El Dorado County Supervisors held firm to a 2011 decision to support the Shingle Plan Compromise at a County Board meeting on January 24, 2012. The plan divides use of the Sacramento Placerville Transportation Corridor (SPTC) into two distinct segments. The area from Shingle Springs up to Diamond Springs has been allotted for the development of a heritage railroad. From Shingle Springs down to the Western El Dorado County line, development will focus on establishing a community trail that will serve local residents and connect to Folsom, thereby expanding our regional trail system. Trail and train supporters have been at odds for years over use of the SPTC, but the Supervisor's recent de

For John Weed, Eppie’s Great Race – now in its 38th year – serves as a new year’s celebration. The 58-year-old kayak instructor and whitewater guide has competed in the “no-swim” triathlon 35 times. The 38th annual Eppie’s Great Race takes place Saturday along the American River Parkway and is open to athletes of all ages. Weed said almost 40 years ago, he was hit by a semi truck while on his bicycle. Before that, he had been an avid runner. He came from a family of runners and in college would run 200 miles per week. “The doctors told me I’d never walk again, let alone run,” Weed said.  That same year, the Whitewater Slalom was introduced as an Olympic sport. Weed said he watched it

Oil your chains, pump up your tires and get geared up for Sacramento Bike Month. May is bike month in Sacramento, and there are many bike-related activities and events going on in the region whether you’re an advanced bicyclist or a recreational rider. May is a good month for biking, and it’s the perfect time to campaign for bike awareness, according to Sacramento Area Council of Governments co-chair Sonja Atkins. “I think it’s about getting people out there for their health, for air quality, to save money and for safety,” Atkins said. “There’s so many pieces to this puzzle, and it’s such a great mode of transportation that I see is important in many realms.” The campaign, in its sixth

Four years after she almost died from Lyme disease, Pamela O’Kane is one of three Sacramento women competing for Team USA at the World Triathlon Championships this week in Budapest, Hungary. It’s the second year in a row she’s qualified for Team USA. The 49-year-old lecturer from CSU Sacramento hopes there will be many more such adventures to come. It’s a far cry from how things looked in the spring of 2006. With her kids grown, a job she liked, and a love of athletic pursuits like running, swimming, and biking, she should have been on top of the world. Instead, she started experiencing weird symptoms her doctors couldn’t explain. She lost weight and muscle mass. She developed facial pa

Downtown Sacramento was a blur of baby blue T-shirts Saturday during the 2nd Annual Race for the Rock. More than 250 two-member teams competed for bling in the scavenger hunt, in which clues were sent via text message. The grand prize was a $20,000 Hearts on Fire diamond ring donated by Rogers Jewelry. Proceeds benefited Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services (SFBFS). Unlike many other nonprofit fund raisers, donors got the ball rolling, not the charity. "We wanted to do something that brought the community together and where people could have a good time," said Calvin Curtin of Rogers Jewelry. After deciding to do a scavenger hunt, Rogers chose SFBFS as its community partner. "We tol

The Amgen Tour of California doesn't begin until Sunday, but Levi Leipheimer already is heavily favored to win. "I think it will be a wonderful race," cycling commentator Phil Liggett said at a news conference Friday. "Levi Leipheimer will still win, but what the hell." Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong echoed that sentiment about the winner of the last three Tours of California. "If I were looking at it like an analyst, I would say that Levi, Dave (Zabriskie) and Michael Rogers are the big three," Armstrong said. "I guarantee you that Levi will kick (Mark) Cavendish's ass on hills." Cavendish would do the same to him on sprints, Leipheimer said under his breath. He note

Do you remember the feeling of riding a bike for the very first time? I do. I can recall the feeling of freedom, of gliding through the air under my own power, of the wind rushing past my hair and face. That was a magical feeling that can only happen once – the first time I learned to do something. But more than that, it is one my best childhood discoveries and memories. My entire body was uplifted and carried magically through space and time, and I felt that the whole world was mine and mine alone, until I crashed because I didn't know how to stop the bike. Do you remember the first hard crash on your bike, leaving your knees bloody and your palms numbed and bruised from hitting the pav

Amgen Tour of California teams were announced Friday morning. The roster includes seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong as well as Levi Leipheimer, winner of the last three consecutive Tour of California races, among others. The Sacramento Press will continue to cover the Amgen Tour of California, which rolls through the city Sunday, May 16. This will include a pre-race press conference May 14 and race day coverage. The following is a press release about the team announcement, via Bob Burns of the Sacramento Sports Commission. The world-class roster of teams and cyclists scheduled to participate in the 2010 Amgen Tour of California has been announced by race presenter AEG.

