading

Additional reading

 

You can play an important role in the summit’s success by lending your support for an exciting piece of bicycle-friendly legislation that was just introduced in Congress.

The Active Community Transportation Act (H.R.4722) creates a $2 billion grants program to help communities build bicycling and walking networks.  For the first time, communities would be able to compete for multi-year funding to build active transportation systems, just as they do for transit and road infrastructure.

Here are some key points:

•    Bicycling and walking are part of the solution.
Half of all trips in the United States are three miles or less, yet the majority of these short trips are made by car.  Shifting more of these short trips to biking and walking would reduce congestion, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on oil while improving our communities’ health, safety, and livability.
•    Investing in bicycling and walking infrastructure works.  Commuting by bicycle has increased 43 percent since 2000 - and by 69 percent in designated Bicycle Friendly Communities that have invested in infrastructure improvements.

I am urging you to act immediately to send a message to Sen Smitherman and your AL state senate representative.  Use some of the words below at let them know that a ban on texting would be a good first step AND PLEASE PASS THIS BILL.

Why?  Because if it’s illegal to text while driving, although enforcement would be difficult and near impossible, when a texting driver kills a cyclist or get in a wreck, it no longer will be “Just an Accident”.

Phone records can prove the infraction, just like a blood test or breathalyzer proves a driver is drunk.  Then, the driver can be cited with this offense as well as vehicular homicide, if a fatality occurs due to his/her negligence.

Find your AL state senator by your zip code:  http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html 

Senator Smitherman can be reached by phone at (334) 242-7870 in his Montgomery office,(205) 322-0012 in his Birmingham office, or by email at rodger.smitherman@alsenate.gov.

Janie H. Miernik

The Auburn cycling community is building new mountain bike trails in the Auburn/Opelika area.  They need your help.  In order to become an official IMBA club, they need to have at least 50 members.  Please consider joining so that the area can become an officially recognized IMBA chapter.

To join, please follow this link.  After joining, please follow this link and click the membership tab so that you can be included in the list that will be given to IMBA.  I know it's a bit of a hassle, but your help is needed.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Lack of money has derailed Huntsville's proposed bicycling safety ad campaign.

Things seemed to be on track. Officials announced the idea months ago, the City Council gave its blessing and the Alabama Department of Transportation promised a $197,000 federal grant to pay for it.

Read more...

Alabama Mountain Bikers, Unite!

Alabama Mountain Biking Summit 2010

Calling all mountain bikers and club leaders in Alabama! IMBA-SORBA invites you to spend a day immersed in mountain biking. Get organized, focused, and energized about the opportunities in your state. Hear from land managers, government decision-makers, and your peers in the world of mountain biking advocacy. It’s your sport, your trails, your voice--make it heard, and make a difference!

You’ll meet and greet, listen and learn, munch and mingle, and at the end of the day—ride your bike! Go home ready to take mountain biking in Alabama to the next level!

Hello Alabama folks. I am writing to let you know about a bike event happening this week, "Bandaged Bike Ride" in Tuscaloosa, AL. We will be meeting at UA at 3pm on Friday, the 12th and riding to City Hall.

We are expecting a very large turn out and are hoping that the ride will bring about better conditions for cyclists in Tuscaloosa, cause right now they're pretty bad. Please see details below and let me know if you have any questions.

"The goal of the ride is to increase public awareness of the need for safer streets for cyclists in Tuscaloosa. The ride will be led by people who have been hit and we will be meeting at the steps of Gorgas Library (UA) and riding to city hall. Riders will wear bandages to draw attention to the seriousness of injuries that can and have been inflicted upon cyclists by motor vehicles.According to statistics, in the last 5 years 3 people have been killed, over 66 injured by cars in Tuscaloosa, and this is not including the many cases which weren't reported. We are calling on everyone who rides a bike in Tuscaloosa- Please come and be a part of the change that needs to happen!"

A network of bicycle and pedestrian routes would be created under a new plan to allow people to crisscross the state safely without ever cranking a car.

Under the statewide plan, non-motorized paths would be designated along state roads or created to connect with existing or planned trails within cities.

The paths could be wide shoulders along highways, striped lanes on the outside of city streets or just recognition that certain state roads are specially meant to be shared by motorized vehicles, non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians alike.

Read more...

House Bill 35, the ban for texting while driving, has reached the Senate Judiciary Committee.  It was brought up last week and carried over to an unknown future date.  Three Senators have opposed the bill openly, most notably Rodger Smitherman of Jefferson County.  He is the President Pro Temp and we should focus our attention with him.

His contact information is…

            Email:  rodger.smitherman@alsenate.gov

            Phone: 

(334) 242-7870

He has expressed willingness to see the bill move forward if the violation becomes a secondary offense.  This is unacceptable.  As a secondary offense it would mean that to be charged with texting while driving, someone would also have to be committing another offense.  It would not lower the number of driver’s texting because there would be no fear of the punishment.  Further, if someone was actually charged with texting while driving, the texting fine would be added to the fine for the primary offense.  The goal is to achieve changed behavior, not to fleece the driver’s of Alabama.

Here are the points I believe to be the core elements of the bill and our goal:

            The law as a primary offense will…

·         Save Lives

·         Save money for the driver’s (it is not added to another offense)

·         According to a survey by Nationwide Insurance, immediately reduce the number of people texting while driving by 40%.

Please contact Mr. Smitherman, especially if you live or work in Jefferson County, and let him know that you support the bill as is and you would like to see it move to the Senate Floor for a vote.

BILLS TARGET LEADING NATIONAL ROLE FOR ALABAMA RECREATIONAL TRAILS

FOR RELEASE: JANUARY 28, 2010

MONTGOMERY, AL - Companion bills filed in the Alabama legislature (SB 258, HB 376) would create an Alabama Trails Commission to foster widespread development and link-up of green and blue-water trails throughout the state. Focused on health, family, economic and tourism incentives, the bills call for the proposed commission to coordinate local needs, goals and leadership in trail design, operation, build-up and maintenance for hiking, biking, running, horseback riding, motorized off-highway vehicles, and water sport.

Here are some interesting jerseys that you may (or may not) be interested in.  I'm simply a conveyor of information.  Website

Latest driver safety legislation news: A ban on text messaging while driving passed the House Public Safety Committee on Jan. 13, 2010. Alabama hosted the nation’s first statewide summit on distracted driving in December.

Current prohibitions: None.

2010 cell phone, texting legislation:

Linked below is a .pdf regarding something Oregon is considering for the protection of vulnerable road users.  This might be of interest to some of you.

Read more....

Update! Homewood Cycle & Fitness clothing drive BBL this Saturday 1/16 The clothing drive BBL is ON for this Saturday leaving from behind HOMEWOOD CYCLES. Please bring any clothes you would like to donate to the start of the ride. Please visit Tria's Website if you have any questions.

Editor's note:  The Tria Market Cycling Team is always doing this type of work.  They are the organizers of the "BBL".  This  ride is for anyone that wants to get exposed to racing or fast group rides or is simply new to the sport and everyone is welcome  It's not a "death march" ride where you'll be left for dead (that comes later in the summer).  Each year, Tria organizes a clothing drive to help local charities and people in need.  So, instead of turning that shirt into a grease rag, consider donating it.

Discussions are currently taking place between the UCI Management Committee and the IOC to finalize the changes in the track cycling program for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The purpose of the discussions is to have an equal number of events for men and women. The current proposals include the elimination of the individual pursuit competition for both men and women.

Sign the petition....

Getting people out of cars and onto bicycles, a much more sustainable form of transportation, has long vexed environmentally conscious city planners. Although bike lanes painted on streets and automobile-free “greenways” have increased ridership over the past few years, the share of people relying on bikes for transportation is still less than 2 percent, based on various studies. An emerging body of research suggests that a superior strategy to increase pedal pushing could be had by asking the perennial question: What do women want?

Read more...

Yield to Life is a pretty cool site that you should go visit.

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, David Zabriskie has been a professional cyclist since 2001. He has ridden for the best teams in the world, including Team CSC and United States Postal Service. In the 2005 Tour de France, David rode the fastest time trial in Tour de France history to beat out Lance Armstrong and wear the highly-coveted yellow jersey during the first few days of the race.

Read more...

Dale Pusey stopped in Birmingham during his trip from Seattle to Tampa, FL.  Dale is riding to raise money for the Iron Horse Trail.  Check out Dale's adventures here.

There will be an encore showing of the movie/documentary "Race Across the Sky" tommorow night in Trussville at the Regal Cinema.  The showing is at 7 p.m.  This is a documentary on this year's Leadville 100 mountainbike race that Lance won.  Click here for a preview.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Bicyclists have rights, too.

That's the message behind a year-long advertising blitz the city of Huntsville plans to roll out in early 2010.

Largely financed by a $158,000 Alabama Department of Transportation grant, the educational campaign comes on the heels of three cycling fatalities in the city since September 2008.

Read more....

Are there any medical types who have access to information about compression and diabetes?

We all know that diabetics cannot follow standard 45 carbs per meal guidelines when prepping, riding and recovering from distance cycling or racing.

Standard diabetic procedure is to AVOID compression on any body parts, especially the feet. So are the benefits and risks of riding and post-ride with compression the same for diabetics as everyone else?

Email responses to cslayton19 @ charter.net

USSA is looking for male cyclists to participate in a research study. The will need to come to our campus 5 times for some testing and training, around 8-9 hours per day. We will pay $500 after they complete the study. Information is attached.  For more information, contact Jordan at jmoon @ ussa.edu

Flyer

Greg Lemond, the first American cyclist to win the Tour de France, and a three-time winner of the prestigious race will share some of his tour experiences, give cycling and fitness pointers, and have a Question and Answer session this Wednesday (April 28th) at 6:30 at the University of Alabama Rec center which boasts a world-class spinning facility with over 30 Lemond Fitness Stationary Bikes.  

This is his first visit ever to Alabama. The event at the UA Rec center at 6:30 is open to the public.  The usual $10.00 fee for guests has been waived for this event.

The newly formed Alabama Cycling Association is seeking nominations for new board members. 

The ACA is currently seeking nominations for the following positions:

Officials/Upgrade Coordinator

Male Rider Representative

Female Rider Representative

Road Racing Coordinator

Junior Programs Coordinator

Alabama is in bad need of some USA Cycling officials.  If your club does not have an official, please consider having someone attend this class.  Information.

Here are two very good resources to use to find bike rides-especially if you're traveling around to a new area. Website  Facebook Page

My apologies for the lack of updates lately.  My wife gave birth to our first daughter on December 4th.  Add this on top of the holidays and the mandatory "Baby Tour" 2009 and the endless stream of visitors, I haven't had much of a chance to work on the site (or to get sleep).  I have also been working on another project that has consumed what little time I've had left.  Plus, the cycling season is probably at it's lowest point of the year during the holidays anyway, so there usually isn't much news going on.

On piece of news I'm curious about is why all of the logging trucks and heavy duty logging equipment on State Park Road in Pelham?

I will get back to daily updates soon.  I am currenlty working on a comprehensive southeast regional events calendar that will include, I hope, all of the events that are going on in 2010 in AL, MS, TN, GA, LA and parts of FL and the Carolinas.

Which brand of tire and model of tire is your preferred tire for training?   

Click here to take survey

There have been several updates to the ride and event calendar.  My goal is to make this a comprehensive listing of the rides and events that are going on in the state.  The rides can be one time group rides or the weekly "no drop" rides.  To add an event or a ride, simply click on the add event button.  I'll approve the ride and it will be displayed. 

