Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Reckless driver assaults bicyclist and calls cops -- on himself
-- By Times staff reporter Christine Clarridge:
Police are asking prosecutors to file reckless driving and assault charges against a Seattle man who nearly ran down two bicyclists on First Avenue, opened his car door into one of them and then twice flipped the same bicyclist off his bike.
According to a Seattle police report released Friday, the two bicyclists were stopped at a red light near the 2800 block of First Avenue on Monday when a man in car raced up to the intersection and slammed on the brakes just before hitting the cyclists.
One bicyclist told police he made a "slow down" motion to the driver with his hand. But when the light turned green, the driver revved his engine, swerved around the bicyclists and sped off, according to the report.
One of the bicyclists followed the driver with the intention of getting the plate number, police said. When he approached the car, which had pulled over to park in the 2300 block of First Avenue, the driver opened his car door, striking the bicyclist, witnesses told police.
The victim fell from his bike and the driver got out of the car, police said.
The victim got back on his bike and planned to leave, he told police, but the driver stopped him by twice picking up the back wheel of his bike and flipping the rider over the handlebars.
The driver walked into a nearby bar on First Avenue, where he works as a bartender, and called police. The man told police that the bicyclist had intentionally run into his car.
When police arrived to talk with the man they noticed he "had a very strong aroma of alcohol on his breath," according to police. When one of the officers walked outside to his patrol car to see if he could get a portable Breathalyzer delivered to the scene, the bartender/driver went out the back door, police said.
Police didn't leave empty-handed, however. They impounded the man's car.
Several witnesses corroborated the bicyclist's story, police said.
Police spokeswoman Renee Witt said Friday that the 33-year-old suspect remains at large and is being sought by police.
Police are asking prosecutors to file reckless driving and assault charges against a Seattle man who nearly ran down two bicyclists on First Avenue, opened his car door into one of them and then twice flipped the same bicyclist off his bike.
According to a Seattle police report released Friday, the two bicyclists were stopped at a red light near the 2800 block of First Avenue on Monday when a man in car raced up to the intersection and slammed on the brakes just before hitting the cyclists.
One bicyclist told police he made a "slow down" motion to the driver with his hand. But when the light turned green, the driver revved his engine, swerved around the bicyclists and sped off, according to the report.
One of the bicyclists followed the driver with the intention of getting the plate number, police said. When he approached the car, which had pulled over to park in the 2300 block of First Avenue, the driver opened his car door, striking the bicyclist, witnesses told police.
The victim fell from his bike and the driver got out of the car, police said.
The victim got back on his bike and planned to leave, he told police, but the driver stopped him by twice picking up the back wheel of his bike and flipping the rider over the handlebars.
The driver walked into a nearby bar on First Avenue, where he works as a bartender, and called police. The man told police that the bicyclist had intentionally run into his car.
When police arrived to talk with the man they noticed he "had a very strong aroma of alcohol on his breath," according to police. When one of the officers walked outside to his patrol car to see if he could get a portable Breathalyzer delivered to the scene, the bartender/driver went out the back door, police said.
Police didn't leave empty-handed, however. They impounded the man's car.
Several witnesses corroborated the bicyclist's story, police said.
Police spokeswoman Renee Witt said Friday that the 33-year-old suspect remains at large and is being sought by police.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
2nd Annual Double Down Hoe Down MTB DH Race
The 2nd Annual Double Down Hoe Down presented by WheelSport East is scheduled for March 20th and 21st. Registration is now open for the annual 2 day DH on 2 separate courses at Spokane, Washington's Beacon Hill. This USA Cycling Sanctioned event will kick off the Pacific Northwest racing scene by offering a unique venue. I consider Beacon Hill to be the 'Spring Training' of DH racing because they provide no shuttles - You push your bike up just as hard as you pedal your bike down. This race is fantastic on so many levels, let me explain.
