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Olney, Ill.: Known for white squirrels --- and bicycles?

If you've ever heard of Olney, Ill., you probably know it for its white squirrels -- albino squirrels that seemed to have found a permanent home in the Southern Illinois community.

But did you know the town's known for bicycle distribution? I didn't until I read a story in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News about the community, located about 150 miles east of St. Louis.

Here are at least six distributors that have operations in Olney:

• Pacific Cycle: The manufacturer of Schwinn, Mongoose, Roadmaster and Dyno bicycles.
• SKS USA: A manufacturer of tools, tire pumps, mudguard, chainguards and bags.
• Highway Two: A distributor of Brooks saddles, Continental tires and Crank Brothers pedals and wheelsets.
• Magura: A manufacturer of bicycle brakes and suspensions.
• KHS Bicycle Parts: A distributor of motorcycle and bicycle parts, including manufacturers Sapim and Pletscher.
• Joe Hunt and Associates: A distributor of USA Brand spokes and generators.

Olney's ties to the bicycle industry began in 1962, when AMF began manufacturing its Roadmaster bikes there. If you grew up in the 1960s or 1970s, there's a possibility you rode a Roadmaster at one.time. Also, the Roadmaster was immortalized in the classic 1979 movie "Breaking Away," in which racers in the Little 500 rode Roadmasters in Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

According to the article, the Roadmaster plant in Olney employed as many as 2,000 people as recently as 20 years ago. Alas, Roadmaster found it was cheaper to build bikes in Taiwan than in Olney, and manufacturing ceased there about 10 years ago. Pacific Cycle now uses the Roadmaster plant as its distribution center. Two German companies, Union Frondenberg and Weinmann, also opened bicycle parts plants there in the 1970s, but those have closed as well.

While Olney might not have the "cycling panache" of Portland, Ore., or Boulder, Colo., according to the article, Olney's industry lore is cemented because of Roadmaster. I was unable to find any bicycle trails in Olney, although I'm sure the roads of the town and surrounding Richland County provide lots of good cycling opportunities.

Just don't run over a white squirrel while you're in Olney. It will land you a $200 fine!

Labels: bicycles, Illinois

Roger 7 comments links to this post 3:06 AM

Friday, January 01, 2010

New laws that affect Illinois cyclists

With the start of the new year, there are at least three new laws that go in effect today in Illinois that affect bicyclists.

You're probably aware of two of the new laws -- a ban on text messaging while driving and a ban on cell phone usage in school and construction zones.

You're probably not aware of the other law. As of today, no one under the age of 16 may operate a gas- or electric-powered bicycle in Illinois. In addition, you can't ride a gas- or electric-powered bicycle on a sidewalk, and you can't ride those bikes any faster than 20 mph on Illinois roads.

As for the texting and cell phones. they are moving violations with fines up to $1,000 depending on the circumstances. Texting and cell phone usage during emergencies or if the car is stopped and placed in park or neutral are legal.

"Upon conviction, it would be a mark against your driving record. Three of those means a suspension of your driver's license," Dave Druker, a spokesman for the Illinois Secretary of State, told WLS-TV in Chicago.

The texting and cell phone bans were prompted at least in part by the 2006 death of bicyclist Matt Wilhelm. Matt was riding on Illinois 130 east of Urbana when he struck by a car driven by a woman who was downloading a cell phone ring tone.

The News-Gazette reports that Matt's mother, Gloria Wilhelm, will appear on a January episode of Oprah Winfrey's TV show, but no date has been set for the segment to air.

"We finally have laws on the books that say it's wrong to be driving and texting and using a cell phone. We never had a law before that said it's wrong. The texting applies to all age groups, which is really great," Matt's father, Chuck Wilhelm, told the News-Gazette.

Labels: advocacy, bicycles, Illinois, safety

Roger 1 comments links to this post 2:28 PM

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Feel-good bicycle story

Here's a missing bicycle story with a happy ending out of Columbia, Ill.:

Garrett Betts was driving on Illinois Route 3 in the Columbia area when his Christmas gift -- a $400 bicycle -- flew out of the back end of his pickup truck.

Fortunately for Garrett, Steve Blosser saw the bike along the side of the highway on Christmas Eve.

"I'm so happy to find it, that the little boy is getting his Christmas present back," Steve said.

KTVI-TV, Channel 2, originally broadcast the story about the missing bike on Tuesday. The station put the boy's grandmother in with Steve, leading to the boy finally receiving his gift. KTVI broadcast the clip shown above earlier tonight.

Labels: bicycles, Illinois, videos

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:43 PM

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Chicago man wants to buy back stolen bike

Charlie Dennis, a 27-year-old Army veteran from Chicago, is willing to buy back his stolen bike -- no questions asked.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown today shared Charlie's story in today's column. Charlie's Salsa road bicycle is a big part of his life. Two years ago, Charlie rode the bike from Denver to Chicago. Two weeks ago, it was stolen from his apartment complex.

"Please, it means a lot to me," pleads a sign posted outside the complex. The sign provides a phone number for the thief to call to make ransom demands and to arrange the bike's return.

I recommend you go over to the Sun-Times Web site and read the column for yourself. It's a good tale of a man's attachment to his bicycle, something all cyclists can relate to.

Labels: bicycles, Chicago, theft

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:24 PM

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Harsh message for a bike thief

Don't worry, no one has stolen one of my bikes. One of my longtime cycling friends, Doug Kaufman, sent this to me with no message other than to circulate this to my cycling friends, so here it is!

A close look at the flier above the stolen bike poster indicates the poster probably was put up in the New York City area. If I ever had my bike stolen, I don't think my poster would be as harshly worded, but I sure understand the sentiment behind it.

Labels: bicycles, theft

Roger 3 comments links to this post 2:43 PM

Friday, April 03, 2009

Cannondale to stop making bikes in U.S.

I was disappointed -- but not surprised -- to learn that Cannondale bikes no longer will be produced in the United States.

I have been a loyal Cannondale rider since 1985 because I've found Cannondale's stiff aluminum frames best suited to my cycling style. The fact that both of the Cannondales I've purchased were made in the United States was an added bonus.

According to a press release from Cannondale's new owners, Dorel Industries, the company will cease to make bicycles at its Bethel, Conn., facility. The Bike Biz blog noted that all but the lower-end bikes have been made outside the United States for some time, but all manufacturing will cease at Bethel in 2010.

Instead, Bethel will be part of Dorel's "Worldwide Centers of Excellence" and will serve as global headquarters and innovation center for high-end and enthusiast bicycles for Cannondale, Schwinn, GT and Mongoose.

Dorel also plans to switch its Bedford, Pa., facility to a bicycling testing facility and an site for inside sales and service, and customer service.

In typical public-relations speak, Dorel tried to put the best spin on the fact 200 jobs will be lost in Bedford. "In shifting Bedford's operations away from bicycle frame manufacturing by 2010, CSG (Dorel's Cycling Sports Group, formerly the Cannondale Sports Group) will be able to take full advantage of the strengths and capabilities of the new Taichung, Taiwan-based Center of Excellence in manufacturing oversight, sourcing, testing and quality control. Therefore, headcount at Bedford will be reduced from the current 300 employees to approximately 100 by the end of 2010.

The other Centers for Excellence are Basel, Switzerland (for high-end and enthusiast bicycles sold/marketed in Europe), Madison, Wis. (for global mass market products) and Vancouver, British Columbia, (for active lifestyle and urban apparel and footwear).

Labels: bicycles, Cannondale

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:06 PM

Saturday, May 17, 2008

O'Fallon, Ill., alderwoman hit with can while bicycling

O’Fallon, Ill., Alderwoman Mary Schmidt was cycling with her husband and a friend May 8 on Witte Road north of the city, when someone in a passing truck threw an unopened beer can at Schmidt, striking her in the arm, the O'Fallon Progress newspaper reported.

“A truck came up along side of us going about 60 mph, we figure, and maybe a foot away from us, and I think they underhanded a beer can at us,” Schmidt told the Progress.

Schmidt told the Progress after the can hit her the cyclists flagged down a passing motorist who caught up to the truck and got the license plate number. Schmidt also called the police. She said she got another look at the white Dodge “king cab” when it drove by a second time as Schmidt was on the phone with police.

The St. Clair County Sheriff's Department is investigating the case.

Mary Schmidt is the wife of Steve Schmidt, one of the key members of the Metro East Cycling club. MEC will be holding its first-ever O'Fallon Grand Prix on May 31. Let's hope the driver of the white truck is nowhere to be found that day -- and preferably behind bars.

