Charles Pelkey
BACKGROUND: Pelkey joined VeloNews in 1994, putting aside a career as a U.S. Senate press secretary in Washington to cover a sport he grew to love as a Cat. 2 roadie in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Pelkey has been a journalist in one form or another for the past 25 years, working in radio, daily newspapers and that one brief foray into PR. At VeloNews, he has served as technical editor, news editor, online editor and now senior online editor.
He lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with his wife Diana and two children, Philip and Annika, and is currently completing work on a law degree.
BIKES IN THE GARAGE: '79 Pinarello Treviso, '81 Trek 710, custom Clark-Kent Ti, Litespeed Ultimate, Schwinn cyclocross prototype, Jamis Dakar Pro, '86 Gitane tandem, '80 Mercian, '58 Armstrong British 3-Speed, '89 Trek 990 (converted to commuter with wood fenders, lights, etc.), Haro single-speed 29er
Stories by Charles Pelkey »
Posted: Wed, Nov 18th
The Explainer - Time waits for no oneDear Explainer,
I recently read about the UCI’s decision to strip Davide Rebellin of the silver medal he “won” at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing because he tested positive for CERA. As my kid would say, “big whoop.”
It’s now November of 2009! The race was in ...
Posted: Wed, Nov 4th
The Explainer - Doctor behaving badlyDear Explainer,
Like anyone who rides a bike, I was happy to see the conviction of the doctor who took it upon himself to teach a "lesson" to the two guys riding their bikes down the canyon near Los Angeles.
What has me ...
Posted: Fri, Oct 23rd
Astana works to keep its star rider; Contador waits for lawyers' takeThe managers of the Astana team said Friday that they will work tirelessly to keep Alberto Contador on the Kazakh-financed team, despite missing a UCI deadline that might give the defending Tour de France champion the right to terminate his ...
Posted: Thu, Oct 22nd
Astana's missed deadline may give Contador an outThe Astana team has missed a preliminary deadline to file required paperwork as part of the UCI’s annual review of teams’ ProTour status.
Astana was one of five teams that missed the October 20 deadline, but may be the one that suffers the most immediate consequences, ...
Posted: Wed, Oct 21st
The Explainer - We just wanna rideDear readers,
As the last few weeks have shown, perhaps the biggest problem we cyclists encounter is finding a place to just ride.
Ever since my “Whose bike path is it anyway?” column two weeks ago, our
Posted: Wed, Oct 14th
The Explainer - Sharing the path, sharing the roadsDear Readers,
I have to admit that I unknowingly opened a can of worms when I picked Mike Tsai’s letter to answer in last week’s column,”Whose bike path is it anyway?”
Posted: Wed, Oct 7th
The Explainer - Whose bike path is it anyway?Dear Explainer,
The part of town that I live in is blanketed by great bike paths that I frequent but recently I ran into a small problem.
As I looked up from my power meter after completing an interval session, I saw a runner coming right at me in the bike path. Luckily I ...
Posted: Tue, Oct 6th
Houston-based amateur accepts doping suspensionThe U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Tuesday that Houston-based Category 1 racer Mitch Comardo (Bike Barn) has been suspended for two years after testing positive for several prohibited substances.
Posted: Fri, Oct 2nd
Rio de Janeiro gets 2016 OlympicsRio de Janeiro will become the first South American city to host the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee voted to award the 2016 Games to the former Brazilian capital on Friday.
The city of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics came to an early end after the ...
Posted: Wed, Sep 30th
The Explainer - Ch-ch-ch-chatter bumpsDear Explainer,
My wife asked me on a ride out on the roads of North Boulder County "what causes washboards?" I promised her I'd pose the question to you; she's gotten wise to my usual male "authoritative sounding but full of BS answers."
I used to think washboards were ...
Posted: Fri, Sep 25th
Wiggins says he's staying putGarmin-Slipstream’s Bradley Wiggins has disputed reports that he is looking for ways to get out of the final year of his contract with the American-sponsored team.
Responding to interpretations of an earlier BBC report that implied that staying with Garmin-Slipstream is ...
Posted: Thu, Sep 24th
UCI votes to ban radiosThe UCI management committee, meeting at the world championships in Switzerland, has voted to phase out the use of two-way radios in all aspects of road racing.
Accepting a UCI road commission recommendation, committee members agreed to broaden a ban that already applies to ...