You’ve heard of the Tour de France but I bet you haven’t heard of the Tour de Donut.

Yes, really. It’s a bike race that combines cycling with donut eating and it’s been held for the last 20 years in Stanton, Illinois. This year a thousand cyclists participated, cycling from donut stop to donut stop, until they either reached the finish line or became too weighed down by donuts to continue.

Personally, I’d rather have my donut with coffee…

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Looks like that little blue pill is moving out the bedroom and into the sports arena.

Many athletes believe that taking Viagra will help improve their performance in the field. And preliminary studies, showing a 40% performance improvement for cyclists taking Viagra, support this believe.

But experts aren’t convinced. They argue that even though Viagra works on the nitric oxide in the body and causes blood vessels to expand resulting in increased heart function and more oxygen in the lungs, it’s not a guarantee that it will improve an athlete’s performance.

In fact some doctors suggest that it’s actually Viagra’s more well-known effects on men’s sex lives that might be the reason for an athlete’s improved performance on the field. Here’s what Dr. Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at New York University’s Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, has to say …

“If athletes are euphoric after sex after taking Viagra, they may be euphoric about their athletic endeavors,” Varlotta said. “That may make them a better athlete.”

Meanwhile, the World Anti-Doping Agency ain’t happy. They are currently studying Viagra’s effects in athletes. If they decide that it is a performance inducing drug, they may look at banning Viagra. And that would be a performance in itself.

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Location, Location, Location. The catch cry of real estate agents throughout the world. Turns out it’s also an important variable when it comes to your health. Check out Cranky Fitness’s post ‘Does You Hometown have ‘Issues’?’ to find out more.

X-rays as Art? Apparently so. You can find out more about contemporary X-Ray photography artists over at Cultcase. They highlight five artists that convert X-rays into Art.

By the way, did you know that May is National Bike Month? To help you get into the biking groove, Fitness for Mommies explains how to Go from ‘rookie cyclist’ to ‘respected newbie’ with these tips and Smarter Fitter discusses Bicycle Fitting for the Ladies.

Meanwhile over at Fat Man Unleashed, guest blogger Sarah Scrafford suggests that you should Pound the Pavement to Keep Vacation Pounds Away.

FitHacks offers a list of the Top 10 Worst Ways to Lose Weight.

Nerd’s Do It Better lists 25 Ailments That Can Be Cured by Having Sex.

And the New York Times Well Blog looks at the lack of airplane etiquette and asks ‘What’s Really in That Seat-Back Pocket?’ . It’s enough to put you off flying for good!

That’s it.

Have you got any to add?

Leave a comment and let us know your best blog posts this week…

Since June 2005 members of Visual Resistance have been creating small memorials to fallen bikers in New York City. When a biker has been killed in an auto-related accident a bike is painted all-white and locked down at the scene with a small plaque attached.

The installations are meant as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of bikers’ right to safe travel. It was inspired by Ghost Bike Pittsburgh, which was in turn inspired by a similar effort in St. Louis. In recent months, Ghost Bikes have appeared in cities across the country, as well as in the UK.

Creating and installing ghost bikes is a sad and moving process. The death of a fellow bicyclist hits home, since we travel the same unsafe streets and face the same risks; it could just as easily be one of us.

Each time we say we hope to never have to do it again — but we remain comitted to making these memorials as long as they are needed.

Map to the ghost bikes of New York City.

Photo: random dude
This bike is going nowhere fast. Sort of like the 15 lb. spare tire around my waist. I don’t know if this was a practical joke or an art installation, but I love it the same, either way. If you look closely, you’ll see that you only need to break one lock to steal the bike. Making it a useful object again is another question.

Photo: MIKE DeVRIES/THE CAPITAL TIMES
Ryan Lipscomb saw the truck coming. He saw the driver wasn’t going to stop. He also knew he couldn’t. So he hit the brakes on his bicycle as hard as he could, which flipped him over his handlebars and put his head directly into the path of the big delivery truck’s wheels. After which, his noggin was summarily run over. The helmet, uh, did not survive, but Ryan got away with only a minor concussion.

No, this is not a Giro helmet ad, but it may be soon. This is a scene that played out on Friday at the corner of Eastwood and Division in Madison, WI. Ryan, apparently, is a sweet guy. Even though the truck motored on, he’s hesitant to press hit and run charges, even though he offers this quote.

“The truck driver definitely would have known. You know when you run over a curb and my head was definitely higher than a curb.” Moreover, Lipscomb said, he was already in the street as the truck was turning. “He had to have seen me.”

Get the full story from The Capital Times: Bike helmet crushed, but head fine.

Related:
Illinois Woman Convicted of ‘Improper Lane Usage’ After Striking and Killing Cyclist While Downloading Ringtones to Her Phone and Driving
BBC Health Headline: Wearing Helmets ‘More Dangerous’

Forget clown make-up; there isn’t any here. Just scars, knee pads and boulders. Oh yeah and wheel uno. These guys, god bless ‘em, are on another level when it comes to the large group of cycling crazies out there.

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Picture © Scott Markewitz

This is sad. Floyd Landis’ follow-up test results are positive for synthetic testosterone. There’s some screwiness with the results (of-effing-course there is) what with the lab not allowing Landis’ expert, Paul Scott, to be present during the running of the tests.

The lab had originally agreed to let him witness the testing, but only in the presence of two other experts from the U.S. Anti-Doping Association. The USADA’s experts failed to show up on Sunday when the tests had been scheduled to take place. So the lab ran the tests without any experts in the room, and the results came out positive.

Naturally, the Landis’ camp is fighting mad about the snafu, and are madly fighting the allegations. Landis has said he will voluntarily abstain from competition until the dispute is settled. Should it ever finally get settled, and not be in his favor, he would receive a two-year ban and be the only champion in the 104-year history of the competition to be stripped of his title.

*Oh, and you can get all the info on that badass picture from the last Tour right here.

Bike Nashbar (no affiliation) is offering free shipping today with coupon code FSP833. I’ve ordered from them before and they have good prices and service. So if you’re looking to get some gear to help motivate you on your spring ride, the time is nigh.

I’m not sure what else to say about this. Perhaps, love is blind faces backwards?

Found at Casa Free (French, I think)

mam885, or anyone else, can you translate and tell us what’s going on, here?

Related reading:
BBC Health Headline: Wearing Helmets ‘More Dangerous’