Free Republic

Where I live outside of Lansing, there are new bike paths sporting shiny asphalt, but the roads are crumbling. Motorists might be surprised to learn that of the 18.4 cents per gallon of federal gas tax they pay at the pump, only about 11 cents goes to maintain highways and bridges. According to federal law, about 10 percent of federal highway funds must be used for projects such as highway beautification and transportation museums. According to a new National Center for Policy Analysis report, “Paying for Pet Projects at the Pump,” the Federal Highway Administration also allocates gas tax revenues...

The residents, quaintly enough also known as taxpayers, don't want that island. They have formed their own ironic offspring known as Local Taxpayers for a Livable Community, distinguished from TLC by the fact that they are not funded but, in fact, are the funders. My hope for LTLC is that they are not too late in the sense that a wild horse has already left the barn. Let us understand our civics, shall we? The people who pay the bills, the taxpayers, watch, seemingly helplessly, as millions of dollars in federal funds - their money - is won by outfits...

A few months ago, I received a phone call from a cyclist with an incredible story about an incident in Lawrence County, Ohio. Because the cyclist-a guy named Tony Patrick-was in need of an attorney, I hooked him up with Steve Magas, a contributing author to Bicycling & the Law, and a well-known bicycling attorney in Ohio. After hearing Tony's story, Steve took his case. More about that later; first, let me tell you about Tony. Weekdays, Tony runs his small construction company in Huntington, West Virginia. Weeknights, and weekends, Tony, a Cat 2 racer, can often be found hanging...

Politicians will usually kick off an election campaign with a rousing speech, a meet-and-greet handshaking session or a nice photo opportunity kissing a baby. Unless, of course, they are Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who joined a biker gang and led them on a testosterone-fuelled motorcade. Over-revving the engine as he sat astride a three-wheeled Harley Davidson, the former KGB tough man looked both ludicrous and very much at home in the latest of macho stunts that have punctuated his political career.

BANFF, Alta. - One of the most popular hiking and biking trails in Banff National Park is bringing in restrictions at the height of the summer tourist season due to fears of bear attacks. The Lake Minnewanka Trail has been a favourite haunt for hikers and mountain bikers for decades. There are over three million visitors to the park each year and many of them take to the 32-kilometre trail northeast of the Banff townsite.Until Sept. 15, it will be mandatory for hikers to travel in groups of at least four. At least one of the individuals will be required...

It was a typical early summer evening in Portland: cloudy skies threatening rain, temperatures in the mid-60s, and thousands of naked bicyclists gathered near the city's waterfront for a clothing-free night ride. The Portland version of the World Naked Bike Ride was about to begin. "It is the most liberating, natural feeling possible," said Brooklyn Jay, who came all the way from Phoenix for the ride. World Naked Bike Ride is a globally observed event among hard-core bikers designed, at least ostensibly, to promote the use of the bicycle for transportation. But Portland cyclists have been especially adamant about making...

Please excuse this shameless vanity. A family member is co-creator of a new "reality" show about NYC bike messengers -- "Triple Rush" debuts at 10 p.m. tonight on the Travel Channel. If you like bike riding, bike messengers, New York City, or just reality shows, this may be for you! Preview is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sslzevxwpg&feature=related

When hell breaks loose, a car is a very limited beast. It can carry a lot of stuff or multiple people, but your car is easy to put out of commission - picture a car with more than one flat tire. Cars run out of gas (even idling can use as much as one gallon per hour). Cars break down. And cars can be blocked by debris somewhere very close to your start point, leaving you a long way to go on foot, with no way to carry anything substantial. But what about bikes? You can get just about anywhere...

All do respect to Andy Schleck but Fabian Cancellara is a two time winner of Paris Roubaix, the defending champion at the Tour of Flanders and is a four-time World Time Trial Champion. With credentials like that, Cancellara should be just as big a cog in the Leopard Trek machine as Schleck (if not bigger) and I wanted to know how the move was going to affect him?

Washington (CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board Tuesday called on states to require all motorcycle riders wear helmets. The announcement, made at a news conference in Washington, is part of the NTSB's "Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety" -- an initiative directed at state governments. The board added motorcycle safety to the list this year and dropped recreational boating safety -- an area it said improvements have been made.