The first bicycle was used as a replacement for a horse, required a saddle and was propelled like Fred Flinstone's car. According to University of California, Davis, Bicycle Program Coordinator David Takemoto-Weerts, an early bicycle-like invention was a "Draisine," a 19th-century invention of German forest ranger Karl Von Drais, for whom the the proto-bike is named. Similar machines were tweaked by engineers until bikes evolved into what we use today. Takemoto-Weerts helped facilitate the purchase of a Draisine, part of the Pierce Miller collection that U.C. Davis bought in 2000 for a little under $400,000. It is now one of the dozens of historic and modern bikes displayed at the U.S. B

At 9:00 am, nearly a hundred cyclists showed up for  Sacramentos first Tweed Ride sunday for the all day neighborhood bike ride. Amazing as  the idea gave birth just a little over a month beforehand. Thanks to powerful internet networking the idea traveled fast and soon the restaurants that accepted  to participate got what they reserved, a lot of love from the enthusiasts dressed in fine vintage tweed.  The scramble to amass the finer vintage look was on and the final result a best dressed contest showed us the need for such an event.  The enthusiasm was contagious as was the creative impulse for both vintage bike and dress alike. Many cities have such a ride already in place. New York,

At about 9 a.m. Thursday, three-time Amgen Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer announced via a "tweet" that he was going to defend his title in 2010. It was part of a high-profile Twitter conversation started by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that went something like this: "@schwarzenegger: Great news for American cycling fans and CA. The 2010 Amgen Tour of California will be better than ever. @lancearmstrong will you join us? @lancearmstrong: Absolutely! @schwarzenegger, I've decided to ride the #Amgen Tour of California in 2010. Can't wait. What about you @levileipheimer? @levileipheimer: I'll definitely be racing the 2010 Amgen Tour of California, defending my title." Then at 4:30

Bikes, beer and beards - all were in abundant supply this weekend at the second annual Sacramento Bike Games, which lasted all of Saturday evening. A select group of people received phone calls Saturday morning from the event's organizers telling them where to meet up for the first event, a skid-stop competition held on the American River Bike Trail at noon. After that, the action moved to Discovery Park, where the Pick Up, Footdown and Trackstand events were held. While Footdown and Trackstands have been explained in previous articles in this storyline, Pick Up is probably unfamiliar to readers. In Pick Up, objects of successively diminishing size have to be picked up by players riding

Sacramento's newest bike rack is just in time for this weekend's Amgen Tour of California. There it sits, on the corner of 19th and O, right outside of Zuda Yoga Center. The smell of fresh concrete, a green metal masterpiece, new paint - it's the real deal.  The Sacramento-themed bike rack, which has a depiction of a bicycle inside the State Capitol Building, was installed earlier this morning. The work of art already had a blue bike locked to it this afternoon.  Zuda's owners, spouses Anne Marie Kramer and Bill Prysock, had been actively "trying to get a bike rack installed" outside their business for approximately six months, said Yoga Coordinator Amanda Johnson.  Johnson added, "We a

 It's always been a struggle for me when I bring my bike to Yosemite or any other national park.  Because of the difficulty of siting any kind of mountain bike trail, you're stuck on the paved roads with the Winnebagos and tour buses.  Frankly, that scares the snot out of me.  I wind up riding in places I shouldn't be, and that's bad too.  The International Mountain Bike Association has been working for years to improve off-pavement bicycle access in National Parks and many other places.  The Park Service has finally come up with a proposed new policy which will make it a little easier to site some trails in national parks.  There is one week left for you to get your comments in on the new

Friday evening, you may have run into a crowd of cyclists pedaling their way downtown, uptown, and back again. The racing term for this group is a peloton. These rather enthusiastic riders were in the midst of the Sacramento Alley Cat bike race.  The Alley Cat is an unsanctioned bike race, checkpoint-to-checkpoint, where the emphasis is placed not on speed, but on knowing the layout of the city. Races are always open course, taking place in street traffic.  40 riders took off for the five checkpoints of the race which stretched from Lucky Lefty's on 16th Street all the way to West Sacramento and back.  Many others who came chose not to race, but remained at Lucky Lefty's, watching a bik

Its party time come this Second Saturday. You see the Sacramento Bike Kitchen has a new center and we are throwing a grandopening party. The Bike Kitchen otherwise known as SBK is a nonprofit org(501(c)3) with the intention of keeping you on your bike and more importantly creating more advocates who create a more bike friendly community, one bike at a time. Heres how it works. For a small fee you can have someone show YOU how to fix and maintain your bicycle. A sort of teach a man to fish philosophy. We survive on donations such as unused bikes and bike parts. Unused, tools, and bike stands are gladly accepted as well. 2 hats we are wearing is the recycler and educational center for all t

Working downtown out of Old Sacramento I am noticing a significant rise in bike traffic here. Be it  a meating place and/or hub for riding the American River bike trail. Many do not know that this gem known as the American River Bike Trail ends or begins here depending on your POV.  Rumours on the club scene are an organized ride from Old Town Folsom to Oldtown Sacramento are being planned.   It behooves the planners for old town to cater to cyclists as they bring cash and credit cards to old town. Cyclist by and large are quiet adding to Old town ambiance, dont polute and love Oldtown charm. Steamers coffee, a popular destination and resting spot for area cyclists have no outdoor seatin

So one night a few months back, I was sitting in traffic on J street and noticed a Chevy Suburban towing a billboard advertising for a soft drink product. I was a little pissed that this vehicle was driving around burning gas and clogging traffic, but it spurred another idea. Build a better way of doing this in a little more responsible way. How do you advertise your product and not annoy people or make them feel like you're creating traffic jams? The solution was to buy an existing product and rework it a little with the help of a signage company. Out of this came a bike trailer and bicycle with custom made "wraps". PLease look at the photographs and notice the complete custom build for