Labels: bicycles, Illinois, safety

Roger 3 comments links to this post 1:14 PM

Thursday, April 03, 2008

FindMeABicycle.com

I got an e-mail tonight from Portland, Ore., cyclist Barry Hirsch, who has created a Web site designed to help people find a bicycle:

A new Web site, called FindMeABicycle.com, is a great new tool for both experienced and novice bicyclists as they plan their next bicycle purchase. There is nothing for sale on FindMeABicycle.com. Nor is there a fee to use the site. It is simply intended to be a free helpful service for helping you decide on your next bicycle.

FindMeABicycle.com provides two features that you won't find anywhere else: a simple step-by-step check list on how to purchase a bicycle, including a guide that will help the user decide on the ideal type of bike (mountain, road, hybrid, etc.) based on the needs of the user; and comprehensive lists of virtually every type, make and model of bike on the market today. The lists, compiled from more than 100 bike manufacturers, contain information on more than 2,600 bike models. The lists are organized by 15 different types of bike: mountain, road, hybrid,BMX, touring, tandem, recumbent, women's, single speed, youth, track, cruiser, time trial, cyclocross and folding. The lists of bicycle models are further broken down by frame material, suspension system, and price. FindMeABicycle.com won't replace the local bike shop, but will prove to be an extremely valuable resource for anyone who's in the market to buy a bike.

While the site is short on specs for individual bicycles -- I only saw prices, and not for every bike -- it does give some common-sense tips that people buying their first non-department store bicycle should find useful. Hirsch also recommends that people buy their bikes from bike shops.

Labels: bicycles

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:46 PM

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Think pink!

The most recent edition of Adventure Cycling's Bike Bits e-mail newsletter should have come with a pink background because a couple of the news items feature pink bicycles. I have a couple of friends of mine -- Arlene and Jody -- who are heavily into pink, so this post is dedicated to them.

The Pink Bike Site pays tribute to pink bicycles. Vermont cyclist Crystal Waters told Adventure Cycling: "I wanted to invite your readers to send in photos of their pink bicycles to be posted on my new pink-bike Web site gallery. I started the gallery on my girlbike.com site a few years ago, when it focused on women's cycling. Even though the gallery there is sort of hidden, it remains one of the most-visited pages -- it's so popular, that I decided to put (it up) on its own site."

As you might imagine, women make up the majority of the contributors to the site, but there are enough men who are secure enough in their masculinity that they, too, have pink bikes.

Larry Black of Mt. Airy Bicycles in College Park, Md, who is selling some used pink bicycles, notes one advantage of owning a pink bike: There's plenty of nail polish colors available to touch up frame scratches!

The second item mentioned in Bike Bits is about Tulsa Townies, a project was launched in August 2007 by Saint Francis Health System to promote an active and healthy lifestyle in the Tulsa area.

So what does this have to do with pink bicycles? A closer look at Tulsa Townies' Web site reveals that all of the group's bicycles are pink!

This project is the first bicycle program of its kind in northeastern Oklahoma. Three of the four bicycle rental stations are located at the Tulsa River Parks Trail, and The fourth is located at the Sand Springs River City Park. Although there is no cost to check out a Tulsa Townies bicycle, a credit card is needed for identification purposes and to help prevent theft. Patrons may return their Tulsa Townies bicycle at any one of the locations regardless of where the bicycle was originally checked out.

So if you think you're pretty in pink, bicycling's the sport for you.

Labels: Adventure Cycling Association, bicycles

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:55 AM

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Cannondale goes Canadian

As the owner of two Cannondale road bikes, I read with great concern that Montreal-based Dorel Industries has purchased Cannondale Bicycle Corp. The purchase is reported as an all-cash transaction valued between $190 million and $200 million, VeloNews reported this week.

Dorel also owns Pacific Cycle, the parent company of Schwinn, GT and Mongoose.

As a result of the acquisition, Dorel’s recreational/leisure segment, which includes Pacific Cycle, InStep, Playsafe and Roadmaster, will be split into two separate divisions, VeloNews reported. The Cannondale Sports Group, which will target the independent bicycle dealer and be separate from the mass-market line, will include Cannondale, Sugoi, GT and the company’s other premium bicycle brands, presumably Schwinn and Mongoose. Cannondale Sports has already stated that it plans to seek acquisitions of similar high-quality brands.

