| PEDAL POWER: Nonprofit empowers adults, kids by helping them build and ...
To Maurice Potts, bicycles were simply large toys, good for just riding around the neighborhood, with no destination in mind. That was before the semi-retired doctor took a class two years ago to learn to build and repair bicycles at Back Alley Bikes, a nonprofit program in Detroit's Cass Corridor that teaches children and adults how to build their own bikes from scrap parts and do repairs. There, Potts discovered that for many inner-city residents who don't have access to cars and can't afford public transportation, bikes are a tool, a necessity. .
A Personal Rememberance by John Allen, League Board Member
In 1972, I was halfway home with a flat tire and walked into a bike shop that was just closing. Sheldon stayed late to fix it. That's how I first met him. There were 46 bicycles in or around his house "with a few shared wheels", by his recent count, mostly in his basement. He didn't buy bicycles off the shelf -- as a challenge to his mechanical ingenuity, and a way to spend less money and spend more time doing what he liked to do, he cobbled up customized bicycles from parts he acquired mostly through special deals, barter or secondhand, to suit himself or someone in his family. He often came up with a something unique, clever and useful. You may read about his bicycles on his Web site. He had an eye for style, but also, one or two rusty clunkers hung out by the back door getting rustier, for the quick ride to the convenience store, and several old hulks of bikes lived under the front porch.
Tournament/Camp Schedule
AUG. 18 -- O'Neil Pass/Dan Crain Memorial Road Race. Starts at Spearfish City Park, travels up O'Neil Pass and finishes on Highway 14A near the Chophouse Restaurant. Entry is $20, $10 for students. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at Spearfish City Park. Race starts at 9 a.m. For more information, call Betsy Cordes at 642-4277.SEPT. 8 — Brookings Domestic Abuse Shelter benefit ride. Departs at 7:30 a.m. from the Sioux Valley Bicycles & Fitness store in Brookings. Ride travels 17 miles to Schade Vineyard. For more information, call Sherry Oswald at 692-5022.OCT. 13 — Breat Cancer Research Foundation benefit ride. Two rides, one of 10 miles and another 25 miles in length. For more information, call Sherry Oswald at 692-5022.GolfAUG. 10 — Fellowship of Christian Athletes Four-Person Scramble. At Hart Ranch G.C., Rapid City.
Seattle street racers: Ride along with Seattle bike couriers
Jeremy Whitbred , a bike messenger for Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, makes a delivery on University Way NE Monday afternoon. Photo by Jennifer Au. Micah “Bubba" Holbrook, a bike messenger for Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, gets ready to deliver a sandwich to a student on campus. .
Interbike show -
Newly crowned time trial world champion Kristen Armstrong turned many heads as she walked the floor of Interbike in her rainbow stripes and gold medal. Cyclingnews chatted to her while she signed autographs at the Trialtir booth for TEAm Lipton's clothing sponsor Biemme. "Winning was amazing," she said. "And to have Christine Thorburn on the podium with me was incredible! I had it in my mind to win the world championships. I told myself last year when I was a bronze medalist that I had three more years before I retire." Even though TEAm Lipton's stated goal is to produce an Olympic winner, Armstrong knows how important winning worlds is to her as a cyclist. "I know that the Olympics are the pinnacle of sport in general and winning the rainbow stripes is the pinnacle of sport in cycling.
MS: teens pirate less often if aware of laws
Most teenagers pirate music, software, or videos only because they are unaware of the law, Microsoft claims through the results of a new study published today. The Zune maker observes that nearly half of younger teens, or 49 percent, are not aware of copyright laws online, while less than 10 percent feel they know the laws well. This knowledge has a major impact on whether or not they consider bootleg downloads worthy of punishment, Microsoft claims: while 57 percent said illegal downloading demanded punishment, this number climbed dramatically to 82 percent when they were more clearly aware of the laws. Clarity over the law became less ambiguous when compared to physical theft, the study reportedly shows. While only 48 percent of the teens studied thought illegal downloads merited punishment, that figure jumped to 90 percent when discussing punishment for a stolen bicycle.
The plea of a dying breed: Don't kill the bike messengers
Bike messengers have a reputation for being surly misfits, with a penchant for lane-splitting and light-running. But many say they're misunderstood. On a recent chilly morning, a gaggle of them hung out at their usual pit stop between deliveries, Monorail Espresso on Pike Street, surrounded by cigarette smoke and an armada of wheels. Their dark, tough clothes repelled any hint of rain, cold and friendly overtures. "I have friends afraid to come say hi to me at work, because they're intimidated to come here," said Monorail barista Addie Harrington, speaking of the messengers. "But they're really polite and friendly." Some messengers say they feel disrespected by, well, lots of people: drivers who can't drive; office workers with superior airs; pedestrians who think bicyclists have no legal right to be on a sidewalk (they do).
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