Bike sharing in Boston gets a $3 million boost.

A wi-fi bicycle lock that beeps you when your bike is being stolen is an interesting concept with a lot of caveats, the first being: You must lock your bike in a public wi-fi area.

You thought Alberto Contador showed poor sportsmanship not waiting for Andy Schleck? Check out Joe Papp’s analysis of John Gadret’s treatment of teammate Nicolas Roche.

What happens when two bike legends run into each other unexpectedly? If one happens to be Jacquie Phelan, well … read for yourself.

If Floyd Landis were to pick a place, any place, to return to public visibility following the Landis-Lance affaire de doping, he could do no better than Bend OR.

Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz are doing yeoman work to promote trails in a heroin-infested park called Pogonip. For more, check out its Facebook page.

Now it’s back to the Tour!!!!

Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz has the update on Epicenter Cycling’s new pump track in the former dirt lot behind the shop alongside the road leading up through Forest of Nisene Marks.

Bike Station Aptos has made the move to its new shop in the Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center (just up the main drag from their former place). And Bicycle Trip is celebrating its new accommodations as well.

Plus Dave Smith is getting great response to his new ShuttleSmith service operating out of the parking space next to Epicenter Cycling. ShuttleSmith Adventures takes riders to the top of Nisene Marks, where they can play all day in Soquel Demo Forest and then cruise back down the fire road into Aptos. ShuttleSmithAdventures.com has all the info.

At $15, it’s cheaper than driving our own van up and back. And that’s a drive we dread anyway, along narrow winding roads. Plus you’re carpooling dude — doing your small but still important bit to conserve on gas and save a seabird or two from the likes of the Gulf Oil leak.

One other thing: Parking and leaving an empty vehicle up at the top can be an invitation to car prowls. Every time we go to the Demo Forest we see the broken glass of burgled vehicles.

It all starts tomorrow, Saturday June 5th. The shuttle will leave from the Epicenter Cycling shop at Aptos Station at 9, 11, 1:30 and 3:30. There’s a Shuttle Smith flyer with more details.

Thanks to Mark Davidson of Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz for posting. And to Dave Smith for starting the service.

Jason Alexander may have played the bumbling schmuck George on the Seinfeld TV series, but he shows how a class act handles things when he hits a kid on a bike.

It’s not your grandfather’s, or even father’s, bike company, but Schwinn is alive and kick…er, pedaling!

Five Ten shoes had its new line of SPD compatibles at Sea Otter. This is a bit of a puzzler, since you don’t particularly want a sticky sole if you’ve got cleats installed. And if you don’t, you won’t get the sticky sole effect because the cleat cap is lacking. One for the Five Ten rep next time we run into him.

Bicycle “Hollow Famer” Jacquie Phelan on the Hall of Fame’s move to Davis CA.

Nice signage added to Wilder Ranch State Park, courtesy in part to Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz and you, the gang who attended its big festival in February.

Now before the protest mail from the good people at Cascade Bicycle Club starts flowing in, we’re happy to acknowledge that Bike Expo includes mountain biking as well as road.

But everyone knows that road dominates Expo. Newly named interim director of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, Glenn Glover, noted recently the blank stares he got from way too many Expo-goers at the EMBA booth — even from mountain bikers.

The reason? First was context. Surrounded by roadie booths, demos, personalities and lycra, even mountain bikers weren’t expecting to find an mtb advocacy group in the mix.

Second is emphasis. A glance at the list of exhibitors this year — a record number, btw — shows only a handful of mtb-focused vendors. Missing were some of the hottest names in mountain biking circles, Evil Bikes, Obtainium, Transition. Even IMBA, a mainstay at mountain biking fests, was not on the list.

It’s true, as Glenn pointed out, that Evergreen can do much more to promote its image in the mtb community. But that could be Argument No. 1 for hosting a local mountain bike show.

Bike Expo aside, has not the time come for something along the lines of a Sea Otter North (Sea Wetter?), or Fruita West, Crankworx South (Dankworx?) or even Bike & Brew (Leavenworth) on the wet side of the state? Seattle deserves a signature mountain bike event to call its own.

Visiting in northern California we recently had the good fortune to attend the first Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival, a two-day event highlighted by an in-town jump jam and the California premiere of “Women of Dirt” (which premiered worldwide in Seattle earlier in February). Although unseasonably wet and cold weather forced cancellation of a big group ride, the event packed Santa Cruz’s Rio Theater and, despite inevitable glitches with a first-time venture, was a roaring success.

Mark Davidson, President of sponsoring Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz, said the festival galvanized the cycling community in Santa Cruz — a significant accomplishment given the seaside city’s bigger reputation for surfing — and has led to a number of unsolicited “we want to be part of this next year” queries from major bike names. His group will have an Interbike representative this fall to solicit sponsors and raise awareness in the festival, and at least one internationally known mountain bike manufacturer is knocking on its door.

Davidson does not minimize the huge challenges associated with staging a festival. Months of organizing, mounds of communication and hour upon hour of meetings and phone calls and emails are required to pull the thing off right.

But the rewards are not only commensurate, Mark noted, they go beyond the organization and event itself to permeate the community at large.

Ironically, cycling in Santa Cruz is still kind of ‘underground’ as a mainstream activity, despite the huge number of enthusiasts and a vibrant bike industry. People who are cyclists know that Santa Cruz is a mecca, but non-cyclists are not aware (i.e., Chamber of Commerce, tourism/visitors center, local paper).

The Amgen “Tour of California” is helping to raise awareness. So did the mountain bike fest.

The current (March 2010) issue of BIKE magazine, in a page-long feature, “7 Reasons Why You Should Host Your Own Event,” notes “it’s an effective economic stimulus” and cultural catalyst:

Greg Williams, one of the Downieville Downhill race’s founders, says that the weekend of that race is ‘the biggest for restaurants and grocery stores in the area by far for the whole year.’

There’s potential payoff for bike vendors as well. It’s starting to dawn on the industry that if it’s going to keep selling its wares, it had better get behind building new places to ride. The style of riding preferred particularly by younger riders — bike park, jump jam, pump track and other more structured, less open-country — needs bikes designed for specific purposes. That’s a huge market potential — but only if the places to ride exist.

The new generation of dirt boyz n grrrlz deserves an event to call their own. At the Santa Cruz fest I noticed how across-the-board the age group was. And in fact it was a great family event, with freeride groms and their parents alike eating it all up.

The explosion of freeriding in Seattle environs deserves a special gathering to coalesce its energy and enthusiasm. A local mtb festival would be just the ticket.

I haven’t seen email or tweet from event maestro Mark Davidson and have to think he’s still sleeping it off. The guy was on his feet non-stop and spent more than an hour on-stage giving schwag away; he deserves a rest!

There was a day-long jump jam at Depot Park in Santa Cruz, booths with demo rides and cool gear, and lots of great folks from Bones Over Metal, Black Market Bikes, Titus and of course the sponsoring Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz. It’s always great to be able to meet a tweep face2face — plus I got to see Fenriq’s (Erik Orgell’s) vintage Ibis Mojo hardtail up close (sheesh…I’d forgotten all about MORON tubing!).

A near-sellout of hooting, whistling, stomping, amped mtb fanz showed up for the California premiere of “Awesome Land — Women of Dirt” inside the Rio. And while the hour-long film didn’t disappoint, with jump and DH action, killer scenery and personal insights from the riders, my favorite part of the whole festival was the panel discussion afterward.

Karen Kefauver, who writes the Spin City column for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, tossed out intelligent questions and the ladies — Kathy Pruitt, Emily Johnston, Lisa Myklak and Tammy Donahugh (left to right on stage in video) — were not only insightful and forthcoming, they repeatedly cracked up the audience with over the top answers.

I caught a couple of the better moments on video. Miles Sullivan and Mark Brent (he’s the guy on the panel), “Women of Dirt” co-makers, were there filming as well and I’ll post their more professional version when it hits. Suffice it to say everyone had a rad time, and congratulations to MBOSC for hosting a memorable fest. We can’t wait till next year!