This is an absolute, total, complete, maybe-you're-wasting-your-time vanity! But if you've not read it, I would ABSOLUTELY, 100%, suggest that you find, borrow, buy or steal "A Boy's Life", by Robert McCammon. I really can't explain it. You'd just have to read it. And if you do and you enjoy it, I'd love to get a FreepMail from you about your experience. I've gotten my wife, two kids, dad and mom...all of them to read it... And really...it's an terrific trip. C

BARTONVILLE — Area bicyclists have launched a statewide petition drive, hoping to keep other cities from adopting rules like Bartonville’s new ordinance, which limits the size of bicycling groups riding through town. More than 2,000 people have signed the petition denouncing the ordinance, according to Robin Stallings, executive director of Bike Texas. The petition went online Aug. 25. About 20 percent of the signatures were gathered at the Hotter’N Hell Hundred bike races in Wichita Falls last weekend. “Most of those names are from North Texas,” Stallings said. The group plans to leave the petition up a while longer, since...

It's a bike-a-thon built for two. On Saturday, Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Scott Brown, R-Mass., will ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge, which raises money for cancer research. Apparently biking is how the two senators bond, according to the Associated Press. Kerry told the AP that he and the junior senator from Massachusetts will "just go out and have a good morning exercise ride." Brown said he prefers biking over having dinner or beers with Kerry. (Though we know Brown does go to the bar, being spotted several times at the Dubliner).

Police: Bikes Stolen From Jenna Bush Hager's Home Sat Jun 19 BALTIMORE – Baltimore police say two bicycles were stolen from the home of Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of former President George W. Bush. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says no one was at the house owned by Bush Hager and her husband when the burglary occurred Friday afternoon. He says there is no indication that whoever burglarized the home knew who lived there. Fingerprint evidence was taken, but no suspects have been identified. The bikes worth about $3,500 combined were taken from a garage, and no entry was made...

PARIS (AFP) – Bikes used at the Tour de France will be scanned to make sure they do not contain illegal motors, the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced on Friday. The move comes following rumours that Fabian Cancellara used 'mechanical doping' during his victories in the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix, which the Swiss Olympic time-trial champion strongly denied. "The members of the management committee discussed issues concerning equipment used in road competitions and decided that it was necessary to bolster measures that have already been put in place (in particular the visual inspection of bicycles, a procedure that...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Many Pittsburghers joined people all around the nation today by keeping their cars parked and taking their bicycles to work instead. It's all a part of National Bike to Work Day. "I bike from Friendship, and then I just usually head down Liberty, cross over to Penn Ave. when I get down into the Strip and I work at the Regional Enterprise Tower," said Jake Baechle, a bicyclist. Baechle says biking is about more then just saving on gas money. "It saves a lot of money, saves on gas, and it's good for the environment and it's...

Happy Earth Day from Obama to all those New York bike riders! Obama has no idea what he just got himself into. Someone sent this photo to the blog This Is FYF, which reports that “citing security concerns that bikes might be secret pipe bombs, NYPD officers clipped the locks of hundreds of bikes along Houston Street this morning in preparation for President Obama’s speech at Cooper Union. The bikes were unceremoniously put in the back of the truck. Onlookers were not given information as to what would become of the bikes. Happy Earth Day!”

On a windy Monday night, Pete’s Candy Store—a bar in Williamsburg with a railcar-shaped performance space in the back—is crammed to capacity with the thin and the bearded. Almost no one is drinking. The mood is pregame, expectant and nervous. We’re at one of the oddest New York City powwows in recent memory: a panel designed to quell a metastasizing dispute between bicyclists and Hasidic Jews. Except no Hasids are present. For a moment, it looks like the bicyclists will have to debate themselves. At immediate issue is the Bedford Avenue bike lane. It’s the longest in Brooklyn and runs...

By the end of May this year, Nanjing will first deliver public bicycles in Zhongshan Mausoleum scenic spot and the Hexi New Town. The bicycle for hire is free in 1 hour, and will charge some fees for more than 1 hour. With the city growing in size and population, traffic is becoming a more serious problem. To deal with this problem, the city government will provide free bicycles. There are four benefits: First, the public can save travel costs. Providing bikes in scenic spots will greatly facilitate tourists. Otherwise, visitors only can rely on foot or by taxi and...

When Munzer Diyya wants to get away from it all, he sits astride his motorcycle and takes to the open road -- all 45 kilometres of it. Diyya has the misfortune of being an open road enthusiast living in the Gaza Strip, a tiny territory sandwiched between Israel and Egypt and blockaded by both. So when he and his buddies gun their engines and head out on the highway, they are reduced to riding only the length of the impoverished and overcrowded Palestinian enclave -- a mere 45 kilometres (28 miles). "I ride slowly to make it last longer," Diyya...

Deputy Garrison Chaplain Lt. Col. Doug Wootten helps carry two of 106 bicycles that were purchased through the efforts of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Battalion on Fort Huachuca. (Ed Honda • Herald/Review) FORT HUACHUCA — For six years, those who are involved in the unmanned aerial systems program at the Black Tower area of the post have been purchasing and putting together trikes and bikes to be given to children of soldiers as Christmas presents. This year, the largest number of the two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicles  — 106 of them — were presented to the Post Chaplain’s Outreach Ministries on...

Iraqi Police work to assemble their bicycles during training at the Kirkuk Police Academy, Nov. 15. This group will be the first to graduate and become bicycle police officers in Kirkuk City. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor, 1st Cavalry Division. KIRKUK — Iraqi Police (IP) officers recently attended the Bicycle Police Course at the Police Academy here, part of an ongoing effort to establish better policing practices in the city. Many of the police officers had never seen or heard of a bicycle cop before, but soon they themselves will be the first group to begin operating as Bicycle Police...

WILSONVILLE -- Members of the Brother Speed outlaw motorcycle club rolled into a bloody 26-bike crash on Interstate 5 north Friday afternoon, south of Wilsonville. "When we arrived on scene, it was ordered mayhem," said Lt. Mike Towner of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. "There were ... two dozen motorcycles scattered across the freeway." Two bikers with critical injuries were flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center and OHSU Hospital in Portland. Seven other crash victims with less serious injuries were taken by ambulance. Northbound lanes at Milepost 282, near the Baldock Rest Area, were shut...

TLC American Chopper's Episode guide indicates that next week (April 30) Governor Sarah Palin will be featured in the show (don't know how extensive): American Chopper Unique Machine Bike TV-PG Apr 30, 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (60 minutes) Season 6Ep 4: Sr. takes a trip up to Alaska to research a bike and ends up meeting with Governor Sarah Palin. Then it's off to Finland in an attempt to bring OCC to Europe.

BAGHDAD – A Soldier with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division delivered a special cargo of bicycles to a group of Iraqi children in the Sha’ab neighborhood of northeastern Baghdad Oct. 12.Staff Sgt. Fernando Diaz, a squad leader, was leading a patrol of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from the 3rd BCT, 4th Inf., Div., around Joint Security Station Sha’ab as a defensive measure against the deadly threat of improvised rocket-assisted mortars, when he stopped to unload his supply of six bikes to some very happy Iraqi children.“Our primary mission is...

COCOA — Local motorcycle builder Billy Lane turned himself in at 1 p.m. today in connection with a fatal accident Sept. 4. Among the charges Lane faces are driving under influence, manslaughter and driving with his license suspended. Lane, 36, arrived with his lawyers at the Florida Highway Patrol office on State Road 520. FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller said Lane’s blood alcohol level was .192 when the accident occurred on State Road A1A south of Melbourne Beach. She said bond would be set at $15,000. Investigators have said Lane was trying to pass two other vehicles on a double-yellow-lined stretch...

CROSBY TOWNSHIP -- A bicycle outing turned deadly when two people were struck and killed by an oncoming car on New Haven Road near Crosby Road on Sunday. At about 11:15 a.m., deputies said Anthony Gerike, 25, of Batavia, lost control of his Geo Tracker and drove left of center and head-on into a group of 10 cyclists that was traveling westbound. Gerike's car continued to travel out of control and also hit a Chevrolet Cavalier that was traveling behind the group. Two bikers, 51-year-old Amy Gehring of Cincinnati and 53-year-old Terry Walker of Fairfield, were pronounced dead at the...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-11-pastimes-childhood_x.htm

(Roethlisberger)Crash reinforces Granholm's stance on helmets, spokesman says By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER If Michigan motorcyclists who like the feel of wind blowing through their hair were hoping to persuade Gov. Jennifer Granholm to change her mind about keeping the state's helmet law, yesterday's Pittsburgh crash involving Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came at an inopportune time. "This is an example of why the governor is concerned about safety," Liz Boyd, a gubernatorial spokesman, said yesterday. A bill allowing most adult motorcyclists to ride without helmets that passed the Michigan House last week - after earlier approval by the state...

I would challenge you democtatic underground lurkers (or a freeper with a DU account) to post this over there and see what sort of repsonses come from the left... I keep hearing how oil dependent we are and how higher consumption is driving up prices... I hear how it is adversely affecting 75% of americans, It seems like if that was the case, 75% of americans would cut the amount they use! I know I cant be the only person in america that has drastically cut the amount of fuel I use over the past year. I want to know...

Easy riders, free loaders The Stockholm chapter of the Hell's Angels biker gang is under investigation for benefit fraud after police noticed that 70 per cent of its members were claiming state disability payments after being certified as depressed by the same doctor. Christer Nilsson, deputy head of Stockholm police's criminal investigation department said: "It seems to be depressing being a member of this club." The Hell's Angels have a violent reputation in Scandinavia, allegedly participating in frequent shootouts and bomb attacks. However, in recent years they are believed to have branched out into benefit and tax frauds, police said.

They’d have to stop for red lights and check for traffic but then could proceed. Street-level complaints sometimes inspire letters to lawmakers. But Sumter resident Billy “Reb� Richardson took his concern one step further. He was inspired to write a law. Richardson got tired of getting stuck at traffic lights riding around the state on his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle. His solution: Let motorcyclists drive through a red light once they have stopped and checked for traffic. Traffic lights often are triggered by sensors that pick up metal and mass when a vehicle stops on them, but some modern motorcycles...

Perhaps it was bad timing, but the annual bill allowing bikers to ride motorcycles without helmets was in committee two days after the most famous motorcycle accident in California gubernatorial history. One would presume that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger walking around the Capitol with a fat lip wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement for easing motorcyclist protection laws. The bill was ultimately killed - on the same Tuesday afternoon that Schwarzenegger sheepishly explained that he never bothered to get a motorcycle license. MLS Motorcycle riders wandering through Capitol hallways to lobby legislators took a moment to sympathize with the Harley-riding governor, even...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Lesbian motorcycle enthusiasts in San Francisco have won their fight to trademark the name "Dykes on Bikes," a lawyer for their group said on Thursday. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had denied applications by the San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent to trademark "Dykes on Bikes," arguing the phrase would be perceived as disparaging to lesbians. But the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Brooke Oliver Law Group said the word "dyke" is no longer viewed as derogatory. "Within the lesbian community that term has been reclaimed as a very positive term that denotes strength...

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) -- A 17-year-old likely will face misdemeanor charges after allegedly losing control of his car while text messaging and hitting a bicyclist. The bicyclist, Jim R. Price of Highlands Ranch, died Friday, two days after the accident. "We do not believe it was an intentional act, but it was inattentiveness to the roadway," said Lt. Alan Stanton, spokesman for Douglas County Sheriff's Office. "The investigation showed that he was text-messaging on his cell phone" at the time of the accident, said Stanton. The driver could face a charge of careless driving resulting in death, Stanton said....

By Patrick O’Grady VeloNews editor at large This report filed August 19, 2005 A few irate letter-writers have suggested that we keep politics out of cycling here at VeloNews.com, and we can see their points, once they've removed their Bush-Cheney 2004 caps. After all, the liars, cheaters and dopers infesting politics might teach cycling's liars, cheaters and dopers a few new tricks, and God knows it's already tough enough to tell who's on the up and up these days, no matter how much blood gets drawn or spilled. Still, if the daily papers are going to cover the Recreationist-in-Chief's mountain-bike...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Aug. 10, 2005 – As Lance Armstrong was winning his seventh straight Tour de France Steven Hughes was biking his way down the East Coast for charity. Hughes, a retired chief master sergeant in the Air Force, visited here July 28 while traveling from Maine to Florida by bicycle to help raise money for Homes For Our Troops, which is based out of Taunton, Maine. Hughes stopped at other military installations along the coast, and at each, he has collected money for Homes for our Troops and given away a brand new Diamond Back...

LONDON, Aug. 8 -- Zsofia Csaba, waitress at Sanctuary pub, rode subway to work every day until July 7, the day bombs exploded on three Underground trains and a bus, changing the rhythm of her life and her city. Since then, she has ridden bike, preferring not to use transit system where 52 passengers and four presumed bombers perished and 700 people were injured. One month after the terrorist attacks, London is trying to get back to normal but finding life has changed. Guests in some hotels are searched and wanded with metal detectors. Thousands of police officers patrol streets....

Joseph H. Gottschalk, whose habit of riding a bicycle while wearing only a thong brought him both local celebrity and notoriety, was found dead over the weekend in Big Bend National Park. Park officials said hikers spotted some clothing near the edge of a cliff some 30 feet from the South Rim trail Saturday afternoon. Peering down a sharp drop, the hikers saw Gottschalk’s naked body on a wide ledge about 100 feet below, park spokesman David Elkowitz said. A search-and-rescue team used pulleys to raise and retrieve Gottschalk’s corpse, and a Brewster County justice of the peace examined it...