Alabama Cyclingnews

Oak Mountain State Park will be closed for the annual deer hunt.  The park will be closed from December 8th.  The back gate (119 entrance) will be closed until March 1st.

Don't forget about the night rides, road or mountain, every Wednesday at Oak Mountain.  Ride on your own or with a group.  The only rules are to have adequate front and rear lighting and be out by 9 a.m.

Coming Soon!  Stay tuned for the December Grand Opening "Daddy Deals"!

For some reason, the right column is displaying in Internet Explorer.  However, it does display in Mozilla.  I'm not sure about any other browser.  So, bear with me on this.

It's been a bit slow for the past week or two.  Add in Thanksgiving, getting a new business started (stay tuned) and getting prepared for the arrival of a baby (December 4th), I haven't been updating the site as I need to be.

In the next week, I'll have the 2010 schedules up.  I you're putting on an event or if you have a schedule for your area, please send it to me.  I'll be getting back on track shortly.

If you come across any news, topics of interest or if you have something on your mind, please send it my way.

The road cycling season is winding down and the cross season is in full swing.  This time of year, including me, take time off or simply look for other activities to "fill the void" from reduced day light to ride.

If this is you, then I could use you!  I'd like to offer up different points of view on Alabama Cycling News.  I'd also like to give the readers (20-25,000 per month) stories, news, etc on different cycling disciplines ('cross, ultra endurance, mountain bike, commuting, etc).  If you're interested, please send me an email.  travis (at) travissherman.com

FROM KATIE CURTIS:

I have a favor to ask of y'all, I need some women's answers to the questions below. I have a personal and business interest in what answers they can provide. Can you please forward this to as many athletic women (runners, tri, former athletes, current noncompetive cyclist, etc) that you know? Or even any women that are thinking about starting to be active and possibly ride!
I have a conference call scheduled for this Fri at 2 to talk about how to get more women on the bike and possibly racing so whatever info I could get by then would be a huge help.
Thanks so much!
Katie

1. What drives women to enter the sport of cycling? 
2. Is it the competitive nature, fitness and health, or friendship/peer pressure? 
3. Is there one thing that trumps all other forms of motivation to enter a race?
4. What does a comprehensive website need to encourage women to try riding and racing? 
5. What, if anything, eliminates the intimidation factor of attempting to ride or race?

CONTACT:  Katie Curtis <kttrack@yahoo.com>

News has been a bit slow lately.  I need contributors.  Please, if you come across a newspaper article, story, etc, etc on cycling, please send it my way.  I want to hear from you!

I'm currently looking for 6-8 guest writers for the site.  I'm looking for people that would be willing to write on just about anything related to cycling.  I have the racing scene covered (but I'd still like someone to submit articles).  I'd really like to have people that are more focused on other aspects of cycling such as, advocacy, touring, commuting to work, ultra endurance riding, mountain biking, bmx, etc, etc.

My apologies for the lack of recent updates.  I've been in Oregon doing the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.  We're staying in a cabin in the mountains, so needless to say, internet has been scarce.

To summarize, Mike Olheiser (Huntsville) won stage 1.  The warp9bikes.com/Tristar took a "shank" to a gun fight against Bissell and Ouch and did what we could do to defend the jersey.  A break went clear and we spent 50 miles riding "tempo" at the front and simply maintained the gap until Bissell came in to shut it down with about 15-18 to go.  Mike finished 4th in the time trial today, getting beat by two Bissell riders and one Ouch rider.  Tommorow, we have a 92 mile stage with 12,000 feet of climbing.  The last 40 miles are gradually uphill.  I'll do a complete recap when I get more time and energy.

In brief, I've heard that the Sprott Time Trial scheduled for late June will be moved due to scheduling conflicts.

Check out the BICI Cooperative.  The BICI Cooperative has the goal of creating easy and equal access to cycling by providing affordable bicycle maintenance, services and education as well as a forum for sharing bicycle knowledge, activism and community. 

Promoters, advertise your event or race here!  I'm more than happy to list your event and give your event publicity.  Afterall, the more information I can provide the visitor, the more traffic the site gets.

All I need in order to list your event is:

• Logo
• Race flyer or web link
• Writeups on the event

In addition to just listing the event, I can spot light your event in the news section!  All you have to do is to write up an article and submit it to me.  The more information you give me or the more updates, etc. you give me, the more often your event will get mentioned in the news.  If your event is raising money for a charity or a special cause, I will assist you in getting the "word" out for you.

The site gets between 25-30,000 visitors per month (actual eyes on the page).  The hits are in the several hundred thousand range. 

In exchange, I may ask for a complimentary entry or two to the event.

Feel free to contact me for more information!  travis (at) travissherman.com

Hello all!  I'm back from New Mexico.  If anyone has seen my rear, please hand it to me...no, wait, that has been done already.  In all seriousness, I'll have some updates in the next day.  I finished up stage 5, a 100 miles with nearly 10,000 feet of climbing, and then jumped in the car and pretended I was a "trucker" and drove 24 hours back to Alabama.  Needless to say, I'm a little jetlagged.

I am in serious need of photos, news, race reports, ride reports, stories, articles, etc, etc.  Please, please, please send this my way.  You can send anything and everything to travis@travissherman.com  Please put ACN in the subject line. 

Please help support Alabama Cycling News.  Each year I incur hosting fees, developmental fees, etc to bring you (hopefully) useful information and to try and continuously improve the site and the functionality of the site.  It's easy to support the site.  When you book your hotel for a race weekend or for a business travel, please use this Expedia link to book your travels.  Each booking gets ACN credits.  So, you get your hotel rooms and rental cars and support the site at the same time! Thank you!  Travis

For the 2009 season, use AlabamaCyclingNews.com to promote your team and your sponsors!  I have several categories such as "race reports", that you can post articles to.  You can also post your team meetings or training rides in those specific categories.  Feel free to insert links back to your team or club's website to increase your traffic.  Plus, the extra links to and from your site won't hurt with the search engines listing you closer to the top either. 

The benefit will be that you can use the increased traffic to tell your sponsors how many times their logo was seen or how many times your site gets visited.  If you post enough articles, I can make your own section within the site.

Jennifer Schuble was near graduation at West Point when she suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident during hand to hand combat training. Shortly after that she was in an auto accident that damaged her arm - and was then diagnosed with MS. For many folks, that would have been the signal to give up. Not this lady; at 33 she's a gold medal winning member of the US Paralympic cycling team.

Read more....

Follow along with the biking adventures of Tom Tenbrunsel on Bike Journal!  While you're at it, consider setting up your own Bike Journal and forwarding Alabama Cycling News the link so that you can share your adventures with everyone! 

I recently interviewed Scott Kuppersmith (Mobile, AL) and asked him about his cycling, how he got into cycling and the new bike shop that he recently opened in Orange Beach.  For those of you who don't know Scott, don't ride behind him...unless you have a 53x11 and the legs to push that gear, because you'll use every bit of it.  Scott only knows one speed when racing and that is full speed ahead-high speed and low drag!  He only knows one speed in going into business for himself and that mirrors his racing style-high speed and low drag!

The following is an interview that I did with Alabama rider and Paralympic medalist Jennifer Schuble.

Question:  Since you race for the US Paralympics cycling team what exactly is your disability?

My Paralympic classification is CP4 which is the category for the least-severe disability for people affected by CP, stroke, and brain damage. I race in this category because I sustained a traumatic brain injury in hand to hand combat class while I was at West Point, and I would also later be in a major automobile wreck and sustain another TBI along with crushing my right arm. Additionally, to complicate my condition, I would be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I am basically a neurological mess. MS is disease where my immune system is attacking myelin which is the protective sheath surrounding the nerve fibers of the central nervous system. When the myelin is damaged, this interferes with the messages between the brain and other parts of the body. It’s like an electrical wire that is had it coating burned off, and whatever part of my body that the wire is attached to will be affected. One of the most frustrating things about having MS is that it is an unpredictable degenerative disease and any nerve sheath could be attacked, so it can affect anything. Currently the disease has caused issues with my balance, coordination, feeling in my feet, spacisty, fatigue, and heat sensitivity. 

This past summer, Alabama riders Jennifer Schuble and Ron Williams ventured over to Beijing, China to compete in the Paralympic Games. 

Jennifer Schuble continued her dominance on the international scene by winning three medals.  She won the 500 Meter Time Trial, got second in the Individual Time Trial and second in the Individual Pursuit.

Jennifer was recently named to the 2008 Hall of Fame list by the President of USA Cycling!  After returning from her successes in China, Jennifer was invited to meet President George Bush at the White House!

Jennifer Schuble and Ron Williams in Beijing

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.

Click here for the July 2010 issue of the Spokesman.

Click here to read the May 2010 "Spokesman".

Professional triathlete Jessica Jacobs has started off her 2010 season with two strong podium finishes.

On February 14th, Jacobs was the top female finisher at the eighth annual Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama. She set out with the goal of bettering her winning time from last year, 2:54:54, but was unsure of what the race held for her.

Read more...

Birmingham Bicycle Club’s March issue of “The Spokesman”.  Mark your calendars for the TIB Prologue TT and club picnic at Oak Mountain State Park on Sunday, March 21^st.  Newsletter

The CHAFAR Tour is an annual bicycle tour that is designed to "showcase our forests and help support our children." It is a 454-mile trip that takes us through some of the most beautiful forests in our country.

This tour is put together and managed by many of the people that work in the forestry business.

In 1992, the "Alabama Logger's Council" started the ‘Log-A-Load for Kids’ in Alabama to help raise money for children's hospitals. Since then, they have raised over 6-million dollars. The "Alabama Forestry Association" (AFA), has held many events throughout the years to help raise money for this cause. The CHAFAR cross-state cycling Tour will be raising funds to go to the Children's Miracle Network to support Alabama's children's hospitals in Birmingham and Mobile.

Click here for the February edition of the "Spokesman".

The Alabama Cycling Association (ACA) has an up-to-date website that will be continuously maintained from now on.  There are several exciting new developments coming in the next few weeks!  There have been several new Alabama races added!  Website

How the heck did it get to be 2010? This number just seems unreal. Whatever happened to the 90’s? The 80’s? Times were simpler then. The news media reported the news. I didn’t have a cell phone and was apparently ok without one. I had an aluminum Cannondale R400 (fat tubes and all) with down-tube shifters and was perfectly happy with the ride. I just thought the roads in California sucked.

Read more....

Attached is the December issue of the Birmingham Bike Club's newletter the "Spokesman".

Read more...

The Florence Bicycle Club is looking for action shots of people on their bikes to add to their Facebook page!  If you have some you'd like to share or if you would like to join their page, click here.

Click here for the latest Birmingham Bicycle Club newsletter!

As the summer rolls towards a close, the inevitable fall semester is looming ever close on the horizon. It is about that time for the UAH Cycling Team to start planning for its 2010 competition year.

This year we successfully fielded the schools first competitive team, participating in all 9 Conference race weekends. We had 6 guys racing: Joe Bray, Clinton Wann, Barrett Eubanks, Daniel Carter, Josh Kirkland, and myself. We racked up 33 top 10 finishes, 16 top 5 finishes, a Team Omnium win and an Individual Omnium Win. I was fortunate enough to qualify and compete in the National Championships. By all accounts, I would say the 2009 Road Season was a huge success.

Check out the May 2009 edition of the Birmingham Bicycle Club's "Spokesman" news letter.

Read more....

Steel City Cycling is looking to add a few new members to both our Cat 4 and 5 race teams.  If you are new to racing, currently without a team or just looking for a change of scenery SCC could be your new team. 