Bethel, Conn.-based Cannondale Bicycle Corp. also includes the Sugoi Performance Apparel Co.

CyclingNews.com reported this about the sale:

"As with any event of this nature, speculation as to how this will affect Cannondale's corporate structure and product line have run rampant but (Cannondale President and CEO Matt) Mannelly and (Pacific Cycle President Jeff Frehner) Frehner were quick to dispel any rumors. According to them, there are no plans 'at this point' to move production overseas (other than items that are already produced in Asia, that is), Cannondale designers and engineers will still be able to pursue their trademark 'out of the box' style of research and development, and the company will remain very distinctly focused on the enthusiast independent bicycle dealer) market."

For more than 20 years, I've been happy with the quality of Cannondale bicycles. Their aluminum frames are well-suited for a larger cyclist such as myself. The fact that both of my Cannondale bikes were made in the United States is a bonus.

Let's hope Cannondale's new owner not only keeps up the quality of the bikes, but continues to make bicycles in the United States.

Labels: bicycles, Cannondale, United States

Roger 1 comments links to this post 4:49 PM

Friday, February 01, 2008

Thrift store sells boy's bike while shopping

Cody Young didn't want someone to steal his bicycle, so he parked it just inside the Goodwill store while he was shopping for speakers on Sunday in South Salem, Ore. A few minutes later, someone bought the 13-year-old's black BMX for $6.99, according to the On Deadline blog at USA Today.

Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. I won't spoil it here, so go visit On Deadline and find out how the story ends.

Labels: bicycles

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:10 AM

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Catching up

Just catching up on cycling headlines from the past few days. A couple of them reference the Tour of Missouri, so here goes:

TOUR OF AMERICA ORGANIZER SPEAKS OUT: British-based Cycling Weekly did an interview with Frank Arokiasamy, the Malaysian-born, U.S.-based businessman attempting to put together the ambitious Tour of America race. Arokiasamy still thinks he can get UCI approval for a 2008 ride, find sponsors and offer $1 million to the winner. Cycling Weekly asked him about the fact his proposed September race would conflict with the Tour of Missouri:

Q: Your proposed dates also clash with the new Tour of Missouri, which was very successful last year. In terms of goodwill and PR, it's not a great move is it?

A: Not at all. I don't think it's a good move, but in the big picture we don't have a choice. You can't put a race as big as this on the whole sporting calendar and not step on some toes. I regret that deeply. I'd like to talk to the people at the Tour of Missouri so that everyone can exist and complement each other and co-exist. When you want to do something big, you have no choice but to step on some toes. Tell me when there is a spot on the calendar when it doesn't clash. If someone can do that, please tell me.

The conflict not only involves overlapping dates, but the fact Tour of America would have stages in the Show-Me State at the same time as Tour of Missouri.

DAN SCHMATZ MOVES ON: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch did a story about Dan Schmatz, the St. Louis-area native who gained notoriety when he broke his arm after hitting an armadillo during the second stage of the 2007 Tour of Missouri.

Since then, Schmatz has left pro racing, but he returned to his second home in Colorado with a renewed sense of purpose, the Post-Dispatch reported. Schmatz has started a new career in real estate management and is passing on his racing expertise as director of the THF Realty Cycling Team, an amateur team that plans to participate in 10 to 15 U.S. races this year.

To mark the change in his life, Schmatz also has created a new version of his blog, Your Bike Sucks.

ILLINOIS 3-FEET LAW: In their roundups of new laws that took effect Jan. 1, most daily papers in Illinois only gave a sentence or two to the new law that requires motorists to give at least 3 feet of clearance when passing a bicyclists. But there were a couple of papers that took it a step further.

The Aurora Beacon News did a full story about the new law, and it cited startling statistics: According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, there were nearly nine cyclist-motorist accidents per day in the state of Illinois in 2006, with the vast majority of them taking place in Chicago. In 2006, 26 cyclists were killed in road accidents in Illinois.

The Kane County Chronicle, which serves some of Chicago's suburbs, also wrote about the law.

BIKE SEX CHANGE: My cycling friends Jody and Arlene may consider this sacrilege, but San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Curran recently wrote about how he turned his daughter's pink bicycle into a more masculine silver.