Sporting Freepers, According to a very active three-day thread on bikeforums.net, the white barrel of a common Bic pen can be used to engage the lock pins of a series of Kryptonite-brand bicycle locks. With the right wiggling, the pen shaft can unlock the lock. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=66128&page=1&pp=25The commentary includes several videos of ordinary people (presumably in pajamas) breaking into their own locks. Incidentally, my friend has noticed a huge rise in stolen-bike alerts on Craig's list of late. I am only passing this on, I have not confirmed it personally (nor am I attempting to slander or bear witness against Kryptonite)....

In 8/2004 Popular Science there is an article about a bike that spray paints messages on the sidewalk similarly to the way skywriting is done. The interesting thing is that you send what you want printed via the web. "Kinberg will officially roll out the bike during August's Republican National Convention in New York, but he says the project is as much performance art as protest. The project homepage can be found at bikesagainstbush.com. See video of it in action in QuickTime or Real Video."

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Nancy Thickel has fond memories of the Huffy bikes she has bought over the years. The first one she used to get around as a student at Ohio State University in the 1970s. Another was an anniversary present for her husband and two more were birthday gifts for her children. One reason to buy Huffy bikes was to patronize a local company that had grown up in the city known for two famous bikemakers - Wilbur and Orville Wright. "It was all about brand awareness," said Thickel, 53, of suburban Oakwood. "It was the Dayton brand."...

Activists used their bikes to raise awareness about Austin businesses they say profit from the war in Iraq. The Central Texas Anti-Racist Action (part of the Anti-Racist Action Network) and Austin Radical Spokes Council hosted the Anti-War Bike Rally through downtown Austin. Organizers say they want to remove criminal war profiteers from the Austin area. "We are building towards a campaign that will remove these corporations from doing business in this area of the country," activist Jerry Bellow said. Dozens of demonstrators rode through downtown for several hours and ended the bike tour at the State Capitol.

When George W. Bush fell off his mountain bike and banged up his face the week before last, the world took modest note of the president's new hobby. What it did not know was that over the past three months the 57-year-old chief executive, sidelined from the fast track with runner's knee, has become so consumed by mountain biking that he now rides at least an hour a day on most weekends, and monitors his heart rate with a wrist strap during workouts. (Mr. Bush reported through his press secretary, Scott McClellan, that he sometimes gets above a chest-thumping 160...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. PHOENIX - After losing his job at the Boeing Co. in February, Curt Gnagy could have followed the out-of-work pack and fired off a stack of resumes. Instead, the 49-year-old tooling engineer left his wife and stepsons in Washington state and headed for an obscure office complex in Phoenix. Gnagy enrolled at the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, an internationally known trade school that graduates a few thousand entry-level motorcycle technicians a year. The 30-year-old school, always popular with high school grads and 20-somethings, has seen a surge in interest from laid-off manufacturing...

Why A Naked Bike Ride? Every day we are bombarded with countless messages demanding our obedience to the corporate dictates of a consumption dependent society. Little regard is paid to the future of our planet and generations left with a legacy of waste and environmental contamination. How many countless times each day do our media masters spin the same message: Unless you buy this, you are not worthy. Unless you look like this you should be ashamed. By cruising naked down the spending frenzy capitals of the world, we are saying.NO! ...a fancy new car is not a mark of...

America Bikes: Congress Set to Eliminate Bike-Pedestrian Funding; Vote Threatens Choice, Health 9/2/03 3:32:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk, Health and Transportation Reporter Contact: Martha Roskowski of America Bikes, 202-833-8080; Patrick McCormick of League of American Bicyclists, 202-822-1333; Karen Stewart of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 212-362-7272 WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a statement of America Bikes: Just days after public health researchers announced new evidence of the importance of bicycling and walking to health, Congress is set to eliminate funding for safe bicycling and walking facilities. This week the full House of Representatives is expected to vote on...

Bill would exempt bicycle riders from stopping at stop signs (Salem-AP) - A bill that has passed the House would exempt bicycle riders from coming to a full stop at stop signs and flashing red lights. They would still have to ride at a safe speed and give the right of way to vehicles or pedestrians approaching an intersection. Cyclists had complained of the inconvenience of getting in and out of toe clips at the signs and lights. The bill goes to the Senate.

We had a beautiful day for the PIttsburgh Rally for Freedom at point state park. Some early birds like Badray gathered on the remains of the ramparts of Fort Pitt between ten and eleven. My son (prisoner6sson) and I were going to take the west busway. We waited for the 10AM bus but it never came. Dittos with the 10:20. It turned out the bridge that passes over the busway near my house decided to start falling apart and so there was basically no bus service. Luckily Daughter got home from dance school with the van so we jumped in...