Citi Bike:Wait, let me try that again. Citi Bike:Thats better.Theres been lots of news lately about the smuggies efforts to lower the cost of e-Citi Bike trips, and when it comes to whining about that Ive been quite timely. However, Im woefully tardy in addressing this story in some local broadsheet newspaper about Citi Bike hustlers:Basically, people whose main gigs dont really do anything for anybody are helping to make ends meet by engaging in side gigs that actively inconvenience people:See, sometimes Citi Bike docks are empty, which sucks when you want a bike, and sometimes Citi Bike docks are full, which sucks when you need to park a bike. (Ive encountered this enough myself that I really dont bother with Citi Bike anymore.) To address this, Citi Bike has this system that rewards users for helping balance the systembut predictably people have found a way to exploit it:And instead of doing something with dignity, like, oh, I dunno, GETTING A GODDAMN JOB, these people just move bikes back and forth with no regard for the people who want to actually use them because I guess it beats working:As a semi-professional bike blogger who also offers nothing whatsoever to society Im not exactly in a position to judge these peoplein fact this blog is essentially the literary equivalent of what theyre doing. I just move words around instead of bikes. But stillhow are they not embarrassed? Its impossible for me to like anybody in this story. The Bike Angel bottom-feeders, the shitty tech company who runs the bike share program, and even Oxford professor Brent Mittelstadt, who spends his days pontificating on the ethics of algorithms:Its not surprising he feels this way, since as an academic Professor Mittelstadt is himself a hustler who doesnt even have to break a sweat. What the hell kind of ethicist is he, anyway? The algorithm theyre fooling is actually well-intentioned. As someone whos been flummoxed by an unbalanced Citi Bike system myself I resent that people are exploiting a system meant to address it in a manner that actually makes it worse, all for personal gain. Its really no different than fare-beating (which I realize is now considered ethical behavior by the smuggies, but whatever). In fact, its worse than fare-beating, since a fare-beater is just stealing a ride, but these people are actually getting paid to make legitimate customers experience worse.Then again, I guess moving Citi Bikes around pointlessly is no worse than moving money around pointlessly, which is what day traders do. And I guess your Game Stop meme traders are the equivalent of these rouge Bike Angels, beating the system at its own game and sticking it to the man, or his algorithmic equivalent. But is making a bad system even worse by fucking with it ethically defensible? I guess I have to defer to Professor Mittelschmerz on that one.But if theres one thing I like even less than people getting over on the system, its people having fun:As an aging curmudgeon there is absolutely nothing I detest more than people enjoying themselves publiclythough I do like this kid:In an ideal world wed punish our children for going to the mall instead of the Citi Bike race.Its also hard not to root for the nerds and their attempt to thwart the semi-professional bike racer:It looks like the semi-professional bike racer is really just one of the local CRCA park jockeys:It looks like he also happens to ride with the team that got into that highly entertaining kerfuffle with the TransAlt advocate:I was the victim of a hit and run in Prospect Park. This cyclist, Kevin, crashed hard into me from behind on the hill in Prospect Park. I asked for his info multiple times. His friends he was racing with told him to leave and then he did while I was trying to file a police report pic.twitter.com/mGB1Yg4ogg Kathy Park Price (@KathyParkPrice) February 12, 2023This is also one of these situations where its really tough to take anybodys side. The panting Fred whos doing hot laps in a public park and taking no responsibility for his actions, the aggrieved advocate demanding I NEED YOUR INFO In situations like this we need some sort of ethicist first-responder who arrives at the scene and tells everybody what to do.As for the Citi Bike race, its organized by Citi Bike Boyz:Yes, its a great tool for the city they seem to be destroying one bike at a time:It makes for a great video though.I wonder if anybody will ever do a story on all the abandoned Citi Bikes in the North Bronx and Yonkers:Id do it myself, but that sounds an awful lot like work.

Frugality is just one reason to start cycling to work but how much can you actually save on your commuting costs if you switch to two wheels?

