BikeRumor.com

Video above is their promo teaser.  Video after the break shows maps with stage start/finish locations.

FROM ANDREAS HESTLER / BC BIKE RACE: With some pretty big changes under our belt in 2009, many people have been wondering what’s in store for the 2010 BC Bike Race…

Well, the 2010 course is dialed already and we are completely stoked to share it with you! Our lead moto man, Dave Norona, has been capturing preview videos of the brand new 2010 course routes and area highlights. With Dave’s creative touches, these vids are going to make for some amazing eye candy!!!

We’re releasing them on our website starting now and over the next few months as we roll into 2010.

The Inside Track: 2010 Course Changes

Of course we’re going to be serving up even more of our classic BC singletrack in 2010!

AND, we’ve eliminated the super-early wake up to catch the ferry on Day 4…now you’re in for another day of spectacular singletrack riding instead!

Day 4 will start with a reasonable hour ferry ride to Powell River in the morning, followed by a race start right out of the ferry terminal. You’ll ride some of the finest singletrack trails that Powell River has to offer and then spend the night in this welcoming community on the Sunshine Coast. This is going to be an amazing addition to the 2010 route and we can’t wait for you to see it! Watch for one of Norona’s videos featuring the brand new Day 4…coming soon!

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Andreas over at Londoncyclist.co.uk sent us a list he’s compiled of 10 cheap and easy bike projects for the do-it-yourselfer. Check out his list here.  It has some neat project ideas like this bike rack idea using Stolmen posts from Ikea found on ikeahacker.com.

Besides a few different types of bike racks, he’s also included: how to make a bike trailer, how to make a camera mount, how to make your bike bright (!), and how to build a bike stand.

A memorial ride for David Sherman will ride out this Sunday, November 15, at 1:30pm from the Fitness Center at High Point Regional Hospital in downtown High Point, NC.

Sherman was struck down on Saturday, October 24, by a hit-and-run driver while on a road ride.  The driver, Grayson Dawson, was eventually found after continuing to drive the vehicle with a smashed windshield, blood and hair for days after the accident. She stated she hit a deer.  Thanks to witnesses and concerned citizens, Dawson was eventually charged with felony hit and run and death by motor vehicle.  What makes the story even sadder is that she was driving with a revoked license and had existing warrants out for her arrest for failure to appear in court more than two years ago.  The final kick in the gut comes from the fact that she’s free on an unsecured bail of just $5,000.

The memorial ride is free, but contributions to Yield to Life will be accepted in David’s name.  More details on the ride can be found here, and you can read our local paper’s OpEd story on the tragic accident here.

For 2010, Lynskey changed up the geometry a bit and put a curve in the top tube to increase fork clearance on their popular Ridgeline 29er frame.

With the geometry, they raised the BB height a tiny bit and slackened the headtube from 0.5º to 1º to shorten the trail of the fork.  Before, they were very quick handling, so the head angle changes help increase stability and give them a more controlled feel.

It’s a formed, cold-worked Ti tubeset, but doesn’t get the Helix tubing and butting of the Pro29, allowing them to offer a more recession-friendly Ti 29er.  Hit ‘more’ for additional photos, specs, pricing, weights and availability…

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Camelbak video on how to beat the heat with hydration, featuring Team Garmin-Slipstream and Dr. Allen Lin.

Trail construction on our new Blue Heron trail continues this Saturday, November 14, starting at 8:30am.  Check out biketriad.com for deets or become a fan of the GFTS on facebook.

Oh, and those meteor showers, they actually peak just before dawn on November 18, 2009. Starting in the evening on November 17 and continuing to approximately 8:00 AM on November 18, the meteor shower will be in its most active phase. Scientists predict that large shooting stars will streak across the sky every few minutes at the height of the shower, to take place between 12:30 and 2:30 AM in California.

Because the new moon occurs on November 16th, the sky will be quite dark for the Leonid, making the shower storms more visible to the naked eye and making it possible to see lighter streaks more clearly. Shooting stars will be visible until dawn, at about 5:00 AM.

More info on that here.

This is Linda.  She just won the Triathlete Magazine Swimsuit Competition and will be whisked away to Montego Bay, Jamaica to be a part of the 2010 Triathlete Magazine swimsuit shoot.

This year, she and the other models will stay at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay. The resort features luxurious guestrooms with private balconies and terraces overlooking the sapphire-blue waters of the Caribbean. The hotel also features a championship golf course, spa and gourmet dining.

All for looking (ridiculously) good in a bathing suit.  Well played, Linda.  Well played.

Check out the all the runners up here.  And before anyone gets their spandex in a bunch, there are men entered in the contest, too.

“Official Bicycle-jousting lane”

“Finnish signage” photo and caption by Matt Biddulph.