Angela taming a log roll in St. Ed's

Why are fewer women cycling? asks BikeRumor. Well, er… are there actually fewer women riding? Most data in urban areas suggests the opposite. And on the trails, there’s a real explosion in women mtbers (granted the base was small). On Twitter and Facebook, more women riders all the time. Still, it’s worth a read…

Case in (counter)point: Angela Sucich takes the Diamondback Lux Sport out for a thrash.

Gregg’s Cycles in Seattle has reprised W.O.W. — Women on Wheels, a Ladies Night Out. Mark it down: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 4, at the Green Lake store.

And at 86, still pedaling.

Then again, Martin Krieg, the “FarthingPenny” guy, checks in with this report:

“Who should roll up but Ellen Fletcher, America’s first politician/bike activist. And the woman for whom America’s first bike boulevard here in Palo Alto was named. Ellen asked me how our ride to Boston was coming along, and among other things, told me she had seen our bus parked on the other bike boulevard, Park Blvd, at Park Automotive Services. And as she pedaled off, I felt the need to corroborate her age for Chris and Caroline, the passer by who took the below photo. Ellen had to stop to get enough wind to answer me. She was still on the mend from having had a cancerous part of her lung removed.

“Eighty two”, she answered. She got back on her bike and pedaled away!!”

Alice Telford rides like ... a girl!

A less encouraging case in point: Woman rider clotheslined in steep gully.

Don’t forget the always cyclesque Kate Hudson!

And then there’s “Women of Dirt,” which is getting premieres all up and down the West Coast. The Cali premiere is this Sunday in Santa Cruz, rain or shine.

Which brings us to the subject of the bizarre dreariness and slop of this winter. In Vancouver they’re sweating in sunshine but the SF Bay Area can’t buy a ray. The big question-mark this weekend is the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival. “Women of Dirt” will show, but the rides and events planned around the festival aren’t being helped by the wet. Mark Davidson & the gang at Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz have put together an incredible weekend, with more than $15,000 worth of merchandise to raffle off. At last tweet everything is still on, Soquel Demo ride and Jump Jam included! Got my ticket from Another Bike Shop in Santa Cruz and am ready to rumble!

Could be yers, ALL yers, dude...or dudess!

The big “Women of Dirt” California premiere is two weeks away, and Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz keeps sweetening the pot. Titus has emerged as the lead sponsor and is offering up a killer bike, the El Guapo, for raffle giveaway. Plus Black Market Bikes is offering 10 percent off in-stock items purchased from its online store. And the general raffle includes “an Intense 5.5 EVP frame donated by our good friends at Trailhead Cyclery, a Fox 36 Talas RC2 donated by Fox Racing Shox, a BlkMrkt Bike Mob frame donated by Black Market Bikes and many, many, many items,” MBOSC says. Tickets are at most area bike shops, grab ‘em before they sell out like they did in Seattle Feb. 5th!

The practice of riding in the goo has some folks, including Santa Cruz Bicycles marketing maniac Mike Ferrentino, a bit on the dispeptic side.

Riders gear up for Skeggs

The good news is that in recent days there was a marked shift in trail integrity. We’ve been riding the mid-Peninsula and Santa Cruz areas and can report that most trails were drying out nicely — before last night’s deluge, at least. In contrast to the Pacific Northwest, where we hail from, Cali trails drain pretty quickly. Sun and warmer temps help. But the soil is far more porous in California, at least in most places. Plus trails in NorCal are well built.

Upper Alpine Road trails are hurtin'

Before we get ahead of ourselves, it should be noted that California is not out of the woods yet weather-wise. Rain continues to plague the forecast like a bad case of shingles, coming and going without much notice. El Nino or Nina or Nano, whatever it is, has things all bolloxed up and down the coast. The jet stream continues to play havoc, keeping storm patterns intermittent over the next 10 days and perhaps beyond. Everyone talks about how much the region needs the wet because of recent years’ drought. I have to explain that where I come from we have 121 synonyms for rain and no synonyms for drought. Drought itself isn’t really a word. Saying it sounds strange on our lips, like that clicking sound Aboriginals make.

