Commute by bike and pro cycling

Just some random and unorganized notes and links about utilitarian cycling and the Tour de France and racing and controversy.

  • Bike Hugger says he expects Interbike 2007 will focus on “comfort bikes, SUBs, cargo bikes, and the like” instead of racing bikes.
  • Great article from Grist on Bicycle Shame

    To be a successful adult, apparently, you have to drive. Cycling is for children; cycling is for losers. In this view, it’s fitting that the pinnacle of the sport of cycling is the Tour de France. (Implied snicker about France as a symbol — unfair, of course — of all that’s cowardly, effeminate, and weak.)

    Call this Bicycle Shame. But… Biking is the least exclusive form of vehicular transportation there is. Biking isn’t just cheap for bikers, it’s cheap for the communities in which people bike. Biking is also cheap for nations: they don’t have to import as much oil or defend their access to that oil. Cycling — like walking — is democratic: it’s equally available to all. Is cycling for children, for losers, for intellectuals? Yes. It’s for them, because it’s for everyone.

    More also at Spinopsys.

  • Donna @ Unbreakable: “Get out and ride your bike. Get out and tour your neighborhood. What do you see? Let us know. Share your neighborhood adventure with us all. Let’s get out and see what’s around us, as we see it on our bikes, not from the car, not what we see on the television with the chaos in France, but in our own neighborhoods.”
  • Bicycle Design: You don’t have to dope to ride this bike. Which reminded me of this post…
  • Bicycles are the new SUV. “Bicycles are poised for a quantum leap in popularity.”
  • Even bike-happy Holland is experiencing a bike boom of sorts.
  • I’m seeing spy photos of commuter bikes from bike builders who have traditionally only sold into the high-end bike market. You can expect to see lots of interesting bike and gear for the commuter at Interbike this year.

I suspect many (most?) of those who read Commute By Bike probably don’t follow the Tour de France closely. Will the controversy and problems that have swirled around several athletes have any impact on the growing popularity of bicycle commuting? What do you think?

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