CyclistThe history of the World Championships rainbow jerseyYou wear the rainbow jersey, the only one in the peloton. You are thinking now, in this moment, in this race, I am a different rider because I am wearing this jersey.Those are the words of scar Freire, the triple road race World Champion, who literally burst out of the pack and announced himself on the global stage at the 1999 Worlds in Verona. Just 23 years old at the time, the little-known Freire stunned the world of cycling to claim his first rainbow jersey.The silence in the finishing straight was deafening, ran one race report, yet Freires win secured him a contract with Mapei, at the time one of the biggest teams in cycling.It changed everything in my life, Freire reflected in 2017. In my career and in my private life that moment changed a lot.Freire ended his career with three elite mens road race rainbow jerseys to his name, a record haul matched only by Rik Van Steenbergen, Eddy Merckx, Peter Sagan and Alfredo Binda, the winner of the first professional road race World Championship in 1927. Related Posts How to watch the UCI World Championships road races 2024 Who are the rising stars to watch at the Tour de lAvenir 2024? 3 alternative ways we could choose a World Champion UCI Road World Championships 2024: Routes, how to watch and all you need to know We were fighting against each other to win every race: Beppe Saronni profile Tentative startThe UCI first organised an official road cycling World Championship in 1921. The event was restricted to amateurs for six years until the governing body decided to open the race up to professionals, introducing the rainbow jersey and its five coloured bands, mirroring the colours of the Olympic rings but running horizontally across the middle.The inclusion of professional riders into what was then the pinnacle of the amateur racing calendar was not without controversy. Some thought that incorporating the pros, who already had numerous and increasingly prestigious races to target, would have a negative impact on the standing of the event, and counselled against inviting competitors they considered to be solely motivated by money.The 1927 Worlds were held in Germany, at the newly opened Nrburgring circuit. The UCI decided on a single race to be contested by both amateurs and professionals, but with a title for both categories up for grabs. That complicated matters and made some federations and bike manufacturers uneasy.What if a famous, handsomely paid and sponsored professional was beaten by a plucky but unfancied amateur? What then for the credibility of the Worlds? To be deemed worthwhile the World Championships needed a big-name winner, and while the French pros stayed away entirely because of their doubts, the Italians turned up en masse.This included Binda, already a two-time Giro winner, and his great rival Costante Girardengo, the original Campionissimo, with nine national titles and multiple Monuments to his name.Binda won that first rainbow jersey with ease, finishing more than seven minutes ahead of Girardengo, while Domenico Piemontesi rounded out a fully Italian podium.You can view it an exaggeration to cry for a cycling race, wrote journalist Giuseppe Tonelli in La Stampa, but all of us Italians present at that time felt a lump in our throats and a tear in our eyes.A new era beginsIf Binda had brought tears of joy to his countrymen in 1927, the reaction to his performance in defence of his rainbow jersey 12 months later could not have been more different.This was a time in which Binda and Girardengo were engaged in an intense battle for Italys affections and, for each of them, preventing the other from winning the major races was nearly as important as winning themselves.In 1928 this was plain for all to see, with the pair unwilling to work together for fear of helping the other prevail. Neither finished the World Championship race and both were sanctioned by the Italian federation for not having defended with faith and determination the prestige of Italian cycling while engaged in this most important world competition.The national media mocked both riders, with the Italian publication Sports Giallo publishing a cartoon that showed a large and fierce-looking official holding the two fearful cyclists their backsides raised into the air and fingers adorned by jewels. The official had his right hand poised, ready to come down with force, like a schoolmaster dealing with a pair of naughty schoolboys.It was the first, but by no means last, example of rivals-turned-national-teammates refusing to work together in the hunt for the rainbow jersey.It would be another 30 years until the best women in cycling got their World Championship race. In the early spring of 1958, after being lobbied by a number of countries including Britain and Russia, the UCI confirmed that it would sanction an official womens World Championships later in the year.Held in Reims, France, Elsy Jacobs of Luxembourg took that inaugural title, while two years later Britains Beryl Burton took the jersey, repeating her win in 1967.It was Belgiums Yvonne Reynders who dominated the early years of the womens road World Championships, claiming four rainbow jerseys in the space of just seven years. Reynders record held until 1995 when Frances Jeannie Longo won her fifth jersey.Longo, who was also a mountain bike national champion, crashed on the second lap of the race but picked herself up to solo to the win. On the podium there were tears in Longos eyes and a gash on her leg.I was going to stop at the pits, Longo later said, but I was encouraged to carry on. My husband was in the pits and looked at my leg and said, Its nothing. When you have been racing mountain bikes you learn to recover from crashes.Over the years the frequency with which riders have failed to deliver the goods while wearing the rainbow bands has been noted, leading some to question whether the jersey is cursed. In 2015 there was even a paper in The British Medical Journal on the subject (unsurprisingly it debunked the theory).Its not a cursed jersey, Philippe Gilbert told LEquipe in September 2013. But the problem is that it doesnt pass unnoticed in a peloton where everybody is looking at it. That makes it harder to win but still the jersey is one of the most coveted prizes in cycling, a unique and visible symbol of achievement that stays on a riders back all season.Win the Worlds and the rainbow jersey remains yours until of course someone wins it from you.This jersey is part of Paul Van Bommels collection of memorabilia, which is on display at the Bike Experience Centre in Boom, Belgium. Go to deschorre.be/develodroom.html This article originally appeared in issue 100 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribeThe post The history of the World Championships rainbow jersey appeared first on Cyclist.