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Fox Racing Shox is now accepting sponsorship applications for the 2010 mountain bike season.  Here’s what they’re looking for:

• What discipline are you requesting sponsorship for?
• What level are you racing at?
• Goals for the 2010 season and beyond.
• Accomplishments/results from the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
• Race schedule for the 2010 season.
• What do you do to help the sport grow?
• How do you plan to represent Fox Racing Shox?
• Include photos.
• Keep it to one or two pages. Short and to the point.
• Make sure to provide a return address and phone number.

Just complete the online request form here, or print and mail it to: Fox Racing Shox, Attention: Mountain Bike Race Program, 130 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076 USA.

St. Louis, MO, has kicked off its Complete Streets initiative by renovating a six-block section of South Grand Blvd.  A part of its Great Streets program, all modes of transportation, from cycling to walking to driving to riding the bus, are given equal access and the same priority.

Wired Magazine reports:

St. Louis is adopting complete streets with great fanfare. The proposal for South Grand Boulevard — shown here in renderings by Design Workshop, the principal architect — changes the width of the street by building corner bulb outs at intersections and widening the sidewalks. It also changes from four to two (with a center turn lane) the number of traffic lanes, closes two alleys to vehicular traffic and changes the timing of traffic lights.

The goal of the project is to increase pedestrian safety while maintaining traffic flow, enhance the appearance of the street, and provide more opportunities for economic development. Local officials were so pleased with the outcome of the 30-day trial that they decided to make the temporary changes permanent (.pdf). The city has seen the number of accidents decline with no loss in the efficiency of traffic flow.

“I was concerned about getting 25,000 cars a day through at Grand and Arsenal,” Alderman Steve Conway told the Architect, referring to two streets that cross South Grand Boulevard. “And now, we’re getting the cars through, and we’ve slowed the traffic.”

Even better, it has 10-to-1 approval among locals, which makes it likely the program will continue and expand.  You can read the full article here, or check out CompleteStreets.org for more info or to get something started in your neck of the woods.

Cadbury Canada announced this week the delivery of 5,000 bikes to children in Ghana, Africa as part of its innovative consumer promotion called The Bicycle Factory. The bikes will reach more than 200 communities in central and southern Ghana and will provide access to education to thousands of kids who would normally be at risk of not going to school.

In addition to providing kids with a reliable form of transportation to get to school, the bikes will also provide each community with access to water sources and medical care. Many of the 216 communities are part of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, a ground-breaking program established in 2008 to help the social, economic and environmental sustainability of approximately 1 million cocoa farms.

“Cadbury has been rooted in Ghana for more than a century and through this program, we are directly impacting the lives of children and the farming communities that help provide the cocoa beans that go directly into our Cadbury chocolate,” says Gary Scullion, General Manager, Cadbury Canada. “Each bike also represents the good will and support of thousands of Canadians who were instrumental in helping us achieve our goal, and who were inspired to help make a difference a half world away.”

Delivering Hope and a Future
Cadbury worked closely with World Vision Ghana, Care, the Voluntary Services Organization and the Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia to ensure the effective distribution of the bicycles. With the need for bikes great in all regions, the team identified the children most at risk were those that walked a minimum of 3 km to school each day. The bikes are also specially designed for the African terrain. They are equipped with a single gear and mud guards, have a basket for carrying books, and have a sturdy carrier to also help carry little brothers and sisters to school.

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“Sunrise” by dickdavid. Check out his blog suburbanassult.org.

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BIKERUMOR.com REVIEW: It’s that time of year again, when our best efforts to get a ride in after reading Bikerumor.com all day at the office is rewarded with total darkness. The solution: Night riding, of course!  We’ve been testing this light since early May, and have lots of night rides (and some competitive use at the BURN 24 Hour Challenge) on it with several riders. Here’s our Light & Motion Seca 400 review.

The Seca 400 is where Light & Motion’s Seca line starts.  There’s also a 700 and 900 available in both normal and ‘Ultra’ versions, with the number referring to the Lumens output and the ‘Ultra’ models simply getting a 50% larger battery.  Actually, for 2009, the 400 was upgraded to 425 lumens, but kept the “400″ name.

The Seca 400 has lots to like:  Three modes (400 / 200 / 100 lumens) plus flashing mode, a “Race” mode that lets you switch only between High and Low so you can make quick changes during climbs or descents during a race, it’s lightweight and bright enough to get you through the trails quickly.  So, is it right for you?  Read on for the full review…

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OK, actually, you won’t see it ALL here, yet.  We’ve still got a number of posts to do, but we think we have the biggest collection of bicycle, component, clothing and gear coverage anywhere.  See that big Interbike button up on the top right of our site?  Click on it (or just click here) and you’ll get the full list.  We’re adding more and will update the list again when we’re done, but there’s plenty to see!

“H+Son” by = Jake =. This photo was taken with the 3G iphone, wow.

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