This race is a combined effort between 2 shops- Chris Andreasen, Race Organizer and Owner of the Bike Hub really impressed a lot of racers last year. Handling a race is not easy, your ear literally falls off from the never ending questions, usually repeating the same 'rule' twice. Chris loves to race his bike and it shows through this event. But without Josh and Chris over at Wheelsport East this event wouldn't run straight. It's purely a very simple race. No shuttles (or for my UK friends 'uplifts'). You hike 20-25 minutes up for a great 4 min ride down. I enjoy it because you get to hit the track in sections, and practice each one until your line feels right and then you walk up to the top and rip a full run. There are jumps, berms, drops, huge granite rocks, technical sections, wide open sections and for the expert/pro's - there's a grand finale rock garden that packs the crowds in...it's seriously like being in Europe. Cowbells are blazing loud in this zone! For those of you just starting out to race - Beginners and Sports, you get a nice safe track to the bottom.
All I can say is the racing experience is awesome at the Double Down Hoe Down. The area to ride is massive with XC trails, DH/FR trails and tons of dirt jumps - you can bring a whole quiver and everything will get used - there are lots of fun things around Spokane to stop and session. Hanging out at the perfectly sculpted dirt jumps are Joe Perrizo and Skye Skillhammer who are throwing down a daily air show demonstration.
Practice starts Friday March 19th at 9am and ends at 5pm. Practice begins again 7:30am on both days and goes until 11am. The downhill race will start at noon on both days with awards promptly at 4pm or earlier. All racers must have a full faced helmet, no racer will be permitted to race with an open face, skate style helmet. So don't try. USA Cycling is strictly enforcing this rule this year.
It's a must see, must experience event if you love riding a bike. Entry is only $25 bucks per day. You can flash your USA Cycling License, but if your current permit isn't renewed - then your points get flushed. Make sure you have your current $60 permit if you're racing Expert or Pro classes. Day Permits are $5 bucks (per day/race) and will be sold on site at registration. Registration, Directions and Lodging information is on the All Gravity Series website here.
See ya in the hot seat!
-Mike 'northwestdhdad' Estes
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Attention Tolt Riders
Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance was recently contacted by the city of Carnation asking for help in gathering information on biking in the area. An understanding by local governments of the extent and value of mountain biking to their communities is an important way for our sport to continue to achieve successes in advocacy and access. The city's advisory committee has developed this survey, think of it as one more opportunity to be heard!
The survey is not mountain bike specific but if you bike or have biked: Tolt MacDonald Park, Griffin Creek, Snoqualmie Valley Trail or other Carnation areas, please take their short survey at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FV98ZXV
The survey is anonymous and gathers no personal information, and will help Carnation better understand biking needs for the future. Thank you.
The survey is not mountain bike specific but if you bike or have biked: Tolt MacDonald Park, Griffin Creek, Snoqualmie Valley Trail or other Carnation areas, please take their short survey at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FV98ZXV
The survey is anonymous and gathers no personal information, and will help Carnation better understand biking needs for the future. Thank you.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Seattle Bike Expo
THIS WEEKEND!
Seattle Bicycle Expo
Presented by Raleigh
Saturday, March 13 & Sunday, March 14
Spectacular new waterfront location:
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal 91 in Magnolia
The Seattle Bicycle Expo, presented by Raleigh, is coming up this weekend! Thanks to presenting sponsor Raleigh and all the sponsors who have helped make the 2010 show a success. The show is jam-packed with a slate of fantastic vendors, inspiring speakers, dynamic performers and interesting displays.
• More than 300 exhibits of bikes, gear, travel, health and fitness.
• The amazing World Champion Artistic Cyclist from Germany: UCI World Champion in women's singles, Corinna Hein, plus one of the world's best pairs in men's double, Stefan Musu and Lukas Matla
• Triathlon training with Olympic triathlon coach Gale Bernhardt
• A Dog in a Hat's Joe Parkin
• Mountain bike trials stunt rider Ryan Leech
• Kick back in the Universal Sports viewing lounge - with free popcorn!
• Adventure cyclist, Willie Weir
• The Metal Cowboy, Joe Kurmaskie
• Beautiful handmade bikes from the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association
• Mobile social & pop culture panel with Bikehugger
• Frazz creator Jef Mallett
• Aerodynamics with Zipp Wheels
• Classic Bike Show featuring a Jack Taylor Bicycle exhibit
• Laurelhurst Juggling and Unicycle Team
• Two days of fun in the Kids Bike Zone
• Enter your photos in the Kenmore Camera Photo Contest
• Food court
• And much, much more!