Germany'sNiklas Behrens is the new men's under 23 road race world champion after emerging on top from a high quality field on Friday afternoon in Zurich. Completing the final podium,Slovakia's Martin Svrcek and Belgium's Alec Segaert.In a frantic and unrelenting start to the race, rider after rid...

Our Reader's Rig of the week comes from JB in Queensland, Australia, who offers a peek at the chocolate-painted Curve GMX+ prototype he built up to be a capable dirt tourer that feels like a big BMX bike. Get to know a little about JB, his DIY mentality, and his one-of-a-kind GMX+ here...The post Readers Rig: JBs Nitro Choccy Curve GMX+ appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Cyclist Nathan Piling angrily confronted Michael Dawson after the 78-year-old spoke to him about riding his bike on the footpath

The Slovenians have arguably the strongest team heading into the men's elite road race at the 2024World Championships in Zurich. More than just pre-race favourite Tadej Pogacar, the men in green are also going to count on recent Vuelta a Espana champion,Primoz Roglic.The role of the latter is stil...

Muriel Furrer, the young Swiss rider airlifted to hospital after sustaining head injuries in a heavy crash in the junior womens road race at the Worlds, has very sadly died from her injuries. The Swiss teenager had been airlifted to hospital from the crash scene yesterday at her home Worlds and there were []The post Swiss rider Muriel Furrer has died after crash in junior road race at Worlds appeared first on Sticky Bottle.

This weeks Debrief features a 3,000% 12x14 drivetrain, the new Ron's R-Werks 29er, Handup Rambler Shorts, the Perfect Hardtail, two events to follow live, and more. Find it all hereThe post Friday Debrief: 3,000% Drivetrain, Rons R-Werks 29er, The Perfect Hardtail, and More appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Its been a year, almost to the day, since The Radavist broke free from The Pros Closet (TPC) and bought their company back. That seems to have been a bit of foreshadowing as TPC faced tough times since then along with mass layoffs. Now, TPC has announced that they will be closing up shop, for goodsad news.In addition to posting the press release below on their LinkedIn page, TPC is holding a Going Out of Business Sale with up to 75% off sitewide. Louisville, CO 9/26/24 After 18 remarkable years of serving the cycling community, The Pros Closet (TPC) will close its doors in October. Since our founding, weve had the privilege of helping over 160,000 customers find their perfect ride and have sold more than 46,000 bikes. Its been a hell of a ride, and we couldnt be more thankful to the customers, employees, and vendors who made this journey possible.This has been an extraordinary chapter in the world of cycling, and were incredibly grateful to everyone who has been a part of it, said Jonathan Czaja, CEO of The Pros Closet. From our dedicated team to the loyal riders and industry partners, your support allowed us to grow and create a lasting impact. While this is the end of the road for TPC, as it operates today, we are proud of what weve accomplished together.The Pros Closet began with a vision to make cycling more accessible by offering a better way to buy and sell used bikes while becoming the first true certified pre-owned bike offering in the cycling industry. Over the years, weve remained committed to providing exceptional service and spreading the joy of cycling. As we close this chapter, we reflect on the community weve built and the countless miles our customers have ridden.Because at the end of the day, Bikes make it betterand we still believe, Bikes are meant to be used.TheProsCloset.comThe post Come October, The Pros Closet Will be Closing Up Shop appeared first on Bikerumor.