Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Cyclist Floyd Landis’ surprise decision to ride in the Nevada City Classic bike race this weekend tarnished the popular event for some residents.

Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for a doping offense. He caused an uproar at the Amgen Tour of California in May when he accused other riders, including Lance Armstrong, of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong has denied the charges.

“I did not feel like seeing Landis ride around town,” said one resident, who stayed home from the 50th annual Nevada City Classic and barbequed instead.

The 50th annual race — a year in the planning stages — was meant to honor past winners, some of whom returned to Nevada City for the event.

“I misled the public for a long time, so it’s up to people to decide if they’re going to believe me or not, but it was for me. It was for my own sake,” Landis told FOX40 in Sacramento.

Landis’ decision to ride was announced on Saturday — just a day before the race. Nineteen-year-old Ian Boswell of Bend, Ore. won Sunday’s Classic.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

A website called ifitwasmyhome.com makes it possible to superimpose the contours of the BP oil spill over any location in the world, including Northern California.

The map was created by Michigan software developer Andy Lintner, 29, whose wife wondered what the blob would look like superimposed over their home in Royal Oak, Mich.

“We were both sort of so shocked by the scale of it, by the size of it,” Lintner told the New York Times.

Click here and you’ll find that the spill superimposed over Northern California stretches from the Bay Area to east of Reno, and from Chico to Scockton.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »