Blacknell.net

Washcycle DC Voter’s Guide

Next week will bring DC’s primary for the DC City Council.  Washcycle, impressively enough, was able to get most candidate to respond to his question on cycling issues.  Check it out.  For a perspective beyond cycling, check out (my increasingly regular read) Greater Greater Washington.

(And to my former classmates that occasionally drop by here, yes, that’s the same Cary Silverman.)

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling: Defending VA’s Reputation for Ass Backwardness

It seems that Virginia’s Lt. Governor Bill Bolling had placed an order for 150 copies of a vistor’s guide to the Twin Cities for Virginia delegates, but canceled order after finding out that the vistitor’s guide contained a section that highlighted gay and lesbian destinations.

That’s right, the place that produced many fine presidents and giants such as Thomas Jefferson is now subject to the rule of imbeciles and moral midgets that go “eww, gays, icky!”.

Credit to NLS (of which I feel the need to point out that I am not a fan).

Registration for Bike DC Is Open

After a multi-year hiatus, Bike DC is back.    A previously annual ride in the tradition of Bike New York, Bike DC got to be too much trouble, as every city authority, Federal agency and ANC council wanted WABA (the organizer) to go through their own special permitting process (for “security”, natch.) I’d hit a couple of Bike DC’s before the shut down, and quite enjoyed them (especially the one that put us on the George Washington Parkway for a few miles - *that* was fun.)

This year’s edition is a little less ambitious - at 17 miles - but adds in a couple extra DC bits of fun.  The first rest stop is on the grounds of Taiwan’s embassy (Twin Oaks, near the National Cathedral) and the far western turnaround point of the ride involves a loop around the former Grand Prix/current RFK Crit track.  The organizers are saying that it’ll be a “car-free” route, so I’m assuming rolling road closures.  Definitely family friendly

Bike DC is scheduled for Saturday, September 27, 2008.  More information, including registration ($35), route maps, and volunteering opportunities is here.

10:15/Saturday Night: Sunday Edition

Was a good ride yesterday.  Not particularly hard, but it left me pretty wrecked (I would have sworn - during the ride - that I was doing a good job of hydration.  In retrospect, I was a mess).  Fell asleep early, and then today passed by far too quickly.  Oh, and I pretty much failed the whole “if I can do this ride, I can race!” test.  So there went my last racing hope of the season.  Ah well.  Here’s some good stuff (you’ve heard this before, but in the wrong language.  This is the right one):

National Harbor

Achieved a long-held goal of circumnavigating DC on a bike, today.  Seems I did a really bad job of staying hydrated, and still have the dehyd headache to prove it.   Oh, and no race tomorrow.  No way.  More on Sunday.

DC Gets A Downtown Pro Criterium

On September 21st of this year, you’ll be able to head down to Penn Quarter and see a real live pro criterium race in the form of the ING Direct Capital Criterium.  It’s a six turn 1km circuit that winds its way among the Federal agencies downtown.

I’ve been waiting for a long time to see something like this happen (in fact, I already know the shot I’ll be aiming for).  As it stands, there’s going to be a Men’s 35+ race, a Men’s 1/2/3, and a Men’s Pro.  No word on who the teams will be yet.

DId you notice something missing from that list of races?  That’s right, no women’s field.  Which is especially disappointing, considering that Cyclelife, a presenting sponsor, has its own women’s team.   They’re aware of that disappointment, and while they haven’t promised anything about next year, they say that they hope to include a women’s field when they can.

The official race site is here, and I’ll post more when details become available.

DC’s Union Station: Where *Do* They Get Their Employees?

DC’s Union Station has provided the backdrop for many a Blacknell.net posting this year (see here and here). And every time, it has involved the application of some seriously questionable judgment on the part of people working at Union Station. So here’s another installment, in which Union Station personnel have taken it upon themselves to beautify DC by stealing the bike off a bike rack because it was too ugly. Really - watch the video (and don’t miss the part when the Union Station employee also harasses the news crew about filming, but then wanders off when challenged on it . . . ). Is Union Station an employer of last resort, or something? Do they only hire people with a demonstrated ability to make really poor choices?