Here's how Curran described the original appearance of the bike, a $30 Magna purchased from Target:

This bike featured three shades of pink. And little pink flowers on top of the pink. You could safely accuse it of pink overkill. In big letters on the chain guard, it said "Starburst." No boy bikes are named Starburst.

How did he perform the sex-change operation? Duct tape. There's a lot more to this story, but I won't spoil the ending here.

Labels: advocacy, bicycles, cycling, Illinois, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:27 PM

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Swap Meet and Classic Bike Show

To divert our attention from the cold, damp and dreary weather outside, the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation is announcing plans for its sixth annual Swap Meet and Classic Bike Show.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Jan 27, at the Gateway Convention Center, 1 Gateway Drive in Collinsville, Ill.

Non-profits, individuals, and bike-related businesses are invited to reserve a 10’x10’ vendor space or larger prior to Jan. 16 to sell bike-related goods.

Prices for bicycle - related booths (Prior to Jan. 16):

• Bike Business member: $100 for one booth, $175 for two, $350 for 3 to 4 booths.
• Bike Business non-member: $125 for one booth, $225 for two, $400 for 3 to 4 booths.
• Non-Profits: $50 for one booth, $75 for two booths.
• Racing teams, riding clubs and collector clubs: $35 for one booth, $50 for two booths.
• Individual BikeFed member: $20 for one booth, $25 for two booths.
• Individual non-member: $25 for one booth, $35 for two booths.

A Classic Bike Show also will take place. Show your classic bicycle in one of these categories: Stingray Original, Stingray Restored, Balloon Tire, Middleweight, BMX, Special Interest and Best of Show. Entry for the Classic Bike Show is $5 per bike plus admission ($6 in advance/$7 day of). Prizes will be awarded. The public is invited to vote. For information on the Classic Bike Show, contact Dan Schmitz at 636-271-2600 or dan@stlmusclebikes.com.

For more information on the Bicycle Swap, contact (314) 707-5001 or swapmeet@stlbikefed.org, or go online to http://www.stlbikefed.org.

Labels: bicycles, St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:54 AM

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Happy Holidays from Specialized

For a second straight year, the folks at Specialized have posted their distinctive holiday card: a glockenspiel-free rendition of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from "The Nutcracker Suite" performed entirely with bicycle parts.

Flip Baber -- aka Johnny Random -- was commissioned to write the Christmas card piece in November 2006. According to a story at BikeBiz.com, the glockenspiel and clarinet melody was created with spokes. The cello and violin pizzicatos were created with plucked derailleur cables. The tingly triangle was a bash on to a disc brake. The percussion was a medley of shifting, coasting, finger over turning spokes, chain pulls, braking, clipping into pedals, back-spinning, and air pssssing out of tires.

The Flash version on the Specialized site is a sharper than the YouTube video shown here, plus you can send it to all your cycling friends!

Thanks to longtime friend and cyclist Doug Kaufman for passing this along to me.

Labels: bicycles, Christmas

Roger 2 comments links to this post 12:51 PM

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Bicycles as a crime-fighting tool

In a story about the effect of crime on people who live in the Illinois counties of the St. Louis metropolitan area, the Belleville News-Democrat mentioned that having police officers on bicycles can be an effective tool in the effort to prevent crime in neighborhoods:

"Bikes are ... more approachable than patrol cars," said Edwardsville Police Maj. Donald Lask. "Sometimes people are more standoffish around a patrol car than (they are) with a bike."

Currently, five Edwardsville police officers are assigned to bike patrol, which offers access to playgrounds, school yards and bike paths.

"A patrol car just cruises around a school," Lask said, emphasizing that because residents tend to connect more easily with cops on two wheels, bike patrols have it all over most community policing tools -- except maybe foot patrols."

It's not surprising to me those remarks came from the Edwardsville Police Department since it's probably the most bike-friendly community in the metro-east, thanks in part to the many Madison County Transit trails that cross that city.

Labels: bicycles, Illinois, safety

Roger 1 comments links to this post 8:57 AM

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Long-term bicycle parking

The Wood River (Ill.) Public Works Department recently discovered a bicycle that had been leaning against a tree for so long that the tree had grown completely around it, The (Alton) Telegraph reported today.

