Daily Cycling Facts 10.11.2012

Happy birthday to Simon Richardson, the Welsh paralympian professional cyclist born in 1966. Richardson returned to cycling in 2005 after a serious car accident in 2001, going on to set a new world record at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. In August 2011 he was hit by a car while cycling and sustained a broken pelvis fractures to the spine, a detached lung, a broken breast bone and cuts to his legs, leaving him un able to compete in the 2012 Games in London. The driver of the car, who did not stop after hitting Richardson, was subsequently sentenced to 18 months in prison.

On this day in 1905, Emile Bouhours covered the 100km between Orleans and Vierzon at an average speed of 61.291kph - considerably faster than the current UCI Hour Record for a standard upright bike, which stands at 49.7kph. Taking into account that bikes in 1905 had more in common with farm gates than today's ultra-lightweight, multi-geared carbon fibre machines, this suggests that Bouhours achieved his remarkable feat through either a very fortuitoius tailwind, cheating (perhaps by using a shortcut) or faulty timing on the part of the race judges.

Happy birthday also to Amets Txurruka, the Basque rider who was born in 1982. Txurruka began his career with the British-based Barloworld team and has been awarded the Combativity jersey in both the Tour de France (2007) and the Vuelta a Espana (2011).

On this day in 2010 it was announced that the Barclays Bike Hire Scheme - also known as the Boris Bikes after London Mayor Boris Johnson despite the fact that the scheme was invented by his predecessor Ken Livingstone  - would be extended to cover East London with an extra 2000 bikes and 4200 "docking stations."

Daily Cycling Facts 10.11.11

Happy birthday to Simon Richardson, the Welsh paralympic professional cyclist who is 45 today. Richardson returned to cycling in 2005 after a serious car accident in 2001, going on to set a new world record at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. Sadly, in August this year, he was hit by a car while cycling and sustained a broken pelvis fractures to the spine, a detached lung, a broken breast bone and cuts to his legs, leaving him very unlikely to be able to compete in the 2012 Games in London.

On this day in 1905, Emile Bouhours covered the 100km between Orleans and Vierzon at an average speed of 61.291kph - considerably faster than the current UCI Hour Record for a standard upright bike, which stands at 49.7kph.

Happy birthday also to Amets Txurruka, the Euskaltel-Euskadi rider who is 29 today and began his career with the British-based Barloworld team. Txurruka has been awarded the Combativity jersey in both the Tour de France (2007) and the Vuelta a Espana (2011).

On this day last year it was announced that the Barclays Bike Hire Scheme - also known as the Boris Bikes after London Mayor Boris Johnson despite the fact that the scheme was invented by his predecessor Ken Livingstone  - would be extended to cover East London with an extra 2000 bikes and 4200 "docking stations."

Daily Cycling Facts 07.11.11

November the 7th, 2011

Happy birthday to Tanya Dubnicoff, the retired Canadian track cyclist who represented her country in three Olympics and won four gold medals in the Pan-American Games. She now lives in California where she works as a cycling coach, training Team Canada among many others and is 42 years old.

Happy birthday to Hilton Clarke, the Australian professional of the United Healthcare team. This year he became the first rider to win the Clarendon Cup (formerly the CSC Invitational) twice. Known as a sprinter, he is 32 and will ride for Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team in 2012.

The first Paris to Rouen race took place on this day in 1869, making it the first official and organised bicycle race in history. James Moore, born in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk in 1849 (but lived in France since childhood) beat more than 200 opponents (including four women) to win (he may have also won a race the previous year, but there is no reliable evidence for this).

Happy birthday to Tom Meeusen, the Belgian road, mountain bike and cyclo cross rider from the Telenet-Fidea team.

November the 7th 2004 saw the inauguration of Sri Lanka's Cyclone, a mass participation bicycle rally aimed at establishing cyclist's rights and promoting the bike as a means of transport in the Asian nation.

James Moore (right) with an 1869 model Specialized Venge

On this day in 1942, Fausto Coppi set a new Hour Record at 45.798km at the Vigorelli Track.