Tickets
One-day tickets are $10. Two-day tickets are $12. Kids 15 and under are free! Here's a handy coupon to save on up to four tickets in your group.
CLIF Bar & REI Family Feud at Expo
Don't miss our fun family feud game on Saturday at 4:45. We need folks to take our survey to help populate the answers for the game... Be one of the 100 people surveyed by clicking on this link.
Thanks for participating and see you on Saturday evening to find out the most popular answers and chance to win some great free SWAG!
Seattle Bicycle Expo
Presented by Raleigh
Saturday, March 13 & Sunday, March 14
Spectacular new waterfront location:
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal 91 in Magnolia
The Seattle Bicycle Expo, presented by Raleigh, is coming up this weekend! Thanks to presenting sponsor Raleigh and all the sponsors who have helped make the 2010 show a success. The show is jam-packed with a slate of fantastic vendors, inspiring speakers, dynamic performers and interesting displays.
• More than 300 exhibits of bikes, gear, travel, health and fitness.
• The amazing World Champion Artistic Cyclist from Germany: UCI World Champion in women's singles, Corinna Hein, plus one of the world's best pairs in men's double, Stefan Musu and Lukas Matla
• Triathlon training with Olympic triathlon coach Gale Bernhardt
• A Dog in a Hat's Joe Parkin
• Mountain bike trials stunt rider Ryan Leech
• Kick back in the Universal Sports viewing lounge - with free popcorn!
• Adventure cyclist, Willie Weir
• The Metal Cowboy, Joe Kurmaskie
• Beautiful handmade bikes from the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association
• Mobile social & pop culture panel with Bikehugger
• Frazz creator Jef Mallett
• Aerodynamics with Zipp Wheels
• Classic Bike Show featuring a Jack Taylor Bicycle exhibit
• Laurelhurst Juggling and Unicycle Team
• Two days of fun in the Kids Bike Zone
• Enter your photos in the Kenmore Camera Photo Contest
• Food court
• And much, much more!
Tickets
One-day tickets are $10. Two-day tickets are $12. Kids 15 and under are free! Here's a handy coupon to save on up to four tickets in your group.
CLIF Bar & REI Family Feud at Expo
Don't miss our fun family feud game on Saturday at 4:45. We need folks to take our survey to help populate the answers for the game... Be one of the 100 people surveyed by clicking on this link.
Thanks for participating and see you on Saturday evening to find out the most popular answers and chance to win some great free SWAG!
Google's 'starter set' on map for bicyclists
Brier Dudley / Seattle Times
Google engineers who built the company's new bicycle-route mapping service didn't need to look far for inspiration.
The team is based at the Fremont office right alongside the Burke-Gilman Trail.
Bike commuters at Google offices around the country helped the Seattle-based team build and refine the new feature for Google Maps, which is launching Wednesday. That coincides with the National Bike Summit cycling advocacy event this week in Washington, D.C.
The small team built the feature in just five months, adding a new map layer that provides suggested routes for bicyclists in 150 cities across the U.S. It joins the walking and transit directions already provided by Google.
It also comes as maps move to the forefront of the battle between Google and Microsoft. Mapping underpins new locally targeted advertising efforts that may provide the next wave of growth for the search giants, especially as more computing is done on mobile devices that transmit users' location.
Google's bike routes come as Microsoft has been raising the profile of Bing Maps with demonstrations of "spatial search" technology, which blends public photos of places with map imagery to give its maps even more dimension.
The "Bicycling" layer coming to Google Maps isn't a technological tour de force, but it looks like a fun and useful feature for cyclists, especially those visiting a new area and looking for places to ride. It's also been the most requested addition to Google Maps, with an online petition calling for bike routes drawing more than 50,000 signatures.
Google worked with the national Rails to Trails Conservancy to add the group's trail maps, combining them with publicly available bike-route information.
But the maps are still incomplete. Google hopes users will help fill in the gaps, suggest routes and make corrections using the "report a problem" feature.