The old Western Flyer, complete with basket, was found in the back yard of a property the city was clearing in the 500 block of Park Lane. The newspaper reported that one theory is that many years ago, the bike was placed in the fork of the tree, which grew to consume the center portion of the bike.

The photo and brief article has generated quite a few comments. Feel free to add yours here or at The Telegraph's site.

Labels: bicycles, news of the weird

Roger 1 comments links to this post 11:59 AM

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

VeloCity Café and Cyclery

The DeBaliviere neighborhood in St. Louis soon will be home to the VeloCity Café and Cyclery.

Sauce Magazine, St. Louis' best source for news about fine dining, recently described it as half-eatery, half-bicycle shop.

VeloCity Café and Cyclery will be in the old Bristol Hotel at DeBaliviere and Pershing avenues, just north of the Missouri History Museum and next door to the Forest Park Metro Station. Sauce Magazine says it will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner menus; bicycle repair services; and a range of rental bicycles, including tandem, comfort, road, recumbent and kids’ bikes.

Sarah, one of the members of the VeloCity Café and Cyclery team, told me: "At the moment we are starting construction on the building and feel a bit unsure about our exact opening date. We are hoping to open in the end of May or early June (in order to be available for as much of the summer as possible) but it all depends on how fast the process goes."

Labels: bicycles, restaurants, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments links to this post 5:28 PM

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Bello the clown gets his mini-bike back

There's good news in the circus world tonight: Bello Nock, the daredevil clown, and his lost little bike were reunited Sunday.

The Associated Press reported the star of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus thanked Ricky Robinson, who found Bello’s shiny foot-high, 6-inch-wide contraption Friday night outside a restaurant on Manhattan’s West Side.

The bitty bike was taken from a Manhattan street Friday. Bello and two fellow clowns had put on an impromptu show for a passing camera crew, when Bello rested his bike against a street sign and forgetfully walked away.

No matter if you're a circus star or a humble cyclist in the Midwest, Bello's reaction reveals the relationship between a bicycle and the person who rides it:

“I need my bike. That is my bike."

Labels: bicycles, clowns

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:15 PM

Friday, March 16, 2007

Ellen's Trek giveaway

I just happened to be flipping channels at home this morning when I suddenly noticed Ellen DeGeneres standing around with a bunch of bicycles.

It turns out that she was giving away Trek's Lime bicycle to her audience. And not only that, she's giving away Lime bicycles to lucky members of her TV audience!

So I went ahead and took a chance.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Trek's Lime bicycle, here's some facts about it:

• The Lime shifts automatically, using an three-speed rear hub electronic Shimano shifting system powered by a generator in the front hub. "It works kind of like the the automatic transmission in your Aunt Edna's Buick," Trek says.
• Lime's seat folds up to reveal a handy storage space.
• You can pick a variety of colors to trim your Lime, everything from pink to -- of course -- lime green.

You probably wouldn't want to take a Trek Lime on a weeklong bicycle trip, but it just might be the right bike for bicycle commuting, running errands or cruising around Mackinac Island.

If you want to get in the running for one of Ellen's Trek Limes, you better sign up today because she has a different giveaway each day.

Labels: bicycles, Ellen DeGeneres, Trek

Roger 1 comments links to this post 12:11 PM

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Bicycle Swap Meet coming Jan. 28

The St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation is putting on its 5th annual Bicycle Swap Meet & Classic Bike Show on Sunday, Jan, 28, at the Gateway Center, 1 Gateway Drive in Collinsville, Ill.

The event will take place from noon to 3:30 p.m. Admission to the event is $5.50. The STLBikeFed also is offering a Early Bird Special for $10.50, which allows you in the building at 10:30 a.m. so you pick out your dream bike.

For full details about the event, click on the image at left to download a PDF flier, but here's a quick rundown on what you can expect:

>> Bike vendors of all types selling their wares at great prices.

>> A classic bike show featuring Stingray, balloon-tire and middleweight bikes.

>> Entertainment, including the St. Louis Arches youth circus troupe.

I'll be there, but it will be a work day for me. I will be busy promoting the Tour de Stooges and Tour de Grape. Hope to see you there!

Labels: bicycles, cycling, St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation

Roger 2 comments links to this post 2:42 PM