Our unofficial team alias is "Team Low Commitment".  The team was born of cyclists with many other responsibilities.  As such we don't have a minimum number of races required for members and we don't force training rides on anyone. 

If you're looking for a new team to join, you don't mind the orange jerseys and you like the idea of a Low Committment racing team please let us know at info@steelcitycycling.com. 

Check out the demo bike sale in addition to the items on sale in the store!

The "Read to Ride" program was developed by Bike Link to encourage elementary school age children toread more and to promote cycling for exercise and recreation. Bicycling is a wonderful experience and the exercise it provides relates well to the health issues facing our children. It's simple-you create the reading contest and we supply the grand prize, a bicycle provided by Bike Link. The child (girl or boy) will receive a gift certificate to redeem for the appropriate size/style of bicycle for them. Specialized Bicycle Company has been very gracious in their support of "Read to Ride" and supplies the prize bikes.

 

Demo Bike Sale!

Bike Link Sale May 14-31st 

Bike Link Spring Sale is Going on Now!!!! 

The cycling season is quickly approaching!  Many of us are getting geared up for the new season on the road bike and the mountain bike, there is a different variation of cycling that goes on each week, quietly and with little notice, at Oak Mountain. 

BMX racing is where many of the young children get their first exposure to cycling.  Come out to Oak Mountain to support these guys and girls.  You may even get hooked on it your self!  Check out these tips on getting started in BMX and check out the 2009 schedule.

12 Months No Payment and No Interest

Keep fit this winter and come out ready to roll in the spring!  Come by Bob's Bikes Homewood location every Tuesday at 6 p.m. and bring your trainer.  Each session is 1-2 hours long.  Each session will feature a variety of "Spinnerval videos" that will give you a workout.  Best of all, you won't bail out early on your training, because you'll have company.  If you don't have a trainer, then no worries.  Bob's has several varieties of trainers that will meet your needs and your budget.

If you can't make the trainer sessions, but you are still interested in getting the most out of the short day light hours, then read the winter training tips provided by Bob's Bikes.

If you're simply not a fan of indoor riding, then take it to the road.  Don't let the short day light hours shorten your ride or cause you to not ride at all.  Stop by the store to check out many of the lighting systems that are available.  You'll find several easy-to-use lighting systems starting at $99. 

Winter doesn't have to mean an end to your riding.  Come by and talk with the sales staff on available options that will keep you going this winter!

Presents:

Pro Night!  A night to hang out with some of the fastest mountain bike riders in the world and ask them questions!  Best of all....it's free!

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (January 14, 2010) ‑‑ The American Diabetes Association invites all cyclist to start a chain reaction at the Tour de Cure^® Kickoff, on February 4, 2010 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00p.m at Architecture Works Community Room. (130 19^th St. S, Birmingham, Ala.) as they strive to change the future of diabetes and help stop this devastating disease.

Recreational and Avid Cyclists from around the region are invited to the kickoff to meet new and previous Tour de Cure participants. While enjoying food, music and door prizes, a short program will take place at 6 p.m. informing those present about The ADA’s Mission, 2010 fundraising goals, success stories and more. Individuals and teams who bring a guest that is a New Tour de Cure participant that registers at the kickoff will receive this year’s commemorative Tour de Cure In Training Long Sleeve t-shirts.

Stop by Blackwell's Pub on April 2nd at 5:30 for the Ride for Wishes kick off party!  Learn about the Ride for Wishes and meet some other fellow cyclists.

For more information, contact John Sweeney at jsweeney@ga-al.wish.org.  Blackwell's Pub is located at 3151 Green Valley Road.

Buy a bicycle that will help save a life or two or one hundred!  Visit the UNICEF website and purchase a bicycle that will be used for medical relief in countries in Africa.  The medics use the bicycles to visit the villages and for the transport of medicines and medical supplies.  The bicycles are about $35.

Words of "Safety & Caution" from a Sports Med DR. local cyclist and friend.  

In a wreck, hard objects in/on a bike jersey can make the accident more dangerous. 

Please consider stashing things like keys, cell phone, inhaler, bike tools, even flashing lights on the bike somewhere, i.e. bento box/tool bag. 

Close to jersey pockets live - Bones: ribs/hip/spine - yikes!

Impact can cause fracture or contusion.
Vital organs: LEFT - kidney and spleen / RIGHT - kidney and liver.  Impact can cause internal bleeding.
Muscles: can receive significant blows causing bruising/hematomas.

~ Concerned cyclist/local doctor - Sophia Lal~

Hello Everyone,

Each year, we are fortunate to have great volunteers that step up to provide everyone with racing opportunities here in the Southeast.  These volunteers do a great job, but we can all do more to help grow the sport.  I am going to submit a series of articles over the next month, detailing what promoting a race entails.  My goal is to take away some of the intimidation factor in putting on an event.  Many of the principles discussed can be used in putting on century rides.

The cross season has been underway since September.  There have been several people snapping photos of all the action and want to share their photos with you!  Enjoy!

• Bama Cross #1 by Carl Viars
• Bama Cross #1 by Trish Albert
  Spooktacular Cross Race by Michael Hayes
• Sloss Cross by Carl Viars

Come out to the historic Sloss Furnaces and watch (or race) "Sloss Cross" on Sunday!  You won't be disappointed.  The races start tommorow at 10 a.m.  The weather looks like it will be warm and pleasant.  Bring the dog.  Bring a friend.  Click here for more details.

The preliminary schedule for the 2009 Bama Cross Race Series is up!  There will be a change or two in the schedule and possibly a venue change, but the dates of the races are posted.  One of the venues is having construction done on it, so it may or may not be ready by the time the season rolls around.  To view the schedule and to stay up-to-date on venues, click here.

This website should be good reading and enjoyable.  Fat Cyclist Blog

This morning, I'm sure you were greeted with the grim reminder that cold weather is coming and the time will soon be changing.  This will result in the necessity of having to move your workouts indoors.  No worries!  Gold's Gym has something for you!  Gold's gym has 3,4 and 5 month packages that you can buy that will allow you to bridge the gap from November until March.  Take advantage of the weightroom, the spin bike room, the swimming pools, the aerobics rooms, etc.  There are three locations in Birmingham to choose from:  Pelham, Vestavia and in the Colonade on 280.  Click here for information.  Free 7 day pass.

It's hot outside!  Beat the heat and take advantage of the swimming pools at the Gold's Gym locations.  Try a one week free pass!

Just because Spring is almost here, don't stop your weight training!  Take advantage of one week free at Gold's Gym and take advantage of the many amenities that Gold's has to offer!  Amenities such as the sauna, steam room, swimming pool, dietician and more! Stop by and see for yourself with a free one week membership!  Simply print off the pass that is located below and take it to one of the three Birmingham area Gold's Gyms.

Join Gold's Gym and everytime you come to workout, you are entered to win a Kymco Agility 125 Scooter!  The scooter will be a perfect addition to your training tools, since you can motorpace behind it.  If you don't win, you'll still get other benefits from strength training.  These benefits include: better cycling performance, stronger bones (prevent Osteoperosis), toned muscles, overall body balance, more comfort on the bike, more power, etc, etc, etc.

Please consider using (ie clicking on) one of these links to book your travel for events, races or just for your ordinary travel needs (vacations, business, etc.).  In doing so, you help support www.alabamacyclingnews.com.  By going through one of these links to book your travel, the site receives a referral bonus, which helps me pay for hosting fees and other expenses that are affiliated with bringing you daily content.  Feel free to save this page as a book mark in your web browser.  This way, you'll have instant access to all of these travel search engines.

Danny Feldman specializes in "Bike vs. Car" cases.  Danny is a local Birmingham cyclist and attorney and he would like to speak at your next club meeting.  If you are looking for a guest speaker to go over various laws, rules, regulations or just cycling safety and the law in general, please contact Danny at dfeldman *at* lewis-attorneys.com or visit his website. 

Most traffic violations are enforced by police officers at the time of occurrence. Citizens can get a warrant for traffic violations if a traffic law has been broken. This is not common practice and should be reserved for exceptional instances. The protocol for citizens obtaining warrants for traffic violations was provided by the City of Huntsville Magistrate.

In order to get a warrant, the citizen will need to make a case report (incident/offense report) with the Huntsville or local police department

Read more....

This is the last of a 6-part series regarding annoying or dangerous cycling behaviors.Many people, almost without exception, non-cyclists, wonder why cyclists do not ride against (or into) oncoming traffic - like most runners (correctly) run.  Simply stated - it is unsafe.

Danny Feldman is continuing his series regarding annoying driver's behaviors that endanger cyclists.  He is continuing his series with "moves" that we cyclists do that annoy drivers (yes, we're at fault too) and put ourselves into danger.

This is the last segment in a legal series written by Danny Feldman regarding harassment. 

Read the latest installment of Danny Feldman's series on dangerous driver behavior.

Danny Feldman will be producing a series of articles and posts regarding actions taken by motorists, whether accidentally or intentionally, that put cyclists in harm.  If you have any questions or topics that you would to ask Danny or would like Danny to write about, please click here.  If you have been a victim of a bike vs. car, please contact Danny as well.

The following is a follow up article that Danny Feldman wrote regarding contributory negligence and you.  This matter is very important!  Why?  Essentially, with this law, if you are hit by a car and you are even 1% contributory, this could keep you from getting a settlement.

Given the rash of motorist v. cyclist incidents lately (or what seems to be a rash of incidents) it seems to me that cyclists need to be absolutely sure that they are following the letter of the law in regards to their safety equipment, specifically their rear reflectors. 

Alabama law requires that while riding a bike at nighttime the bike “shall be equipped” with a lamp “which shall emit a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front” and “with a red reflector on the rear of a type approved by the department which shall be visible from all distances from 100 feet to 600 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle.”  Ala. Code 32-5A-265.  Further, “a lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear may be used in addition to the red reflector.”  Id. 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE IN A WRECK WITH A CAR  INTRODUCTION  

Having an accident with a car isa nightmare for cyclists. At such a time of vulnerability and disorientation it can be difficult to gather your thoughts and choose what to do. Unfortunately, such an incident requires immediate action and attention to detail in order to protect your rights. This guide represents a plan of action and recommendations for what to do if you find yourself in the most dire of circumstances. The information is broken down into 5 sections:  

Find out if you really know the rules of the road when you are riding your bike.  Take the quiz!

Don't miss this innagural event that has been added to the Bump and Grind weekend!  The race is the Turn and Burn 360!  One lucky racer will walk away with a Niner bike frame!  Prizes galore (valuable prizes-not some 5 year old bike tube).

To trail users of all types in Alabama: 

I am taking this opportunity to encourage you to attend the National Trails Symposium this year. For those of you who have never attended one, I guarantee you will feel like a “kid in a candy store!” Everything you always wanted to know about trails will be represented there in some form or another. There will be many opportunities for networking and idea-sharing with other trail enthusiasts from all over the country. This event is held every two years, and the location rotates around the country. In 2008 it was held in Arkansas.

This year it is in Chattanooga, just a stone’s throw away. It may be a long time before it is held in the deep south again, so please take advantage of the close proximity and make your plans NOW to attend. With all of the wonderful trail-related accomplishments Alabama has been experiencing lately, attending this would be a fantastic way to celebrate (and maybe brag a little)!

