From the WCA Web Site

The following was posted to the Wisconsin Cycling Association site earlier:

State Criterium Location Changed

LAPT and Ripon College Cycling Team are pleased to announce that the State Crit Championships will be held in Ripon this year. Those of you who raced in the 90s will remember the very cool racing venue of Ripon College. The course includes moderate hills, six corners and Ripon's Mainstreet. $5K prize list, too! Be sure to check out the hotels and restaurants in town.

Ripon is the home of Ripon College, the first college in America to offer a bicycle to incoming students who don't bring a car to campus. Ripon is also home to Rippin' Good Cookies and was the site of the "Great Milk Race" back in the 80s, coordinated by none other than Tom Schuler and friends.

WKOW Televises the Velorution

Find more videos like this on Ripon Velorution Project

WCA Releases 2008 Cyclocross Schedule

It's a bit early, but apparently not too early to begin thinking about the fall cyclocross season. Here's the first look at what the WCA season may look like:

1. September 27 - MadCross presents Jonathon Page’s Planet Bike Cup
2. September 28 - Mad Cross presents Jonathon Page’s Planet Bike Cup
3. October 4 - Cam-Rock Cyclocross
4. October 5 - Lapham Peak Cyclocross
5. October 18 - Badger Prairie Cyclocross
6. October 19 - Gibbs Lake Cyclocross
7. October 26 - Washington Park Cyclocross
8. November 1 - Kletsch Park Cyclocross
9. November 2 - Estabrook Cyclocross
10. November 15 - UW Whitewater Cyclocross (new venue TBA)
11. November 23 - Hales Corner State Cyclocross Championship

Go for a Ride with Gary Fisher

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is holding a unique ride-in movie opportunity with legend Gary Fisher. Participants can ride with Fisher from Madison's Trek Store East to the Eastgate Cinema. The cost is $30, and that money will be used to fight the good fight: improve bicycling in Wisconsin.

The event date is Friday, May 9. Call 608-251-4456 for tickets.

For more info, visit the Bike Fed's site.

Bicycle-Safety Tips from "The Onion"

The following appeared in the March 28, 2001 | Issue 37•11 of "The Onion."

Warm weather is just around the corner, and soon it will be time to dust off those bicycles. Here are some tips for safe riding:

Bicycle-Safety Tips

• Always use hand signals when turning at intersections. There's nothing motorists pay more attention to than hand signals from bicyclists.
• Leaving your bike out in the ice and cold all winter may cause serious damage. But it makes a nice subject for the cover illustration of a short-fiction quarterly.
• Always wear a helmet. If this makes you uncomfortable, think of the helmet as a crown and yourself as King Dorko.
• Placing your feet firmly on the pedals of the bike will help reduce the "Wheee" sound emitted from your mouth while going downhill.
• Insist on a bicycle made of solid matter. Liquid and vapor bikes are a passing fancy; argon frames are particularly shoddy.
• Taking your bike in for a professional tune-up is a great way to waste $25.
• Be sure to wear your seatbelt, even if just biking down to the corner store.
• Fat-bottomed girls may be riding today, so look out for those beauties, oh, yeah.
• Visibility is crucial when biking. Ride with a lit highway flare in each hand.
• Every three to four weeks, lightly oil the chain. Then dip it in flour and fry it for a real taste treat.
• As soon as you buy a bike, talk to your friends about how great Shimano crank sets and STX hubs are.
• Does your city have adequate bike paths? If not, consider bitching about it to your local government for the next 40 years.
• If rich, spoiled Francis Buxton steals your bike, go on a hilarious and heartwarming journey through the American Southwest to get it back.
• Bike safety can never be stressed enough. If you doubt this, try stressing it as much as you possibly can. It won't be enough–guaranteed.

Take This Test

Yield to Life

Professional American road cyclist David Zabriskie has formed a new organization — Yield to Life — devoted to creating a safer environment for cyclists and, by so doing, encouraging more people to ride for their own health, the good of the environment and the well being of society.

Zabriskie has been a professional cyclist since 2001. He is a member of the Slipstream/Chipotle team for the 2008 season and has raced for Team CSC and United States Postal Service. He is the only American to consecutively win stages in all three grand tour races: the Tour of Spain, the Tour of Italy, and the Tour de France. He is the current United States Time Trial Champion. He's ridden his bicycle all over the globe, but he's been hit by a car three times — each of those "accidents" in the United States.

"It is my mission to humanize and personalize cyclists to help motorists to always be aware that we are 'life' and that we deserve a safe space on the road. I love to ride my bike as do my fellow cyclists, but we should not have to place our lives at risk everyday for that enjoyment," says Zabriskie.

It's a noble cause and one I can appreciate as spring seems to have finally arrived and I'm beginning to put in more and more miles on the open roads. I'll begin taking the Red Hawk cycling team on those roads this Friday morning. Hopefully area motorists will recognize us and "yield to life."

Ned & I

While at the National Bike Summit in D.C. last week, I had the opportunity to meet and speak with mountain bike legend Ned Overend.

Women's Road/Criterium Racing Clinic

Hey Ladies! Madison's Capitol Velo Club invites women thinking about trying bike racing who would like to learn more and current racers who want to develop their skills and strategy to a racing clinic Sunday, April 6. Kristin Wentworth and Monique Karlen of Team Kenda, along with other experienced women racers, will share knowledge and experience to give you the confidence to try your first race or help you work on areas you would like to improve. We will start with a classroom portion and then later work on practical skills on our bikes, and finish with our own practice crit for those who would like to try.

When: Sunday, April 6th

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Where: HospiceCare, Inc. 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison

Who: Any current or prospective women racers (can be from any team, or even not on a team)

Lunch: Purchase food from the Café on site or bring a bag lunch.

Cost: Clinic itself is free! For insurance purposes we may be requiring participants to have either an annual WCA license or purchase a one-day license (would be $10.) More info to come. Bring lunch money if desired.

Attire: Just be comfortable. Bring your bike and cycling clothes for the afternoon. For safety reasons, no aerobars.

For questions or to register, please contact Amanda Pischke at amanda_pischke@yahoo.com. Pre-registration is highly encouraged and appreciated.

Trek Founder Richard Burke Dies at 73

The founder of Trek Bicycle Corporation Richard Burke died last night following complications from heart surgery. He was 73.

Burke founded the company in 1976. It's headquartered in Waterloo, Wisconsin, about 30 miles east of Madison. Though he claimed to be not much of a cyclist himself, he built the company into the world's largest bicycle company in the United States.

Burke's son John is the current president of Trek and a vocal bicycle advocate. John was on Capitol Hill promoting the bicycle as an agent for social change and meeting with President George W. Bush last week at the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C.

For more insight on the late Burke, read this 2006 article from Inc.com.

A Great Program from Clif Bar