Cycling News & Blog Articles

Justin Williams founded L39ION of LA with a vision of what cycling could be, and can be, if it’s pushed in the right direction at the right time. It’s a vision we love – more diverse, more accessible, more willing to learn from the world outside bikes. So we’re incredibly pleased to announce that CyclingTips is partnering with Williams and L39ION to produce a podcast called From the Gun.

That’s right, a L39ION podcast is coming soon.

Some of you may have caught Williams’ short From the Gun episodes on his Instagram page, which serve as the inspiration for this full-length podcast project.

Williams, the current US National Criterium champion, will host the episodes, which will be released monthly at first before bumping up to twice a month as regular racing returns. Expect to hear often from his brother Cory Williams, teammates like Dante Young, Eder Frayre, Tyler Williams, and Lance Haidet, and interview guests from inside and outside cycling.

In addition to From the Gun, CyclingTips will join L39ION at select races, telling the team’s story and that of the American crit scene.

One month after it was first announced, the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Healthy Business program is starting to bear its first pieces of fruit. And with Multnomah County set to enter the phase 1 stage of reopening Friday (6/19), many local restaurants are eager to expand their services into the streets.

As we reported in May, PBOT is offering a free permit program that allows business owners to use the public right-of-way for dining. This means they can set up space for customers in parking spaces/lots and travel lanes in front of their businesses. The permits allow for everything from installations like the “street seats” we currently have, to carfree plazas that spread out across the entire street — as long plans leave space for bikers, walkers and emergency vehicles to get through.

Earlier this week, PBOT held an online Q & A with members of the Portland Independent Restaurant Alliance. On that call, PBOT staffer Greg Raisman described the Healthy Business program as a partnership. “What we have is a lot of free square feet and a free permit… We are offering you an empty box. That empty box is in the shape of some section of the street. You get to decide what goes in that box.”

If all goes according to plan Multnomah County will begin work on a new “earthquake ready” Burnside Bridge in 2024. On Monday, the community task force charged with decided what that bridge will look like reached a big milestone by choosing the “long span bridge” alternative.

Here’s more from the County:

The long span bridge alternative (PDF) would replace the existing bridge in the same location and alignment. The long span alternative has the fewest support columns of four alternatives that were studied. Fewer columns avoids costly construction in geotechnical hazard zones near the Willamette River and restricted spaces between lanes of Interstate 5 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks on the east side.

Task force members cited these reasons for choosing the long span alternative:
— Best for seismic resiliency – locating fewer columns in liquefiable soils gives it the least risk from soil movement during an earthquake
— It is the lowest cost of four build alternatives ($825 million compared to as high as $950 million for the most expensive option)
— The reduced number of columns also benefits Waterfront Park users, crime prevention, and preservation of the Burnside Skatepark
— Additional deck width over the river provides a safer facility for bicyclists, pedestrians and other users
— Reduced impacts to natural resources due to fewer columns in the water.

Trek claim the new Émonda is the fastest climbing bike it has ever produced

(Scenes from Tuesday’s march that took over the Fremont Bridge/I-405. Photos by Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

An organized squad of bike riders have become a key part of the daily marches supporting Portland’s Black Lives Matter movement.

For nearly two weeks now there’s been a concerted effort to use bicycles to protect marchers and help protest organizers make their events smooth and safe. As marches led by Rose City Justice have taken over major interstates, the need for a bike-mounted traffic safety volunteers has become more acute. The bike squads work together but aren’t centrally organized. They work in coordination with protest organizers and do whatever is asked of them — from corking intersections and ferrying supplies, to clearing lanes for support vehicles and directing traffic.

At the start of Tuesday’s protest at Jefferson High School in north Portland I was impressed by what I saw: There was an eager group of riders clearly there to help, someone gave a mission debrief and instructions, and hi-viz vests were passed out to riders who wanted them.

I talked to three people who’ve shown up to many of the protests about what they’re doing and why.

Mitchelton-Scott at the 2019 Ghent-Wevelgem (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)Mitchelton-Scott surprised the cycling world earlier this month when they announced sponsor would take over the name of the squad.