For what it's worth, I'm plugging the OMSP and Tannehill trail work weekends in the next Freewheelin' column, which will print Wednesday in the B'ham News and appear online at http://blog.al.com/birmingham-community-sports/cycling/index.html

BUMP has been very active as of late.  The club and others have been working furiously to get the new trails at Tannehill constructed and ready to roll.  In addition, B.U.M.P. has been working toward getting new trails built at Oak Mountain. 

Improvements like this aren't free and come at a price.  B.U.M.P. needs your donation!  Your donation will help buy the materials needed to build these trails.  One of the biggest obstacles at Oak Mountain is raising the funds required for the engineering and the construction of a bridge over one of the dams. 

Please consider making a donation.  Your donation of $10 or $100 or $1,000 will help.  If you ride the trails at Oak Mountain, you really should consider making a donation...perhaps a $1 or $2 per ride that you do.  Afterall, your money goes directly to add more singletrack for you. 

Additional information (note:  as of Wed, the donate link on this page didn't work).  This link works:  Make your tax-deductable donation today!  Click here!

This is a really cool video set to music.  It's been around for a while, but if you haven't seen it already, the stunts this guy does will blow your mind!  You may think you have some handling skills until you see this guy.  Click here.

Construction on the new mountain bike trails at Tannehill starts this weekend.  The goal is two miles in two days.  If you can, be sure to come out for this event brought to you by B.U.M.P and Bike Link! Event Details.

"Two mile in two days" is coming up soon! We have the trail laid out for the weekend of work.  It includes some smoothe flowing singletrack as well as some optional rocky technical sections.  I will try to get some pictures posted soon.  When finished the trail should have something for everyone.  Though not techicly a stacked loop system, the new singletrack will cross the existing doubletrack loop several times, creating small loops allowing for a variety of ride options.  You will be able to skip sections or ride them in different directions with ease and without being too confusing. 

ONLY 5 SPOTS LEFT!

Don’t miss this awesome opportunity to work with National and World Champion Gene Hamilton on your mountain bike skills. This camp is the biggest bang for the buck I have ever gotten in cycling. It revolutionized my mountain biking and had a huge effect on road riding too. I highly recommend it.

SEE LINK BELOW:


http://www.betterride.net/mountainbikecampdates.html

The Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP) in cooperation with Bike Link and Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park will begin building an 11 mile singletrack mountain bike trail the weekend of November 14th-15th 2009. Our goal for this first of many work weekends is to complete two miles of singletrack trail to compliment the 4.5 miles of existing dirt road.

Read more....

This is great news!  A new mountain bike trail has been approved in Alabama!  The trail will be built in Jackson County.  This will be the 2nd new trail for mountain biking in Alabama in about a one year time span.  The other trail is in Sylacauga.  This news comes on top of the soon-to-be-built expansion of the Red Trail at Oak Mountain.  New trail details.

BUMP is ready to start the construction of the new Lake Trail singletrack starting Saturday, September 12th at 9am near the Family Trail off  Terrace Drive return road behind the BUMP shed.  There will be a second workday the following day, September 13th at 8am, meet at the BUMP shed at the southtrailhead.  I recommend bringing work gloves and insect repellant as well as any other weather appropriate gear.  If you have a favorite tool that can be used for trail building bring that too.  Lunch will be provided. We need as many volunteers as possible to show up and work as long as you are able (preferably 8 hours), that way we can get a great start on the trail, as well as generating the required in-kind labor BUMP is to have for the grants. If you have any questions you can send it to me, Mark at 1stmootsrider@att.net .  Thank you and I hope to see you there.

Bike Wins

BUMP Oak Mountain Lake Trail Project Moves Forward 

For immediate release June 8, 2009 

Please consider making a donation, large or small, to B.U.M.P. so that they can expand the amount of mountain bike trails at Oak Mountain.  Making a donation is simple.  The donations are processed via Pay Pal, so donating takes about 30 seconds if you have a Pay Pal account.  Simply enter in the donation amount, enter in your login and hit submit...done!  If you don't have a Pay Pal account, don't worry; credi and debit cards can be used to make a donation.

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

Read more...

Thank you to James Dawson for digging these up.  For you "old school" folks, here are some old newspaper articles from "back-in-the-day".  Some might be of races you've done or people you've ridden with!  If you have any old news paper articles about races from back in the early 90s, 80s, 70s, etc send them my way.  Some might enjoy the trip down memory lane!

Article

Alabama Classic

HUNTSVILLE, AL - Dave Stone is a League Cycling Instructor and serves on the City of Huntsville's Bike Advisory & Safety Committee. He says the weekend accident in Tennessee involving a vehicle which killed his friend and fellow cyclist Sharon Bayler is tragic, but he hopes that it will shed some light on the law in Alabama and how it applies to bicycles on the road.

Read more...

Southeastern conference racing resumed this weekend in Huntsville, Alabama, as the University of Alabama in Huntsville Chargers hosted the regular season finale. This would be the final opportunity for teams and individuals seeking to cement a bid to Nationals before competing for double points at the Conference Championships next weekend in Mars Hill.

Read more:

Shelby County plans to designate a 36.5-mile path of roads near Columbiana, Wilsonville and Chelsea as a bike loop.

The route follows a path along Shelby County 47 from south of Chelsea to just south of Columbiana, where it loops around Shelby County 61 toward Wilsonville before heading back west and reconnecting with Highway 47 near Chel­sea.

Read more...

Cyclists are a different breed.

This weekend I met and saw cyclists of all skill levels. From the beginners and even a few first-timers in the category five competition all the way up to professional cyclists in the category one competition, I was impressed by the enormous athleticism. While I thought that running a half-marathon required a great deal of strength, I’m certain that cycling at 40-50 miles an hour requires a high level of strength that I’m almost certain I’d never be able to achieve.

Read more....

In 2009, Michael Olheiser from Huntsville, AL (www.mikeolheiser.com) went on a tear.  At 34, Mike won the Masters 30-34 National Criterium and Time Trial Titles, the Masters 30-39 World Time Trial title, the Elite (Category 1 racers) National Road Race title and the Elite (Category 1) National Time Trial title.  In addition, he won a stage in the Tour of the Southland in New Zealand (a UCI rated stage race). 

Mike works 40+ hours a week at Huntsville Hospital as a Clinical Exercise Specialist.  He was featured in the March issue of Velo News and Sportlegs, one of his product sponsors, will be placing a full page ad in Bicycling Magazine featuring Mike.

This isn't Alabama Cycling News, but I found it a little comical.  Maybe you will too. 

BERLIN  —  Part of Berlin's red-light scene is going green.

One bordello, hoping to stave off falling demand in the economic crisis, has begun offering discounts to customers who pedal bicycles to the door.

"It's very difficult to find parking around here, and this option is better for our environment," said Thomas Goetz, who owns the brothel Maison d'Envie, or House of Desire.

Read more...

Scott Staubach (Montgomery) was recently featured in a USA Cycling news page.  For those of you who don't know Scott, Scott is deaf.  However, he doesn't let this disability slow him down any.  Scott is a category 1 racer and holds his own.  In addition, you'll find him ripping up the cross scene each year.

Article

During the past 6 weeks,  Alabama riders have stood out on the national scene winning national championships and proving the south is a force to be reckoned with in cycling.   Michael Olheiser (Huntsville, AL) has won 4 national titles.  He is currently preparing to leave for Austria to reclaim his World Championship Title.  In between all of this travel, Mike found the time to talk with a reporter about his cycling and his future prospects with cycling.  Newspaper story.

In addition to just Mike, Terry Duran (Birmingham, AL) won the Master's 50-55 Criterium Championship and had a strong 2nd place finish in the road race.  Jennifer Schuble (Birmingham, AL) had a strong performance at the Paralympic National Championships in California and added to her collection of national titles and has qualified for the World Championships.  Newspaper story.

Here is a great article that was recently written about Mark Simpson.  Article.

If you have any articles about cycling, please send them to me so that everyone can see them.

This is a great article that appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser.  If you come across any articles, such as these, please, please, please send me the link so that I can share this with every one.

When bicyclists strap on their helmets and get out on the roadways in the River Region this summer, they face the possibility of heat exhaustion, equipment failure, snakes and running into a small segment of the population that enjoys harassing them.

Read more....

Joe Eldridge, one of the three pro riders from Alabama (Team Type 1), was spotlighted in Velo News!

Read more....

Almost everyone has ridden a bicycle at some point in their life. For most, it was the first time they were able to enjoy the independence of having your own transportation. As adults, it's an enjoyable way to stay fit, help the environment, and enjoy the countryside.

Read more...

While the recent tragic fates of 20-year-old Sarah Chapman and 59-year-old Horace Fletcher, both Huntsville cyclists, were horrible accidents, they are reflective of a selfish, if not hostile, driving style adopted by the average motorist. Everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere, and distractions in the form of text messages and cell phone conversations, makeup application, the quick meal on the go and other business divert attention from even the best of drivers. And, of course, everyone thinks that he or she is an-above average driver

Read more....

Since I wrote about local bicycle safety issues in last Sunday's column, some things have changed - and all for the better. But there's a lot of work to be done.

In the wake of the bicycling death of a 20-year-old University of Alabama in Huntsville student on Sept. 15, Mayor Loretta Spencer held a news conference last week. She announced that several city initiatives on bicycling and bicycling safety are being speeded up.

Read more...

I'm a bit late on this article.  I knew about the article on Lee Farabaugh, but for some reason I couldn't locate in online.  Oh well.  Better late than never.  Here is a great article on Lee Farabaugh (Homewood, AL)-cyclist and entrepreneur.

The Birmingham News has a great writeup on Jennifer Schuble and Ron Williams.  Both Jennifer and Ron are in Beijing competing in the Paralympic Games.

December 5th ride has been rescheduled to December 6th.  However, no points will be scored.  For the most up-to-date details on the ride check here.  To receive instant text messages, send an email to Darryl Seelhorst dseelhorst@mindspring.com with BBL in the subject line and your phone number.

If you haven't tried Hammer Nutrition products yet, be sure to give Hammer Nutrition a try.  Hammer has a wide variety of nutritional supplements to help with your endurance quests, regardless if you are riding, running, hiking, etc.  Hammer uses complex carbohydrates and avoids the simple sugars, which can let you down.  In addition, Hammer Nutrition has a wealth of information on their site.  The information covers pre-event meals, hydration, recovery, etc.

If your local bike shop doesn't carry Hammer Nutrition products, take advantage of a 15% savings by clicking on the logo.  If you sign up for the quarterly auto-ship program, you'll receive a 15% discount, free shipping and a free Hammer Nutrition cycling kit (or tri kit). To get your discount, you must enter the referral number 85096.

Back in the 1960’s, it was common for riders in races like the Tour de France to stop off at roadside bars for a glass of wine or something stronger. This seems hardly believable now, but there were some marathon stages in those days and a more laid-back attitude prevailed, at least in the early part of a long hot day. The death of Tom Simpson in the ‘67 Tour is generally blamed on a cocktail of amphetamines and cognac (for more on this see his biography, in the Top Ten Cycling Books article).

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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.

About 2,100 Felt 2009 model-year B12, B16 and S32 road bicycles, made in China and imported by Felt Bicycles of Irvine, Calif., have been recalled because the bicycle’s fork steer tube can break, causing the rider to lose control, fall and suffer injuries. The company received seven reports of the bicycle forks breaking, including an incident involving minor injuries. The recall includes all 2009 Felt model B12, B16 and S32 road bicycles. They were sold at bicycle specialty stores nationwide from October 2008 through May 2010. Details: by phone at 1-866-433-5887; online

http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/03/video-another-thule-t2-catastrophic-failure/

The above cite is an interesting video regarding the shortcomings of  Thule bike rack that might be of interest.

Name of Product: 2010 Redline Conquest Pro Bicycles and Framesets

Units: About 350

Distributor: Seattle Bike Supply, of Kent, Wash.

Hazard: The bicycle's fork legs can separate from the fork crown and cause the rider to lose control, posing a risk of serious injury if the rider falls.

Name of Product: Bicycles with EA30 Stems

Units: About 6,400

Importer: Easton Sports, of Scotts Valley, Calif.

Hazard: The bicycle stem can crack and cause the rider to lose control, posing a risk of serious injury if the rider falls.

Incidents/Injuries: The company received a report of a stem breaking, causing a minor injury to the rider.

September 9, 2009

SRAM is recalling about 24,000 sets of bicycle chains with PowerLink connectors. The recalled PowerLock connector links, used on bicycle chains, are brittle and can crack, allowing the chain to separate from the bicycle and posing a fall hazard to the rider.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Five years ago Hurricane Katrina blew ashore. Come celebrate bicycling's recovery on the MS Gulf Coast at the 3rd Annual Southern Magnolia 100: Saturday, Oct 2nd. This is GULF COAST BICYCLE CLUB's signiture event of the year. We've secured the best BBQ caterer on the coast from Grate Deli & Grille cookin' in the Eggmobile on the Big Green Eggs. Challenge yourself to complete 25 or 100miles cycling through 4 of South MS most beautiful counties & the DeSoto National Forest.

The food & fun will be better then ever!!! REGISTER TODAY**** IT'S STILL ONLY $25!!!!

www.GulfCoastBicycleClub.com

Side note:  I hear Ivan Dominguez is flying in to do this ride!

For Immediate Release

Chris McHagge

Premier Revolution Marketing

706.766.6268

romevelo@comcast.net

info@southeasterngranfondoseries.com

http://southeasterngranfondoseries.com/

Rome Georgia to host first Grand Fondo ride in the South.

October 23^rd 2010

Rome GA

October 23rd 2010 Rome Georgia is set to host the first Gran Fondo ride in the South. Gran Fondos are a new type of mass participation ride that combine the best of racing and casual rides. The ride offers multiple options to challenge different abilities and includes a great social atmosphere. Gran Fondo Rome will also feature Professional riders such as Ivan Dominguez and Frank Travesio. The ride will showcase the stunning scenery of Northwest GA while brining awareness to a new local cause, the Magnolia Foundation.

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!

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, volunteer@birminghamsalvationarmy.org , 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 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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Be a part of history as GA 400 is temporarily shut down on Sunday, July 11 for the second “Hospitality Highway Century” to benefit the Georgia Transplant Foundation (GTF).

Saturday, August 7th 7:00am

The Money Road Cycling Club, in conjunction with Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, presents the 3rd annual Bikes, Blues & Bayous bike tour. The rides will be held Saturday, August 7th starting at 7:00am in historic downtown Greenwood, Mississippi, the home of Viking Range Corporation.

Three Different Rides

20 mile fun ride, 46 and 58 mile tours.

All three rides are flat and fast supported with sag vehicles and course monitors. Rest stops with facilities and refreshments will be available.

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Saturday night marks the beginning of the craziest alley cat series Birmingham has ever seen. Throughout the month of July there will be four stages (July 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 31st) taking racers through out the Birmingham area: Downtown, Crestwood, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia!

The week before each race I will be posting the event poster and info for each stage so that everyone can study up, pre ride, buy some lycra or maybe even a road bike. Every stage is suited for different rider styles and the rider with the most points at the end of the series takes the yellow Œjersey¹. There will be men¹s and women¹s categories only. Fixies will be

racing the roadies in the same category. Who knows, the TT and circuit race may suit a fixed gear rider more than that of a geared bike while the rollers and mountain climbs will undoubtedly favor someone who can turn over those gears. Birmingham Bicycle Company and Cahaba Cycles are throwing in some schwag for their stages and we¹re working on some stuff for the finale but don¹t be mistaken, this race is for the glory not a gift card. The buy in for each race is only $5 and benefits Bici.

We will need some rad volunteers to help work check points for this series so if you are interested email me at alan (at) bicicoop (dot) org. Stay tuned this week for more info about the races, scoring, smack talking, and the like. 

The Rocket City Race Weekend is scheduled for July 17th and 18th.  There will be a road race, a time trial and a criterium.  Visit the Spring City Cycling Club's website for more details.

This race will be 3 to 6 hours of challenging trail running, creek paddling and biking. The format is teams of three (each member, one venue) or individual (age 18 by December 31, 2010). The total race distance of 41.5 miles includes a 10K run, 1.5 mile paddle and a 33.8 mile bike course. Route encompasses three of Northeast Alabama's premiere outdoor recreational areas located within the tri-county area of Calhoun, Cleburne and Cherokee - the Chief Ladiga Biking Trail, the Pinhoti National Recreational Hiking Trail, and the Terrapin Creek Canoe Trail. The race will finish at the Eubanks Welcome Center in downtown Piedmont, Alabama.

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Honey Bee Century Bike Ride

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. and Mass Start at 8:00 a.m.

At the North Lowndes Park

 7715 Sonny Rodgers Memorial Boulevard in Hahira, Georgia.

This is a fully supported ride with SAG stops and shorter cutoff routes for

 62 and 30 miles.

Participant fee is $30

Includes a meal and long sleeve shirt, while supplies last.

Sunday, June 6 is D-Day for the Sweet Sixteen edition of the Bump N' Grind at Oak Mountain State Park, offering race classes for all and free racing for the kids.

Predominantly smooth, tight singletrack winding through the forest, the main course has enough roots & rocks to call for finesse and enough wide spots and double track to keep the field from getting bottled up. Only about 1600 feet of climbing is required to navigate the recently expanded 21.5 mile Red Trail loop, but much of this is packed into one 2-mile doubletrack climb that'll sort the wheat from the chaff, while the descent through Blood Rock will show who has the technical chops.

Scout the course on Saturday, or better yet race our new event the Turn N Burn 360, and bring along your whole crew for a great weekend outing; Oak Mountain offers plenty of off-the-bike family activities, too (wildlife center, swimming beach, boat rental, etc.), while lodging, eating and shopping opportunities abound right outside the park.

Ride for Hope- an event that changes the lives of cancer patients in the Big Bend. The Ride for Hope Team and the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Cancer Center.

More information about the ride can find more information about our history, how to donate, volunteer or RIDE at www.ride4hope.com  or call Mandy Stark at (850) 322-7221.

Save the Date:  June 5, 2010 at the North Florida Fairgrounds

Registration for the Gwinnett Bike Fest is now open.  The dates are July 21-26.  The races will be in an omnium format.  This means that you don't have to participate in all of the events.

The city of Birmingham is hosting a League of American Bicyclist Cycling Essentials Course on Saturday, June 19^th.  They currently have some openings for this class on a first come first serve basis.  This is a prerequisite class for becoming a League Certified Instructor.  Birmingham is in need of an LCI.   They would like to give priority to those committed to becoming certified.  This class is a full day.  It involves classroom instruction as well has hands on bike handling.  There is a cost for class materials.  I’m not sure of the exact cost but it should be around $50.00 - $60.00. 

If you are interested in this class, please give me your name and address by close of business Monday, May 24th.

Sincerely,

Barb Cowan, President (bagscowan @ bellsouth.net)

Birmingham Bicycle Club   

Enjoy a beautiful scenic ride from Eastern Shore Toyota, located in Daphne, Alabama to Mullet Point Park, off County Rd. 1 in Point Clear, AL. Bring your friends, family and children and enjoy food, refreshments, music, and activities on Mobile Bay following the ride.

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Registration for the Glasner Autumn Challenge is now open.  This ride will be September 4th in Montgomery.  There are several ride distances for you to choose from.  The roads are very low traffic areas and the century is very well supported.  Details

If you participated in the Iron Works Century this past Saturday, your feedback is requested.  Please email the good, the bad and the ugly (and include specific improvements or specific things you liked) to ben@chuang.org

Cyclists, the Kid One Ride with 20, 30, and 62 mile options will be this Saturday at The Waters in east Montgomery County. Information is availble at their web site www.kidone.org The ride is well supported and has a great after ride party

The Alabama Scenic River Trail Association has asked me to encourage attendance of their September 18^th Triathlon.  Cost is very reasonable, especially for those who sign up by May 31^st.  ($60 per individual and $120 for 3 member team).   Includes 2 meals, entertainment, tee shirt and race.

Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you feel would be interested in this wonderful event.

Attached is a flyer with more information.  Contact for the event is Fred Couch, President of the Alabama Scenic River Trail (cell 256-539-0437).

Best regards,

Grey Brennan

Alabama Tourism Department

The Alabama Loggers Council and the Alabama Forestry Association are, once again, holding an event through Log-a-Load for Kids, in an effort to raise money to benefit Children’s Hospitals. It started back in 1992, when they joined together for the first time.

Since then, the Alabama program has grown, and through Log-A-Load for Kids, they have held numerous, successful events, including: Roping Competitions; Skeet Shooting; Kayaking for Kids; Miracle Miles; and now – the 2010 CHAFAR (Children and Forests are Alabama's Resources) Bicycle Tour. Its fund raising efforts include several annual statewide events that each year contribute $300,000 to $500,000 to Children’s Hospitals.

On Thursday, October 7th cyclists will meet in Auburn, Alabama and embark on an adventure that is aimed to raise funds to support the Children’s Miracle Network and Children’s Hospitals of North Alabama. The ride will be approximately 454 miles - in 6 days.

We invite you to please take a look at our website http://www.chafar.org.

Looking for something to do on April 24th and 25th?  Check out the Tour le Fleur Omnium and Grand Fondo!

Don't miss out on the 2010 Iron Works Century Ride on May 8th!

Join cyclists from across the southeast to ride the flat, scenic and winding country roads of Central Alabama. Your registration fee goes to serve children and expectant mothers across the River Region needing transportation to healthcare services of all types.

There aren't many races that are entertaining for both the racers and the family members.  Most criteriums are held in an office park and may get 100 spectators watching-all of which are there because they just finished up racing and haven't left yet.  However, the Sunny King Criterium is the exception!

This race has grown to be one of the biggest spectator races in the south.  There is plenty to do for the family and the action is fast and furious.  People who have never seen a bike race before will be out there watching the action!  So, don't miss this this race.

In addition, all Sunny King races this Saturday April 17th will broadcast with a LIVE video stream on the race web site ( www.sunnykingcriterium.com  ) thanks to five TV cameras on the race course.  Late fees apply to registration after Thursday.  The NRC Pro 1 Men's  field will include the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Sunny King Pro 1 men's winners, Frank Travieso (Jamis/Sutter Home), Hilton Clarke (Bahati Foundation), and Karl Menzies (United Healthcare).  Rahsaan Bahati and Ivan Dominguez are registered and will be contenders.  Team Type 1, Team Mtn Khakis, Fly V Australia and Kenda are all sending teams, as well.  

The Alabama Cycling Association is proud to present the Alabama Cycling Association Point Series(ACAPS) for 2010. The series will consist of 10 events all over the state with the winners receiving an ACAPS Champions jersey. More info and rules will be posted soon on the official Alabama Cycling Association website. http://alabamacycling.yolasite.com.

2010 Schedule*

All riders holding a current annual USA Cycling license at the time of the race event shall be eligible for the Alabama Cycling Association Point Series (ACAPS) point competition. All USAC clubs competing in the ACAPS point competition shall provide the ACA president with a complete list of club members that must be updated regularly. Points will be shown for new members only from the date of the update and will not be retroactive. Points will be shown for riders only if they compete while wearing a jersey identifying their USAC club membership. 

Read complete pdf on the series and the rules

Here is a link to Southwest Airlines' updated travel policy for sports equipment.

Are you looking to get your European bike racing fix?  Look no further!  Check out CyclingFans.com and watch live Euro races as they happen.

If you're looking for a family friendly alternative to "Speedweek", check out the Macon Cycling Classic in Georgia!  This is a great criterium with plenty of activities around for the non-racer family members.  Website.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Kaiser Realty’s 4^th Annual Cycling the Coast for a Cure Set for April 3^rd

Gulf Shores, AL –- Get out your bicycle and get geared up for the 4^th Annual Kaiser Realty Cycling the Coast for a Cure ride Saturday, April 3^rd. Come enjoy the trek through the scenic Gulf State Park Bike Trails and along the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast beaches to benefit the American Cancer Society’s search for a cure.

Set your own pace on either the 21 mile course or this year’s new 37 mile course. The ride kicks off at Tacky Jacks in Orange Beach with on-site registration from 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. and the ride itself starting at 9:00 a.m. Registration fee is $30 and includes a t-shirt, lunch and one ticket for the raffle of a custom bike! Kaiser Realty also offers special Cycling the Coast accommodations packages. Register online now at www.CyclingTheCoast.com.

Get in on the Early Bird Registration for the Sunny King Criterium and for the Foothill Classic Road Race!  Register for the Sunny King Criterium for $30 and get a Foothills Cycling Classic Road Race entry for $25!  Offer ends on April 3rd!

Don't miss this great event!  Fun for the entire family!  Street Festival, food, televised action with replays of crashes!  Awesome course!

If you're looking for a race fairly close to home, then check out the training race in Guntersville, AL.  There are other "real" races going on, but a race is a race.  Maximum effort is maximum effort.  So, save your money and do this race instead.  Information.

AMBA is a multi-day bike ride established to raise money to support AlaBike. AlaBike is a Non-Profit C3 corporation formed to make Alabama a better place to ride bikes. The organization hopes to accomplish this goal by enacting legislation and through education programs that make roads safer for bicyclists and more bicycle friendly. AMBA is different than other 7 day bike rides:

• AMBA is staged in one location and has out and back loops every day.

• Since AMBA is staged in one location, you set up and break down camp just once, and, your car is available every night.

• While you bike, your non-biking mate can go sightseeing, golfing, shopping or do other activities and still meet you for dinner!

Event Website

The Tour de Tuscaloosa is coming up at the end of the month!  This is a fantastic race.  The criterium is held near down town Tuscaloosa and is a race that you can bring the family to and they not be bored out of their minds.  Their are restaurants and little shops that you can hang out all afternoon and watch the action go by!

Mark and Gina Simpson and the D.C.B.C. all do a fantastic job putting this race on.  Last year they experimented in making the races a bit later in the afternoon and the amount of daylight was misjudged a bit.  But, don't worry, adjustments have been made and this year's race is stacking up to be the best one yet!

Race Bible

Race website

There is a new national track racing series for 2010!  It appears that two events will be held at the Dick Lane Velodrome in Atlanta.

Details

The Houston County Relay For Life Planning Committee is pleased to announce a new county-wide fundraiser for the 2010 Relay For Life.  Pedalin' For A Cure, a charity bicycle ride, will take place Saturday, April 10, 2010.  The ride will feature three different course distances to accomodate riders of all ability levels. 

Click here for race details and registration form

Hello everyone, the Ride of Love wouldn’t be possible and wouldn’t be as successful without DCBC…thank you all so much!  Well I can’t believe it is time to kick off the 2010 Ride of Love and I really can’t believe that it is the 10^th Anniversary of the Ride of Love…what an exciting ROL this is going to be!!  Remember our goal:  100 cyclists and raising the most ever in one year ~$130,000 (the most raised was ~$128,000 in 2007)  If you haven’t done it yet then this is certainly the year to do it!!   

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 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.

Mike Olheiser (warp9bikes.com/Tristar) wins his third Masters 30-39 World Time Trial Title!  This is added to his two master's titles and his two category 1 national titles this year.  Mike will compete in the road race and the criterium this week as well.

For those who wonder why he doesn't go pro, I'll answer this now.  For starters, the UCI has a rule that states only a certain number of riders can be over the age of 28.  In this regard, no team wants to take on a first year pro rider that is 34...even if he routinely wipes the floor with their entire team.  Secondly, there is very little money to be earned as a pro cyclist and the contracts are usually for one year.  So, there is no point in Mike taking a pro contract that pays no salary and give up a paying job with benefits. 

Click here for the results.

If there are other people from Alabama or from the south racing at the world championships this week, please let me know.  I'd be more than happy to report on them.

Trish Albert (www.sadlebred.com) can be seen at most all of the local races and events with a camera in one hand and her bike in the other.  When she is not racing, she is taking photos.  She has photos from many of the races that were in the area, including the Sunny King Criterium, for you to look at (and buy if you see one you like).

Link to gallery....

I have written about the Tour of the Gila stages 4 and 5.  Many of you have written to me encouraging me along.  I appreciate the comments.  The race was hard.  The finishing times on each stage were much faster than those of previous editions.  But, I finished.  Hopefully you enjoyed the race descriptions and race reports from the "eyes" of someone just fighting to stay alive and in the race.  The reports aren't necessarily what happened in the race (you can read that on Velo News), but from the perspective of an average person who was only allowed to pick 3 numbers out of the Pick 5 Genetic Lottery, not to mention from the perspective of someone who climbs hills like a rock.  Reports. Simply click on the title when redirected to the section.

With this said, I am (and I'm sure others are) interested in reading about your races and your race reports.  Please, by all means, submit your experiences here.  It doesn't matter if you're a cat 1 dominating the race or a 50 year old cat 5 just out surviving and having fun.  We want to hear from you!  You can submit the story to the site simply by logging in and writing.  I'll approve and your story will be published.  These reports can be from races or from the epic century done in the pouring rain!

My apologies for being behind the times on this article.  Tour of the Gila stages 4 and 5 were hard and harder.  Stage 4 was a 40 lap criterium.  Because Lance was there, the town of 10,000 swelled to a town of 20,000.  Newspapers, t.v. stations, spectators, police, military were all on hand to witness Lance put down the hammer.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of criteriums-especially when I'm not able to ride the front.  The good thing about this criterium was there was 160 people in the race.  The bad thing about this criterium was there was 160 people in the race and I was going anaerobic at 6,000 feet.  My goal for the race was to simply stay upright, stay out of trouble, complete the required number of laps, go as hard as I could, fight as hard as I could, etc.

Stage 5, quite simply, was a hell of a stage.  The stage was nearly 106 miles with almost 10,000 feet of climbing.  Brutal is an understatement.

I set out on this stage to finish.  I didn't care if it was with the group or without the group.  The Tour of the Gila defeated me back in 1998 and the Tour of the Gila defeated me last year (I didn't even get to start).  So, I was determined that this race would not beat me this year.  I was going to finish the stage regardless of how I felt and how long it took.  I was doing it for both the personal satisfaction of not letting the race defeat me (and prove my "critics" right) and to essentially prove those that said I'd never finish wrong (basically to spite them).

Within the first 6 miles, I was almost defeated again.  An Ouch rider decided that he wanted to be "Cool Joe Pro" and roll down the side of the road that was broken up and partially paved and partially unpaved.  His front wheel got stuck in a crack.  The crack went side ways and so did his front wheel.  Unfortunately, he face planted pretty hard (I believe he had to be taken to the emergency room) and his bike kicked up in the air and about took me with it.

About 20 miles into the race, we start climbing.  The climb and the altitude kick me.  I'm drifting toward the back and eventually into the caravan.  Determined to finish this stage, I fought back on and made efficient use of the caravan to get me back into the race.  I also used the "professional grab" where one holds onto the bottle from the car just to make sure the grip is sufficient.  Honestly, I got dropped 4 times and I fought back on 4 times...thank you Axel Merkx for helping a brother out.  Thank you team car for being there too.

After the climb, I managed to catch back on. Unfortunately there was a serious crash that caused another guy to be seriously injured (fractured skull I heard).

Once I caught on, I went to the front of the group.  I made sure Mike and Stefan were good on fluids.  My goal from that point was to simply stay in the draft until mile 52.  Mile 52 is where the next serious climb would be and this is where the race traditionally has a hand grenade thrown in and the race explodes. 

Once we hit the climb at the 52 mile mark, I knew there was no point in me trying to fight to hang on.  I got my two "survival bottles" (33 oz bottles packed with 1000 calories of Hammer Sustained Energy) and put it in the 38x27 (wished I had a 28) and made it a 52 mile training ride.  I spent the next 45-50 minutes climbing.  Once I reached the top, I didn't seem to have the same testicular fortitude that I had from the year before that allowed me to zip down the mountain in a Volvo at 80-90 mph.  No, this time, I kept the speed reasonable.  I descended about 7 miles and then rode on the flat until the 180 degree turn around.  I though about cutting it short and turning around on the road, after all no one would know and no one was keeping track at the turn around.  But, I decided that I would know so I soldiered on for the 8 miles to the turn around. 

I was grateful that Darrell Oquinn stood around the feedzone for me to make my way there.  I stopped, grabbed some bottles and then continued on.  Darrell was more than willing to follow me, but I waived him on and told him to go watch the finish.  I wanted to be in my own suffer zone.

I did finish.  It took me about 6 hours to finish.  I had a 4,500 kilojoule day.  I was pleased with the performance of the Hammer HEED, Sustained Energy and the Sportlegs.  The day was long and hot and I finished looking like a salt lick (I had to fight off deer :-) ), but I had no hint of cramping what so ever.

I thank all of you who emailed support to me.  What I did definitely wasn't special or earth shattering.  There are those who go through much harder.  This is one of the reasons I didn't quit.  The race was hard, the courses were hard, the event was hard, but I knew it would eventually be over and this would only be a memory for me.  I'd come out stronger.  But, there are those who go through much harder challenges every day and don't come out stronger or don't come out at all.  So, in a sense, I dedicate this to them.  This is what got me through....knowing others had it much worse than I.

Thanks for reading.

Travis

Help support Alabama Cycling News...book your travel using this link.

I caught up with Levi Leipheimer yesterday.  He was finishing his warmup and I asked him what he thought of the site.  Levi replied, "It's great.  I read it every day. I give it thumbs up!"

Jeff Cloar relished the opportunity to pedal his bicycle around the 2.38-mile track at the Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday.

There were no potholes, bumps or cracks in the pavement, obstacles cyclists typically face while racing on public streets and roads.

"It's one of the few chances we get to race on a world-class track," said Cloar, 54, of Birmingham. "The race surface is immaculate."

Read more...

Jennifer Schuble won another medal today, taking silver in the women's LC1-2/CP-4 Road ITT.  This adds to her medal count on the track in the women's LC1-2/CP-4 class - a gold in the 500 meter ITT and silver in the Pursuit.  Ron Williams took 5th in the men's LC2 Road ITT.

Jennifer Schuble (Birmingham, AL) has added a silver medal, in the pursuit, to the gold medal she won in the 500 meter pursuit!   Here is a Paralympic's cycling story about Barbara Buchan winning gold at age 52.   

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,

Read more...

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!

Michael Olheiser sucessfully defended his Elite (Category 1) National Time Trial Championship in Bend, Oregon today!  He gets to wear the "Stars and Stripes" for another 12 months!

