Free stolen bike registry

By Richard Masoner

Here's a new stolen bike registry for six U.S. cities: stolen-bikes.org. Currently, this stolen bike registry covers the cities of Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.

Justin, creator of stolen-bikes.org, told me a little about himself and the site.

Being an avid cyclist frequently riding in Philadelphia, I know that stolen bikes are pretty much a fact of life. I toyed with the idea for a site to tackle this issue for a while and just recently decided to act on it. I wanted to make sure I had a user-friendly and community-like atmosphere to the site. Instead of just adding your listing to a database and forgetting about it, people can follow up to your listing with comments and leads or start a whole thread on your listing in the forums.

We have a comprehensive bike theft handout being created as we speak. This handout will address the best locks and locking techniques available on the market.

Stolen-bikes.org is as much our site as it is yours. Although we are stolen bike specific with our blog posts we encourage people from every city to take advantage of the forums to network a stronger cycling community. We also gladly accept relevant articles, events, and notices exclusive to your city all accredited to the author of course.

Justin is a fixed-gear and singlespeed guy. "I've owned several fixed gears and looking to build my first singlespeed. There's just something about the simplicity of these machines that keeps me wanting more and more of them."

Photo info: saddest bike in world no. 2 by only alice.

Bike mechanic/teacher wanted for Santa Cruz Harbor High School

By Richard Masoner

Harbor High School in Santa Cruz, CA will start a bike mechanic class this fall, but they still need a qualified teacher! According to Berri Michel of sponsoring bike shop Bicycle Trip, "We are still negotiating the wages and hours as what I posted is not working for interested and qualified mechanics. Resumes must be in by August 5th. We are conducting interviews August 1st thru 10th. Job starts Aug 15th. School starts Aug 30th."

Bike shop @ school class description.

How many yams must you eat to trigger a false positive?

This article in the San Jose Mercury News describes in some detail how "isotope ratio mass spectrometry" is used to detect artifically produced testosterone.

The breakthrough in identifying synthetic testosterone -- made from extracts of yams and soybeans -- is one more example of how drug testers are using advances in technology to close in on cheats. "They use this very exotic and specific test, and it doesn't tell any lies," said John Brennan, group director of clinical development at Solvay Pharmaceuticals, which manufacturers a testosterone gel.

Pharmaceutical companies use plant extract to manufacture synthetic testosterone because it is less expensive than reconstructing the human hormone. The UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory has gone as far as to prepare for the I-ate-yams-for-dinner defense -- figuring out how many it would take to trigger a positive test. Don Catlin of UCLA declined to divulge the number. "I'm sure we will see it used, but they won't get too far," he said.

Tags: yams, testosterone, doping, cycling, floyd+landis, drug+testing, wada

Free Floyd Landis

"Floydinator" by Eric Reagan. Used with permission.

Free Floyd Landis is a blog about Floyd Landis and his testosterone issues by a former amatuer racer who is a big fan of Floyd, but whose "bias in Floyd's favor is offset by the familiarity I developed with performance-enhancing drugs while in high school; I know the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs is far more prevalent than is being reported. Later in life I had a good friend who was advised by his college head coach that if he wanted to make the NFL he should take steroids. He did take steroids, and he did make the NFL. That coach is now a division I coacn at a big sports program. If Floyd used, it wouldn't be shocking. Cycling has been dirty for over two decades."

The discussion is among what seem to be people who know something about doping and testing. Found via VelociPete.

Life in the bicycle lane

A story of cyclists and motorists getting along -- more or less -- in rural Southwest Colorado in the Cortez, CO Journal.

The League of American Bicyclists has released a video to promote Safe Routes to School. You can use this four minute video to present Safe Routes to your local school board, PTA, city council, or city planners. Cash and resources are available in every U.S. state, but local champions are needed to start the ball rolling in your community. Watch and download the video here. Discover more about Safe Routes to School and find local resources and your state contact at the National Center for Safe Routes to School. If you have a Safe Routes success story to share I would love to hear about it.

Remember the SMU law professor who deliberately ran over a cyclist in May 2004? She was tried and convicted of aggravated assault in the attack. An Texas state appeals court recently overturned Jane Dolkan's conviction. It's apparently open season in Dallas for cyclists. Update: As noted in Heidi's comment, it's Jane Dolkart. More details in the Dallas Morning News.

If nitrogen seeps out more slowly than oxygen, then eventually the air in your tires will approach 100% nitrogen, right?

Lance Armstrong announces he'll race the 2007 Tour de France, overcoming yet more debilitating injuries than Floyd in his bid to win number eight. Via.

Denver to cyclists: slow down!

By Richard Masoner
Denver police begin enforcing the 15 mph speed limit for bicyclists inside Washington Park today. The perimeter road -- closed to motor vehicles -- is heavily used by all types of park users.

The cyclists interviewed by the Denver Post and 9 News seem to disagree with me, but I believe this enforcement is a good move. Cyclists wanting to go fast should get away from crowded paths and trails and get out on the open road, where they belong. The arguments presented by these cyclists sound a lot like the self-centered "Get of the road" sentiments expressed by anti-cycling motorists.

Tags: cycling, denver, washington+park, MUP, facilities, enforcement