BCN has launched a new race team (Picture: BCN) The UK is set to get its first black and ethnic minority race team, as a collection of amateur racers have come together to address one of the biggest issues facing cycling.

Ex-Rider Interview: Skier turned cyclist, Marianne Berglund, became World road race champion and won a hundred plus races in the 80s and 90s. The Swedish star now lives in the US and is a management consultant, Ed Hood found out more.On the way to a rainbow jerseyShe only started cycling to connect with a cute guy – that never happened but she did go on to win a World road race championship and more than 100 races. Swedish-born but now a resident of the USA, Ms. Marianne Berglund took time recently to speak to us.PEZ: You were a skier Marianne, how did you get into cycling?Marianne Berglund: Yes, I was a skier in my teenage years, up there at the Arctic Circle. I had a crush on this guy who played ice hockey, the hockey players used to train on the bike in the summer, I took up cycling so I could see more of him but actually nothing came of it. . .Front page of Bicycling MagazinePEZ: How did you get into racing?I was the only girl in the club, but I had a good coach who could see something in me that I didnt know was there, he paid attention to me, encouraged me and believed in me.Racing in the USPEZ: Why the USA and not Europe for your career?Id heard about the Coors Classic and Tour of Texas which were premier quality races for ladies, there was nothing like them in Europe. I wrote to Connie Carpenter,...

British Cycling has released a new update on club activities and racing as the UK continues to ease the coronavirus lockdown.

Chain lube is coming of age - we explore some of the newest creations

Skoda have unveiled new technology designed to stop drivers 'dooring' cyclists (Picture: Skoda) Skoda has unveiled some new tech aimed at stopping drivers from ‘dooring’ cyclists out on the roads.

Lachlan Morton (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)Lachlan Morton has lost his Everesting record due to faulty altitude data.

British clothing brand steps up support of campaign that aims to get 14 million more people in Britain riding bikes

Keen to get off busy roads, but still want to cover a lot of ground? Longing to check out new routes, maybe get a little dirty, while gripping drop handlebars? A Gravel Bike could well be the answer. Here are our top tips for Going Gravel. Keep It Smooth While hard-packed tracks can be ridden […]

The post Road to Gravel appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Happy birthday to the greatest cyclist of all time. Eddy Merckx turned 75 years-old on Wednesday – Top Story. A full EUROTRASH Thursday: New name for Ineos? Crash for Niki Terpstra and Damiano Cunego recovering. Tour talk from Mollema, Voeckler and Dumoulin. Race news: Italian, Slovenian and French champs, Milan-Turin new finish and Vende canceled. Deceuninck – Quick-Step and AG2R-La Mondial training camps. More Tour news: 5,000 fans roadside, Tour teams announced by Jumbo-Visma, Bora-Hansgrohe and Arkea-Samsic. Poels for the Ardennes, Zakarin wins in Cyprus, Hinault with Mavic, Ganna dreams of Roubaix, two more years for Greipel and Mollema, cyclo-cross World Cup in Rome, DHoore and Majerus extend, new sponsor for Bigla-Katusha and Madiot to take legal action against Bruyneel. Coffee time!TOP STORY: Happy 75th Birthday to Eddy MerckxEddy Merckx can be considered the best cyclist of all time. He won the big three Tours, Worlds and almost all the classics on the calendar. There has been no other rider like him. The Cannibal had an insatiable hunger that made him start every race as the main favourite. Merckx left nothing for the others. He raced from the beginning to the end to the year, like no riders do now.Born into a middle-class family, at 16 he obtained his first race license, and four months later he took his first victory. He left his studies and at 20 years-old he had already turned professional and won Milan-San Remo with the Peugeot team. He started in a total of 1,800 races...

I was afraid of this.

For years we’ve been warning about the threat of vehicular violence by people using cars. Now it’s on the rise amid the daily marches against police violence and racism that have been going on in Portland for three weeks straight.

There have been several documented cases of Black Lives Matter protests being disturbed by car drivers intent on causing harm.

— On May 29th someone driving a Volkswagen sedan drove into a man riding a skateboard near NE Grand and Shaver. The incident was caught on camera by The Oregonian photographer Dave Killen.