Results

Jennifer Schuble (Birmingham, AL) wins again!  This past weekend, Jennifer set the World Record in the 500 meter pursuit!  In addition, she won the 3K pursuit in Manchester England!  Click here!

XP Multisport athletes had an impressive October.  Jessica Jacobs and Felipe Bastos (Maylene/Alabaster, AL) competed in some high profile events and had some great results.  Click here to see the October recap!

Mike Olheiser winning the Elite (Category 1) National Road Race Championships in Bend, OR

Mike Olheiser (warp9bikes.com/Tristar) from Huntsville just won the Elite (Category 1) National Road Championships in Bend, Oregon! 

In a little over three week's time, Mike has: won the Master's 30-34 National Time Trial and Crit and finished second in the 30-34 Road Race.  He then went to Bend, Oregon to compete in the Cascade Classic.  This was a 6 stage stage race that was a "Who's Who" list of U.S. Profesionals.  Mike finished 21st in the G.C. and finished top 15 on a few of the stages! 

Four days later, Mike wins the Elite Road Championships.  In a little over two week's time, Mike will venture to Austria to reclaim his Master's 30-39 World Time Trial Championship.  He has won this twice before!

Mike is one of the fastest riders in the country that is unable to get a pro contract because he is 34.

Several Alabama riders are participating in the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon.  This is one of the nation's toughest 6 day stage races.  Mike Olheiser, Mike Lanham, Brian Toone and Scott Kuppersmith are the Alabama based riders brave enough to bust heads against some of the top professional riders in the country (Pro 1).

Mike Olheiser got warp9bikes.com/Tristar some Velo News time when he initiated the day's "move".

Steve Phillips recently showed who has the most endurance in Alabama.  If not the most endurance, the greatest ability to sit on a bike seat for the longest period of time.  Steve went out to California to do an ultra endurance ride of 1200 Kilometers!  Steve finished the distance in 78 hours and 57 minutes.  He finished his ride at 2:57 a.m...., yes, a.m.!  Great job!

Congratulations to everyone that participated in the races in Huntsville this past weekend.  Kudos to all of our new state champions!  Results

Terry Duran, "T" or the "Scott Bikes Rep", won the Masters 50-54 National Crit Championship this past weekend.  Terry was in a two up break that lapped the field.  He bested his break away companion by beating him in the gallup to the line!  This victory comes days after T's near miss at the road championship, where he finished in second place.

Terry Duran celebrates his national title with his two boys.

Michael Olheiser (warp9bikes.com/Tristar) from Huntsville, AL won the 2009 Master's 30-34 National Time Trial on Wednesday.  Mike covered the approximately 25 kilometer course in a time of 29:20, which was the fastest time of the day for all groups.  This makes his 4th national title in 4 years (3 road and 1 time trial). This is added to his two Masters 30-39 World Time Trial titles.

Several Alabama riders featured at the 2009 Master's National Championships in Louisville, KY.

• Jack Bice and Randall Roland, both from Huntsville, won the national championship in the tandem race
• Terry Duran (Birmingham) scored an impressive 2nd place finish in the Men's 50-54 road race.  The winner of the race barely got away from Terry toward the end.
• Michael Olheiser (Hunstville  warp9bikes.com/Tristar) got 2nd in the Master's men 30-34 class.

Tommorow is the time trial for all of the categories and beginning on Thursday the criteriums will be held at the site of the Kentucky Derby!

Video

The racing season has officially kicked off beginning with the Toney Time Trial.  Click here for results.  Click here for photos.

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.

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.

Read more...

Tony Kornheiser went off on cyclists last week -- at one point even saying "run them over" -- and now Lance Armstrong wants to throw him under the bus.

Kornheiser's rant on ESPN Radio 980 was in reaction to the addition of bicycling lanes in Washington, D.C. It began as a discussion about sharing the road but soon disintegrated into an attack on anyone who rides on two wheels. Said Kornheiser of cyclists:

Read more....

The road rage trial that is happening in LA has yielded a guilty verdict for the driver!  Click here for the story.

This is a great article that was written in Velo News last week.  A person that ran over a couple of cyclists told the traffic investigator that he wanted to "teach the cyclists a lesson".  Scary stuff!

Read more...

If you recall, a few weeks ago, Carlos Serranos was killed by a driver reaching for her cell phone/using her cell phone instead of paying attention to the task at hand-driving. 

The following is in response to an email that a friend sent out to a large group of people.  As a victim of a bike versus car nearly 10 years ago (12/31/1999), I take this stuff a bit personally.  Below is my response.  The response isn't necessarily award winning literature or necessarily politically correct or an A+ grade in punctuation.  I get a little "fired up" when writing on this subject.

I have also included the original email for context.

I'm sure, like the Blake kid (the young kid that killed 3 cyclists on 2 different occassions) was, this guy will be released 4 or 5 times from jail and have additional opportunities to kill before being placed in prison.

FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- Tracey Wall said he never saw the car coming.

What the 47-year-old special education teacher didn't see was a silver BMW car strike his bicycle head-on, slamming his body onto the car's hood and into its windshield.

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Three bicyclists were struck by a car early Saturday morning on Baldwin County 1 near Mullet Point Park at the mouth of Weeks Bay, said State Troopers spokesman Cpl. Steve Smith.

Though none of the bicyclists' injuries were thought to be life-threatening, two were transported to Thomas Hospital in Fairhope and the other was taken by medical helicopter to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, Smith said.

Read more...

Death by cell phone - it happened to another Alabama cyclist last month.

Prominent Scottsboro business leader and competitive triathlete Carlos Serrano was out on an afternoon training ride when he was struck and killed by a driver who said she didn't see him because she was reaching for the cell phone in her purse. This tragedy came less than a year after Huntsville college student Sarah Chapman was killed while riding home from class by a driver looking at her cell phone instead of the road.

Read more...

Recently, a tragic event occurred which ended a man's life when a young woman hit and killed him as, at least according to reports, see link to story she was distracted while reaching for a cell phone. 

What this event points out is what all of us who drive while using the cell phone, texting, or while otherwise distracted know - and that is - that operating a motor vehicle takes concentration and that being distracted from concentrating while driving greatly increases the chances that we are going to crash and hurt or kill ourselves or others.  Really, who among us hasn't missed a turn or run a stop sign while having our focus off the road and on our phone or radio or child in the back seat?  While some distractions are unavoidable - a screaming child - many are not.  For example, using a cell phone is a choice that we make.  Given that we know, both from many recent studies and from the inescapable fact that we "live and breathe" and have personally experienced the level of distraction that a cell phone causes, the question that I have is WHY?  Why do we use these devices that we know increase the risk of a tragedy like the one that recently occurred in Scottsboro?

The following would be very much welcome, in my opinion, if this got passed.  A ban on the use of cell phones while driving would be another law that would be welcomed.

Alabama motorists convicted four times within two years of text messaging while driving could lose their driver's license, under a proposal by a Springville legislator.

"The issue here is distraction," said state Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville. "A person texting is using one or both hands, and he has got to look at what he is doing. So a person is losing both hands and his eyes while operating a motor vehicle. It doesn't get much worse than that."

Read more...

Local cyclist Roddy George has created some pretty cool stickers.  These stickers would be cool gifts to your cycling buddies and would be great additions to your cycling sticker collection on your car.  You can purchase the stickers via Pay Pal by clicking on the image.  Roddy will mail the stickers to you or if you're giving it as a gift, to another address.

To view additional items that others have for sale, please visit the Classifieds section of the site.

Win a spot to race in the Tour TransAlp from SIGMA SPORT          

SIGMA USA is proud to announce a contest where one lucky rider can win an all expense paid trip to Germany and entrance into the Tour TransAlp.  The Tour TransAlp is one of the toughest and most grueling bike races for amateur riders; 7 stages and approximately 20,000 vertical meters of climbing. If you have what it takes to participate, let us know why you should win the coveted spot on team US SIGMA ROX.

I'd like to introduce a new sponsor to the AlabamaCyclingNews.com website, the Moontoast/Tristar Cycling Team and to PodiumFinishTraining.org.  Mercury Bicycles!

Mercury Bicycles produces extremely high quality wheels and bicycles.  The products are being used by the Kenda Professional Cycling Team as well as several teams across the U.S.

The mission statement (paraphrased by the writer) of the owner, Chris Mogridge, is to provide high quality products to people and not rake them over the coals or charge a premium.  Essentially, give people high quality products without taking advantage of them.

www.daddymart.com is now open!  Daddymart sells a variety of cycling related goods:  bikes, wheels, tires, tubes, nutritional products, clothing, etc!  The site is still a "work in progress" and new product is being added daily and site enhancements are being made daily.

Take advantage of the Grand Opening sale with an additional 15% off everything...including bikes and wheels!  Shipping is a flat $10.

Gift certificates are available!  Sale ends soon.

Save your behind...put this in your stocking for the holidays!

Are you looking to buy that sweet new Trek bike or that fast looking Pinarello?  Look no further!  Check out Alabama's newest and coolest bikeshop!  Owned and operated by cyclsts and racers who know exactly what you need!

www.daddymart.com is coming soon!  The site will be an online bicycle store featuring top brand products!  If you're on Face Book, join our group and become a fan.  Fans and group members will get first "dibs" on Daddy Deals, closeouts and sale prices.

Join the Group!

Never lean your bike against your wall again!  If you're at a bike event, never again risk leaning your bike up against your car, tree or a sign, only to have it topple over and put a dent or crack in the frame.  The stands are made in America!  The stands were designed and produced by a local cyclist here in Birmingham!  You can order the stands directly from the EZ Bike Products website!

Be sure to put Sigma Sport products such as, lights, heart rate monitors and cycling computers, on your holiday wish list!  Sigma makes some great products.  One of the newest and coolest additions to their line up is the Sigma Rox 8.0 and 9.0 cycling computers.  With these computers, you can track your riding time and distance, heart rates, altitude and elevation gains.  You can download these computers and you can get a profile of the epic ride that you just finished up.  Check out the Sigma Sport website.  Check out the latest product press release!

Jimmy Tracy, owner of Tracy's Restaurant, has been trying to get Publix grocery stores to carry his frozen casseroles.  Jimmy has been and continues to be a long time supporter of cycling.  Let's return the favor.  This Saturday, Publix grocery stores are having "Meet the Managers" day.  Please, stop by the stores, meet the managers and request that Tracy's Casseroles be stocked in the store!  This is a simple gesture that helps us (the cycling community) give back to a long time supporter.

You're got this saddle sore that has grown on you, literally. It has established such a persistent presence that you decided to name it Chewbacca. You've heard of several home remedies to get rid of Chewbacca, but do they really work?

Read more....

The following is a quick Q and A with J.C., a new rep with Echappe, on how the race wheel rental program works and how it can be of benefit to you.

How does the program work?

Works like a charm!  What happens is you can take a look at our stock on the website, RaceWheelRental.com or give me a shout.  We have an awesome range from triathalon/time trial wheels, cyclocross wheels (BamaCross!!!  Take notes!), road wheels, and track wheels (I'm most excited about renting these!!!)  You decide what wheels you want, when you want them, you can pay online with credit card or Paypal, and the wheels are shipped to you to use and return.