Bridge no longer over troubled water

It’s a shame to interrupt the trails’ recovery. We rode in Wilder Ranch State Park at Santa Cruz Wednesday and found things in great shape, especially for a rider with Seattle roots. Although the locals (a surprising number were out) complained about splatter, I explained that these trail conditions would be heaven in the Northwest as late as mid-July. Most of the trails were perfectly dry, not even leaving tracks. Only in some drop-ins, post holes and gullies was there surface water. We weren’t complaining.

Eucalyptus, Baldwin and Wilder Ridge loops were in fine shape. A bridge had been removed at one water crossing and there was evidence of erosion on the steeps, but nothing like the blocking blowdowns, fallen limbs and what have you we would find in the Northwest. Zane Grey Cutoff had some issues in a couple of the wetter switchbacks, as did the main lower trail that cuts off from the fire road climb. At one point I wheelied over a wet spot, only to land in the biggest sucking sound since Ross Perot’s flip chart. The bike just door-stopped, dumping me over the side into a grassy bank, laughing like a maniac.

Plastic flap on Baldwin Loop

Baldwin Loop was closed, kind of, with flexi-posts, but the trail was pretty well all dry. The main road loops were dry except in upper flat areas, and even there was just oozing drainage, not puddles.

As long ago as last Sunday, Forest of Nisene Marks above Aptos was equally recovering, although the tall trees and lack of light were retarding its comeback more than Wilder. I mentioned in my Titus Rockstar 29er review that a couple of places were actively running water. But most of the lower trails (riding on the uppers was discouraged by rangers) are bouncing back.

On the mid-Peninsula, Arastradero was in fair shape on Monday, although a couple of shaded trails were closed. (Check the kiosk at the main parking lot before heading out.) Arastradero has great exposure and good drainage and recovers more quickly than most.

A ride up Alpine Road to the Stevens Creek network on Tuesday was less successful. The singletrack off Alpine was really mucky and will take some time to recover. I didn’t make it across Page Mill, but from experience know that the Stevens Creek trail itself gets closed in this kind of weather. Monte Bello has much better elevation and exposure and usually fares well.

I haven’t made it to Skeggs or points north for exploration yet but will try to get to Mt. Tam and Tamarancho this weekend, weather permitting. Bryan at Fairfax Cyclery (a great shop just to drop in and schmooze) indicated that China Camp, Pine Mountain and Mt. Tam trails were serviceable, the exception being Camp Tamarancho, which got a check mark in the unrecommended column. The shame is that the Marin County Bicycle Coalition’s Dirt Bowl fundraiser is scheduled for Sunday. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that Fairfax and environs don’t get slammed too bad beforehand.

As for Wilder, Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz president Mark Davidson was not optimistic and “will probably” cancel the club’s weekly Wilder ride for tomorrow (Saturday). “We don’t recommend people ride wet trails,” he said. Having formerly lived in Vancouver, B.C., where NorthShore sprouts raging rivers this time of year and mountain bikers have to fight off kayakers for trail access, Davidson qualifies as a trusted name in soil integrity. When he says “wet,” we hear “aquatic.”

There hasn’t been a really good stretch of weather in the Bay Area since the turn of the decade. That may sound worse than it really is, but for NorCal it pretty well puts things in perspective. Let’s hope for a turn for the better asap.

Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz have finalized plans for their two-day Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival on Feb. 27 and 28, capped with the California premiere of “Women of Dirt” at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the stately Rio Theater in Santa Cruz.

On hand will be riders Lisa Myklak, Emily Johnston, Tammy Donahugh and Kathy Pruitt, as well as filmmaker Mark Brent. A Q&A session will be moderated by Karen Kefauver, a freelance sports and travel journalist who authors the cycling column, Spin City for the Santa Cruz Sentinel and an outdoors blog.

There will also be a group ride at Soquel Demo Forest on Feb. 27 along with a Demo Day at Bike Station Aptos. A pump ‘n jump jam in Aptos will precede the film on the 28th.

(We sure hope the weather has cleared up by then!)

The film’s worldwide premiere is Friday in Seattle. Previous Bike Intelligencer coverage.