"We really are thinking of all this data as a starter set," said Shannon Guymon, project manager for driving directions and lead on the bike routes.
Maps display three tiers of bike routes — bike trails such as the Burke Gilman, dedicated bike lanes on streets and roads, and roads without bike lanes that are appropriate for biking.
Routes aren't necessarily the most direct. The system factors in topography and the amount of energy a rider would need to reach the destination.
In other words, it has a built-in hill-avoidance system. Comments added to the code by Andy Schwerin, a former Google engineer who started the project before leaving for a startup, include formulas for calculating the energy used by cyclists.
Google tuned the system conservatively, to provide relatively easy routes for people. That's drawn some flak from hard-core cyclists at Google who tested the system.
"Sometimes we get feedback from Googlers who say, 'You should take this one, it's faster,' but they're more aggressive cyclists than the style we're targeting," Guymon said.
Users can adjust the suggested routes by clicking and dragging them to different roads or trails.
Google is still working on a mobile version. Later the company may incorporate information about services, such as bike shops along suggested routes.
"We are hoping by launching this feature we encourage more bike riding," Guymon said. "Giving this data on the maps makes it seem more accessible."
Google engineers who built the company's new bicycle-route mapping service didn't need to look far for inspiration.
The team is based at the Fremont office right alongside the Burke-Gilman Trail.
Bike commuters at Google offices around the country helped the Seattle-based team build and refine the new feature for Google Maps, which is launching Wednesday. That coincides with the National Bike Summit cycling advocacy event this week in Washington, D.C.
The small team built the feature in just five months, adding a new map layer that provides suggested routes for bicyclists in 150 cities across the U.S. It joins the walking and transit directions already provided by Google.
It also comes as maps move to the forefront of the battle between Google and Microsoft. Mapping underpins new locally targeted advertising efforts that may provide the next wave of growth for the search giants, especially as more computing is done on mobile devices that transmit users' location.
Google's bike routes come as Microsoft has been raising the profile of Bing Maps with demonstrations of "spatial search" technology, which blends public photos of places with map imagery to give its maps even more dimension.
The "Bicycling" layer coming to Google Maps isn't a technological tour de force, but it looks like a fun and useful feature for cyclists, especially those visiting a new area and looking for places to ride. It's also been the most requested addition to Google Maps, with an online petition calling for bike routes drawing more than 50,000 signatures.
Google worked with the national Rails to Trails Conservancy to add the group's trail maps, combining them with publicly available bike-route information.
But the maps are still incomplete. Google hopes users will help fill in the gaps, suggest routes and make corrections using the "report a problem" feature.
"We really are thinking of all this data as a starter set," said Shannon Guymon, project manager for driving directions and lead on the bike routes.
Maps display three tiers of bike routes — bike trails such as the Burke Gilman, dedicated bike lanes on streets and roads, and roads without bike lanes that are appropriate for biking.
Routes aren't necessarily the most direct. The system factors in topography and the amount of energy a rider would need to reach the destination.
In other words, it has a built-in hill-avoidance system. Comments added to the code by Andy Schwerin, a former Google engineer who started the project before leaving for a startup, include formulas for calculating the energy used by cyclists.
Google tuned the system conservatively, to provide relatively easy routes for people. That's drawn some flak from hard-core cyclists at Google who tested the system.
"Sometimes we get feedback from Googlers who say, 'You should take this one, it's faster,' but they're more aggressive cyclists than the style we're targeting," Guymon said.
Users can adjust the suggested routes by clicking and dragging them to different roads or trails.
Google is still working on a mobile version. Later the company may incorporate information about services, such as bike shops along suggested routes.
"We are hoping by launching this feature we encourage more bike riding," Guymon said. "Giving this data on the maps makes it seem more accessible."
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tape Worm Time Trial #5
TTT #5 is a timed individual race full of technical challenges and navigation though a small coarse of approx. 6 miles. Bring a friend and get a great start to your mountain bike season. $15 entry Race, food & refreshments. Cash out to top Male/Female.
Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010
Time: 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Renton WA
Get it.
Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010
Time: 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Renton WA
Get it.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
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