(BTW, according to the woman who had her bike stolen by Union Station employees, they’ve got a whole basement full of bikes down there. If you know anyone who thought they had a bike stolen from the racks at Union Station, it might be worth passing this along.)

Get Your WAGBRAD On

Yeah, that title didn’t really work, did it?

Ah well.

This Saturday, I’m planning to join the Washcycle crew for a ride around DC’s perimeter (i.e., WAGBRAD - the Washcycle’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Around DC).  What’s that I hear, from the three readers that know I’m registered for the Page Valley Road Race on Sunday?  I’m being ridiculous, going out on a 50 miler the day before a 30 mile road race?  Alas, I have pulled the same idiot move this year that I did around this time last year - went and hurt myself in a real way in early August (tho’ this year’s strained back is waaay better than last year’s seperated shoulder).  I can still roll, but not with any power.  So if I can’t hang with the WAGBRAD, no harm - I’ll just hop on the Metro and go home.  If I *can* hang?  Well, that’ll show that I’m just being ridiculous about thinking Sunday’s race a bad idea, and I can pack my bags and head to Luray as soon as I get home.  In any event, if you’re up for a long ride on Saturday and have a few hours, drop by and say hi.  I’ll be the guy on the yellow GT ZR that’s pedaling like he’s 70 years old.

Beijing Olympics: Track Racing

I know, I talked the road races up, but completely let you (okay, two of you) down on the heads up for the Olympic Time Trial events.  Which is a shame, because the women’s time trials ended up in an impressive victory for the US’s Kristin Armstrong, and the men’s time trials ended up in a photo that is universally judged (in some communities, anyway) to be sheer hotness.

So, while I have to admit to not understanding how track racing works at all, I’m going to try and follow the track racing tomorrow, and encourage you to do the same.  This is the schedule for tomorrow:

The complete schedule (from which I lifted the above - you didn’t think I’d do that much work on my own, did you?) is available at PodiumCafe.com.  A fellow PodiumCafe contributor has an excellent preview of the day’s racing here.  And if you’re looking for a more personal take on the subject, head over to Mike May’s GamJams.net, where US Olympic track racer Bobby Lea (most recently famous as the US cyclist who wore a mask getting off the plane in Beijing and made everyone else act a fool as a result) is writing up his experience.

Update on Alice Swanson and Prabhdeep Ranahawa Investigations

Last month, two cyclists in the greater DC area were killed. The public reactions were very different - Alice Swanson’s death garnered much attention, while Prabhdeep Ranahawa’s received almost none. Unfortunately, there was a commonality - there has been little to no information forthcoming from law enforcement authorities about the resulting investigations.

It looks like WABA will be meeting with the DC MPD to push the issue. I just rec’d a press release noting:

On Friday, August 15, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) will meet with the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to express concerns over recent actions by the department that are contributing to the sense that bicyclists and pedestrians are not being adequately protected on Washington, DC’s roadways.  These actions include:

•    the failure to provide information about the investigation into the death of Alice Swanson;
•    an ill-timed enforcement program targeting cyclists; and
•    the failure to cite a driver for fleeing the scene of a crash.

It also notes that the Swanson family is pursuing its own investigation, and is looking for witnesses.

Witnesses are also needed by the police in Prince William County, who are still trying to determine what happened in 13 year old Prabhdeep’s case:

Investigators have spoken with multiple witnesses, but are seeking anyone who can help fill the missing informational gaps in the case, said Officer Brian D. Gardner with the Prince William County Police Department’s crash investigation unit.

“At 6:45 in the evening there’s got to be more witnesses,” Gardner said. “And we’re not concerned that they did not come forward immediately. Some may think what they witnessed is insignificant, but that may not be the case.”

Around 6:45 p.m. July 29, police say a blue 2003 BMW 320i struck the Dale City boy, who was apparently crossing Hoadly Road near Olivewood Drive on his bicycle. He died at the scene.

Investigators have gathered strong physical evidence, Gardner said, but are still trying to determine what direction he was coming from and where he was going.

Gardner said it is believed that at least one man was asked to leave the scene before police arrived and hopes he and anyone else that may have happened to see the accident will come forward.

I hope both of these efforts are successful.