Check out this innovative product, made by a small start up company, that will make your next night ride safer.  This vest has about 20 LED lights that will make you visible for about 1 mile in any direction!  I bet if you did the research on bike versus car fatilities and incidents, the number 1 excuse from the driver would probably be, "I didn't see them (because I was distracted by my GPS, phone, etc)".  Remove any possility of this excuse.   You get 20 LED lights for under $50!  The person selling these vests will give cyclists a discount.  Simpy email me and I'll provide you with his contact e-mail for you to contact him.  The price for the entire vest with 20 LED lights is around the same price paid for one LED light that most of us have mounted on our seatpost, which is obscurred by our saddle bag. 

This vest will be the cheapest life insurance you'll ever buy!

I have been using this software for years.  If you use a power meter, you MUST have this software.  This software breaks your power data into readable and usable information.  You won't get a graph with a bunch of squiggly lines.  You'll get graphs that tell you your power to weight ratio.  You'll get graphs that will tell you "this is your current time trial power for 10 minutes".  Most power meters will load directly into this software.  After playing around with it for a day or two, the software is definitely easy to use and understand.

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...

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.

Read more...

As I've studied more about the bike fitting process, I begin to notice "things" as people ride there bike-especially if I'm riding behind them.  One of these "things" is the knee wobble. 

A common pedaling style that I have noticed is that on the down stroke, the knee will buckle to the inside.  Then, on the upstroke, the knee will go back to "normal".  If you assume that most people ride at approximately 90 revolutions per minute, this is 5,400 times a hour this occurs.  This side-to-side wobble is highly inefficient and can lead to knee problems.The reason this happens is that most people have a slight tilt in the foot.  For most people, there is a small gap on the inside of the foot.  A good way to illustrate this is to stand on one foot and then bend at the knee.  Watch as your knee buckles inwards.  This happens because the floor is flat and there is a gap between the foot and the floor.  As you apply pressure, the foot rolls to meet the flat surface.

We've all heard the saying "Go hard or go home!"  Well, I'll modify the saying and say "Go hard when you're at home!".  With the heart of winter settling in and the frigid temperatures and rainy weather keeping us indoors, we're becoming too close with our trainers. 

Too often people simply get on the trainer and just ride and complain of boredom!  No longer.  Get on the trainer and have a plan.  Plan to go hard.  Not all out hard as if you're racing, but hard enough to meet your goals.  For example, if you're in the middle of your base period "Zone 3 Tempo" is in order.  If you're at the end of your base period "Zone 4 Threshold" is in order.  Both done in big gears and low cadences for muscle strength development.

Thinking about skipping your workout? Just give me 20 minutes! 

The summer has ended and early fall is here.  Road racing season is winding down and 'cross and the "century season" is cranking up.  For many, this is the time of the year where you are the fittest and the leanest and it only goes "down hill" for the season from here.

Stop by Gravlee Fitness (Mountain Brook) and let Lee Gravlee give you a complimentary body fat analysis so that you can see where you are.  This way, if you are super lean, you'll know what you need to achieve next year.  Or, conversely, if your performance wasn't what you wanted it to be this year, you can see how much weight you need to lose over the winter (the winter is the time to drop weight).

For details on the free testing and for details on personal training, email Lee at lgravlee@gravleefitness.com

Now that the heat of the summer has shown itself, hydration and electrolyte replenishment is even more crucial for maximal exercise performance and for health and safety in general.  Below are several great resources on training in the heat and humidity.  These will not only keep your "engine" running at maximum capacity, but could also keep you alive!

Anytime I hear a comment about leg length (LL) early in the fitting process from a cyclist, I ask “Do you have something in your walking or running shoes for a leg LL discrepancy?”  The vast majority of replies are “No.”  The next question is “Did someone tell you that there is a LL difference?”  This leads to more questions and answers throughout the process.  

Why do people come for a bike fit thinking they need something for their apparent leg LL difference but in many cases they have not addressed LL in their walking or running shoe? I am sure there are many reasons for this answer but this is one comment that gets us thinking.   For those of us that do address LL issues/discrepancies there are solutions. Check out our tip which shows an easy solution for this issue.  

Read more....

In a recent study a group of researchers managed to separate the normal fat-burning effects produced by exercise and compare them to what happens when green tea is drunk before the exercise.¹

The two-part study featured 12 young men, average age 26. In the first part they took a capsule containing ingredients equivalent to 3 1/2 cups of green tea three times a day, the last one hour before exercise. Other subjects got a placebo containing corn flour. The exercise consisted of 30 minutes of cycling at an intensity equal to 60 percent of maximum heart rate—low-intensity exercise that past studies have shown is optimal for fat oxidation. In the second part of the study 11 of the men took an oral glucose-tolerance test before and after taking green tea capsules.

Read more.... 

Muscle mass is 'metabolic' in the sense that it requires energy to maintain it and it does use some fat at rest. More muscle uses more fat. Before you consider adding muscle mass as a way of using more fat daily however, you should consider how much muscle you'd need to add. Let's say you wanted to add enough muscle to use one pound of fat per month. The following a quick calculation is full of approximations borrowed from Wikipedia.  Don't think of this as a rigorous bit of science, but just a ball-park estimate.

(My (Travis) side note:  Muscle gain may not be as effective at fat loss, but the strength gained from weight training will improve performance.  Visit Lee Gravlee at Gravlee Fitness for additional details on strength training without weight gain.)

Read more....

A few weeks ago, I asked Chris Storie at Cahaba Cycles in Pelham to give me a bike fit and to take me through the process of how he does bike fits.  I have been riding since 1993, so I have had a few fits in my day.  I found Chris Storie's method and technique to be so different from the other fits that I've had, I felt compelled to tell you about it.

Why Wait?  Weight Training for Cycling  Ok, I am not a professional cyclist. But, if you listen, your cycling will improve significantly.  I have been beating my head for years trying get cyclists to understand that you can lift weights and improve performance.  Remember when they used to say that about football, baseball players, and golfers. If those athletes lifted weights, then they lost flexibility, became too muscle bound, increased the chance of injury and it was a detriment to sports performance.  Yeah, look at Tiger Woods-  I would say he is a pretty dominate force and can rep out with 315 on bench press and hit a drive about 500 yards.  All colleagic Athletes lift weights (from volleyball to tennis players to distance runners…..) So, why not cyclists?  It’s coming my friend.

To offer an alternative to Tuesday Night Worlds, Team CCR will be holding race paced rides out at Oak Mtn State Park starting Tues. March 30th. 

 Rides are every Tuesday, 5:45, leaving the South trail head parking lot by the BUMP shed. We will have a neutral roll out to warm up till we get to the main gate, and then we will let the festivities begin.  It is a drop ride, but holding this in the park will allow you to catch back on if you are dropped. 

 Our hope is that as it grows and the days grow longer we will include a climb up Peavine, and maybe if the washout ever dries out go up and over the climb at the back gate.  Thanks for posting it and I will let you know how it goes.

Mike (mkcdgarner@ gmail.com)

The Watermelon Ride is starting again tomorrow and will be a weekly event, every Wednesday night through the end of the season. Come out to Oak Mountain and ride with the Malki's and Cahaba Cycles for a fun, friendly group ride. Social and beginner friendly.

Event: Novice Ride - Watermelon Ride
Date: 3/17/2010
Time: 5:30 PM
Category: Road Rides
Location: Oak Mountain State Park - South Trailhead Parking Lot
Description:
For More information, contact Barbara at Cahaba Cycles in Pelham 987-4043

The following link will provide you with information as to what the Birmingham Bike League (BBL) is all about.  You'll also see how points are determined and the various competitions.  Read more...

Please help make Alabama Cycling News a highly useful resource and enter in your ride and event information so that people can easily find out what is going on.  My goal is to make access and finding information super easy.  No longer will you have to do endless web searches to find the information you need and want.  However, I need your help.  To enter an event, you'll no longer have to login into the site to do so.  As a precaution, your event won't immediately display.  I'll have to approve the event to make sure that unscrupulous "hackers" don't enter inappropriate material.  Click on the link and you can get started.

 

Birmingham Bike League Ride Details for December

Birmingham Bike League 2009-2010

From the Bham Velo Website:

12/1 Points kick-off this Saturday! The first few weeks have flown by, and now it’s time for the first ride with attack zones. We are trying two new things this year: separate women/cat 5/non-cat attack zones and a new handicapped point system. I am working on the best “plain-english” description of how it will work, and I will link to it here shortly. Check back soon for more details.

Well it's here! The BBL starts up on Saturday November 14th. We will kick off the ride from BBC at 9 am. Now you get to enjoy some great long, cold Fall and Winter rides along with my poor grammar and punctuation. This year Terry Duran, Brian Toone and I have really put some details into the rides. 

We have an all new point system that is weighted heavier for all category ride to be a threat overall. The higher your CAT ranking, the harder it is to win big points therefore a great day by a CAT 3 or 5 or an unranked rider could result in them taking the lead in the points series. We will also have "Attack Zone" dedicated to just the CAT 3,4,5 and unranked, it's you guys chance to battle it out! We will also have a Climber and Sprinters jersey to sport.

Trent Paul is putting on a weekly "Urban Assault" ride in Birmingham.  To see the details of the ride, visit the ride calendar at this link.  This ride will go on every Thursday night.  Contact Trent for more information.

Bill Seitz (weseitz@hotmail.com) will be leading rides for "junior" riders (18 years old and younger).  The rides begin today (July 27th) and will be the second and fourth Mondays of each month.  The ride will leave at 6 p.m. from the soccer fields on South Lakeshore Drive in Homewood.

The rides are geared toward teaching skills such as riding in a pack, pace lining, pack etiquitte, riding in traffic, etc, etc.  These rides are geared toward building skills first and fitness second.

Check out the bike stand by EZ Bike Products.  This stand is really convenient at home and while going to bike events.  Forward this link to the people that have you on their holiday shopping list!  Buy this for a cycling buddy of yours!

Have you ever needed a pair of aero wheels for a time trial or climbing wheels for a road race, but didn't quite have the budget or the justification for buying a pair?  Have you ever wondered how a pair of $2,000 wheels really ride before dropping the "Benjamins"?  Finally, there is a solution! 

J.C. Gillepsie is working with Echappe Equipment to bring you the ability to rent race wheels and equipment for an event or simply to get a weekend's worth of test riding on a pair of wheels.  If you're looking for that "edge", give Echappe Equipment a try!

Janis Randall is a fellow cyclist here in Birmingham.  She owns Compounding Solutions.  Compounding Solutions is a specialized type of pharmacy where, in addition to regular prescription medicines, they "compound" medicines to meet unique needs that you may have.

Dan Taylor, owner of Infinity Med-I-Spas has been a very important contributor to cycling over the years.  Without going into too much detail, some of the races that we have enjoyed have been because of some very important financial contributions.  Give back this holiday season and consider purchasing a gift certificate to give to your family and friends.

Thanksgiving and Christmas will soon be upon us.  While doing your holiday meal planning, please consider using Tracy's Cafeteria for your catering needs.  Jimmy has been a long time supporter of cycling.  He has donated meals and post race food to countless events over the years.  You can call Jimmy for catering or simply stop by his restaurant in Cresline Village for a quick lunch.  In addition, Jimmy sells his caseroles in the local Piggy Wiggly stores.  If you will need to cater some holiday meals, go ahead and reserve with Jimmy now before he gets booked.

Jennifer Schuble absolutely crushed the competition this past summer in Beijing and brought home several medals.  She now has a website up and running.  Please, take a moment to visit her site and check out all of her accomplishments.

Kenny strapped his camera to his handlebars and made this video descending from Unicoi Gap at the 2008 Six Gap Century.  His top speed for the ride was around 60 mph. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQsQHaMdlPE

Darrell O'quinn's journey at River Gorge 2008