That Rover started out as a bicycle company! And now Ford is selling Rover to Tata Motors, the company that wants to bring India the $2,500 Nano. Their portfolio would then include the least expensive production automobile, along with $80k+ SUVs. (Bear with me now, while I weave this back into a bicycle-related post)

I’m sure this is not what Starley & Sutton had in mind back in 1885, when they teamed together to bring us what is considered the “modern” bicycle design, with two roughly equal sized wheels and chain drive replacing the less practical penny farthing. Today’s bicycle is instantly recognizable as a descendant of the original “Safety Bicycle”, albeit with one or two advances in materials and technology.

To bring this bicycle history lesson full circle, I need to acknowledge the passing of Dick Burke on March 10th of this year. As the founder of Trek Bicycle Corporation, he built what is today America’s largest bicycle company from rather humble beginnings in a barn nearly 32 years ago. If you visit the Trek site and read about him, you’ll quickly realize that he was the kind of person that embodies the best our industry has to offer.

Let’s hope that his legacy continues, and that Trek doesn’t end up owned by same car company 100 years down the road.

Here’s a story about a guy in the UK that fixes up old bikes, sells them, and gives the proceeds to charity.

I’ve had more than enough of Hillary, Obama, oil prices, Iraq, and all that other crap. It’s refreshing to read about someone doing something so unselfish. A bicycle is a terrible thing to waste.

Good on ya, Mr. Riches.

I haven’t heard back from the owner of FootbikeUSA since we briefly discussed their posts on BikeForums.net, so I tried a Google search to see what I could find out about them outside of their website.

Yikes! I was hoping for maybe some product reviews, but no such luck. What I did find was an industrial design student in New York that has been working on his own footbike, a Yahoo! usergroup, and a mention of another design that was updated in 2002. I’m not knocking the company in any way, but they really need to get their name out there. It can’t be a good sign when only the top three results of your product name link back to you. Negative publicity would get them more hits than that, and I couldn’t even find anything negative.

I’d like to learn more about them, seeing as how there are actually organized races for them in Europe. Hopefully, Moses will get back to me soon.

There was a bit of drama on BikeForums.net not too long ago, when a rep from FootBikeUSA posted about their products. Touting your product in the forums can sometimes be a risky proposition, if not handled properly. But in the end, they were well-received. Here’s an image of one of their products. Comments are welcome, as I’m curious as to what other cyclists think about this as an alternative for short trips.

Schwinn Signs First-ever National Bicycle Sponsorship of Team In Training

Madison, Wis. - March 13, 2008 - Schwinn Bicycles, America’s most recognized bicycle brand, today announced the signing of a partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training (TNT), the world’s largest endurance sports training and fundraising program, to become its first-ever national bicycle sponsor. Schwinn is owned by Dorel Industries (TSX: DII.B, DII.A).

Under the terms of the two-year agreement, Schwinn will become the exclusive bicycle sponsor of TNT starting April 1, 2008. With the help of its dealer partners nationwide, Schwinn will provide relevant cycling information, bicycle demos, on-site event support and product discounts to the 39,000 cycling, triathlon and marathon participants who train and fundraise through the organization each year.

“For more than 100 years, Schwinn has helped people realize their two-wheeled dreams,” said Steve Reeds, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Schwinn Bicycle’s IBD division. “We are honored to carry on this tradition by helping Team In Training participants achieve their training goals.”

Now in its 20th year, TNT participants have raised more than $850 million for lifesaving cancer research and to help blood cancer patients live longer, better lives. The program provides coaching to help support participants crossing the finish line at century rides, triathlons and marathons.

“Over 20 years, we have seen Team In Training expand from a single sport program - the marathon - to a multi-endurance sport program with challenges such as triathlons and 100 mile rides,” said Nancy L. Klein, LLS senior vice president marketing communications. “We are thrilled to have Schwinn’s support because it’s a brand that people already know and trust.”

To learn more about Team In Training, please visit www.teamintraining.org.

About Schwinn
Founded in 1895, Schwinn is an American icon and has built some of the best-known and best-loved bicycles of all time. Schwinn has been an indispensable player in revolutionizing bicycling around the world. With a continued dedication to quality, forever synonymous with the Schwinn name, America’s most famous bicycle brand looks forward to providing another century of innovation, freedom and performance to people of all ages. Information about Schwinn bicycles is available at www.SchwinnBike.com.

About Dorel
Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) is a world class juvenile products and bicycle company. Established in 1962, Dorel creates style and excitement in equal measure to safety, quality and value. The Company’s lifestyle leadership position is pronounced in both its Juvenile and bicycle categories with an array of trend-setting products. In the Juvenile segment, Dorel’s powerfully branded products such as Quinny, Maxi-Cosi, Safety 1st and Bébé Confort have shown the way to safety, originality and fashion. Similarly, its highly popular brands such as Cannondale, Schwinn, GT, Mongoose and SUGOi have made Dorel a principal player with both independent bicycle dealers and mass merchants. Dorel’s Home Furnishings segment markets a wide assortment of furniture products, both domestically produced and imported. The Company exerts relentless innovation and marketing flair across all of its divisions. Dorel is a $2 billion company with forty-six hundred employees, facilities in seventeen countries, and sales worldwide.

US operations include Dorel Juvenile Group USA; the Cannondale Sports Group; Pacific Cycle; Ameriwood Industries which produces ready-to-assemble furniture; Altra Furniture; and Cosco Home & Office. In Canada, Dorel operates Dorel Distribution Canada and Dorel Home Products. Abroad, operations include Dorel Europe and IGC in Australia, a manufacturer and distributor of juvenile products. Dorel Asia sources and imports home furnishings products. Dorel China has eight offices which oversee the sourcing, engineering and logistics of the Company’s Asian supplier chain.

About Team In Training
Since its inception in 1988, when a team of 38 runners trained together for the New York City Marathon and raised $320,000, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training® program (TNT), has prepared more than 360,000 people-approximately 39,000 participants annually- to achieve their dream of completing a marathon, half marathon, triathlon or 100-mile (century) bicycle ride. And, in that time, TNT participants have raised over $850 million to support blood cancer research and patient services. The enormous success of this program has helped make possible advances in blood cancer therapies and treatments that have prolonged and enhanced the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS’s mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has provided more than $550 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers.